Who wins, who loses in Senate health bill

[steven johnson]

Source: Associated Press

Here's a look at some other winners and losers in the latest version of the legislation, which was expected to survive an initial test vote in the Senate around 1 a.m. Monday.

WINNERS

_Cosmetic surgeons, who fended off a 5 percent tax on their procedures.

_Nebraska, Louisiana, Vermont and Massachusetts. These states are getting more federal help with Medicaid than other states. In the case of Nebraska — represented by Sen. Ben Nelson, who's providing the critical 60th vote for the legislation to pass — the federal government is picking up 100 percent of the tab of a planned expansion of the program, in perpetuity. Vermont and Massachusetts get temporary increases in the federal share of their Medicaid tabs. In Louisiana, moderate Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu negotiated $100 million for 2011 before announcing her support for the legislation.

_Beneficiaries of Medicare Advantage plans — the private managed-care plans within Medicare — in Florida. Hundreds of thousands of them will have their benefits grandfathered in thanks to a provision tailored by Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., that also affects a much smaller number of seniors in a few other states.


Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gU1UpTmIe5cuZ5fTnayEgs3rmaAwD9CNAM2G1

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Winners (continued)_Longshoremen.

_Community health centers.

_A handful of physician-owned hospitals being built around the country —

_AARP

_Doctors and hospitals in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming

LOSERS

_Tanning salons

_Progressives

_People making over $200,000 a year

_Generic drug makers

[Teaser]

1. this progressive didn't lose

don't know about you.

[depakid]

6. Get back to us in a year or two...

[Zhade]

32. You did, you just won't admit it. Yet.

I guarantee you that you will change your tune.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Did you mean to include a link?

[tonysam]

3. Here

Associated Press

[Tx4obama]

4. Why every progressive Senator supports this bill

The best HCR article of the week, link below:

Why every progressive Senator supports this bill, by grantcart
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/grantcart/256

.

[No Elephants]

15. Those talking points are talking points. Right off the bat, no one extended

insurance coverage to anyone. The government is requiring people to buy insurance, upon pains of being taxed more and going to jail if your don't pay your taxes. Those two things are very different.

Second, you can lose your insurance when you get sick if you don't pay the premiums. And the insurance companies can charge you more for a pre-existing condition. Your inablity to work may get you eligible for Medicaid, but that was always true.

And so on. It is not worth a point by point rebuttal.

I have no idea why grantcart is considered more of an expert than Dr. Dean, who not only is a physician, but wrote a book on this subject, or why grantcard is considered more of an expert than Potter, the former Cigna executive who testified to Congress that this bill was an insurer's wet dream (or words to that effect.) Or why he is considered more of an expert than the stock market, which supported this bill by raising the price of the stock of insurance companies.

The support of Progressive Senators may have something to do with being leaned on, or being bought off, or both. Some of them seemed to have very last minute conversions from opposing this bill like crazy.

[WriteDown]

21. Well stated. nt

[Garam_Masala]

28. You stated the KEY POINT: INSURANCE CAN CHARGE MORE FOR PRE_EXISTING CONDITIONS

and they can cancel you if you don't pay the higher premiums.

[gardenista]

5. Progressives who like to tan and pop generic pills are FUCKED!

[Abq_Sarah]

7. Add the other 46 states

To the losers. If you don't live in Nebraska, Louisiana, Vermont and Massachusetts, your state taxes will increase to cover the money being cut at the federal level for medicaid coverage. More pass the buck, business as usual in Washington.

[Jamastiene]

10. Must be nice for them.

Too bad our senators didn't speak up and demand something for our state before giving the vote away. Who knew that's all they had to do?

[No Elephants]

16. That doesn't explain Massachusetts.

[PassingFair]

30. Remember Vicki's channelling of her dead husband?

That had to be worth something....

[eridani]

8. More losers

Everyone aged 50-64, forced to pay three times as much for shitty mandated underinsurance.
Union members, taxed on their negotiated benefits.

[roguevalley]

9. so ben nelson screws the whole country and we have to pick up the

entire tab for Nebraska. thanks a bunch.

[No Elephants]

17. In perpetuity. See, the people who say nothing lasts forever are just cynics.

[ixion]

11. Winners: the insurance companies; Losers: The US taxpayer.

as usual.

[TheWatcher]

25. But the Yes Bots, Bobble Heads, Blind Faithers, and Cheerleaders are happy.

Remember, PERCEPTION is much more important than reality.

At the end of the day, Propaganda and feeling good are much more important than progress and real change.

Feeling Good about "winning something" is more important than actual change.

Defeat is Victory.

Praise Marty Moose.

[cali]

26. oh sod off with the moronic name calling dogshit

[FrenchieCat]

12. Actually, I don't allow AP to tell me who the winners and losers are......

cause they are big time losers, and yet, they don't know that.

Once folks actually read the bill, many will STFU.
Till then, a lot of hot air coming from those who
wanted a revolution that would blow up insurance companies.
Sorry, that didn't happen....although that could have been quite messy,
and perhaps unintended consequences wouldn't have allowed the results
you wanted.

Great post here, which takes the time to explain what the AP won't:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=80261&mesg_id=80261

[No Elephants]

19. Please see Reply 15,

And I am betting you did not read the bill.

[bluestateguy]

13. Oh No! Not the tanning salons!

Well that does it! I'm done with the Democrat Party for good now! Kucinich/Dean in '12!

[WriteDown]

22. The tax on the tanning salons was added so that cosmetic surgery...

could be exempt. Ugh.

[Wardoc]

14. Winners: Insurance companies. Losers: Everyone else. Including those who THINK this is a win. NT

[EndElectoral]

20. Got to agree. This is an absolute mess.

[Odin2005]

18. We are made serfs of the insurance industry in exchange for peanuts.

[WriteDown]

23. But we won!!!!

:eyes:

[TheWatcher]

24. If this is winning we are truly down the Rabbit Hole.

And we will never come out.

Which is fine for the cheerleaders.

The destruction of the country is great, just as long as they feel like they've "won".

[WriteDown]

27. Reminds me a bit of "field day" when I was in elementary school...

You root for your team based on color. Nothing more.

[Garam_Masala]

29. All most all employed workers with health insurance will pay more

so the middle class will not be spared from tax hikes.

The simple, obvious & common sense fact is, you can't
subsidize 30 million people without insurance unless most
other people suffer some pain.

Look at the positive side...you will feel good about helping the poorer
than you.

[superconnected]

31. The whole list from this article

WINNERS

_Cosmetic surgeons, who fended off a 5 percent tax on their procedures.

_Nebraska, Louisiana, Vermont and Massachusetts. These states are getting more federal help with Medicaid than other states. In the case of Nebraska — represented by Sen. Ben Nelson, who's providing the critical 60th vote for the legislation to pass — the federal government is picking up 100 percent of the tab of a planned expansion of the program, in perpetuity. Vermont and Massachusetts get temporary increases in the federal share of their Medicaid tabs. In Louisiana, moderate Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu negotiated $100 million for 2011 before announcing her support for the legislation.

_Beneficiaries of Medicare Advantage plans — the private managed-care plans within Medicare — in Florida. Hundreds of thousands of them will have their benefits grandfathered in thanks to a provision tailored by Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., that also affects a much smaller number of seniors in a few other states.

_Longshoremen. They were added to the list of workers in high-risk professions who are shielded from the full impact of a proposed new tax on high-value insurance plans. (Electrical linemen were already included, along with policemen, firefighters, emergency first responders and workers in construction, mining, forestry, fishing and certain agriculture jobs.)

_Community health centers. They got $10 billion more in the revised bill, thanks to advocacy by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

_A handful of physician-owned hospitals being built around the country — including one in Bellevue, Neb. — which would be permitted to get referrals from the doctors who own them, avoiding a new ban in the Senate bill that will apply to hospitals built in the future. Without mentioning Nebraska or other states by name, the Senate bill pushes back some legal deadlines by several months, in effect making a few hospitals that are near completion eligible to continue receiving referrals from the doctors who own them. The provision was described by a pair of health industry lobbyists who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to speak freely. Chalk up another win for Nelson.

_AARP, the lobby for elderly people. The new Democratic bill has about $1 billion in extra Medicaid payments to states that provide visiting nurses and other in-home or community services to prevent low-income people from needing to be admitted to hospitals. In House-Senate bargaining, AARP also is expected to win one of their top priorities: a full closing of the so-called "doughnut hole," the gap in Medicare's coverage of prescription drugs.

_Doctors and hospitals in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming, who will get paid more than providers elsewhere under formulas in the bill.

LOSERS

_Tanning salons, which are getting hit with a 10 percent tax on indoor tanning services, replacing the cosmetic surgery tax.

_Progressives. They had to give up on their long-held dream of a new government-run insurance plan so that Democratic leaders could lock down the necessary votes from moderates.

_People making over $200,000 a year. A proposed 0.5 percent increase in the Medicare payroll tax was bumped up to 0.9 percent in the latest version, putting the tax at 2.35 percent on income over $200,000 a year for individuals, $250,000 for couples.

_Generic drug makers. They fought unsuccessfully to block 12 years of protection that makers of brand-name biotech drugs — expensive pharmaceuticals made from living cells — will get against generic would-be competitors.