LATimes Ron Brownstein article: Gephardt Assails Dean Record on Medicare

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-gephardt13sep13,1,1639691.story?coll=la-home-leftrail

By Ronald Brownstein, Times Staff Writer


WASHINGTON — Rep. Richard A. Gephardt on Friday accused Howard Dean of supporting efforts by the Republican Congress to scale back Medicare during the mid-1990s, significantly escalating recent attacks on the former Vermont governor by his rivals in the Democratic presidential race.

"As Democrats, we need a nominee who is clearly different from George Bush on protecting our seniors from deep cuts to Medicare, and on privatizing Medicare," Gephardt (D-Mo.) said in a speech to a Teamsters local in Des Moines. Gephardt's campaign made a copy of his prepared remarks available in Washington.

In the last two weeks, Dean has been lashed by virtually all the other major Democratic contenders on several fronts — from his views on Israel and international trade to his support for repealing all of President Bush's tax cuts and his claim to be the sole Democratic contender to speak about racial issues to white audiences.

<snip>

For instance, in his 1992 state of the state address as governor, Dean said: "We already have a national health care system in this country for those over 65. It's called Medicare, and it is one of the worst-run programs in this country, both for the patients and the doctors. Medicare is a potent example of why the federal government must not be allowed to run national health insurance."

Apparently, Gephardt has done his homework.

[Brucey]

1. Gep is working hard and making a lot of improvement, much of it due to

Dean's success, however, it is my belief that he would have a tougher time winning the general election than many of the other candidates because of his image. Lots and lots of people vote on charisma, speaking ability, and looks. Perhaps I'm wrong on this, but I feel the Gep does not have the image to carry enough voters. (neither does Joe, btw).

[foxy loxy]

2. Nice Try Gephardt

I don't think Gephardt can pull this one off because it is simply unbelievable that Dean would ever side with Gingrich Republicans. He is a doctor, too, and if Medicare and Social Security need some alteration to keep them solvent or innovation to keep them effective, his ideas should be welcomed. I don't like the idea that anyone who calls for change or deviates from the party line is an infidel. That's the Republican tactic.

[flpoljunkie]

3. Did you not read this 1995 Dean statement re Medicare cited above?

For instance, in his 1992 state of the state address as governor, Dean said: "We already have a national health care system in this country for those over 65. IT'S CALLED MEDICARE, AND IT IS ONE OF THE WORST-RUN PROGRAMS IN THIS COUNTRY, BOTH FOR THE PATIENTS AND THE DOCTORS. Medicare is a potent example of why the federal government must not be allowed to run national health insurance."


These kind of pronouncements will come back to bite him in the ass. Medicare is incredibly more efficient than managed care when it comes to administrative expenses.

[DJcairo]

4. I can't believe Dean said that-unbelievable

How can anyone be supporting this man?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

6. From his 2000 address:

I am very proud that Vermont has the fewest children in America without health insurance. Health insurance for children should not be dependent on income; every child in America, let alone Vermont, should have it -- and if necessary, the government must guarantee it.http://www.rutlandherald.com/legislature/leg2000/state.html


Would like a link for your quote.

[flpoljunkie]

7. Dean's 1992 quote from state of state address from Brownstein's article...

I have no reason to believe that Ron Brownstein would quote Dean, or any other Democratic candidate, in error.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

9. It is unbelievable except it's what Dean said.

Oh, I guess that would tend to make it unbelievable.

[Brucey]

10. Welcome to DU

foxyloxy, glad to have you here.

[blm]

11. Then why did so many applaud Dean when he called others, "Bushlite"?

Why did so many applaud Dean when he claimed to represent the left wing of the democratic party, implying those with long records to his left were from the Republican wing?

[ModerateMiddle]

5. hmmm

snippets:

In his response, Dean said: "No Democrat in the presidential race bears any resemblance to Newt Gingrich on any major issue. And for Dick Gephardt to suggest otherwise is simply beyond the pale."

Dean's statement did not respond to the substance of Gephardt's charges and his campaign did not dispute the accuracy of the statements Gephardt cited. But Joe Trippi, Dean's campaign manager, said that Dean's goal in advocating changes in Medicare during the mid-1990s was to safeguard the program by securing its long-term solvency.

Interesting. Words the Republicans use to tout their programs. Like "Clear Skies" and "Healthy Forests".

I'm going to starve Medicare to save it.

(on edit - turn off underlining.)

[Nicholas_J]

8. And then look at Deans Flip Flop in South Carolina:

Subsidize health care for small businesses, not corporations
I have two advantages . First of all, I'm a governor and we've actually done a lot of this in Vermont, and second of all, I'm a doctor. costs a little less than half of the Bush tax cut. First, everybody under 25 gets Medicaid if they want it. It worked well for us in our state. It's not expensive. Second, prescription benefits for every senior. That makes Medicare into a pretty decent policy. Third, between 25 and 65, subsidize small businesses, don't give the tax credits to the big corporations, subsidize individuals who need help buying health insurance, and then help individuals who work for companies that don't do it. The cost is half of the Bush tax cut. It'll pass because most of the interest groups that oppose the Clinton plan will support it, and it's affordable. And it will pass now, and it covers everybody.
Source: Democratic Debate in Columbia SC May 3, 2003


http://www.issues2000.org/2004/Howard_Dean_Health_Care.htm

This is Dean ORIGINAL plan for health care, which is NO plan, and nothing was done at the state level in Vermont to do it. Dean did what many other states do to try to cover the unisured. He used a special waiver allowed to the states to use unspent federal funds to pay for health care for people beyond the federal poverty level, and did so by federal rules allowed under medicaid. Dean did not one thing that is allowed to other states, and every other state in New England did it BETTER than Dean except Connecticut, which is it as well as Dean. 9 0r 10 other states used this plan more effectively than Deans Vermont did.

Denas racket is to keep things as they are, giving massive windfalls to the large health care providers, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical companies, and when proces start to sky rocket, keep increasing the amount of money that those receiving the service have to pay ojut of pocket. Thats what he did in Vermont.

By the time Dean left the governors office, the Heralth Budget was eating up almost 2 billion dollars out of a 3.5 billion dollar state budget, but the number of uninsured did not decline significantly and the cost of medicine did not rise as much as the amount that the state budget did. What made up the difference. Dean cut payments that DOCTORS received for services rendered, but the insurance companies that processed the claims for the state got more money. Public Hospitals and Clinics kept having to pay more and more money to purchase drugs for their clients, but Dean did not make good deals to get the best discounts for bulk purchases of those drugs the state was buying. Dean doesnt want to make significant changes to the health care system. Why? Because Dean's campaignsin Vermont were priarily funded by insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and large health care provider corporations.

After South Carolina, Dean realized his ideas were just simplistic clap trap, superficial ideas to make people beleive he had done something, and making them think it could be done simply at the federal level, and started cribbing ideas from the other candidates and then patching them onto his own plan, in an obviously haphazard attempt to provide some REAL ideas, as he had none of his own, andhad never done anything in Vermont to actually come up with new system and new ideas to provide health coverage and in particular to keep costs low, without putting doctors who provide the services out of business:


Health Care
Howard Dean gives passionate speeches about universal health care as a moral imperative, not just a policy initiative. Maybe, somewhere deep in his heart, he really believes that people have a right to good health care. But we sure aren't going to get there following the path he took in Vermont: tiny increments -- adding insurance coverage for kids in moderate income families one year, cutting back their benefits and increasing their co-pays and premiums the next. Adding a prescription drug benefit for low-income seniors, then cutting many of the most commonly used new drugs out of the formulary and forcing seniors back onto older medications with more side effects. His national proposal is similar--not really universal: it would extend Medicaid to people under 25, add a little prescription drug coverage to Medicare, tinker with this, adjust that, don't do anything to upset the insurance companies or big Pharmaceuticals. Then, when the bill gets big, he would make the cutbacks in the same incremental fashion. For example, began by defunding eyeglasses for kids here, dentures for seniors there. You know, just a few cuts; after all, everyone has to do his share.
http://www.counterpunch.org/jacobs08292003.html

[Upfront]

12. Yawn