Here's the letter from the 40 Blue Dogs to Pelosi and Hoyer with gripes about health care reform.

[madfloridian]

The names are there in cursive, hard to read. Still trying to figure them out. PDF format.

Blue Dog letter to Pelosi and Hoyer

The names I can make out are Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Baron Hill, Parker Griffith, Lincoln Davis, Jason Altmire, Frank (?) Childers, Leonard Boswell, Allen Boyd, John Salazar, Ben Chandler, Michael Michaud, and Bobby Bright.

Out of the 40 names I count, those are all I can read.

I can not copy paste from the pdf, so you will have to read the letter.

Edit: Found a little from Think Progress about what is in the letter, so I don't plan to transcribe.

In a letter to Speaker Pelosi, the conservative “Blue Dog” members claimed that they are concerned about the cost of the health care bill:

Paying for care reform must start with finding savings within the current delivery system and maximizing the value of our health care dollar before we ask the public to pay more. <…>

The discussion draft fails to include adequate structural changes that will succeed in lowering costs and increasing value.

But the letter also comes out against a public plan, which is one of the primary tools to rein in health care costs over the long-term. The letter complains, “‘A Medicare-like’ public option would negatively impact hospitals, doctors and patients…using Medicare’s below-market rates would seriously weaken the financial stability of our local hospitals and doctors.”

Igor Volsky notes there’s “an inherent contradiction” in this letter: the Blue Dogs want to find more savings within the system, but they’re also asking that the bill spend more.

Fortunately, there is at least one “Blue Dog” member who understands this contradiction and is willing to break from her coalition to support a public plan. On MSNBC this afternoon, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) said, “I am one of those people who believes that we should be required to have a public option because it will bring the costs of health care down.”

Think Progress

[wryter2000]

1. Sanchez is a Blue Dog?

:wow: I had no idea.

[hfojvt]

5. here's the list

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Dog_Coalition

I see Dennis Moore's name on the letter too, at the end, and it is Travis Childers. There are 53 in the coalition by my count. So 13 of them did not sign the letter.

As far as the lower payments of the public option. Do hospitals and doctors lose money on their medicare patients? If not, then it seems like getting another 40 million patients would be a net positive, even if they are not paying as much as normal insured patients would pay.

[frylock]

9. loretta is, but not linda..

Loretta is the BSC Sanchez sister.

[wryter2000]

23. Thanks

I don't normally think of Blue Dogs as coming from around LA, especially if she has a cousin (or are they sisters?) who isn't.

:hi:

[SemiCharmedQuark]

11. Wait, I thought I read that Sanchez was open to a public option...?

[flpoljunkie]

14. She is. Thinks it's necessary to bring down the cost of health care.

Fortunately, there is at least one “Blue Dog” member who understands this contradiction and is willing to break from her coalition to support a public plan. On MSNBC this afternoon, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) said, “I am one of those people who believes that we should be required to have a public option because it will bring the costs of health care down.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/10/blue-dog-principles/

[SemiCharmedQuark]

16. Thanks for the link! I was looking for that

[flpoljunkie]

18. It came from the OP.

[RaleighNCDUer]

2. What is the 'market rate' for bypass surgery?

When hit by a massive coronary, who asks how much it will cost and request a transfer to a cheaper hospital, or ask for a surgeon who is running a two-for-one special?

WHAT THE FUCK?

[hfojvt]

7. well Blue Dogs have to look out for the hospitals and insurance companies

The fear is that with a public option that somebody like me, who is paying $5500 for health insurance would switch to the public option for $4000. Except that public option would not pay my doctors and hospital as much as my insurance company did. So my poor doctor might have to forego one of his trips to Hawaii, and we cannot have that. It's UNAmerican!

[busymom]

13. Your poor doctor?

The one that maybe got up at 2am, came in and saved your life after your major coronary? The one who went to school for 8 years and in the case of surgery after a major coronary worked for peanuts for another 7 years or so as a resident and fellow where he or she had to work 100+ hours/week learning how to ... save your life? That poor schumck? You aren't possibly suggesting that you don't want to have the surgeon who saves your life be well-compensated so that he/she has an incentive to go through all of those hard years of training? What difference does it make to you if the surgeon rewards himself and his family with a trip to Hawaii to relax and unwind (and stimulate the economy in Hawaii a little) before coming back to go running to the hospital at 2am all over again? In all likelihood, that surgeon is taking that money and throwing it into savings for their child's college because after paying the most possible in taxes, they won't be eligible for much if any financial aid for their kids.


What I hear people saying is: I want doctors to go to medical school and accrue $150,000 plus in debt, work 80+ hours/week for 3-9 years afterwards, come in and see me if I (or my child) is sick even if it is the middle of night....and I want them to pay as much possible in taxes..those bastards...to pay more for healthcare for others. I don't want them to earn much money because it isn't fair to me.

Forget the fact that our plumber earned more than our pediatrician last year. Where is the poutrage over that?


Health care is important for everyone and I believe it is a basic human right, but....it does cost money and most of it is not because of the physicians. A huge issue is unnecessary testing and procedures. This would be virtually eliminated by tort reform. Patients can sue over every fart and they do....so doctors are forced to order unnecessary MRIs, CT scans, etc. Patients come in and demand medications that they see on TV etc instead of accepting the generic. In America, we WANT. We want private rooms, TVs in our rooms, nurses to answer the call buttons within a few minutes of us buzzing, procedures scheduled as quickly as possible, etc. If less money comes into the system then that will mean scanners and possibly even hospitals that shut down. As it is, it is projected that there won't be enough primary care physicians in the coming years. It's already a problem. What happens then? Can you really expect someone to go to med school and stomach all of the training and not be compensated for the grueling work? I don't think so.

[Doremus]

15. .

"You aren't possibly suggesting that you don't want to have the surgeon who saves your life be well-compensated so that he/she has an incentive to go through all of those hard years of training?"


Once upon a time doctors went through hard years of training because they wanted to help people.

It was a calling.

Now, sadly, all too often it's the sound of the ka-ching that does the calling. :(

[busymom]

17. Oh Come ON...

For many of these people it is still a calling....but are you telling me, Doremus that you would work at your job for less money simply because you feel called to do it? If your boss told you that he needs you to work 75 hours/week at your job but keep your same salary, would you suck it up because what you are doing is worthwhile even though it means less free time, time with your family, etc? Working with sick people is incredibly demanding and exhausting and most of the doctors that I know are extremely committed. My husband calls and checks on his patients even WHEN he is on a vacation...which...btw...has only happened once in the last 15 years of marriage. When he takes time off, we almost never go anywhere for more than a couple of days. You want to have a committed doctor...one who will come to the hospital at 2am to treat you with a smile on his face....but...you want him to do it out of just the goodness in his heart?

Do builders build homes because they feel called? Should we cut their salaries? Should we cut the salaries of nurses, teachers ... anyone who earns more than us? How fair is that?

Seriously...our plumber earns more than our pediatrician. Should I let him do the work and then say "you know what...I just won't pay that much. It's not fair."

A calling is one thing...but hard work and education should also be well-compensated.

[hfojvt]

26. boy, doctors have a rough life, eh?

It's practically like being homeless. Everybody sing along 'it's a hard knock life'.

I have no idea how doctors live, only getting as close as an eye doctor. One who seems to be a bit of a pompous ass who has a fair amount of money and is extremely conservative in spite of his high intelligence.

High health care costs is because of the physicians according to Dean Baker. At least partly.

"The basic story of the U.S. health care system is that prices are inflated by enormous rents everywhere. Our doctors get paid twice as much as doctors in Canada, Germany, and elsewhere. (I know, they will all work as shoe salespeople and custodians, if we cut their pay.) We pay twice as much for prescription drugs as everyone else. And we throw 15 percent of our health care expenditures in the garbage, paying insurance companies to deny people care."

GD then posted with a defense of doctors, to which 'liberal' replied (in the comments section)

"gd wrote, It's pretty difficult to ask doctors to cut their salaries when they put in 10 years of schooling and training (after undergraduate college taking 1/3rd of their schedule in pre-med courses and the pressure of getting all "A's") and typically owe $300k...

Yes, but aside from the point that the government could just subsidize most of that tuition, a large fraction of that money is just more economic rent, of the kind that Dean discusses."

and also

"gd wrote, Given the rigors of being accepted to med school...

Yes, but much of that "rigor" is just a system designed to limit the number of MDs, to drive their salaries up."

Physicians ARE part of a system which limits the number of physicians and creates barriers (such as tuition and scholastic rigor) to becoming a physician. The purpose of that system to perpetuate a shortage which keeps incomes up.

We need to do something on the supply side too.

[busymom]

28. LOL

You're right. Let's not make it rigorous or hard work at all to become a doctor. <rolls eyes>

Being a doctor isn't like practically being homeless, but as someone who has lived pretty close to the homeless place myself and had to work very hard to pull myself out of it (and who volunteers in the community, gives back and votes dem) I will say that we all have choices to make too that impact our lives.

No one should be denied access to lifesaving chemotherapy, surgery or medication in my oh-so-humble opinion. Blaming those who are more successful than we are? I can't hop on that train. I don't begrudge Bill Gates his money anymore than I do my friend who just inherited a boat load from a distant relative. I feel in my heart that it is important for us as a society to take care of everyone....especially those who can't help themselves. At the same time, I think we all have to chip in and this ranting about doctor's salaries is something I am so OVER. If someone works hard to be successful, then f***ing hell...more power to them. Isn't that the dream? Dishwasher to Millionaire?

[Freddie Stubbs]

22. Most hospitals are non-profits

[Vincardog]

3. The more people covered by a single payer system the cheaper the whole system is for everyone

[madfloridian]

4. Here's the Blue Dog letter from the horrible bankruptcy bill in 2005

This is the letter they wrote to Hastert in 2005 to beg him to bring the bill to a vote.

http://www.abiworld.org/pdfs/bluedog.pdf

So how did that bill work out for those in bad economic crisis? Not so good.

Might help with a few of the 40 names. These names are in type.

Jim Matheson
John Tanner
Jim Cooper
Allen Boyd
Dennis Cardoza
Lincoln Davis
Steve Israel
David Scott
Stephanie Herseth
Ed Case
Leonard Boswell
Ken Salazar
Ellen Tauscher
Marion Berry
Sanford Bishop
Bud Cramer
Collin Peterson
Jim Costa
Mike Thompson
Harold Ford, Jr
Dennis Moore
John Barrow
Mike Ross
Mike Michaud
Joe Baca
Jane Harman
Mike McIntye

[rateyes]

6. I recognize Jim Marshall's signature.

POS, Dino. I'm glad I didn't vote for that rat bastard.

[kath]

8. Corporatist assholes.

[madfloridian]

10. Igor Volsky writes more at the Wonk Room about their demands.

Volsky was one of the co-authors of Howard Dean's book on health care. Think Progress blog has done a good job of keeping up with the Blue Dogs on this issue.

http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/07/10/blue-dog-letter/

"More importantly, the letter contains an inherent contradiction: the Blue Dogs want to find more savings within the system — they’re asking for Delivery System Reforms and “maximizing the value of our health care dollar” — but they’re also asking the bill to spend more on rural health and physician reimbursement. And they are reluctant to support any legislation that moves us towards that goal, causes providers to lose revenue, or regulates the system to improve efficiency."

[SemiCharmedQuark]

12. This is a great link! Thanks!

[Cleita]

19. I guess they don't pay attention to the people whose vote gets them into

office. I think MoveOn should target the districts of those turncoats with their ads.

[madfloridian]

20. DFA just called...I can not say no when they call about health care.

We donated again and always will for Dean and that group.

[flpoljunkie]

21. The Hill: 'Many Conservative Dems oppose a public option as unfair to private insurers.'

(Conservadems, you are going to have to decide if you are going to stand with the American people or with the insurance companies.)

Band of House centrists offers support for ‘robust’ public health insurance plan
By Mike Soraghan

Posted: 07/09/09

A band of 22 New Democrat and Blue Dog lawmakers say they support a “robust” government-run health plan, boosting chances of moving healthcare reform with a public insurance plan through the House.

Democratic centrists remain the biggest obstacle to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) ability to pass a healthcare bill with a public plan, and many conservative Democrats oppose a public option as unfair to private insurers.

But the letter from the 22 New Dems and Blue Dogs indicates opposition from this group is far from universal.

“We have a broader coalition to pass this than what was assumed before,” said Rep. Lois Capps (Calif.), a New Democrat who circulated the letter supporting a public option with Rep. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). “While we may belong to a more moderate branch, we want it known that we support the public option.”

The 20 New Democrats on the letter represent nearly one-third of the 68-member caucus. It is signed by two Blue Dogs and three members who are both New Dems and Blue Dogs.

more...

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/band-of-house-centrists-offers-support-for-robust-public-health-insurance-plan-2009-07-09.html

[The Magistrate]

24. These People, Ma'am, Will lose Their Seats If they Keep this Up

They are completely mis-reading the politics of the matter. People voted for them over their Republican opponent because they wanted them to support President Obama's initiatives. If instead they obstruct these, they will lose every swing voter they got....

[Rosa Luxemburg]

25. so they want everyone to use the emergency room?

how many million do we spend on ER care of primary care patients.

[NYC Democrat]

27. did they really have to do this at the last second right when the bill was supposed to be released??

[Pushed To The Left]

29. That's my Congresswoman! I was so glad when I heard she's on board for the public option.

Single-payer would be better, but the public option is a step in the right direction and is CRUCIAL to true health care reform.