Guess they have coverage already! :shrug:
Ask yourself what you are going to do about it.
Do nothing, and you'll get nothing.
Do something, and even if you need nothing,
those who do will be eternally grateful!
On health care reform, networks highlight perceived setbacks far more than progressJuly 22, 2009 9:59 am ET
SUMMARY: In two studies, Media Matters documents that TV news networks have repeatedly given considerably more attention to perceived setbacks to progressive health care reform efforts than to events that signal progress for those efforts.
A Media Matters for America analysis of transcripts available in the Nexis database has found that broadcast and cable news featured almost twice as many segments mentioning the American Medical Association's (AMA's) reported opposition to a public insurance plan as segments mentioning the AMA's recent announcement that it supported the House Democrats' health care reform bill, which includes a public plan.
That finding is consistent with an earlier Media Matters study showing that the number of cable news segments in Nexis mentioning an initial Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of an incomplete version of a Senate health committee draft bill was far greater than the number of segments mentioning a later CBO analysis. That later analysis showed that an updated version of the bill would cover more people for less than the earlier scoring had suggested. Media Matters has also documented a pattern in which media suggest that President Obama's reform effort is in serious jeopardy, despite events -- including the AMA endorsement and revised CBO score -- that indicate reform efforts have made substantial progress.
Following the June 10 publication of a New York Times article reporting that the AMA "will oppose creation of a government-sponsored insurance plan," broadcast and cable news networks ran a total of 23 segments from June 11 through June 14 that mentioned or discussed the AMA's reported stance, according to a search of transcripts available in the Nexis database. By contrast, following the July 16 announcement by the AMA that it supported passage of the House Democrats' health care reform bill, the networks ran a total of 12 segments from July 16 through July 20 mentioning or discussing the AMA's endorsement:
http://mediamatters.org/research/200907220012 What's Wrong with the Media?Two different articles came out today on healthcare reform. One is in Politico and the other is in the Washington Post. They both do two things that are inexplicable and inexcusable.
First, the president's healthcare reform package is thrown into doubt in both articles. Will he be able to pass it? Is he floundering? Is this reform effort in trouble?
When you read the articles, however, you don't get any reason why these assumptions are made or these questions asked. There are no poll numbers to indicate that the American people want healthcare reform any less - or that they are more skeptical about Obama's version. In fact, we know the opposite is true. There have been many different polls that show the public is overwhelmingly in favor of Obama's version of reform, which includes a public option (for example, a CBS News/New York Times poll had 72% in favor and even a poll done by healthcare reform opponents showed 83% in favor of the public option).
Those are unreal numbers and indicate that Obama has the public clearly behind him on this issue. So, what does the media do? They write an article about how Obama is in trouble on this issue. Their evidence? He called a "hastily scheduled" press conference on Friday that Republican Senator Chuck Grassley was not in favor of. Are you kidding me?
But mainly they almost seem to rejoice in pointing out that he is having trouble getting some of his fellow Democrats on board. That is true. And that gets us to point number two. Throughout both articles, they credulously point to conservative Democrats concerns about how quickly this is all proceeding or how much the plan will cost.
Did it not occur to these reporters that some of these so-called conservative or centrist Democrats might be against this reform effort because their primary financial benefactors are the same healthcare companies that are desperate to kill this bill? Would it not have given the reader a better and more informed perspective to at least mention this possibility? Or do you want to just take these politicians at their word?
Look, we all knew the healthcare industry was going to try to kill this reform effort, especially the public option provision. How did you think they were going to do it? Did you think they would just walk up to the media and announce, "We have bought these six to eight senators and they will vote our way because we paid them."?
more....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/whats-wrong-with-the-medi_b_240652.htmlJuly 22, 2009
Truth Squad: Wall Street Journal Health Care Editorial Wrong on the Facts . . .That was the headline on a memo prepared by the staff of the House Education and Labor Committee and released by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office yesterday evening. The amount of misinformation circulating out there about the House bill is growing—I’ll be writing another post about this soon.
Clearly, the conservatives are running scared. It’s not surprising when a Wall Street Journal editorial offers a unique interpretation of what is happening in Washington. The paper’s editorialists are known for their distinct perspective on American politics. But now, they are resorting to outright lies. Below, the text of the memo:
"The Wall Street Journal ran an editorial today
that advanced false and misleading information regarding the House’s health reform bill, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200).
While most Americans are satisfied with their health insurance coverage now, most Americans are concerned that they will either lose their insurance or face staggering increases in premiums, co-pays or other costs. The America’s Affordable Health Choices Act is about giving all American families more choices of quality, affordable health care and the peace of mind that they will be covered with quality, affordable care no matter of their job or economic situation.
Claim: Workers won’t be able to keep health coverage they like because Washington bureaucrats will change what employers can offer.
In 2018, all employer-provided plans will have to meet the minimum standard benefit offered as part of the Exchange. These minimum benefits will be based on 70 percent of the typical health insurance plan offered by employers today.
More than 90 percent of all employer health insurance plans already meet or exceed these standards. Employers that do not meet these minimum standards will have until 2018 to meet the minimum standards.
Claim: Analysis by the Lewin Group analysis shows that 88 million of Americans will be thrown off of their employer plans.
The Lewin Group (a wholly-owned subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare) analysis was requested by the right-wing Heritage Foundation and has been widely discredited for its flawed review of the House legislation.
The House bill actually protects and increases employer-sponsored insurance. According to official CBO numbers, 2 million more people would be covered under employer-sponsored insurance than is projected to be the case today – 164 million compared to 162 under current law.
Claim: The House bill removes current law that prevents employee lawsuits over employer provided benefits.
The legislation does not change current law regarding lawsuits.
Claim: High deductible plans and health savings accounts will be illegal under the House bill
Nothing in the legislation prevents employers from offering health savings accounts. In fact, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, the average HSA today meets or exceeds the minimum benefits standards."
http://www.healthbeatblog.com/2009/07/truth-squad-wall-street-journal-health-care-editorial-wrong-on-the-facts-.html
January 05, 2009
the Media Derail Health Care Reform?By now you’ve probably heard the calls for speedy action on health care reform during the Obama Administration’s first hundred days. Some prominent observers even say that the President-elect should get the ball rolling during “his first days in office” The possibility of imminent health care reform is certainly exciting, but a word of caution: just because some of us might be ready for health care reform doesn’t mean that the media is ready to cover it properly. And that could have important implications for how reform plays out.
Right now, health care reform is an abstract goal that everyone wants. Excitement and anticipation are high. But as the substantive process of health care reform gets underway, two things will happen: first, ideas will be crafted into policies—concrete plans of action and complex administrative measures—and second, politicians will become involved in the reform process. Policy can get pretty complicated; so the public will rely on the media to help it navigate the ins and outs of the issue. Once politics begins to shape policy discussions—that is, once politicians enter the picture—it’s all the more important to keep the focus on policy, because it’s at this point that policies have a real chance of being implemented. Americans should know their options.
Style Over Substance
Unfortunately, reporters aren’t health care policy experts. In fact, they rarely ever talk about the issue. In a December report, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that, out of 3,513 health news stories in newspapers, on TV and radio, and online between January 2007 and June 2008, health care policy comprised less than one percent of news stories and just 27.4 percent of health-focused stories. Instead of talking about issues like coverage, prescription drug care, costs, or public programs, the media prefers to report on specific diseases and conditions (cancer, diabetes, obesity and heart disease) and potential epidemics (contaminated food and water, vaccines, binge drinking). Together, these two topics comprised 72.6 percent of health coverage.
This is less than ideal. When Congress begins to talk about health reform in earnest, the important news that will affect all of us will be about policy and institutional changes. The media needs to be good at covering this stuff—yet as the Kaiser report shows, news casters, reporters, and editors have very little experience (or interest) in discussing such issues. Worse, history shows that when health care reform efforts are actually underway, the media ignores policy in favor of more sensational stories.
http://www.healthbeatblog.org/2009/01/can-the-media-derail-health-care-reform.htmlMedia Matters: Charting a misleading course on health careJuly 17, 2009 9:26 pm ET
Nothing sends media conservatives off the deep end quite like the issue of health care reform. This week was certainly no exception.
This Wednesday on his nationally syndicated radio show, Fox News' Glenn Beck blew up on a caller who dared to challenge his unyielding, misleading war against health care reform. After patronizing the angry caller for several minutes, Beck "los
" his "mind," screaming at the caller: "Get off my phone you little pinhead!" Since then, the disturbing exchange has been burning up YouTube and is currently ranked the #5 video overall with more than 350,000 views. MSNBC's David Shuster and Tamron Hall even highlighted the clip as an example of how conservative "anger" has "intensified." Capping things off, Beck's screaming fit spawned a hilarious YouTube user-generated remix titled: "Glenn Beck 'Get Off My Phone' Radio Freak Out (Twilight Vampire Metal Remix)."
Coverage of health care, though, has been anything but funny of late.
This week, the Drudge Report, Fox News Channel, Fox Business and CNBC's The Kudlow Report ran with a chart released by congressional Republicans that day -- just one day after House Democrats introduced their health care reform bill -- that purported to show "the complex health care reform proposal by Democratic congressional leaders." The release from Rep. Kevin Brady (TX) about the chart, titled "BAFFLING FLOW CHART; Public Gets Peek at Complicated Bureaucracy in Democratic Health Care Plan," stated that the chart "depicts how the health care system would be organized at the national level if the Democrats' plan became law. These new levels of bureaucracy, agencies, organization and programs will all be put directly between the patient and their health care."
Fox News' Sean Hannity hosted Bill O'Reilly ambush-producer-extraordinaire Griff Jenkins, who described the chart as "Candyland," noting that "whatever it is, it's a lot of government between you and your doctor," while syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer, also on Fox, touted the chart by saying it makes the health care bill "look like an absurd Rube Goldberg device."
The conservative media's promotion of the House Republican chart harkens back to the media attention devoted in 1994 to a similar misleading chart -- distributed by the office of then-Republican Sen. Arlen Specter -- that then-Senate Republican leader Bob Dole claimed illustrated "what the health care bureaucracy would look like under" President Clinton's health care reform plan.
It really was a textbook example of how the right-wing noise machine operates. Media Matters produced a chart of its own documenting the media's web of misinformation on the subject, illustrating the disturbingly common pattern of conservative spin making its way from a Republican politician's press release to the Drudge Report to Fox News and other outlets on the right. Additionally, I discussed the subject as a guest on MSNBC Live noting, in part, that the conservative movement has been using the media to attack health care reform efforts for more than 70 years.
Not to be left out in the world of insane health care claims, an editorial by the conservative Investor's Business Daily actually claimed that the House tri-committee health-care reform bill includes "a provision making individual private medical insurance illegal." The claim is false, of course, but that didn't stop Rush Limbaugh, the Media Research Center or a host of other media conservatives from advancing the delusional line of attack on reform.
http://mediamatters.org/columns/200907170044 
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