Medicare Part E – “Everybody”

[proud2BlibKansan]

by Thom Hartman

The President this morning admitted on national television that he lost control of the message with health care. It’s time to reboot – and use a very, very, very simple message so all Americans can understand it.

Let’s use Medicare, which nearly every American understands. Just create “Medicare Part E” where the “E” represents “everybody.” Just let any citizen in the US buy into Medicare.

It would be so easy. No need to reinvent the wheel with this so-called “public option” that’s a whole new program from the ground up. Medicare already exists. It works. Some people will like it, others won’t – just like the Post Office versus FedEx analogy the President is so comfortable with.

Just pass a simple bill – it could probably be just a few lines, like when Medicare was expanded to include disabled people – that says that any American citizen can buy into the program at a rate to be set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) which reflects the actual cost for us to buy into it.

Thus, Medicare Part E would be revenue neutral!

more . . .
http://www.thomhartmann.com/2009/09/09/medicare-part-e-%E2%80%93-%E2%80%9Ceverybody%E2%80%9D/

[Ineeda]

1. Exactly! n/t

[endless october]

2. yep. n/t

[area51]

3. To the Greatest Page with you. (n/t)

[Ruby the Liberal]

4. And add to that, no insurance reform

Let them keep playing the wild-wild west with their rates and policies and see them slink into oblivion within 5 years as every thinking individual in the country jumps ship.

[Coyote_Bandit]

5. Many

of the uninsured/underinsured still will not be able to afford Medicare Part E.....

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. The disabled can afford Medicaid

This could work the same way.

[Coyote_Bandit]

9. Sure they can

Because they receive disability benefits.

I didn't see any mention in the OP which suggested that the uninsured/underinsured should receive any kind of subsidy to enable them to be able to afford Medicare Part E.

Nor did I see any suggestion that rates ought to be made affordable.

Folks with full-time jobs live in homeless shelters these days. Hell, entir families with two full-time working parents live in homeless shelters.

A $500 monthly premium might be a great rate for a late 50's diabetic male with significant heart disease. But that doesn't matter if he cannot otherwise be self supporting and meet his financial obligations.

Simple fact is that Amerikkans as a whole are greedy fucks that do not want to help those who are less fortunate and less able to care for themselves. Fend for yourself. Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. Be independent and take care of yourself. The strongest and fittest survive and thrive. You are on your own. It is your responsibility to provide and take care of yourself. If you can't well that's just too bad.




IMHO there will not be any meaningful healthcare reform from this administration. And likely not during my lifetime. Hell, the sorry bastads we've elected were not even willing to consider evidence regarding all the possible reforms. That means there is no way they can made a fully informed decision.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. My sister is disabled

She is on Medicaid and it doesn't cost her a dime.

[Coyote_Bandit]

11. Medicaid is one of the ***BENEFITS***

made available to those who are deemed disabled by an administrative court proceeding - assuming the disabled person meets the other requirements to receive such a benefit of course.

Being found disabled does not guarantee one will receive Medicaid.
http://coloradobiomass.org/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1229570913222&ssbinary=true

There is a waiting period for the disabled to get medical benefits:
http://www.disabilitysecrets.com/will-i-get-medicare-medicaid-with-disability.html

Those medical benefits can come with co-pays - and an otherwise qualified recipient can be disqualified if they own assets that generate income:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/Medicaidgeninfo/

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. So it needs to be made more affordable

If you click on the link and read the article, Hartman does have suggestions for how to do that.

[Cetacea]

15. Disabled people on SSDI automatically receive Medicare.

However, there is a two year wait. For low income people the state where they reside in covers the cost of the (currently) $90 premium.

Disabled people who never worked do not get Social Security Disability (SSDI) but rather Supplemental Security Insurance, or SSI. These people have a fairly certain chance of receiving medicaid but only if they at in the poverty level. They do not receive Medicare.
The way it is set up now, people receiving $9oo a month would not be eligible for medicaid!



The idea to extend Medicare to all is a just one. And naming it Part E (for everybody) is brilliant.
I am fairly certain that the poor would not have to pay anything to receive it.

[Uncle Joe]

6. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, proud2BlibKansan.

[leftstreet]

7. K&R

[BrklynLiberal]

13. Thom Hartmann is incredible.....I would like to see more of him on the

media. Perhaps Rachel or Keith would have him as a guest...frequently.

[WolverineDG]

14. I´ve been arguing about this on Facebook

pointing out that if you still want to be gouged by a private insurer who doesn´t give a damn if you live or die, you can.

dg

[eomer]

16. This will kill Medicare.

Healthy people will have no reason to share in the cost of the care of sick people. Healthy people will choose to stay uninsured and save the money they would have spent on health insurance and spend it instead on flat screen TVs and other fun stuff. Then when they come down with a major illness they will opt in.

And then Medicare will fail. Because the cost of healthcare for those who come down with major, catastrophic illnesses must be spread broadly across everyone, including those who will never come down with one. Otherwise the cost is much to high for people to afford.

The key issue here is the elimination of the pre-existing condition exclusion, which almost everyone is in favor of. Once you do that then you basically have to mandate universal coverage; there's no way around it.

Medicare Part E will work great if it is mandatory for everyone. If it is optional it will fail.

[flyarm]

17. Pelosi Says “F*&k You” to Trumka and the AFL-CIO

oh like this message?????????

who is kidding who here..are people really this gullible that they think there is ever going to be real health care reform in this nation when the pres does deals with those fucking us royally???????

read this full article..i dare you to ..

Pelosi Says “F*&k You” to Trumka and the AFL-CIO
By: Jane Hamsher Saturday September 26, 2009 11:17 am
please read this in it's entirety............
http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/09/26/pelosi-says-fk-you-to-trumka-and-the-afl-cio/
snip;

It's notable that among the Change to Win unions, only the Teamsters came out against the Baucus bill. (Whoever sold Hoffa on ditching the public plan is no doubt talking fast and trying to explain why he is now being kicked in the face.)

Incoming AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has been outspoken in his insistence on the inclusion of a public option in any health reform bill, and has threatened to withhold support from Democrats who won't vote for it. Over the past week there was a lot of winking in reports that the White House was leaning on progressive groups to drop their support for the public option. It absolutely did happen, but the use of the word "groups" is probably misleading -- the organization they are talking about, the only one that matters, is the AFL-CIO.

Since other unions outside the AFL-CIO are working the yo-yo on the trigger, Trumka is the lone holdout. He's the mainstay, and there is tremendous pressure building within the AFL in response to arm twisting from the White House for him to cave. And if he falls, it's going to be difficult for the rest of the veal pen not to follow suit. So, he's being directly threatened.

The message is clear: "Get in line or we pay for your precious 'public option' by fucking you on health care benefits."

If Trumka suddenly starts singing the praises of triggers (even if they instantly "yo-yo" it back and insist he was misquoted), you'll know it worked.

[flyarm]

18. Chamber Of Commerce Attacks Schumer’s Public Option Amendments

Chamber Of Commerce Attacks Schumer’s Public Option Amendments
By: Jon Walker Friday September 25, 2009 1:52 pm http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/09/25/chamber-of-commerce-attacks-schumers-public-option-amendments/

Live Pulse has a letter from the US Chamber of Commerce attacking four amendments that have yet to be voted on in the Senate Finance Committee. (Rockefeller C1 – Applying new rating rules to the large and self-insured (ERISA) market, Schumer C1/C2 – Public Option Amendments, Wyden C1 – Healthy Americans Act)

The Chamber attacked the two public option amendments from Schumer, but did not bother to mention Rockefeller's more robust public option amendment. The letter indicates that the Chamber must believe that Rockefeller's robust public option is already DOA.

The fact that the Chamber did feel the need to publicly go after the two Schumer public option amendments at least leads me to believe that they have some concern that the amendments might have a chance in the Senate Finance Committee or on the full Senate floor. The lobbying on both sides of the public option issue should get very heated over the weekend.

[tomp]

19. sorry, that's too simple.

doesn't thom hartmann know how complicated u.s. politics has to be if corporatism is going to survive.