So ...... we've seen "the bill" gutted of all but one thng and now we're working on gutting that

[Stinky The Clown]

Ben "Just a Second There" Nelson is the last of The Fuckwads that wants what he wants.

Control over the National Uterus.

What the fuck? Right? Can't let the good be the enemy of the perfect, right?




I bet Viagara and all the wannabe Viagaras are still covered.

[wryter2000]

1. Show me the good

"The perfect the enemy of the good" assumes that we have something good. I don't see it.

Frankly, if I didn't get health care throught my employer, I'd be one of the ones getting fined. I wouldn't get a subsidy, and no way could I afford insurance the way these crooks run their racket.

[quiet.american]

6. Why wouldn't you get a subsidy? nt

[wryter2000]

8. I make too much money

They couldn't possibly subsidize a single person who makes over $45,000.00 per year.

I should be rich, right? I have one of those California house payments. After taxes and my house payment, I have about $1,000/month to live on. I'm not complaining. I'm making it.

Buuuuuuut, I'm 61 and have hypertension and arthritis. What kind of insurance could I get? Even if I could get a policy that covered only catastrophic illness, I'd still be paying for that AND my medications. No way could I afford that.

[quiet.american]

9. Ah, I see -- I make over that, too -- just a couple thoughts.

I make over $45k, too, and believe me, I know that that's not rich!

Even though I make over that, I was glad to see I would still be eligible even though I'm single, because I live in a two-person household, so my income still falls below the cutoff of 400% above poverty level - perhaps that would be applicable for you, as well?

If you didn't get coverage through your employer, I'm assuming it would be because of one or two scenarios: You're unemployed or your employer stopped offering health insurance.

If you're unemployed, I would think your income would probably dip to the level where you would come in under the 400% cutoff -- if it dipped to $43,000, or lower, you would be eligible for a subsidy.

If your employer stopped offering insurance, and you had to get it on your own, I'm not sure what the scenario would be, but what would apply in your situation would be that you would no longer have only the option of buying catastrophic-only coverage -- insurance companies would not be able to deny you coverage. There are those that say, that's fine, but they'll charge you up the wazoo for it, however, there are price-gouging regulations in the bill; you also couldn't be dropped from your coverage and there are out-of-pocket caps across the board that would keep insurance companies from just picking a number out of a hat to charge you.

Now, I know everyone thinks the bill is a P.O.S., and given that I don't know what will come out of the Senate in its latest version, they could be right and all this stuff could have been stripped out. Pelosi has said, though, that the House is not going to just rubber stamp the Senate version, and that it will not be the final word over the House version. So, I still have hope.

[Vinca]

2. It's getting so they might as well chuck the whole thing, bow down to the right

and pass tort reform, selling insurance across state lines and health savings accounts. Is there any hope at all this mess will be cleaned up by Pelosi?

[booley]

4. Not tort reform!

At lets not what the Cons mean by tort reform, which always ends up really being gutting what few safe guards are left.

Doing what the GOP wants on that front won't help I'm afraid. It won't lower costs at all.

Instead, states will lose any ability to control or deal with insurance abuses because companies will just base themselves in whatever state has the worst regulations.

We have done this before with other industries and it has never worked out well.

[aquart]

3. Kill the bill.

In lieu of killing the ones we really do want to gut. At least I do. I'm an extremely non-violent person with extremely violent fantasies born of helplessness and frustration. I will never storm the Bastille. But my ill-wishing is extensive.

For instance, I hope a large number of senators will avail themselves of the free Viagra to go fuck themselves.

[truedelphi]

5. Same here. n/t

[Laelth]

7. I'm wishing for an infestation of bedbugs (or a strong dose of bug powder).

As described here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=228x60453

:dem:

-Laelth