Deep in Health Bill, Very Specific Beneficiaries

[cali]

WASHINGTON — Buried in the deal-clinching health care package that Senate Democrats unveiled over the weekend is an inconspicuous proposal expanding Medicare to cover certain victims of “environmental health hazards.”

The intended beneficiaries are identified in a cryptic, mysterious way: individuals exposed to environmental health hazards recognized as a public health emergency in a declaration issued by the federal government on June 17.

And who might those individuals be? It turns out they are people exposed to asbestos from a vermiculite mine in Libby, Mont.

For a decade, Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, has been trying to get the government to help them. He is in a position to deliver now because he is chairman of the Finance Committee and a principal author of the health care bill.

<snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/health/policy/21healthcare.html?_r=1&hp

[FrenchieCat]

1. Is that supposed to be bad?

:shrug:

[Truth2Tell]

2. Just supposed to be secret, apparently. nt

[FrenchieCat]

5. Abestos and what it does was a secret much, much longer.......

[Truth2Tell]

I can't imagine anyone would suggest we shouldn't help

the victims of that.

So why do you think Baucus would hide this good thing deep in the bill? I have some thoughts, but I'd be curious to know why you think this was buried.

:shrug:

[FrenchieCat]

8. The lazy press is just now starting to read the bill.......

I'm sure they will come out with more headlines soon,
cause reading is fundamental.

[Truth2Tell]

9. Why didn't Baucus make this good news public himself? nt

[FrenchieCat]

11. Well, it appears that it was really, really specific.......

I didn't realize until I read it again that there is a time stamp on the Abestos Victims.

That's quite stupid.

[mdmc]

18. Why not let the free market help those people?

If it is good enough for them why not give it to the rest of us suffering from lack of health treatment (treatment, not insurance. Many of us have great insurance, we just cant afford to ACCESS treatment).

The people of Libby, MT probably have health insurance, it just won't get them decent health care treatment.

[cali]

3. No, it's supposed to be informative.

Do you dislike information or something? No? then why do you think I'm making a values judgment here? I'm not. I'm posting an informative article about the legislation.

[FrenchieCat]

4. Just asking?

Thanks for the answer.

[Chemisse]

6. I would say it is bad

It should not be specific to just one group of people in Montana. It should apply to anyone in any state who meets those same criteria.

[Truth2Tell]

7. Shhhhhhhhh! Geez,

I wanted to see if Frenchie could identify any problems with this without help.

[FrenchieCat]

10. Actually, my first post was "Is this supposed to be bad?"

I was hoping someone would just give me an answer,
instead of trying to "trick" me.

Next time, I won't ask any questions, considering.

[Truth2Tell]

12. Can you see how someone might assume your question

was rhetorical? And that you were suggesting this was in fact good? If your question was straight-forward then I misinterpreted. Questions like yours are far more often rhetorical on DU than straight-forward, in my observation.

[FrenchieCat]

13. I read Abestos, and was trying to figure out why helping victims of such was

an issue.

When I realize that my question was not being dealt with literally,
I read again what the article stated, and saw a specific date.
Next time, I'll just try and read more carefully. It was my bad in the end.

[Chemisse]

20. Ahh that explains it

Yeah the specific date is ludicrous. Perhaps the NY senator should add health care for those affected by 9/11. Maybe there should be a whole list of specific situations that will allow health care to be funded!

[mmonk]

19. That is why it is secret. It's a pork bill, not a health care bill.

[dkf]

14. You can't trust our legislators to treat people fairly.

They only want perks to say they brought home the bacon on our dime. This system is rotten

[cali]

15. I actually do trust all three of my reps in D.C. They've earned it.

[dkf]

16. My senator spent his political capital funding some

Jewish school for who knows what reason. My rep got some tax exemption for One of the big estates here. Generally they vote the way i want them to but I don't like these special favors.

[mdmc]

17. The free market works as well in Libby, MT as it does in the rest of the USA

:mad: