Stimulus II - How Many Republicans Will Bash HCR, While Claiming Credit For Its Protections?

[TomCADem]

Here are some of the immediate benefits of Health Care Reform:

1. Adult children may remain as dependents on their parents’ policy until their 27th birthday
2. Children under age 19 may not be excluded for pre-existing conditions
3. No more lifetime or annual caps on coverage
4. Free preventative care for all
5. Adults with pre-existing conditions may buy into a national high-risk pool until the exchanges come online. While these will not be cheap, they’re still better than total exclusion and get some benefit from a wider pool of insureds.
6. Small businesses will be entitled to a tax credit for 2009 and 2010, which could be as much as 50% of what they pay for employees’ health insurance.
7. The “donut hole” closes for Medicare patients, making prescription medications more affordable for seniors.
8. Requirement that all insurers must post their balance sheets on the Internet and fully disclose administrative costs, executive compensation packages, and benefit payments.
9. Authorizes early funding of community health centers in all 50 states (Bernie Sanders’ amendment). Community health centers provide primary, dental and vision services to people in the community, based on a sliding scale for payment according to ability to pay.
10. AND no more rescissions. Effective immediately, you can't lose your insurance because you get sick.

So, how soon before we hear Republicans walking into senior centers claiming credit for these immediate benefits while also demanding the immediate repeal of HCR whenever cameras are rolling? How long before we see Bobby Jindal like picture with Republicans accepting some senior group award for closing the donut hole?

[Duke Newcombe]

1. The same number...

...who denounced the stimulus bill, while posing for the camera with those big stimulus checks they handed out to their pet projects back home.

[4lbs]

2. They should be forced to pose holding up a placard that states "I voted NO on this!" along with

those big stimulus checks.