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TPMDC Morning Roundup

New DNC Ad: "There's Something In It For All Of Us"
The Democratic National Committee has this new TV ad, a mostly positive spot on health care that will run on national cable and on local cable in New Hampshire, Montana, Colorado and D.C.:

"Health insurance reform means your family's care comes first -- not insurance industry profits," the announcer says. "Call Congress. Tell them when it comes health insurance reform, there's something in it for all of us."

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will depart from the White House at 11:15 a.m. ET, arriving at 12:40 p.m. ET in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and holding a town hall on health insurance reform at 1 p.m. ET. He will depart from Portsmouth at 3:20 p.m. ET, arriving back at the White House at 4:50 p.m. ET. He will meet at 5:30 p.m. ET at Sec. of Defense Robert Gates.

White House Adapts To New Playbook In Health Care Debate
The New York Times reports that the White House is making a decided effort to adapt to the nature of the health care debate. "There's a whole set of rumors that the old playbook would tell you not to do anything about because you draw attention," said deputy communications director Dan Pfeiffer. "The lesson we've learned is you ignore these rumors at your peril, and the right answer is to take them head on in as big a way as possible."

Dems Pick Candidate In NY-23 Special Election
Democrats have selected attorney and Air Force veteran to run in the special election to replace Rep. John McHugh (R-NY), a special election date has not yet been set, but it is expected to occur in the next couple months. Republicans have already picked state Rep. Dede Scozzafava as their candidate.

Cantor Tells GOP Team To Apply Pressure To Blue Dogs
House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) is urging his Republican colleagues to apply pressure to Blue Dog Democratic members of Congress, to oppose the health care bill. In an e-mail to his whip team, he told GOPers to tell Blue Dogs the "impact of a government takeover on their districts and constituents."

Crist Getting Lots Of Input On Who To Appoint to Senate
Gov. Charlie Crist (R-FL) is receiving a lot of advice on whom he should appoint to the state's Senate vacancy, with various people pushing their own favorite candidate for interim Senator. Said state GOP chairman Jim Greer: "I think the governor is going to probably ask for his staff to put a list together and he's going to either add names or take away names and I don't believe anyone has a step up."

Alaska Legislature Overrides Palin's Final Stimulus Veto
The Alaska legislature has overridden one of former Gov. Sarah Palin's final vetoes, in which she attempted to turn down $28 million in federal stimulus money for energy cost relief. This was quite a high bar -- in Alaska, a three-fourths majority is required to override a veto.


17 Comments

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Something for all of us? Well I suppose they can count more taxes, and less care, as "something". Tsk.

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Ooh, you are sooooo witty.

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I didn't know unemployed uber-trolls paid taxes.

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Well, well. Lying yet again. Who taught you that flat out lying is acceptable behavior? Seriously, someone utterly failed to teach you about critical analysis and critical thinking. You simply regurgitate what someone told you and what you want to believe with no basis in fact what so ever. Spreading lies and hate sure speaks volumes about where you are coming from. I do feel sorry for your family however.

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Why do you think they keep him confined to the basement?

Now if they'd only stop delivering his Mountain Dew and Cheetos...

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Limbaugh's Latest 'Nazi Blitzkrieg' Against Health Care Reform
http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=8160

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Go away, spammer....

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"The lesson we've learned is you ignore these rumors at your peril, and the right answer is to take them head on in as big a way as possible."

What he didn't say, but could have, is this: It wouldn't be necessary if the media did its job.

Ultimately, this is further evidence of the complete and utter worthlessness of the mainstream media -- and the risk this poses to our democracy and our society's ability to solve our problems.

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I was thinking the same thing.

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Ditto.

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+1

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The media wants high ratings, because higher ratings = more advertising revenue (and, in the case of cable, more subscribers), which is what pays the bills. Reporting these angry and violent outbursts, even if they do so out of context, gets viewers' and readers' attention.

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I was thinking less about reporting on the teabagger mobs (though it's surely part of this phenomenon) and more about the media's treatment of bald-faced lies (e.g., Palin, "death panels") as if they are serious charges.

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Those false accusations, even though they're false, are still attention-grabbing. Plus people pay attention to Sarah Palin anyway, even if it is just to observe another trainwreck. So the media plays it up.

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I remember a time when the MSM was a lot more helpful in separating truth from lies, fact from fiction.  (I believe they used to call it investigative reporting.)  Now what we've got is functionally little more than a bunch of stenographers.

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Teevee news is all about conflict. That's what sells the soap and keeps people from changing the channel to the Doughnut Network. If there isn't any, conflict, they invent it. If there is conflict, that's all they report.

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Misinformation & Correction :

1. Rationing & A long Line :

With the help of upcoming IT system, the concern of a long waiting list probably doesn't matter. And now that docs are liable for patient's outcome, no intervention in the final decision is allowed other than 'recommendations' for best practices.

In the government-run, single-payer Medicare program, enrollees choose their own doctors, receive care in a timely manner. Similarly, the public option can be viewed as extension of medicare, exactly speaking, an upgraded version of it.

2. Saving & low Quality :

Most part of savings is made up of weeding out such wastes as so called "doughnut hole" , the unnecessary subsidies for insurers, the duplicate tests and unproven sham level of treatments, abuse, exorbitant costs by the tragic ER visits and so forth. As president Obama noted, the analogy of insulation, weatherization would be appropriate.

With that in mind nearly two-thirds of the cost of reform will come from reallocating money, overall, the financial architecture is looking good.

And let me stress : If you are a physician, and your pay is dependant upon your patient's outcome, you will most likely strive to prescribe the best medicine available earlier in the process, let alone skimming the wasteful, unnecessary, and risk-carrying procedures.

3. Take-over ;

The runaway premium similar to the peak fuel price last year and left so many folks in despair insists on staying the course with the attitude 'unchanged', clearly this trend could bankrupt individual, business, and government. Now the government subsequently is tasked with these two main assignments, first, to address premium inflation, second, to expand coverage to all in urgent need.

In order to cover all and not to add to the deficit, the public option can not set the same rates of private market, rather, it needs to have BALANCING function to keep it in check in terms of INFLATION, too. Unfortunately, this 'unavoidable' direction is aggressively being accused by the runaway premium, citing government 'take-over' .

Under the circumstances the energy bill to determine human future and the other major issues are presently piled up, who wants to waste time making enemies ?, which also does not benefit the forthcoming election.

with the heartbreaking tears in mind (Nearly 11 Million Cancer Patients Without Health Insurance), private market also needs changes and should join together to complete this reform , as promised, otherwise, the runaway premium only has itself to blame while new firms are filling the void with competitive deals.
And It can be said that fair competition starts with a fair, sustainable market value.

However, Job-based coverage (indirect payment) and a limitation code over transfer, mandate code, and ample capital, reduced ER costs, IT base to streamline the administrative processes and trim costs might be favorable to the private market. Over time, supposedly, the public plan will concentrate more on basic, primary cares, and the private insurers will provide their clients with differentiated services.


4. Tax rise :

In the context the current health care wastes an estimated one-third – or about $700 billion – on unnecessary procedures, unnecessary visits to the doctor, overpriced pharmaceuticals, bloated insurance companies, and the most inefficient paper billing systems imaginable, health care reformers have often cited the system at Mayo Clinic as a model.

In modernized society, the business lacking IT system is unthinkable just like pre-electricity period, nevertheless, the last thing to expect is happening now in the sector requiring the most accuracy in respect to dealing with human lives. Apparently the errors by no e-medical records have spawned the crushing lawsuits, and these costs have led to the unnecessary tests, treatments, even further, more profits so far.

Thankfully, the pay for 'outcome' pack modeled after the system at Mayo Clinic is most likely to expedite the introduction of IT system, and the combined system is capable of shifting volume into quality in Medicare & Medicaid, thereby offsetting the 239 billions of estimated deficit, which is generated by $245 billions, the 10-year cost of adjusting Medicare reimbursement rates so physicians don’t face big annual pay cuts.

Supporters of the agreement say it could save the Medicare System more than $100 billion a year and 'improve' care, supposedly even a quarter of it might be enough to meet the goal of revenue-neutral. Moreover, in case this innovative idea applies to the public option, presumably it can lower the overall expense sharply, too.


And in respect to preventative program, surprisingly enough, the system today is designed around treating patients once they become sick, following 'spillover' and 'levee breach' , as too high level of preventable chronic disease accounts for it. By contrast, all of the excellent health systems seem to have one feature in common, an expansive, systematic preventative program demanding immense investments.

Some say the effect of preventative program is below zero compared with investments, or takes a long time even beyond next decade window, but if this program in the exemplary systems is disorganized, the odds are high that they will also face the same pressing need for reform in a few years. Like common sense, fire needs to prevent in advance or foil in early phase, and it would be the most cost-saving measure, in my mind.


Just like marriage, economy also undergoes up and down, however, economic downturn is not reflected in the employment-based system. The rising mental stress & 'keep eating habit' , which are the epicenter of a number of different diseases, might be traced to this insecure system and exorbitant premiums.
Once the health care reform provides the general public with peace of mind, the rising mental stress, obesity caused by the the deep-seated apprehension and exorbitant premiums may bend the curve surprisingly.
And reducing the tragic ER visits can lessen costs for the already insured, what's more, the balancing function of public option could mitigate fast-rising premiums.

I guess If the cost of the reform is an issue Americans take seriously, then all of the 'free' nations in the world should withdraw the existing public policy. Instead, it might be the 'will' of reform to end disgrace. Here is the hope, while the runaway premium wound up in the collapse of middle class ranging ' from finance to mental health' , alongside the peak fuel price and fast-growing mortgage rate, this time, clearly, the positive impacts involving massive job creation, promising stem cell research, several times more economic effects of 'from bed to work' , in return, will lead to economic recovery.


Thank You For Reading !

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