Behold, the Power of Dems! By: Gregg Levine Tuesday March 16, 2010 8:45 am . . . The White House has the bill it really always wanted. They have their deals with PhRMA, AHIP, and the Hospitals more-or-less unbroken (despite some of their protest-too-much carping); they have their real goal in sight. The White House has their individual mandate--a law that will require those without coverage to buy from private health insurers under pain of penalty enforced through the IRS--they have their restrictions on drug re-importation and direct drug price negotiation still intact, and they have kept their word on the handshake deal that they made last spring with the medical industrial complex: no public option. They have the Big Insurance Bailout and Medical Industries Profit Protection Act of 2010. If BIBMIPPA doesn't sound good to you, it shouldn't. This bill will not provide universal coverage, it will not provide universal access, it will not significantly bend the cost curve, it will not prevent draconian escalations in premiums or out-of-pocket expenses, and, upon signing into law, it will not do anything at all for the large majority of the 48 million uninsured for another four years. What it will do is mandate an expansion of the customer pool for private insurance. What it will do is funnel taxpayer dollars into the coffers of the lobbying arms AHIP, PhRMA, and the various private hospital associations. What it will do is enrich and entrench the current powers-that-be at the expense of middleclass and poorer working Americans. What it will do is make future efforts at reform much, much harder. And for this, the Democrats have practically risen from the grave--and with the force of an army of hungry zombies, they will not stop until they have converted the whole village. And, today, it looks pretty much like they will. So, behold: Democrats can get things done. When everyone comes together and whips in one direction they can take on any foe--FOX News, John McCain. . . even Dennis Kucinich. . . .
. . .
The White House has the bill it really always wanted. They have their deals with PhRMA, AHIP, and the Hospitals more-or-less unbroken (despite some of their protest-too-much carping); they have their real goal in sight.
The White House has their individual mandate--a law that will require those without coverage to buy from private health insurers under pain of penalty enforced through the IRS--they have their restrictions on drug re-importation and direct drug price negotiation still intact, and they have kept their word on the handshake deal that they made last spring with the medical industrial complex: no public option.
They have the Big Insurance Bailout and Medical Industries Profit Protection Act of 2010. If BIBMIPPA doesn't sound good to you, it shouldn't. This bill will not provide universal coverage, it will not provide universal access, it will not significantly bend the cost curve, it will not prevent draconian escalations in premiums or out-of-pocket expenses, and, upon signing into law, it will not do anything at all for the large majority of the 48 million uninsured for another four years.
What it will do is mandate an expansion of the customer pool for private insurance. What it will do is funnel taxpayer dollars into the coffers of the lobbying arms AHIP, PhRMA, and the various private hospital associations. What it will do is enrich and entrench the current powers-that-be at the expense of middleclass and poorer working Americans.
What it will do is make future efforts at reform much, much harder.
And for this, the Democrats have practically risen from the grave--and with the force of an army of hungry zombies, they will not stop until they have converted the whole village. And, today, it looks pretty much like they will.
So, behold: Democrats can get things done. When everyone comes together and whips in one direction they can take on any foe--FOX News, John McCain. . . even Dennis Kucinich. . . .
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/35455 fairleft
i think this is an unnecessarily negative projection.
surely once the thin end of the change-wedge is inserted, people will realise that the old system is not set in recalcitrant stone, and this cog-diss about medicare-is-socialism-except-it-isn't will be put to bed.
i think in some senses it is one step backwards to go two forwards, and kucinich has made his point.
being too principled when it's time for compromise is inappropriate, imo.
it does leave a bitter taste though...
if the bill fails he can always re-adopt his old stance, bully for him.
this bill is so compromised most of its value is symbolic at this point, but as symbol it has great value, routing repugs where it hurts, and continuing the historicity of the obama era.
i may agree with you mostly, fairleft, but izzy's arguments are irrefutable. crumbs are preferable to no loaf... ~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
But rule by corporations hasn't been this comfortably in power since the Gilded Age. This health care profits act should tell everyone, "Don't expect any progress at all, expect regress usually, unless you scare the corporate rulers shitless or overthrow them."
And, yes, there are some good things about the bill, but overall, especially viewed at the dawn of the extreme deficit hawk mini-era, it will make things worse for most average and low income people. fairleft
The bill has become simply what the corporations concerned with medical care profits wanted.
yes, for now, in exchange for giving up more later.
the ideal for them, for sure, would be no change at all.
all these new clients corralled into their nets by legislation are not the ones they like the best, remember, lol. they'll have to do some serious contortions to try and look good and their actions and profit margins will be under greater accountability than now.
already the fact of their paying their CEO's almost 10 million $ a year plus stock options is causing more backlash, i imagine they will continue to be under the media spotlight from now on.
it's a less-worse solution, but it's better than defeat, which would be pretty devastating to morale at this point. i think of it as teasing them out into the sun, where how dark they are will become visible to all. at that point single payer has a much better chance, the insurance companies will have shown all their spots by then.
seeing him stumping for the bill now, i wonder why he waited so long to feel the fire in his belly. i haven't seen him so un-aloof since the presidential campaign.
when he puts on his populist hat, it's a fine thing to watch. pity it isn't glued on his head, but then it might have a target on its back too.
~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
