Ian, could you be more specific? Exactly what that has been proposed or which you forsee results in people standing in line waiting for surgery? What precedent in Medicair or Medicaid leads you to believe this?

Disclaimer: my family received all of our health care directly -- not indirectly through funding, unless direct care was unavailable or inadequate -- from the federal government. My husband retired from the military when our kids were in junior high and high school. Both kids were delivered in More...

Terry,
I thank you for your comments...I find that often we are mislead by unsubstantiated, scary stories which have been fed by those who only wish to undermine any change that is not directly beneficial to them.
I certainly don't see any evidence that "the government" will be in More...

Unfortunately, Republicans are bent on preventing the prez from carrying out any of his plans, including blocking confirmation of all his proposed appointments to the federal judiciary. They're doing a good job of it -- clogging bills and appointments in committees and not allowing anything to come More...

Terry....It seems we are v






















































Terry..
.It seems as More...

Sorry that the last comment is so out of kilter....hopefully the thought is understood. Terry...as you say..The beat goes on....However, Hope springs eternal!

You're right about the silent majority. It did finally sit up and show up at the polls, which is why BO got elected. Unfortunately, the view is very common that the programs he espouses are only supported by the minority. Ian, you said it yourself: only 10% want the health care plan he proposes. In More...

Here's the thing, Mamacita. During Georgeo Bush's second presidency, there was a tangible national malaise. Everyone I knew felt helpless and hopeless. Then BO was elected. Now the far right is so radical and hte rhetoric so vial, I woke up yesterday after a bad dream thinking Obama was dead, and More...

I think that would be "vile" and not a small flask.

Terry, If I had answers to what you ask, I'd be a rich woman. The Democrats don't seem to know how to fight for the very issues that they propose....while the Republicans don't seem to be attracted to anything far beyond power itself! I would love to see a VIABLE third party which would be More...

M- I couldn't agree more with your statement that "the Republicans don't seem to be attracted to anything far beyond power itself!" I keep reading about concerns and strategizing within the party to take back control of Congress, etc., etc., but they have no agenda other than stopping More...

hey Terry, sorry..but wanna bet on it?????
I saw there is a proposed meeting to 'take back this great country of ours'...from what? a democratically elected government????

Ain't that just too much?

How many times do they have to be told: "You lost!"

If it wasn't so sad, it would be funny....

Public option out but step one toward single payer? Dropping age for Medicair eligibility seems like a move in that direction.

So the bill failed which would have allowed the import of cheaper Canadian and European drugs. And the Medicair extension and public option are gone. What the heck IS in the bill Obama is pushing Dems to get passed?

Not much by the sound of it!

So! If I get this right...1 healthcare bill has been passed by the Congress, another different bill has been passed by the Senate....neither satisfies any of the disparate sides in the debate?????
Welcome to Politics 101....

Congress has two branches: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House passed a bill and sent it to the Senate which either rewrote it or wrote their own, which now goes back to House. The House can either pass it or send it back to the Senate with revisions, where all heck breaks out More...

So, any updates since Dec? or has the topic faded into obscurity?

It's no longer a policy debate, Mary. It has become a partisan battlefield.

It's too bad...legitimate improvements, like portability, tort reform, and anti-trust exemption have just evaporated in the dust of conflict.

That's a problem with a 2 party system, too often it degenerates into an oppositional stance, and any worthwhile compromise is lost. We have had that here, recently, when an opposition leader was dumped by his party because he agreed with the Gov. The new leader's take is that however right the More...

Agreed, Mary. To suggest that people should be separated into two broad, exclusive camps is absurd. I prefer the parliamentary system immensely.

Our system, unfortunately, has degenerated to the point where we no longer have two political parties with differing philosophical More...

So, I gather it has passed...any comment from anyone directly affected?

Forgive my ignorance but what is tort reform?

Mary it seems feelings are running high on this subject. I guess there is no easy anwser.

Hello, G. Tort reform would place a cap on liability for malpractice, or otherwise limit damages for other than gross negligence or worse. In this country, juries sympathetic to plaintiffs with very expensive medical issues resulting from no real fault of the doctor have very often found More...