It is a stunning defeat. Here we'll go through the President's budget for health care as excerpted from its original text on the Whitehouse OMB website and all can refer to that text.
First, a blast from the past when President Obama was candidate Obama (with bold added to pertinent statements):
On September 06, 2008
Obama's Speech to the AARP Convention
Barack Obama (full text of speech is on the AAQT website)
Via Satellite
As Prepared for Delivery
Here's what he promised: ..."Now is the time to finally provide affordable, accessible health care for every single American - because you shouldn't have to worry about being one illness away from bankruptcy. If you like the health care you have, you'll see lower premiums under my plan. If you don't have health care, you'll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves."
And now, sadly we're seeing that Obama said anything to get elected. Gone are the words of 2007: Now is the time to finally provide affordable, accessible health care for every single American - because you shouldn't have to worry about being one illness away from bankruptcy. If you like the health care you have, you'll see lower premiums under my plan. If you don't have health care, you'll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves.
And in their stead we get the ridiculous billions thrown out in the budget of 2010:
The Budget establishes a reserve fund of more than $630 billion over 10 years to finance fundamental reform…” Apparently that's as far as the Republicans read because instead of noting the stupidity of the program where stupid is doing the same thing and expecting different results (stupid rather than insane is used here), Republicans have latched onto the $634 billion number. The same paragraph promises that "additional funding will be needed." Wow.
Doubling Money for Cancer Research: Provides for $6 billion for the NIH to "support cancer research," in addition to the "$10 billion provided in the Recovery Act". Who could be against cancer research? Uh, remember all the news about how oncologists are now going over people's insurance with them in an effort to let them know what they can afford in terms of treatment? Yes, that is the new approach by oncologists because if you can't pay, you don't get the treatment. So why support research for cures that will leave many unable to obtain such cures using everyone's money? This is a pet project, financing by all for the agenda of few. It's more of the same, we already have different QUALITY of health care available dependent on a person's ability to pay.
Accelerates the Adoption of Health Information Technology (IT): This one provides for more money, an unnamed amount to build "on the historic $19 billion investment in the Recovery Act....The Recovery Act offers physicians and hospitals participating in the Medicare program temporary incentive payments starting in 2011 for using a certified electronic health record...financial penalties starting in 2015 for failure to use such a system." We have already considered this pet project. Updating technology to produce online health records by providing INCENTIVES (= MORE MONEY) to dox using the system. Penalties for not using don't kick in for another five years (hmmm...next term?). Oh, but there's more: "INCENTIVE PAYMENTS to Medicaid providers, including physicians and children's hospitals, to assist with the purchase, implementation, and use of certified EHR technology." And why this pet project because of the EXPECTATION that they will save money as stated: “Computerizing health records--while protecting the privacy and security of personal health information--is expected to facilitate improvements in the quality of health care, prevention of unnecessary health care spending, and a reduction in medical errors.”
One question: HOW? Computer records that protect privacy...well, that isn't working out so well from retailer credit cards to bank accounts to online banking so is there some secret security that exists for medical records? Of course not.
Improvement of QUALITY of health care again, HOW? This is rhetoric, no explanation just nice words used to justify the expansion of government and dollars thrown at health care providers with the added benefit of pushing off any ACCOUNTABILITY on the part of the President until his NEXT term (if there is one).
Lowers Drug Costs and Improves Food and Medical Product Safety: Huh? "The Budget also includes a substantial increase to strengthen FDA's efforts to make food and medical products safer." No more said. Are you kidding? The FDA is a joke with the issues arising, so reward that agency with MORE MONEY? And remember that good guy Obama the candidate: "I will allow the government to negotiate with drug companies to lower costs for seniors, and we'll allow reimportation of drugs from other countries and ensure their safety, lowering costs for all consumers." Does that mean that those costs will go up because the FDA will now require funneling through their inefficiencies to get at those drugs so that the prices of imported drugs become closer to the outrageous costs of drugs we buy in the US?
Strengthens Program Integrity: "The Budget proposes to dedicate additional resources that will initially be targeted to improving oversight and program integrity activities for the Medicare Prescription Drug Program (Part D), Medicare Advantage, and the Medicaid Program.” Okay, now we're talking, anti fraud is a great idea. People getting rich off Medicare drug and provider programs, it's rampant. But ....what are the penalties? We the consumer are penalized every day for mistakes, omissions, imagined activities that cut into the dollars of others, yet the promise of more jobs in government to oversee these programs WITHOUT severe PENALTIES for failures both deliberate and negligent for such employees is merely more civil service expenses for taxpayers.
Provides Health Care Coverage to Low Income Individuals: by "temporarily increasing Federal Medicaid funding to help States facing budget shortfalls maintain their current programs." This one should have every citizen in an uproar. More money to states to maintain their CURRENT programs. That's just to help the newly unemployed or impoverished, it addresses covering MORE individuals but it does not address requirements that STATES in order to get their mitts on this money cover additional groups of individuals who exceed unreasonably low threshhold levels for ELIGIBILITY. It is not an expansion of the program which might assist those who put OBAMA in office, the young, the part time workers, it merely is designed to help increased numbers of unemployed in states.
And I've spoken enough about the stupidity of further funding of CHIP, Children's Health Insurance. Children are uninsured because their FAMILIES ARE UNINSURED.
Enhances HIV/AIDS prevention and Treatment: "increases resources to detect, prevent, and treat HIV/AIDS...especially in underserved populations...so much for THEIR PRIVACY.
Strengthens the Health Profession Workforce: $330 million to get health workers into certain areas for "...loan repayment programs for physicians, nurses, and dentists," we already have these programs. They require a certain number of years in underserved areas for help with paying for school for these "professionals" who are then free to overcharge in more lucrative communities for the rest of their careers. More of the same, how 'bout funding MBA's for guys who won't take $30 billion in bonuses for the first five years of their employment, will that really change the scenario, it's stupid.
Expands Access to Health Care for American Indians and Alaska Natives: More special legislation.
Supports Americans with Autism Spectrum Disorders: "$211 million in HHS for research into the causes of and treatments for ASD, screenings, public awareness, and support services."
Improves Rural Health "$73 million to improve both acces to and quality of health care in rural areas", in addition to paying for tuition for people who work in these environments. For Pete's sake.
Compares the Effectiveness of Treatments: This one is a McCain style proposal, if treatments are not perceived to be effective, why spend money on them...this means that if you're a bad risk and a treatment isn't considered best in terms of predicted outcome, you're out of luck, the treatment will be denied...Hardly fair to those who don't have those promised benefits that Obama has.
The other provisions are ridiculous throw aways: Head Start, Low Income Home Energy Assistance, Prevention of Teen Pregnancy, and the final section which generally Provides Support for Other Presidential Initiatives: including domestic violence, drug courts, reduction of health disparities....." There it is, a throwaway line without a dollar amount or a plan..."REDUCE HEALTH DISPARITIES", three words in the whole budget.
Obama's change is a promise of more expensive the same. A sad marketing device of "new and improved," at a higher cost. A betrayal of the promises he made as he gives into his own pet projects and personal agenda and campaigns on the "expectation" that maybe something will work but of course we won't know for FIVE years. Pathetic, disappointing, and while we couldn't support McCain's big business scenario, Obama has proven himself a no backbone politician, appeasing lobbyists and ignoring the bulk of Americans who voted for him.
Posted by Conoutofconsumer at 7:16 AM
Labels: Obama's Memory is SHORT
