the new health bill?

[lori67]

Yes, Sheriff Joe is in Arizona.  I wonder if we can get him to run for President?  I'd vote for him! 

Liz, glad you mentioned your plan to escape to Antigua - I'd be mad if you went without me!   

Lori

[4cm in Pacific Northwest]

 Be careful, because their each over 2000 pages (2,310 and 2,409 respectively)..  

Not just an elephant but a HUGE herd...    It will take many many mice to examine that one...

Whoa I am completely overwhelmed... having me realizing the more I learn I realize the less I know... this is sooh incredibly daunting.    Now I understand why "layman's terms" are so hard to find. 

I am sorry I opened such a HUGE can of worms *...

DHM

* idiom defined
http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/opening+a+can+of+worms.html

[Jim Scott]

I am sorry I opened such a HUGE can of worms *

DHM ~

No apology necessary.  This new health care law is a huge change in our relationship with our government (and our doctors) and will affect every American, including AN patients.  It was worth discussing so I'm glad you brought it up.  Now, 11 pages and over 150 posts later, I trust it's been thoroughly vetted and we can draw our own conclusions (and make whatever travel plans we deem necessary).   

Jim

[leapyrtwins]

I absolutely LOVE Sheriff Joe.

Have seen numerous emails about him and his actions.  I think more law-enforcement officials and politicans should follow his lead.

America should get back to being America.

Jan

[sgerrard]

America should get back to being America.

But Jan, America wouldn't really be America if we weren't arguing about something. 

America has been at it all of my life, anyway, and long before that as well, judging by the history books. There is no surer sign of a free society.

Steve

[Omaschwannoma]

Pooter, thanks for the correction--I'm embarrassed but you let me down easy! 

Steve, yes we've had 'others' in our history of presidents whose terms have done more harm than good, but this one, I'm afraid, has taken the cake--and much more than that too!  Thinking we came out unscathed because of past history and problems is not true.  What was created long ago is now biting us in the a.. in a serious way.  What has come to pass with this obamination is nothing short of disgraceful. 

We as AN patients are considered 'high maintenance' and 'risky' with this new bill and our once-a-year MRI's, doctor visits are big ticket items.  Now, add that cost to (someone like me) a 2nd surgery and facing another due to dehiscence of temporal bone, the fact that I'm a woman (mammograms w/ultrasound) and in the high-risk category for breast cancer, the usual $$ spent at doctor's offices for 'wellness exams', audiology exams approx. 2 a year (I'm losing hearing in only ear), and let's throw in the one time visit to PCP.  I'm one of those expensive candidates, aging, already (according to the bill) over the gov. allowance every year that won't benefit, not to mention the doctor I need to do these risky surgeries is in another location.  Will this new bill allow me to continue seeing him?  They say yes, but his history is 'he' speaks with a forked tongue.  I have serious concerns about that.  I will not sit back anymore thinking "It will fine, just give it time." because nothing has been honest about 'his' term, why think all of a sudden this will change?  Too risky (our freedom) of a bet for me to take. 

.......walking away from podium (I didn't even need teleprompters!) to make sign for Tea Party gathering

[Soundy]

With AN history , lupus , genetic issues concerning bones and joints , I am not getting any younger and the list goes on I worry ... and I was already having issues with coverage and getting things paid before Obama was elected ... so can't blame stuff I fight on the health care bill ... just worried that as the letter in pay stub envelope that informs me that my pre-existing status may go on until 2014 is going to be proved correct and that July things won't get better for me ... bought privately the same policy would pick up after a year ... makes no sense to me ... I see it as insurance company using the bill as an excuse to continue to not cover me til they figure exactly what they can get away with ...  our go between with BCBS is doing some checking to see if them keep me and others in pre-existing status til them is legal ...

as for sheriffs ... I love our former sheriff  ... he stripped TV and computers  from jail cells , only 2 meals a day if you lay around doing nothing (breakfast and Super) ...turn heat down from 72 to 65 and passed out blankets ...in summer kept at 76 instead of the old 68 ... GED classes are still available , as are some other education opportunities if you want to take them ,...but work is done the old fashion ways ...books , paper and pencil... there is a library of paper backs to read from... 3 meals a day if you go out on road crew cleaning road sides (non violent , short term inmates) or work the garden (they grow their own fresh produce) ...everyone gets food grown from the garden but if you work it you get an extra veggie portion and lunch and super ...

2 sets of clothe ... you wear a jumpsuit 2 days ,swap and the women that work in laundry wash and return clean stuff next day and cycle continues

used to be a nice place to stay , AC in summer , Heat in winter , drink and candy machines , 24 hour phone , TV with cable and computers ...3 meals a day whether you earned it or not ....our jail isn't as full as it once was ... repeat visitors don't like the way he changed things ...he was elected as a state representative a couple years ago and new sheriff kept his plan in place ...saves county money and scares some straight when they learn that getting on a better path and fixing their life is better than staying in our jail


lets hear it for tough sheriffs

[Sue]

I guess we will all be in a Watch and Wait mode on the new health care.

Sue in Vancouver, USA


And I didn't have to write on my hand...

[Pooter]

Soundy,

According to Obama in his Maine speech today, being able to get coverage "this year" even with a pre-existing condition..  Obviously, I've heard different stories so I don't know which is true..

Brian

[leapyrtwins]

According to Obama in his Maine speech today, being able to get coverage "this year" even with a pre-existing condition.. 

Wow, Pooter you actually watched or read about this speech?

Every time the man comes on TV I change the channel and I also read very little of what he has to say.

Can't wait until his term is up.

Jan (just voicing my opinion) 

[Jayson]

If every time he comes on TV you change the channel and read very little of what he has to say, then how do you know for sure that you don't like him and can't wait until his term is up?  (Please don't take this as me flamming you; this statement just struck me as funny)

Look, I'm not a supporter of any political party or ideology; I'm definitly in the middle.  Having said that, I have, nor does anyone else have any idea what this bill will do in the long run.  I've read some pretty convincing evididence that it will not really fix the problems it says it will.  I think there is some pretty compelling evidence that our country can not afford (financially) a bill like this.

However, if this bill has the ability to help those who can't afford health care and they can now get treatments that they couldn't without the bill, and the cost (for me) is that my taxes go up,  I would be for it.  My personal financial desires pale in insignifcance compared to someone who is sick and can't afford to get treatment.  

I don't think anyone could tackle a subject like this and "hit it out of the park" on the first go around.  Like others have said, hopefully this will be just a first step in finding the solutions we need.  And if that means taking a step backwards to take two or three steps forwards, well.....I'm for that too.

[lori67]

Jan.

I'm with you - I change the channel when he comes on too.  However, I have done so to past presidents as well, so I'm truly a bipartisan channel changer.  I don't need to listen to all the fluff they put in their speeches that they don't actually write themselves anyway - just send me a memo with the main points, thank you.  And watching Pelosi, with that ever-present grin on her face makes me crazy!  I'm pretty sure she'd be smiling as she told you she just ran over your puppy.

Besides, I find our current leader sounds a bit condescending in his addresses to the nation and I feel those of us that pay his bills deserve to be treated with more respect, even if we don't agree with him.  I also go along with Dr. Phil's theory on how to tell if some people are lying - if their lips are moving, they're probably lying.   

Lori

[leapyrtwins]

If every time he comes on TV you change the channel and read very little of what he has to say, then how do you know for sure that you don't like him and can't wait until his term is up?

I don't live in a cave - just a house with a very costly mortgage that won't sell due to our wonderful economy.  Basically it's worth less than the mortgage I currently hold and I'm not alone in this.

I watch the news, have internet access, talk to others, etc. and know what's going on in the world.  If Charlie Gibson or Katie Couric want to tell me the news, great.  If Obama comes on, I change the channel.

Just to clarify, I had an open mind prior to the election.  I watched the debates, etc., and decided Mr. Obama wasn't the candidate for me.  I figured he'd be elected, but that didn't mean I was happy with it.  I don't like his policies, I don't like his politics, and I don't feel he's really qualified for the job.  On the other hand, he didn't run against a real stellar candidate either.

Like Lori, I'm a bipartisan channel changer.  And again, like Lori, Nancy Lugosi makes me crazy! 

While I'm all for those who are sick having insurance, I don't feel it should be up to me to fund their coverage.  Especially when we start talking about people who aren't even in our country legally.   I'm also opposed to my government telling me that I MUST have coverage.  Last I knew, America was a free country and we had choices.  This smells too much of dictatorship to me. 

I also feel that I pay my fair share of taxes - and then some - based on my income and I'm not funding my "personal financial desires".  I'm simply trying to survive and support myself and my children.  I work for everything I have - and I have since I was out of college - no one's giving me a free ride.  Why should I fund the free ride of others?

Not flamming either, just my thoughts.

Rein me in, Pooter - I'm starting to get a little "testy" here 

Jan

[grega]

Jayson, couldn't help but notice your post .... right in the middle of two thirds of the "JKL" trio.  Wow, that's a special place in my book!  

Anyway, some might consider what you suggest in your 2nd paragraph to be a "re-distribution of wealth" .... taking more and more of your hard-earned money outta your pocket and using it to make sure all who are deserving get proper medical care.  This might not be such a bad idea if Congress hadn't passed this bill, with all it unknowns, the way it did.

I agree with you in your 1st paragraph:  No one has "...any idea what this bill will do in the long run."  and  "...it will not really fix the problems it says it will."  and  "...our country can not afford (financially) a bill like this."

And re your 3rd paragraph, I agree again: no one could "...hit it out of the park on the first go around."  But this bill was shoved down your and my throats on the first go round by the Barry, Harry and Nanny show, without considering proposals from those opposed to the bill's content and consequences.  It had to be passed right away, by whatever means necessary.  Nanny Pelozzi said, "We have to pass this bill, so we can find out what's in it."

That's the height of ABSURDITY !!!!!!  (If you look in your Funk and Wagnalls for that word ..... guess who's pictured there .....   )

That's what the majority of Americans object to as the popularity of that trio (BHN .... not JKL) slips everso downward.

But, please  .... keep   -ing!

Greg

[ppearl214]

Not flamming either, just my thoughts.

well, we all know how I feel about flames around here..........

Rein me in, Pooter - I'm starting to get a little "testy" here 

Ask me... don't be getting all "testy" on me here!  

Let's all place nice in the sandbox, kiddies.....

Phyl