Update: Video – GOP wants gag order removed; CBO tells Senate panel Humana is right & TOTUS is wrong (lies?!): Medicare Advantage benefits will be reduced under Baucus Bill…
Doug Elmendorf still hanging tough and telling the truth. I love this guy. He says today yes Medicare Advantage benefits are likely to be reduced. Gee guess Humana is in good company with CBO on their mailer then aren’t they? CMS and HHS better back the hexx off Humana then.
“It is wholly inappropriate for insurance companies to mislead seniors regarding any subject—particularly on a subject as important to them, and to the nation, as health-care reform,” Mr. Baucus said in a statement yesterday, playing the role of Congressional censor. “The health-care reform bill we released last week strengthens Medicare and does not cut benefits covered under the Medicare program—and seniors need to know that.”
In fact, the Baucus draft legislation slashes $123 billion over the next decade from Medicare Advantage, which Democrats hate despite the fact that almost one-fourth of beneficiaries have chosen it over traditional fee-for-service Medicare. One reason seniors like it is because private insurers focus on quality and preventive care and try to manage benefits, as opposed to simply paying bills.
100 BILLION they plan to cut from Medicare Advantage. OF COURSE the plans will drop out and/or cut bennies. So no more eye exam or hearing exam for you Granny! Tell your Seniors!
Congress’ chief budget officer is contradicting President Barack Obama’s oft-stated claim that seniors wouldn’t see their Medicare benefits cut under a health care overhaul.The head of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Douglas Elmendorf, told senators Tuesday that seniors in Medicare’s managed care plans would see reduced benefits under a bill in the Finance Committee.
The bill would cut payments to the Medicare Advantage plans by more than $100 billion over 10 years.
Elmendorf said the changes would reduce the extra benefits that would be made available to beneficiaries.
*Fleetwood Mac courtesy of MusicSWrock
Update: Enzi, Grassley say no deal from GOP Cmte members before recess; Progressive Caucus revolts against Dem leadership on deal Waxman cut with Blue Dogs; Reid blames the media for the August deadline, and Nancy ratchets up class warfare again…
Update 4: the ‘blame the media’ is (un)Official Policy says I. Gibby used it today at the presser and tried to make it a joke. Reid AND Gibby make it clear the media is the fall guy for the latest failure in TOTUS Town…
Update 3: No agreement on health care from GOP Cmte Members per Grassley, Enzi. In other news the Dems are really losin it, Harry Reid is BLAMING THE MEDIA now !! Yes! He says the MEDIA created the August deadline. Guess he missed TOTUS and Gibby laying out August every other hour…
Reid said reporters created a fictitious deadline of a successful vote by the August recess, and downplayed the fact that the chamber won’t meet that mark.
“That is a deadline that you created,” Reid told a group of about 75 reporters. “It’s not like we don’t have a product. Significant progress has been made … The mere fact that this wasn’t done by last Friday or by five o’clock doesn’t mean we’re not going to get a quality product.”
And MiM has speculated here often that the reason TOTUS wanted it done BEFORE August is b/c the WH has been holding back the updated economic projections, (usually released mid July) showing the projected deficit. Obviously he wanted the healthcare deficit adding budget busting plan pushed through BEFORE anyone got a good look at what the deficit will be BEFORE they add on this mondo spending…yep.
Pelosi is raving against the EEEEEvil Insurance Companies now, looking to gin up that good ole’ standby, Class Warfare. It worked so well with Wall St and the EEEEEvil bankers and AIG (at least until Dodd got hoisted by his own petard having approved those bonuses himself, frakker). AP at HA has the details on Nancy’s ravings….
And in other fun for Nancy and Harry, the Progressive Caucus within the Dem majority is now in open revolt against the leadership for the deal Waxman cut with the Blue Dogs...the CBC has been throwing down the race card left and right, noting that the Energy Cmte Blue Dogs are all white men, and claiming the Blue Dogs are betraying the 20-40% of their constituents who are black. Seriously. Well, Nancy and Harry let the race card fly left and right against Hill in our primaries, so like I say live by the race card, die by the race card..karma baby..
…At one point, Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-Mich.), a former Congressional Black Caucus chairwoman, expressed outrage that conservatives would insist on significant cuts and a weakening of the public option, arguing that many of the Blue Dogs were letting down their black constituents, who make up 25 percent to 40 percent of their voters, in some instances….
…The intraparty dispute had racial overtones. One African-American Democrat, Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia, pointed out that the seven Blue Dog Democrats holding up the health care bill in the Energy and Commerce Committee were “a nondiverse group” of white men….
Nancy tried to push back on this conflict today:
…As to claims that Democratic leadership sold out progressive, African-Americans and Hispanic reps by negotiating a side deal, she responded: “Might I remind you that the progressives are represented on committees of jurisdiction in a very strong manner. Might I remind you that the progressives are chairmen of those committees — progressives have been well represented.”…
I hope everyone tries to get out and attend the AUGUST 22ND RECESS RALLY with the Tea Party Patriots!!!
Update 2: MM has linkys for Recess Rally August 22nd...
2. Tuesday: Call the House Energy and Commerce Committee members. Tell them not to pass the government run health care bill out of committee. Our sources tell us that all the Republicans will be voting against the legislation already so you may choose to focus on the Democrats. Record your answers and the number of calls you made.
3. Wednesday: Call the Blue Dog Democrats. Record your answers and the number of calls you made.
4. Thursday: Call the Senate Finance Committee tell them our economy cannot afford another massive government spending bill. (This link may not be active now abut it will be active before Thursday.) Record your answers and the number of calls you made.
5. Friday: Call your Senators and your Representative; tell them as a constituent you are asking them to vote NO on government take over of Health Care. Record your answers and the number of calls you made.
7. Friday: Call the Blue Dog Democrats AGAIN. Record your answers and the number of calls you made.
Update 3: El Rushbo on the changing tone of the health care sales pitch…
After the break:
Update: CBO scores Blue Dog Medicare cap – bill STILL ADDS BILLIONS TO DEFICIT..Floor vote next week -Blue Dogs rolled over already?..Health Care NOT waiting for August recess….
Well alrighty then! The sneaky attempts to give TOTUS (and his panel) control over Medicare spending (taking it away from Congress and thus from people who can be swayed by the public) and GUT benefits to Seniors STILL will not stop this bill from adding BILLIONS to the deficit according to CBO (the head of which was apparently NOT rolled by TOTUS’ oneness last week). Give that man a medal!
So they wanna Throw (Grand)Momma from the Train and it STILL will not avoid adding BILLIONS to the deficit, (that deficit, and the reality of the public’s reaction to it, of which the WH is rightfully fearful, is, in the projections they are holding back, likely MUCH MUCH higher than what they told us pre-spendulus)..KILL THIS BILL….
Health Care Update: Leave TOTUS alone! Call the Waaahhhmbulance….
Update: FOX picks up TOTUS’ attempted arm twisting of CBO:
Via JammieWearingFool by way of Instapundit:
…Of course it’s all about him.
A telling episode recounted by Senate Finance ranking member Charles Grassley reveals the Obama administration might be more worried than they are letting on that a Republican senator’s comparison of the healthcare overhaul to Waterloo might be dangerously close to the truth…
…“Let’s just lay everything on the table,” Grassley said. “A Democrat congressman last week told me after a conversation with the president that the president had trouble in the House of Representatives, and it wasn’t going to pass if there weren’t some changes made … and the president says, ‘You’re going to destroy my presidency.’ ”
Somebody please send Baracky a waaaahmbulance.
Oh wait, are they covered by his plan?
Grassley should soon expect a withering personal assault by Obama’s persons of hench in the far left blogosphere.
TOTUS is out there trying to twist Elmendorf’s (CBO director’s) arm, laying into Blue Dogs, on tv every other hour. Yeah he’s worried. CALL YOUR CRITTERS.
Here is Sen DeMint who let the Waterloo out of the bag:
What we need is our own Blucher now to win the battle…hmmmm Mayo Clinic as Blucher?
…Minnesota’s not-for-profit Mayo Clinic, which Mr. Obama has repeatedly hailed as offering top quality care at affordable costs, blasted the House Democrats’ version of the health care plan as lawmakers continue to grapple with several bills from each chamber and multiple committees.
The Mayo Clinic said there are some positive elements of the bill, but overall “the proposed legislation misses the opportunity to help create higher quality, more affordable health care for patients.”
“In fact, it will do the opposite,” clinic officials said, because the proposals aren’t [R]patient-focused or results-oriented. “The real losers will be the citizens of the United States.”…
H/T to Drudge for the SOS headline. It’s a good day when we start with ABBA, lol.
Moderate in the Middle 