In Obamacare debate, Florida senator LeMieux highlights ten myths

Sen. George LeMieux pointed out 10 myths in the healthcare debate. One reality check: taxes will go up all around.When Florida governor Charlie Crist sent Sen. George LeMieux to Washington, conservatives in Florida paid little attention. After all, the senator LeMieux replaced would likely have supported HR 2454, Cap and Trade. What could be worse than that? But LeMieux served up a surprise on Monday by doing something President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats neglected. The Republican senator from Florida released a list of 10 myths in the 'healthcare reform debate.' The word 'myth', by the way, is a more polite term than ‘lie.’

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Obama grades himself B+ despite low approval numbers

by Chris Carter

In a taped interview with Oprah Winfrey on Sunday, President Barack Obama rated his first-year performance as a “good solid B-plus,” adding that had he would have given himself an “A” if he had more progress on his health care and economic agendas.

[Graph courtesy of Rasmussen Reports]

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For Democrats, healthcare is really all about the taxes

Commentary by Kay B. Day

Pelosi celebrated Democrat wins in 2006. Ask yourself a question. Do you have it better now than you did 3 years ago?Democrats are salivating over reinventing American healthcare, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) grinning like a Cheshire cat for media, and fellow old timers like Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) claiming that reinventing American healthcare will reduce the deficit, as per the Congressional Budget Office.  Both Pelosi and Dingell are American royalty—part of an elitist political class sustained by the government for more than one generation. Pelosi’s father was a career politician; so was Dingell’s.

Dingell took the low road in avoiding an important statement from the CBO. In a letter director Doug Elmendorf sent House Democrats, he cautioned Congress about his deficit reduction figures.

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Obama TV: Healthcare address should tackle AARP contradictions and the uninsured

by Kay B. Day

Tonight at 8 p.m. we’ll have another episode of Obama TV, with President Barack Obama addressing a joint session of Congress about healthcare. Hopefully the president will be honest with Americans about legislation that will affect a significant part of our economy and a very private aspect of our lives. AARP tried to clear confusion about various proposals in the organization’s Bulletin (Sept., ’09), print edition.Unfortunately even AARP managed to muddy some waters.

There’s a feature about the proposals Congress is considering. The feature aims at clearing up “myths.” Within that feature there’s the question, ‘Will Medicare be eliminated or gutted to pay for reform?” The answer: “No. It’s inconceivable...” Then the “facts” are presented. After stating “It’s true” the proposals “seek to save billions from Medicare costs,” the writer assures us the government aims to pay doctors “more fairly” and to “reward providers for quality of care instead of (as now) paying them a fee for each separate service; reducing waste and fraud; and reducing preventable hospital readmissions.”

There’s truth submerged in what follows: “All the proposals would cut the amount of subsidies now paid to Medicare Advantage private plans, which cost an average of 14 percent more per person than traditional Medicare does.” So we ditch the subsidies and that could make those private plans more efficient. But said AARP, cutting subsidies could also cause private plans to “raise premiums, reduce benefits or withdraw from Medicare.” AARP said the proposals will add more preventive services and might narrow the Part D “doughnut hole.” [pg.16]

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Ferrara’s healthcare analysis dispels myth, focuses on facts

Updated on Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 11:58AM by Kay B. Day, Editor

by Kay B. Day

We believe President Lyndon B. Johnson’s ‘Great Society’ agenda created many of the financial and social problems we have today. Starting with 19 million enrollees in the mid-1960s, Medicare is expected to comprise 11 percent of the US economy by 2030, covering 79 million people. Removing such a large consumer group from the private sector is a primary driver of increasing health costs for those of us in private plans. If you have payroll taxes deducted, you are subsidizing Medicare. And if you want your social security, you have to sign up for the plan. Like lending, railroads and the post office, Medicare is a financial quagmire. Those who can buy a private supplemental policy to Medicare because it enables them to receive better healthcare. [Photo from White House website.]Could the healthcare debate get any crazier? Big government fans curse protesters and small government fans give as good as they get. But rarely are facts discussed. Even more rarely are solutions discussed.

What we must admit to ourselves before we can take an Obama step “forward,” is that Congress miserably failed the task at hand. If you haven’t read any of the bills or proposals coming out of House and Senate committees, you should do so if you plan to discuss healthcare reform. I doubt there would be a single Main Street proponent of any of these bills if everyone read them. There is an excellent analysis of all the legislative efforts written by Peter Ferrara and published at The Heartland Institute. The Institute leans conservative, but Ferrara focuses on actual language and figures politicians from both parties use to justify their positions. So if you can’t agree with him politically, you can at least use some of the data he includes to form your own opinion.

Thankfully Ferrara doesn’t veer into Biblical justification. If I hear one more proselytizer tell me how to be a better Christian by giving the government control over another sector of the economy, I will refuse to turn the other cheek. One could celebrate the fact liberals are apparently finding God if one were a right wing evangelical. All I can say is if you’re using God to justify more big government spending and a dramatic increase in the size of government, you’d best re-examine your faith and, whether you’re a right wing evangelical or a left wing socialist, do not tell me how to practice mine regardless of the social issue at hand—yes, healthcare is a social issue. And an economic issue.

One myth Ferrara dispels relates to the uninsured. President Barack Obama talked a lot about that group during the campaigns, often citing the 45 million “uninsured.” Republicans have cited it too. Here are some facts:

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President Obama erred on red pills, blue pills and tonsilitis

After President Obama’s press conference Wednesday I thought a lot about what he said. I’d planned to do a column, but frankly after I reviewed my notes, I didn’t come up with anything new. I didn’t learn details of any of the proposed plans, and nor did the president address the constituencies in the US that make up the alleged 45 million uninsured. But a few things caught my eye as I reviewed my notes.

The red pill/blue pill analogy gave me pause. I’m assuming our president was implying the use of generic drugs when possible. It’s not true the cheaper pill is always the best. Generic drugs have inert ingredients that may differ from the brand drug. Only your doctor can tell you whether that cheap pill is right for you. Adverse reactions to inert ingredients are not all that common as far as we know. But I’m not even sure a person would realize this if a reaction occurred. There are differences in those inert ingredients and the decision about the drug can only be made by the physician. That’s one reason I always suggest you talk to your pharmacist about any new medication or unusual effects from any drug. The FDA provides a search page where you can look up inactive ingredients.

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