We Wish it was the "Consumer Option?"

healthcare is right imagesA government-sponsored "public option" for health care lives on, sort of. Nancy Pelosi is calling this so-called public option "the consumer option," suggesting new framing could help with some lingering doubts by the public, and Harry Reid has put a statewide opt-out provision into the Senate Bill.  Odds are very high that a final version of both bills will include large parts being administered by for-profit insurance companies.  Thus, many millions will remain uninsured or underinsured. The bottom line is you can't provide affordable, accessible coverage with the insurance leeches in the middle - my apologies to leeches. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has reservations on the help for the poor contained in a merged Senate bill. A family of three earning $27,465 a year before taxes — that is, at 150 percent of the poverty line — would have to pay $1,318 a year for health coverage under the proposed Senate merged health reform bill.  This for families that often have difficulty paying the rent and utilities and putting food on the table. They should have gone with my suggestion, Medicare Part E - Everybody.

In Strange News...The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday announced it is suing the Yes Men, a group of activists who tried last week to impersonate their organization. After the Yes Men staged a fake press conference at the National Press Club to "reveal" the Chamber supported cap-and-trade legislation, the Chamber has decided to sue the group for misappropriating its logo and violating their copyrights.  The Chamber even sued and effectively shut down the company hosting the Yes Men's website, closing hundreds of other company's websites that were hosted by that same web provider.

Thom's Blog Is On the Move

Hello All

Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.

Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.

From Unequal Protection, 2nd Edition:
"If you wonder why and when giant corporations got the power to reign supreme over us, here’s the story."
Jim Hightower, national radio commentator and author of Swim Against the Current
From Screwed:
"If we are going to live in a Democracy, we need to have a healthy middle class. Thom Hartmann shows us how the ‘cons’ have wronged this country, and tells us what needs to be done to reclaim what it is to be American."
Eric Utne, Founder, Utne magazine
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Right through the worst of the Bush years and into the present, Thom Hartmann has been one of the very few voices constantly willing to tell the truth. Rank him up there with Jon Stewart, Bill Moyers, and Paul Krugman for having the sheer persistent courage of his convictions."
Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth