Obama unveils new healthcare plan

[Vidboy10]

US President Barack Obama has unveiled new plans to reform US healthcare and revive stalled legislation on the issue, aiming for bipartisan support. bipartisan support. One of the key proposals gives the US government new power to block health insurers from imposing excessive premium increases. excessive premium increases. It is the first time that Mr Obama, whmade healthcare a key priority, has put forward proposals himself. himself. On Thursday he will hold bipartisan talks at the White House on the issue. The Republican reaction to Mr Obama's efforts has so far been critical, with House Republican leader John Boehner saying the proposals took the same approach as that of previous Democratic bills. "The president has crippled the credibility of this week's summit [on Thursday] by proposing the same massive government takeover of healthcare based on a partisan bill the American people have already rejected," he said in a prepared statement. rejected," he said in a prepared statement. It is a critical moment for a president whose popularity has fallen steeply since his election, says the BBC's North America editor Mark Mardell. Healthcare has become a rallying point for conservatives who say Mr Obama is bent on introducing European-style big government, and it has worried many Americans who are not clear about what it would cost them. But failure to pass something would look like a failure to govern by the president, our editor adds.'More affordable' Mr Obama's proposal "helps over 31 million Americans afford healthcare who do not get it today - and makes coverage more affordable for many more", the White House said on its website. It gives the federal Health and Human Services Department - in conjunction with state authorities - the power to deny substantial premium increases, limit them, or demand rebates for consumers. This comes after one of the biggest companies, Anthem Blue Cross of California, announced it would raise premiums by as much as 39% from 1 March. Mr Obama's latest plan requires most Americans to take out health insurance coverage, with federal subsidies to help many afford the premiums. It bars insurance companies from denying coverage to people with existing medical problems or charging them more. them more. A tax on high-cost health insurance plans objected to by House Democrats - and trade unions - is to be scaled back. Mr Obama says reform of the healthcare system is crucial for the US economy to rein in costs over the long term. The plan would put "our budget and economy on a more stable path by reducing the deficit by $100bn (£64.5bn) over the next 10 years - and more than $1tn (£644bn) over the second decade - by cutting government overspending and reining in waste, fraud and abuse", he said. Bitter debate The Democrats' loss of a Senate seat in Massachusetts to Republican Scott Brown in January deprived them of their filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the Senate, although they still control both houses. Thursday's debate, which is to be televised, is seen as a key moment in Mr Obama's bid to pass new legislation, and comes after months of often bitterly contested congressional debates. Mr Obama referred to the talks in his weekly radio address on Saturday, saying: "I don't want to see this meeting turn into political theatre, with each side simply reciting talking points and trying to score political points."Instead, I ask members of both parties to seek common ground in an effort to solve a problem that's been with us for generations." The House of Representatives and the Senate adopted different versions of the bill at the end of last year, and they must now be combined into a single bill Mr Obama can sign into law.

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[Guild McCommunist]

No new healthcare bill is going to change Republican support. Even if Dems suck Republican cock over healthcare, Republicans will stay say "No" because they simply want to block any type of Democratic bill or objective, whether it's good or not. For Christ's sake, they even voted against expanding the Hate Crimes bill that was gonna protect gays and such. Not to mention most Republicans are deep in the pockets of healthcare companies.

 

[Hadrian]

Other politicians make too much money off drugs and that to make them even consider changing it.

Shame really that you guys can't get a badly run system too.

 

[injected11]

No new healthcare bill is going to change Republican support. Even if Dems suck Republican cock over healthcare, Republicans will stay say "No" because they simply want to block any type of Democratic bill or objective, whether it's good or not. For Christ's sake, they even voted against expanding the Hate Crimes bill that was gonna protect gays and such. Not to mention most Republicans are deep in the pockets of healthcare companies.

Gotta love them cushy seats and nice fat paychecks when all you gotta do is say "No" or "I'ma gunna fillibuster!". Way too many politicians see it as a job they're entitled to keep, rather than what it really is meant to be, public service. Making it appear in the history books as though Obama was incapable to accomplishing anything monumental other than not being white is probably the icing on the Republican cake, too.

 

[Danny Tanner]

I love paying for things I don't need, and I love people forcing me to do things a certain way.

Best day ever!

 

[SkankyYankee]

Pfizer and Bayer, two of the biggest pharm companies that make literally TRILLIONS profit from painkillers in the US alone, will not let a public option through just based on the people lobbying for them. I don't care how much the democrats or republicans work or dont work together. They profit off of this broken health care system. People everyday can't afford major surgery even though they are on medicare, but Medicare will pay 80% of all the painkillers they want till they die. They also pay a lot to the government in the form of taxes and fines for misuse of said medications. This addiction needs to stop if any progress is to be made.

Not to mention that congress is covered no matter what happens so they don't see a difference

 

[granville]

I love paying for things I don't need, and I love people forcing me to do things a certain way.

Best day ever!

And i love how you believe you actually don't do that already. All of us in America have SOMETHING we don't need or want but are forced to pay for it. Like bank bailouts. And all of us are forced to do things certain ways. That will never change, and if you think you're not already paying for a bunch of worthless shit, you're blind. Hell, we're paying for politicians billions to sit up there arguing amongst themselves, trying to get hold of the power, and getting nowhere (and getting nowhere is never good in times like this). lmao

On topic-

Unless the drug companies suddenly magically all go defunct all at the same time, we'll never see a universal health care bill. And even that won't be enough, as Guild said, the Republicans will block it just to make a point, because politicians act like spoiled little children. I used to help teach preschool (yeah for real) and i observed the habits of 4-year olds. Their conflict behavior is quite similar to the senators and political leaders. You'll find they start fights JUST for the sake of not letting the other kid get their way, even IF they want the same thing themselves. It's the hate they have towards each other. Only difference is that preschool has teachers to stop them, and senators don't lol! As it is, it's pretty certain that nothing will get done with the amount of conflict that is going on. That's how politics works in the US. Sigh...

 

[TrolleyDave]

Other politicians make too much money off drugs and that to make them even consider changing it.

Shame really that you guys can't get a badly run system too.

You can still go private over here if you want to though, if you got the dosh.

 

[Foie]

Or maybe Republicans are representing their conservative constituency and refusing to let government control over our lives grow infinitely. Maybe they believe that everything the government touches turns to crap and think that free markets can do things better. Maybe they actually like the thing called our Constitution and don't like to see the federal government piss on it by expanding its own powers far beyond what our founding fathers envisioned. Maybe they realize that Democrats think the opposite and therefore they cannot support anything the Democrats present. And maybe they think that America has one of the most advanced medical systems in the world and don't want it to fall to the crappy level that is the UK's or Canada's healthcare systems.

 

[Danny Tanner]

I love paying for things I don't need, and I love people forcing me to do things a certain way.

Best day ever!

And i love how you believe you actually don't do that already. All of us in America have SOMETHING we don't need or want but are forced to pay for it. Like bank bailouts. And all of us are forced to do things certain ways. That will never change, and if you think you're not already paying for a bunch of worthless shit, you're blind. Hell, we're paying for politicians billions to sit up there arguing amongst themselves, trying to get hold of the power, and getting nowhere (and getting nowhere is never good in times like this). lmao

Actually, I'm an anarchist for exactly that reason. America's government is the 'best' in the world, but I can't even imagine how much better the individual would fare without it.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Or maybe Republicans are representing their conservative constituency and refusing to let government control over our lives grow infinitely. Maybe they believe that everything the government touches turns to crap and think that free markets can do things better. Maybe they actually like the thing called our Constitution and don't like to see the federal government piss on it by expanding its own powers far beyond what our founding fathers envisioned. Maybe they realize that Democrats think the opposite and therefore they cannot support anything the Democrats present. And maybe they think that America has one of the most advanced medical systems in the world and don't want it to fall to the crappy level that is the UK's or Canada's healthcare systems.

Why would they join a government that turns everything to crap when they hate it?

Honestly, I'm sick of American politics. I used to watch the pundits go at it and read the news a lot, but now I just realized America sucks. When we get such shitty politics over here it makes you want to get away from it all. I seriously hope to move to another country where I can just forget about politics.

 

[referencer]

And i love how you believe you actually don't do that already. All of us in America have SOMETHING we don't need or want but are forced to pay for it. Like bank bailouts. And all of us are forced to do things certain ways. That will never change, and if you think you're not already paying for a bunch of worthless shit, you're blind. Hell, we're paying for politicians billions to sit up there arguing amongst themselves, trying to get hold of the power, and getting nowhere (and getting nowhere is never good in times like this). lmao

So because we already have a bunch of stupid shit we should support more stupid shit?

 

[purplesludge]

This comes after one of the biggest companies, Anthem Blue Cross of California, announced it would raise premiums by as much as 39% from 1 March.

At what point is it going to be cheaper to pay the bill than to pay insurance?

 

[Davess]

Theres a spelling mistake: Whmade.

But free health care in Canada!

Thou we do get it up the ass in taxes

 

[CyrusBlue]

No new healthcare bill is going to change Republican support. Even if Dems suck Republican cock over healthcare, Republicans will stay say "No" because they simply want to block any type of Democratic bill or objective, whether it's good or not. For Christ's sake, they even voted against expanding the Hate Crimes bill that was gonna protect gays and such. Not to mention most Republicans are deep in the pockets of healthcare companies.

This.

Nothing Obama proposes will see the light of day because Republicans are hell bent on giving Democrats a hard time and promoting their selfish agenda.

 

[granville]

And i love how you believe you actually don't do that already. All of us in America have SOMETHING we don't need or want but are forced to pay for it. Like bank bailouts. And all of us are forced to do things certain ways. That will never change, and if you think you're not already paying for a bunch of worthless shit, you're blind. Hell, we're paying for politicians billions to sit up there arguing amongst themselves, trying to get hold of the power, and getting nowhere (and getting nowhere is never good in times like this). lmao

So because we already have a bunch of stupid shit we should support more stupid shit?

"Stupid shit" is subjective. If you consider free healthcare like that in Canada is stupid, then be my guest to believe people don't deserve it. But then again, you have a war like the Iraq one which caused almost NOTHING but trouble and financial deterioration and was waged on a lie. It's not hard to see which is stupid and which isn't. If you're still having trouble seeing the difference then....

Obviously, i'm not a very "patriotic" citizen of my country. But i'm ok with that, since i don't want to support stupidity.

 

[BoxShot]

Obviously, i'm not a very "patriotic" citizen of my country. But i'm ok with that, since i don't want to support stupidity.

Ditto.

 

[Sterling]

Politicians should vote the way people want them to, and not how they choose... That way everybody answers to the people.

Also according to quite a few unbiased polls, people definitely don't want healthcare.

On topic: Healthcare will never happen as long as there is a majority or more republicans in the house/senate for reasons (that Guild said) that I do and don't agree with.

 

[Uncle FEFL]

I think there shouldn't be so many damn idiots in the seats that deserve intellectuals. I wish someone could get rid of them all at once, but that's only in a dream. Our parties both suck ass, and neither of them agree on anything that'll help America. Barely any of them have spines. The ones who do are too afraid to speak out. They're too focused on what Americans think they want instead of what all of us need desperately. Why? Because too many of them want a lot of money. Pathetic.

I could say more if I knew something beyond the basics of American politics, which I do not.

 

[DarkCrudus]

• aiming for bipartisan support. bipartisan support
• imposing excessive premium increases. excessive premium increases
• forward proposals himself. himself.
• have already rejected," he said in a prepared statement. rejected," he said in a prepared statement

i was really confused bout what was goin on in the beginning of the OP haha