Thought you would find this of interest. Marge
____________________________________
From: Amberose88
To: Kanzurem
Sent: 11/8/2009 10:34:30 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
Subj: Dick Morris and Eileen McGann Article - This will interest you
OBAMACARE ENDORSEMENTS: WHAT THE BRIBE WAS
By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN
Published on _TheHill.com_
(http://reports.dickmorris.com/t/2318725/7882068/1954/0/?u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy50aGVoaWxsLmNvbS8=&x=95089fd7) on November 6,
2009
_Printer-Friendly Version_
(http://reports.dickmorris.com/t/2318725/7882068/13562/0/?u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy52b3RlLmNvbS9tbXBfcHJpbnRlcmZyaWVuZGx5LnBocD9pZD0x
NzAz&x=0aa2db1b)
As the suicidal Democratic congressmen proceed to rubber-stamp the Obama
healthcare reform despite the drubbing their party took in the '09
elections, the president trotted out the endorsements of the AMA and the AARP to
stimulate support. But these -- and the other endorsements -- his package has
received are all bought and paid for.
Here are the deals:
* The American Medical Association (AMA) was facing a 21 percent cut in ph
ysicians' reimbursements under the current law. Obama promised to kill the
cut if they backed his bill. The cuts are the fruit of a law requiring
annual 5-6 percent reductions in doctor reimbursements for treating Medicare
patients. Bravely, each year Congress has rolled the cuts over, suspending
them but not repealing them. So each year, the accumulated cuts threaten
doctors. By now, they have risen to 21 percent. With this blackmail leverage,
Obama compelled the AMA to support his bill...or else!
* The AARP got a financial windfall in return for its support of the
healthcare bill. Over the past decade, the AARP has morphed from an advocacy
group to an insurance company (through its subsidiary company). It is one of
the main suppliers of Medi-gap insurance, a high-cost, privately purchased
coverage that picks up where Medicare leaves off. But President Bush-43
passed the Medicare Advantage program, which offered a subsidized, lower-cost
alternative to Medi-gap. Under Medicare Advantage, the elderly get all the
extra coverage they need plus coordinated, well-managed care, usually by
the same physician. So more than 10 million seniors went with Medicare
Advantage, cutting into AARP Medi-gap revenues.
Presto! Obama solved their problem. He eliminates subsidies for Medicare
Advantage. The elderly will have to pay more for coverage under Medigap, but
the AARP -- which supposedly represents them -- will make more money. (If
this galls you, join the American Seniors Association, the alternative
group; contact sbarton@americanseniors.org. This e-mail address is being
protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .)
* The drug industry backed ObamaCare and, in return, got a 10-year limit
of $80 billion on cuts in prescription drug costs. (A drop in the bucket of
their almost $3 trillion projected cost over the next decade.) They also
got administration assurances that it will continue to bar lower-cost
Canadian drugs from coming into the U.S. All it had to do was put its formidable
advertising budget at the disposal of the administration.
* Insurance companies got access to 40 million potential new customers.
But when the Senate Finance Committee lowered the fine that would be imposed
on those who don't buy insurance from $3,500 to $1,500, the insurance
companies jumped ship and now oppose the bill, albeit for the worst of motives.
The only industry that refused to knuckle under was the medical device
makers. They stood for principle and wouldn't go along with Obama's blackmail.
So the Senate Finance Committee retaliated by imposing a tax on medical
devices such as automated wheelchairs, pacemakers, arterial stents,
prosthetic limbs, artificial knees and hips and other necessary accoutrements of
healthcare.
So these endorsements are not freely given, but bought and paid for by an
administration that is intent on passing its program at any cost.
Go to _DickMorris.com_
(http://reports.dickmorris.com/t/2318725/7882068/1957/0/?u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5kaWNrbW9ycmlzLmNvbS8=&x=6f84f2b2) to read all of
Dick's columns!
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