Dean: Health Co-Ops Just Political Theater

Former DNC Leader Says Public Option Needed to Make Private Insurance More Affordable, Efficient

(CBS)  Former Vermont Governor and doctor, Howard Dean said the health care co-operative proposal is purely for political strategy and has not worked in the past on "Face the Nation" Sunday.

"That proposal is a political compromise, not a policy compromise," Dean said. "No one knows what it would look like and when it has been tried in the past it mostly hasn’t worked."

Dean, a strong advocate for the public insurance option, said people need the choice of a government-run plan to compete with private insurers.

He argued that because private insurance companies are investor-owned, they are spending less money on health services and more on equity.

Special Section: Latest News on Health Care Reform

Medicare, Dean said, "is by nature much more efficient" because currently seniors can move, leave their job and get sick without having their coverage discontinued.

"Everybody over 65 has it and the question is 'Why don't we open up that program,'" he said.

Schieffer asked who foots the bill for a government-run health care option.

Dean said that taxpayers receive subsidies if they need help paying for the option and that large employers would "either share the cost or keep the system the way it is."

"Small employers are off the hook," he said, arguing that they no longer need to provide health insurance to their employees.

Dean said "we are getting pretty mixed signals from Senator Grassley. … I think the Republicans owe it to this country to give us a clearer sense of what they will and will not support."

Senators Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Kent Conrad, D-North Dakota, appeared earlier on "Face the Nation," saying that the public option plan would not find enough support in the Senate. The co-op solution, they said, would be the only hope for a bipartisan agreement.

Dean also said the $600 billion dollar House price tag on health care is "reasonable" because it is less than we are spending in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[red-roses]

Nothing to do with healthcare but who cares. Anyway, a few quotes from a few years ago

ONE OF bush?s MANY PHOTO OPS)
"Admiral Kelly, Captain Card, officers and sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln, my fellow Americans, major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed." ~ another grandiose lie from the apathetic, egotistical hypocrite and lying coward bush, MAY 1,2003

"bush lands on the aircraft carrier strutting his stuff, and I have a hard time walking. How dare you! That's how I look at the president. How dare you! It amazes me how he does it with a smile too."
--Fields Black, 33, a Persian Gulf veteran breathing through
an oxygen tube because of his emphysema.

"For Bush, the real definition of victory
has become 'anything I can get away
with without taking blame for defeat.'"
-- Retired Gen. William Odom,

"The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism,
demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law.
How many people do you have to kill before you qualify to be described
as a mass murderer and a war criminal? 100,000?"
----Harold Pinter, accepting the Nobel Prize for literature in 2005

My husband John R. served his country well as a Marine Lieutenant on Iwo Jima, was wounded and received a Silver Star for his actions. Three of our sons volunteered to serve their country with pride and honor in Viet Nam. Whelan's were no "Chicken Hawks", as are Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld ((WHO WAS IN THE SERVICE, BUT SAW NO COMBAT He was later given the old heave ho, thank God.)).. I cannot believe their boldness and audacity to want to send
our youth today where they were not willing to go yesterday.
--Helen Whelan, Wife and Mother of 3 veterans

"It is worse than in Saddam's time. I preferred life then. We had a normal life and we had security. My family have never been Saddam loyalists or supporters. When he was here we did not know we did not have freedom. This is what we were told by other countries. What we did know was we had safety and security. Now there are only dangers and uncertainty." -- Thuraya el-Kaissi, 17-year-old Iraqi girl

"When the Americans first came, Mohammad and my other children watched them with joy in our eyes. Now we hate them." -- An Iraqi mother whose 12 year-old boy was shot by US soldiers

"The occupation has turned into barbarism. The U.S. administration is committing genocide ... in Iraq. Never in human history have such genocide and cruelty been witnessed. Such a genocide was never seen
in the time of the pharaohs nor of Hitler nor of [Benito] Mussolini, Italy's World War II-era fascist leader. This occupation has entirely imperialist aims."
--Mehmet Elkatmis, Turkey's human rights commission.

Katrina to me was the tipping point," said Matthew Dowd, Bush's pollster. "The president broke his bond
with the public. Once that bond was broken, he no longer had the capacity to talk to the American public.
State of the Union addresses? It didn't matter. Legislative initiatives? It didn't matter. P.R.? It didn't matter.
Travel? It didn't matter."
Dan Bartlett, counselor to the president, said: "Politically, it was the final nail in the coffin."

Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else"
- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States

Thank you Teddy?..ADIOS

[chonder2]

It's like the Zombies in Night of The Living Dead. The Repub Meatpuppet Zombies are shocking at first then become boring when the survivors realize Zombies stagger around mumbling the same thing,go after anyone who acts Normal,and are incredibly slow and stupid!!

[MICdunson]

The Dems need to stop talking with the GOP they have no intrest in doing any thing good for American. What good haveing 60 vote if they are afaid to you them to do what we voted them in office to do.

[babooph]

In the US political system ,I do not see how public health care can work-who will hire the lobbyists to bribe the politicians?Maybe the new law could include bribe$ for elected officials?

[red-roses]

This may have nothing to do with healthcare but who cares. Anyway, looking at george bush?s face (gag, gag) and listening to his stupid voice these past few years was torture enough. Also, since it?s quite obvious that the apathetic, arrogant, deceitful, vindictive, egotistical hypocrite and lying coward known as george bush never really gave a damn about our troops and the Iraqi?s since this unnecessary war began, this is just a small sample to remind everyone of the man this nation and the entire world won?t be missing....

Egotistical bush AKA Caligula was quite famous for his photo ops and crocodile tears. Remember the photo op he gave at ground zero (after he ran away in the plane and showed up a few days later) when he spoke through the blow horn? (IT WAS ALL FOR SHOW AND NOTHING MORE) and it?s quite obvious that he never really gave a damn for those who perished on that fatal day since he was more concerned about the performance he was giving; and his performance was truly unconvincing. You could tell that the tears he was squirting at the TV cameras during his performance at ground zero were actually tears of joy. You could also tell that he was filled with glee because he had the opportunity to use the tragedy as an excuse to start a war with Iraq, even though he knew Iraq had nothing whatsoever to do with the tragedy. I even recall some idiot (I think it was carl rove) who compared bush to Henry V when the coward gave his stupid, cheap and truly unconvincing performance at ground zero?. I was also totally convinced that bush was an apathetic and uncaring human being when he continued reading to the school children after he was told about the 9/11 attack. Well, generations from now (if we don?t destroy ourselves first) when people watch the movies An Inconvenient Truth (Oscar winner) with Al Gore, and Fahrenheit 9/11(Cannes winner) with bush reading to the school children ((I always felt sorry for the poor kids who were forced to sit there and listen to him read, being bored, while he was farting and stinking up the place. I even recall the story when one of the kids went home telling his mom that mr bush made a pookie. One of the many slang words kids use for farting or passing gas.)) while New York was being attacked, whom do you suppose people will be looking up to with respect? Certainly not bush. In fact, the people watching the film will probably be saying to themselves and each other.?How could they have voted for such a man?? Yep, 9/11 was indeed bush?s claim to fame, (and he took full advantage of it) And I?m sure the 3000 innocent victims who left us on that fatal day are probably still saying every now and again?Remember when we died bodily and that arrogant, vindictive, egotistical hypocrite and lying coward took full advantage of our death by using our death as an excuse to start a war with Iraq even though he knew Iraq had nothing whatsoever to do with the 9/11 tragedy?"

It was quite obvious that george bush never gave a damn for those who perished in the 9/11 tragedy; in fact, he was filled with glee when it happened. And it was also quite obvious that he never really gave a damn for our troops and the Iraqi?s since day one. It?s all connected. If it weren?t for mr bush?s EGOTISM the 9/11 tragedy, The Iraqi war and Torture would never have happened. finis..

[Snowhare]

Uhm, right. Ah, if it sounded more sane, I'd probably say I am basically on your side. But what the f*** does your Bush-Wash have to do with healthcare?
This is GROCELY OFF TOPIC!

[Imadinnerjacket]

Dean is a cancer to every issue he addresses...
The Dem party needs to bury him in a deep hole...
he is an angry bitter man

[reveal5]

This is a truly funny post. ha ha Imadinnerjacket, you didn't mean to be funny, but wow, this is truly so ridiculous, it's funny. ha

[speakingfrankly]

Thanks, Bob, for the 7.5-minute infomercial starring Howard Dean. I've been worried about you since Rahm Emanuel came on FTN several weeks back--something about the steely-eyed political ax-man from central casting beating up on the old guy turned my stomach. I kept waiting for that Bob Barker scene in "Happy Golmore" to develop, where you'd kick Emanuel's butt all over the studio. But, that never happened. But, Dean is so much more well-mannered: it's just fair and fitting that such a venerable shill such as yourself should be treated with respect by adminstration henchmen! Bravo, Bob!

[jschmidt27]

With the employer provided insurance the employee is not the customer of the insurance industry. The employer is. The employer searches the best deal for them not the insured. So all employers should pay into a fund the employees can access for insurance. That would force insurers to be competitive to their customers. The govt should reduce overlapping regulation between state and Fed govt. The public option would bypass state regulations giving them an unfair advantage. The drug approvals are costly and take many years. That process needs to be studied and improved. Govt paperwork adds a huge amount of cost to insurance. The medical records need to be computerized across doctors, hospitals. Govt can provide incentives for that. Insurers should not be allowed to drop subscribers but should be allowed to charge a small fixed percentage for increased risk of insuring higher risk individuals. Individuals should not be uninsurable for pre-existing conditions. And of course last what Congress doesn't want to hear, tort reform. If we have such upstanding Congressmen as Dodd, and Frank,designing legislation, we'll get something that is more important to lobbyists than to voters as we did with the credit card legislation. Unfortunately Democrats thought they had unlimited power but they were elected because they were not Bush and Obama was an unknown to most except those who were wise enough to know a Chicago politician couldn;t be good.They thought all Americans would welcome their intrusion into every aspect of our lives because Democrats know what is best for us, better than we know. They know best how to spend our money, how to regulate our lives and how to give us the best healthcare. But that attitude has backfired and they found out the hardway just how independent Americans are.

[ubrew12]

Those are all 'good' republican ideas. Can you give me a plausable explanation why they weren't implemented during the six years that Republicans owned every branch of the Federal government?

Is it possible that, despite your words, Republicans don't really think there's a problem here?

[sjc_1]

"intrusion into every aspect of our lives "

How is a public OPTION an intrusion into every aspect of our lives? I would think that the illegal wire taps where BUSH violated the FISA laws was an intrusion into a lot of lives. That seems to be a "slippery slope" argument and when Bush was allowed to listen to your phone calls and read your email, that was quite a "slope" to start down.

[reveal5]

Well, one thing is assured. Mau we all gather and give last rights to "death panels"...The whole death panel controversy is rapidly dying.The death panel idea has been shown incontrovertibly to be a hoax. The death panel hoax was filled with fear and paranoia fed to psychologically vulnerable folks to spread like the plague. The "Tea Party" protestors were filled with this plague by their local and national handlers. The GOP is clearly manipulating these psychologically vulnerable protestors for it's own selfish goals. The protestors will probably remain unaware of the manipulation. The GOP will keep manipulating these fringe folks. Thing is...the whole folly is becoming more fully and widely inderstood by the general public. The whole country is now coming to an understanding of the lies, fear, paranoia, and hate tactics of the GOP. Many will understand that the local and national tea party organisers are spreading lies and fear thru challenged individuals whom they are using and psychologically abusing. The "Tea Party" organisers at the local and national level are psychologically abusing "challenged" individuals. Seems like a smart lawyer might be able to make some hay with that. The local and national "Tea Party" organisers should be sued on behalf of the psychologically and intellectually challenged individuals whom the GOP is abusing. The GOP along with"Tea Party" organisers should be sued for abuse. Abuse of the "at risk" in some instances.

[trapbreaking]

Did Dean give one of his "WHOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAHHH" yells after the interview?

.

[element51]

mariedevine....Have you attended a McCarthy rally lately? Sure sounds like it. It's people like you who spread this kind of garbage who are bringing down America...not people like Obama who is trying to do what the people asked him to do. You use religion like a club to beat lies and half truths into the population and the sad thing is that there are many out there who buy into your crap. I sincerely doubt that you even know what communists really believe. You just want to destroy the president and will do anything to achieve your twisted goal. It was because of people just like you that I turned away from religion 50 years ago and nothing has changed. I have lived an honest life and have always tried to treat my fellow man with respect. I have no regrets.

[element51]

For some reason that I cannot find, the democrats are terrified of the republicans. It's like the bully in junior high that everyone was afraid of. So everyone gave him whatever he wanted rather than risk getting beaten up. As long as the democrats are a bunch of wimps the republicans will do as they please and the democrats will hide behind a bush. None of the democrats did a thing when Bush was doing whatever he wanted and stomping through Washington like a bull in a china shop. To bad we can't send a huge box of cohones to Washington. The democrats could sure use them. And to mariedevine....What's this crap about casting Satan out of the president? You religious nut cases are one of the reasons that things are such a mess. Keep your religion where it belongs and out of politics. What is needed is problem solving not a bunch of fairy tales.

[reveal5]

I think the democrats have given the repubs a chance for bipartisanship. The Senate has a still undisclosed bill being worked on by the "Gang of Six"...Democracy, you know. The President wants and supports bipartisanship. The point is not to stomp the Republicans. Democracy is supposed to be bipartisan.

[Snowhare]

You are right in one point:
It is time the Democrats realized they have a majority and they use it!

[sjc_1]

Democrats want Republicans to be part of the solution. The Neocons see reaching out as weakness and try to take advantage. This is their scorched earth policy, never admit you were ever wrong and if your opponent is reasonable, find a way to take advantage of that.

[crispy-gmx]

Dean will go down with the sinking Obama ship.
America has spoken. No to ObamaCare ..........
by the_majesty August 23, 2009 1:43 PM EDT

America HAS NOT spoken, unless you're referring to a group of misinformed people disrupting town hall meetings by shouting and calling president Obama a Nazi! The last time America 'spoke' was last November's election, when Obama won, and Republicans in the house and Senate Lost!

[ianlou]

the_majesty is a propaganda monger with a product that lacks imagination. He might as well be spraying graffiti with a spray-can.

[antimicro]

Mr. Dean's response as to how we will pay for this "reform" is exactly why it will never pass. He doesn't answer the question. He says that "the government", ie TAXPAYERS will pay for this and that it is less than we spend on Iraq and Afghanistan. So what? I guess his point is that we should pay for things that he thinks are important, even if they may bankrupt the US and devalue our currency. Obama claims he wants to cut costs by starting a new government bureaucracy, ie a public option. We have a big enough problem funding the current government option called Medicare and the prescription drug benefit. If we just continue with this part of the "public option" and don't reform it, we will be broke. Imagine what will happen if we add to it during a time when the economy is in the tank.

Then to top it off, Mr. Dean claims that the Republicans are political and he isn't. If this debate really isn't about saving money, as it clearly isn't, then the only reason for pursuing a public option is sothat Mr. Dean can appeal to his left wing political constituency within the Democratic Party, ie the unions.

[drsam8]

BRAVO, Dr. Dean! Bravo also to Speaker Nancy Pelosi!!! Democarts must stand up to these thugs. They are a cowardly minority trying to re-fight the last election. We should not tolerate. Obama told us what was going to do during the election, and the country gave him a decisive mandate. The irony is that Republicans are behaving as if their platform is the one that MUST be implemented. Overall, I blame Democrats, not Grassley, for not standing up to intimidation by Republican thugs. This country must resoundingly say no to hooliganism, by whatever name people like Hoyer may choose to call it. Hoyer says it is democracy; we bet to differ! This has happened repeatedly in American history, sometimes leading to assassination and violence. The radical right and their surrogates in the general society threaten or in some cases carry out violence, and Democrats cave in. When the Homeland Security Report came out warning about violence by extremist rightwing groups, the Homeland Security Secretary was almost apologetic, and later retreated into silence. Apart from the general cynicism such an outcome would create about politicians, Democrats would surely lose the support of their base. This, without getting any tangible or assured support from Republicans. The Democratic base has grown increasing cynical and distrustful of the intentions of Democratic leaders. This is reflected in recent polls. Obama's numbers also because of disillusionment within the Democratic base. What principles are Democrats and the President prepared to stand for firmly? You lose when you are not clear about what you want and lack courage to face your opponent. You lose when you negotiate without a good winning strategy?when you give the store away without committing your opponent to a tangible reciprocity before agreeing to their demands. Democrats have been outplayed and outmaneuvered by Republicans. With a less decisive mandate, Republicans ruled decisively in the past. Republicans did not countenance obstructionism under Bush.

[sjc_1]

Dean knows this issue, he also knows what will work and what won't. Let's go with what we know will work and quit experimenting. We have to get this right the first time, we do not have the time nor money to waste. We do not need another half measure that will kick this down the road another 10 years, when the price will double yet again.

[misha256]

Political theater -- more like POLITICAL FARCE - The Republicans have made it clear they will not vote for co-ops even though they are some of the ones pushing the issue (despite a GAO report in 2000 saying co-ops are ineffective at securing the large corporation discounts for their members).

Sorry both the Republicans and history are killing the Co-op option soundly. Even if the Republicans tried to revive co-ops they have no basis on which to propose change -- their current position is not based in proposed legislation from which they could show changes from a "bad" co-op to a "good" co-op. Clearly their knee-jerk reaction to co-ops has limited their future options.


http://www.gao.gov/archive/2000/he00049.pdf

Pricing conclusion (where small businesses and individuals need help -- they won't get it)
-- "The experiences to date of small employer purchasing cooperatives typically have not resulted in a third advantage, which is available to large employers: leverage in negotiating lower premiums."

-----

Republican Senator Kyle says the REPUBLICANS are killing co-ops

"On the co-op... as Democrats have said, it doesn't matter what you call it, they want it to accomplish something that Republicans are opposed to," Kyl told reporters. "That is the step towards government-run health care in the country. The president himself said you can imagine a cooperative meeting that definition of a public option."

----

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/08/18/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5248729.shtml?tag=cbsnewsMainColumnArea

"You can call it a co-op, which is another way of saying a government plan," Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said in Tuesday's edition of The New York Times.

----

Republican National Committee agrees with the fabrication that Co-ops are government-run plans.

http://www.gop.com/News/NewsRead.aspx?Guid=72edae22-984e-4019-872c-1438fcc5452f

----

Which of the above versions of NO do you have a problem comprehending?
- The fact Co-ops are ineffective at lowering health care prices?
- The Republicans have already started the fabrications to put an end to your proposal for Co-ops.

Not to mention; there are no federal politicians I have heard that have bought into "Rowdy's" plans to end Medicare and Medicaid, (and the VA, SCHIP, etc) to "force" those people into co-ops so there MIGHT, ONLY MIGHT, be a chance of volume discounts like large employers get.

[the_majesty]

Dean will go down with the sinking Obama ship.
America has spoken. No to ObamaCare ..........

[jsf14]

We have at least one health care coop in my town. Seems to be working well. Attracts many public and university employees who have four or five competing options. How many competing options are there in your town?

[misha256]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8601-18563_162-5258294.html?assetTypeId=30&tag=contentMain;contentBody

by CP30 August 22, 2009 12:11 PM EDT
Misha, I'm not concerned about what the republicans did in the past like you are so fascinated with pointing your finger at...those days are OVER AND DONE.
....

----

Rowdy's Approved Death Panels (newID CP301)

Politicians that voted for required end-of-life counseling by a GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRAT:

Write them to demand REPEAL of the GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRAT'S
---- determination of THRESHOLD CONDITIONS
---- determination of who are TARGETED INDIVIDUALS
---- INVOLVEMENT in the REQUIRED COMMUNICATION of END-OF-LIFE options
---- Answers are REQUIRED
---- Other unsolicited contacts are allowed (medical service providers)
---- Required to communicate the program is voluntary
---- NOT required to communicate that a person can opt out at any time
that they VOTED INTO LAW.



Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003


CHECK OUT ALL THE LEGISLATORS THAT VOTED FOR THIS BILL

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2003/roll669.xml

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=1&vote=00459


Check out the entire bill / law (the end of life provisions are in Section 721)

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_cong_bills&docid=f:h1enr.txt.pdf