Be afraid

~ susie

Be very afraid:

“We have a Democratic president and administration that is prepared to sign a tough package that includes both spending cuts (and) modifications to Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare that would strengthen those systems and allow them to move forward, and would include a revenue component,” Obama added.

“We now have a bipartisan group of senators who agree with that balanced approach. And we’ve got the American people who agree with that balanced approach

.”

Published by susie

6 thoughts on “Be afraid”

  1. Thanks for the cooties, susie. That was worse that a non-warning about a dkos link!

    ICK!

  3. I’m freakin’ terrified of this guy and his Gang of Six (which so reminds me of growing up reading about the Gang of Four in (Red) China: we were supposed to think of such a thing a very undemocratic).

  4. Part of the deal is to repeal the “CLASS Act” which was a part of the health care bill intended to provide long term care insurance. The wingnuts and the insurance companies have been after it from day one. I think it is nice for the Gang of Six and the President to get together on repudiating one of the life accomplishments of Ted Kennedy. I found this in the NYT archive:

    http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/the-class-act-survives-for-now/

    December 8, 2009, 12:14 pm
    The Class Act Survives, for Now

    With the insurance lobby hammering hard, and while scores of nonprofit and advocacy groups representing the elderly and the disabled held their collective breath, the Class Act last week narrowly survived a move to strip it from the Senate’s health care legislation. (The vote is here.)

    At the moment the act, which would create a voluntary, government-run plan for long-term care insurance, survives in both the House and Senate health care bills.

    Though disturbed that a number of Democrats had voted to remove the Class Act, Jim Firman, president of the National Coalition on Aging, sounded generally relieved in a recent interview. “We’ve come pretty far with this,” he said. “Six months ago, the conventional wisdom was there would be no action on long-term care in health care reform.”

    The Class Act, which the late Sen. Ted Kennedy considered his legacy, would allow people to buy long-term care insurance through payroll deductions and to receive cash if they’re later disabled, regardless of their age or of a previous health condition. “This is the best chance the baby boomers have to protect themselves from impoverishment if they need long-term care,” Mr. Firman said.

    The coalition and its allies, including AARP, are cautiously optimistic, Mr. Firman added – with emphasis on the “cautious” part. “The insurance companies will keep pressure on the Senate,” he said; many of them sell long-term care policies and don’t want increased competition.

    “The Class Act could be stripped out in some last minute, behind-the-scenes deal,” Mr. Firman said. “We’re going to be very vigilant.”

    Several other provisions that would make it easier for disabled people to receive care at home instead of in facilities are also part of the health care legislation.

    Stay tuned.

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