Health Care Leaders Sand-Bag GOP Plans to Stall!

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Senate and House Iron Out The Differences in Their Health Reform
Bills Without a Formal Conference Committee Process.
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Senate passage of its version of health reform legislation on
Christmas Eve completed a historic year in Congress and in the
nation's domestic policy debate. The House and Senate will still
have to resolve important differences in their bills this month
before they can send a final bill to President Obama.

Whether to tax health benefits to fund coverage for the uninsured;
whether to create a public insurance health plan option to hold down
health costs and keep insurers honest; and how to address the
"doughnut hole" gap in prescription drug coverage are three top
issues.

Instead of a formal conference committee, the process
will involve leaders shuttling the measure back and forth, until
both chambers have agreed to the same text. Democratic leaders
believe that many Senators and Representatives would use a
formal conference to delay, not improve, health care reform.

Both the House and Senate bills provide more affordable coverage
for retirees and seniors. They each provide cost relief for
early retiree coverage: a new re-insurance program will pick up
85% of the cost of treatments between $15,000 and $90,000 for
retirees ages 55-64. They also offer a $500 immediate increase
in the Medicare drug allowance; a phased closing of the doughnut
hole, during which seniors have to pay 100% of drug costs; and a
50% cut in the price of brand name drugs for seniors in the
doughnut hole until the gap is eliminated.

On Monday,the Alliance for Retired Americans signed onto a letter
from the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations, a broad
coalition of seniors groups, urging Senators to close the gap as
quickly as possible.

Both bills would also contain costs in a variety of ways. For
instance, they would reduce over-payments to private Medicare
Advantage plans by $135-$170 billion over ten years; eliminate
co-payments for preventive care, thereby lowering the odds of a
more expensive, catastrophic illness down the line; and
ultimately reduce the federal deficit by approximately $130
billion over ten years. Both bills prohibit denial of coverage
or higher rates due to pre-existing conditions and ban annual or
lifetime limits on claims payments by insurers. They also reduce
age-based variation in premium rates. Differences between the
bills include whom to tax and how many people to cover.

The Senate wants to tax higher-end health plans valued at over
$8,500 for most individuals and $23,000 for couples, raising
$150 billion. For retirees, the amounts are higher: $9,850 for
individuals and $26,000 for family coverage. However, the House
wants to increase income taxes on the wealthiest Americans - a
plan the Alliance for Retired Americans considers fairer.
"While the final version is unlikely to include all that we have
been fighting for, I believe our grassroots efforts have helped
immensely in building political support," said Barbara J.
Easterling, President of the Alliance.

Let's Finish the Job Right!

Please take a minute to watch this TV spot and then click on the "You" below to make your voice heard:

To finish the job and deliver a health reform bill that meets the needs of America’s families, we urge that you and conference leaders resolve a number of critical outstanding issues. These issues may be summarized under two goals:

1. Make GOOD health care affordable
Low and middle income families must be able to afford health insurance, and employers must be asked to provide good health coverage for their employees so health care is affordable at work. Health care should not be paid for with a tax on health benefits.

2. Hold insurance companies accountable
If the insurance companies win, we lose. Insurance companies must be held accountable with strong regulations and consumer protections, and we must be given the choice of a national public health insurance option available on day one across the United States.

You have my full support in addressing these critical issues before legislation is sent to the White House for a final signature.

Sincerely,

You!

Click on the "YOU" above to send this letter to your representative, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid & President Obama

It Is Not Over! Fight Back Today!

The fight to bring affordable, quality health care to all Americans has been waging for over a century and our generation is on the verge of claiming victory in this historic human rights struggle.

However, the insurance Tsars and drug oligarchs have so corrupted our representatives that we are left on the verge of losing and settling for "reform" which is little more than the establishment of some rules and regulations that common-sense would have dictated should already be in effect. Millions will still be left uninsured, seniors will still be left holding the bag---choosing between rent, food or prescription medicines, and children will still suffer the long-term debilitating effects from lack of health care in their early, formative years.

Turncoat Democrats like Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson have crafted an insurance industry friendly bill and guided it through the Senate with an eye-wink and wave through from the Obama administration causing an outpouring of outrage from progressive and senior's groups. That is the bad news, but there reasons for us to continue in the battle with renewed vigor and focus.

The House bill and the Senate bill are heading for conference committee work with some "closed door" negotiation already underway with members of the House being "pressured" to accept the deeply flawed Senate bill as is. Yes, that is part of the bad news. But, the Congressional Progressive Caucus is in a position to continue the fight if we, you and I and every one we can mobilize into taking action let them know we support them and want them to fight back against the insurance industry, Big Pharma and other corporate stakeholders that are attempting to gut, stymie and halt real reform.

Go to CREDO Action and tell the House progressives to keep fighting! Do it for yourself, your children and your grandchildren...it is time now to take action. Don't delay, just click on the link above and sign the petition and let Congress know that we aren't beaten yet!

Ramping up 2010 - Important Contacts & Dates

IMPORTANT CONTACTS:

Texas Democratic Party - (512) 478-6800 - www.txdemocrats.org
Resource Page: www.txdemocrats.org/grassroots/resources

Green Party of Texas - http://txgreens.org/drupal/ - txgreens@txgreens.org, or call or toll-free (888) 944-7839).

Texas Governor - (800) 843-5789 - www.governor.state.tx.us

Texas Senate - (512) 463-1252 (Capitol Switchboard) - www.senate.state.tx.us

Texas House - (512) 463-1252 (Capitol Switchboard) - www.house.state.tx.us

Texas Secretary of State - (800)-252-2216 - www.sos.state.tx.us

The White House - (202) 456-1414 - www.whitehouse.gov

U. S. Senate - 202-224-3121 (Capitol Switchboard) - www.senate.gov

U. S. House of Representatives - (202) 224-3121) - (Capitol Switchboard) - www.house.gov

IMPORTANT FEBRUARY & MARCH DATES:

Feb 1 - Last day to register to Vote in March 2, 2010 Primaries
Feb 5 - First day to File for Place on Ballot in May 8, 2010 Local Elections
Feb 12 - First day to apply for Ballot by Mail for April 13, 2010 Primary Runoff
Feb 16 - First day of early voting in March 2, 2010 Primary Election
Feb 23 - Last day to apply for Ballot by Mail (not mail by date, must be received by date) for March 2, 2010 Primary Election
Feb 26 - Last day of Early Voting in March 2, 2010 Primary Election
Mar 8 - Last day to File for Place on Ballot in May 8, 2010 Local Elections
Mar 9 - First day to apply for Ballot by Mail for May 8, 2010 Local Elections
Mar 15 - Last day to register to vote in April 13, Primary Runoff

The Senility Prayer

Well, I tried. I really did try. And tried really, really hard I'll tell you! But, what I found is that I can't do the first post of the year without a reference to the effects of the inexorable accumulation of years. So, thanks to my pal Nina, here's my contribution to get the new year rolling along:

THE SENILITY PRAYER : Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.

And remember this:
"You don't stop laughing because you grow old,

You grow old because you stop laughing!!!"