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Senator Baucus’ Impossible Task

Senator Max Baucus is embarked upon a task that might make or break, not only his career but the future of the Democratic party itself.  I can’t help but believe this man is trying hard to put together a bill that will work, though I don’t believe his current offering will, but is facing tough opposition from both extremes. The liberal Democrats such as Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia who has already said that he will vote no as it now stands. Compare that with some of the Democrats from conservative states who cannot accept it as it is, except for opposite reasons. Baucus is tending to make a little more effort to please the left than the right, which puts him in double jeopardy.

If a plan goes through with a majority of the liberals happy, then it falls on it’s face which is very likely, he will be like Obama, between a rock and a hard place.                                      
On the other hand, if it is too offensive to the hard left, it will never go through. The problem with this healthcare business, everyone knows that it is very likely to carry some drastic side effects.  Every plan so far, has had clauses which will destroy the healthcare for the elderly. Now, they will stand up and say that is not true but that Medicare will not be affected. Whoever says that, I am forced to steal a phrase from Senator Wilson...”You Lie”!  There is no possible way they can explain how they can save enough on waste and fraud to pull $800 billion from Medicare.

The biggest complaint put forth by the proponents of these bills is that big insurance companies are making shameful profits. Yet, they are trying desperately to placate those very companies on every hand, along with the pharmaceutical companies. Why, because they cough up millions of dollars when it comes to election year. 

About the only thing I can see about the Baucus bill which I approve of is that it does not contain a public option, at least not in honest terms. I have not been able to find a copy online, probably because it is still being revised. The Humana Insurance company sent a mailing to it’s elderly policyholders to beware of the plan, because it will take away from Medicare. The department of Health and Human Services hit the ceiling and fired off a warning letter to Humana demanding they cease to send such mailings and to remove any such language from their website. They also stated they may take other action against the company. That is hard to believe. That such steps be taken to stop freedom of speech. Of course, it will take away from Medicare. It will virtually destroy it.

If any regulations are to be placed on the insurance companies, it should simply be a cap on the amount of profit per dollar spent. But best of all would be allowing those companies to cross state lines to increase competition. And the thing to put Medicare and Medicaid back into a solvent and viable condition would be to resolve the waste and fraud they profess they will do after the passage of these irresponsible reform bills.

The real “catch 22” is, even if one of these bills are rammed through congress and it holds ridiculous and highly undesirable aspects, unless people are totally aware off those items, the instigators of this legislation will go virtually free until until 2013 since it is designed not to be implemented until then. And guess what? That means the mid-term elections and even the next presidential election will have come and gone.

There are portions of these bills which, if implemented next month, would cause the biggest congressional turnover in history and assure Obama of a single term.

» left by Marijo Phelps from mountain meadow CO (2 years 144 days ago.)

Pass the Tums,please. Well written article and we need to see and hear what is happening "behind the scenes" Thanks for writing this piece! Marijo

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