This write up is very worthwhile.

When people tell the pollsters or interviewers “I’m happy with my health plan…” no one asks if they are happy paying $1,200 per month for family coverage. This is also why the Obama administration was right in attacking the health care monster right off the bat. How can we repair our economic system when such a huge hunk of the GNP (or NNP or NPR or…) goes in the maw of the health care system? This is, in turn, is why I am so adamant that we must not come up empty when we have a chance to take substantial steps toward reforming the health care delivery system.

And what I meant by “or” is that a public option is not “real” health care reform…the current legislation merits support because although it differs from Republican proposals in minor, cosmetic ways; those small differences can mean the difference in whether thousands or hundreds of thousands of people die, or go bankrupt preventing themselves from dying. Far be it from me to encourage lawmakers to let those people die.

This was the comment I was referring to David. You said Nelson’s against ‘real’ health care reform ‘or’ a public option. Since the only other issue he has with the Senate’s Health Care reform bill is funding of abortion, I assumed you were aware of this and were referring to the abortion issue regarding ‘real’ health care reform. My apologies if you were not.

To my knowledge, the abortion issue is the only one of the two Nelson has threaten to withdraw his support on. This is the issue I said he has solid ground with ‘sophisticated’ Nebraskan voters on.

Cheers.

http://www.boldprogressives.org/nelsonpoll

Have no idea what you mean here…

You might want to read more Richard Lederer and study etymologies. Can’t hurt.

“poetry be as popular today if it were memorable for its briefness.” is “…..if it were not memorable for..”

Here is my daily piece of advice for you Mr. President. I know you visit here each day just for these. You are too great a speaker and speech writer (I think you write your own) to dilute both with toooo manyyyyy worrrds.

Would President Lincoln’s Gettysburg address be remembered today if it were not so short, sharp, and rememberablet? Would Robert Frost’s poetry be as popular today if it were memorable for its briefness.

Don’t be a Bill. He never learned in eight years, and no one remembers one of his.

But more irritatingly, an anti-abortionist neanderthal against ‘real’ health care reform.

David’s politics is more out of place in Nebraska than Nelson’s, regardless of wishful thinking otherwise. Believe me, Nelson would not be taking a stubborn and brave political position against a program his President very much wants, if he didn’t think he was on solid ground with his voters on this issue it in his state.

You pay out of pocket $500 ish a month???

Incredible that Americans think this is normal. Why no factual recitation about the cost of insurance the way we do it and the way its done like UK or European countries is just beyond comprehension.

I had deducted from my pay check the equivalent of $160 a month for my NHS contribution in England.

Its all mad. Just mad. As I mentioned above, Michael, it just dawned on me that for less than my NHS contribution we deduct for Medicare and our Soc Sec benefit. Everything goes for when we reach 62-65 then we get great bang for the bucks contributed. Meanwhile up til then you are supporting the insurance industry.

Why not even out the contributions over ones lifetime and just be bloody covered and stop all the nonsense? I mean do the math!

$600 is more than I’m paying, but not by much. And I’m in an HMO that, unlike Medicare, provides a lot of full coverage (used to be first dollar coverage but Kaiser has gotten with the insurers’ program and is hitting us with lots of $20 per visit/procedure co-pays.) Of course, like most Americans I do not have choice of physicians, though within the area I do have some ability to choose another Kaiser primary care doctor if I don’t like mine.

Biggest problem with Kaiser, imho: it doesn’t cover me under most circumstances out of state! There is very limited emergency coverage. So if you travel much, avoid Kaiser. I suppose we can assume that is one of the benefits of Medicare (or any non-HMO).

As I said above, my new premium is about a 12% increase over 2009.

$600???!!

Can anyone interpret that initial figure about the cost of a Medicare premium buy in. Is that $600 per month? WTF?

I live less than an hour away from Nebraska, here in the state of Kansas, and to be able to maintain the kind of approval ratings in this neck of the woods that Kerrey did when he voted against the “Defense of Marriage Act” bill, against the “Welfare Reform Bill” that Clinton signed into law, and against the flag burning amendment is proof that taking a stand on progressive issues in a state like this does not always mean voter backlash if you can communicate with them and make a connection (witness Feingold’s record in the Senate in Wisconsin, a conservative state that elected and re-elected Tommy Thompson twice).

Ben Nelson’s stance against real health care reform or a public option has everything to do with HIM, and his campaign contributors; not against the people of Nebraska, who are far more sophisticated than people think.