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Health Care Blog

  • Word from the White House: New York Times Debunks Medicare Scare-mongering

    Posted by Jesse Lee on September 28, 2009 at 9:21 AM EDT

    It's no secret that institutions of all stripes focus their communications on certain messages day to day. We thought it would all be a little more open and transparent if we went ahead and published what our focus will be for the day, along with any articles, reports or documents they refer to.
    Supporting editorial: "Medicare Scare-Mongering," New York Times, 9/26/09
    Talking Points: New York Times Debunks Medicare Scare-mongering
    • Yesterday, the New York Times decried and debunked Republican "scare-mongering" on what health insurance reform would mean for Medicare.
    • As the Times says, for Republicans to "posture as vigilant protectors of Medicare" reeks of "cynicism and hypocrisy," considering that they have "in the past tried to pare back Medicare."
      As recently as this past April, Republicans in Congress voted overwhelmingly to end Medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher program that provides a fixed sum of money to buy private insurance.
    • With their recent scare tactics, the paper says, Republicans have been "obscuring and twisting the facts and spreading unwarranted fear."
    • In fact, the Times points out, "the various reform bills now pending should actually make Medicare better for most beneficiaries — by enhancing their drug coverage, reducing the premiums they pay for drugs and medical care, eliminating co-payments for preventive services and helping keep Medicare solvent, among other benefits."
    • President Obama believes Medicare is a sacred trust with America’s seniors. Reform protects Medicare. It doesn’t use dime of the Medicare trust fund to pay for reform and it strengthens the financial health of the program.
     

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  • Traveling with the V.P.

    Posted by Jason Djang on September 24, 2009 at 3:33 PM EDT

    As we discussed yesterday, the Vice President spent the morning at a town hall with seniors in Maryland, dismantling the myths that have been put out there about health insurance reform. A new report from HHS showing that not only will reform leave seniors' Medicare benefits intact, it also includes a number of elements that can help bring seniors some additional peace of mind.
    We had the chance to get his thoughts on the event and why he's dumbfounded about the "malarkey" that's being spread about President Obama's health reform plan as it relates to seniors. Check out highlights of the event:
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    download .mp4 (84 MB)

    His discussion was bolstered by a new HHS report showing that not only will reform leave seniors' Medicare benefits intact, it also includes a number of elements that can help bring seniors some additional peace of mind. Reform would strengthen Medicare, cut high prescription drug costs, make preventive services free, end overpayments to private insurance companies that cost all Medicare beneficiaries, improve quality and patient safety, and make long term care services more affordable – just for starters.
    All very serious stuff, but the Vice President was in true form yesterday, even quietly coming off stage and slipping into the crowd during the conversation:
    (Vice President Joe Biden sits with the audience at a health care town hall at Leisure World in Silver Springs, MD on Wednesday, September 23, 2009)
     

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  • "Mom, It's Hokum. It's a Bunch of Malarkey"

    Posted by Jesse Lee on September 23, 2009 at 5:51 PM EDT

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    download .mp4 (547 MB)

    At a town hall meeting today with seniors in Silver Spring, MD, Vice President Joe Biden and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius discussed the release of a new report, "Health Insurance Reform and Medicare: Making Medicare Stronger for America's Seniors." The Vice President was perfectly clear: "Nobody is going to mess with your benefits. All we do is make it better for people on Medicare."
    He joked about having to disabuse his own mother of myths being spread around about "death panels" and reduced Medicare benefits, getting laughs at the line: "I said, 'Mom, I'm trying to kill you," before explaining to her that it was a "bunch of malarkey."

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  • The President on the Late Show

    Posted by Dave Cole on September 22, 2009 at 10:38 PM EDT

    Here's the video from President Obama's appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman. Talk of foreign policy, economic recovery, and health insurance reform is punctuated by a special gift of produce. Check it out:
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  • The Obama Plan in Four Minutes

    Posted by Jesse Lee on September 21, 2009 at 5:55 PM EDT

    Starting... now:
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  • The President to the Youth: "It's about what kind of country you want to be"

    Posted by Jesse Lee on September 17, 2009 at 7:25 PM EDT

    Speaking in College Park to the University of Maryland, the President saw some of the same passion for change that consumed much of the country for the years leading up to his election.
    People in the audience take photos of the President(People in the audience take photos of President Barack Obama as he takes the stage to deliver remarks at a health care rally at the University of Maryland, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009, in College Park, Md. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
    Make no mistake, health insurance reform is something every young person should care about for themselves. As HealthReform.gov detailed in a new report this morning, young people entering the workforce are more and more getting the short end of the health insurance stick. We also launched a Facebook version of our "What’s In Reform for You?" quiz, which is guaranteed to surprise you no matter how young or old you are.
    But there was no question that this audience of young people, hungry for that change, understood the moral dimension, and even the historical dimension, as well if not better than anybody.
    The President opened talking about the young woman who introduced him, who had undergone amazingly trying times dealing with cancer:
    I'm sure that some of you wondered why this college required that all new students have health insurance this semester.  Well, here's why.  Here's why.  Every day, the one in three adults -- one in three young adults who don't have health insurance live one accident or one illness away from bankruptcy.  Think about what would have happened with Rachel if she hadn’t had health insurance.  Nearly half of these young people have trouble paying their medical bills.  Nearly 40 percent are in debt because of them.  I mean, think about adding the debt you already have for college -- on top of that, another $10,000 or $20,000 or $30,000 or $50,000 worth of debt because you get sick.     
    Some of these Americans don’t get insurance because they feel young and healthy.  But some work part-time or for small businesses, where you aren’t offered health insurance.  And it’s just too expensive to buy coverage on your own. 
    Even if you have coverage, insurance companies today, they can drop it or water it down when you’re sick and you need it the most.  Or they can decide that they won’t pay the full cost of your care and make you pay the rest of it out of pocket, even if it’s thousands upon thousands of dollars.  That’s why more than one-third of all young adults -- including those with insurance  – have had trouble paying their medical bills.  That's why one-fourth of all young adults are paying off medical debt. 
    And we’ve heard some horror stories during the course of this debate.  There’s the young father I met in Colorado -- his child was diagnosed with severe hemophilia the day after he was born.  And they had insurance, but because there was a cap on their coverage, as one child’s medical bills piled up, this father was left frantically to search for another option, or face tens of thousands of dollars of debt.  (Audience interruption.) 
    Another woman from Texas was about to get a double mastectomy when her insurance company canceled her policy because she forgot to declare a case of acne.  By the time she had her insurance reinstated, her breast cancer -- (audience interruption.)  What's going on, guys?  We're doing okay.  Relax. Everybody is all right.  We're doing fine.  (Applause.)
    I want everybody to understand this.  You had a young woman who was diagnosed with cancer, but because she had a case of acne that the insurance company said hadn’t been declared, they decided they wouldn't cover her.  By the time her insurance was reinstated, her breast cancer had more than doubled in size.  The
    Now, these stories are heartbreaking; they are wrong.  Nobody in America should be treated that way.  And we are going to bring about change this year.  (Applause.) 
    Now, at its core -- listen up.  At its core, that’s what this issue is about.  Health care is about more than the details of a policy.  It’s about what kind of country you want to be.  Young people, it's about what kind of country you want to be.  We are the only nation on Earth that leaves millions of people without health insurance.  We spend more than any country on Earth, and we're not any healthier for it.  So this is about what kind of country you want your children to grow up in. 
    A lot of you here today and a lot of young people across the country gave your time and your effort to this campaign because you believed that America can still do great things.  (Applause.) You believed that in this country, we don't fear the future; we shape the future.  (Applause.)  We don't feed on division and anger; we feed on hope and possibility.  That's what America is about.  (Applause.)  that's what we're called to affirm right now.  

     

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