Doctors For America Rejoice Following Passage Of Health Care Reform

By Laurel Brishel Prichard University of New Mexico/ Talk Radio News Service

Advocacy group Doctors For America expressed their excitement Monday over the passage of sweeping health care reform legislation the previous day. The doctors joined together from across the country in D.C. for a march and rally to congratulate the Senate and House for their work on health care reform.

“This legislation will go further and do more to fix the problems of the health care delivery system in my state then anything that I have seen proposed in the 27 years I’ve been here in the Senate,” said Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) during a news conference for the association. “This is a great day for our country.”

The doctors, who wore patient identification bands to help associate themselves with their patients that are struggling with the cost of health care, will continue to urge the Senate to pass the reconciliation, which Bingaman says will be passed this week.

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) warned that many new programs will have kinks in the beginning, but that health care reform is a monumental achievement for the nation.

“What you are seeing happen here is the beginning of an enormous change, it is not a change that is all done,’ said McDermott “We have to keep coming back and working on it just like we did with Medicare.”

The new reform should be treated like Medicare, according to McDermott, which has been amended every year since its enactment in 1965. One of the amendments that McDermott and Doctors For America pressed hope to create is a program to help future doctors, dentists and nurses with the ever rising cost of school for those fields.

“This bill tells all Americans who are suffering with chronic conditions, whose insurance companies set a lifetime or annual cap on their benefits, that those days are over this year,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL.) said.

Healthcare Fight Not Over, Say GOP'ers

Although President Barack Obama will soon sign the main health reform bill passed by the House last night, Republican lawmakers aren't convinced that their window of opportunity to 'kill the bill' has closed. Hours after the House passed the Senate's bill, as well as a subsequent reconciliation bill, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) drafted legislation to repeal them.

“Americans across the country are outraged that liberals have made an unconstitutional bill full of special interest bribes the law of the land. Democrats will pay a price for their overreach. This fight is far from over. Now the work begins to repeal this monstrosity and restore the principles of freedom that made America a great nation," said King in a statement released Monday morning.

King's effort will most likely enjoy support from at least a few on the other side of Capitol Hill.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has already said he will introduce a repeal measure in the Senate, and during an appearance on ABC this morning Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) vowed "we're going to repeal this."

Realistically, Republicans will more than likely have to win control of both Houses this fall in order to have a shot at repealing the soon-to-be laws. Additionally, without 60 seats in the Senate, Republicans would have to use the same reconciliation process they have assailed Democrats over the past few months for using. However, while attaining a super-majority is out of the question, Republicans are betting on the fact that Obamacare will pay dividends for their candidates later this year.

One such candidate is Rev. Isaac Hayes (R), a youth Minister from Chicago, who sees healthcare as a way to defeat Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) in his race to get re-elected to the House.

"I believe the process by which health insurance reform has been jammed down our throats will be the centerpiece of the November election...America knows this is a government grab of one-sixth of the economy and they are encouraging Republicans to repeal this bill the moment we are sworn in as the 112th Congress," Hayes told Talk Radio News Service on Monday.

Republicans Play Down Accusations Of Spitting, Racism At Conservative Protest

By Sofia Sanchez and Monique Cala University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

House Republicans downplayed accusations Sunday that a conservative protester spat on Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) the previous day.

“The press has been [bugging] me for the last hour and a half wanting me to respond because allegedly one person spit on one person and one person said something inappropriate,” said King. “It’s offensive to me that the press would make a story about one person, and not a story about the 29,999 people that came here and love America.”

Protesters were also accused of leveling racist and homophobic slurs at lawmakers, allegations that Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) commented on.

“We don’t know if it is true or not true, but that's not who we are. That's not the kind of people we are,” said Bachmann. “What’s worse is, we are seeing our country stolen out from under us.”

Bachmann, along with representatives Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Steve King (R-Iowa), raised the prospect that some of the protesters were “plants” put in the crowd to denigrate the movement.

The group of three told protesters that the Democrats did not have the votes to pass the legislation through and that the fight to “kill the bill” would continue.

Bachmann left protesters saying “We haven’t given up. we’re fighting, we’re doing everything we can...don’t give up cause we aren’t either.”

GOP Underminding Health Reform At All Costs, Says Hoyer

By Laurel Brishel Prichard
University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters Tuesday that Americans are more concerned with whether or not health reform passes than the means by which it is passed.

“We talk a lot about process in this town,” said Hoyer. “'So what?' says the American public. What they are interested in is what resulted. 'What did you do for me and my family to make my life more secure and greater quality?'”

Despite bipartisan efforts to prevent the legislation from passing, Hoyer said he's hopeful the bill will persevere. The Majority Leader disputed a popular claim that reform will deal a large blow to seniors on Medicare.

“The Republicans have been doing everything in their power to undermine the health care legislation,” he said.

According to Hoyer, Republicans are obstructing reform regardless of what is in the bill. “They continue to scare the public, some of which has worked, by saying this is a government takeover of health care. That is absolutely untrue.”

While a vote on the bill has not yet been announced, Hoyer assured that one will take place very soon.

Health Care Caucus Calls On Congress To Fight Medicare Fraud

By Laurel Brishel Prichard University of New Mexico/ Talk Radio News Service

The Congressional Health Care Caucus (CHC) highlighted the consequences of Medicare fraud Tuesday and called on their colleagues to take actions that could possibly save billions of dollars for the social insurance program.

“[Medicare fraud] is very serious problem and one that requires serious attention ... to reclaim the scarce health care dollars that people are otherwise diverting from the system,” said Rep. Michael Burgress (R-Texas) during a news conference.

Jim Frogue, the Vice President for Center for Health Transformation, proposed fighting fraud through an identity check system, similar to the process that is used with credit card purchases. Such a measure would require individuals who are receiving Medicare-Medicaid benefits to have proper identification.

“People can get away with [fraud] for months and years and never get caught," said Frogue, who appeared alongside the CHC. "The mandate of Medicare-Medicaid is to pay the bills and ask questions later."

According to Frogue, anti-fraud measures already in place are inadequate. The Medicaid Fraud Control Units (MFCU) only focus on high profile cases, Frogue says, and essentially overlooks the smaller cases.

"I don’t know why I’m not retired in the Caribbean. Its so easy to steal this money and just move on,” joked Frogue.