| HR3590 is attached to Medicare/Medicaid legislation, increasing States' control with Federal funding guidelines from the Department of Human Services (DHS). DHS is the fiduciary and budgeting voice for SSI/Medicare/Medicaid. The DHS - not the insurance industry - will determine the funding needs for health care programs. Over the course of a few decades the insurance industry - and other for-profit gov't subsidized industries - have effectively gutted DHS's funding to dismantle our core social non-profit programs.
This administration, and supporting legislators - Thank you, Senator Bennet - are effectively rolling back corporate rights legislative protections, and sending a strong message to private for-profiteers, "Free enterprise is not government subsidized!"
Here's the KISS version of HCR: The Senate Bill HR3590 increases funding starting in 2012 to Medicare/Medicaid, creates stronger States' regulatory authority - overriding anti-Medicaid/Medicare pro-insurance industry legis. written in 1996, 2003, and 2005 - provides federal funding resources to allow States opportunity to create low cost health insurance options, provides federal financial resources to strengthen State payment controls. Do we really need the words "public option and single payer" in our federal legislation? Each State has it's own economic needs, and can be better stewards with federal funds; creating programs that work, immediately.
The smaller Bill - HR4872 - allows immediate Congressional access to the 2010 Federal Budget under the provisions of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act. The insurance industry was slated to receive 17% of our federal budget in 2010 for a budget that was created in 2008. A budget takes about 2 years to create, deliberate, approve, and allocate funds after tax $$ are received. HR4872 will reallocate 3% - 7%, immediately. The 3.2% on citizens netting over $250,000, restores lost income from the Bush "tax cuts". Hence, the GOP's tantrums and amped up rhetoric! The industry is losing "legislative control and entitlements" to our tax $$.
Many for-profit gov't subsidized industries - currently 72% of our federal budget (refer to www.cbpp.org for more info) - have a lot to lose. Congress can continue to remove insurance funding from our Fed budget, as needed, to strengthen proactive HCR initiatives under DHS. Further, this administration has opportunity to continue it's efforts to reduce corporate welfare with "earmark" reform, finance reform, energy reform, education reform, etc.
We don't need to look beyond the recent SCOTUS Roberts' court Citizens United v FEC elections ruling, proving the fear this administration has invoked among the corporate rights for-profiteers. Why would the court rule in favor of "corporate rights", if the for-profiteers had a comfort level that Obama's administration was following their lead? We can continue to follow conspiracy theories, or choose to follow logic!
Attached is a brief tutorial by Kaiser Edu. explaining States'and Federal roles in the health care process. It "connects the dots" in an attempt to get us all on the same page to achieve our common goals of low cost public "insurance" option and single payer opportunities for HC at the State level. HCR is about people, not profits. Colorado needs to hear our voice at the State level. We're spending too much time rallying around our cause on the Federal level. It will come - not today!
As we move forward let's give our support to those legislators who have worked tirelessly on our behalf; improving our lives. Let's be prudent with our candidate choices. Enjoy the tutorial.
http://www.kaiseredu.org/tutor...
http://www.cbpp.org for more info on the Federal and State budgets |
