House healthcare talks break down in anger

[GaryC 7]

insurance premiums, deductibles, out of pocket costs, etc. Not just the cost of medical services going up and up and up.

Insurance costs are entirely dependent on rising medical service costs.

Any legislature designed at attacking the effect will not change the cause, for the rising medical costs are independant of insurance costs.

Partially agree with you. Regardless of who is the cause, both need to be regulated down.

Both are heavily regulated already. Breaking the regulated cartel and allowing competiton is the right direction.

Hmm... Where have I heard that before? Sounds about right to me.

[NickD 203]

Private health insurance companies paying congress 1.4 million dollars per day is working.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Everybody is scared of medical rationing, and yet, that is the solution in the long run to cut healthcare costs.

The real choice is, who sets those limits: The insurance companies, or government.

HMO's have already begun rationing. If you have an HMO, you should already notice how many things that used to be covered, are now available as fee for service only. The HMO model is probably the model we will end up with for all heathcare. Problem is, it will be Congress arguing what is a necessary proceedure, and what will available for fee for service, not the insurance companies. Sorta sounds like the failed Medicare model, doesn't it?

Of course, none of this will work as long as most Americans are getting their healthcare coverage through their employers. The unions control the Democratic Congress, and the rank and file are not going to give up their healthcare plans without a fight. We have already seen that with the proposed surcharge on so-called cadillac plans, and the union squawking.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

They are actually called Blue Dogs?

Yep. The so-called Reagan Democrats. They used to be called Yellow Dog Democrats.

Not quite so. Yellow Dog Democrats got their name from the fact that they were such party loyalists. They would rather vote for a yellow dog than a Republican. Blue Dogs, on the other hand, are more conservative and deliberative members of Congress from districts that are resistant to the efforts of their leftist extremist Congressional brethren. More will be heard from them as they attempt to slow down the liberal move toward socialism and moderate their course of action.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

They are actually called Blue Dogs?

Yep. The so-called Reagan Democrats. They used to be called Yellow Dog Democrats.

Not quite so. Yellow Dog Democrats got their name from the fact that they were such party loyalists. They would rather vote for a yellow dog than a Republican. Blue Dogs, on the other hand, are more conservative and deliberative members of Congress from districts that are resistant to the efforts of their leftist extremist Congressional brethren. More will be heard from them as they attempt to slow down the liberal move toward socialism and moderate their course of action.

You is correct.

Blue Dog Democrat" is derived from the term "Yellow Dog Democrat." Former Texas Democrat Rep. Pete Geren is credited for coining the term, explaining that the members had been "choked blue" by "extreme" Democrats from the left.

yellow dog democrat – an unswerving loyalist of the US Democratic party

blue dog democrat – an open-minded Democrat willing to support some conservative policies

http://wordcraft.infopop.cc/Archives/2004-11-Nov.htm

[Ban Hammer 14,573]

They are actually called Blue Dogs?

Yep. The so-called Reagan Democrats. They used to be called Yellow Dog Democrats.

Not quite so. Yellow Dog Democrats got their name from the fact that they were such party loyalists. They would rather vote for a yellow dog than a Republican. Blue Dogs, on the other hand, are more conservative and deliberative members of Congress from districts that are resistant to the efforts of their leftist extremist Congressional brethren. More will be heard from them as they attempt to slow down the liberal move toward socialism and moderate their course of action.

i was wondering who was gonna catch that.

[luckytxn 2,265]

And to think all these Socialists really think that a new huge very expensive Federal bureaucracy is the way to bring down costs and reform healthcare. And I am betting that they also think that only the rich will be paying for all this.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

insurance premiums, deductibles, out of pocket costs, etc. Not just the cost of medical services going up and up and up.

Insurance costs are entirely dependent on rising medical service costs.

Any legislature designed at attacking the effect will not change the cause, for the rising medical costs are independant of insurance costs.

Careful there. Take malpractice insurance, for example. Many states have instituted higher barriers for peope to actually pursue lawsuits which resulted in lower number of filings, lower number of cases successfully pursued and lower payouts. And yet, malpractice insurance in all of those states has gone - you guessed it - up. These insurance companies make insane profits in the health care field and that is what's got to be addressed. Along with the compensation model for services provided - i.e. scrap fee-for-service. Tackle these two and we'll have all Americans in health insurance at an overall lower total cost.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Private health insurance companies paying congress 1.4 million dollars per day is working.

Yep. Congress is for sale. And we've been making these guys fat enough so that they can ensure that Congress will continue to sing their song. And there goes any chance for any real reform. Ain't gonna happen. They'll break the entire economy for their - relatively speaking - short term gain.