Update: Cloture Vote on Lose Your Health Care bill May 9, 10:45AM

[caligirl]

According to a Senate clerks room guy I just spoke to, S1955, The Lose Your Health Care Bill known as HIMMAA, will be on the Senate floor tomorrow morning for a cloture vote at around 10:45 to 11 am. The exact time isn't known, this ia an approximate time.



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=983527&mesg_id=1000475

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2221851&mesg_id=2223073

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2590237&mesg_id=2590237

[caligirl]

1. kick, for update.

:kick:

[IdaBriggs]

2. What are you talking about? Can you summarize in a paragraph

or two? I have limited band width, and opening new windows constantly is kind of a pain. Thank you.

[papau]

3. S-1955 will remove State's ability to mandate coverage of orphaned illness

- meaning those illnesses that affect a smaller part of the population but are expensive and deadly - in point of fact those illnesses that define the act of "insurance" as applied to health care.

S. 1955, also known as the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act, would not only allow the creation of AHPs that can skirt the 46 state laws for small business health plans, it would also allow all state-regulated health insurance policies to bypass those laws. This means that in addition to small business health plans, all state-regulated health insurance -- like individual policies, for example -- would also lose their guarantee of required coverage of lifesaving diabetes items.

So the Health companies will need to only bribe the Federal politicians if they need to get away from coverage of folks that have real claims. Indeed there is now NO FEDERAL OVERSIGHT OF INSURANCE READY TO REPLACE STATE OVERSIGHT!

But I guess our media does not want to point that out.

[caligirl]

5. Papua that is so true, a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle

said to me in an email that she was working on a story about this last week. So far no story, not a single word in this paper about this bill. She did two health insurance related stories and not one mention of this.

[caligirl]

4. from Daily Kos an explanation of the bill/short version

Note: Senator harkin just said something on the Senate floor like this, that the repugs are introducing three bills today and tomorrow that they know don't have a chance of passing. One is the Enzi bill or as it is named the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization Act.





Think Medicare Pt. D is bad? Brace Yourself for the Enzi Bill
by Families USA
Tue May 02, 2006 at 12:11:27 PM PDT

Promoted from the diaries by georgia10. This is a very, very dangerous bill.

From the folks who brought you Medicare Part D(isaster), here's yet another bad idea for health care reform: the so-called Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act (S.1955), known here in the Beltway as the "Enzi Bill." From the bill's intro:

...to expand health care access and reduce costs through the creation of small business health plans and through modernization of the health insurance marketplace.

Sounds harmless enough, right? In reality, this is an extremely dangerous bill that, if passed, could jeopardize the health care of 85 million Americans. Find out why after the jump. If you can't wait to do something, a coalition of national organizations is sponsoring a national call-in day tomorrow, May 3rd. Please take a minute tomorrow to call your Senators, toll free--1-800-828-0498--and tell them to vote NO on the Enzi bill.

* Families USA's diary :: ::
*

The Enzi bill would jeopardize the health care of millions of Americans by overriding existing state laws that guarantee coverage of such crucial services as cervical, prostate, and colorectal cancer screenings, as well as mammograms, mental health, and well-child care. As Ron Pollack (our Ex. Director) puts it:

The bill leaves consumers at the mercy of health insurance companies by overriding a range of state laws that protect the consumer and regulate insurance company behavior. Fundamental consumer protections that will be wiped out include: rules that limit premium discrimination based on health status, age, and sex; prohibitions of huge premium increases when people get sick; and prohibitions of misleading insurance company marketing practices (emphasis added).

Here are some examples of medical protection losses that could result from the Enzi bill (more fact sheets at our Enzi Bill Center:


Ohio: alcoholism treatment, cervical cancer screening, contraceptives, emergency services, infertility treatment, mammography screening, mental health (general), off-label drug use, and well child care.

California: alcoholism treatment, AIDS vaccine,blood lead screening, bone density screening, cervical cancer screening, clinical trials, colorectal screening, contraceptives, dental anesthesia, diabetic supplies and education, drug abuse treatment, emergency services, home health care, hospice care, infertility treatment, mammography screening, maternity, mental health parity, metabolic disorders/PKU, minimum mastectomy stay, off- label drug use, orthotics/prosthetics, prostate cancer screening, second medical/surgical opinion, and well-child care.

Florida: Alcoholism treatment, ambulance transportation, ambulatory surgery, bone marrow transplants, bone density screening, cleft palate, dental anesthesia, diabetes supplies and education, emergency services, home health care, mammography screening, mental health (general), metabolic disorders/PKU, minimum mastectomy stay, off-label drug use, prosthetics, TMJ Disorders, and well-child care.


There's already wide opposition aligned against this bill, including 254 organizations, 41 state attorneys general, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and many others. Editorial writers are also weighing in:

The measure's goal is ostensibly to allow small businesses to jointly purchase health insurance for employees. A laudable goal, certainly. In our national system of employer-provided health insurance, the small enterprise is notoriously a weak link.

But Enzi's bill uses small businesses and their workers as human shields to mask an all-out assault on state regulation of health insurance across the country. He proposes to preempt state regulators on a wide range of issues, replacing their standards with federal rules that in some respects have already proven to be dismal failures, and in other respects will be easily manipulated by the insurance industry. The preemptions will apply not only to small-employer plans, but to individual health insurance and large-group plans, too -- in other words, pretty much everybody.

The result? People will have to choose between accepting barebones policies and paying higher rates for the more comprehensive coverage they need, while small business will see their health care costs skyrocket as the bill pits the young and healthy against the sick and old. A bill that wholly undermines the very concept of health insurance isn't reform--it's a giveaway to the insurance industry.

A coalition of national organizations is sponsoring a national call-in day on tomorrow, May 3rd. Please take a minute tomorrow to call your Senators, toll free--1-800-828-0498--and tell them to vote NO on the Enzi bill.
Poll



http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/5/2/151127/2173

[caligirl]

6. Kennedy speaking now about medical malpractice bill problems

Let see, your 20 year old severly injured in an accident can't receive compensation any greater than an elderly person with the same or lesser injury due to 250,000 cap. A 20 year old, a brain injured newborn, etc all capped at the same level of 250,000 compensation.


Waiting to see if he brings up the Lose Your Health Care bill in his time remaining. No. e seemed to just address the malpractice bill.

[blondeatlast]

7. Kicking for my dear caligirl!

Thank you for your tireless work to stop this fraud, cg.

:bounce: :hug:

[Vinca]

8. I could barely watch CSPAN today.

Here I am, seriously hurting and unable to afford the health insurance that might have covered treatment for the injury that is causing the pain, and these jokers are dwelling on lawsuits and trying to cut yet another break for the insurance companies. Their theory - the one they want us to believe, anyway - is that reduced payments to the poor slob who got the wrong leg amputated will reduce doctors' malpractice insurance premiums and it'll all trickle down to lower costs for health care. Right. Now where's the part where they tell the insurance companies they must lower the cost of their malpractice premiums? It's not there. Pander, pander, pander. Insurance companies get richer. Politicians' coffers get fatter. Pass the Aleve.

[caligirl]

10. I've had it on all day too. So when they started saying 85% support this

I had to call to ask where they got that number, because the Zogby Survey of small business employees does't support that.

"One of the most interesting findings of the survey was that even younger employees, ages 18-34, greatly oppose -- 82 percent -- charging older workers higher premiums," said John Zogby, whose firm conducted the survey.

Other survey findings include:

* 70% say that the cost of health care should be spread evenly across
employees, regardless of their age, occupation or medical history.

* 71% do not feel that health insurance companies should be allowed to
charge higher premiums to small businesses that have a high percentage
of employees with existing health problems.

* By a 2-to-1 margin (61% verses 28%), small business employees do not
think that Congress should pass a law that would allow health insurance
companies and small businesses to avoid state regulations that protect
health care consumers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060505/dcf032.html?.v=50


I was able to rebut every point Enzi's office staffer brought, she was trying to sell it. Then I just said I had a problem with Congress deliberatly misleading people to get what the want.

[Vinca]

12. Polling is clear about what the PEOPLE want,

but the people are not the concern anymore. The concern is booking a K Street flight to Scotland after November. I emailed my so-called representatives (Gregg and Sununu) and expect another letter in the box from each telling me why they decided it was a good idea to vote against my wishes . . . again.

[caligirl]

9. Ezra Klein writes about the Lose Your Health Care Bill

>>"Unfortunately, association health plans are a perfect lesson in unintended consequences. Because insurers will be freed from individual state regulations, they will race to the bottom; wooing business owners with the barest and bony of insurance plans.

What kind of coverage will be dropped? Everything ranging from contraceptives to dental anesthesia (imagine bargaining with your dentist for that one). In fact, head over to this table to see the dizzying array of benefits that you would lose in each state should congress pass this legislation.

What’s more, it’s not always the lack of bargaining power that’s keeping small businesses from getting affordable rates. It’s the fact that in most states monopolistic insurance markets are discouraging competition. As the New York Times examined last week the largest insurer had 43 percent of the market for small group coverage in most states, up a whopping 10% in three years. In nine states, the largest carrier has more than 50 percent. So while the number of uninsured rose by 6 million since 2000, and 9% of employers decided to drop health benefits, it’s no coincidence that insurer consolidation markedly increased as well.

But the basic idea behind association health plans (besides obliterating necessary regulation) is good ol’ Consumer Directed Health Care (CDHC). Even if we take this specific instance – lack of bargaining power among small businesses – it’s clear that CDHC can’t work. If groups can’t bargain, how can individuals be anymore effective? As other nations have shown, the best and most effective way of lowering health costs is to introduce the ultimate bargainer – the federal government."<<< http://ezraklein.typepad.com/blog/2006/05/the_new_moderni.html

[caligirl]

11. PressConference Durbin/Kennedy to join leading health advocacy.........

News Advisory:

TOMORROW, May 9 at 10 AM, Assistant Democratic Leader Richard Durbin and Senator Edward M. Kennedy will join leading health advocacy organizations in opposition to the Bush/Enzi bill (S. 1955) scheduled for debate in the U.S. Senate.

The bill has strong, widespread opposition because it includes damaging provisions to repeal existing laws that make health care coverage more affordable for millions of Americans. It sets up the barest of bare bones standards for benefits - sweeping aside requirements to cover cancer screening, well baby care, immunization, access to specialists and many other needed services.

Democrats have offered a comprehensive alternative to the flawed Bush/Enzi proposal. The Small Employers Health Benefits Plan (S.2510) would allow small businesses with up to 100 employees to band together for lower health care prices by pooling their purchasing power and spreading their risk over a large number of participants.

WHO: Assistant Democratic Leader Richard Durbin

Senator Edward M. Kennedy

National Partnership for Women and Families

American Diabetes Association

American Cancer Society

American Psychological Association

National Mental Health Association

WHAT: Press Conference

WHEN: Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 9th, at 10 AM

WHERE: Senate Swamp Site

(Corner of Constitution and Delaware)

RAIN SITE: Russell Senate Office Building Room 485, Washington D.C.

http://www.usnewswire.com/

[sidwill]

13. Does anybody know how this

is gonna shake out?

All the Dems voted against it in committee, will we similar unity on the floor of the Senate?

Does anybody know of any Dems for this?

Or Repubs against it?

I think that Snowe and Collins are quietly against as their state has some of the best patient protections around.

Any insight?