Stabenow expects deal on health care reform by end of year

[oncedrove]

LANSING — U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow said today that she expects a health care overhaul to pass by the end of the year, but she first wants to make sure people can afford the coverage they would be required to have.

“You just can’t say to somebody making $50,000, $60,000, $70,000 a year that you have to pay $1,000 a month for insurance,” Stabenow told health officials and local leaders at a county health department.

The Michigan Democrat sits on the Senate Finance Committee, a key player in health care talks.

The panel is working on a compromise package that would require people to get insurance, either through an employer, on their own or through a government program. Federal subsidies would help low-income and many middle-class households afford the premiums.

But Stabenow said she is concerned that the tax credits or subsidies are “not enough.” A challenge is finding a way to make it cheaper to buy insurance by raising revenue elsewhere, she said.

Stabenow said health insurers and drugmakers should pay additional charges because they reap big profits in the current system. She said more than half of the new costs could be saved by focusing on the quality of care instead of quantity — the number of visits to the doctor, for example.

The health care debate is complicated, Stabenow said, making it easy for opponents to “scare people” with “misinformation.” She said that as the discussion continues beyond the August congressional break, people will learn more about uncontroversial provisions already agreed to such as consumer protections that would end denial or cancellation of coverage for medical reasons.

Her meeting with health officials was not a public town hall-style event like those that have been disrupted by demonstrators. Reporters were allowed to listen to the end of a question-and-answer session between Stabenow and invited guests. She is unlikely to hold a town hall on health care, though she did characterize today’s meeting as “public.”

“I talk to people all the time. We have people calling our offices. I’m doing all kinds of meetings and (am) out and available and will continue to do really a variety of things,” Stabenow said.

Back-to-back town hall meetings held last week by Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, got so raucous that police had to escort people out. Dingell has vowed to push ahead with Democratic-led efforts to extend coverage to all.

Stabenow expects deal on health care reform by end of year | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press

[Poorboy]

Let them Keep Playing Their Little Games cuz the 2010 Elections are Coming Pretty Fast, Then we'll see just How Many of the Incumbents have to file for Unemployment!

[Darmstadter]

Stabenow said health insurers and drugmakers should pay additional charges because they reap big profits in the current system.

When did profit become a dirty word? I thought we were capitalists here!

[Moot]

Stabenow said health insurers and drugmakers should pay additional charges because they reap big profits in the current system.

When did profit become a dirty word? I thought we were capitalists here!

OBAMA TO GET DRUG INDUSTRY'S HELP

The nation's drugmakers stand ready to spend $150 million to help President Obama overhaul health care this fall, according to numerous officials -- a staggering sum that could dwarf attempts to derail his chief domestic priority.
The White House and allies in Congress are well aware of the effort by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. The campaign, now in its early stages, includes television advertising under PhRMA's own name and commercials aired in conjunction with the liberal group, Families USA.
Numerous people with knowledge of PhRMA's plans spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to divulge details.
Drugmakers were the first group to reach agreement with the White House and Democratic Senate negotiators, announcing several weeks ago that they would absorb $80 billion in costs over a decade. Now, with the legislation under attack, the industry will provide key support.
ASSOCIATED PRESS

[Darmstadter]

Well, makes sense I guess. If they force everyone to get coverage, more people will see doctors and more prescriptions will be written. Of course Stabenow hangs it out there like she's sticking up for the little guy--making the evil drug companies pay for it! What a joke--on all of us.

[greg334]

Actually the reason that the drug companies are involved is simply for profit.

They will be ensured that the supporting companies' drugs will be used in the new system, taking generics out of the picture and that the doctors will end up using drugs from the Drug-of-the-Month list. The reps will now be able to push drugs specific based on profits without worry of competition with generics and more so limit the choices that the people can have. I also think that there will less disclosure and more good old boy selling like it was in the past.

This is about the entire issue is about profit and only about profit.

I am not making this up, this was part of the discussion for Part D and applies to the government run health care when I worked at the big Pharma company.

[chefdennis]

You take the generics out of the picture and people can only get the big pharma products, that money in their pockets.....it make no dfference to them i there is a public option run by the gov that will sooner or later push the private option out...in either program the drug companies get their money...

No one is saying that the healthcare system doesn't need fixing, but 1st it has to be dealt with on the state level to level the regulation differences between states then the government public option can not be part of the program......

variances in state regulations is a major issue...in NJ men have to have coverage for CHILD BIRTH......it is state mandiated that EVERYONE has the same coverage...it BLANKET coverage, no differenciating between male or female...one coverage....that was suppose to control cost, but all it did was drive it up because of the actuary tables......all of the states have different regulations thats way you can't lve in one state and buy insurance in another....level the field on regulation and the cost will go down....and keep the fed gov or public plan out....

[greg334]

Well the same goes for the number of uninsured or people who have problems with insurance. Once the numbers are adjusted, they are nothing like the 27/32/36/40/42/47/52 million that keep getting tossed about. It seems that there is less than 10% of the entire population without health care insurance (see they also changed this to be an insurance issue, not a health care issue).

The real problem is the regulations, as you said Chef, uniform regulations across the board with elimination of many mandated coverage is a real solution. Some of these mandates are amazing costly and only are for a few in the system.

Last night I was rading about the cost of fertility treatments and the related costs of treatment of kids fromthese treatments. One example was a couple who could not have kids, starting when they were really young with different treatments, now they are as old as I am, they are still trying after having 6 kids. Their insurance is still covering the treatments under different doctors for different reasons and the complications with a couple of the kids already cost the insurance ocmpany a couple million. Even though this is one extreme example, it happens a lot more.