COVID-19 & Healthcare

Posted by AzblueMeanie:

First, a pet peeve. I do not know why our sad small town newspaper the Arizona Daily Star has a policy of not publishing the byline of the reporter responsible for the AP wire service reports it publishes in its newspaper, but neither I nor anyone else should have to waste their time searching for the original AP report to learn the name of the reporter responsible for the report. Publish the damn byline!

The Arizona Daily Star published an AP report today on A brief explanation of GOP, Dem differences on Medicare. This report is by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar from the AP. This "brief explanation" does more to mislead readers than it does to inform readers, because it leaves out relevant facts and makes inferences not supported by facts. Not a well done analysis in my opinion.

This report appears to be a summary version of another report by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar from the AP which was a well done analysis. Undoing Obama Medicare cuts may backfire on Romney – Boston.com. So why did the editors of the Star not choose this earlier report which informs, rather than misleads its readers:

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's new promise to restore the Medicare cuts made by President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law could backfire if he's elected.

The reason: Obama's cuts also extended the life of Medicare's giant trust fund. By repealing them, Romney would move the program's insolvency eight years closer, toward the end of what would be his first term in office.

Instead of running out of money in 2024, Medicare's trust fund for inpatient care would go broke in 2016 without the cuts, according to estimates by the program's own experts.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

It appears that Governor Jan Brewer, who once cast herself as a fierce opponent of the Affordable Care Act ("ObamaCare") and made heartless cuts to the state Medicaid (AHCCCS) program for transplant recipients and imposed a freeze on childless adults and KidsCare enrollment, may now be hedging her bets on the success of the Ryan-Romney plan to repeal "ObamaCare" and to adopt the GOP Medicaid "let them die!' healthcare plan.

Governor Brewer's top advisers are attempting to create a coalition of hospitals, insurance plans, providers and other players to push Arizona to expand Medicaid under federal health-care reform. Brewer advisers form health pact to push to expand Medicaid:

Last week, the board of a statewide group of human-services providers agreed to hire Chuck Coughlin and Peter Burns, and the state's largest hospitals and health plans are considering signing on.

The pair would bring political and technical savvy to the complex realm of health care, with the goal of marshaling a united front of heavy-hitting businesses to push Medicaid expansion through the Legislature next session.

Brewer, whose spokesman was unable to say whether the governor was aware of Coughlin and Burns' coalition efforts, has been a vocal opponent of the federal health-care law, and she led efforts to cut state Medicaid programs in prior years. But she has recently indicated a willingness to consider expansion.

The stakes are high for health-care groups, businesses and Arizonans. If Brewer and state lawmakers agree to expand Medicaid, an additional 300,000 low-income Arizonans might get health coverage during the first year. If they don't, hospitals, doctors and health-care providers will continue to lose patients and lose money caring for the uninsured.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Willard "Mittens" Romney campaign has been running a Big Lie propaganda campaign from the very beginning. Now he has a partner in crime with the selection of a running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), who also has a reputation for mendacity.

The "Galt – Gekko 2012" campaign begins with three "big lies." The first big lie: immediately after selecting Paul Ryan as his running mate, Mittens Romney sought to put some distance between himself and his new running mate's unpopular GOP budget proposals (for which all but a handful of members of the GOP Caucus voted for — twice). Romney steps back from Ryan plan.

Romney would have you believe that he is the man calling the shots. This is pure bullshit. Romney's poll numbers were beginning to collapse last week and he came under intense pressure from the Conservative commentariat and right-wing noise machine that he must select their alleged boy genius and Ayn Rand acolyte, Paul Ryan. So Romney acted out of panic and fear of a revolt from the Conservative GOP base. 

It may be unprecedented in American history that the nominee of a political party is overshadowed by his vice presidential running mate (a reasonable argument can be made that this happened to John McCain late in his 2008 campaign). Jonathan Capehart writes, Mitt Romney already overshadowed by Paul Ryan:

Ever since Romney tapped Ryan, he has been trying to make it clear he’s calling the shots. On Saturday, Romney’s campaign put out talking points to supporters assuring all that “as president he will be putting together his own plan for cutting the deficit and putting the budget on a path to balance.” On Sunday, when asked by Bob Schieffer if he will learn from Ryan, Romney said, “[O]bviously, I have to make the final call in important decisions.”

But the entire national conversation is about the Ryan budget. And with good reason. First, there’s a lot not to like. Second, and most importantly, despite constantly flogging his 59-point blueprint for the economy, Romney doesn’t have a concrete plan of his own. If he did, his campaign wouldn’t have needed that Saturday talking point, by the way.

* * *

Where Romney was viewed with suspicion by the Republican base, Ryan is beloved. “Mr. Romney’s selection of a running mate sharpens the portrait of the kind of president he wants to be,” The Washington Post editorial noted yesterday. Right now, that portrait looks just like Ryan.

The Tea-Publican establishment forced Paul Ryan on Mittens Romney precisely because of his radical "right-wing social engineering" GOP Budget that would repeal the 20th Century and impose a dystopian Randian world on America. Romney has previously endorsed the Ryan GOP Budget and said that he would sign it if it came to his desk. Romney is going to do as he is told by GOP leadership.

By Michael Bryan

OK. So the Obama campaign runs an ad that crushes Romney on a Bain plant closure that caused a fellow to lose his healthcare, which cost his wife her life. Brutal, right?

So. Romney's campaign counters with a spokesperson, Andrea Saul, on Fox. She says this:

“To that point, if people had been in Massachusetts, under Governor Romney’s health care plan, they would have had health care. There are a lot of people losing their jobs and losing their health care in President Obama’s economy.”

Really? Your counter is that if only that poor bastard has been lucky enough to have lived in Massachusetts in order to benefit from Romneycare, his wife would have been fine. Except that Romney wants to repeal Obama's version of national Romneycare if he's elected.

It boogles the mind. It's as if these people live in a video game of a campaign which has no connection to real people or real consequences. Scoring the next point is the only goal. "Well, Romneycare would have saved that guy's wife, so there!" Cue pleased look on face of Romneybot as she mentally tots up another point for her team…

See the video of Romneybot Ms. Saul basically admitting that Obamacare saves lives after the click…