Happy ObamaCare Day!

Today is exactly 6 months to the day since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. ObamaCare) was signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010.

Despite Republican lies and distortions to the contrary, health care reform is not a Government take-over of health care, instead it is a number of common sense reforms bundled together, several of which go into effect today, namely:

• Requiring that insurance companies cover people with pre-existing conditions.

• Making it illegal for insurance companies to drop coverage for people who get sick.

• Cracking down on unjustified premium hikes.

• Placing a cap on out-of-pocket health care costs. 

• Providing free preventive care

It should be noted repeatedly that not a single Republican in the House or Senate voted for the final version of the measure, and when Republicans say they will repeal the law if they take over the Congress they are also lying. Obama still has the power to veto legislation, and if a bill was to pass which repealed parts of ObamaCare it would definitely not become law with his signature.

POLL: Support for AZ Immigration Law Hits 57%

A new CBS national poll indicates that support for the arguably racist Arizona immigration law has hit 57%.

Support for the measure increased five points since May. Since then, the Justice Department has filed suit against the law, claiming that it usurps federal authority to enforce immigration laws.

The measure in question, signed into law in April and slated to go into effect later this month, makes it a state crime for a person to be in the country illegally. It also requires local law enforcement to question a person about his or her immigration status during all "lawful stops" if there is "reasonable suspicion" that person may be in the country illegally.

Twenty-three percent of Americans think the law goes too far, according to the poll, conducted July 9 - 12. That's down five points from the 28 percent who said in May that the measure goes too far. Another 17 percent said it doesn't go far enough.

About half of Americans - 52 percent -- say states should be able to enact laws regarding illegal immigrants, while 42 percent think only the federal government should able to do so.

There is a sharp partisan divide on this question: most Democrats (58 percent) say laws covering illegal immigration should be the responsibility of the federal government only, while Republicans (64 percent) and independents (58 percent) think the states should be allowed to pass such laws.

Half of Americans think illegal immigrants take jobs that Americans don't want, while fewer - 42 percent -- say they take jobs away from Americans.

The CBS poll also indicates that public support for the health care reform legislation has dropped seven points since May 20th.

Interestingly, a poll of LGBT respondents show that they overwhelmingly oppose the Arizona law.

Congress Completes Work On Health Care Bill!

The United States Senate passed the bill 56-43 early today and the House of Representatives passed the bill 220-207 a few minutes ago.

Barack Obama has become the first President to get Congress to pass a health care reform bill. He was able to get his number one domestic policy agenda enacted without a single Republican vote.

The American people will have a chance to have their say on November 2, 2010.

Obama Signs Health Care Bill Into Law

This morning at around 11am EDT, President Barack Obama signed the health care reform bill (which passed the Senate 60-40 on December 24th and the House 219-212 on March 21st) into law. 7 minutes later a number of attorneys general filed a frivolous lawsuit to declare the individual mandate unconstitutional.

House Passes Senate HCR Bill 219-212!

The House of Representatives passed the Senate's health care reform bill by a vote of 219-212. It passed the second bill to amend that bill (before it has become law) by a vote of 220-211.

Deal Is Done! HCR Reform Will Pass

You can thank the election Scott Brown (R-MA) for making Democrats realize that they needed to pass the health care reform using reconciliation.

Breaking news! The New York Times is reporting that the "Stupak gang" of anti-choice Democratic congressmembers who claimed that the legislation changed the status quo of federal support for abortion has agreed to vote for health care reform, based on an executive order that President Obama will issue once the bill passes. The agreement guarantees that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has well more than 216 votes in the House of Representatives to pass the Senate bill as well as a separate bill fixing that bill, which will then be passed by the Senate on a majority vote using reconciliation.

The White House has released a statement on the Stupak deal, as well as the text of the pending executive order:

ENSURING ENFORCEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ABORTION RESTRICTIONS IN THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" (approved March __, 2010), I hereby order as follows:

Section 1. Policy.
Following the recent passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("the Act"), it is necessary to establish an adequate enforcement mechanism to ensure that Federal funds are not used for abortion services (except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman would be endangered), consistent with a longstanding Federal statutory restriction that is commonly known as the Hyde Amendment. The purpose of this Executive Order is to establish a comprehensive, government-wide set of policies and procedures to achieve this goal and to make certain that all relevant actors--Federal officials, state officials (including insurance regulators) and health care providers--are aware of their responsibilities, new and old.

The Act maintains current Hyde Amendment restrictions governing abortion policy and extends those restrictions to the newly-created health insurance exchanges. Under the Act, longstanding Federal laws to protect conscience (such as the Church Amendment, 42 U.S.C. §300a-7, and the Weldon Amendment, Pub. L. No. 111-8, §508(d)(1) (2009)) remain intact and new protections prohibit discrimination against health care facilities and health care providers because of an unwillingness to provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions.

Numerous executive agencies have a role in ensuring that these restrictions are enforced, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Section 2. Strict Compliance with Prohibitions on Abortion Funding in Health Insurance Exchanges. The Act specifically prohibits the use of tax credits and cost-sharing reduction payments to pay for abortion services (except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman would be endangered) in the health insurance exchanges that will be operational in 2014. The Act also imposes strict payment and accounting requirements to ensure that Federal funds are not used for abortion services in exchange plans (except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman would be endangered) and requires state health insurance commissioners to ensure that exchange plan funds are segregated by insurance companies in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, OMB funds management circulars, and accounting guidance provided by the Government Accountability Office.

I hereby direct the Director of OMB and the Secretary of HHS to develop, within 180 days of the date of this Executive Order, a model set of segregation guidelines for state health insurance commissioners to use when determining whether exchange plans are complying with the Act's segregation requirements, established in Section 1303 of the Act, for enrollees receiving Federal financial assistance. The guidelines shall also offer technical information that states should follow to conduct independent regular audits of insurance companies that participate in the health insurance exchanges. In developing these model guidelines, the Director of OMB and the Secretary of HHS shall consult with executive agencies and offices that have relevant expertise in accounting principles, including, but not limited to, the Department of the Treasury, and with the Government Accountability Office. Upon completion of those model guidelines, the Secretary of HHS should promptly initiate a rulemaking to issue regulations, which will have the force of law, to interpret the Act's segregation requirements, and shall provide guidance to state health insurance commissioners on how to comply with the model guidelines.

Section 3. Community Health Center Program.

The Act establishes a new Community Health Center (CHC) Fund within HHS, which provides additional Federal funds for the community health center program. Existing law prohibits these centers from using federal funds to provide abortion services (except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman would be endangered), as a result of both the Hyde Amendment and longstanding regulations containing the Hyde language. Under the Act, the Hyde language shall apply to the authorization and appropriations of funds for Community Health Centers under section 10503 and all other relevant provisions. I hereby direct the Secretary of HHS to ensure that program administrators and recipients of Federal funds are aware of and comply with the limitations on abortion services imposed on CHCs by existing law. Such actions should include, but are not limited to, updating Grant Policy Statements that accompany CHC grants and issuing new interpretive rules.

Section 4. General Provisions.
(a) Nothing in this Executive Order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) authority granted by law or presidential directive to an agency, or the head thereof; or (ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This Executive Order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This Executive Order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity against the United States, its departments, agencies, entities, officers, employees or agents, or any other person.

THE WHITE HOUSE

As Daily Kos points out, what this executive order does is basically reiterate the Senate bill's language and does not change current or future federal law. What the egomaniacal Bart Stupak has done is basically force the President of the United States to "confirm that women's health isn't equal to everyone else's, that a legal, medical procedure to which we STILL have a right is further stigmatized, further politicized."

Congratulations to President Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Another Reason We Need National Health Care...

Jaime Escalante, the famous mathematics teacher depicted by Edward James Olmos in the 1988 film "Stand and Deliver" is facing bankruptcy as he deals with expenses related to his treatment for cancer.

The Bolivian-born Escalante, now 80 years old, gained international renown for his work teaching advanced math to “un-teachable” students at Garfield H.S. in East L.A.

Vanessa Marquez, who also appeared in the 1988 film, said that so far $5,000 has been raised toward the $30,000 needed by the family. A fund for Escalante has been set up by “Stand and Deliver” cast members and The Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education in Pasadena, which publishes Escalante's educational materials.

Contributions can be sent to "Friends of Jaime," C/O FASE, 236 W. Mountain St., Suite 105, Pasadena, CA 91103. Call 626-793-5300 for information.

Is this really how we want our national health care system to be treating our national heroes?

Sarah Palin Gets Lie Of The Year Award For "Death Panels"

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has received the dubious distinction of being recognized by Pulitzer Prize-winning website PolitiFact for telling The Lie Of The Year.
To refresh your memory, here is the lie (posted to her Facebook page) Sarah Palin told:

Seniors and the disabled "will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care."
Sarah Palin, Friday, August 7th, 2009.

PolitiFact says:

Of all the falsehoods and distortions in the political discourse this year, one stood out from the rest.

"Death panels."

The claim set political debate afire when it was made in August, raising issues from the role of government in health care to the bounds of acceptable political discussion. In a nod to the way technology has transformed politics, the statement wasn't made in an interview or a television ad. Sarah Palin posted it on her Facebook page.

Her assertion — that the government would set up boards to determine whether seniors and the disabled were worthy of care — spread through newscasts, talk shows, blogs and town hall meetings. Opponents of health care legislation said it revealed the real goals of the Democratic proposals. Advocates for health reform said it showed the depths to which their opponents would sink. Still others scratched their heads and said, "Death panels? Really?"

Congratulations, Sarah!

Health Care Reform Debate in U.S. House Today

Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa) said today on the House floor: "All Americans have health care."

Unbelievable. Do all Americans have Ferraris and mansions, too?

CA-10: Garamendi Elected To Congress

Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi has won the special election to replace U.S. Rep Ellen Tauscher in California's congressional district. You may recall this district because this was the race in which Black, openly gay Iraq vet Anthony Woods was a candidate, although with much greater name recognition and money, Garamendi placed first in the primary on September 1, 2009.

Despite all the chatter about Republican gains in Tuesday's elections, the Democrats in Congress have two more votes in Congress after the election than they did before the election.

And that's two more votes for health care reform.

Support MadProfessah Advertiser ALAN GRAYSON's MONEY BOMB

Florida Congressman Alan Grayson scares the %$*^!! out of Republicans because he is an outspoken progressive who says out loud exactly what most of you are thinking.

Some choice quotes from Rep. Grayson:

"The Republican health care plan is this: 'Don't get sick, and if you do get sick, die quickly.'"



"I have trouble listening to what [Dick Cheney] says sometimes because of the blood that drips from his teeth when he's talking."

Because of this, Republicans have recruited a Latino Republican named Armando Gutierrez to run against Grayson and targeted him wth a website mycongressmanisnuts.com, which is a response to Grayson's congressmanwithguts.com.
Grayson says his re-election race in 2010 will probably cost $2 million dollars thanks to the national profile and the targeting that he will receive from the Republican National Committee.

Today Monday November 2nd Grayson is doing a money bomb where he is trying to raise four hundred thousand dollars online from progressives nationally. I am hoping that a significant number of MadProfessah readers will click on the Alan Grayson Money Bomb ad in the top right corner of this blog, and kick in $10 via Actblue. I'm hoping that we can raise $100 to support his moneybomb. Please click on the ad and donate now!

The Obama Health Care Reform Plan in 4 Minutes

VIDEO: Obama Calls Death Panels "A Lie, Plain and Simple"

Democrats Realize They DO NOT Need Republicans To Pass Health Care

Finally, the Democrats are beginning to realize that the Republicans are not honest partners seeking a common legislative solution to the health care crisis.

Top Democrats said Tuesday that their go-it-alone view was being shaped by what they saw as Republicans’ purposely strident tone against health care legislation during this month’s Congressional recess, as well as remarks by leading Republicans that current proposals were flawed beyond repair.

Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, said the heated opposition was evidence that Republicans had made a political calculation to draw a line against any health care changes, the latest in a string of major administration proposals that Republicans have opposed.

“The Republican leadership,” Mr. Emanuel said, “has made a strategic decision that defeating President Obama’s health care proposal is more important for their political goals than solving the health insurance problems that Americans face every day.

As OpenLeft says, this is basically like saying "water is wet."

In other health care reform news, there are now 46 votes in the United States Senate for the public option being included in the final bill!

Obama Op-Ed in NYT on Health Care Reform

Isn't it lovely to have a President of the United States who can string sentences together? Barack Obama has published an op-ed in Sunday's New York Times entitled "Why We Need Health Care Reform":

There are four main ways the reform we’re proposing will provide more stability and security to every American.

First, if you don’t have health insurance, you will have a choice of high-quality, affordable coverage for yourself and your family — coverage that will stay with you whether you move, change your job or lose your job.
Second, reform will finally bring skyrocketing health care costs under control, which will mean real savings for families, businesses and our government. We’ll cut hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and inefficiency in federal health programs like Medicare and Medicaid and in unwarranted subsidies to insurance companies that do nothing to improve care and everything to improve their profits.
Third, by making Medicare more efficient, we’ll be able to ensure that more tax dollars go directly to caring for seniors instead of enriching insurance companies. This will not only help provide today’s seniors with the benefits they’ve been promised; it will also ensure the long-term health of Medicare for tomorrow’s seniors. And our reforms will also reduce the amount our seniors pay for their prescription drugs.

Lastly, reform will provide every American with some basic consumer protections that will finally hold insurance companies accountable. A 2007 national survey actually shows that insurance companies discriminated against more than 12 million Americans in the previous three years because they had a pre-existing illness or condition. The companies either refused to cover the person, refused to cover a specific illness or condition or charged a higher premium.

It is imperative we pass health care reform this year.

Obama Gets Hot at Health Care Reform Forum

Barack Obama Wants You To Watch Him Tonight!

Dear Friend,

As you read this, we are closer than ever to passing comprehensive health insurance reform that benefits American families and small businesses. Despite all the back and forth in the news right now, it is important to understand just how far we've come in this challenging process.

That's why I'm holding a press conference tonight at 8pm ET, and writing to let everyone know where we are, what's ahead, and why health insurance reform is so important.

Let me be clear: although Congress is still debating parts of the legislation we have achieved critical consensus on several key areas:

If you already have health insurance: reform will provide you with more security and stability. It will limit your own out of pocket costs and prevent your insurance company from dropping your coverage if you get too sick. You'll also have affordable insurance options if you lose or change your job. And it will cover preventive care like check-ups and mammograms that save lives and money.

If you don't have health insurance: you will finally have guaranteed access to quality, affordable health care, and you can choose the plan that best suits your family's needs. And no insurance company will be allowed to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition.

Now, I realize that the last few miles of any race are the hardest to run, but we can't stop now. There's no dispute about it: we cannot control our long-term fiscal health as a nation without health insurance reform. American families and small businesses understand that the health insurance status quo is taking away those things that they value most about health care. The stability and security that comes with knowing that you can get the treatment you need, when you need it. Without reform, we are consigning our children to a future of skyrocketing premiums and crushing deficits.

We have to seize this opportunity and pass health insurance reform this year. You can help by forwarding this email to your family and friends and letting them know what's at stake in this debate.

Thank you,
Barack Obama

P.S. Tune in to tonight's press conference on health insurance reform at 8pm ET on WhiteHouse.gov.