Blanche been hanging around Short Ride lately?

There needs to be consequences, harsh ones, for the four hold outs.

Of course, Holy Joe is just voting his conscience.
(Snort)
Like the little bastard has one.

You know, good point. You can’t vote something you don’t have.

Blanche Lincoln is refusing to say whether she’ll even allow debate

is she planning on voting against a motion to proceed? i’m confused.

desperately needed health care legislation

not sure the senate bill qualifies, especially if jon is right about this one: At The Request of AHIP, Senate Bill Guts State Health Insurance Regulations

Per AR Blog today over 900 folks have registered in advance for medical attention in the Little Rock free clinic.

The report on the free clinic in NOLA was that they could treat “only” 1000 people, because infrastructure, like dental chairs, had not been restored since Katrina.

I think it’s no longer by appointment now in LR…. just come on down and see if they can squeeze you in after folks with appointments.

What is Bill Halter like?

Blanche can’t back down because she already spent the money – probably. Besides that, she is now Important ! s/

I’m not sure what you mean. Most people on both sides of the aisle think that some kind of health care reform is needed, the disagreement is about what that is.

Sadly the discussion has come unmoored from reality in many places, including here. But it seems like a bit of a stretch for anyone to think you can pass health care reform of any kind without opening it up for debate in the United States Senate.

Then again, I’ve heard wackier things lately.

Both Landrieu & Lincoln declined KO’s invitation to witness the free clinics first hand. WANS.

He can take Landrieu’s seat, far as I’m concerned. Sounded like a real democrat.

A TPM reader is confused by the same thing.

I don’t know personally.. A lot of folks in central AR like him.. and would love to see him take on Blanche.

KO just mentions FDL pointing out that insurance corps have 4 years to bully states.

Keith just quoted FDL on the 2014/2013 implementation date allowing health insurance companies to buy or bully all 50 state legislatures to opt-out.

The AR Dem party needs a wake up call in the worst way.

You owe me a beverage. (There’s an advantage to being a fast typer.)

Damn those pesky RULES of the Senate…
more get nothing done for a while they repukes yell and scream about the whole thing..and waste time.

*drink*

I heard Lieberman on NPR yesterday whining about people pointing out his connections to certain industries in Connecticut. He said that such attacks were ad hominem and that he resented them.

Then he said that he would welcome having substantive debate on the merits of creating a public option.

Sounded to me like he was accepting Rachel Maddow’s invitation to go on TRMS and debate it with her!

The Senate really, really, really looks stupid with its idiotic rules. Most Americans belong to organizations (deToqueville said that ‘joining up’ was a uniquely American attribute) that have rules, majority rules.

Everyone understands that the ridiculous Senate rules are to protect the moneyed interests from the people’s wishes. But they’ve gone so far into their own rabbit hole that they look like idiots.

I left this comment on an earlier thread, but it’s probably more germane to this one.

Wendell Potter sez that senate bill would be a victory for insurance corps, as they would quickly figure out how to game the system.

Bill Halter struck me as a reasonably attractive guy who says the right things. He took the question about challenging Blanche seriously when Lawrence asked, but turned it into an opportunity to seek even more volunteers, of all political persuasions, to come help out. He seems to have the people’s interests at heart (but don’t they all at first blush?)

And we don’t know the half of that kind of shit that goes on.

Or maybe she knows the vast majority of her constituents don’t want the particular health “reform” bill that was recently introduced. Or perhaps she took a look at this:
http://www.pollster.com/polls/us/healthplan.php

Isn’t their uninsured rate 10% of the total national rate?

Wow, Marion, if I peeked at a blog and saw notes from my appointment with my neurologist posted in a comment, I would be horrified. Please think twice when posting that kind of information, okay? It’s certainly informative in a general way, but don’t you have to sign something regarding confidentiality to do your job?

On edit — typing stuff like this makes me rage and weep.

me too…bastards deciding who does & who doesn’t based on profit…WTF … this is just wrong

Bill Halter is considering a primary challenge to Lincoln?

Lawrence asked him if he was.

I want to see Blanche lose and I don’t much care who beats her. She is such a smug, self-righteous person.

There is absolutely no way to identify anything about that patient other than he is male. He couldn’t identify himself any more than you could. There’s nothing particularly unusual about his circumstances, either, which makes identification even more impossible.

Alternatively, the person in question might be happy that the denial of coverage is getting broader distribution. Some in that position might want to broadcast it from the rooftops.

But in any event, how would anyone know who the patient is from what Marion typed?

yup..

Hey, you defended me a couple of days ago, so I’m happy to return the favor.

A further comment, in case I sounded too cross in the first. There are other details about this patient’s situation that I chose to leave out of the comment that could potentially have led to an identification, hence my omission of some details. Suffice it to say this particular insurance denial was most especially infuriating.

IN response to Teddy Partridge @ 31

You wrote that he took the question seriously, but turned it into an opportunity to put the people of Arkansas first. So, he took the question seriously, but didn’t answer it one way or the other?

(Btw, apologies for not being able to watch the clip. And I missed Countdown last night.)

Thanks! But I certainly do understand Teddy’s concerns. They’re perfectly valid, and I made as sure as I could to not use anything that could lead to an identification. The purpose was mainly to cite the bits in bold, to show that my boss doc is praying for the public option so he can help his patients.

Knowing you, I was sure that you wouldn’t reveal anything that could risk patient confidentiality. I understand Teddy’s concerns too, buy there was nothing in what you typed that would be a dispositive identification.

On a tangentially related subject (for comic relief), there was an Ed PhD at Columbia candidate who did a case study on working mothers. The result was published as an article in Wording Mother, and as a book. My family was one of the 6 or so subjects. The author changed names and certain characteristics (I played tennis, instead of the actual squash I played, for example). When the article came out, a friend immediately recognized me. Such is life.

That is a truly sad story. Just think what it must be like to tell parents that you can’t do something for their child which may be living saving. I don’t think I would like to be a doctor these days.

He essentially said that he didn’t want to politicize the event Saturday by discussing the campaign, but it seemed to me that he would consider it.

Have we been blessed by a visit from the South Carolina leader, the one and only Appalachian Trail guy?

I thought something smelled bad around here today.

The short version, for those who might be interested in the “finding,” was the ability to compartmentalize. The whole experience completely deligitimized a Columbia Ed PhD in my opinion.

I don’t think I would like to be a doctor these days.

It gets harder and harder for the good ones. We see Tricare (military insurance) patients, Medicaid and Medicare. More and more docs in this town, with all the military families in the area, are refusing to see Tricare patients because the reimbursement rate is so low.

Good for your boss.

But don’t you think the possibility exists that he, or his patient, might just read this blog? My concern wasn’t that anyone ELSE could identify the patient, but that the patient might recognize his own situation. If I’d seen my neurologist yesterday and happened to log on to FDL this morning, and saw that comment, I would be, as I said in my initial comment, horrified.

Regardless of any other person’s capability to identify me, the idea that my chart notes are being shared widely and publicly seems wrong.

But I’m sure you understand better than I do the confidentiality requirements of HIPAA and the work you do.

I wonder if it would be more difficult for someone who’s already established in the Democratic Party at the state level to challenge an incumbent Democratic U S Senator in a primary. I really don’t know, but it seems to me that someone in his position feels pressure to wait his turn, so to speak.

Didn’t FDL already start making moves to find a primary challenger? I remember contributing to such an effort a while back. Any news on that front?

The truly tragic aspect to all of this is that even if that particular patient read my comment his situation is so infuriatingly common that he would have no way to be sure it was him. The BAHA (bone anchored hearing aid) works beautifully for patients who, for one reason or another can’t use a conventional hearing aid, and is routinely denied by insurance companies.

I managed a Pediatrician’s office in the late 1990′s. We had to have 2 employees whose sole job was to work out all the issues regarding insurance. Getting referrals, approvals, appeals, and filing claims for 35 different insurance companies that use 35 different formats and 35 different benefit packages that pay 35 different amounts.

And of course, occasionally the issue at hand is more technical and then we have to pull a nurse or even on occasion a Doc out of seeing patients and dealing with the insurance company issues. It’s without a doubt the dumbest way to run a railroad I’ve ever seen.

And I had a few moments of weeping and rage as well. When you see a child being denied or delayed to the detriment of his/her health, it is particularly galling. Our practice was eventually bought up by a big group that owned several practices, and my time as manager ended. I haven’t missed it.

The amount of waste in this system is huge, which is why IMO a strong PO could put pressure on private insurers to rid itself of a lot of the waste and put downward pressure on premiums. Neither of these bills (House or Senate) does this IMO. But we opened our doors of that practice in 1994 with one Doc, a front desk person, and three nurses. When we were purchased we had 5 docs, 2 nurse practitioners, and a staff of almost 40. But to have to hire and pay 2 full time positions JUST TO DEAL WITH INSURANCE ISSUES is absurd.

Look out
Halter’s call to her
Halter’s call to her
Yeah, hu, hu
Look out cause here she comes

I will you won’t you want me to make you
I’m coming down fast but don’t let me break you
Tell me tell me tell me the answer
You may be a Senator but you ain’t no dancer

the need for healthcare reform does not imply the need for this healthcare reform. — that is what i meant about not being sure the senate bill qualifies as needed healthcare reform (and referenced jon’s post as an example of why).

but my question was mostly a procedural one. you said lincoln is threatening not to permit debate. how specifically is she threatening to do that? cloture votes are to end debate, not to permit debate, so i just don’t understand what you mean.

I think you’ll find that Lieberman said, “I resemble that remark!”

Be thankful you’re out of it. It’s only gotten worse since the 90s. [sigh]

There must also be a vote to proceed to debate, which is the vote they will have on Saturday night. This must also pass by 60 votes.

Adding: These votes used to be quite routine, which is why they seem new. Mitch McConnell is a *master* of Senate procedure, in case you hadn’t heard that TradMed chant recently.

This “so it can proceed to debate” always makes me remember the play/film “1776″ when Caesar Rodney casts the deciding vote for debate, saying (paraphrasing from memory) “Hell, yeah. I’ve never met an issue that was so dangerous you couldn’t talk about it.”

You know, Jane, I seriously don’t get it with Lincoln and Landrieu. Lieberman’s clearly dysfunctional and Nelson just strikes me as somewhat impervious and dim, but these women feel like the deer in the headlights, like they are just over their heads in national politics. I mean, they’re supposed to be Democrats so you would think that, at the least, they would open up the discussion. But they just seem scared to even really face their constituencies. Like if they ignore the issue and ignore the clinics and ignore the media long enough it will all go away and they can debate something less combustible: what that would be I don’t know.

i think (not sure about this and going from memory) that the motion to proceed is subject to a cloture vote, but that again would be for ending debate (about the motion to proceed). a vote against the motion to proceed itself i think would be a vote to not permit debate, but isn’t that vote a simple majority vote?

maybe i’m misremembering, or maybe there is some UC agreement governing the process that i don’t know about.

i just find the parliamentary moves a little interesting, and in this case my limited understanding (and memory) seems in contradiction to what jane wrote, so i’m extra curious to clear up my confusion.

I wish it was that innocent. In LA. being a white dem means you are a semi-covert repug. Or somebody somewhere has something on little Mary.

I am no expert but I have read that the parties in Arkansas are almost as fungible as in Louisiana: there’s the money party that runs everything, and you can be in either political party and still belong to the money party.

If that information is repeated verbatim, from a patient chart, it violates MY sense of confidentiality.

To have paraphrased it and used an analogy with less descriptive CHART language seems to me to be the better part of sharing work info in the public vein.

MOST people with jobs have to be careful what they say in the internets for fear of losing their jobs.

You may be lucky in your circumstance, but you ARE pushing the envelope somewhat and opening up the risk factor.

Just concerned for you . . . be wary and careful, is all I’m offering.

Republicans declared jihad on the Senate the day Obama was sworn in. They have repeatedly declared their intention to hijack the Senate to prevent passage of any legislation offered by Democrats that might benefit the middle class and enhance an Obama presidency. With the participation of right wing Democrats, the Republican blockade cannot be breached under present Senate rules.

Progressive and moderate Democrats have shown little stomach for circumventing current rules for fear of offending their right wing brethren. To pass, genuine health care reform will morph into a flim-flam similar to the prescription drug scam passed in 2003.

Sadly, too many progressives and moderates seem content to allow this dreadful state of affairs to continue. Lieberman, Landrieu, Lincoln and Nelson will be crowned the victors in this Democratic scuffle.

Bought and sold, it gives you that deer in headlights look and feeling when you have to act or answer to someone other than those who bought and sold you.

They’re just not as good at being snaky and smarmy about it all as professionals like Short Ride.

One way to look at their behavior, I guess.

I always follow the money.

Wendell Potter sez that senate bill would be a victory for insurance corps, as they would quickly figure out how to game the system.

tv or linky?

He said it on the KO show, IIRC. lol, as the evening goes on all those shows blend together in my mind, but I’m pretty sure it was KO’s Countdown that he was on.

And as long as they have fast-talkers like Amy Klobuchar (appearing on TRMS tonight) on their side, Senate Democrats will keep their left flank at bay, they think. I’m not so sure. This could be the utter fracturing of the Democratic party, especially since all the wonderful things Amy (and others) crow about won’t go into effect for half a decade.

thanks.

Don’t understand me, “over my head” excuses nothing. Especially coming from women in government. I am out of patience with these gals and if they truly do feel like the proverbial “deer” in question, they need to get the f*** out of the way and let someone else get this job done. If you can’t even commit to participating in the debate you need to “get out of that kitchen.”

that lt. gov. mentioned someone who tried this health care mess back in ’93 or so?? I was 33 then, so, it is hard to remember back that far when you’re as old as I am…

was that guy from arkansaw? I HOPE he might persuade blanche? what else could he be doing with his time … jetting around getting paid 1/2 million to talk to corporate pigs, or something?

rmm.

NOW he wants to debate PO? Where has he been the last 6 months? Sounds like the typical Republican idea of delay through debate or any other mechanism they can find. Why doesn’t he want to debate the personal mandate? Or ending rescissions? or any of the other big things this legislation would do?

Are the rates so low that doctors can’t stay in business or that they just can’t afford the new BMW every 3 years?

They have to vote to proceed to debate, then vote to end debate and only then vote on the bill? Bizarre. It’s a wonder they can do anything except beg for campaign contributions.

It wouldn’t have to be this difficult if the Party hadn’t posted their litany on the ‘church’ door, saying Healthcare reform is the #1 agenda issue.

If they really didn’t mean it they shouldn’t have made it a big deal. Kinda like Lieberman saying he’s for single-payer, but not being willing to even look at this watered-down reform legislation. Live up to your promises or nobody will ever have reason to vote Dem again.

Lincoln is using her known conservatism to get in her 2 cents – she’s a politician, of course she’s going to say, “Me, me, me!”
When the bill is on the floor amendments can be made, but it’s been her turn to control the table to get what she can. She’ll vote with the other 59 yet this is another egg-shell moment because it’s a crucial vote to get the legislation on the floor.
It’s true that there are many steps to complete a bill, which is one reason why panicking at every step isn’t necessary.
“Now ain’t the time for your tears.” BD