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Sen. Brown defends need for health-care reforms
The public option would make private insurers behave better, he told an audience of 434 at YSU.
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U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown at YSU
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Photo by Geoffrey Hauschild
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown at Youngstown State University
YOUNGSTOWN — Everyone in the room Thursday night at Youngstown State University’s Kilcawley Center likely knows someone who’s been through it — a health-care crisis, said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Everyone could point to cases where people are discriminated against because of age or a pre-existing condition, or cases where people have found their health insurance canceled because it exceeded a cap, said Brown, D-Ohio.
“The status quo isn’t working” for families or businesses, he said.
At a lecture sponsored by the Center for Working Class Studies at YSU, 434 people listened to Brown as he talked about the need for health-care reform.
The event was not a town hall meeting like the ones in August where legislators took questions from members of the public, though questions were permitted after Brown spoke.
The senator began by praising unions, saying they fought for reforms that brought clean water and air, a prohibition of child labor, pure food laws, women’s rights and rights for disabled people.
He touched on the legacy of Sen. Edward Kennedy, who died Aug. 26, saying Kennedy chose him to serve on the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, which wrote the Senate’s health-care bill.
Brown also helped write a public health-care option that would be competition for private insurers.
Low-income families and individuals who can’t afford insurance would “have lots of help from the government,” with subsidies for the public option or private insurance companies, Brown said.
The competition from the public option is important, he said, pointing out that “In Ohio, one or two insurance companies control 80 percent of the market.”
He also defended the government’s ability to operate a public program.
“It’s amazing, when I hear insurance executives say ad nauseam that government can never do anything right,” he said.
He said Medicare’s administrative costs are far lower than those of private companies.
Brown also decried conservative Republicans who have engaged in “fear-mongering” with talk of death panels.
He said he believes those tactics have backfired, with more people now supporting reforms.
Not everyone was convinced.
“I’m concerned. If we try to cover everyone ... how is this not going to bankrupt the system?” asked Andrew Smith of Liberty.
“Don’t confuse universal coverage with single-payer,” Brown replied.
“The public option won’t put private companies out of business. It will make them behave better.”
Jeremiah Blaylock of Canfield asked what can be done to simplify the issue so everyone can get health care.
“Listen to the president,” said Brown, referring to President Barack Obama’s upcoming address to Congress and the nation Wednesday night.
“If you have insurance, you can keep what you have, and if you don’t, we’re going to help you get it.”
Congress is expected to vote on health-care reform this fall.
“The most important vote I will ever cast, I believe, is the one I will cast this fall in favor of this health-care plan,” he said.
Starmack@vindy.com
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Comments
Do you have health insurance? It seems most of the rightwing nuts shooting their mouths off are on medicare or VA healthcare. I bet you have some kind of coverage-why dont you use it? It covers mental health too ya know.
Slavkobatich,
You've made excellent points, but because at this point in time "The Consitut;uion is nothing but a g------d piece of paper", we must continue being heard as loudly as we can,and you're doing a great job!
And have Faith, because The U.S.A. is financially and morally bankrupt, and my guess is, Sherrod Brown is also hoping and praying the Health Care Bill he hasn't read, along with all of the other members of Congress who haven't read it, will soon be history, so that he won't be one of the political casualties of Obama's Great Depression. Right now Brown has no choice but to go along to get along with Obama. ..Obama is a very clever man.
1/3 of Government Files are lost. Makes you feel great about the Government running your health care doesn't it.
http://wdbo.com/blogs/hazens_news_blog/2...
Saddad, do you have health insurance or do you left wingnuts want us the provide it for you? You want the government to have access to your financial records (if you have any finances), medical and all your personal information? Talk about mental health care you brought up. "liberalism" is not only a mental disease, it's a criminal mental disease. Will Sen. Brown be covered under the socialist health reform bill? Yes, Sadman, we do believe in health insurance; that's why we oppose the Bamster's health plan. Americans enjoy and benefit from the best health care in the world. Ask the Canadians who flock to our country because they don't want to die under their national plan or "Native Americans" on a reservation who better not get sick or have an accident after June because their "free" insurance runs out of the taxpayers' money.
Tell us who pays your medical expenses ProJob.
Saddad-you can NEVER stick to facts all you ever do as a come back, is to call people names.People like you are the reason this country is in trouble,well here's one for you ,USE THE HEALTHCARE THEY ARE PROPOSING AND GET A BRAIN TRANSPLANT!
Hey Saddman, I pay my own medical bills. $336.00/mo and a $5,000 deductable. How can I afford it? Good budgeting. National health care is death for the very old, the very sick and the very young. The insurance is over-regulated. The Bamster tries to woo us with his socialistic view of competition. Allow all 1300 insurance companies to compete across state lines. What do you socialists fear? It must be capitalism and the American citizens having freedom. Can't afford to buy insurance, get rid of cable tv, economize and don't live beyond your means like you want the govt. to do at our expense and peril.
Pro, your argument is invalid.
When's the last time the Government ran a successful organization? Cash for Clunkers, Homeland Defense, US Post Office, Government Motors, the banking system? Let me say I am skeptical anytime the US Gov gets involved or wants to control a program because ultimately it cost the taxpayers BIG TIME, due to their unlimited spending attitudes. Less Government is best in my opinion and Government creates more problems that it solves. The policies they create in turn confine and contrict capitalism and even our freedoms. I have health care through my company and beleive me it's not the greatest, but I pay into it annually, yet now I have to pay through increased taxes for the non-contributers and even illegals aliens! I certainly want both parties to debate this before passing this bill through.
Jeff just told another lie about me.
Lie? You're probably referring to my white supremacist assertion on a totally different post, right pro? By definition that is exactly what your posts have shown that you are. Literally.
BTW, you're missing the Lawrence Welk program right now.
Jeff, answer the question, name one govt. social program which have been successful. Don't forget about black racists like "Rev." Wright and Van Jones. Socialism is for the lazy, the stupid, degenerates who want to rob hard working Americans of their earnings. At least Lawrence Welk wasn't a street punk, doper, woman beater, murderer, con who was a bad role model for black children.
Were I to take questions from white supremacists I could name dozens; sadly for you, I don't. I would also imagine my definition of "success" varies significantly from yours.
Also, how did you get back to socialism??? We've moved on to the fact that you are a bigoted white supremacist.
Lawrence Welk was also not a white supremacist, nobody is perfect though, right? Enjoy reading "Mein Kampf" this weekend...again.
Mein Kamph was written by a socialist. National German Socialist Workers Party. How did we get back to socialism, NATIONAL INSURANCE REFORM! The Democrat Party (socialists) mis-use minorities and women to do their dirty work. Are any rich white socialists (who love capitalism for themselves) who founded ACORN get into trouble for illegal voter registration risking get conviction and going to jail? No, just the ill-informed little people who are their enslaved minions. Inner city minorities. Jeff is just one of those they're making fools out of for decades. lol.
Jeff's mother was probably white, unless he's using an alias. He's afraid to accept the truth so he reaches for the race card hidden up his sleeve. This is Jeff's immature, tired, over-used response to the truth. "Bigot". National health insurance is the vehicle the socialists use to enslave a free people because they want power over us. That's why socialists hate capitalism and America; because they hate not having the power to control us. Why else would they misrepresent health care in the UK, Cuba or Canada as vastly superior to private insurance? They continually deny Adolph Hitler was a socialist. Nazism and socialism are brothers and they know it. Muslims even went as far as fighting for Hitler against Christians and Jews in Europe during WW2. Stalin wanted Hitler and himself to rule the world together. And both of them were evolutionists, as was Marx. Do you know their views concerning the origin of minorities were, typical evolutionary racism.
Sorry, Mr. Brown, but you're wrong. We won't be able to keep the health insurance we have now. Oh, maybe for awhile, 5 years or less. But if you read the bill carefully, you will see that eventually we will all be forced onto the "public option". Ryan and Wilson are cowards who wouldn't even face their constituents, and Brown simply gave a speech of democratic talking points. But we the people will not accept what they are trying to ram down our throats. I was not fooled by all this "hope and change" crap. I hope that those who were will now come to their senses. I also hope it's not too late.
Will Wilson and Ryan be included in the health reform rip-off? The Democrat Party is the home for communists who don't have the guts to call themselves communists. I'm proud so many Americans are aware of the wolf in sheep's clothing; but we aren't sheep, we're Americans. Go peddle you crap to union stooges and useful idiots!
ProMerkin.....$9,000.00 before your health care kicks in and you call that the best coverage in the world? Hilarious!
+1 to Jeff for poking ProMerkin with a stick. I'd swear ProMerkin was a Poe if I didn't know better.
With a deductable of $5000. that is catastrophic illness insurance. For most people for most of their lives that is no medical insurance at all. So Pro gets a point for consistency even if he doesnt understand history (Nazis were reactionaries) or think very well.
Not to worry, in eight months the public will find out how much greenbacks the government has been printing. In twelve months our dollar will begin to spiral downward like a whirlpool. In fourteen months wheel barrows will sell like hotcakes, to carry the money required for a loaf of bread.
Public clinics will sprout up to take care of the masses, the confined ill will be bedded in wards and hallways. Doctors, nurses and the like will be paid with goats and pigs.
China's factories will be humming again, for domestic consumption.
Talking heads: "where is my beautiful house, where is my beautiful wife?"
I know for a fact this is a pipe dream to see Brown cast a no vote on Cap and Trade, and hopefully health care will die in congress a slow painful death and never make it to the senate.
But reality is if people think these 2 bills are the change they have been looking for from Washington then they deserve what they get in the end. Enjoy job losses, sky rocketing utilities, California building codes, higher taxes to pay for it. Enjoy taking a pill for the cure instead of the real fix, enjoy a limited amount of nurses and doctors. Enjoy the debt of the initial plan of action the realize you need more every year to keep it going. Enjoy support illegals, supporting abortions, enjoy the IRS dictating to you, looking into your finances and the look on your face when they tell you you do not qualify for Obama Care.
Do not try writing a bill for little or no cost reforming torte. Do not take the time to write a bill that will cost a tax payer nothing at all in opening up health care insurance on a national level in stead of a individual state level. And delay any major change and allow a free market system to work.
And that last paragraph goes out to Clinton, Bush and Obama
I can only assume the education system in this city reflects the views and the mind set of supporters to the like of Williams, Ryan, Brown and Obama.
Face it people. Liberal Congress and liberal senators and Obama and his czars have took the words like socialism, communism and gift wrapped it under a new word called progressive. Progressive views , project Ohio etc.. Nothing more than socialism under a different name.
Saddad, you idiot, I pay a $5,000 deductable because the govt. won't allow insurance companies to complete against each other states to state.. I'm a NAZI? How can I be a NAZI when I advocate freedom, limited govt. and individual freedoms like the US Constitution? NAZIism is socialism and socialism is NATIism. Both are powerful central governments which control or destroy business, individual rights and private organizations like the church and unions. Cambridge, Epic and Jeff want the "rich" to pay for their health care (the greedy, cowardly and stupid way out). There rich aren't rich enough to pay such huge debt so YOU will pay for your own insurance (which will be inferior) and too expensive for you to afford.
Cambridge, my insurance plan is much superior to the death panel, illegal alien, national reform plan the socialists have hoodwinked you in swallowing. Isn't is wise to pay for shelter, food, clothing and health care berfore anything else. I'm happy with my plan, it covers numerous treatments and perscription drugs (almost 100%) and I can choose my doctor, hospital and receive treatment without waiting for two weeks like the plan the Bamster is attempting to ram down our collective throats. National health insurance = inferior doctors, surgeons, staff, inferior hospitals and drugs, long waits for treatment, unsanitary hosp. rooms and conditions, terrible suffering and early death. If the Bamster's plan is so wonderful, why isn't Congress, the Senate and all the rich socialists exempt? Do you honestly believe the Bamster, Nancy Pelosi, Chris Dodd, Barney Fwank and Harry Reed are going to share a proletariat waiting room, proletariat doctors, surgeons, staff in a proletariat hosp. and being proletarial drugs like the rest of us? Are you that naive?
ProMerkin....LOL! You pay $9,000,00 dollars before your insurance kicks in and your happy about it? You know what so am I. Your an idiot.
I have Blue Shield of California, dental, $10 prescriptions and vision and can pick my own doctor or specialist without a referral for $220 a month with no deductible. I can't be dropped or arbitrarily denied coverage. Know why? Because I'm in a giant pool through my UNION. This coverage used to be free for retirees and their spouse but due to the lack of a public option insurance companies can charge whatever they want so now we have to pay. When a member goes on Medicare the payment goes down to $180 a month and is used as a copay. God I love my UNION.
Here is a link that provides the truth about your death panels. I doubt that anyone dumb enough to pay $9,000.00 before their insurance kicks in would understand it.
http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-pol...
Death panels = health reform. All you socialists are just greedy cowards who demand someone else pay your bills. No gut! You must be really stupid to believe I have to pay $9,000 out of pocket. Of health coverage is a no brainer for you. You have no brains if you believe your $9,000 statement. I have a $5,000 deductable. Where did you find the additional $4,000. Is that how you socialists do your math; and we want YOU people handling our health care? Love you union? They are obsolets. Who pays for your health care? The consumers. Give it time and you will be paying higher premiums, higher deductables and and higher co-insurance. You're a typical union member socialist who demands someone else be your rich uncle. Enjoy, it's coming to an end.
UnAmerican.....You stated in post #9 that you pay $336.00 per month and have a $5,000.00 deductible. That would be $4,032.00 a year for your premium and it's my understanding that a $5,000.00 deductible means you pay the first $5,000.00 of your medical bills. I believe that amounts to you paying $9,032.00 dollars before your medical coverage kicks in.
Again, you keep saying there are death panels and I'll keep posting the link that proves otherwise.
http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-pol...
Cambridgeless, why don't we just receive health care for free? That way we can keep all those doctors, surgeon, nurses and hospitals from making a living, they can work for free or better yet, make the rich pay our premiums.
Like your private health care? What if employers decide to drop covering you because it would be less expensive to dis-continue you policy in favor of the public option? Bye bye to your great private plan you were boasting about. The low premiums, etc. I'm really amused in you math methods. Quite articulate. When you are forced to accept the govt. plan which you can't tailor make for you the individual, you can also be happy the govt. will have access to all you medical records, financial records and tax records. Don't you just love it?
I told you my drug plan pays immediately. I also am entitled to paid doctor visits, partial emergency payments, etc. Wake up you socialist fool before you will be getting pain meds vs. the treatment you need.
Cambridge, Jeff,
God bless you for trying to converse with typical yunkstown white supremicists. They never let lack of knowledge stop them from offering an opinion.
UnAmerican.....Your the one who said you have a $5,000.00 deductible. If that doesn't mean you pay the first $5,000.00 for your medical needs, what does it mean? I don't think you even know how bad your getting ripped off because I don't think you even understand your plan. Does it pay dental, do you even have any teeth? What about vision? I mean your eyes not what goes on in your head.
I'll ask you another question? What functions do insurance copmanies perform? They don't do a single checkup or perform an operation. They only take billions of dollars in profit that should otherwise be used for health care. The real question is why do we need a private plan?
I'll answer that question for you cambridge. Insurance is a hedge against risk. You pay the insurance companies premiums and in exchange they agree to bear risks for something, in this case health care costs. It's just like when you put money in the bank you are getting a lower interest rate than you otherwise would loaning it into the market, however the bank bears the risks of the loans (or did until bailouts) and you receive a relatively safe return, albeit small since the fed funds is roughly 0%.
Search....My point is that the billions in profit that insurance companies make would be better spent on actual health care. We are all entitled to our opinion and mine is a single payer not for profit system where every dime spent went towards actual health care.
If your opinion is the best system involves insurance companies making billions in profit that's fine but I don't see how that relates to any one's actual health care.
Cambridge, you know who's ripping us off. Big government. If we had an honest govt. it would permit all 1300 insurance companies in the country to compete with eachother state to state. My insurance company pays very well after my deductable. Eye care and dental. Lol! Ever hear of writing a check? My company does a lot, unsuring numerous policyholders, choosing my own doctors, nurses and hospitals. Will your beloved socialistic plan do that? My insurance company can't audit my tax return either like your drunken Ted Kennedy health care plan. Who makes big bucks; the federal govt. and it doesn't do anything to earn it either. How can the Bamster guarantee we'll have private health coverage if the govt. can raise as much $ as it wants on the backs of the taxpayers? Private insurance can't compete with that; even though private companies are superior to national health. Also, who regulates the insurance industry? That's right, the govt. Will the govt. be impartial to socialized medicine and private insurance? Think about it; maybe you will begin to understand why socialism s..ks.
Hellsbells,
Isn't Rev. Wright and Von Jones racists? Isn't Affirmative Action racist? It tells non-white they are inferior and need help, their help. I guess you don't everything either.
Cambridge, not for profit single payer plan. No profit? How would it stay afloat? I know, the taxpayers. Why did the VA suspend End Of Life Counseling? Because lots of other Americans beside myself have the common and guts to oppose it. Not for profit, lol. If private insurance has to make a profit, so does the govt. However the govt. can raise as much $ as it wants without any competition.
Health Care cost are having a profound effect on the economy. If we get health care cost under control, more companies will keep jobs here in America. People will also have more discretionary income to spend and small businesses will benefit from it. Foreclosures and bankruptcies will fall, and ALL taxpayers will benefit from that.
50 million uninsured people = Economic disaster.