Papantonio: Democrats and Obama - Do or Die

The Senate is working around the clock to come up with a healthcare bill. But, as Mike Papantonio of Air America's Ring of Fire points out, the only way to improve our current insurance-industry-based healthcare system is to repeal the McCarren-Ferguson Act, which allows insurance companies to fix prices and drop clients for no reason. By forcing this industry to operate on the same playing field as the rest of the economy, we could all be looking at lower premiums and better coverage. However, if President Obama and the Democrats fail to do this, we could be looking at a GOP takeover in 2012.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Healthcare
• Reform
• Senate
• Bill
• House of Representatives
• McCarren Ferguson
• Insurance Industry
• Fox News
• Mike Papantonio
• Ring of Fire
• Air America
• GoLeftTV
• GoLeft.tv

[northmeister]

Pap is wrong here...same old bs stuff...the market the market my kingdom for a market...THERE SHOULD BE NO PROFIT in HEALTH...period. What that repeal will do, without other legislation, is raise premiums - just look at what deregulation did to the Airlines.

[dmp079]

The free market system and the amount of money corporations want and the money they give to the politicians is enjoyed by a small elite crowd that screws everybody else by using fearmongering to scare the un-informed.

[onstageagain]

Obama is a creation of the world media. A multi racial man, who has never had NO said to him. A child, given everything on a silver platter, a bright guy, could speak well, learn well. Navigate around the ultra left wing of Hawaii, Got a schollarship to Punahou, Harvard on Affirmative Action. No ones ever stood up to him when it happens the guy looks lost. This is reality, he looked shaken when the polls lost Nov 2, He doesn't understand the world he's in . The guy is in over his head.

[Unklebillybob]

Bribes, Bribes, Bribes. Guess what dimocrat congress,,,,,?  You will be joining other Americans in the Unemployment Lines. AHs

[garthggarth]

Yes, i agree, but on business, Mike is being somewhat realistic- They will raise premiums for a while- but I beleive if they do that, it will drive home to the public the need for a quick, powerful public option, and hopefully--PREVENTATIVE care. The fulcrum of health care cost balances between preventative care and education awareness. The Dems will survive it, even with a weak bill, because they can strenghten it later, i beleive. It's better than nothing. And there are regulation in it.

[garthggarth]

I find it both funny and sick that there are right now only 2 industries in America that are allowed to be legally monopolistic- major league Baseball and Health insurance?!?

Oh, and pork has rarely exceeded a half a percentage point of a large spending bill, and rarely 1% of a small bill-- how did the guy go from hundreds of millions (he was talking Louisiana) to hundres of billions?? that's like saying the government's giving everyone 500 thousand dollars back on taxes this year, ie X1000!

[imaginepeace63]

We need progressive primary challenges of all blue dog democrats and conservative democrat senators.