Reid May Have 60 Votes … HANG IN THERE WE MAY HAVE WEEKS TO GO!!!!!

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Candlelight vigil at Sen. Blanche Lincolns Little Rock office Friday night.

Candlelight vigil at Sen. Blanche Lincoln's Little Rock office Friday night.

(UPDATE – SENATOR LINCOLN JUST ANNOUNCED SHE WILL VOTE WITH SEN. REID AS OF 1PM MST)

We will keep you posted on any important developments throughout the day as the Senate debates the health care reform.

First, let’s review what may happen: The vote tonight is a vote to “invoke closure” on the motion to proceed on the bill.  Sixty votes are required.

If the motion does pass tonight, we are likely looking at several weeks of futher debate on the Senate floor before a vote on the actual bill takes place.

Bottom line:  if the vote tonight is a “YES” we are far from finished.  To make a sports analogy as you watch football today: we’re playing every single vote like it’s “first and goal.”  That’s because each vote is a chance to KILL THE BILL.  But a failed vote doesn’t mean we’ve lost the game.

HANG IN THERE
WE MAY HAVE WEEKS TO GO!!!!!

IN TODAY’S ALERT:

1. AAPS SURVEY: Doctors will NOT participate in public plan.

2. Breakdown of Senate schedule today

3. Targeted Senators and contacts

4. Senate bill “by the numbers” from Sen. Tom Coburn, MD (OK) with quick bullets listing the cost & main provisions.

5. LINK TO DOWNLOADABLE HANDOUT

1. AAPS SURVEY: 70% Doctors will NOT participate in public plan.

A yet-to-be-published survey of more than 1,200 physician conducted by AAPS show that 70% of physicians would REFUSE TO VOLUNTARILY PARTICIPATE IN A GOVERNMENT PUBLIC PLAN.

Again this points out the folly of the pursuit of “expanded insurance coverage.”  If doctors are bailing out of the system and patients get medical care, what good is “coverage?”

PLEASE USE THIS POINT WHEN YOU ARE CALLING SENATORS — IT IS A POWERFUL STATISTIC.

2. Breakdown of the Senate’s schedule for today:
The Senate convened at 9:45 AM est and resumed debate on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3590 (shell for the health care bill) until 8:00 PM. The time will be equally divided and controlled in one hour alternating blocks until 6:00 PM, with the Majority controlling the first hour.

The time from 6:00-6:30 PM will be under Majority control, the time from 6:30-7:15 PM will be under Minority control, the time from 7:15-7:30 PM will be under Majority control and the final 30 minutes will be divided equally between the two leaders with the Republican Leader controlling the first 15 minutes.

At 8:00 PM the Senate will proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3590. If cloture is invoked, all post-cloture time will be yielded back, the motion to proceed will be agreed to and the Majority Leader will be recognized to offer a substitute amendment which will be reported be number only.

3. Targeted Senators and contacts

The direct office numbers of your Senator are listed here: CLICK HERE

As of this morning, these is one Democrat on the fence:
(UPDATE – SENATOR LINCOLN JUST ANNOUNCED SHE WILL VOTE WITH SEN. REID AS OF 1PM MST)
Senator Blanche Lincoln (AR)
Chief of Staff: Elizabeth Burks (elizabeth_burks@lincoln.senate.gov)
Washington, DC (202) 224-4843 / (202) 228-1371 fax
Little Rock (800) 352-9364 / (501) 375-7064 fax

ALSO, PLEASE ENCOURAGE SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN TO ‘STAY THE COURSE’ IN HIS OPPOSITION TO THE PUBLIC PLAN.  Remind him about the AAPS survey and that patients will not be able to find doctors if it passes.

Please also contact this list of “HealthCare Flip Floppers”: http://gop.com/index.php/12truths/states/ .
These are the 9 Senators who may vote YES to proceed on Saturday even though they say they oppose Harry Reid’s bill.  If Saturday’s vote passes, their NO vote later on could be meaningless except to give these 9 Democrat Senators political cover.

4. The Senate bill by the numbers:

The title of the Senate bill is the ”Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act”.   In true DC double speak, the bill neither protects patients nor is affordable and in fact does the EXACT OPPOSITE.  Take a look at these recently released numbers that reveal the bill’s true medical and financial consequences:

Senator Coburn’s summation shows the magnitude of the burden the bill will place on the American people:

  • 0-provisions guaranteeing taxpayers do not finance abortion
  • 0-provisions prohibiting the rationing of health care
  • 0-number of senators required to enroll in the new government-run plan
  • 8-number of new taxes created in the bill, according to JCT analysis
  • 13-pages in the bill’s table of contents
  • 20.8-pounds the bill weighs printed out
  • 36-pages in the CBO estimate of the price tag
  • 70-government programs authorized by the bill
  • 1,697-times the Secretary of Health and Human Services is given authority to create, determine, or define things in the bill
  • 2,074-pages in the bill
  • 3,607-uses of the word “shall” in the bill
  • $6.8 million-cost to taxpayers per word
  • 24 million-people left without health insurance
  • $1.2 billion-cost to taxpayers per page
  • $5-$10 billion-additional funding needed for the IRS to implement the bill
  • $8 billion-taxes levied on uninsured individuals
  • $25 billion-additional Medicaid mandates placed on states
  • $28 billion-new taxes on employers not providing government approved plans
  • $100 billion-estimated annual fraud in Medicare and Medicaid
  • $118 billion-cuts to Medicare Advantage
  • $465 billion-total cuts to Medicare
  • $494 billion-revenue from new taxes/fees levied on American families and businesses
  • $2.5 trillion-cost for full implementation of the legislation
  • $12 trillion-total U.S. national debt

5. DOWNLOAD HANDOUTS TO GIVE TO PATIENTS & FRIENDS NEXT WEEK

CLICK HERE FOR AAPS 1-PAGE handout (PDF DOWNLOADABLE)

And, our friends over at Citizens’ Council on Health Care have done an analysis of the most and least frequently used words in both the House and Senate versions of the Health Care Reform Bill.  The word “tax” occurs 511 times in the Senate bill while the word “choose” occurs only 4; the word “federal” occurs 482 while “competition” only 13.  Click here to see the full list.

Also, please take a look at the “TOP 10 (+1) PROBLEMS WITH HARRY REID’S HEALTHCARE TAKEOVER.”

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Reports are that calls are pouring into DC.  Please GET ON THE PHONE and keep the pressure on the Senate.  The phone circuits in DC are at times full thanks to your calls.  Let’s keep them that way! If you can’t get through on the first try please try again or try calling or faxing the various state offices (numbers below).

As you know,  Harry Reid has scheduled a critical vote this Saturday night that will allow the Senate to proceed with his government-run healthcare bill.  His plan would mandate that nearly every American buy government-sanctioned health insurance and increase taxes on families and small businesses by half a trillion dollars.

This motion to proceed (aka cloture) requires 60 votes (three-fifths of the Senate) to pass.

The below four Senators are critically important to defeating Saturday’s vote (Nelson, Lincoln, Landrieu, & Warner).  Senators Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas are reportedly the most important two to focus on.

Please also contact this list of “HealthCare Flip Floppers”: http://gop.com/index.php/12truths/states/ .
These are the 9 Senators who may vote YES to proceed on Saturday even though they say they oppose Harry Reid’s bill.  If Saturday’s vote passes, their NO vote later on could be meaningless except to give these 9 Democrat Senators political cover.

These Senators can make the difference in whether or not this bill passes. Please take the time to call, fax, and email them immediately. The vote is expected around 8pm Saturday evening.  We can stop this with your help.  They need to hear from all of us!

The message is simple: VOTE NO ON CLOTURE & NO TO HARRY REID’S HEALTHCARE BILL.

Freedom Works also has a tool available for contacting these Senators:
http://www.rallycongress.com/freedomworks/2435/call-congress-urge-no-vote-on-obamacare/

Senator Ben Nelson (NE)
Chief of Staff: Tim Becker
Washington, DC (202) 224-6551 / (202) 228-0012 fax
Lincoln (402) 441-4600 / (402) 476-8753 fax
Omaha (402) 391-3411 / (402) 391-4725 fax

Senator Blanche Lincoln (AR)
Chief of Staff: Elizabeth Burks (elizabeth_burks@lincoln.senate.gov)
Washington, DC (202) 224-4843 / (202) 228-1371 fax
Little Rock (800) 352-9364 / (501) 375-7064 fax

Senator Mary Landrieu (LA)
Chief of Staff: Jane Campbell (jane_campbell@landrieu.senate.gov)
Washington, DC (202) 224-5824 / (202) 224-9735 fax
New Orleans (504) 589-2427 / (504) 589-4023 fax
Baton Rouge (225) 389-0395 / (225) 389-0660 fax
Shreveport (318) 676-3085 / (318) 676-3100 fax
Lake Charles (337) 436-6650 / (337) 439-3762 fax

Senator Mark Warner (VA)
Chief of Staff: Luke Albee (luke_albee@warner.senate.gov)
Washington, DC (202) 224-2023 / (202) 224-6295 fax
Abingdon (276) 628-8158 / (276) 628-1036 fax
Norfolk (757) 441-3079 / (757) 441-6250 fax
Roanoke (540) 857-2676 / (540) 857-2800 fax
Midlothian (804) 739-0247 / (804) 739-3478 fax
Additional Information About Harry Reid’s Bill:

10 Things you should know about Harry Reid’s Government-Run Health Care Plan:

http://www.gop.com/index.php/briefing/comments/10_things

Harry Reid and the CBO claim his bill will reduce the deficit by $130 Billion over 10 years.  Here is another look, that shows a $4.9 Trillion spending increase:
READ MORE

The Bill Could Cost Taxpayers $6.8 Million per Word: http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=HealthCareReform.Home

Is there a $100 Million deal to get Senator Landrieu’s vote: http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/11/the-100-million-health-care-vote.html

Senate offices flooded with calls:  READ STORY

Also, read more information about the bill at our new “The Hills Have Eyes” Blog by Michael Ostrolenk:

http://www.takebackmedicine.com/thehillshaveeyes/

2 thoughts on “Reid May Have 60 Votes … HANG IN THERE WE MAY HAVE WEEKS TO GO!!!!!”

  1. p 27 line 5 and following
    Quality of health care is apparently being impeoved with “programs” that are potentially irrelevant to outcome. We need access to good drugs and procedures and assistive devices, not the abstract “quality” that is not explicitly defined and is a rationalization for a boondoggle. If everyone works in health care, then there is no unemployment. Also no food or housing.

    p 27 line 22 and following
    Who defines “best clinical practices”? The drug companies that want to push untested drugs? The insurance companies that want to proclaim systematic negligence of the elderly “good” and save themselves money? Risky!

    p 95 line 8 and following
    Insurers cannot discriminate based on private accreditations, such as being board-certified or having admitting privileges at a hospital. But they can refuse proviers arbitrarily. This is a setup for the equivalent of expelling “disruptive” physicians from hospitals after a farce of a trial.

    p 102 line 1 and following
    It looks as if all plans must be ERISA-covered. ERISA itself does not have a protocol for filing forms and being issued an official endorsement of being covered. This is a treasure trove for the lawyers. If the concept is a good one, then the criteria need to be spelled out here, not by reference to something VAGUE.

    p 104 line 1 and following
    Secretary shall determine the covered services by inquiring of employers, in a survey. It’s easy to pre-survey some employers and use the results of Survey One to choose a sample to do Survey Two, that will be the sample actually used. Results will be biased. Very vulnerable to lobbying and bribery.

    p 134 line 3 and following
    Rating system, as described, is very subjective and allows official disparagement of disruptive physicians and praise for government flunkies, instead of praise for rule-bending brilliance and hard work with proper demotion of those who follow rules strictly but harm patients in the process.

    p 147 lines 22-25 and preceding
    Guidelines as to quality to be determined by the Secratary. There is nothing above that suggests other than using resources as with superfluous screening, unnecessarily expensive drugs, etc. I see no effort to remove FDA impediments regarding vitmains and supplements, for example.

    p 329 line 24 and following (includes next page)
    Religious exemption from insurance. We who do our own preventive care can perhaps join the AAPS Ministry having withstood trial-by-fire f/k/a medical school. Very subject to abuse. No explicit exemption for self-insured preventive services–why not?

    p 1278 entire page and following Subtitle B)
    We do not need another commission. Activists with all imaginable viewpoints will praise and complain without such expense. A waste of money.

    p 659 between lines 5 and 6
    A good place to insert wording such as “The Secretary shall be required to arrange for all physicians or similarly qualified examiners to, when performing a medical examination to estblish eligibility for federal funds payable for disability, notify directly or indirectly the driver license registry that has jurisdiction over each examinee who claims or on examination has an impairment that interferes with safe driving. Consent forms that disability claimants sign shall include an explicit provision that driver license registries shall be notified of any relevant impairments and that driver licenses cna be revoked even if disability status is not awarded.” I do disabity examinations and have encountered many disability applicants who claim disability that, if it were real, would make driving dangerous or impossible. Many a malingerer would be deterred, saving millions of dollars annually. Revoking the licenses of genuinely disabled applicants would make our streets safer, too. WHERE IS THIS IN THE BILL? IS EVERY SENATOR STUPID?

    p 1001 lines 16-23
    As technology improves, expense will increase. What response can there be other than freeze benefits to the technology, drugs, etc. in effect in a specified, base, year and refuse to pay for anything new? Buy a more expensive and more fast car, and the insurable risk goes up and so do the auto insurance premiums. Same for buying a bigger house. Premiums MUST go up as insurable expense goes up due to new and expensive treatments. Only by denying care can premiums be kept steady: the bill needs to specify how.

    p 1118 sec 3509 in entirety
    Blatant gender discrimination. Men have health problems that women do not: prostate, impotence, etc.

    p 1119 lines 4-6
    Expert advice will be supplied free of charge by women’s groups, libertarian activists, AAPS, etc. Why pay for someone who might be corrupt?

    p 1228 and following, sec 4205
    Much ado about calories. No reference to the inefficiecy of digesting and using fat relative to carbohydrate. No reference to conjugated linoleic acid, found in cream and butter (and elsewhere) that helps burn off fat. Same for coconut oil. Counting calories is NOT the whole story regarding weight loss. This section straitjackets the restaurant industry and actually harms the unhappy obese.

    p 1240 line 6 and following; entire Subtitle D
    Needlessly expensive. Insurers have a motive to reduce cost and can be called on to do the work. This suptitle needs to be replaced with something that rewards insurers for creating a protocol that other insurers use, so as to stimulate research without impoverishing us taxpayers.

    p 1786 line 1 and following (entire section 6505)
    If health care is less expensive outside the USA, then as we import oil, electronics, etc. we should be able to import health care. If the market speaks and patients are willing to forfeit the possibility of large malpractice awards in exchange for significant savings, then let the market tell its story and make politicians listen. Having a foreign hospital pay for a USA inspector is reasonable; make sure such inspectors are not unjustly expensive.