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HEALTH REFORM: Nurses Join Obama in Rose Garden
If you want to know what's wrong with U.S. health care, ask a nurse.
That's what President Obama did, and he was joined by members of the American Nursing Association in the White House Rose Garden Wednesday as he reaffirmed his commitment to reform and his confidence in its success.
Just a few days after President Obama put naysayers of health reform "on notice," we've seen -- well, if there isn't such a thing as a "yeahsayer" there should be. It's been an encouraging week, and it's not even over yet. The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, after a marathon mark-up, approved its bill, which includes some powerful shifts toward promoting wellness, not just coverage of illness. Three major House Committees -- Education and Labor, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce -- issued a health reform bill together. The CBO score for the bill came in at about $1 trillion over 10 years, lower than most people expected. (Ezra Klein reminds us that "together" is a big deal. During the Clinton health reform attempts in the early nineties, "One passed a version of single-payer, another a variant of Bill Clinton's reform, another went further to the right. There was no unity.")
"The naysayers and the cynics still doubt we can do this. But it wasn't too long ago that those same naysayers doubted that we'd be able to make real progress on healthcare reform," Obama said. "And thanks to the work of key committees in Congress, we are now closer to the goal of health reform than we have ever been."
Obama also assured the American people that health care reform would help all of them, even those who liked their current health plan or doctor and wanted to keep them. He said that health care reform would lower costs for everyone, protect them from losing their insurance if they got sick or had a pre-existing condition, and stop people from going into bankruptcy because of medical bills.
"Nurses see firsthand the heartbreaking cost of the health care crisis," said Obama. He recounted the "good work" done by nurses during all of his personal experiences in the health care system, including the birth of his daughters. Obama stressed that "America's nurses need us to succeed" with health care reform.
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Nurse that does not agree
I'm a nurse and I do not agree with the president.
There is a huge nursing shortage and many will retire soon. Fewer are going into the field, and a scary percentage leave the field within their first year of working.
Before we offer care to everyone, before we remove cost as a way to encourage people to be frugal, we need more nurses.
Who among you are willing to enter the nursing field? Those of you that are so eager for a national plan, are you willing to give up your current profession and provide care for the many?
Would Mr. Obama urge his daughters to enter the nursing field?
If everyone can go for care, for any issue, if cost does not prompt people to attempt home care, and work towards prevention, if cost and fear do not dissuade pursing dangerous hobbies, WHO WILL PROVIDE CARE?
Today's nurses are being abused and are at the breaking point. If you refuse to listen now, you will find out the hard way when your family member needs care and it doesn't arrive in time.
If you want nationwide healthcare, enroll in nursing school today.
healthcare mis-information
The information about keeping your present health care is DELIBERATELY
a mis-representation by the new administration. In the 1018 page bill,
it only takes getting to page 16 in reference to this. If this is adopted, no new policies will be allowed to be written by private insurers. Soon you will be FORCED TO GO ON THE GOV'T SPONSORED SYSTEM. Adding insult to injury, pvt insurers will be squeezed out of business....the gov't can operate this at a net loss, they will just print more money. Businesses will be more than happy to dump their company provided health care for free public supplied care. Eventually, competition in the industry would disappear and
ALL persons will be under the thumb of washington politics.
Obamas statement is a half-truth....as are many of his statements.
Pages 425-430 concern themselves with end-of-life options.....read this
in terms of the elderlys or terminally ills being railroaded into saving the system money by deciding whether or not to forgo treatment.
"Gee grandma, your 65 years old, and the government feels that a hip replacement or breast cancer surgery for you is too cost prohibitive....your not worth it....
here's a pain killer instead."
THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE INSULT TO THE ELDERLY AND TERMINALLY ILL, BORDERING ON ABUSE AND NEGLECT.....THERE ARE LAWS AGAINST THIS.
I firmly believe that if nurses and doctors REALLY knew about everything in this bill, a majority would be against it.
not health bill; kill our seniors bill
Americans want to know why the president, members of both congress and senate think we are stupid? We know more about what is in those DUTY TO DIE bills than most people on the Hill! We do not know where to start so I'll start here...Hitler got rid of the people he did not like by marching them to the ovens; Obama is getting rid of the people he does not like by making them give up good health care so he can make them get ready for euthanasia...seniors do know what "Congress would make it mandatory absolutely that every five years people in medicare have a required counseling session. The will then be told how to end their lives." Why does Obama want the people who still have most money in CDs, IRAs, savings 401 DEAD! IF HE REALLY IS JUST TRYING TO WATCH OUT FOR THE ECONOMY HE WOULD PRACTICE HIS EUTHANASIA ON THE PEOPLE IN PRISON NOT THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE WORKED ALL OF THEIR LIVES TO MAKE THIS A STRONG, WONDERFUL COUNTRY! And watching the people in congress and senate going along with obama rather than listening to what Americans are saying is such a sad state of affairs! I hope everyone joins me next Saturday in Washington DC...i am driving to the capitol and parking until those elected officials get some courage and come out and listen to voting Americans rather than obama and his chicago thugs.
Everybody please stay calm.....
Euthanasia, figuratively and literally, is such a very frightening word. I just hope that there will come a time that we can all be in good terms by helping each other instead of having both sides saying something against each other or against others. We just need to focus on the positive side so that we can reach to a common solution, though I agree with Mindy.