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The GOP noise machine is at full roar here in Louisiana over Senator Landrieu's vote to allow debate on the health care reform bill.
Let me put it out there ... the GOP doesn't want to see a health care reform bill signed by President Obama. They'd rather obstruct and derail any health care bill designed by the Democrats in Congress so they can run next fall on a "Do Nothing Congress." Let's take a look at what the GOP and their noise machine is saying:
The Old River Road:
And you know, no matter how folks try to spin it, Mary Landrieu accepted $100 million in exchange for her help. How is this any different than what Bill Jefferson got 13 years for doing?
Hmmm ... invoking the black boogeyman who got thrown in the pen. Yeah, that's an ad hominem attack, rather than looking at what the $100 million (actually, it's $300 million) goes to. For ol' Dollar Bill, that money went into his freezer. For Mary, it's going to plug the $500 million hole in the state budget caused by the flood of federal money that came into Louisiana thanks to Hurricane Katrina, artificially boosting our per capita income, which in turn increased the share that the state would have to pay under the Medicaid rules.
Next up is the Republican National Committee itself:
"We understand the money is needed in Louisiana but the overall bill is going to outweigh the benefits."
Yeah, the money is needed, and it was requested by one of the RNC's own - Governor PBJ, a Republican. Notice that he hasn't said one. dang. word. about this yet? And it's Tuesday, y'all.
The benefits of this bill ... oh, boy, are they legion (pdf alert):
- On page 78 you'll learn that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ends discrimination based on pre-existing conditions.
- On page 17, it makes preventive care completely free, with no cost-sharing. (This might be of particular interest to those who have chosen to seize on concerns about the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations on mammograms to spread baseless myths and advance their own political agenda.)
- Flipping back to page 16, you'll find that insurance companies are prohibited from dropping your coverage or watering it down when you get sick and need it most.
- Also on page 16, you might notice that it puts an end to lifetime caps on coverage.
- Page 18 is where the bill extends family coverage eligibility for young Americans through the age of 26.
- On page 83 it requires insurance companies to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full - that means they can't refuse to renew your coverage just because you get sick.
- Page 307 is home to tax credits for small businesses to help them afford insurance for their employees.
- And folks looking to scare our senior citizens about what reform means for them might be interested to check out page 923 and learn that it provides a 50% discount on drugs for seniors in the so-called donut hole.
I think the benefits to Louisiana on this bill outweigh the costs of this bill - a $130 billion reduction in the federal deficit, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office - that the GOP is trying to scare y'all about.
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