Thursday, July 12, 2012 10:26:08 PM
Maine Governor Just Can’t Stop Comparing ‘Obamacare’ To The Holocaust
Evan McMorris-Santoro July 12, 2012, 3:09 PM 6091
Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) on Thursday simultaneously apologized for and doubled down on comments he made last week equating the IRS with the Gestapo.
LePage told Vermont weekly Seven Days .. http://7d.blogs.com/blurt/2012/07/maine-gov-paul-lepage-doubles-down-on-gestapo-comment-after-brock-fundraiser.html .. that he understands why his claim about the IRS — voiced .. http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/lepage-rails-against-obamacare-calls-irs-new-gestapo.php .. after the Supreme Court upheld the health care law — offended some.
“The Holocaust is probably a bad example. Americans should not forget that it did happen,” he said. “I apologize to the Jewish Americans who feel offended. I also apologize to the Japanese Americans who were put in prison during World War II and I also apologize to those people who were accused of being Communists under McCarthyism, because that’s not the American way.”
But LePage still believes the IRS is on track to become the new Gestapo.
“What I’m trying to say is that the Holocaust was a horrific crime against humanity and, frankly, I would never want to see that repeated,” he said. “Maybe the IRS is not quite as bad. Yet.”
LePage explained that the connection between the Holocaust and “Obamacare” comes from what he called “rationing” contained in the law:
“Do you want to know why?” LePage said when asked by the Seven Days reporter if he really worrys the IRS will kill people under the health care reform. “Rationing. They ration health care in Canada and that’s why a lot of people in Canada come down to the U.S.”
Here’s the audio: [inside]
This is the second time LePage has tried to apologize for the Gestapo remark. The first time, he also pressed the point that the modern Gestapo is coming.
“It was never intended to offend anyone,” LePage told Maine’s WMTW last week. .. http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/maine-gov-uses-profanity-in-apology-to-those .. “And if someone’s offended, then they ought to be goddamn mad at the federal government.”
Update:
The Maine Democratic Party says LePage’s comments “crossed a threshold.”
“I can’t say it more simply than this: Governor LePage’s fitness to hold office must now be
seriously and openly questioned,” state Democratic Party chair Ben Grant said in a statement.
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/democrats-question-lepages-fitness-for-office
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/lepage-maine-irs-gestapo.php?ref=fpb
.. some of paraphrased from the audio inside the link above ..
'The IRS is headed in the direction of killing a lot of people? .. Yes
.. Why? .. Rationing, that's why so many Canadians come to the US ..'
Hmm, Guvnor, please consider ..
Healthcare rationing in the United States
Healthcare rationing in the United States exists in various forms. Access to private health insurance is rationed based on price and ability to pay. Those not able to afford a health insurance policy are unable to acquire one, and sometimes insurance companies pre-screen applicants for pre-existing medical conditions and either decline to cover the applicant or apply additional price and medical coverage conditions. Access to state Medicaid programs is restricted by income and asset limits via a means-test, and to other federal and state eligibility regulations. Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that commonly cover the bulk of the population, restrict access to treatment via financial and clinical access limits.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed in March 2010 will prohibit insurers from limiting
coverage to people with preexisting conditions beginning in 2014, which will alleviate this type of rationing.
[...]
Contents
1 Background
2 Definition
3 Types of rationing
3.1 Rationing by Insurance companies
4 Rationing by price
4.1 Rationing by pharmaceutical companies
4.2 Rationing through government control
5 Arguments for enhancing rationing processes
5.1 Rationing based on economic value added
5.2 Rationing using comparative effectiveness research
5.3 Rationing as part of fiscal discipline
5.4 Old-age-based health care rationing
6 Consequences of not controlling healthcare costs
more .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_rationing_in_the_United_States
========
06 April 2012 - 5:56pm - David K. Sutton- Human Interest
Health Care Is Rationed By Private For-Profit Insurance Companies. Is That Really What We Want?
We are told by conservatives that we don’t want government-run universal health care because it would mean rationing care. During the health care debate in the summer and fall of 2009 we heard talk of ‘death panels’ and ‘killing grandma’. Of course all of this was nonsense meant to scare people into thinking and voting a certain way, and it was quite effective, particularly on the Republican side of the aisle. The truth is we already ration health care in the United States. 50 million people are uninsured. How is that not rationed care? Health care costs are higher than they need to be (due to insurance company profits and waste) which means in some cases people forego treatment because they can’t afford it (even if they have insurance). How is that not rationed care?
On an episode of Up with Chris Hayes from last December, Donald Berwick .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Berwick .. (former CMS .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centers_for_Medicare_and_Medicaid_Services .. administrator) said, “we are either going to ration with our eyes closed or eyes opened.” Right now health care is rationed by private, for-profit insurance companies. Where is the accountability? Who decided that was a good idea? If a particular procedure is not covered by insurance, who was responsible for making that decision to ration care? And what is the motivation of that decision? Profits?
I realize a lot of people in this country have incredible distrust of the federal government, but at least the government is supposed to be accountable to the people. In fact, the government is supposed to be ”we the people.” How do we make private insurance companies accountable to the people? Right now corporate executives in boardrooms are making our health care rationing decisions. Shouldn’t these decisions be out in the open for all to see?
As Berwick said back in December, “We need the lights on. We need that kind of decision making to be done in daylight.”
dks
photo by Images Money
http://leftcall.com/2012/04/06/health-care-is-rationed-by-private-for-profit-insurance-companies-is-that-really-what-we-want/
Evan McMorris-Santoro July 12, 2012, 3:09 PM 6091
Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) on Thursday simultaneously apologized for and doubled down on comments he made last week equating the IRS with the Gestapo.
LePage told Vermont weekly Seven Days .. http://7d.blogs.com/blurt/2012/07/maine-gov-paul-lepage-doubles-down-on-gestapo-comment-after-brock-fundraiser.html .. that he understands why his claim about the IRS — voiced .. http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/lepage-rails-against-obamacare-calls-irs-new-gestapo.php .. after the Supreme Court upheld the health care law — offended some.
“The Holocaust is probably a bad example. Americans should not forget that it did happen,” he said. “I apologize to the Jewish Americans who feel offended. I also apologize to the Japanese Americans who were put in prison during World War II and I also apologize to those people who were accused of being Communists under McCarthyism, because that’s not the American way.”
But LePage still believes the IRS is on track to become the new Gestapo.
“What I’m trying to say is that the Holocaust was a horrific crime against humanity and, frankly, I would never want to see that repeated,” he said. “Maybe the IRS is not quite as bad. Yet.”
LePage explained that the connection between the Holocaust and “Obamacare” comes from what he called “rationing” contained in the law:
“Do you want to know why?” LePage said when asked by the Seven Days reporter if he really worrys the IRS will kill people under the health care reform. “Rationing. They ration health care in Canada and that’s why a lot of people in Canada come down to the U.S.”
Here’s the audio: [inside]
This is the second time LePage has tried to apologize for the Gestapo remark. The first time, he also pressed the point that the modern Gestapo is coming.
“It was never intended to offend anyone,” LePage told Maine’s WMTW last week. .. http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/maine-gov-uses-profanity-in-apology-to-those .. “And if someone’s offended, then they ought to be goddamn mad at the federal government.”
Update:
The Maine Democratic Party says LePage’s comments “crossed a threshold.”
“I can’t say it more simply than this: Governor LePage’s fitness to hold office must now be
seriously and openly questioned,” state Democratic Party chair Ben Grant said in a statement.
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/democrats-question-lepages-fitness-for-office
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/lepage-maine-irs-gestapo.php?ref=fpb
.. some of paraphrased from the audio inside the link above ..
'The IRS is headed in the direction of killing a lot of people? .. Yes
.. Why? .. Rationing, that's why so many Canadians come to the US ..'
Hmm, Guvnor, please consider ..
Healthcare rationing in the United States
Healthcare rationing in the United States exists in various forms. Access to private health insurance is rationed based on price and ability to pay. Those not able to afford a health insurance policy are unable to acquire one, and sometimes insurance companies pre-screen applicants for pre-existing medical conditions and either decline to cover the applicant or apply additional price and medical coverage conditions. Access to state Medicaid programs is restricted by income and asset limits via a means-test, and to other federal and state eligibility regulations. Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that commonly cover the bulk of the population, restrict access to treatment via financial and clinical access limits.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed in March 2010 will prohibit insurers from limiting
coverage to people with preexisting conditions beginning in 2014, which will alleviate this type of rationing.
[...]
Contents
1 Background
2 Definition
3 Types of rationing
3.1 Rationing by Insurance companies
4 Rationing by price
4.1 Rationing by pharmaceutical companies
4.2 Rationing through government control
5 Arguments for enhancing rationing processes
5.1 Rationing based on economic value added
5.2 Rationing using comparative effectiveness research
5.3 Rationing as part of fiscal discipline
5.4 Old-age-based health care rationing
6 Consequences of not controlling healthcare costs
more .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_rationing_in_the_United_States
========
06 April 2012 - 5:56pm - David K. Sutton- Human Interest
Health Care Is Rationed By Private For-Profit Insurance Companies. Is That Really What We Want?
We are told by conservatives that we don’t want government-run universal health care because it would mean rationing care. During the health care debate in the summer and fall of 2009 we heard talk of ‘death panels’ and ‘killing grandma’. Of course all of this was nonsense meant to scare people into thinking and voting a certain way, and it was quite effective, particularly on the Republican side of the aisle. The truth is we already ration health care in the United States. 50 million people are uninsured. How is that not rationed care? Health care costs are higher than they need to be (due to insurance company profits and waste) which means in some cases people forego treatment because they can’t afford it (even if they have insurance). How is that not rationed care?
On an episode of Up with Chris Hayes from last December, Donald Berwick .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Berwick .. (former CMS .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centers_for_Medicare_and_Medicaid_Services .. administrator) said, “we are either going to ration with our eyes closed or eyes opened.” Right now health care is rationed by private, for-profit insurance companies. Where is the accountability? Who decided that was a good idea? If a particular procedure is not covered by insurance, who was responsible for making that decision to ration care? And what is the motivation of that decision? Profits?
I realize a lot of people in this country have incredible distrust of the federal government, but at least the government is supposed to be accountable to the people. In fact, the government is supposed to be ”we the people.” How do we make private insurance companies accountable to the people? Right now corporate executives in boardrooms are making our health care rationing decisions. Shouldn’t these decisions be out in the open for all to see?
As Berwick said back in December, “We need the lights on. We need that kind of decision making to be done in daylight.”
dks
photo by Images Money
http://leftcall.com/2012/04/06/health-care-is-rationed-by-private-for-profit-insurance-companies-is-that-really-what-we-want/
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
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