Lieberman: Doing nothing better than a public option
Washington (CNN) - Sen. Joe Lieberman said Sunday that America would be better off with no health care bill instead of one that includes a government-run public health insurance option.
Speaking on the CBS program "Face the Nation," Lieberman said he would use whatever power he has to prevent passage of a health care bill with a public option.
However, the independent from Connecticut who sits with the Democratic caucus reaffirmed he will support starting Senate debate on a bill that includes a public option. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, says he will bring such a measure to the floor coming weeks.
Lieberman said that, if the bill still contains a public option when it comes time to close the debate, he would filibuster to prevent a final vote.
The Senate's Republican minority has promised a filibuster, and Lieberman would give the GOP enough votes to succeed in blocking the bill.
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Hey Joe...It's time to go. From the look of the posts here I think you will.
Doing nothing means allowing 40,000 Americans to die annually from lack of medical care. Doing nothing means that Americans will suffer from treatable and curable medical conditions.
Lieberman has been a Senator for decades, and "nothing" is the best suggestion he can come up with? What exactly has he been thinking about for all those years? Hasn't he at least read a magazine article with some good suggestions about how we can actually solve our problems?
This guy needs to retire, write his memoirs, collect his generous taxpayer funded pension, and let government health insurance take care of him. Actually, that's what we would ALL like to do.
It is definetly time for these insurance in this country to have some form of real an true compention within this industry they have had controll of way to long an that is the reasons behine these higher an hiogher insurance p[remiums that are stripping family an the public in general of an real purchasing power or say so over the insurance industry . i say that theyneed to reinstutite regulations an get rid of the derugualtions within every industry in this country an provide some real form of comsumer protcetions in this country once again thank you
It was the insurance companies that drove the prices up to begin with. I am a free market guy, ok. I don't want to see the insurance compies go away. But this is rediculas. You should not have to purchase insureance. The problem is not the price of insurance its the prince of the care.
I file a claim for 30K. Before my insurance pays a dime they negotiate with the doctors and hospitals and get that cut in half. Who pays for that 15K, where did it go? My procedure must have not have really cost that much. The hospitals and doctors are not losing money, so that money must have not really be owed. It was extra.
So the people without insurance or a company that does not have a deal like mine has to pay the full 30K after we just estabished that it didn't cost that much.
Some of these people don't pay it back because its more than they can't afford to, or they do a $50/month payment plan until the end of time. How can the hospital afford this. Simple. It does not cost that much. They are obviously over charging. If it really cost that much hospitals would not build multimillion dollar expansions and then spend more millions on art work, marble lobbies and water features. You don't see wal-mart (the most profitable company in the world) building marble lobbies, filling its head quarters with art work and adorning the stores with water features. Those things don't make money, they cost money.
This is like a retail story not caring that 1/2 the shoper walkout without paying. Its rediculous. The insureance companies have enabled this and the medical establishment has taken full advantage of it. But don't lay it totally on the insurance companies. If hospitals had to make it without insurance, the prices would drop. Instead of 30K you would get changed the 15K it really cost. They would have a millions in overhead. the price would drop again.
We need to get back to a real free market. where people acutally see and payfor there own medicine and buy insureance for the big stuff. You should not need insureance to see your family doctor.
Kudos to Joe Lieberman for standing up for what's right regardless of the political pressure put against him. It's nice to see one honest politician against the mix. If only we had more people with his courage we might actually change the country for the better rather than changing it for the worse.
Lieberman truly is the most honorable man in the U.S. Senate. Its too bad more Senators can't put the country first before their own political ambitions!
Then Lieberman should voluntarily remove himself for the "public option" he currently enjoys...
If indeed he does support the Republican filibuster, this jerk should be stripped of his committee chairs and his seniority. What a disaster he has turned out to be! The only good thing about the stolen election of 2000 is that this jerk did not get to be VP. Of course, the one we got was no better, LOL!
Joe is still getting a check from the Insurance Industry, why would he want change.
That's because Lieberman doesn't have to worry about paying for his health care. As long as the health insurance companies who contribute to his campaign are taken care of, he's doesn't care what happens to the American public. The hypocrisy of Lieberman and his buddies completely astound me. We shouldn't be surprised though, corporate America runs Washington and most of our elected officials.
WOW Joe...how much did the Conn. insurance compaines pay you to say this?
Right On Joe, you know who the true Americans are and we don't want a public option!
It is almost funny how stupid the American people can be. Almost. Everybody cries and cries that politics has become about the parties and not the people. Everybody cries and cries that the politicians are more concerned about towing party lines than doing what's right, and yet, here is a man in Joe Lieberman that has crossed party lines many times, and at crucial times, and what do we see? He is being called a traitor for voting against his party. He is being called a loser. So which is it morons? Do you want a guy to vote what he thinks is right, or a guy that does what the party tells him?
Maybe we can let the Post Office run the public option.
Excuse me Joe The Hypocrit – what is the health care in Israel? ANSWER – UNIVERSAL AND COMPULSORY. HMMMMMMM??
Typical of Joe Lieberman. He's got his and he could care less about you and yours. Joe cares a lot more about the racist state of Israel than about America. It's shameful that he still squats in the Senate.
Lieberrman is a traitor and disgrace to all Americans who want health care reform. If he believes that a public option – that might capture 2% of the uninsured by 2013 – would significantly increase the deficit and create government operated heatlh care, then he should be kicked out of the Democratic caucus. Traitor Joe has shown his true colors. I hope the voters in Conneticut have enough sense to vote him out of the U.S. Senate in 2012.
I guess so, LIEberman. You only spend money killing Middle Eastern people!
CONNECTICUTT DO SOMETHING AND GET RID OF THIS TRASH!!
Democrats will be doing disservice to this country if they continue to have Mr. Lieberman caccus with them. It just does not make any sense to continue dealing with such an hyprocrite. He just did not vote for Republicans but he campaigned for Republicans during the last election and he says he will campaign for them again comes 2010. Why any political party leadership in their right mind will want to continue caccusing with such a man? A man who believe " no health care is better the public option" a minute part of health care reform. This man has public healthcare like all other senators and representatives in congress. And he and some of those other hpocrites are pretending like they are not benefiting from public option. In their narrow world, public insurance is only good for them and their families but not the rest of America. Shame on you Mr. Lieberman and all of you hypocrites.
And how does Lieberman think this? He has great "government-run" public health insurance." My tax dollars pay for this guys healthcare.
The Dems need to grow a pair and if Lieberman fillibusters then strip him of any committees. Since he claims to be an "Independent" but his actions show he is a Republican (obviously a man who says one thing and does another) let him sit out the rest of his time in Congress with nothing to do.
Oh by the way, Joe Gadway you forgot to add the words "ON A SILVER PLATTER."
That said, I applaud you
Don't worry Joe, pretty soon you will be doing nothing yourself. Better concentrate your efforts on getting some more "contributions" from all of the insurance companies that reside in Connecticut. That well is going to go dry when you are jobless.
Honestly I dont know any person in my area that cant get health care. NONE. Either there are state programs o fed programs that cover basic health needs to those unfortunate enough not to afford health insurance. Just three years ago I had an accident with a circular saw and a thumb. The surgeries and related care amounted to about 20,000. Time I got all the breaks in the system and actually asked for, out of pocket was about 4300 (in easy installments). If I had just not paid a dime of it and went along like it wasnt my problem there would have been complications. Lack of responsibility says volumes, greed and laziness says the rest. The only health care that should be forced upon us is catastrophic care coverage. But if certain people need these services they could be deemed unworthy. I have a mentally disabled son and these plan they are making really keep me up considering he should ever get catastrophically ill. The government just has a bad track record at EVERYTHING and that with cold calculation.
Make Lieberman go sit for eight hours in an overcrowded emergency room full of uninsured AMERICAN CITIZENS. Make him lie on a gurney for THREE DAYS in a HALLWAY before a hospital bed becomes AVAILABLE. Make him wait THREE MONTHS for an appointment at a community clinic, or SIX MONTHS for a specialist. That's our current, totally broken for-profit healthcare system.
The ONLY people well-served by it are rich Republicans, doctors, Big Insurance and Big Pharma.
People, 45,000 people at last count, DIE each year because they don't have medical insurance, in this, the richest country in the world.
It's about time Congress grew a pair and DID something about it.
Senator Lieberman:
When will you begin to support the American people and not corporations and insurance companies?
When will you become a Democrat in more than name?
How I wish you were more like Ted Kennedy.