Saving American Democracy

Today, Bernie Sanders introduced a constitutional amendment in the Senate.

It reads:

ARTICLE SECTION 1:  The rights protected by the Constitution of the United States are the rights of natural persons and do not extend to for-profit corporations, limited liability companies, or other private entities established for business purposes or to promote business interests under the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state.


ARTICLE SECTION 2:  Such corporate and other private entities established under law are subject to regulation by the people through the legislative process so long as such regulations are consistent with the powers of Congress and the States and do not limit the freedom of the press.

ARTICLE SECTION 3:  Such corporate and other private entities shall be prohibited from making contributions or expenditures in any election of any candidate for public office or the vote upon any ballot measure submitted to the people.

ARTICLE SECTION 4:  Congress and the States shall have the power to regulate and set limits on all election contributions and expenditures, including a candidate’s own spending, and to authorize the establishment of political committees to receive, spend, and publicly disclose the sources of those contributions and expenditures.

IT IS TIME FOR THE PEOPLE TO TAKE BACK OUR GOVERNMENT!

Another American Benefits From Obamacare

Here is another story of a common middle class American who is helped by Obamacare...and it is just starting to be implemented.  This is a story of a lady who is able to get insurance help for breast cancer because "the federal government's Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan...one of the things [from Obamacare] that has already kicked in".

Insurance companies have routinely used "pre-existing conditions" as an excuse to not cover American citizens.  They would rather pay excessive salaries and benefits to their executives and their investors than help American citizens in need.  Of course, as a corporation, their first obligation is to their investors. 

The system  needs to change.  The first obligation of a health insurance company should be to the people they insure.  That obligation can be fulfilled by a government run, single payer system based on the Medicare model.  Medicare -- the most efficient and effective medical health insurance system in this nation.

And republicans want to repeal Obamacare and turn Medicare into a private corporate -run system.  They would rather pander to the insurance companies and insurance executives than the average American.  It is not right.

Mark This Day Down On Your Calendar...

...because this is the day seismic shifts in our health care system finally get under way.


Health insurance companies are finally going to have to provide health insurance coverage rather than spend all their money on things, like huge executive salaries, parties, planes, and other miscellaneous "overhead expenses".  Yes, today "we are now on an inescapable path to a single-payer system for most Americans".


Why?  How?  


The Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare, take your pick), requires health insurance companies to spend 80% of the consumers’ premium dollars they collect—85% for large group insurers—on actual medical care rather than overhead, marketing expenses and profit. That's ACTUAL MEDICAL CARE!  


Failure on the part of insurers to meet this requirement results in the insurers having to send their customers a rebate check representing the amount in which they under spend on actual medical care.  So, they either pay for it, or send money back to all their customers.


The key, of course, is what qualifies as a LEGITIMATE medical care cost.  The Department of Health & Human Services is tasked with defining what insurers' expenses will quality.


Today is important because today the Department of Health & Human Services issues the rules of what insurer expenditures will—and will not—qualify as a medical expense for purposes of meeting the requirement.


It appears that HHS is taking their task seriously.  Insurance companies have been lobbying for months to be able to consider commissions paid for selling insurance as medical expenses.  HHS, today, said NO!  Paying someone to sell insurance is not an actual medical expense.  DUH!


So the question is can insurance companies survive on having to pay out 80% - 85% of their premiums for medical care?  Most are nowhere close to that now.


Medicare does, and a universal health care plan like Medicare For All will.


Extra Bonus:  Some more ACA good news.

What Will You Tell Us Next Time?

This is a republican ad against Newt.  Wait until the Democrats start!