Dick Durbin contradicts Barack Obama’s claim that healthcare reform will lower premiums
Speaking on the floor of the Senate, Democrat Dick Durbin said, “anyone who would stand before you and say well, if you pass health care reform, next year’s health care premiums are going down, I don’t think is telling the truth. I think it is likely they would go up, but what we are trying to do is slow the rate of increase.”
I find this more than a little interesting considering that Barack Obama has said, “our cost-cutting measures mirror most of the proposals in the current Senate bill, which reduces most people’s premiums and brings down our deficit by up to $1 trillion over the next decade because we’re spending our health care dollars more wisely,”
If what Dick Durbin says is true than Barack Obama is not telling the truth about healthcare premiums if the healthcare reform bill is passed. Dick Durbin claims that premiums will still rise under the healthcare reform bill– just at a slower rate, while the president is claiming that premiums will drop if the bill is passed.
Who is telling the truth, and who is lying? These people need to get their stories straight if they ever hope to sell this bill to the American people.
America's Watchtower 
“what we are trying to do is slow the rate of increase”
Simple ways to do this without radically changing healthcare (most not original ideas):
+ Seal the borders, and deport illegal aliens. They don’t pay for their healthcare, others do.
+ Enact meaningful and reasonable tort reform. This allows doctors to reduce their liability premiums, and also reduces barriers to market entry.
+ Allow cross-border competition. This will allow people to shop their carriers, and force carriers to be more competitive with rates/service.
+ Expand HSA allowances thereby making it reasonable that people can actually pay out of these accounts, and skip insurance altogether. In this, again, competition would make insurers have to offer better pricing, service, or other perks.
+ Repeal laws mandating employer-paid premiums. These unduly hurt small business, and drive up the premiums (look to MA for examples). Employers are competitive for employees, and will offer benefits (notice the term BENEFITS) to out-compete their competitors for new talent.
The list can go on without really changing much. Bottom line, people from single-payer systems come to the US for treatments, not the other way around. Let’s focus on quality, not low-quality.
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Very well said! There was such a better way to do this if the stated goal was true. But I think we know what the real goal of this legislation is.
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In the end, they won’t lower costs, not will they slow the rate of increase. I was going to say more, but I think LOUDelf said it better than I can.
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He certainly summed it up nicely.
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Apples & Oranges, Dude.
According to your own post, Durbin referred specifically to ‘next year’s’ premiums, while Obama was referring to the ‘next decade’.
But I thought I’d double-check. Yep:
http://mediamattersaction.org/factcheck/201003100010
Look. There’s lots of room for serious talk over an inarguably complex issue such as HCR, but this kind of stuff is just silly and offers zero constructive contribution to legit debate. Plus, it does nothing for your cred … assuming you want any beyond your ‘yes’ posse.
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