I’m live blogging the infomercial so refresh for updates.
Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer are hosting and thank President for allowing them to use White House – yeah right. The White House wanted them there.
Charlie asks how many think system needs to be changed and every hand goes up. He asks how many think it should stay the same and no one raises their hand. President Obama jokes that he would like to stop there.
Obama is asked if he would do whatever it takes to get the very best coverage for his family and he yammers about his grandmother’s broken hip and that he would like to get the best care, but…the staus quo is untenable. Healthcare is bankrupting families and government. The President is asked who is going to design and enforce. President wants something uniquely American. Wants everyone to have adequate service while driving down costs. President has confidence in doctors to do what is best for patients, but rules make it hard for them to do what is appropriate. So doctor’s today don’t care about patients?
An email reminds the President that the Mayo Clinic is already accomplishing what needs to be done at a good price in the private sector, so why get the government involved? The President says ten years from now, people won’t be happy with their healthcare anymore because it will be too expensive. Does he have proof of that? Nope – no proof given via graphs, etc. We just have to believe what he says. Charlie asks about the need to figure out the specifics before we pass a bill and the President starts stammering about MediCare being loved by seniors, but not being good. What is lacking is political will according to the President.
The President says we need more primary healthcare professionals and so we need to change incentives about becoming a family physician. He wants less specialists! Tell that to my thyroid! We need to incentivize good healthcare – because doctors do not want to give it now?! Charlie asks about 46 million uninsured and we only have so many doctors, so how will we get everybody taken care of – Charlie asked a good question for a change. The answer: Rationing, but President will not say.
Member of AMA asks how is President going to assure the public that the decisions for their treatment will be between them and their doctors. So far the President’s main answer to everything is that this will take time and not happen overnight. President says if we are happy with our doctor and plan, we can keep them. But we know the truth. The private sector cannot compete with a subsidized government plan. He is talking about an exchange where people can compare plans and sign up for the plans that work for them. Doctors will be reimbursed based on qualities of outcome rather than tests, etc. done. What?!
A woman asks if there will be a cut off for medical care based on age and quality of life since her mother is age 105. Obama claims that this is not a big government program he is talking about and he suggests we all do Living Wills. He doesn’t want the government making those decisions, but…aren’t these decisions already being made that way. Umm, no Mr. President, the government is not making those decisions. He suggests that perhaps a pain killer would be given rather than surgery. He has no idea what he is talking about. This woman’s mother had a pacemaker put in at age 100. The cost was $30,000, so she wonders if the government would have allowed it. Then the President talks about his “experts” that will be looking into these types of things.
Charlie is talking cost and mentions the $2 trillion number. A man asks who will pay for this and how and how much will government intrude in his life? President wants to regulate insurers so they have to cover pre-existing conditions so more people will be covered. President talks about how costs are already out of whack – so he is going to make it worse?! The President says his adminstration says that whatever they do, they pay for without adding to deficit. There will be re-allocated dollars already in healthcare system. Uh huh…One third of payments will come from new revenue – uh that would be taxes! The CBO will not credit Obama with the savings he is pointing out. Wah Wahhh! The CBO is non-partisan and honest.
The President is confident that the stars are aligned between drug companies and doctors and everyone else and we need to have courage and compromise to get this to go. If we keep our eye on the prize, then the President is confident we will succeed this time.
And it ended as lamely as it began. Nothing new was discussed, just the same old talking points which equate to lies when coming from Barack Obama. And how many commercials breaks did this thing have? Now we know why the All Barack Channel ran this thing – Cha Ching!
