B-Large

It is, go make a large donation to the hospital foundation, and call the VP of Development when you need something... There is someone on staff to make sure you are well taken care of... I know this because I am that guy at our hospital, among other things...

There's wait times in every city, in every state and in every country... Unless you are rich or a donor, then you walk to the front of the line... You have to know somebody on the inside, you will wait for nothing. I just had my thyroid removed, the wait for malignant thyroid removal was 30 plus days... I know the surgeon, he offered me a surgery date 1 week from the surgical consult.. I decided to wait 2 months, only because Thyroid cx is for the most part slow moving, and I had a 2 1/2 week vacation planned this fall.. Not much will change with the ACA, it's fearmongerimg BS... Md still makes a ton of money, and healthcare is a huge growth sector for the next 20 years...

Competition is a good thing, especially in the electoral process.. I would like see the Libertarian party begin to steal blue dogs and moderate republicans, strengthening that movement. I don't think their platform is a political panacea, but I believe the L's are right now the party most inline with what the founders had in mind with regards to small government and personal freedoms...

It will be a vast improvement with more people covered and paying their own bills... I am glad to see the cost shifting stopped, people need to cover themselves instead of all of us paying for them. I am pretty confident that in that 4500 page bill, there are key components that will prove essential, on the flip side cutting out the 4200 pages worth of out scope fluff...

So much for all Patriotism rhetoric...

Not for our hospital, we're open to anyone, and we're not a public entity. Private practices probably don't see Medicare, but they can't offset losers like internal medicine with what are money makers for us, cx treatment, transplant, surgical... The ACA will hopefully curb the 200 million we do in unreimbused care we have deliver year over year, so the Medicare rate reduction won't phase us much...

They reduced the payments for doctors to fund other Heathcare priorities... I believe the Ryan budget proposed the same move, extending Medicare till 2024. what I am talking about is really reforming the program that is slotted to have 42 trillion in infunded liabilities. Shifting 700b is a minor scratch in the bottom part of the bumper. It also doesn't change the delivered benefit to Medicare enrollees... It just squeezes the providers... That's an important distinction

Ok, raise taxes.... Only if you roll back spending to levels we saw in the 90's.... I think people could get behind that... But Reid and Pelosi has said Medicare and SS are off the table... Don't these people get it??? The Prez has a great opportunity to reform our big outlays, and get the increases I taxes he wants.... Will he take it?

Only if I get a reach around....

maybe he resigned to focus on his marriage... maybe he felt that was more important right now

I say let it ride and see what happens.....

One of Mitt's campaign ads being run in Colorado referred to the US as the "hope of the world" My wife and I looked at each other and said "what does that even mean?" Lol- campaign ads are the best

That guy in the back should be a receiver for the Buffalo Bills... in addtion, those clowns are costing the healthcare industry a fortune in about 10 years... that guy throwing the I-pads had scooter and oxygen tank written over him

don't you know everybody on this message board is a Multi-Millionaire, Constitutional Law Expert, Multi National Business Guru, Gloabl Energy Analyst, Nobel Prizing Winning Economist, Sociologist, Poltical Statistical Genius, 6'2" Tall, devestating good looking and has a 15" tallywacker?

thats not life changing... now if you asked "where should I put it".... and she said "whatever".... then we are talking....

I don't think one Democrat wants the GOP to do anything differently than they are right now....

Inexpensive energy is always a positive, there it no denying that. My question is, even if we increase production in the US, if the commodity is sold on a global marketplace, how does that neccesrily bring prices down sharply here? It we produce more and put in the market, other countries are likely to increase they're usuage as well. If we kept the oil here, Nationalized the process and kept prices artificially low, then I see it. I am not saying I think production here should not increase, but I don't see the price drop everybody theorizes (except for Michelle Bachman... if she would have won 11/6- gas would be $2 a gallon right now)

But hte commericals are awful

Think of all the good we could do with those Billions spent on a campaign, if only we had a small Government who kept within their means and controlling the Beast was seen as life and death

We can't afford our Miltary, Entitlements and Debt Service at their current anymore... unfortunately cuts will be made, Boeing layoffs will have to find jobs elsewhere, grandma might have to wait till 67 for Medicare, and SS might kick in a 70... Tough road ahead...

Great Post- the question is, the core of the GOP, do they want what is in that post? I can't answer that question, but I'd be interested to see what R's think about the prospects of such pragmatism in the estalished conservative world

and Liberals were going to Canada if Bush got elelcted..... and Conservatives were going to leave if ACA was upheld.... and America ends on November 6th.... BLAH BLAH BLAH Now lets get to task and solve the fiscal issues in this country. Our untouchable programs will have to be changed, and the Government will have to spend less money.... there it is... nothing is ending, we just need to get a grip...

thats probably right on target. that being said, the GOP will have to recraft their message widly in that attempt, not only on immgration reform front, but also a social safety net issue... many legal immigrants still rely on many Government program for healthcare, education, housing, etc... The message of people being "takers", whether true or not, it not inviting to many Latinos who work low wage jobs, get Medicaid and housing assitance..

I believe it was Bush that initiated the bailout, I think- and Obama took it from there. I don't know about the Auto Bailout... losing the jobs and shuttering places like Mich and Ohio would have been devestating, but mayeb that is what needs to happen. Now we have sent a message that you can build products that are uncompetitive, have far to many brands, have labor and legacy obligations that are egregious, and if you fail... you will still survive? In way is in the same thing with Schools. The conentional wisdom is "they need more money, more buidlign, more teachers", but the fact remains the ROI on that money isn't neccesarily getting incremental results, perhaps even worse results per extra dollar spent. So instead of trying some new things, we just keep throwing money at it..... the Government continues to bailout underperformers.. so they continue to do the samr thing because there is no consequence. It is exactly why I voted no on addtional tax funds for buildig more schools in Colorado. the more you look into each and every issue, there is more evidence of the Fed muddying the waters on issue, albeit with good intentions, but making things worse...

My point being, they need to find a way to overcome that. To be fair, the GOP makes it an issue, the lay it out clearly in the primaries for example, and once its on video, it keeps coming back..... they are doing to themslves, they take the hard stances, and then it is really to hard to crawl back to the center.