So what does everyone else think? Is it just me or do you feel the same? How can "Mumble" do better?

I now call the vote! Is Chris Matthews...

A Blowhard that thinks WAY too much of himself or a decent TV host?

PS: Oh... BTW Chris, I spelled moron wrong on purpose that's what the quote marks are for.

Am I wrong? If you agree with me that we now have 3 political parties what do you see as the ramifications of a "Corporate Party"?

So you all make me see the light... because while the speech may have been a hit it sure didn't look like a home run to me. PLEASE a little help.

See, I get up every day at 2 or 3 am not because I want to but because I pretty much have to. I have not slept more than 3 hours at a stretch going on 14 years now. So in the wee dark hours of the morning I read a little, watch a few infomercials and try to write something that a few folks might consider interesting and perhaps even provoke a few thoughts.

In the last month or two I have been trying to dream up that killer question, a question that those elected officials we call Representatives and Senators couldn't just brush off. A question that would be easy to answer, but the answer would reveal everything a voter needed to know about the person they sent to represent them in the House or the Senate. A question that if that elected official answered in any way would pull back the covers that are hiding their true masters, those "entities" they feel they have to "keep happy". A question that when asked, everyone that heard it knew that the coming response would determine if the person answering the question would be getting their vote in the next election.

Here, I think, is that question:

     What percentage of health care dollars do you think should go to actual health care and what percentage do you think should go to shareholders and CEOs as profit for insurance companies?

Seems simple enough, but an answer to this question will tell you more than all the speeches ever given by the person that answers it. There is really no way to not answer this question. The only way to dodge it is to just act like you didn't hear it.  And the answer will tell you all you need to know about the person responding. Think about it, how would you answer?

At the very least it will give that Senator or Representative something to think about and if we can make them think about it, we can change their mind.

Now I realize that I may not have this exactly right and if anyone has a suggestion to make it better, please feel free to make any additions or subtractions you feel would improve this question, or better yet add your own "thee question".

The reason I put this post up, is so that all those that plan to attend a future town hall meeting will have a question that might be a "show" stopper, so to speak. I would urge everyone to think long and hard about  A QUESTION that will back any elected official into a corner.

I think the question above brings into focus the fact that the only thing the health insurance industry contributes to health care is the function of a leech. They are the middleman that contributes NOTHING except the siphoning off of dollars that would otherwise be used to actually treat the sick.

A secondary question might also be: Should a Health Insurance Company's CEO first responsibility be to shareholders or policy holders? Right now, BY LAW, that responsibility is to the shareholder, at the expense of the policy holder.

Some other questions I would ask are; "Are you against the current form of socialized police and fire protection?"

PLEASE, think about the questions YOU would ask if you had the chance and list them below. I realize that I'm gonna get a few block headed questions that will add exactly nothing to the debate, BUT if we all put our minds to it we might just come up with a list that a few people will print out and take with them to a town hall meeting. And they might even make a few extra copies to hand out to other, like minded folks, at that town hall meeting. Then we might actually uncover the true motives of those elected officials that continue to turn their backs on the needs of the American Citizen.

So, go out to that next town hall in your area, get in line and ask "thee" question. Then enjoy watching them squirm as they try to not really answer.

Does anyone really believe that the big shots of the Soul Eating Bastard industry care for ANYTHING other than their bottom line?

Does it seem wrong to you to that the Soul Eating Bastard Industry also has Palin's Death Panels called post claim underwriting, a practice that actually concentrates on finding a way to deny coverage to sick individuals by canceling their policies RETRO-ACTIVELY, only they wait and let people think they are covered and when the individual policy holder is sick and really needs the insurance the Soul Eating Bastards send out a team (or panel) of investigators to find a way to justify the "retrocancelling" they do to thousands of individuals and policy holders each year.

Then there is AHIP (America's Health Insurance Plans),  the term "wolf in sheep's clothing" has never been more accurate. AHIP is probably the single worst actor in the health care debate, they are the Harry and Louise folks, they are the folks running ads today that say they support "bipartisan" reform efforts but they don't define what they consider bipartisan and if the past is any indication it means GOP. Oh I almost forgot... AHIP is the lobbying arm of the Soul Eating Bastard Industry.

On an almost totally different topic... I have heard recently the figure 35%. I have heard this percentage in context to what the Baucus Finance committee says the average American consumer will be required to pay of their total care after the Soul Eating Bastards pay your claim. As I understand it (and I hope I am wrong); you will pay your normal health insurance premiums and then 35% of all your health care costs. Think about that, what it is basically assuring is that health insurance companies will ALWAYS be able to pay 35% of revenue to shareholders in the form of dividends or huge CEO salaries. Perhaps I have gotten this wrong or misread it or something, if someone out there knows more about this please post it so we can make some sense out of it, I have been unable to track down the exact details and would appreciate some help on this Baucus jewel.

Finally, remember that Palin's Death Panels already exist they are just called something else. When you hear the term Post Claim Underwriting think Palin's Death Panel. When you hear the phrase "coverage denied" think Palin's Death Panel. When you hear the term "treatment considered experimental" think Palin's Death Panel. Shoot from now on when we hear of someone dying because the treatment was denied or delayed it should be blamed on PALIN'S DEATH PANELS.

The heat is on folks, time to fight fire with fire, and lies with the truth!  It is also time to kick down the door that the "gang of 6"  is hiding behind. I also think that we should drop the "ber" from Joe Lieberman's last name, then his last name would be the far more accurate "Lieman". But hey, I could be wrong about all of this.

Does anyone truly believe that the GOP is actually going to cast ONE vote for this? Does anyone believe that Max Baucus and Kent Conrad are really on board with true health care reform? I didn't think so. I think it is time to give them a kick in the ass and find people to run against them in a primary. As always, I'll try to pay the filing fee for the first person to step up and take on one of these DINOs in a primary. 

It is time for Democrats in Congress and The White House to acknowledge that a Health Care Reform solution is well past the point of any hope for a bipartisan solution, and rather than continue to bang their heads against that proverbial wall, they need to start banging the heads of reluctant Democrats against that wall.

So here are few questions for the President and those Democrats that continue to insist and hope for, some kind of bipartisan reform bill.

     1. What are you looking at that makes you actually believe that a bipartisan answer is still possible?

     2. How many Republicans will it take for YOU to consider a bill bipartisan?

     3. On what date will you "throw in the towel" for a bipartisan bill?

     4. What Republican(s) do you think are still open to REAL Health Care reform? (Names Please)

     5. What exactly is your "Line in the Sand"?

     6. Will anyone apply ANY pressure to those Democrats that continue to take huge sums of money from Health Care Special Interest Groups and Health Care Insurance Companies and vote for the interests of those Insurance Companies rather than the well being AND SECURITY of the American People?

     7. Will you seek out candidates to challenge these Democrats in the next primary election?

     8. Will those Democrats that chair committees holding up Health Care Reform legislation lose the chairmanship of those committees?

     9. If Republicans Filibuster Health Care Reform Legislation will you force them to ACTUALLY stage a filibuster on the floor of the Senate? If not why?

    10. Why do Democrats, having won a TRUE MANDATE, seem to be unwilling to exercise the MANDATE given them by the AMERICAN PEOPLE?

    11. Why does the Democratic Leadership in both the House and the Senate tolerate other Democrats that, I believe, are actually working against REAL Health Care Reform?

    12. Will Harry Reid, threaten to use the nuclear option as Bill Frist did when Republicans were the majority in the Senate? If not, why? 

At this moment I don't see any evidence that even ONE Republican will vote for ANY kind of REAL Health Care reform. Now I admit that I am no political genius and perhaps I am a complete fool, but based on what I have seen over the last few weeks I firmly believe that Charles Grassley would short change a blind, quadriplegic, newspaper vendor.  I also believe Kent Conrad and Max Baucus would be right there at his side giggling about it like high school freshmen. 

Mr. President,

You have let many of your supporters down. You seem to have abandoned those of us that took to the net, newspapers and when given the opportunity television, to defend you against the attacks from the lunatic fringe of the right. While you are doing good work in town halls across the nation, in Washington you appear to be standing silently on the sidelines while members of your own party dissect and discard the very things they were given a majority and a MANDATE to do.  You have confronted exactly NONE of those Senators FROM YOUR OWN PARTY that are quietly behind the scenes making deals with Health Insurance Companies and their lobbyists' to prevent REAL health care reform, just to make sure that, the steady stream  river of health insurance company money continues to flow into their campaign coffers. And YOU have yet to call them out! 

It is time for you to get specific and start to name, names (on both sides of the isle) of those that are in bed with the health insurance companies. It is time to let those Democrats In Name Only know that unless they get on board with their "full throated support" they will find themselves with a primary challenger and that you will be campaigning for the person on a regular basis. 

This issue of Health Care is, perhaps, the most important thing YOU will have to deal with during your time in office. More Americans die EVERY year from lack of insurance or under insurance, than the total of all of those brave service men and women who gave their lives in service of this country during the entire length of both the wars we are waging as I type this. EVEN if you add those murdered in the 9/11 attacks to the total of those killed during the wars, more people die EVERY year because they can't afford to go to the doctor or they can't afford to pay the co-pays required by their insurance policies'. 

How many Americans die because they have to cut pills in half because they can't afford to actually follow the directions the doctor has given them? How many families have to choose between food and seeing the doctor? How many seniors start breaking pills in half in October because they are trying to prepare for that fall through the donut hole they will take in February? How many parents have to choose which child will get treated this month because they can't afford to take all their kids to the doctor because they can't afford the co-pays? 

I firmly believe that until you begin to take a real hard line with members of your own party, you will NEVER accomplish any kind of TRUE health care reform. As long as you continue to let those in the Senate make policy for you, health insurance companies will be the winners, and the American Citizen will continue to suffer at the hands of those same insurance companies. 

I urge you to start to lead; it does no good to tour the country answering questions from the public, while members of your own party undermine your efforts by negotiating away any chance for real reform behind your back. 

I urge you to stand firm on the "public option". 

I urge you to regulate Insurance companies in the same way Casinos are regulated. In Nevada casinos are required to take no more than 25% profit, (most keep their profits from gaming take 20%).  In New Jersey, casinos are limited to 17.5% profits from gaming. I would argue that since Health Insurance Companies are dealing with life and death, they should be required to pay out at least 90% of total revenue in health care claims, and that figure is generous, especially if we are going to require everyone to get health insurance. 

Here are a few other things that I would like to see included if we are to have real health care reform.

     1. Everyone must be allowed to buy insurance for the same price.

     2. There can be no denial of coverage because of a pre-existing condition.

     3. There can be no Post Claim Underwriting.

     4. The cost of insurance can not be determined by a person's age, current health of an individual, or a person's lifestyle.

     5. All insurance companies must make public the percentage of claims paid as it relates to total revenue, they must disclose salaries of all executive and mid-level management employees.

     6. Health Insurers must make public all denied claims, the reason for denial, who decided to deny the claim, and how the person who denied claim is paid.

     7. To prevent insurance companies from denying claims as a matter of policy, any claim that is denied can be appealed to an independent board of health care professionals. If the denial is reversed by the board the insurance company will be fined an amount equal to triple the cost of the claim or $1,000,000 whichever is greater, and those funds will be used to expand care.

     8. Health Care reform must include language for a Medical Bankruptcy.

Yea, I know... I'm dreaming. But you gotta admit I'm dreaming big.

Please add your own wants and dreams and then spread this around. I have no problem with anything I listed above and no problem at all with taking on the DINOs, they need to be knocked down a peg or two, or at the very least knocked out of a chairmanship. 

So go ahead and tell me how crazy I am, print this out and hand it out to prove just how crazy I am, and be sure all your friends take a look at how crazy I am. You never know what might have an effect on a few of those DINOs! 

PS: Sorry to be AWOL the past couple months.  Sorry about the length of this post too. It didn't seem that long while I was typing it.

I figure that today, the 4th of July, is the perfect day to start an organization that's sole purpose is to work for, lobby and agitate on behalf of the American individual. It will focus on ways to directly influence lawmakers to support legislation that will put "We The People" ahead of any corporate or special interest group.

This organization would initially try to sway those in power with "positive reinforcement" and if "positive reinforcement" proves ineffective then it will move on to the more direct techniques, like recruiting candidates to run against those lawmakers that continue to champion corporate interests over the interests of "We The "People".

Here's the problem, We are going to need a LOT of help to get this thing from this "post" to an actual functioning nationwide organization. (yea... I know,  many are already laughing at me but that's OK, just keep reading and post your ideas and what you would like to do IF this actually happens to take off) 

I know that there are some "old pros" that post here on TPM that would know exactly what needed to be done to really jump start this  new political party....uh.... er...  organizing effort.

I know that this is going to be a long hard road to navigate and I hope that many people will take the time to get involved. We need input from as many people as  we can get, we need ideas on how to get this group up and running and we need people that are willing to take on leadership roles in each city, county and state. We need ideas on how to raise money and someone to keep track of it. We need people to organize the ideas and manage the implementation of those ideas.

Again, I realize that a lot of folks are already laughing about this little project and I completely understand how unlikely something like this is to succeed, but I believe that we must at least give it a shot. Because if we don't, those worthless DINOs and heartless Republicans will keep standing up for their corporate masters' and laughing at each and every one of  "U.S." all the way to the bank.

So, I'm asking you to PLEASE, give this some serious consideration and tell us your ideas about what you feel needs to be done to really make this fledgling organization a force in American politics. Also, tell us what you would like to do to help get this "council" off the ground.

The name is not that important, however, I really think that any name needs to include "Middle/Missing", because it's those folks that really need a voice in American politics. But it is up to all those interested in working (and it will be work) to make this "council" a force that MUST be reckoned with.

THANKS, for taking the time to read this far, (bet I lost a lot of people in the first paragraph).   I really hope many, many people will take on this challenge and help create something that will become a permanent force in American politics.

So, you tell me, what's the first step in growing a true political "machine"?

(BTW... if anyone has a problem with my involvement, I will happily get out of the way or do whatever is requested).

What do we think about this? Comments from readers are rather interesting.

The philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson gave an interesting talk in the midst of what was called the "Panic of 1837." At that time, about half of all banks had failed, credit had all pretty much dried up, and the American economy had nearly ground to a halt.

But Emerson did not fear the challenges of the day. He embraced them when he said:

 "If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the new stand side by side and admit of being compared; when the energies of all men are searched by fear and by hope; when the historic glories of the old can be compensated by the rich possibilities of the new era? This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it."

Isn't it amazing how on point this paragraph is, still today, with all we seem to be facing?

Most are aware of my feelings when it comes to the SOUL EATING BASTARDS called Health Insurance Companies, but the absolute undiluted bullshit called "Post Claim Underwriting" takes the outrage to a whole new level, but it also provides the fulcrum for The Public Option.

Imagine that you actually have enough money to go out and purchase health insurance for you and your family. You find a company you like, you fill out the application, the company issues you a policy and you pay your monthly premiums on time for 2 or 3 years, all the while thinking you actually have health insurance.

Then one day you go to the doc and get the news you have cancer, but they caught it early and with the right treatment everything should be fine, so you start making arrangements for the FIGHT OF YOUR LIFE and schedule the necessary treatment.

All seems to be fine until a day or two before your treatment is to start and you get a letter from your "friendly" health insurance company saying, that because you were treated for heartburn 12 years ago they are retroactively canceling your policy and you now have no coverage for treatment of the cancer.

Want more on "Post Claim Underwriting"? Here are a couple of explanations of the scam (thanks to both authors I could not find a name to go with the first example, but, please feel free to take a look at both links):

Post claim underwriting occurs when an insurance company refuses to pay your claim for a loss that should have been covered, on the grounds that you were a bad risk and the policy should never have been issued, then cancels or rescinds the policy even retroactively.

When you apply for insurance, your application is underwritten by the insurance company. Underwriting is the practice of determining, based on your application and other information the underwriter may obtain regarding your health and background, whether the insurance company should make you an offer of insurance and, if so, on what terms and for what premium. All of this underwriting work is normally completed before your insurance policy is issued. Post claim underwriting is a practice whereby an insurance company, which has reason to know or suspect adverse prior medical history for you, waits until you file a claim before spending money to confirm its suspicion and then asserts that no coverage exists; therefore no claim can be paid.

An insurance company that is relying on post claim underwriting, instead of looking to pay your submitted claim for a loss incurred by you as promised under the terms of the insurance policy it issued to you, looks for all the things in your application or coming from your application that it might be able to dig up to rescind (cancel) your policy and avoid having to pay your claim. The insurance company, rather than refusing to issue you a policy at the time you apply because information in the application leads it to believe you are a bad risk, waits until after the policy has been issued (and you are falsely secure in the knowledge that you have insurance protection) and, then after you have submitted a claim, denies coverage on the grounds that the policy should not have been issued in the first place.

When this occurs, the insurance company ignores its commonly understood obligation to do underwriting when a policy application is made rather conducting its risk assessment after your claim is submitted. The insurance company performs this after-the-fact evaluation to rid itself of an insured individual it contends should never have received insurance coverage. Meanwhile, you think that you have valid insurance and do not seek insurance elsewhere.

Often a long delay occurs between the time you file your claim and its final disposition while the insurance company performs underwriting. The company prepares this file as thoroughly and completely as it can to support its plan to rescind, or cancel, your policy on the grounds that it has, after the fact, unearthed information about your prior medical history that would have caused it to decline your application for insurance if this information were known at the time of application. The acquisition of medical records and their assessment can take months. More info =====> HERE

 

Wouldn't it be great if you could get paid for making a promise to do something in the future, but when the time came to keep your side of the bargain you could cancel the contract and not have to pay? The person you made the promises to might be upset at paying you for all those years for nothing, but you get free money! Ignoring the moral and ethical flaws with the scheme, it would be a great way to improve your financial position. Of course, that's how insurance companies often operate these days. One tool they use is "post-claim underwriting." It is a terrible, dishonest practice that reneges on the insurer's promises when the insured most needs the benefits promised in the insurance policy.

What is post-claim underwriting? In its simplest form, an insurance company takes a cursory look at your application, sells you a policy, collects premiums until you make a claim, and then does an "investigation" to determine that they should not have sold you the policy in the first place. Instead of doing a true underwriting analysis before issuing the policy, the insurer waits until after you make a claim and then decides you tricked them into insuring you. The insurance company then rescinds the policy, claiming you misrepresented something or failed to disclose something on your application for the insurance.

From the insurer's perspective, it's the perfect scam. The insurer gets to collect premiums on a policy, but does not have to pay the benefits promised. Of course, it is also a bad faith practice, a flagrant breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing that is part of every insurance policy, and may be a crime. Unfortunately, those problems will not deter an insurer who cares more about its bottom line than for the rights and interests of its insureds.

Some states have a statute that expressly prohibits post-claim underwriting. California has such a statute, but that did not stop health insurers from doing post-claim underwriting. The language of the statute is very explicit--it requires an insurer to complete its underwriting investigation before issuing the policy, not wait until after a claim is made. Might seem like a common sense requirement to you as an insurance consumer, but not to an insurance company who wants to cancel a policy. This is illustrated by the recent case of Hailey v. California Physician's Service, 158 Cal.App.4th 452 (Ct. App. 4th Div 2007). Blue Shield contended that the statute requiring it "to complete medical underwriting" before issuing the policy really meant it could just look at the application, assign values to the risks disclosed, and issue a policy. Although it had a medical release from the prospective insured, it did no underwriting investigation to determine if it should insure the person. Blue Shield argued it could then do a "postclaim investigation" after a claim was made, and rescind the policy. The California court rejected that assertion, viewing the "postclaim investigation" as basically the same thing as "postclaim underwriting." The court ruled that the insurer must do a reasonable underwriting investigation before issuing the policy or it will lose its ability to rescind the policy later, unless the insured willfully misrepresented something in the application. A wonderful rule to protect insurance consumers.

"Thanks to W. Michael Moody for this information, more info ===>  HERE"

More info =====> HERE    and ====> HERE

If you have the time take a look at these horror stories ==> HERE

I BELIEVE THAT THIS SINGLE issue.. or more accurately... this single SCAM is enough to get a PUBLIC OPTION included in any health care reform bill, if WE shout about enough. I defy ANY elected official to defend ANY insurance company that uses tactics like these.

I also need to mention that it is not just "no name" Insurers doing this to people, it is companies like Assurant, Wellpoint, United Health Care and others.

The kicker to all this is that, this assault is usually against an individual or a small business group or those people or businesses that don't have the time, energy or the money to fight back.

Something I co-opted and expanded just a little bit:

"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.  Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.  Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle, and will piss on your computer.  But Health Insurance Companies?... well.... FUCK the Health Insurance Companies... lets get 'em "

I URGE you to post any first hand experience you know of, or have been through with this health insurance company, bullshit called Post Claim Underwriting.

.