Do You Think People In Ohio And Missouri Want Health Care Reform? Ask A Repug And A Blue Dog

The Space family & the Blunt family get
great health coverage that we pay for

Perhaps you heard about how Blue Dogs are doing Republicans' work for them by watering down the health care bill as much as possible. The slimy Ohio Blue Dog who took over for Republican Bob Ney when he was caught accepting bribes and was shipped off to prison is Zack Space. Space couldn't wait to run to the media to take credit for barring immigrants from getting any benefits from whatever comes out of the health care reform bill he's helping the GOP eviscerate.

"I am preparing an amendment to make it clear that this legislation is not designed to benefit those persons who are undocumented," Space, D-Ohio, said during a conference call Thursday. "It should benefit only those who are American citizens.

"There has been a lot of concern among the public about this issue, and I want to make sure the beneficiaries of this legislation are tax-paying Americans."

Under his amendment, those applying for government-funded health insurance would have to show proof of citizenry - just as is currently required by those receiving Medicare, according to Space.

Good thing Lou Dobbs was lying as usual when he made up all that crazy nonsense about how immigrants are bringing leprosy to America! Otherwise Space might be condemning schoolchildren in Chillicothe, Zanesville and New Rumley to falling off toes and fingers and a life without noses, just so he could seem like even more of a Republican than he already has been since being elected in 2006.

But keeping immigrants from getting medical treatment isn't all that the Blue Dogs been obsessed with. They and their reactionary allies on the other side of the aisle are also trying to make sure women's reproductive health is controlled by politicians like themselves, rather than by doctors and women. On Thursday night the Blue Dog-infested House Energy and Commerce Committee passed an amendment that would bar women's reproductive health from being part of the public option. Fortunately, committee chair Henry Waxman was paying close attention and figured out how to counter the Republicans and their Blue Dog cronies.

The amendment, offered by Rep. Stupak (D-Mich.), Reps. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) and Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), originally passed 31 to 27. Republicans voted unanimously for the measure. On the Democratic side, all but one Blue Dog-- Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio) who did not vote–supported the amendment. ("I just missed the first vote," said Space, who went on to vote against the amendment.)

But before the first round of voting closed, Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) changed his vote from NO to YES. The switch let him to take advantage of a House rule that allows supporters to bring an amendment back for consideration later. The tactic paid off: Waxman brought the amendment up for another vote, and the committee defeated it 30-29.

The amendment would have prevented the public plan from covering abortion unless the mother's life was at risk.

"I misunderstood it the first time," said Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), who originally voted for the amendment but opposed against it the second time around.

I wonder what got Gordon to come around. He has a disgraceful voting record on women's reproductive health and certainly votes like an anti-choice nutcase most of the time. Anyway... "nice" that Space isn't trying to penalize most women, only immigrants.

By the way, as long as we're talking about health care and Mr. Space, his district is one of the poorest in Ohio. (The medium income in Ohio is $40,956 but in OH-18 it's only $34,462.) The Center For American Progress took a look at the need for health care reform across Ohio; the need is even greater in Space's district but here's what they found for the whole state:

• 390 residents of Ohio are losing health insurance every day, and 14,000 Americans nationwide lose insurance daily.

• The average family premium in Ohio costs $1,000 more because our system fails to cover everyone-- and $1,100 more nationally.

• Our broken health insurance system will cost the Ohio economy as much as $7.1 billion this year in productivity losses due to the uninsured-- and up to $248 billion nationally.

• In Ohio there has been a 14 percent increase in the uninsured rate since 2007.

• 1,500,000 are uninsured today in Ohio.

• In Ohio the combined market share of the top two insurers is 58 percent, limiting employers’ and families’ health insurance options as well as the care they receive.

• The average family premium will rise from $12,672 to $21,623 by 2019 in Ohio without health care reform.

• In Ohio, without health care reform, 184,730 will have lost coverage from January 2008 to December 2010.

• In Ohio, 616,000 people would gain coverage as a result of the House health care reform bill by 2013, and 991,000 would gain coverage by 2019.

• A typical Ohio family will pay $21,623 for health coverage in 2019 without health care reform.

And what about Missouri, where Roy Blunt is now the congressman charged by the GOP leadership with killing health care reform-- while he is busy running for senator from that state? And, remember, the anti-choice provision that was beaten back by Waxman's quick wit was sponsored by Blunt, a raging anti-choice fanatic. Blunt is one of the House members who has benefited most from the legalized bribes given to "cooperative" members of Congress by the Medical-Industrial Complex. He's taken $1,660,898 from them and another $556,682 from Big Insurance. He expects them to pick up a major part of the tab for his Senate election bid next year and he's working his ass off to destroy health care reform hoping people in Missouri will be taken in by the barrage of lies being put out in the form of twisted TV ads. Meanwhile here's CAP's assessement of the health care need in Blunt's own state:

• 210 residents of Missouri are losing health insurance every day, and 14,000 Americans nationwide lose insurance daily.

• The average family premium in Missouri costs $400 more because our system fails to cover everyone-- and $1,100 more nationally.

• Our broken health insurance system will cost the Missouri economy as much as $3.7 billion this year in productivity losses due to the uninsured-- and up to $248 billion nationally.

• In Missouri there has been a 16 percent increase in the uninsured rate since 2007.

• 770,000 are uninsured today in Missouri.

• In Missouri the combined market share of the top two insurers is 79 percent, limiting employers’ and families’ health insurance options as well as the care they receive.

• The average family premium will rise from $12,908 to $22,025 by 2019 in Missouri without health care reform.

• In Missouri, without health care reform, 112,310 will have lost coverage from January 2008 to December 2010.

• In Missouri, 374,000 people would gain coverage as a result of the House health care reform bill by 2013, and 602,000 would gain coverage by 2019.

• A typical Missouri family will pay $22,025 for health coverage in 2019 without health care reform.

Blunt and his latest wife Abigail get the best health insurance and the best health care available on the planet-- courtesy of the American taxpayers-- so when he, and the rest of the Republican swine and their filthy Blue Dog allies, say they don't believe in government-sponsored health care, remember, they just don't believe in it for us; they love it for themselves and their families. They like things just the they are; do you?