Health Reform

My insurance company has paid for physical exams in the past and now they are saying that under the new Health Reform they only have to pay for three tests. Is this so?

Hot off her smackdown of the Art Pope's destructive budget plan, Governor Perdue is apparently inking up her veto stamp to stop an unconstitutional bill to undermine health reform. She's taking her cues from Attorney General Roy Cooper.

There are rumors, Madame Governor, that you don't think vetoing the latest assault on North Carolina's constitutional integrity is worth the trouble. Republicans are seeking to pass legislation that directly and unarguably conflicts with Article 1, Section 5 of the North Carolina Constitution. And you're going to freakin' ignore it?

Sec. 5. Allegiance to the United States.

Every citizen of this State owes paramount allegiance to the Constitution and government of the United States, and no law or ordinance of the State in contravention or subversion thereof can have any binding force.

I'm no lawyer, but this would seem to make moot any action being considered by the General Assembly that attempts to undermine Congress' Affordable Care Act. As the Chief Executive of our state, you have a moral and legal obligation to veto this piece-of-crap legislation.

As we look back on that incredibly difficult debate and begin to see some of the new consumer protections take effect, it's increasingly clear that national leaders did the right thing.

With a handy cheat sheet

Adam Linker's headline at Progressive Pulse says it all:

Steve Troxler and Cherie Berry get tax-payer funded health insurance while trying to block health care for all North Carolinians

I was completely caught up in the moment on Tuesday, March 23, when President Obama signed the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” and later when he thanked a larger crowd who had worked to make it happen. I was struck by the real joy reflected on many tired faces, the child-like exuberance in the room – feelings that only occur after a long struggle and when success is at hand.

Though I felt a part of the celebrations as a citizen of the United States, I was deeply saddened that Western North Carolina did not have their official representative present. Now I know some are happy about that, but I am not. I felt wiped out as Heath Shuler continued to cast “No” votes against health reform.

Reading the grounds on which the attorneys general of states with Tea Party and fringe GOP right-wing leanings intend to sue heartens me. If they were to prevail on the grounds that people should not be forced to buy private insurance, then clearly the only alternative would be an expansion of Medicare and Medicaid and the public option. So let them have at it!

Is she looking to be the next Blanch Lincoln in a few years? Why isn't she standing with the 35 of her Senate colleagues who are pushing for meaningful health reform?

The growing threat of the status quo

Fourteen committed Democratic Senators have signed on to push health reform through reconciliation. As of this morning, Kay Hagan was not one of them. Call her and ask her to do something important for once. The count is growing day by day, with Carl Levin signing yesterday. I called her office and got a bunch of double-talk. Maybe you can get through.