I'm on a call listening to bad music waiting for Amy Klobuchar's tele-townhall to begin. Joining her will be the Mayo Clinic's CEO Denis Cortese and Mary Wakefield who is the highest ranking nurse in the federal government and the head of the Health Resources and Services Administration. They will be talking about healthcare reform and hopefully taking questions. I will do my best to liveblog it here at MPP. So stay tuned.
7:19pm: Sen. Amy Klobuchar is on. Apparently her technology failed and that's what caused the delay. 18,000 letters from Minnesota have been sent to her office.
7:20pm: Some common values Klobuchar hopes we can agree on. 1. Build on what works, the Mayo Clinic 2. Reduce costs, make healthcare more affordable. Says premiums are projected to double in 10 years. 3. Make healthcare stable
7:24pm: Denis Cortese of Mayo Clinic on says he's in favor of healthcare reform and health insurence reform but they are two different things. Says payment reform is healthcare reform and we should start with Medicare. Says we should also do insurence reform 1. universal coverage 2. individual mandate 3. role for government as sliding scale subsidizer
7:27pm: Mary Wakefield says every Minnesotan pays $400 every year to subsidize people who are uninsured. Says we have to focus on prevention.
7:30pm: Q asks if "ObamaCare" will make healthcare rationed and will that rationing start with Medicare? Klobuchar kind of dodges the crazy and starts talking about how Medicare costs can be lower by using the Mayo model. Wish she'd come out more forcefully and said NO, unless you do that the lies keep spreading.
7:33pm: Another right-wing question, this time from e-mail. Ask's why the Senate is rushing it and ignoring the American people. Amy reply's again using right-wing framing by saying we shouldn't set deadlines, Amy, Minnesota can't wait!
7:36pm: Interesting question about removing the third payer between the providers and patients. Amy says she supports a co-op in response. Ugh. Co-op's a dumb idea Amy.
7:39pm: Amy get's a question about a public option. She kind of dodges, says she competitive option but only says she's for a co-op and exchange. Cortese doesn't like a public option, calls it "government run" as if that's bad.
7:44pm: Question about tort reform. Amy says other things are more important but we could bring Minnesota law nationally.
7:52pm: Question about pre-existing conditions. Will people with conditions not have to choose between healthcare and eating? Amy says that's just what we want to fix.
7:54pm: Question about how healthcare reform will be paid for. Ask's why we can't do this without burdening taxpayers. Amy says she won't vote for something that is a burden on middle class families.
7:57pm: Ray has question about federal goverment's involvement in healthcare. Cites incorrect statistics. Why does it require a federal solution? Why did civil rights require a federal solution? Mary Wakefield says preventive care has 5-1 return on investment.
8:05pm: Over 10,000 on the call. So it's going to go for another 15 mins. Q asks if bill will give government access to bank accounts. Thankfully, Amy debunked this lie.
8:07pm: Good Q from someone who works for a small business. Says he has to choose between bankruptcy and not having healthcare.
8:09pm: In response Amy touts national exchange modeled off federal employees exchange that only has private options.
8:10pm: Cortese now attacking employer mandates. More ugh.
8:13pm: Question about HSA's and tax treatment of individuals vs employer benefits. Quick answer. Now question about bipartisanship.
8:15pm: Amy says we may get a few Republicans. But reducing costs and getting a good bill more important. Good answer.
8:23pm Call over. Disappointing stuff from Amy. She needs to stop avoiding the tough choices and come out for a public option. She seemed to say she could vote for one but preferred co-ops. We need straight answers from her. After the call I was transfered to a voicemail for her office. I said I'd like a clear answer from her on if she does or doesn't favor a public option like the one included in the Senate HELP bill and HR 3200 which has passed three committees in the House. I hope you all will call her office and do the same. Her contact info is here
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