posted August 16, 2009 02:35 PM         

WASHINGTON – Bowing to Republican pressure, President Barack Obama's administration signaled on Sunday it is ready to abandon the idea of giving Americans the option of government-run insurance as part of a new U.S. health care system.

Facing mounting opposition to the overhaul, administration officials left open the chance for a compromise with Republicans that would include health insurance cooperatives instead of a government-run plan. Such a concession would likely enrage his liberal supporters but could deliver Obama a much-needed win on a top domestic priority opposed by GOP lawmakers.

Officials from both political parties reached across the aisle in an effort to find compromises on proposals they left behind when they returned to their districts for an August recess. Obama had sought the government to run a health insurance organization to help cover the nation's almost 50 million uninsured, but he never made it a deal breaker in a broad set of ideas that has Republicans unified in opposition.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that government alternative to private health insurance is "not the essential element" of the administration's health care overhaul. The White House would be open to co-ops, she said, a sign that Democrats want a compromise so they can declare a victory.

Under a proposal by Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., consumer-owned nonprofit cooperatives would sell insurance in competition with private industry, not unlike the way electric and agriculture co-ops operate.

With $3 billion to $4 billion in initial support from the government, the co-ops would operate under a national structure with state affiliates but independent of the government. They still would be required to maintain the type of financial reserves that private companies are required to keep in case of unexpectedly high claims.

"I think there will be a competitor to private insurers," Sebelius said. "That's really the essential part, is you don't turn over the whole new marketplace to private insurance companies and trust them to do the right thing."

Obama's top spokesman refused to say a public option was a make-or-break choice for the administration.

"What I am saying is the bottom line for this for the president is, what we have to have is choice and competition in the insurance market," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.

On Saturday, Obama himself appeared to hedge his bets.

"All I'm saying is, though, that the public option, whether we have it or we don't have it, is not the entirety of health care reform," Obama said in Grand Junction, Colo. "This is just one sliver of it, one aspect of it."

Lawmakers have discussed the co-op model for months although the Democratic leadership and the White House have said they prefer a government-run option.

Conrad, the chairman of the Senate's budget committee, called the argument for a government-run public plan little more than a "wasted effort." He added there are enough votes in the Senate for a cooperative plan.

"It's not government-run and government-controlled," he said. "It's membership-run and membership-controlled. But it does provide a nonprofit competitor for the for-profit insurance companies, and that's why it has appeal on both sides."

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said Obama's team is making a political calculation and embracing the co-op alternative as "a step away from the government takeover of the health care system" that the GOP has pummeled.

"I don't know if it will do everything people want, but we ought to look at it. I think it's a far cry from the original proposals," he said.

Republicans say a public option would have unfair advantages that would drive private insurers out of business. Critics say co-ops would not be genuine public options for health insurance.

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, said it would be difficult to pass any legislation through the Democratic-controlled Congress without the promised public plan.

"We'll have the same number of people uninsured," she said. "If the insurance companies wanted to insure these people now, they'd be insured."

Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said the Democrats' option would force individuals from their private plans to a government-run plan, a claim that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office supports.

"There is a way to get folks insured without having the government option," he said.

Obama, writing an opinion piece in Sunday's New York Times, said political maneuvers should be excluded from the debate.

"In the coming weeks, the cynics and the naysayers will continue to exploit fear and concerns for political gain," he wrote. "But for all the scare tactics out there, what's truly scary — truly risky — is the prospect of doing nothing."

Congress' proposals, however, seemed likely to strike end-of-life counseling sessions. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has called the session "death panels," a label that has drawn rebuke from her fellow Republicans as well as Democrats.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, declined to criticize Palin's comments and said Obama wants to create a government-run panel to advise what types of care would be available to citizens.

"In all honesty, I don't want a bunch of nameless, faceless bureaucrats setting health care for my aged citizens in Utah," Hatch said.

Sebelius said the end-of-life proposal was likely to be dropped from the final bill.

"We wanted to make sure doctors were reimbursed for that very important consultation if family members chose to make it, and instead it's been turned into this scare tactic and probably will be off the table," she said.

posted August 16, 2009 02:58 PM         

quote:

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seems obama is more interested in fixing the broken system than doing it "his way or the highway". where did the mean old socialists go??

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Hmm, I believe he simply moved too soon on health care right on the heels of his/admins other errors. Concession is keeping the program alive and not being deemed just another failure....Kennedy couldn`t get it done; Clinton`s couldn`t either but by golly he`s the right man for the job, charisma, cohorts and all
Anyhow, changes are in the air and we keep tuned!

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted August 18, 2009 07:43 PM         

The hospital is "disappointed" the "almost patient" is unhappy with the "advice and care" she received from the hospital.

As you read this story, you will no doubt be scratching your head trying to understand exactly what advice and care the hospital gave their "almost patient."

Woman gives birth on pavement 'after being refused ambulance'
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 9:56 PM on 17th August 2009

A young mother gave birth on a pavement outside a hospital after she was told to make her own way there.

Mother-of-three Carmen Blake called her midwife to ask for an ambulance when she went into labour unexpectedly with her fourth child.

But the 27-year-old claims she was refused an ambulance and told to walk the 100m from her house in Leicester to the city's nearby Royal Infirmary.

Her daughter Mariah was delivered on a pavement outside the hospital by a passer-by, just before ambulance crews arrived.

Today the Trust that runs the hospital said it would look into any complaint made about the advice and care the 27-year-old received.

Ms Blake said she started going into labour at about 7.15am on Sunday, August 2.
She said: "I phoned up the Royal Infirmary, it's just across the road, and they said to go into a hot bath, and then to make my way over there.

"I went into the bath and realised she was going to come quickly. I didn't think I'd be able to make it out of the bath, so I phoned the maternity ward back and told them to get an ambulance out.

'They said they were not sending an ambulance and told me I had had nine months to sort out a lift.'

Experienced mother Ms Blake today said she knew she had to get herself out of the bath and try to get to the hospital.
'The friends with me would have had no idea what to do. I knew at that point that she was nearly here so I had to get out of the house,' she said.

'I thought if I got across the road then at least somebody would be able to help me.
'I left the house and got to the end of the close, but there was no-one around to help.'
Eventually Ms Blake and her friends enlisted the help of a physiotherapist who happened to be passing on her way to work.
She dialled 999 and helped deliver baby Mariah while waiting for emergency services.
She even helped remove the cord from around the tot's neck, Ms Blake said today.
She said: 'I don't really remember much after that. Mariah was born, then the paramedics arrived then after that the midwives arrived. I think I went into shock.
'It's just lucky that the physio was there.'

Ms Blake said despite the happy ending she was upset she was told to make her own way to the hospital as, being an experienced mum, she knew she did not have the time.

Today a spokeswoman for the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust said: 'We are disappointed that Ms Blake was not happy with the advice and care she received and will of course investigate any complaint.
'We are pleased that both Ms Blake and her daughter are well and healthy.'

posted August 19, 2009 12:01 PM         

Father turned away from hospital with pregnant wife delivers baby on bathroom floor - and saves his daughter's life
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 9:33 PM on 18th August 2009

An ice-cool dad who delivered his baby daughter on the bathroom floor just hours after his wife was sent home from hospital stayed calm when he realised the child wasn't breathing.

Tony Molloy, 44, used knowledge from watching birthing videos to remove the umbilical cord from baby Rosalyn's neck, then he slapped her on the back to get her lungs working.

'She was grey and not breathing,' said Tony. 'I was talking to her, saying "come on little one, breathe for Daddy".

'It was only five or six seconds, but it seemed like an eternity. I turned her over to smack her on the back and it must have kick-started her lungs - she sprang into life'.

Tony and wife Rebecca, 33, were staying in Wilmslow, Cheshire, when she started having contractions.

They rushed to St Mary's Hospital in Manchester, but Rebecca was told she wasn't ready, despite being 38 weeks into the pregnancy.

The couple, of Newbury, Berkshire, went back to the house - but three hours later, Rebecca was doubled up in pain on the bathroom floor.

Tony said he called the hospital to ask what to do and could not get any response.
He said: 'I brought the car round so that we could drive back to St Mary's and as I went back into the bathroom, Rebecca was pushing. I told her the car was ready, in my calmest, most reassuring voice, but she said, "there's no time for that".

"There was no mistaking that Rosalyn was on her way.'
Tony shouted to a friend to call an ambulance, but knew the birth was imminent -so with only a 999 operator to help, he took control.

'I was pretty calm,' he said. 'I'd sort of prepared myself and I'd watched a couple of dozen birth videos, so I pretty much knew what to expect.'

Both mother and baby are now back at home and recovering well.

Tony - a freelance IT project manager - said: 'This was by far the most awesome experience of my life,' he said.

'It is impossible to put into words how I feel having brought my own little girl into the world.

'My advice if you're expecting is discuss it between yourselves, speak to your midwife and ask to help in the delivery. I will be delivering Rosalyn's brothers and sisters.'

A hospital spokesman said if a mother was not in 'established labour' she was encouraged to return home and phone if the situation changed.

posted August 19, 2009 02:20 PM         

and people have "false alarms" all the time. i wonder what the father would have done without the government-funded emergency operator to talk him through it?

maybe like a friend of mine whose baby came way faster than ANYone would expect the ambulance to arrive, he would have caught the baby coming out and helped his wife stay comfortable till they DID get there. in my friend's case she had TWO contractions and her daughter caught the baby as it came out. the ambulance arrived about 20 minutes later. instinct and a little common sense go a long way!

people have been having babies without doctors since time began. how do you think we got here? oh yes, the cromagnon docs kept the race alive!

but the prenatal classes given by hospitals in the UK for FREE make it a pretty good bet that people will have some idea of what's going on BEFORE the emergency happens. the "birthing videos" are also part of that program.