Looks like Ugly Joe did a straightforward double-cross:E. J. Dionne:
The Medicare buy-in compromise was not announced until it had been cleared with Lieberman. I was in close touch with the negotiations at the time, and everyone involved thought Lieberman was on board. I don’t think they misunderstood what Lieberman was telling them, since his own public statement at the time, while cautious, was positive. “I am encouraged by the progress toward a consensus on proposals to send to the Congressional Budget Office to review,” he said on Dec. 9. “It is my understanding that at this point there is no legislative language so I look forward to analyzing the details of the plan and reviewing analysis from the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of the Actuary in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.” But of course Lieberman did not so “look forward” to the Congressional Budget Office analysis that he actually waited to see it. He dropped the hammer on the buy-in before the analysis appeared. This is not about substance.
Is it fair to say that Lieberman is a Quisling?
posted by Quiddity at 12/16/2009 12:53:00 AM
Doctors and hospitals lose money on medicare. They make up for it by artificially raising the rates on everyone else. Right now they lose money on everyone over 65, make their big money from private insurance payments on people from 55 to 65, and don't really make much money from younger people because most younger people aren't at the age where they need regular medical care.
The proposal would be a catastrophe for doctors and hospitals. It would wipe out their only demographic source of income. This would force them to raise rates on the young through the ceiling to make up for all the lost money from private insurance payments from 55-65 year olds.
Lieberman is the only responsible non-Republican in the Senate.
"Doctors and hospitals lose money on medicare. "
Bullshit. They are not required to accept medicare patients, and if they didn't make money doing it they wouldn't.
