Thanks glenn. This is a great night in America. Political will and truth have overcome the lies of the party of Limbaugh.

YEA! Health insurance for all. Finally we become civilized and quit turning our backs on the sick, the affirm and the dying. Lobbyist be damned.

I have asked this question before, and not one person has had the answer: What great advances in medical cures have come from a country with a socialist medical system, in the past 50 years?

It will be interesting to see what the Senate does with it - probably a bit early to claim a victory.

Good luck,

Robert Capp

Many Americans and people from around the world have gone to foreign countries for medical care because they offer better cures, care, prices and treatments. It's called ''medical tourism'', they go to Germany, Japan, India, and the UK, just to name a few.

Yes Glen, But which treatment has actually been invented ~ and in which country?

No more insurance industry bureaucrats denying or delaying treatment for a profit. Health care is a right not a privileged. How can you conservatives face your God and tell him that you deny your brothers and sisters in need.

Lifelong, I don't really think it matters, maybe to a few sniveling republicans, but not me. It's all about health care here and now for all Americans.

This countries health care has been controlled by, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and insurance people for to long. All in the name of money. It's time they get stomped on, kicked in the gutter and ran over by the bus for ripping us off.

~~The Nobel Prize in Medicine Winners~~

______

2009 Elizabeth H Blackburn, Australia, Carol Grieder USA, Jack W Szostak, Great Britain work on chromosomes

2008 Harold zur Hausen Germany discovery of the human papilloma viruses that cause c. cancer

and 2008, Francois Barré Sinnoussi France , Luc Monatagnier France, for the discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus

2007 Sir Michael J Evans, Great Britain, Mario Capecchi USA, Oliver Smithies USA for discovering how to use stem cells to gene modify mice

2006 okay, the USA got it that year for genetic RNA double stranded interference

2005 Barry J Marshall Australia, J Robin Warren Australia for discovering the bacteria H pylori causes ulcers

2004 Linda B Buck USA olefactory odorant receptors

2003 Sir Peter Mansfield Great Britain , Paul Lauterbur USA DISCOVERY OF THE MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING

2002 John E Sulston , Sydney Brenner Great Britain, HR Horvitz USA genes in organ development, programmed cell death

2001 Sir Paul M Nurse, Tim Hunt, Great Britain, Leland H Hartwell USA discoveries of key regulators in the cell cycle

2000 Arvid Carlsson Sweden, Paul Greengard Eric Kandel USA, signal transduction in the nervous system

______________

1804 Morphine discovered as an alkaloid extract in Germany

1853 Aspirin discovered by Frenchman, Gerhardt

Bayer (aspirin) is a German company in North Rhine …

ChuxxR, you better read the legislation, there are still going to be insurance companies and you may find that you will need one as the care package through the House does not have vision or dental and is designed to be basic. The insurance industry is going to reap the benefits, just wait and see. The bill they passed will lead to more confusion and longer waiting periods for necessary care then we have ever seen. I'm not a sniveling repub, I don't much care for either party as they are all bought and paid for and it isn't their salary that allows people like the President to have gained millions of dollars as a community organizer.

The 2010 elections will show a correlation between those that voted for this measure and I don't believe the taxpayers in this nation will be sending them back.

Glenn, How many people do you know that have gone to a foreign country for open heart surgery as well as joint replacement and organ transplants? I know a couple that have gone to Mexico for dental work, along with a few that were terminally ill and believed that they could find a cure. Steve McQueen was the first I heard about and Coretta King the last. I know a gentleman in India that had open heart surgery there. His comment is you can get good results if you have the money as it is very expensive.

When there are no incentives (ie profit), why bother? Doctors and pharmaceutical companies and the like, will no longer advance medicine. They will sit on their thumbs like the other socialist countries do. Why do you think there is such a long waiting list in Canada? They have a shortage of doctors because their is no reason to bust your ass and become one. Also, it is a well known fact that the rich elite-when sick- shag their ass to America for treatment. Yes, some folks here in America go to other countries for pharmaceuticals that have not been proven through our standards. When they are approved, you see them here as well. And as for us "turning our backs on the ill", when do we? We have a clinic right here in Auburn for anyone that needs a doctor. However, just like in a socialist country, they have to sit in a waiting room for a very long time. This healthcare bill is a very big step down for our country. I would feel safe in saying that it will lower our country to third world status almost as much as affirmative action has. Sad

CR, "3 Americans Share 2009 Nobel Medicine Prize STOCKHOLM — Americans Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak won the 2009 Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discovering a key mechanism in the genetic operations of cells, an insight that has inspired new lines of research into cancer. (Blackburn, who holds U.S. and Australian citizenship, is a professor of biology and physiology at the University of California, San Francisco.) (London-born Szostak has been at Harvard Medical School since 1979 and is currently professor of genetics at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He is also affiliated with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the citation said.)" AP Oct 5th 2009

I posted the prize winners months ago and JP took a cheap shot that I was "now" citing the Nobel prize winners. Your list has been altered just like you proceeded to do with the 2009 award. You are a nut job and not even an honest one at that!

Fourgen, I had an uncle that went to Mexico and received laetrile treatment for lung cancer. The doctors here in the US told him he would be dead within 1 year from lung cancer. Well he received his treatments and went on a strict diet with the laetrile, vitamin c and lots of fresh fruit and lived for another 20 years.

"So this is how liberty dies...with thunderous applause."

~More non USA Medical Discoveries~

acetaminophen, aka "Tylenol" first successfully modified to be safe enough to use on a human by Baron Josef von Mering , a German physician

Oh, guess what. German guy Baron Josef also discovered, with Oskar Minkowski, how the pancreas produce insulin, which control blood sugar

More on insulin- a man named Clark Noble of the Univ of Toronto also did early insulin studies on how to mass produce it from animals in the early 1920's, and then Clark Noble helped discover a form of cancer chemotherapy called vinca alkaloids with his brother Robert Laing Noble

Insulin therapy for diabetes was discovered and developed by Canadians Banting, Best, Collip, and MacLeod about 1924

1980's TNF alpha cytokine that causes arthritis- Ravinder Maini and Marc Feldman, Great Britain

Antibiotics- first plants were used in ancient Chinese medicine

Cinchona, bark of a tree, first used to treat malaria, discovered by the indigenous Indians of Peru, then to the Spanish and Italians

Cannabis first used over 10,000 years ago in Central and South Asia and Taiwan, also by the Hindus of India and in Nepal, at least 2500 years ago in China, by the Scythians, Bulgarians, Greeks and Turks. Also archaeological evidence of use by Shakespeare in England. Was legal in the backwards puritanical nation of the USA until 1937. Currently slightly decriminalized for medicinal use in the USA in some states. Decriminalized in Germany.

fourgen:

I am using a different list which did not specify exactly where it was done, just noted their citizenship, and a list of Nobel winners in medicine. If you don't like it take it up with immigration and have their offending dual citizenship stripped for not being "dumb enuf to be Amerikuns "

I don't really care that you and whoever "J P" is had a little internet spiff a few months ago.

I expect a full throttle wing nut Republican themed meltdown in the next 24 hours complete with a total solar eclipse and an earthquake as the world comes to an end as they know it, and they start having hysterics that in 3 years, we get to have a few more million people covered so as to receive medical care, and the insurance companies can't rip people off and kill the customers as easily.

Why don't you start planning now how to educate and train more lab techs, physicians' assistants, nurses, and doctors.... OH WAIT, education, beyond High School, that's so UNPOPULAR around here we might have to spend money on the COMMUNITY COLLEGES instead of the REALLY EXPENSIVE PRIVATE SCHOOLS. Quick somebody HIRE A LOBBYIST SO THE CONGRESSMAN KNOWS WE HAVE NEEDS HERE.

CanyonRat: You are on a roll! Keep it up.

YIPPEE! The party of NO has lost again and I hope will continue to lose on these important issues. Where does it say a party can vote for themselves rather than for the people they serve? What has happened to our country? This country should have health care for all! All I can say is, YES WE CAN AND YES WE DID!

Correction:

YES YOU CAN RUIN THIS COUNTRY AND YES YOU DID!

"We will soon have health care for all Americans not just the elite"

Glenmv

85% of the US are "elite".......really.

Protesting in the streets is going to be the order of the day.

It was overly clear to Congress that the people do not want this. The left on this blogsite do, but then they represent a very small vocal minority.

I wish I was in the pitchfork business because I think its going to be the first one out of Obama's recession.

Let's see what the Senate does before we start gloating. And then let's wait until the 2010 elections to see if the law (if passed by the Senate) is repealed. I think I read that if the bill becomes law it will not be effective until 2013. Is that correct?

Yes, JonGreen lets see what the Senate is going to do with this. And remember folks most of this health care program does not go into effect for a few years down the road. In a few more months we will see what the final agreement looks like. And as for the back slapping by our congressional personnel last night. Take a quick peek at the last favorable job performance percentages from Rasmussen.

Our Military Personnel: 82% Favorable

Congress: 26% Favorable

How many doctors do you think will retire early if this passes? I would imagine the percentage will be very high. You think it takes a few days to see a specialist now, geez!

If Government run health insurance is so wonderful, why don't we get Government run auto insurance for those who can't afford that?

Medicare is government run Health Insurance and I do not see anyone clamoring to get rid of it. However, this bill does nothing to contain costs.

Meicare still cannot bargain for lower drug rates like tri-care, the VA and Kaiser do. There is limitation on doctors charging for things that do not benefit the patient but add to their income (called practice enhancement). This could be accomplished by forcing doctors to practice within the guidelines of their specialty boards. Also, the insurance industry is the most corrupt industry in health care and their costs are exorbitant. The overhead for Medicare is about 1% but the overhead of even the lowest HMO is 18% and many approach 30%. They are not no-profit.

Also, people with unhealthy lifestyles should have their health care paid for at private rates by a surtax on the things that cause their problems.

For example, smokers ($97 billion in healthcare costs in 2008) should have all of their health care costs come from a surtax on cigarettes. Also, the morbidly obese (a medical term based on BMI body mass index) should have their costs ($247 billion in 2008) come from a surtax on fast food. I know people will cry about this but these are two easily to identify groups who have excessive health care costs due to their lifestyle and should not be in everyone else's insurance pool.

We need a catastrophic plan for those without insurance and the reforms above.

Dr Bill Kirby

Analyst, That's a great idea, I'm tired of being ripped off by auto insurance companies. No tickets, accidents, or claims in over 30 years and paying very high premiums. Just another way the insurance companies rip us off.

I am just wondering how much is the insurance mandatory monthly charge going to be for all Americans and I would like to know who specifically will not have to pay these monthly charges? Has anyone commenting here actually read the entire bill and or does anyone think that a 2000 page bill is going to benefit the health care consumer in any fashion? Complication only benefits the lawyers writing the protection terms of an agreement for the issuer of said agreement or contract... which in this case.... appears to be the healthcare industry. So will everyone now have to pay a minimum amount of monthly federal taxes... since 181 million do not pay federal taxes...I believe this must be done if we are going to start promoting fairness in all areas inside our new socialistic republic.

Well General Sam, It's 10 am and I have been watching the news for 4 hours and i have seen no riots and protesting in the streets. Two weeks ago a new poll was out that said 62% of Americans wanted a public option. Pitchforks would be a good option to clean out the rest of the Republicans in Washington DC.

In my post I meant to say "there is NO limit on doctors charging for things that do not benefit the patient.

Dr Bill Kirby

Glenn,

You know what?

Whether you are a Liberal and you want all those things that Liberals want, and I disagree with you on most of them, I appreciate that you are concerned for your fellow man.

I believe you and most of the Liberal posters on this site truly care that people get the good things that exist in this country. For that I applaud you. I applaud you because you believe you are fighting for the "little" guy, the ones who have no advocate, the ones who are mentally ill, and those who deserve more than they're physically or mentally able to provide for themselves.

For that I applaud you.

Before any of my Conservative friends get all pushed out of shape I'll add this. I have witnessed in my life the benefits of hard work, thrift, discipline, and sacrifice. I've also seen greed, and all the attending vices that plague humankind.

I would prefer everyone work and earn their own way in this world. Not because I'm a curmudgeon and relish pain and suffering of others, but because I know there is more satisfaction and personal reward when you do.

I also realize there are those among us who are unable to do that no matter how much they wish they could. I don't look down on them, and I certainly don't wish to deny them the basics of life because in my opinion everyone has worth.

Even if we disagree on how to live our lives and how much government intervention we want, we also need to continue to hold our …

....fellow countrymen in high regard.

Thanks, Glenn.

gregcalac

Good words.

We still must deal with the Party of Neanderthals in the Senate; they have more obstructionist clot there to protect their insurance companie contributors so continue to write your senators, giving them support.

Ishmael,

Thanks for the reminder; I'll do just that.

Ishmael,

"Party of Neanderthals", shame on you - the democrats are misguided, not pre-historic! ;-)

All this hyper-partisan talk is that of those with small minds and agendas.

Good luck though - I really do hope you find some peace through your anger,

Robert Capp

glennmeadowvista: A question for you. If your parents are alive how old are they and what physical condition are they in?

The bill will probably be DOA in the senate.....

This country is by far the leader in treatment of popular/profitable medical disorders. We do not in fact do more with less (as we are told by insurance corporations and our medical institutions). We as a country have been sold on the idea that 'let them eat cake' is just good common sense (as portrayed by the conservative republicans). I have listened to the same garbage since the 1960's (by the same people). Smoke screens and deception are all the conservative republicans have left. Check out this link. It has interesting information about the development/cost of other countries for medical treatment/technology compared to the USA. I have not taken the time to verify this information. If in doubt, please verify this information for yourself. ==> http://aleksandreia.wordpress.com/2009/08/24/socialist-health-care-and-the-u-s/

Glenmv-

I think the reason you are paying very high premiums for your auto insurance despite your saintly driving record is because the Insurers know that Liberals are prone to fantasy and delusion while heading down the road of life...they see things that just aren't there and let their emotions blow them around with the wind.......bound to crash and burn.

I guess your a good driver from a bad crowd....

Ishmael:: Was it really necessary to insult the Neanderthals? The Neanderthals had brains as big as homo sapiens. They made stone tools, had mastered fire, and buried their dead. By any measure, they were culturally, intellectually, and morally superior to the teabaggers and the dittoheads.

gulliver,

Why throw spit wads?

Ishmael

"Party of Neanderthals" You are probably one of those folks that send LTE's under your real name asking for bipartisanship because you don't have the demographics to win anything without it. When those calls for cross party voting show up as they always do during campaign season its people like yourself and CR that I will be thinking about. Partisan bigots are no different than any other type of bigot.

Mike~You know how you can spot a liberal a mile away in their car's? They plaster bumper stickers ALL OVER- Now, wouldn't you think all those bumper stickers would protect a car just a bit~and the insurance companies would give them a break? Seeing all those bumper stickers ON THEIR PAINT on their cars, shows just how little libs think of the future~ they need the instant gratification that only a bumper sticker on their car will give them, rather than the OH NOOO!! How do I get this off my car?, thought that they should have.

lifelonglocal,

Interesting observation. I think you're right.

gregcalac: Because I am a 14 year old in a 57 year old body. Because in my professional life, I must always be circumspect and thoroughly professional. Because I had 2 beers when I wrote that. If I offended you, I am sorry, but please don't take me so seriously.

Anybody catch the front page of the Sacramento Bee....for 5 minutes of work the bill was $30,000.00 for a young person who died...this outrageous bill has hit the headlines.......this is our cost problem.... arrogance...plain and simple arrogance. I bumped into someone who recently said they were entitled to the good life... because their spouse had a PHD...once again arrogance...plain and simple arrogance!

We will all go broke in the future based on one word and one word only........and it appears to be everywhere.

lifelonglocal,

What great advances in medical cures have come from a country with a socialist medical system, in the past 50 years?

- The Activity Monitor, developed in socialized-medicine England, is used to monitor coronary bypasses, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity.

- An EU medical development, STIMuGRIP, restores movement to crippled limbs by using accelerometers in which an implant sends electrical pulses to stimulate the desired wrist and finger muscles and nerves.

- In socialist Belgium, an invention allows the deaf to converse and even hear music by sending electrical impulses to stimulate the cochlea, the part of the inner ear responsible for hearing.

- The European Center for Disease Prevention pioneered prevention of the H1N1 virus.

- People suffering from conditions such as stroke, blindness, deafness, incontinence, glaucoma and hydrocephalus benefit from a range of new technologies developed by a European consortium of researchers, surgeons and medical technology companies.

- a socialist nation invented a camera chip integrated into a pair of glasses, which transmits data to electrodes implanted inside the eyeball of blind people, allowing them to see.

- All the implants and sensors noted above send and receive complex data without any connecting wires, a socialist development.

Need any more?

Mex21,

Maybe you could move to a country without a health care choice that includes a public option, such as, ... um... Uh-oh. I guess there is no such country.

lifelonglocal,

"This healthcare bill is a very big step down for our country... it will lower our country to third world status almost as much as affirmative action has?" First the nig*ers and now the cripples, is that it?

Do you really believe it will lower our country to third world status? Praise God, I hope so! Let some other sucker police the world for a while.

gulliver,

You didn't offend me. I'm perpetually on "play" mode. ;-)

"Many lives will be saved and improved by this new law, this is a great night in America"

And who is paying for it? Of course thats lost in the fine print, I pay enough already Im for healthcare reform, this is not a step in the right direction. I like mine just the way it is, although expensive. And Dr Kirby, I agree with your anaylsis...

Dr. Kirby, The reason you don’t see anyone “clamoring” to get rid of their Medicare is because they have no other choices, unless they still work for a company that offers private coverage. Those that do have that option typically will choose to not have the Medicare plan as their only source of coverage. Additionally, Medicare’s coverage’s are so bad that the insurance companies have to offer a supplement. The only problem I see with your ideas of surcharges is that as fewer and fewer Americans take part in this behavior, for example, smoking, the revenues drop. Our politicians have an ugly history of raiding one account to pay for a different social program. I do agree with you that we need to separate those that are disciplined enough to take care of themselves vs. those that choose unhealthy habits. Thanks for your input.

Pelosi & co knew they had the votes, however close it was, to get this to pass. I'm surprised it took them this long. They're finally doing something instead of blaming the Republicans for not getting it done. I imagine what comes back if/when the Senate passes their version & merges it with this monstrosity won't be as easy to get passed.

Give credit where it's due. They've gotten farther than any of their predecessors have on this issue.

Do I think this should be the priority? No. We're facing a huge economic crisis and oh, there's that little thing going on in Afghanistan, huh?

Didn't Hillary Clinton say "it's the economy, stupid"? No matter how many times it happens, I'm still amazed Hillary Clinton is garnering my respect, little by little.

Partrick:

Great, if fewer and fewer people have unhealthy lifestyles the surtax can drop as less money is needed for their care and their health care costs would drop in line with everyone else's.

These funds should only be for those people who smoke or are morbidly obese.

Politicians should not administer how it is done. They just need to regulate better.

Dr Bill Kirby

flyingsurgeon

If we are going to add for those conditions we might as well apply a surtax for all risk activities. Don't just go after the most common activity as low hanging fruit. For instance i am sure that those that a non smoking, non obese person that rides motorcycles is at a higher risk than someone that doesn't. Yes I picked that example because that I know you ride but we could come up with many examples. If we are going to go down that road we need to go all the way down that road and not pick high risk activities because they have larger demographic groups indulging in them. Besides smoking is on a downwards trend when I was a kid more than half the population smoked cigarettes and now it is around twenty percent.

The low hanging fruit are easy and yes we should. We can easily quantify how much they cost over other people. Any other group like that I agree.

Bill Kirby

Too much legislation, thank you very much. First of all, we legislate "every citizen shall" and if not "you pay". Where does it say in the constitution that every citizen has a right to health care? Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Yeah, I know about the promote the general welfare clause, but it says promote, not pay for. You guys are going down a road that is not just a slippery slope, its sheer ice.

What is needed is a safety net for those who currently DON'T have insurance, not a complete overhaul of the healthcare system. Reform, not takeover. Back off federal government, you overstep and we'll take you out. Legally, of course. You don't listen and we'll vote you out. Just wait and watch.

LIFELONGLOCAL, Speaking of bumper stickers here are some for you republicans, Cheney-Palin 2012.

cheney-palin2012.com

glennmv, here's another I saw the other day - I WAS ANTI-OBAMA BEFORE IT WAS COOL.

Cheney Palin

That is someone's idea of hell on earth!

Bill Kirby

Never going to happen.

Why would Palin take the "down" elevator when the party is on the roof?

'cause she wants to?

Greg, Sorry to inform you the party is in the basement.

Glenn,

Don't be sorry. I'm not interested in what's going on with Democrats!

Ha Ha, OK

Why isn't Congress improving the system we already have, as suggested by Dr. K, rather than presenting us with a Trojan Horse?

glenn,

Next time we have coffee you'd better take time to attend! We'll hunt you down like a dog if you don't! ;-)