What's 16-17 million uninsured among 300 million Americans?
Apparently not much to President Barack Obama, who slipped a not-so-subtle change to a statistic he had cited previously different during his Sept. 9 address to a joint session of Congress. The president pointed out there are "more than 30 million American citizens" who are having difficulty obtaining health insurance (emphasis added).
"We are the only advanced democracy on Earth - the only wealthy nation - that allows such hardships for millions of its people," Obama said. "There are now more than 30 million American citizens who cannot get coverage. In just a two year period, one in every three Americans goes without health care coverage at some point. And every day, 14,000 Americans lose their coverage. In other words, it can happen to anyone."
That's quite a change from earlier this year when Obama was using different numbers. On July 22, the president used a much larger number in a press conference. He said had cited "47 million Americans" with no insurance, a mistake that had been made the previous two years by many in the media (emphasis added).
"This is not just about the 47 million Americans who don't have any health insurance at all," Obama said. "Reform is about every American who has ever feared that they may lose their coverage if they become too sick, or lose their job, or change their job. It's about every small business that has been forced to lay off employees or cut back on their coverage because it became too expensive."
And with the exception of a Fox News commentator Frank Luntz on the FNC's Sept 9 "Hannity" and ABC News White House correspondent Jake Tapper, who pointed it out on the social media Web site Twitter, the subtle change when relatively unnoticed by the media.
"Up until tonight, it was always 47 million," Luntz said. "But what they realized was that they were defending health care coverage - government money, your taxpayer dollars - going to illegal immigrants that they realized they had to take them out of the pool."
The total number of uninsured, 45.7 million according to the U.S. Census, also includes roughly 10 million people who are not citizens. The Census Bureau is scheduled to update that number this month.
Back in May, the administration was using the number "46 million Americans, instead." All three morning shows brought on Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, May 12 to discuss health care reform. In her NBC interview, Sebelius claimed that 46 million Americans were uninsured. Obama cited the same number in a March 5 speech about health care reform.
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Why!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 10, 2009 - 05:50 ET by LastKnownOneThe question is : why should I pay for someone elses health care? Oh, I just heard this morning that he wants to mandate it or you get punished. Where is the freedom in that and where is that in the Constitution?
I couldn't bring myself to listen to this communist, marxist, socialist, fascist bastard. he infuriates me too damn much.
The question is : why
September 10, 2009 - 08:21 ET by DontFeedTheTrollsThe question is : why should I pay for someone elses health care?
Because it is now the right of American citizens to take from their fellow citizens. Theft is now government mandated, this theft is also encouraged for people who aren't even citizens and never intend to become citizens. Our politicians (both sides) have ensured this.
D
Write your Congress and Senate and tell them what YOU think!
Keep the ILLEGALS out, join NumbersUSA to send free faxes to your reps.
The Answer...
September 10, 2009 - 09:37 ET by Meredith1966The answer, friend LKO, is that it isn't in the Constitution, nor is the power to punitively strike at citizens in order to get them to comply with unconstitutional mandates. I've been harping on this for months! Congress doesn't have the authority to provide health care, or health insurance, for anyone. It is very clearly a state and local issue as defined by the 10th Amendment's reserved powers clause. IF Congress and the President wish to pursue this, the very first thing they need to do is pass a Constitutional Amendment that grants that power, and then get the States to ratify that Amendment. The Federal Gov't is a creature of the States, and must have their permission through the amendment process to take on any power not expressly granted to it in Article I, Section 8. Notice that no one, and I mean no one, is even mentioning the Constitution in this debate. Easy answer is that since the 1930s our government has operated under the maxim that power not expressly granted is power assumed, and why the hell should they ask the States (or the people) for permission?
"The words of a President have an enormous weight and ought not to be used indiscriminately." - Calvin Coolidge
Those Straw Men Were Right!
September 10, 2009 - 05:53 ET by FenwickI guess all those "who say we should do nothing" were right. During one month of doing nothing, 17 MILLION people got health insurance. Heh.
Nope.
September 10, 2009 - 11:02 ET by sevenThese were people living in 7 of the 57 states. It was pre mature to call Honduras, Cuba and several others as states.
Wow
September 10, 2009 - 05:53 ET by well99He cut the uninsured down by 1/3 in a short time.Good Job Barack/sarc off
17 million.....
September 10, 2009 - 06:02 ET by adamsmithHe just removed the figure of illegal immigrants whom will be covered anyway, and it sways the CBO's numbers as well. You can re-add the illegals anytime after harvest has ended....I'm one of the 30 to 47 million uninsured. I say we go to a cash system, like the one I'm on for the last two years...Cheaper....Get the government out of your lives.....Live Libertarian........
But, but but, the White
September 10, 2009 - 10:57 ET by celatorBut, but but, the White House recalculated that number last night after the One finished his snake oil lecture.
The number of uninsured in the US is now up to 175,000,849 people. Obama personally went out and counted them. Whatta guy.
No citizen's right to life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, or property is safe as long as Obama is President of the United States.
While the figure was
September 10, 2009 - 06:19 ET by jdhawkWhile the figure was reduced from 47 to 30 million, this was hardle a "subtle" change. It does, seemingly, take out illegal alients. However, there are another group of citizens, estimated at over 15 million, that make over $50k per year and could easily afford to pay for their own health insurance, but for whatever reason choose not to. So, the real figure is around 12-15 million people that do not have health insurance.
So, given the above, the socialist - obama and those in congress, are lying. They know the correct figure. Nevertheless, they want to jam this socialist agenda through. Don't let them!
Write, call, or e-mail your elected representatives today. This especially includes the pressident. Yeah, you might be wasting your time, but if enough of us pummel the White House, even they will get the picture. Remember, at the end of the day, this president wants to be relected in four years.
Some of those in the $50K
September 10, 2009 - 06:40 ET by motherbeltSome of those in the $50K and up range have dumped their own insurance and put their kids into the S-CHIP program instead. You can do that up to an annual salary of $84,000.
The Truth has nothing to do
September 10, 2009 - 06:23 ET by garyganuThe Truth has nothing to do with Obama's speech. The main object was to demonize, discredit, intimidate and effectively silence his opponents, while mesmerising his supporters with misinformation. Obama must hide his true agenda of redistribution of wealth and transforming the American economic and political system in order to gain public support.
Obamas speech was the quintessential embodiment of the saying: "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, then baffle them with bull sh*t".
I base my views on reason, personal experience and common sense http://garyganu.blogspot.com
The actual number is 7.
September 10, 2009 - 06:27 ET by JWFNo, not seven million, just seven.
Subtract the actual number of people that had medicaid and neglected to mention it on the census.
Subtract the actual number of people that were eligible for medicaid/medicare but never applied.
Subtract the young and healthy that can afford it but decline and take the risk upon themselves.
Subtract the older and rich that decline and take the risk upon themselves.
Subtract the illegal aliens that are not supposed to be here.
Subtract the people that were termporarily unemployed and picked up insurance when they got a job.
Now, subtract the people that were healthy, uninsured and did not even need the services of the healthcare industry.
That leaves Fred, Jane, Willy, Needles, Frank, Alan, & Skippy.
Oh, wait, Skippy just got a job today. Make that 6.
Sincerely,
a Veteran of a 1000 psychic wars.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
September 10, 2009 - 06:33 ET by ApodicticHis various pathologies were on full display and observable to anyone with any training in same. Unfortunately, most people are ill-equipped to understand what they are observing, and thus, are most likely to get sucked in by what they believe to be self-confidence. He wants to be ruler of the world, but for now he'll be satisfied with America.
I forced myself to watch.
September 10, 2009 - 07:09 ET by theduck6I think I scared my dog as she was looking at me as if to say, "are you OK?" "What are you yelling at?" He delivered another near flawless speech in which he said damned near nothing new and nothing in reality. He lied, lied again and lied yet again.
The heckling was tacky but sadly deserved.
My Proposal
September 10, 2009 - 07:16 ET by LastKnownOneHere is my proposal if no one was able to read about it. Tell me what you think. In a nut shell, it says one, or many, of those rich libs can put their money where their mouth is and start their own insurance company. How American is that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://newsbusters.o...
Now subtract those who could afford it but choose not to.
September 10, 2009 - 07:19 ET by c5thenOnce you remove the population who choose not to have any health insurance for whatever reason and those who are not covered on any particular day because they are between jobs or just switched jobs. you are left with about 15 million.
15 million out of 330 million people is 0.45%. That's right...less than half a percent of the population is "uninsured". That doesn't sound like a reason to completely gut and remake a system that 85% say they are satisfied with. It sounds like a few tweaks are needed to make the current system better.
Proposals:
1) Remove the Federal regulation that prohibits inter-state health insurance. Let everybody choose whom to use for their health insurance provider like they can with life insurance and auto insurance.
2) Mandate that policies are portable. Once you are subscribed to a policy, the simple event of changing jobs or losing a job does not void the policy.
3) Remove the law suit shield from the insurance companies when they deny payment for a particular treatment. Treatment decisions should be solely between the doctor and patient.
4) Malpractice suits against doctors have to show negligence at a minimum. Also the loser pays the other parties court costs.
Throw 'da bums out!!!
no incumbent re-elected, with very few exceptions!
www.loyaltoliberty.com
Slight correction
September 10, 2009 - 07:39 ET by LastKnownOne4.5%
less than that, wasn't it?
September 10, 2009 - 08:11 ET by jon_torlinI thought the number was closer to either 5 or 6 million, but I can't remember where I read that.
-Jon
4 Million
September 10, 2009 - 23:01 ET by stratman4 Million according to this article from Fix Health Care Policy, a project of Heritage Foundation.
The Fix Health Care Policy website is worth a look.
The best news was that we're
September 10, 2009 - 07:36 ET by SickofLibsThe best news was that we're going to 'test market' that Republican concept of tort reform as a way of reducing the number of malpractice lawsuits.
But we need to start out small to see if it's workable. To this end, Bohunk County Court will now be closed one week out of the month to cut back on lawsuits.
I'm sure there's a way to
September 10, 2009 - 07:52 ET by nwahsI'm sure there's a way to crunch the numbers so all of those statements are right. There's that famous quote about statistics, ya know/
Politics is showbiz for ugly people
Supreme Court has already ruled
September 10, 2009 - 07:58 ET by 10ksnookerAll persons in the USA, legal or not, must have access to healthcare. One trip to the Supreme Court for the ACLU, problem solved.
So if there are all those savings in Medicare, $622 billion according to the White House website, why not just do that right now, money is a wasting.
Why Not Do It Now?
September 10, 2009 - 10:29 ET by slickwillie2001Re why not make the changes necessary to eliminate "waste and abuse" in the medicare system now? Why does it need an Obamacare bill?
Because the waste and abuse that the Bamster intends to eliminate includes expensive procedures for seniors that Obama and his ghoulish czars see as wasted on folks that are in their last few years of life. The Liar-in-Chief wants us to think that it consists of nothing more than using staples instead of expensive paper clips.
If you want to see "waste and abuse", watch what happens when Obamacare unionizes the entire healthcare industry.
It's kinda like....
September 10, 2009 - 08:07 ET by Prester John....feeding the 5,000 with only five fish and two loaves of bread, except it's in reverse.
When you're the Messiah all you have to do is wave your hand......
"The Truth is Treason in the Empire of Lies"
www.campaignforliberty.com
I was too busy to watch...
September 10, 2009 - 08:37 ET by EdCoyneI saw an interesting dot on the cieling that intrigued me way more than Obama's 121st speech, mentioning health care, ever could have.
Ed Coyne
www.PoliCalc.com
lol
September 10, 2009 - 17:58 ET by well99I fell asleep thru it the first time.
Liar in Chief
September 10, 2009 - 11:14 ET by FlatlinerI can remember early on hearing obama claim there are "47 million in America without health care."
Then it became "47 million in America without insurance."
Then it became "47 million Americans without insurance."
Now, it's "30 million Americans....."
Maybe that speech he gave a month ago to clerics where he talked about people bearing false witness made him decide to at least try to appear to be a little more truthful.
On the radio
September 10, 2009 - 11:32 ET by sevenRush just mentioned 5 minutes ago where in Obama's dog and pony show, Obama refers to insurance company overhead as profit. Obama has never worked for a common corporation and is clearly not familiar with a simple income statement. Obama is also confused on taxing profits. We want companies to make profits because we tax protits. Exxon collected and remitted 100 billion dollars last year.
Profit to Earnings Redux
September 10, 2009 - 12:47 ET by slickwillie2001Here's the quote: "But by avoiding some of the overhead that gets eaten up at private
companies by profits, excessive administrative costs and executive salaries, it could provide a good deal for consumers."
This just further proves that this is the most ignorant-of-economics President we have ever had the misfortune to elect. That we did so in the middle of an economic crisis is going to cost our nation dearly.
Hey Seven, for someone who is ...
September 10, 2009 - 15:36 ET by SentryDanHey Seven, for someone who is to be intelligent, obama isn't. And he lacks common sense.
obama is not an honorable man. obama claims that he reached across the aisle. The only thing obama has done so far is to reach into the pockets of the taxpayers and take their money.
obama refuses to talk about tort reform. Lawyers are like that, yea they are. You got to protect you buddies (fellow lawyers).
obama claims to be a student of history and a constitutional lawyer. He knows nothing about the US Constitution or history, otherwise he would know that what he is trying to do is unconstitutional and that history tells us that people have revolted against the kind of tyranny.
Remember folks, Freedom isn't Free. It was bought with the blood and sacrifice of the men and women who are serving and who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
For those who fought for it, Freedom has a flavor that the protected will never know.
Also remember folks, that the way to SUPPORT THE TROOPS is to support their mission. Anyone who says that they support the troops but don't support their mission is lying about supporting the troops. And if you want to know, yes I do have a dog in the fight, he is a United States Marine.
The Washington Examiner's Byron York has an article about
September 10, 2009 - 14:02 ET by Rush FanPresident Obama's uninsured numbers change. Titled Obama: I used to say 47 million uninsured. Now, it's 30 million it reads in part:
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“I want everything he's doing to fail!” ~ Rush Limbaugh on President Barack Obama