Cory Booker is really going after Kavanaugh

[BigmanPigman]

and Grassley. He is defending the ACA (suicide rates are climbing when people without health care can't hold on).
I have to call him and thank him.

[trueblue2007]

1. BOOKER IS WONDERFUL.

[trixie2]

2. I've always liked him

[skylucy]

3. Outstanding!

[pangaia]

4. Who's that asshole after him? The loudmouth with the fascist yellow tie?

[BigmanPigman]

5. Turned him off after 30 seconds. I hate that ass, whoever he is.

Then I called Booker's office [phone]. Next I will thank my senator, Harris.

[pangaia]

22. All the lines are busy...

I'll bet they are !!!!!!!!

[BigmanPigman]

23. Both Booker and Harris!

I had to leave "Thank You" messages.

Tomorrow my angry side will be calling the "iffy" Dems and GOP senators...and I will keep calling them.

[AmandaRuth]

6. the r's sure cannot handle talking about anything to do with race

cut him right off. right then.

[BigmanPigman]

7. Then the Dems should bring it up more often

if that is one of their weak points.

[appalachiablue]

12. NO they can't. I saw that and it was abrupt & obvious as hell.

Booker did a great job, so did Harris, Klobuschar and Durbin earlier.

[geardaddy]

16. Klobuchar

Is my senator and I'm glad she is. I wish Al Franken was still my senator, but I'm behind Tina Smith 100%.

[appalachiablue]

18. Lucky you. Amy's very good, I miss Franken, lots, and hope Tina makes it.

[NurseJackie]

8. That's wonderful. I wish FRANKEN was there too. We truly need his voice now.

Franken was railroaded.

[BigmanPigman]

9. That is what I told my dental hygienist last

Last edited Tue Sep 4, 2018, 04:24 PM - Edit history (1)

week when she told me where she moved from. She was surprised I knew who Franken is. A lot of people must live in ignorance.

Franken if FANTASTIC during hearings...I want him back. You are right, he was railroaded and I will never forget that.

[Bayard]

11. Agree on both points

Dems being stupid.

[onecent]

10. Booker you are a wonderful guy (hope you run for the president)

[Kurt V.]

21. +1 me too

[alfredo]

13. You can't appeal to their better angels, they have none.

[Honeycombe8]

14. As long as he also points out the ACA's failings & those could be fixed, that's a winning argument.

Otherwise, it's the same old argument that doesn't convince those who have been harmed, and their representatives, to keep something around that harms people.

Yes, it helps some people. Everyone knows that. But it also hurts some people. That's where the Democratic leaders went wrong in speaking about it...not even acknowledging the problems, much less discussing what could be done to help with those issues.

Part of it is, is that none of the ones in charge of it actually use it. Most others don't use it, either. Unless you are using it, it's hard to explain how it works and what was (is) wrong with it.

No one ever said it didn't help some people. It certainly did. No one needs a reminder of that.

The ACA is still there....is he saying that some people can't get in their states, anymore, because of what the Repubs have done? I have an ACA individual policy. Nothing has changed, except there's basically only one insurer. And the cost went up (again).

[BigmanPigman]

15. Kavanaugh will get rid of it completely.

It will not be an option. There will be GOP "junk" insurance policies which are equal to a band aid and Neosporin.

I still have my ACA due to my state. Yes, the price went up but next year it may be gone. I will not be able to get any due to two pre-existing conditions.

We were able to stop the ACA from totally being destroyed so now we have to call like we did last year.

RESISTANCE WORKS!

[pazzyanne]

19. Without the ACA I would not be here to comment.

I was diagnosed with a fatal autoimmune disease 4 years ago and was given 5 to 15 months to live. Thanks to the ACA, I have had access to a wonderful, aggressive medical team that has given me a lot more time and a medication that has me in remission. There are more people like me out here. The criticism of the ACA is noted, and I believe that at the time it became law the plan was to fine tune it. However the republicans had other ideas, and are strangling it to death. That means that there will be more deaths, mine included.

[kanda]

20. so glad you're here

I'm not much of a prayerful person, but I certainly send up prayers for you and the continuation of the ACA. I'm so sick of R's voting to take health care away from people. Best wishes for you.

[pazzyanne]

24. Thank you!

I appreciate your supportive comment. One of the reasons that I love DU are compassionate people like you.

[Honeycombe8]

25. They had two years to acknowledge problems. It required more than fine tuning, IMO.

I'm glad you got medical care. But if I had gotten your illness, I would have died. I couldn't find a doctor to take it. And yet, I was paying for insurance. And the taxpayers were helping to pay for it. Unusable insurance. I'm struck by others' lack of concern about others who were harmed or couldn't get medical care, despite spending thousands on it. I've noticed that over the years, whenever I'd report my problems. It's like the middle class didn't matter. As long as the working class & the poor got what they needed, even if the middle class didn't, that was fine.

I don't think even once did anyone care about me. I was accused of lying, usually, by those who didn't buy individual policies, so it was hard for them to understand the problems and believe them. Look at your answer. You focus on the fact that the ACA helped a lot of people. As I said, it DID. But that should not mean that another group has to do without medical care. Esp if they are paying for it.

I kept hoping they'd do something, but there was no acknowledgement of the problems until late in the game, and then I think all they did was require the ins. cos. to provide doctors from the specialties for the coverage being paid for (an actual requirement for that was needed). But there was no review process to make sure the ins. cos. were doing that. So nothing changed. The ins. cos. were gaming the system.

Blue Cross was sued for failing to provide medical providers for their insurance. It was also sued for providing false provider lists. Two complaints I made to others, who did not believe me. No one cared. Really. After years of me voting for the needs of the poor and working class, when it was time for others to at least care about my issues, it was missing. I am middle class. I didn't matter.

In any case, those people ran, not walked, to the polls to vote against those who they perceived didn't care about them. (I didn't, of course. I voted for Hillary...and am convinced she won, actually. I was nearing Medicare age, so the ACA was a done issue for me.)

[pazzyanne]

28. I understand what you are saying as I am now a retired middle class person as well.

My Medicare Advantage plan is through Medica, (a regional insurance plan for people in MN, WI, ND, SD, and Iowa) and I have an excellent cost plan - until December 31, 2018. At that time, the tRump administration has removed cost plans for most people in Minnesota. I'm sure it will be replaced by a junk policy with a much higher cost. Just an addendum to my disease. It is very rare. I was hospitalized and the hospitalist that worked on my labs was trained at the Mayo Clinic and recognized my disease through the blood work. My primary care doctor (who I have been seeing for almost 25 years) accepts Medicare and she is one of the best in this area. She put together a team of specialists and since then has been actively involved in my care and coordinating the plan and medication schedule. I credit my PCP for my being alive today. Without her being proactive, I would not have received the care that I did. I realize that there were a series of thing that led to my being alive. The ACA also is tied to my Medica Advantage plan and the medications that I am on, are linked to those provisions. You mention Blue Cross. Is that your insurance provider? I've had them through insurance I've had through work. They stopped being a good provider over 25 years ago. Change of management and change of focus of the people in power plays into the decline in their services.

[Honeycombe8]

29. Oh, yeah. They're going after Medicare. And they're going after Social Security.

There's a bill right now being proposed to let younger people withdraw their Social Security to pay for medical costs or something now. That's a step toward privatization, since we don't have SS accounts. It's a pool system, where all the money for everyone is in one pool. That's what makes it work.

I think this is why they're not saying anything about Trump. Taxes...Medicare...Social Security. The trifecta they want to accomplish. Horrifying.

Yes, I have Blue Cross. It's been pretty bad. I've spent hours on the phone over the years calling providers on the provider liss, only to find out they are not in the city or don't really take that kind of policy, or they're not even a PCP. One receptionist even said in a snooty tone, "Oh, we don't take THAT." I've shed more than a few tears, until I realized what situation I was in, and there was nothing I could do about it.

BCBS is effectively the only insurer here. Vantage has a few plans, but not many, and hardly any providers on its provider lists, and its prices are exorbitant. I don't think anyone buys the Vantage plans. BCBS sells only HMOs here. My policy is an HMO with a $4,500 deductible HMO, costs $958/month. I get a subsidy.

I am getting Medicare at end of year. Phew. I'm still confused how it works.

Yes..the PCP is EVERYTHING. I hope to find a good one, when I'm on Medicare. I'm confused as to how the ACA is linked to Medicare Advantage and medications.

BC used to have a good reputation, but not IMO any more. But w/o BC, I guess I wouldn't have anything, because no other insurer wanted to be in this state (except those few Vantage plans). I think because there are a lot of unhealthy people here.

[pazzyanne]

30. When I was working on getting a Medicare Advantage plan

I was going to insurance companies promotional meetings as part of my job. I was to help clients choose the best plan for them. It was amazing how no one plan was a THE plan for everyone. I also learned that HMOs were not the best plan to get. Now that my cost plan is expiring, I will have to go back to school looking at the new plans that will be presented October 1st. Until then I have been told "don't worry". Yeah, like that works for someone like me. We have quite a few plans available here, but they are not all good plans. You really have to do your homework. My Advantage plan is $128 a month and Medicare is $134 a month for a total of $262 a month. My medication is part of the cost plan. That may be changing. Hopefully you will be able to get a better deal once you are on Medicare. Do check the Advantage plans carefully. By the way, do you belong to AARP? They may have plans available where you are. They would be worth looking into as a possible plan for you. Good luck and I will be thinking about you as I work to find a new Advantage plan for me.

[Honeycombe8]

31. Thanks. Good story.

Nice to hear how someone else works their way through the decision process. You definitely had an "advantage," due to your work.

Yes, I'm a member of AARP. I just priced Medigap with United Healthcare. Yay! They sell Medigap here. Plan F is $128, Plan G is $123. Then I'd have to get a prescription plan. I just started reading about Advantage, to see what that is & compare to Medigap. I can get only Medigap thru AARP. And only with United Healthcare. I could get an Advantage plan directly from an ins. co., though.

I will definitely get a better deal on Medicare! HMO is the worst kind of ins. plan to get.

I don't know what a cost plan is that you're referring to. Something special for your state, I guess. And I guess it costs the govt more & that's why they're doing away with those. Good luck to you, too, in finding a good replacement plan.

[Demovictory9]

17. kick

[Eliot Rosewater]

26. If only the other 60 million Americans who pay NO attention to this stuff, would.

They would first of all become big fans of Booker and others on our team and would WAKE the fuck up and realize they are going to lose their rights.

That it is a DONE DEAL given how the GOP operates and ignores the law and the rules.

[Honeycombe8]

32. Booker's fine, but he doesn't strike me the way he strikes you.

Which means that not necessarily everyone would become big fans.

Adoration is in the eye of the beholder. But he's fine. He's no Al Franken or Obama. I don't see him ever becoming President, but who knows. But if he ran for President, I'd vote for him. At least he's a fighter. And he has a good strong voice.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

27. Booker was outstanding, maybe the best of all the Democrats on the committee.