And Now, The Rest of the Story

[BrentAllen 10]

Obama had us all hopping mad at the insurance companies during his speech to Congress last week:

 

"One man from Illinois lost his coverage in the middle of chemotherapy because his insurer found that he hadn't reported gallstones that he didn't even know about they delayed his treatment, and he died because of it."

 

Wow. Those evil insurance companies killed this guy because of gallstones. Greedy, insurance executives, just out for money.

 

But, hold on a minute...

 

The Wall Street Journal reports Otto Raddatz did not die because of delays. His insurance policy was reinstated within three weeks and he later received a stem-cell transplant.

 

Raddatz died this year, nearly four years after the initial problems with his insurer. His sister, Peggy Raddatz, told the House Energy and Commerce Oversight Committee on June 16 that her brother received treatment that, "extended his life approximately three years."

 

So... he didn't die because his coverage was cancelled and his treatment delayed. Well, we can't say the prez lied, because, he is the president, and that would be uncivil and probably racist. So, what do you call this? What a shame - our president has decided he can play us for a bunch of fools.

[Kahuna 172]

Well, we can't say the prez lied, because, he is the president, and that would be uncivil and probably racist. So, what do you call this?

 

CHANGE!

[Lisabob 13]

Sigh. There is a large difference between arguing that the president "lied" in the way you just did, Brent, and having a fellow member of Congress shout at the president from the floor during a formal speech to a joint session of Congress.

 

Respect for the office, civility, and expectations about leadership and role modeling make the latter unacceptable. The former, while perhaps inflammatory in some ways, is more acceptable.

 

I don't see why many people refuse to see the difference in context. I would almost say that some people simply want to be stubborn, in the same way that little kids get into the "he started it!" sorts of arguments and then dig in their heels on that point, no matter what else may have happened.

 

 

[BrentAllen 10]

So, Lisa, no comment about Obama actually telling a whopper of a lie to a Joint Session of Congress and the American people? You are only concerned about the context of how someone calls Obama a liar?? Amazing.

[Lisabob 13]

Brent, I am concerned about a great many things, not all of which I intend to discuss with you. As we have had an ongoing discussion about the conduct of Mr. Wilson, I chose to comment on how you spun your post in this thread to relate to that topic.

 

 

[scoutingagain 20]

Well the complete story can be found in the testimony provided by his sister to commerce committee.

 

The primary issue of the story is true. The man had his insurance cancelled based on a medical condition he was not aware of. If his sister had not been an attorney and willing to fight hard for her brother, it is questionable as to whether or not he would have gotten the procedure. But he apprently did not die, because the cancelled insurance was re-instated prior to the stem cell procedure after two appeals by the Illinois Attourney Generals office. Such a generous gesture. I guess this is the kind of health care insurance we can continue to look forward to.

 

Amazing what you can find on the internet.

 

For those that only want the part of the story that supports their opinion please feel free to edit this post as needed.

 

Yes it appears the President may have mispoken. If he did so knowingly, he lied. But I suspect he had information provided to him by a staffer that was in error. Kind of like the information provided to Colin Powell prior to addresseing the UN.

 

SA

 

http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_111/20090616/testimony_raddatz.pdf

 

 

 

(This message has been edited by scoutingagain)

[BrentAllen 10]

Yeah, I'm sure it was a staffer. That is the excuse Obama has used on every other issue where he has been caught in a li... I mean a "mispoke." I mean, the guy was only from his home state.

 

He's just our Teleprompter-In-Chief (is it racist to use that term?), we can't expect him to actually know the truth about what he is reading... can we?

[evmori 11]

How is a politician stretching a story to fit hes/her need anything new?

[packsaddle 753]

"Obama had us all hopping mad at the insurance companies..."

Well I guess I'm the only person in the country who he didn't have hopping mad and I'm a little surprised to read that he had that effect on Brent.

The only times I've been hopping mad at my health insurance provider is when I have to fill out the forms again...and again...and again because of their vain hope that sooner or later I'll give up. Or when I read to them the precise wording of the policy in order to get treatment for my wife and they realized they had been caught. So they merely refunded us the premium and said take it or leave it. At the time we didn't have the resources to fight further and she had to have treatment immediately. I should have found a junkyard dog of an attorney.

 

There's nothing Obama can say that will further dampen my view of the adversarial relationship between the insurer and the insured.

[CalicoPenn 729]

So once health insurance reform is passed, what will be the battle cry?

 

For Bush it was "The President Lied, and People Died"

 

For Obama, will it be "The President Lied, and People Lived"?

[Apache Bob 10]

Packsaddle - I always liked this quote.

 

If L. L. Bean can remember what color sweater you ordered for Christmas last year, why should you have to fill out a new medical history every time you go to the hospital?

 

Food for thought.

 

 

[vol_scouter 365]

Packsaddle,

 

I agree with you about the insurance companies. If the democrats wished to only reform the health insurance system by preventing insurance companies from dropping coverage when someone ends up with a serious medical problem and addresses pre-existing conditions problems, the bill would be wildly popular. Having dealt with insurance companies for nearly a quarter of a century, I have many sad stories but so far none personally as you (I hope that your wife was able to get the care that she needed and did well). The insurance companies need to be compelled to have a different attitude in providing coverage.

[packsaddle 753]

Vol, thanks. She recovered nicely.

[GernBlansten 10]

So if simple insurance reform the likes that Vol is proposing would be wildly popular, why don't the republicans propose that as an alternative bill? Seems like a missed opportunity for them to go from the party of Nope to the party of Hope.

[vol_scouter 365]

There have been proposals from the republicans to reform the insurance industry but they go ignored by the main stream media.