Did the New York Times just turn on Obama? This article, calling Obama out on patently false and misleading statements from his presser last night appears to do so – rather bluntly.
Mr. Obama said doctors, nurses, hospitals, drug companies and AARP had supported efforts to overhaul health care.
While it is true the American Medical Association has endorsed a bill drafted by House Democratic leaders, a half-dozen state medical societies have sharply criticized provisions that would establish a new government-run health insurance plan.
Likewise, Mr. Obama said Medicare could save large amounts of money by creating “an independent group of doctors and medical experts who are empowered to eliminate waste and inefficiency” and hold down the annual increases in payments to health care providers.
Far from supporting this proposal, the American Hospital Association is urging hospital executives to lobby against it.
Of the proposed new cost-control agency, Mr. Obama said: “It’s not going to reduce Medicare benefits. What it’s going to do is to change how those benefits are delivered so that they’re more efficient.”
Hospitals say the cuts could indeed cut services in some rural areas and from teaching hospitals, which receive extra payments because of higher costs.
There is a lot more, please read it all. Especially the last point where they call out the outright fraud Obama tried to push: the story that he had saved money in his budget – something those on the right called out as a fraud when he first played that card.
If Obama has lost the Times, he is in very serious trouble. And it sure looks like he just lost them, big time. We can but hope.
Side note: If AARP is seriously backing the doping up of rather than the treating of the elderly in the pursuit of “cost effective” health care, it is time for members of AARP to let them know that they jumped the shark on this.
ObamaCare is not about the treatment of all – it is about the treatment of the favored – Federal employees and politicians – with the rest of us getting what is left over.
How many practicing doctors (as a percentage of all practicing doctors) belong to the AMA?
Larry, I seem to remember it’s about 20%. Similar to most other professional organizations I’m aware of (in my case IEEE).
Maybe the Times is waking up and tired of the Obama lies and half-truths. As you said we can hope so. Something sure needs to happen and maybe, just maybe as Churchhill said,”this is not the end or even the beginning of the end, but it is the end of the beginning”.
I gave up on AARP a number of years ago when I saw their corporate enthusiasm as an affiliate of the Democrat party. Perhaps this will change–their enthusiasm, not my giving up on them.