Bluebear (1000+ posts) Sat Mar-20-10 04:02 AM
Original message
Fierce! Reconciled HCR Bill Ditches Previously Included LGBT Health Provisions
The reconciled health care reform bill posted by the House is stripped of previously included provisions addressing LGBT concerns, such as the taxation of employee partner benefits.
Lawmakers did manage to find $50M to fund abstinence-only sex education.
Ditched:
* Health Disparities – the bill specifically designates LGBT people as a health disparities population, opening up health data collection and grant programs focused on health disparities related to sexual orientation and gender identity. With collection of data and funding of research, we can better address the specific health issues facing LGBT people.
* Unequal Taxation of Domestic Partner Benefits – the bill ends the unfair taxation of employer-provided domestic partner health benefits, incorporating the language of the Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act. Without this tax penalty, more people will be able to afford employer-provided coverage for their families, and more companies will be able to offer these important benefits.
* Early Treatment for HIV under Medicaid – the bill also incorporates the Early Treatment for HIV Act, which allows states to cover early HIV treatment under their Medicaid programs, instead of withholding treatment for Medicaid recipients until they develop full-blown AIDS, This will dramatically improve the quality of life for low-income people with HIV, as well as saving taxpayers money and reducing the transmission of the virus.
* Comprehensive Sex Education – the bill provides funding for comprehensive sex education programs that focus not only on abstinence, but also reducing teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. After more than $1 billion wasted on failed and discriminatory abstinence-only programs, this funding will provide youth, including LGBT students, with the tools they need to live healthy lives.
* Non-discrimination – the bill prohibits consideration of personal characteristics unrelated to the provision of health care. HRC worked with a coalition of civil rights groups to develop and lobby for this language and we believe it will help protect LGBT people from discrimination in the health care system, where there are currently no federal protections for our community.
http://www.joemygod.blogspot.com /
http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2009/11/house-passes-health...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7962037You know, somehow this will be blamed on the evil Rethuglicans, even though they have been locked out of any meaning discussions on HCR. This is all the DimRats doing.
Divine Discontent (1000+ posts) Sat Mar-20-10 04:16 AM
Response to Original message
1. even though I support all the good things it will make happen, seeing this makes me nauseated that
Edited on Sat Mar-20-10 04:17 AM by Divine Discontent
they so willingly capitulate our health and well-being...
absolutely disgusting. THANKS Nancy.
So, you're going to do, what? Nothing. You'll still vote for a Dim next time.
Luminous Animal (1000+ posts) Sat Mar-20-10 04:28 AM
Response to Original message
4. C'mon Bluebear...
get with the program. Under the big tent, women don't matter and queers don't matter. All we need now is to exclude coverage for Tay Sachs and Sickle Cell Anemia and we will have the perfect Democratic health care coverage.
Lord Zero has his own plans for dealing with teh Joooos.
sabrina 1 (1000+ posts) Sat Mar-20-10 06:43 PM
Response to Reply #4
34. I don't know about that yet, but there is a ban on
treating sick immigrants and their children. We call them 'illegal aliens' so we can feel better about them dying. Thanks Democrats. If they think we will 'get over' this bill by November, they couldn't be more wrong. I do not support discrimination which is why I was never a Republican.
Tragic to see so many 'democrats' cheering for this discriminatory legislation. It sets us back decades.
I wonder if this one of those periods in history where the parties evolved from what they were into something else? Like the Party of Lincoln, no longer recognizable as such eg. This Democratic Party does not represent the ideals they claim to aspire to any more. This HCR debate exposed a great deal about them, along with the Bush era when so many of them voted with Republicans.
No. We call them illegals because they broke immigration laws. We can call them criminal aliens if you like. Remove their reasons for coming here, and maybe they won't come. Do away with the anchor baby laws.
nosmokes (1000+ posts) Sat Mar-20-10 04:40 AM
Response to Original message
5. Well, **** 'em. No on the ******* bill.
If abstinence only can make the cut and taxes on gay partners bennies are in this warm stinking pile of a gift to the insurance companies, then just **** the democrats, because this isn't reform, this is just some bull. And we all know they're no more gonna fix this stinker than they vigorously investigated the Bush admin and the *possible* war crimes to shut us up about impeachment.
This cannot be close to the best work we can do, and if it is then we are well and truly ****ed.
Bend over, you are well and truly
.
Unfortunately so is the whole country if this passes.
kevinbgoode (1000+ posts) Sat Mar-20-10 05:07 AM
Response to Reply #5
7. I agree. This looks like a moderate-conservative REPUBLICAN
bill more and more to me.
And funding stupid-ass abstinence-only education? Why the hell are we supposed to be paying to support rightwing causes but our own Democratic constituencies are sacrificed - over and over again.
You can bet my representative is going to get an earful from me about this sham.
Hey asshole. Don't blame us. We were against this POS bill from the get go. This is your doing, you wanted it.Deal with it.
