Rick,

Could you please report on why it's taking so long for those of us who have exhausted there benefits to receive payments from the recent extension passed last week by the President? I'm not able to get any info from the local Unemployment office here in Charlotte, NC, and there's no information on the website. I can't understand how something that has been discussed and debated for two months is flowing the the channels as it should.

If the insurance industry has enough money to buy members of Congress and Senators, corporate taxes are too low.

It shouldn't be to difficult to follow the money trail from Big Pharma to their Republican lawmaker puppets as well as the money trail from Big Oil to their Republican lawmaker puppets.

For drugs which cost them mere penny's to produce, Big Pharma charges American seniors a thousand dollars to fill a monthly prescription, while the same drug sells typically for 1/3 in Canada and other country's. Why is it so much higher in America? The Republican Party has blocked all attempts to have Big Pharma Corporations adjust their bottom lines to a more fair and equatable profit margin.

Just wait for the Republican Party of NO to yell when the Big Oil Cap and Trade laws and bills are rolled out. LOL, I can't wait to watch all of the Big Oil puppets yelling and screaming it isn't right to constrain Big Oil and their profit margins.

I fully agree with Rian, when Big Pharma, Big Oil and the huge Insurance Giants buy Congress and Senate members by the Republican Party handful, it is time to raise Corporate Taxes by a large margin.

A. Smith
Oregon

Hello Rick,

I am writing to you from Ontario, Canada. As so many people in USA know, in Canada we have a socialized health care system; and so, we get the H1N1 vaccine for free...

In the USA,,, do people that have insurance get covered by their insurance? do people that have no coverage have to pay for their shot? or are vaccines paid for by the government?

IF... the vaccines are paid by the government and not by the private insurance , how can so many people still defend these profit making, health care companies? How can people view these companies as competent health care providers when in a situation like this, the government responds and not them?

This makes no sense to me...

Rick,
Heard your report re:Follow the Money for our Lawmaker in regard to Health Insurance Companies and who receives their contribution.
Highest is in the Seante per your info. Can you find 50 or 60 (needed to pass new legislation) that did not receive substantial fund from the Health Ins. Industry?

Hi Rick, I love your show. The 9/11 criminals should be tried in NYC. The main reason is so the victims families can attend without hardship if they want to. Yes, we should be concerned about safety of New Yorkers and all around the US.

Sending more troops to Afghanistan is a huge undertaking. This decision should be thought out for both the long and short term effects. Let the president and his advisor work this thing, PLEASE.

Let us not forget the things being considered I HOPE: the troops already in theatre, how we can best end this MESS, additional cost to the US.

Oh, yes....4 M for Dems from health care lobbyists shows a clear conscience and clear path to untainted consideration as opposed to the .5 M from Republicans. Now, there's unbiased reporting!

qualified to be president? as if the bozos in Washington now running the show are. she actually might serve the public better – nobody could be worse that what is there now, both sides of the aisle. arrest them all. and as for obama, who i voted for, his wife has more cajones for sure.

Here's another one for you, Rick.

Two of the members of the panel that recommended less testing are on the board of health care companies. George J. Isham, M.D. is Medical Director and Chief Health Officer for HealthPartners, a large health care organization in Minnesota

Dr. Schwartz is a member of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Medical Care Advisory Committee and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Associations Medical Advisory Panel.

And Dr. Grossman just stated on CNN that the board is completely independent and does not have any connection to the health care industry.

Having three daughters, cancer testing is always a topic of concern.
Putting today's recommendations aside for a moment, there are other things we should maybe be asking.

Why isn't there more publicity about the dangers of the cancer biopsy procedure? Biopsy triggers metastasis and the public is demanding more biopsy?
We shouldn't be flippantly put off by the cancer spokesmen on that one. We need to demand the truth. They always dazzle us with meaningless percentages.

Next question should be about how much of the many billions of dollars the researchers pull in from the public, with Obama promising another billion, actually goes towards meaningful cancer research?
How much is spent on building a real estate empire of pharmaceutical companies that do other research with the cancer research funds they get. Oh, cancer is genetic. Yeah, right. So is the common cold.

Why is the research so much more advanced in Europe and treatments more effective, where Big Pharma has less of a stranglehold on what is considered proper research or treatment?

I am not suggesting that big Pharma isn't sincere. Sometimes there is a stubbornness that comes from forgetting what your mission is, and in this case, it isn't to create drugs, but to treat cancer the best way possible, even if it means threatening to shut down an industry that has lost its way.

Cancer is being cured elsewhere and we've been brainwashed into believing that we need the toxins and surgery that are being offered in North America.

I would not be alive today had I waited till I was fifty for my mammogram. I was 43 when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Within a week , surgery was performed and I'm proud to say that I am a survivor of 15 years. This was a very scary time for me and my family. Nobody knows until they've been through it. Thank you Sanjay.

Rick
My husband is 74 year old and is still working to keep medical insurance on me becauce of my health . if he quits you know they will use the pre exsisting condition on me becauce of my heart ,lung and of my breast. and know they are wanting to cut back on mamos for women in there 40's thats when mine started

With all my heart and soul I hope the public option DOES put all of these companies out of business. What a great day for America! After that we should work on doing the same with Big Pharma. I wish ethical people like Bill Gates would open a health insurance company...Imagine ethics in healthcare.

Again, there is no such thing as free health care. Also you have been totally snowed about how well health care works in Britian, Australia, and Canada. If you look at honest information about these systems they don't seem like such a good idea. Some people out there will believe anything our government says. It's not about democrat or republican it's about how can we do something sensible that helps and takes care of people with out our politicians taking us to the cleaners.

The Insurance companies have spent nearly 600 million dollars to defeat the Health Bill. Why isn't the American public outraged by this? Do you really think that those govt. leaders opposed to the health reform bill really have our best interest in mind? Better yet, what ever happened to the separation of Church and State? Why is the United States government even entertaining any conversation with the Catholic Church regarding what should or shouldn't be in the Health Care Reform Bill? Aren't they the ones that protect child molesting priests by moving them to other areas? Hmm... What group will be next to chime in as to what they feel should be included or excluded from the bill? We didn't elect our nation's leaders because of their religious beliefs. We elected them to do a job and if they need to bow down to religious groups to make a decision for them, maybe it's time to get new leaders that can think for themselves.

Let's just call it what it is, receiving lobbyist money for their votes is nothing more than legal bribery of a government official.....and we accept it. Throw them all out!

People talk about corruption in other countries. there is more corruption in America than in most other countries. Health Reform is a good example. Health insurance Componaies are lining up the pockets of those respoonsible for either passing or not passing the Reform Bill. Only thing the companies care about is money, not the peoples' health, They coulkdn't care less. Talking about Republicans, they are right there alon with the AHIP. That's why they will oppose anything the Democars bring vor a vote. They don't want the Democrats take credit for Health Care Reform Bill. Under Reagan, the Bushes, they didn't do a thing. Now that Obama is showing some guts to get the reform bill passed, they are hop;ping mad.

Rick,
You have stirred up subsantial interest in the "Follow the Money/Lawmakers" piece. Lots of good points in all the BLOGs.
Something may come out of congress if we keep the pressure on the pols.

Has anyone heard of H.R. 3930?

If your unemployed due to no fault of your own and paying "COBRA" Please know your extension ends REAL SOON! There are too many Americans out here holding on tight to what healthcare we have! Congressman Sestak has" Introduced Legilation to Extend Emergency Healthcare Coverage" and time is running out quickly.

I wonder how many people will have to choose to:

1) To pay in excess of $1200.00 a month to cover their family.

OR

2) Due to UNEMPLOYMENT rate, will have to drop all insurance coverage in order to feed or shelter your family and pray no one gets sick as of 12/1/2009!!

I'm sick of hearing all these polls that claim to show what Americans are thinking and how they feel. I hear everyday that people want health care reform which somehow translates by the media into a want for a public option.. People obviously want better healthcare. Duh, who doesn't? People obviously don't want the insurance companies charging ridiculous amounts of money for it too BUT, this does not mean the people want the government taking over.. This is the biggest problem with healthcare reform that i see. It's not that people don't want it, it just we don't want the government running it. Why is this so hard to understand. Americans don't trust our government and for good reason. Why should we? Our government has a long history of distorting the truth or just straight up lieing to us..So, when people say they don't want a public option, their not saying they don't want more options, they are saying WE DON"T TRUST OUR GOVERNMENT to do it.. If we need more options than just get rid of the monopolies insurance companies have in our states. Problem solved.. Oh yeah, how about tort reform too.. Easy solutions..why is this so hard.. Why don't we get to the source of the problem...corruption and greed running rampant in our government

Previous recommendations by these national board regarding preventative health care does effect all of us. Now they are setting the stage so insurance companies can deny coverage of these tests because of their recommendations. My daughter-in-law lost her mother to breast cancer at age 31. With the previous recommendations, her insurance carrier would not cover mammograms for her as a high risk patient. A first degree relative died at age 31 but they denied coverage anyway.
These new recommendations will include more women in this denial because it was recommended. This is another step to ration care!! Anyone who thinks the insurance companies don't ration care today is very much mistaken. They ration care every time they refuse to pay for a procedure, a medication, or anything else. I am becoming more worried that the powerful insurance companies have indeed bought off "our" representatives in congress.

Regarding the Salahis,
their outrageous act of attending the White House event uninvited is providing exactly what they wanted, publicity. They are making a mockery of the highest office of the U.S. Just as some security staff may lose their jobs behind this, these people should certainly be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. A slap on the wrist is Not ENOUGH, because they'll just do it again. Such selfish conduct should be considered a terrorist act putting the Obamas & distinguished guest at risk (in their home)!

Rick,
I think you are wrong to say this is Obama's war. He never wanted the US to go to war. He is our president and now he has to end what another administration started. Stop trying to tie Obama into a nasty war that he is just trying to get us out of. If he could do it we would be out of Afganistan now.

Love your show. You must tell the public more about these political connections of India, Afghanistan and Pakistan, It is very eye opening to understand tip toe situation that Obama must dance around.

Rick
what is going to hapen to the 7 million people who loss their job and the subsidy for COBRA raising the cost by 65% As of dec 1?