John Conyers, Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act - has 117 sponsors - No need for Sanders plan

EC. 101. ELIGIBILITY AND REGISTRATION.
(a) In General.—All individuals residing in the United States (including any territory of the United States) are covered under the Medicare For All Program entitling them to a universal, best quality standard of care. Each such individual shall receive a card with a unique number in the mail. An individual’s Social Security number shall not be used for purposes of registration under this section.

(b) Registration.—Individuals and families shall receive a Medicare For All Program Card in the mail, after filling out a Medicare For All Program application form at a health care provider. Such application form shall be no more than 2 pages long.

(c) Presumption.—Individuals who present themselves for covered services from a participating provider shall be presumed to be eligible for benefits under this Act, but shall complete an application for benefits in order to receive a Medicare For All Program Card and have payment made for such benefits.

(d) Residency Criteria.—The Secretary shall promulgate a rule that provides criteria for determining residency for eligibility purposes under the Medicare For All Program.

(e) Coverage For Visitors.—The Secretary shall promulgate a rule regarding visitors from other countries who seek premeditated non-emergency surgical procedures. Such a rule should facilitate the establishment of country-to-country reimbursement arrangements or self pay arrangements between the visitor and the provider of care.


SEC. 102. BENEFITS AND PORTABILITY.
(a) In General.—The health care benefits under this Act cover all medically necessary services, including at least the following:

(1) Primary care and prevention.

(2) Approved dietary and nutritional therapies.

(3) Inpatient care.

(4) Outpatient care.

(5) Emergency care.

(6) Prescription drugs.

(7) Durable medical equipment.

(8) Long-term care.

(9) Palliative care.

(10) Mental health services.

(11) The full scope of dental services, services, including periodontics, oral surgery, and endodontics, but not including cosmetic dentistry.

(12) Substance abuse treatment services.

(13) Chiropractic services, not including electrical stimulation.

(14) Basic vision care and vision correction (other than laser vision correction for cosmetic purposes).

(15) Hearing services, including coverage of hearing aids.

(16) Podiatric care.

(b) Portability.—Such benefits are available through any licensed health care clinician anywhere in the United States that is legally qualified to provide the benefits.

(c) No Cost-Sharing.—No deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, or other cost-sharing shall be imposed with respect to covered benefits.


SEC. 103. QUALIFICATION OF PARTICIPATING PROVIDERS.
(a) Requirement To Be Public Or Non-Profit.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—No institution may be a participating provider unless it is a public or not-for-profit institution. Private physicians, private clinics, and private health care providers shall continue to operate as private entities, but are prohibited from being investor owned.

(2) CONVERSION OF INVESTOR-OWNED PROVIDERS.—For-profit providers of care opting to participate shall be required to convert to not-for-profit status.

(3) PRIVATE DELIVERY OF CARE REQUIREMENT.—For-profit providers of care that convert to non-profit status shall remain privately owned and operated entities.

(4) COMPENSATION FOR CONVERSION.—The owners of such for-profit providers shall be compensated for reasonable financial losses incurred as a result of the conversion from for-profit to non-profit status.

(5) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appropriated from the Treasury such sums as are necessary to compensate investor-owned providers as provided for under paragraph (3).

(6) REQUIREMENTS.—The payments to owners of converting for-profit providers shall occur during a 15-year period, through the sale of U.S. Treasury Bonds. Payment for conversions under paragraph (3) shall not be made for loss of business profits.

(7) MECHANISM FOR CONVERSION PROCESS.—The Secretary shall promulgate a rule to provide a mechanism to further the timely, efficient, and feasible conversion of for-profit providers of care.

(b) Quality Standards.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Health care delivery facilities must meet State quality and licensing guidelines as a condition of participation under such program, including guidelines regarding safe staffing and quality of care.

(2) LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS.—Participating clinicians must be licensed in their State of practice and meet the quality standards for their area of care. No clinician whose license is under suspension or who is under disciplinary action in any State may be a participating provider.

(c) Participation Of Health Maintenance Organizations.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Non-profit health maintenance organizations that deliver care in their own facilities and employ clinicians on a salaried basis may participate in the program and receive global budgets or capitation payments as specified in section 202.

(2) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS.—Other health maintenance organizations which principally contract to pay for services delivered by non-employees shall be classified as insurance plans. Such organizations shall not be participating providers, and are subject to the regulations promulgated by reason of section 104(a) (relating to prohibition against duplicating coverage).

(d) Freedom Of Choice.—Patients shall have free choice of participating physicians and other clinicians, hospitals, and inpatient care facilities.


SEC. 104. PROHIBITION AGAINST DUPLICATING COVERAGE.
(a) In General.—It is unlawful for a private health insurer to sell health insurance coverage that duplicates the benefits provided under this Act.

(b) Construction.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed as prohibiting the sale of health insurance coverage for any additional benefits not covered by this Act, such as for cosmetic surgery or other services and items that are not medically necessary.

Trump doubles down on 'fire and fury' warning to North Korea: 'Maybe it wasn't tough enough'

Source: Foxnews

President Trump on Thursday doubled down on his “fire and fury” warning to North Korea, suggesting any attack on Guam -- as threatened by Pyongyang -- would result in an unprecedented response from the U.S.

"Let’s see what [Kim Jong Un] does with Guam. He does something in Guam, it will be an event the likes of which nobody has seen before – what will happen in North Korea," Trump said.

At a separate appearance, Trump also pushed back against critics who suggested his comments earlier in the week were too forceful. Trump told reporters: “Maybe it wasn’t tough enough."

“They’ve been doing this to our country for a long time, for many years,” the president said of North Korea. “It’s about time that somebody stuck up for the people of this country and for the people of other countries. So if anything, that statement wasn’t tough enough.”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/08/10/trump-doubles-down-on-fire-and-fury-warning-to-north-korea-maybe-it-wasnt-tough-enough.html

Gorka backpedals on Tillerson remarks, blames 'fake news industrial complex

White House Deputy Assistant to the President Sebastian Gorka retreated Thursday from remarks implying it was "nonsensical" for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to discuss the likelihood of military action against North Korea.

In an interview with BBC radio, Gorka reacted to a statement by Tillerson that a conflict with the isolated communist state was not imminent and that "Americans should sleep well at night."

The idea that Secretary Tillerson is going to discuss military matters is simply nonsensical," Gorka said at the time. "It is the job of [Defense] Secretary [Jim] Mattis, the secretary of defense, to talk about the military options, and he has done so unequivocally ... That is his mandate."

Gorka sought to clarify his remarks Thursday afternoon in an interview on Fox News' "Your World with Neil Cavuto."

"I was admonishing the journalists of the fake news industrial complex who are forcing our chief diplomat into a position where they are demanding he makes the military case for action when that is not the mandate of the secretary of state," Gorka told host Liz Claman. "That’s why we have a department of defense. If a journalist doesn’t know the difference between the secretary of state and the department of defense, they should hand in their credentials. It’s just absurd lack of understanding."

Gorka said that Tillerson had "done an amazing job" to help guide new sanctions against North Korea through the United Nations Security Council, but "when reporters try to force him to make statements regarding military options, they have no idea what they’re talking about, and if they think that’s a story, they’re not journalists."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/08/10/gorka-backpedals-on-tillerson-remarks-blames-fake-news-industrial-complex.html

Trump's "dangerously low" support among his base

Source: axios

"Our data shows Trump losing support inside the Republican Party and a noticeable drop in his perceived honesty."
"Just 6 months in office, Trump is getting into dangerously low territory in key swing states. Trump's base of support has shrunk from 35.3% of voters who have a 'strongly favorable' view of him in April to only 28.6%."
"Notably, much of that erosion is among Republicans: Strongly favorable views among GOP voters dropped from 54.1% to 44.9%, while unfavorable views increased from 20.5% to 27.9%."
Why it matters: "Trump cannot take continued GOP support for granted in swing states."

Read more: https://www.axios.com/trumps-dangerously-low-support-among-his-base-2469593736.html

Sanders singel payer cost: 1,38 trillion or 2,4 trillion or 2,5 trillion or 2,8 trillion A YEAR

Sanders pegs the price tag for his plan at $1.38 trillion per year during the first 10 years. This is based on an analysis by Gerald Friedman, an economist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

However, "there is a great deal of disagreement and controversy" about this number, said Jonathan Oberlander, a health policy and management professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Kenneth Thorpe, a professor of health policy and management at Emory University, put the cost at $2.4 trillion a year. A team from the Urban Institute put the number at $2.5 trillion a year. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget projected $2.8 trillion a year.

Why the differences in cost?

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2017/jul/21/how-expensive-would-single-payer-system-be/

Investigators want phone records on Trump Jr.-Russia meeting

Source: CBSNEWS

Congressional investigators are interested in obtaining phone records pertaining to Donald Trump Jr.'s June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer, CBS News has confirmed.

CBS News' Jeff Pegues reports that a congressional source says there is "high interest" in obtaining cell phone records and phone records in general around the meeting, which Trump Jr. had agreed to because he had been led to believe that the lawyer had damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

And there is also interest in the email accounts of all of those involved in the meeting. In addition to Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort also attended the gathering. A congressional source says "we want all relevant documents" connected to the people in the meeting. Investigators would want to know all that was discussed between the parties, before, during and after the meeting.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/investigators-want-phone-records-from-trump-tower-russia-meeting/

Pennsylvania town evacuated after train carrying hazardous materials derails

Source: cbsnews

All residents of a small Pennsylvania town were evacuated hours after a freight train carrying hazardous materials partly derailed, setting some cars ablaze. Officials tell CBS Pittsburgh that at least 32 cars on a CSX freight train derailed early Wednesday morning in Hyndman, Pennsylvania, about 100 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. CBS affiliate WTAJ-TV reports one of the cars crashed into a home, starting a fire in the garage. Federal investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board arrived on the scene late Wednesday afternoon but can't assess the situation because train cars are still burning. Officials say the safest thing to do is just to let the cars burn themselves out. There's no estimate on how long that will take. There are two other cars in danger of catching fire.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hyndman-freight-train-carrying-hazardous-materials-derails/

A DASHBOARD TRACKING RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA ON TWITTER

The Hamilton 68 dashboard, launching today as part of the Alliance for Securing Democracy, provides a near real-time look at Russian propaganda and disinformation efforts online. The top of the page shows tweets from official Russian propaganda outlets in English, and a short post discussing the themes of the day. This is Russia’s overt messaging

GOP's "Investigate Hillary Again" bill came from /r/The_Donald

Source: Wired

Thursday night, three Twitter users discovered that a staffer for one of the resolution’s sponsors attempted to crowdsource a number of the resolution's salient points from r/The_Donald, a subreddit notorious for playing host to unfounded conspiracy theories and anti-Islam tendencies. In other words, not a conventional source of legislative inspiration.

"If the purpose of oversight investigations is to get to the truth," one longtime legislative staffer explained, "then using baseless conspiracies as your starting point is completely counterproductive to a direct investigation."

Read more: https://www.wired.com/story/republican-staffer-the-donald-resolution/

FOX: note a crime to put out a misleading statement - but advisers "worried"