Obama extends health care bill to gays

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MJ12

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100416/ap_on_bi_ge/us_obama_hospital_patients

WASHINGTON – In a move hailed as a step toward fairness for same-sex couples, President Barack Obama is ordering that nearly all hospitals allow patients to say who has visitation rights and who can help make medical decisions, including gay and lesbian partners.

The White House on Thursday released a statement by Obama instructing his Health and Human Services secretary to draft rules requiring hospitals that receive Medicare and Medicaid payments to grant all patients the right to designate people who can visit and consult with them at crucial moments.

The designated visitors should have the same rights that immediate family members now enjoy, Obama's instructions said. It said Medicare-Medicaid hospitals, which include most of the nation's facilities, may not deny visitation and consultation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

The move was called a major step toward fairness for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.
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In his statement, Obama said: "Every day, all across America, patients are denied the kindnesses and caring of a loved one at their sides — whether in a sudden medical emergency or a prolonged hospital stay. Often, a widow or widower with no children is denied the support and comfort of a good friend."
He added: "Also uniquely affected are gay and lesbian Americans who are often barred from the bedsides of the partners with whom they may have spent decades of their lives — unable to be there for the person they love, and unable to act as a legal surrogate if their partner is incapacitated."
Without the expanded visitor-designation rights, Obama said, "all too often, people are made to suffer or even to pass away alone, denied the comfort of companionship in their final moments while a loved one is left worrying and pacing down the hall."
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This is a good move. But I'm a bit worried that the president now has authority to order such things. I believe that's a result of the new health care bill. Imagine if Bush was able to make these types of decisions about how hospitals operate. That would have been some scary shit.
 
No Limit said:
This is a good move. But I'm a bit worried that the president now has authority to order such things. I believe that's a result of the new health care bill. Imagine if Bush was able to make these types of decisions about how hospitals operate. That would have been some scary shit.
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lol True indeeeed.
 
I don't know much about politics, but I would assume this wasn't his decision alone? I just figured that it's easier for the media to say "Obama is doing-"

But what do I know.
 
Under the new health care bill the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has a lot of new authority to regulate hospitals. Since the secratary of HHS works for Obama he has pretty much unlimited control over her decisions.

Now what regulations HHS can actually set under the new law I'm not clear on, but looks like at the very least they can tell hospitals who can visit and make decisions for patients. So I'm sure their control isn't minimal.
 
I dont get it

gay people couldnt go to the hospital before?
 
No Limit said:
Under the new health care bill the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has a lot of new authority to regulate hospitals. Since the secratary of HHS works for Obama he has pretty much unlimited control over her decisions.

Now what regulations HHS can actually set under the new law I'm not clear on, but looks like at the very least they can tell hospitals who can visit and make decisions for patients. So I'm sure their control isn't minimal.
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The government has been regulating things for a long time without ****ing things up too much. I mean we have a lot of highways and our planes don't run in to each other. We don't get fed poison food in grocery stores and our medicine generally doesn't kill us. I get my netflix in a day just like they say I will and I went to a public school where I learned how to properly operate a DVD player. Not to mention the massive amount of money they gave and lent to me so I could go to a ridiculously overpriced college. Seems to me they're cool with keeping me alive as long as I'm paying taxes so... I figure they want hospitals to work well too.
 
No Limit said:
This is a good move. But I'm a bit worried that the president now has authority to order such things. I believe that's a result of the new health care bill. Imagine if Bush was able to make these types of decisions about how hospitals operate. That would have been some scary shit.
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Then you could, you know, rebel? Like, just because he's the president doesn't mean he's allowed to **** with people.
 
This is pure socialism.


I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK!
 
>I wonder if this health care bill might have given the President a little too much power?
>Why don't you rebel you ****ing pussy?
 
I've always wondered if the republicans find the democrats as batshit insane as the democrats find the republicans.

They probably do, but it's based off of batshit insane logic.
 
Yeah cuz like it's "we the people" not "him the president" amirite? You're a socialist if you don't rebel against the tyranny of the healthcare bill. Everyone should own a gun, just in case HOMOSEXUALS try to TAKE OVER.
 
Well it makes sense. As far as I can make out if I was hospitalised in a life threatening state in the US my girlfriend, who I've been with for 9 years and will be spending the rest of my (or her) life with, couldn't visit me or make medical decisions for me because we didn't partake in some primitive superstitious ritual. But yeah, I'm sure the homophobes and christian fundies will scream "My tax dollars are going to fag cock enlargements!!!" or some other made up bullshit.
 
Nuada said:
Well it makes sense. As far as I can make out if I was hospitalised in a life threatening state in the US my girlfriend, who I've been with for 9 years and will be spending the rest of my (or her) life with, couldn't visit me or make medical decisions for me because we didn't partake in some primitive superstitious ritual. But yeah, I'm sure the homophobes and christian fundies will scream "My tax dollars are going to fag cock enlargements!!!" or some other made up bullshit.
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You've been here since 2004 and only have 52 posts? wow.
 
TimoJay said:
I've always wondered if the republicans find the democrats as batshit insane as the democrats find the republicans.
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Of course they do. One side always feels the other has the worst intentions. I like to be in the middle of the fight because it allows me to criticize both sides.

Although lately I've been siding with almost all of the Democrat decisions for ****ing obvious reasons.
 
No Limit said:
You've been here since 2004 and only have 52 posts? wow.
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That was me until I started at this job last year and found out working too much is just as bad as working too little. HL2.net fills in the gap.

edit: that's what she said
 
What? You mean in America homosexuals are entitled to medical care?
 
15357 said:
What? You mean in America homosexuals are entitled to medical care?
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yes ..no, umm what? you cant deny medical care based on sexual orientation. if you're asking as to whether gay americans are given free healthcare, no that's not the case. all this bill does is extend visitation rights and the right to decide on behalf of the patient, which was tradionally immediate family only. right wing anti same-sex marriage groups see this as a stepping stone towards allowing same-sex marriage
 
kinda hard to tell with Numbers. he's the posterboy for totalitarianism
 
I've never understood the big deal with don't ask don't tell. Just don't talk about it and it's all good. I assume that there were probably some issues with people saying "hey that dude's gay" and then it starting a whole thing... maybe that's the issue. But I mean, taken as it is it seems like just a basic principle to not openly talk about your sexuality and not have anyone asking about it either.
 
in principle the dont ask dont tell thing is stupid because it's not protecting gays but rather it's protecting homophobes. a non homophobe wouldnt care less what sexuality a person is. the policy should be; "who cares what your sexual orientation is" but because it's the military, the dont ask dont tell policy is the best solution ..for the aforementioned reason
 
StarBob said:
I've never understood the big deal with don't ask don't tell. Just don't talk about it and it's all good. I assume that there were probably some issues with people saying "hey that dude's gay" and then it starting a whole thing... maybe that's the issue. But I mean, taken as it is it seems like just a basic principle to not openly talk about your sexuality and not have anyone asking about it either.
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Well, the thing is, with gays in the military... think about straight relationships for those serving in the military. A guy has a photo of his girlfriend, he's able to receive calls from her, he's able to talk to other guys about sexual escapades openly if others want to and when they return home their loved ones can embrace them in front of other military personnel.

If any of those things happened for a homosexual in the military, they'd risk expulsion. A dishonorable discharge maybe? I don't know exactly.

Either way, it's like Stern said. The law protects homophobes from people who pledged to fight and die for their country.
 
No Limit said:
You've been here since 2004 and only have 52 posts? wow.
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Yeah, I guess you're right. I need to learn when to shut my mouth :)

And about don't ask don't tell, what the **** is the hold up with repealing it? Surely it's only a matter of a few minutes work? Write up a paragraph repealing it on white house stationary, scrawl his initials on it and send it out. I'm not so naive to think a politician would keep all or even most of their campaign promises but with this the only people he'd piss off are the one's who are never going to vote for him anyway and any delay pisses off his supporters.


At least he still talks all nice and eloquent I suppose....
 
Sparta said:
Well, the thing is, with gays in the military... think about straight relationships for those serving in the military. A guy has a photo of his girlfriend, he's able to receive calls from her, he's able to talk to other guys about sexual escapades openly if others want to and when they return home their loved ones can embrace them in front of other military personnel.

If any of those things happened for a homosexual in the military, they'd risk expulsion. A dishonorable discharge maybe? I don't know exactly.

Either way, it's like Stern said. The law protects homophobes from people who pledged to fight and die for their country.
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I suppose that's a good point.

And for Nuada, nothing in the American government is fast. The fastest significant thing that happened was declaring war on Japan and that took hundreds of bombers blowing the shit out of islands and ships...

Though the amount of effort seems insignificant, opponents will drag it out until it's watered down to a cloudy blend of "You can be gay but if you tell someone, you might have to not tell them a second time, but only if it's tuesday or the month of September and within the United States but not within Iraq or Zimbabwe."

I dunno. That's how things work I guess.
 
Yeah, I get that Starbob but surely it's a case of '**** the opponents'? Obama won the presidency and made a big deal out of this during the campaign. Can't he just issue an executive order and have done with it? Bush got to blow the shit out of pretty much wherever he wanted with no trouble and a lot of whinging from congress and Obama can't get rid of an out-dated and unconstitutional policy?
 
As much as I'd like to be rid of 'don't ask don't tell' that's not how things are supposed to work, and I'd be horrified if it was.
 
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