Customize Your Own Political Video with Olivia Wilde?

Even though most folks intend to vote, lots never get around to it. So share this video with your friends—Olivia’s message will be customized just for them—to remind them exactly what’s at stake. Besides it’s a lot of fun!

Underneath the message is clear….VOTE !!

http://cnnbc.moveon.org/embed.html?bv_id=iZr9BZk6VAVn8jm_INo693YtMTYxMDUx

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Glenn Beck May be Costing Fox Millions in Ads?

Many think that Fox News Glenn Beck is untouchable. However, it looks like advertisers aren’t touching him either. Jim Edwards of  bnet has written an informative piece  on Beck’s loss of Ad revenue over the past year.

How long can you drive a car without gas? Read on….

Glenn Beck has lost half the TV audience for his Fox News Channel show, and 15 of his 27 current ad slots are taken either by house ads for News Corp. (NWS) properties or non-profit concerns. Taken together, it is likely that Fox has taken a huge financial hit from the advertiser boycott of Beck. More than 100 companies have said they will not advertise on Beck’s show after he said President Obama was “a racist,” and late compared the president to a Nazi.

There are two surprising things here: First, corporate America’s commercials have not slowly trickled back to Beck’s show now that the fuss has died down (the scandal broke nearly a year ago). And second, it’s also a testament to how stubborn the News Corp. management culture is: They just don’t give in, even though at this point standing by Beck must have cost them millions of dollars. Clearly, this is important to them.

On MediaMatters’ current ad roster for Beck:

• Beck’s show had 27 ad slots in total.
• Nine were “house” ads for other News properties, and thus did not generate revenue for News.
• Six were ads for non-profit organizations, and were unlikely to have been sold at full price.

One of the remaining 12 fully paid ads was for Nestle (NESN.VX)’s Purina cat food. Nestle has previously said it supports the boycott and that its ads only appeared on Beck by mistake. That suggests Fox won’t get paid for running the spot; or that Nestle has caved; or — and this would be controversial — Fox is deliberately running ads from big corporations by “mistake” to make Beck look safe for other companies to return.

Such appearances are crucial. For some brands, the “environment” is as important as the gross ratings points. And the current ad environment on Beck is populated by C-list brands such as Zoosk.com, Hydroxatone, and Tax Masters.

At one time, the boycott seemed irrelevant because Beck had such a massive audience for his daytime show, 3 million people. Now he has only about 1.4 million, according to Nielsen. So the show’s financial troubles are compounded: In addition to not selling enough full-price inventory to fill out the show, each individual slot is worth less because it delivers fewer ratings points.

Why does News persist? Although Beck still gets nearly triple the viewers of his competitors, it is not likely that Fox is standing behind him for business reasons. It would be much more lucrative for CEO Rupert Murdoch to demand that Beck apologize and move on. Then Nestle et al. could come back and everything would return to normal. Rather, this is as another case in which News is cutting off its nose to spite its face. Murdoch believes Beck is “right,” and he seems to be insisting that he’s not going to let liberal boycotts or his sympathetic clients push him around.

News has a history of this: It engaged in a suicidal civil war over supermarket advertising that cost the company $500 million, and it still hasn’t settled the last of that litigation. The manager responsible for those losses — News America Marketing CEO and New York Post publisher Paul Carlucci — remains in his position as if he’d done nothing wrong.

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Anthem Blue Cross May Raise Rates after Record Profits?

Blue Cross has just announced that it’s immediately raising premiums charged to hundreds of thousands of individual customers by as much as 39%—even though their parent company’s profits soared to a record $4.7 billion last year.2

Even worse, the insurer has so far refused to explain why they’re increasing their rates, and warned that they might do so again this year without warning.

The Obama administration is demanding answers from Anthem Blue Cross, and Congress has opened an investigation.3 But Blue Cross is only going to respond if this story becomes a major public-relations problem for them.

So it’s time to turn up the heat. Let’s join the growing call for an explanation and send a powerful public message that these abuses by Big Insurance are unacceptable.

http://pol.moveon.org/bluecross/?rc=taf_kicker&id=18943-11381997-P6nhw_x&t=3

The petition says: “Anthem Blue Cross must provide a detailed explanation for their exorbitant rate increases, or else roll them back immediately.”

These latest rate increases in California—reportedly the largest ever by Blue Cross for individual policyholders in the state—are yet another powerful example of how badly broken our health care system is and how desperately we need to hold Big Insurance accountable for exploiting their customers.

Anthem Blue Cross’s parent company made record profits last year despite losing 1.4 million customers—increasing their profit margins by cherrypicking the healthiest people to insure.4

Then they can turn around and dramatically increase the rates they charge to the customers they’ve kept, because there are almost no rules governing rate increases. In fact, the company doesn’t even have to publicly reveal how many customers’ rates they’ve increased, or by how much.

The good news is that Kathleen Sebelius, President Obama’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, is already publicly demanding answers from the company. And the House Energy and Commerce Committee has announced plans to hold hearings to investigate.

But to get Anthem to clean up their act—and show politicians and the media that we can’t afford any more abuses by Big Insurance—we all need to lend our voices. Will you sign the petition?

http://pol.moveon.org/bluecross/?rc=taf_kicker&id=18943-11381997-P6nhw_x&t=4

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The Devil in the Details – Heath Care Reform Bill.

Hi little girl, it’s me – don’t you know who I am?
I met you last summer when I came up to stay with my Gram
I’m the guy-uy-uy who left you with tears in his eyes
You didn’t answer my letters, so I figured it was just a li-i-i-i-ie

“Girl Don’t Tell Me” – The Beach Boys

The health care debate has so many moving parts that it’s hard for anybody to keep them straight. So we decided to put together an overview of where we’re at—both good and bad—and what we’re all going to need to keep fighting for.

Neither of these bills is close to perfect. But we’re entering the home stretch where we risk losing a lot of what’s good in these bills and where we have a huge opportunity to strengthen the parts that need work.

Here’s where we are:

The House of Representatives passed their bill last month. The Senate is aiming to pass its version before Christmas.

Overall, both pieces of legislation would do four major things:

* Create a “Health Insurance Exchange.” The bills create a one-stop marketplace where people can choose from various insurance plans, including the public option. The details aren’t set yet, but initially the Exchange would likely be open to the self-employed, people without insurance at work, and small businesses.1 The key with the Exchange is that it brings “the bargaining power and scale that’s generally accessible only to large employers” to individuals—and with that, lower costs and better options.2

* Provide insurance to over 30 million more people. The House bill would expand coverage to 36 million people by 2019. The Senate bill extends coverage to 31 million.3

* Outlaw discrimination based on pre-existing conditions and gender. Insurance companies will have to stop denying coverage to people with “pre-existing conditions.” And they won’t be allowed to charge women more than men for the same coverage.4

* Eliminate coverage limits and price-gouging. The bills differ on some details, but in general would place limits on how much people have to pay for health care beyond their premiums. They both cap out-of-pocket costs and ban insurance companies from setting limits on how much health care they’ll cover for a person each year.5

Of course, the devil is in the details, and much in these bills still needs work.

Here’s what still needs to be fixed:

* Both bills leave millions uninsured. The House bill leaves 18 million without insurance in 2019; the Senate bill, 24 million. Neither comes close to the vision for universal coverage so many of us fought for for years. We’ll all need to fight to continue to expand coverage in the bills this year, and in the years to come.6

* The Senate public option is weak, and conservatives are pushing to make it weaker. The public option is a core piece of reform that will create real accountability and competition for private insurance—and that’s why it’s at the center of such a huge fight. While the House bill creates a national public option, the Senate lets states opt out, denying their residents access to it. Plus, conservatives are working to weaken it even more. We’re all going to have to fight hard for the strongest version possible.7

* Many reforms don’t start quickly enough. While some pieces of reform go into effect right away, the larger structural changes are not scheduled to go into effect until 2013 (House bill) or 2014 (Senate bill). This includes the Exchange, the public option, and subsidies—the major ways coverage will be expanded.8

* Required insurance could still be too expensive for many. Both bills require virtually all Americans to have insurance. But the caps on how much we’re expected to pay are way too high, and the subsidies are way too low. Many progressives are working to fix this, but it’s going to be a significant fight.9

* Reproductive rights are severely restricted in the House bill. An egregious anti-choice amendment in the bill virtually prohibits anyone purchasing insurance in the Exchange from buying a plan that covers abortion—even if paid for with their own money. We need to make sure the final bill doesn’t include this rollback of reproductive rights.10

* The Senate bill could discriminate against lower income workers. The current Senate legislation retains a version of what’s called the “free rider” provision, which essentially penalizes employers for hiring lower income workers. This provision needs to be fixed before the bill is finalized.11

There’s a lot going on in these bills, and we’re all going to need to be vigilant to ensure the good pieces end up in the final bill, and the bad ones are fixed. It’s going to be a rocky ride. But if we fight together, we’ll come out stronger in the end.

Sources:

1. “A Health Insurance Exchange: The Fine Print,” The New York Times, August 20, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85241&id=18172-11381997-6Gfo9tx&t=3

“Health Reform at a Glance: The Health Insurance Exchange,” House Committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor, July 14, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85665&id=18172-11381997-6Gfo9tx&t=4

2. “Health Insurance Exchanges: The Most Important, Undernoticed Part of Health Reform,” The Washington Post, June 16, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85664&id=18172-11381997-6Gfo9tx&t=5

3. “H.R. 3962, Affordable Health Care for America Act,” Congressional Budget Office, November 20, 2009

http://cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=10741

“Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” Congressional Budget Office, November 18, 2009

http://cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=10731

4. “Top 10 Ways Health Insurance Reform Works for You,” The Speaker of the House, October 29, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85669&id=18172-11381997-6Gfo9tx&t=6

“How Health Insurance Reform Will Help Your Family,” Senate Democratic Policy Committee

http://dpc.senate.gov/dpcdoc-responsiblereform.cfm

“Meeting Women’s Health Care Needs,” The Speaker of the House

http://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/legislation?id=0327

“Reports on Health Insurance Reform—Women,” Senate Democratic Policy Committee

http://dpc.senate.gov/dpcdoc-responsiblereform.cfm

5. “Top 10 Ways Health Insurance Reform Works for You,” The Speaker of the House, October 29, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85669&id=18172-11381997-6Gfo9tx&t=7

“How Health Insurance Reform Will Help Your Family,” Senate Democratic Policy Committee

http://dpc.senate.gov/dpcdoc-responsiblereform.cfm

6. “H.R. 3962, Affordable Health Care for America Act,” Congressional Budget Office, November 20, 2009

http://cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=10741

“Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” Congressional Budget Office, November 18, 2009

http://cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=10731

“REPORT: How the Senate Bill Compares to Other Reform Legislation,” Think Progress, November 19, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85670&id=18172-11381997-6Gfo9tx&t=8

7. “Sen. Reid Announces ‘Opt Out’ Public Plan,” The New York Times, October 26, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85673&id=18172-11381997-6Gfo9tx&t=9

“Carper: Conservative Democrats Not Likely To Support Senate Public Option,” Talking Points Memo, November 17, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85675&id=18172-11381997-6Gfo9tx&t=10

8. “Top 14 Provisions That Take Effect Immediately,” The Speaker of the House

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85676&id=18172-11381997-6Gfo9tx&t=11

“What happens before 2014?” The Washington Post, November 19, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85677&id=18172-11381997-6Gfo9tx&t=12

“Senate, House Democratic health bills compared,” The Associated Press, November 18, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85667&id=18172-11381997-6Gfo9tx&t=13

9. “The Details of The New Merged Senate Bill,” Think Progress, November 18, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85668&id=18172-11381997-6Gfo9tx&t=14

“REPORT: How the Senate Bill Compares to Other Reform Legislation,” Think Progress, November 19, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85670&id=18172-11381997-6Gfo9tx&t=15

“Analysis: How the Senate health care bill stacks up with the House health care bill,” Think Progress, November 19, 2009

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/19/senate-house-comparison/

10. “The Ban on Abortion Coverage,” The New York Times, November 9, 2009

11. “The noxious ‘free rider’ provision,” The Washington Post, November 25, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85671&id=18172-11381997-6Gfo9tx&t=16

“Senate Health Bill Improves Employer Responsibility Provision,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, November 19, 2009

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3003

“The Baucus Bill: The Worst Policy in the Bill, and Possibly in the World,” The Washington Post, September 16, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85672&id=18172-11381997-6Gfo9tx&t=17

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Will the Senate consider a Public Health Option?

This is where the rubber meets the road. After months of delay, the full Senate is about to debate and vote on landmark health care legislation. But first, Senator Harry Reid and Democratic leaders have a big decision to make:

Will the Senate consider real health care reform with a public health insurance option, or a watered-down compromise full of giveaways to Big Insurance?

This is a hugely important decision. Progressive champions in Congress are standing strong for the public option and Sen. Reid himself has expressed support—but he’s under immense pressure from a few conservative obstructionists who oppose it.

We need to send a loud signal: If Sen. Reid leads on the public option, we’ll be there to get his back. Can you sign our petition asking him to include a strong public health insurance option in the Senate’s bill?

Clicking here will add your name:

http://pol.moveon.org/harryreid/o.pl?id=17554-11381997-ilUAiGx&t=3

The petition reads: “Senator Reid, real health care reform must include a strong public health insurance option. Please include the public option in the bill you bring to the Senate floor.”

The headlines today are about a flawed bill without a public option that a few conservative Democrats managed to push through the Senate Finance Committee.

But the overwhelming majority of Democrats in Congress continue to support the public option—as does President Obama, and two-thirds of the American public.1 And just last week 30 Democratic senators wrote to Sen. Reid urging him to include the public option.2

Reid has been supportive: earlier this month, he said “I believe the public option is so vitally important to create a level playing field and prevent the insurance companies from taking advantage of us.”3

In other words, we’re closer than ever to winning real health care reform. But we’ve got to raise our voices now to make sure the public option gets through the Senate.

Click here to add your name to the petition:

http://pol.moveon.org/harryreid/o.pl?id=17554-11381997-ilUAiGx&t=4

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The Obama Plan in 4 Minutes…

More Security and Stability

If You Have Health Insurance, the Obama Plan:

* Ends discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions.

* Limits premium discrimination based on gender and age.

* Prevents insurance companies from dropping coverage when people are sick and need it most.

* Caps out-of-pocket expenses so people don’t go broke when they get sick.

* Eliminates extra charges for preventive care like mammograms, flu shots and diabetes tests to improve health and save money.

* Protects Medicare for seniors.

* Eliminates the “donut-hole” gap in coverage for prescription drugs.

Quality, Affordable Choices

If You Don’t Have Insurance, the Obama Plan:

* Creates a new insurance marketplace — the Exchange — that allows people without insurance and small businesses to compare plans and buy insurance at competitive prices.

* Provides new tax credits to help people buy insurance.

* Provides small businesses tax credits and affordable options for covering employees.

* Offers a public health insurance option to provide the uninsured and those who can’t find affordable coverage with a real choice.

* Immediately offers new, low-cost coverage through a national “high risk” pool to protect people with preexisting conditions from financial ruin until the new Exchange is created.

Reins in the Cost of Health Care

For All Americans, the Obama Plan:

* Won’t add a dime to the deficit and is paid for upfront.

* Requires additional cuts if savings are not realized.

* Implements a number of delivery system reforms that begin to rein in health care costs and align incentives for hospitals, physicians, and others to improve quality.

* Creates an independent commission of doctors and medical experts to identify waste, fraud and abuse in the health care system.

* Orders immediate medical malpractice reform projects that could help doctors focus on putting their patients first, not on practicing defensive medicine.

* Requires large employers to cover their employees and individuals who can afford it to buy insurance so everyone shares in the responsibility of reform.

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Does your small business provide health insurance for you or your employees?

Many small businesses are suffering at the hands of big insurance companies who charge sky-high premiums but often deny care when it’s needed the most.

As part of our campaign to win real health care reform, we’re taking on big insurance companies—and we want to highlight the voices of small-business leaders like you.

You can help out by taking a short survey.

To get started, click to let us know: Does your small business provide health insurance for you or your employees?

click on the answers below.

 

 

 

 

Yes, my business pays some or all employee health insurance costs.

No, I can’t afford to provide health insurance.

Health care is something that has been postponed for decades.

We can’t afford to wait.

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R.E.M. tells us "We Can't Afford to Wait" on Health Care!

Last week Move.On asked members to share photos showing how they and their loved ones are suffering under our broken health care system.

The responses simply blew them away. They showed the photos to recording artists R.E.M., and together they produced this incredibly powerful video.

Watch the video and share it with your friends today.

With the news that some in the White House are considering a “trigger”1—a delay tactic designed to kill the public option—it’s more important than ever to get the word out that we simply can’t afford to wait for real reform.

Click here to watch the video and send it to your friends today: http://pol.moveon.org/healthcare_cantwait/?id=17196-11381997-5xE1rKx&t=3

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Online Health Care Vigil Tonight!!

The health care debate is the biggest political story of the year.

But what the media and Congress seem to forget is that it’s not just about politics or policy minutiae. It’s about real people who are really suffering under our broken health care system—and can’t afford to wait any longer for real reform.

That’s why, today, MoveOn members are holding health care vigils across the country—including a virtual vigil online for those who can’t make it to an event. These are shaping up to be our biggest and most powerful events of the year.

Click here to look for a vigil near you tonight:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51821&id=17115-11381997-bXYhErx&t=5

And all day today, we’re holding an online virtual vigil where you can read about other MoveOn members who can’t afford to wait, see their faces, and even hear their stories. Plus, you can add a candle to the online vigil for yourself or someone else you know.

Many of those who need health reform the most can’t make it out of the house to attend vigils in their communities. This virtual vigil is a place for everyone to meet up and share stories about why health care reform is so important.

Check out the virtual vigil by clicking here:

http://pol.moveon.org/vv/?id=17115-11381997-bXYhErx&t=6

Hope you can join us at one or both events, and thanks again for all you do.

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"Setting the Record Straight" on Health Care.

“I had to fix a lot of things this morning
‘Cause they were so scrambled
But now it’s okay
I tell you I’ve got enough to do”

“Busy Doing Nothing” – The Beach Boys”

It feels like a new lie about health insurance reform crops up each day. Government taking over all health care? Not true. Euthanasia for seniors? Couldn’t be more false. Rationing of care? Reform will stop rationing, not increase it.

These lies create fear and anger, and we’re seeing the results around the country. Frightened crowds have flooded town halls, and the office of a Georgia representative was defaced with a swastika.

It’s time to set the record straight — and, more importantly, expose the special interests and partisan attack organizations behind the lies and misinformation.

That’s why we created our new “Setting the Record Straight” site. Check out the site today and then spread the word to your friends.

As the site makes clear, these lies are no accident. They’re part of a deliberate plot by the special interests who profit from the status quo to kill any reform at all. While Americans watch their paychecks dwindle, their coverage disappear, and their businesses struggle, special interests are trying to scare folks into opposing reform.

Our “Setting the Record Straight” site has all the info you need to fight back, as well as easy ways to get involved in the fight for health insurance reform. We’ll be updating it often with new information debunking health care lies, so stop by regularly.

As we learned during the campaign, lies like these can spread like wildfire through viral emails and from friend to friend. The best way to stop them is to arm yourself with the facts — and make sure your friends and family know the truth.

Check out the site, and share it with everyone you know:

http://my.barackobama.com/record

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