Single Payer: Fight Fake Health Care Reform

While public policy should not be made on the basis of polls, polling can help elected officials to get a sense of what voters want overall. In a democracy, policy makers are expected to do their utmost to reflect the will of the people, collectively arriving at the greatest good for the greatest number. And understanding the public's wants and needs makes it easier to explain in terms that people can understand why one solution to a problem may be preferable to another.

As rough as sledding in Congress is for universal health care, in poll after poll Americans overwhelmingly support the creation of a health care option that is publicly funded. What's more, despite the endless drumbeat against single-payer (Canadian-style) health care insurance, citizens are ready in large numbers to scrap the private insurance industry altogether. This is why insurance industry lapdogs like Joe Lieberman, Susan Collins, Ben Nelson and Max Baucus are so busy trying to come up with alternatives that will appear to provide universal health care without really challenging the current system.

With single-payer being kept "off-the-table" by the Obama administration and the Democratic legislative leadership, supporters of universal health care are reduced to fighting off frauds, such as the health care "cooperatives" advanced by insurance industry apologist North Dakota Democrat Kent Conrad. For example, the political action group MoveOn.Org will send a fax to senators in your name demanding that a "strong public health insurance option must be part of health care reform this year." The fax argues that any plan that is adopted has to be:
Available to all of us: A strong public health insurance option should be available to anyone who chooses to participate. If you like your current plan, you can keep it; if you want to participate in the public health insurance plan, you can choose that.

A national plan with real bargaining clout: In order to truly control costs and compete with private health insurance plans, a strong public health insurance option must be available nationwide.

Ready on day one: Every day we wait on real reform, health care costs continue to rise. A strong public health insurance option with a broad network of providers right out of the gate is key to building a competitive program that will help control costs.

A truly public plan: To ensure it's held to the highest standards of accountability, a public health insurance option must be truly publicly run—accountable and transparent to Congress and to voters.
Don't give up the fight for single-payer, but in the meantime access MoveOn's petition here to express your feelings about the alternatives.

Go. Read. New Poll Shows Tremendous Support for Public Health Care Option.

Update: The Sickening Addiction That May Kill Reform by Joe Conason (Rasmussen Reports):
If Congress fails to enact health care reform this year -- or if it enacts a sham reform designed to bail out corporate medicine while excluding the "public option" -- then the public will rightly blame Democrats, who have no excuse for failure except their own cowardice and corruption. The punishment inflicted by angry voters is likely to be reduced majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives -- or even the restoration of Republican rule on Capitol Hill.

3 comments:

jacksmith said...

AMERICA’S NATIONAL HEALTHCARE EMERGENCY!

It’s official. America and the World are now in a GLOBAL PANDEMIC. A World EPIDEMIC with potential catastrophic consequences for ALL of the American people. The first PANDEMIC in 41 years. And WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES will have to face this PANDEMIC with the 37th worst quality of healthcare in the developed World.

STAND READY AMERICA TO SEIZE CONTROL OF YOUR NATIONAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM.

We spend over twice as much of our GDP on healthcare as any other country in the World. And Individual American spend about ten times as much out of pocket on healthcare as any other people in the World. All because of GREED! And the PRIVATE FOR PROFIT healthcare system in America.

And while all this is going on, some members of congress seem mostly concern about how to protect the corporate PROFITS! of our GREED DRIVEN, PRIVATE FOR PROFIT NATIONAL DISGRACE. A PRIVATE FOR PROFIT DISGRACE that is in fact, totally valueless to the public health. And a detriment to national security, public safety, and the public health.

Progressive democrats and others should stand firm in their demand for a robust public option for all Americans, with all of the minimum requirements progressive democrats demanded. If congress can not pass a robust public option with at least 51 votes and all robust minimum requirements, congress should immediately move to scrap healthcare reform and demand that President Obama declare a state of NATIONAL HEALTHCARE EMERGENCY! Seizing and replacing all PRIVATE FOR PROFIT health insurance plans with the immediate implementation of National Healthcare for all Americans under the provisions of HR676 (A Single-payer National Healthcare Plan For All).

Coverage can begin immediately through our current medicare system. With immediate expansion through recruitment of displaced workers from the canceled private sector insurance industry. Funding can also begin immediately by substitution of payroll deductions for private insurance plans with payroll deductions for the national healthcare plan. This is what the vast majority of the American people want. And this is what all objective experts unanimously agree would be the best, and most cost effective for the American people and our economy.

In Mexico on average people who received medical care for A-H1N1 (Swine Flu) with in 3 days survived. People who did not receive medical care until 7 days or more died. This has been the same results in the US. But 50 million Americans don’t even have any healthcare coverage. And at least 200 million of you with insurance could not get in to see your private insurance plans doctors in 2 or 3 days, even if your life depended on it. WHICH IT DOES!

Contact congress and your representatives NOW! AND SPREAD THE WORD!

God Bless You

Jacksmith – WORKING CLASS

Anonymous said...

What he said.

Unknown said...

Join the fight! Call on everyone you know to participate in "Single-Payer Saturday", July 18. Organize events, demonstrations and marches in your community. Challenge others to do the same. Let's MAKE Congress Act.

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