onlineuniversalwork

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Now here we are playing the fool’s game. Many of the same 59 + % who support single payer have retreated to quibbling over which horribly-flawed “public option” would be best! What a target! Let’s shoot for the best of lousy!

There needs to be a new question. It should be asked of Congress. And we must demand answers.

The question: “A large majority of the people want single payer. Why are you refusing to represent them? Why, in a nation with a [supposedly] representative form of democracy, has Congress elected to rule rather than represent?”

That needs to become a key question.

* Associated Press – Yahoo 65%
Los Angeles Times – 53%
CBS News Poll – 55%
CNN Poll – 64%
National Small Business Association – 60%
New York Times Poll – 64%
Recent New York Times / CBS News Poll:

The Question. “Should the government in Washington provide national
Health insurance, or is this something that should be left only to private
enterprise?”

Poll results:
32% Private enterprise
59% Government
9% Don’t know

Case closed! Demand representation!

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The Democrats were the target of my piece, as they have shown no interest in a single-payer system. Regarding Canada, England, etc …

I don’t doubt you name some anecdotal stories about people who had bad experience with their systems. But there is quantifiable data on on a range of issues: expenses, life expectancy, percentage of uninsured, wait times, infant mortality rates, and most notably, support for the system, etc ..

And those countries fare better than we do, despite the fact that we the riches nation.

People in the countries you names are much more satisfied with their systems than those in the US, who, in fact, hate their system more than any other developed nations.

I can understand not trusting the govt, but why put so much faith in private insurers — who in fact deny treatment all the time to sick people, leading to death, all the time?

I don’t love Uncle Sam — but do you want CIGNA making those decisions, knowing that when they deny care they increase personal profit?

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New study shows SINGLE-PAYER WOULD BE MAJOR STIMULUS FOR THE US ECONOMY:

** 2.6 Million New Jobs,
** $317 Billion in Business Revenue,
** $100 Billion in Wages, and
** $44 Billion New Tax Revenues

Here’s the study: http://www.calnurses.org/research/pdfs/ihsp_sp_economic_study_2009.pdf

How to pay for single payer reform: HR676 – public financing and private delivery: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxi7DnCH3zk

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thanks again for your critique of my piece. I commented and addressed many of your points, with citations and so forth, but for whatever reason, lenght perhaps, I don’t know, it has not showed up.

Please consider clicking here — http://michaelcorcoran.blogspot.com/2009/07/lefts-public-option-problem.html .

This is my response to you (look at update following piece). Hopefully, in time, the response will show up at Blast. Feel free to respond! I enjoy the dialogue, which is healthy as the nation has a major debate on the issue.

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I lived for nearly 20 years under the British National Health Service. I knew that there were many reforms that could have improved this wonderful system, so I would have answered as did 80% of my fellow NHS patients. But never, not even under waterboarding would I ever preferred a U.S. style system. The British NHS is hands down superior to what we have here at home (and the British system is not even ranked as the best of the single payer systems).

So I will say that single payer is the only financing system that makes sense. Been there, done that and it was great! We should do it here.

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I have not read all of the details of the House bill, but it is better than it could have been, based on my recent statements.

There are still some problems: One the Senate is likely to nueter it. The HELP Committee just rejected a very moderate provision sponsored by Sen.Sanders, that would allow some pilot programs for states, and generally speaking the Senate is more status quo than the House (which, has 90- co-sponsers of HR 676 – the best piece of legislation in either body.

Still, it does include a problematic mandate — a gift to private insureres who see 46 million uninsured as potential customers who will now have to pay for overpriced HMO’s. Further, it looks like employers, not individuals, can choose to buy into public option; so it does not give the average American a chance to choose the public option.

All that said, I do hope some kind of public option passes – at a minimum. I do not, however, think progressives should assume the public option will solve the crisis. Most people will remain on thier employer-based HMO’s even is somethign reselbming the House bill assess (again, the Senate will likely do some damage to it). Which leaves the problem of underinsurance. Even those with insruance often end up in bankruptcy due to limits to coverage, high-co pays, rejections of certain procedures etc …

It is imperitave that progressive move to eliminate the profit motive from healthcare, if we are to keep costs down to a managable level. I don’t want the GOP to win this fight, but the real fight is for Medicare for All – which will save the country billions and insure everyone.

The Senate, the White House and much of the House refuses this option, and progressives must keep this option alive.

The health share of GDP is expected to continue its historical upward trend, reaching 19.5 percent of GDP by 2017. this is astonishing and scary and we must fight for guaranteed coverage for all. The House bill would improve healthcare in the US. It does not sovle the problem. Hopefully it passes; the Dems have major majorites. The public, however, must keep fighting for single-payer healthcare! healthcare is a human right, not a commodity.

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The healthcare reform bill released by the House Of Representatives is an excellent bill as I understand it. It is carefully written, and thoughtfully constructed, informed, prudent and wise. This bill will save trillions of dollars, and millions of your lives.

This is the type of bill that all Americans can feel good about. And this is the type of bill that has the potential to dramatically improve the quality of healthcare for all Americans. Rich, middle class and poor a like. Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and all other party affiliations. This bill has the potential to dramatically improve the quality of life of every American.

The house healthcare bill should be viewed as the minimum GOLD STANDARD by which all other proposed healthcare legislation should be judged. All supporters of true high quality healthcare reform should now place all your support behind this healthcare reform bill released by the United States House Of Representatives, as the minimum Gold standard for healthcare reform in America.

You should all now support this bill with all your might, and all of your unrelenting tenacity. This healthcare bill is a VERY, VERY GOOD! bill for all of the American people. Fight tooth, and nail for every bit of this bill if you have too. Be aggressive, creative, and relentless for this bill.

AND FIGHT!! like your life and the lives of your loved ones depends on it. BECAUSE IT DOES!

SPREAD THE WORD

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSM8t_cLZgk&feature=player_embedded)

God Bless You

Jack Smith — Working Class

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Thanks for engaging me and my comments. I am going to respond in detail to some of your point as soon as I get done with a deadline assignment.

Thanks for readind and I will post something by early evening.

Best,

Michael Corcoran

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The ‘rest of the developed world’ which you vaguely refer to has had plenty of problems with their single payer systems. In one survey of citizens 80% of Americans said that the current system needs to be reformed or rebuilt, with only %20 saying they liked it the way it is. But when the same question was asked of citizens of the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, which all have single payer national healthcare, the distribution of answers was the same. Even with national coverage, patients still want massive overhaul of their healthcare systems.

To say that a single payer option is the only that makes sense, or that ‘not for profit’ automatically means that waste will be eliminated is just silly, especially when no evidence is provided. Anyone who’s ever paid any attention to how the government spends money knows this.

For anyone interested in hearing real researched arguments against single payer healthcare, a good place to start is:

http://www.cato.org/subtopic_display_new.php?topic_id=80&ra_id=6

My reference to the 80/20 survey comes from their podcast about the Massachusetts healthcare model.

Please read and consider the information there and elsewhere before simply writing off anyone who doesn’t agree with you as an ideologue.

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