If you could ask a question of President Obama concerning the Health Care Reform Legislation slowly winding its way through Congress, what would it be?
As fate would have it, President Obama will be in the Triangle of North Carolina on Wednesday, July 29th for another town hall on health care reform. And your humble diarist will be in attendance.
The purpose of this diary is to solicit both your input and feedback for questions leading up to the town hall.
Here are a few questions on my mind:
Regarding Single Payer: Why isn’t single payer in the discussion? With all these arguments over costs, wouldn’t a single payer system be the most cost effective reform for our country? Why can’t this be scored by the CBO? If CEO’s of private insurance companies get to say that they don’t believe a public option is needed, why don’t we get to say that a single payer system is the most desireable?
Regarding the Public Option: President Obama’s bedrock requirements for health care reform includes choice of a public health insurance option. But will it be available and administered nationwide? Offered on day one?
Regarding Efforts to Slow Down and/or Kill Health Care Reform: If meaningful health care reform does not pass, won’t the economy continue to deteriorate? Isn’t this a national emergency? How to make Congress stay in session until the Committee work is completed? Until there is legislation on the president’s desk?
Regarding the Potential of a "Watered Down" Bill: How do we ensure that the legislative process is transparent? Wouldn’t our elected representatives be more accountable if they knew we were watching them? Wouldn’t we end up with better legislation?
Regarding the Slow Train Wreck of our Nation’s Health Care Viability: With 14,000 taxpayers losing health care insurance every day, let’s have a legislator or two lose their health care insurance everyday until a bill is signed into law. Hey, we could make it a lottery or start with any legislator whose last name begins with B and ends in S.
What would you have me ask? Kindly take the poll and/or leave comment.