Originally posted at Cross Left.
The Following Is The Second Installment of a Series of Posts on Universal Heath Care.
In the first installment why universal health care is a means of defending private property was discussed. In this installment we examine both some of absurd rhetoric being levied, but more importantly, what we can learn from Harry Truman’s battle for universal health care.
In a recent town hall meeting a universal health care opponent confronted US Senator Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), warning him “One day, God's gonna stand before you and he's gonna judge you and the rest of your damn cronies up on the Hill -- and then you will get your just desserts.”
Incredible as it seems, those who want to make health care accessible to all Americans are seen by some as immoral. A little historical perspective is in order.
This topsy-turvy outcome is part and parcel of the opposition’s strategy to block out a rational discourse, replacing it with emotionally charged accusations. But with that said, we have reached this juncture in part because we liberals have forgotten the lessons of our own past.
Harry S. Truman was the first American president to attempt to provide every American with access to affordable health care. In November 1945 he unveiled a comprehensive plan that -- had it passed -- would have made the United States the world leader in protecting its citizenry from both illness and the financial ruin that often accompanies it.
The Truman Library’s web site succinctly describes the 33rd president’s vision:
President Truman's plan was to improve the state of health care in the United States by addressing five separate issues. The first issue was the lack of doctors, dentists, nurses, and other health professionals in many rural or otherwise lower-income areas of the United States. He saw that "the earning capacity of the people in some communities makes it difficult if not impossible for doctors who practice there to make a living." He proposed to attract doctors to the areas that needed them with federal funding. The second problem that Mr. Truman aimed to correct was the lack of quality hospitals in rural and lower-income counties. He proposed to provide government funds for the construction of new hospitals across the country. To insure only quality hospitals were built, the plan also called for the creation of national standards for hospitals and other health centers. Mr. Truman's third initiative was closely tied to the first two. It called for a board of doctors and public officials to be created. This board would create standards for hospitals and ensure that new hospitals met these standards. The board would also be responsible for directing federal funds into medical research.
What made Truman’s vision so magnificent was that it comprehended how each individual component of health care delivery was interdependent upon others. To this end it addressed the lack of doctors and nurses in many parts of the country and sought to rectify the problem (It is still as much as a problem as it was in 1945, this issue will be discussed in a future installment of this series). The plan also called for the federal government to build hospitals and clinics un those parts of the country lack a sufficient number of medical facilities. Even more prescient was Truman’s desire to make medical research integral to any reform proposal. Acknowledging the obvious, the sensible Missourian knew that the most basic way to prevent rationing is by developing cures and treatments for disease and disability. Healthy citizens drive down costs.
But the plan’s centerpiece was providing every American with a government option for obtaining health care insurance. Again, as the Truman Library’s web site described this key component:
The most controversial aspect of the plan was the proposed national health insurance plan. In his November 19, 1945 address, President Truman called for the creation of a national health insurance fund to be run by the federal government. This fund would be open to all Americans, but would remain optional. Participants would pay monthly fees into the plan, which would cover the cost of any and all medical expenses that arose in a time of need. The government would pay for the cost of services rendered by any doctor who chose to join the program. In addition, the insurance plan would give a cash balance to the policy holder to replace wages lost due to illness or injury.
Truman lost that first battle for universal health care. Republican stalwart Senator Robert Taft of Ohio demagogued by proclaiming, "It is to my mind the most socialistic measure this Congress has ever had before it." Following suit, the American Medical Association waged war against what it described as “socialized medicine.”
Some of the very same outrageous slanders that were made about a government health care plan almost seventy years ago are still around today. Opponents then as now deride any government sponsored reform as “Socialism,” “Communism,” and even more incredible, “Nazism.” Shouts of “euthanasia!” and “death panels” are all too loosely leveled, done so without any factual basis. Clearly universal health care opponents have not forgotten to what works.
But despite his loss, Truman has much to teach us about how to fight today’s battle.
Unlike today’s White House the Truman administration put out a straightforward comprehensive plan. From the outset the public could see what was being proposed and how each component of the plan intended to rectify a shortcoming in health care delivery. Unfortunately such clarity is missing from the current Democratic approach.
Another seemingly lost lesson is that Truman never minced words nor did he tried to appease Republicans who would never be appeased. Whatever issue he fought for, he spoke in simple plain but forceful language. But perhaps more importantly he knew how to talk with the American people.
Harry S. Truman understood what contemporary liberalism was all about. He knew for it to work intellectuals and working folks had work together and respect each other. Truman, a man with an education that did not go beyond high school, never mocked the working class. Instead, he saw them as his constituency.
Why is this important? Simply because Truman would not write off many off the hostile folks showing up at town halls as crazies, Instead of asking “what planet a woman spent most of her time on,” he would have most likely challenged her to look at the underlying economic agenda of the parties that fed them the bull-roar about reform being akin to Nazi euthanasia policies.
Mainly by Astroturfing, opponents of universal health care have managed to inject their talking points into the discourse. It is downright incredible that reform proponents are even accused of being the ones who should fear divine retribution. Conservative forces, such as former Congressman Dick Armey and his libertarian advocacy group FreedomWorks, would chloroform Medicare in a split second if given a chance to do so, now charge that any reform plan would cut benefits to seniors.
The 33rd president understood that many ordinary folks are frightened by uncertainty. They are confused, often feeling dispossessed from any control over their future. Truman – unlike many of today’s liberals – understood what the Daily Howler’s Bob Somerby recently noted, “This country is full of people whose political thinking is quite “unsophisticated.” These are people just trying to keep their heads above water. It doesn’t make them bad people, just sometime frightened and misinformed.
This reality was not lost on Truman. He knew that his job was to go out there and win those folks over to his side. As evidenced by his administration’s battle for health care he didn’t always succeed, but at least he never backed down.
But in returning to our original question, do those who advocate government-sponsored universal health care risk eternal damnation? Once again, some historical perspective is necessary.
Former diplomat and retired General Vernon Walters, then an US Army Lieutenant Colonel advising President Truman during the Korean War, recalls the 33rd president also speak of such divine judgment.
In early Summer 1950 realizing that he had to commit US ground troops Walters heard Truman say, "I know that, some day, I will have to stand before the throne of God and account for every young life that is about to be lost because of what I am about to do. But in the fulfillment of the oath that I took when I became president, I have no choice."
If Harry Truman considered how God would judge him about sending young Americans to war then it would follow that such a consideration might have entered his mind when he attempted to bring universal health to millions of his countrymen. Perhaps he recalled the lesson of the Good Samaritan who paid for the well being of the stranger who was beaten and left for dead. Or maybe he recalled a Jesus who healed both poor Jews as well as the servant of a Roman centurion.
And if it did such thoughts entered Truman’s mind, I cannot help but thinking that the plain-thinking man from Missouri could only conclude that universal health care was the Christian thing to do.