I wrote right before the Massachusetts election that Healthcare reform must pass, no matter what.
We need a bill to pass for only one reason, because it will help some of the people who I've been honored to meet at the many Free Health Clinics I've attended.
Does it matter if it's good legislation Democrats can be proud of? Well I suppose not, if it saves just a few lives. But I'll never be amazed and horrified at how far we've sunk, that we are content with such inadequate crumbs.
Listen to the warnings of CIGNA whistle blower Wendell Potter? Nah. Let's just get a damn bill passed--and hope it helps. You betcha!
Could you let us know by completing this very brief form, if we can count on you to make calls to Washington on February 24th and 25th? Thanks so much.
First, I urge you to use this Kaiser Family Foundation tool to compare the plans.
Second, I'm going to tell you a pesky little secret that I've heard over and over from hardworking Americans waiting for free healthcare, psst, the subsidies provided for low income and working Americans are totally inadequate. But never mind, let's get the Senate bill passed.
But, the day after the unfixed Senate bill is passed, what are you going to do, and what is your commitment for fixing it?
How much time will you spend electing progressives, once the unfixed Senate bill gets passed?
How much money will you contribute to organizations and candidates who will be working tirelessly to fix the Senate bill after it gets passed as is, as you want?
Will you sit back, pat yourself on the back for a job well done?
Will you be working, organizing, contributing money, and calling the political class, as the unfixed Senate bill is being signed in the Rose Garden, to make the promised fix a reality?
How much time will you devote to all the huge heavy lifting which will be required to get health care reform at the center of Democratic agenda, again?
Keep in mind that those of us who have been following the predatory for profit insurance corporations for many years now, are certain this legislation will not be the magic cure, forcing this neanderthal industry to curtail its egregious and criminal behavior.
As you we fight to pass the Senate bill as is, incorporate these pesky facts.First, read the absolutely devastating, and just released report from HCAN about health insurer profits rising as they cut and lose victims customers due to growing unemployment. Indianapolis-based Anthem/WellPoint reported fourth quarter profits of $2.7 billion – despite losing 1.4 million customers in 2009. Premiums were up, and the stock price has more than doubled since last March. There is something wrong with this picture.
WellPoint’s profits are soaring as they cover a million fewer people. AHIP and the insurance corporations have spent tens of millions on lobbying this year--$1,400,000 per day. And guess what, they've done very well for themselves.
If you ask me, Democrats will have some 'splaining to do come November. A mandate? No option other than to jump into the insurer sewer or get fined? IRS is the enforcer. Wow, let me put on my thinking cap, and figure out how to create a winning campaign message from this shit mess.
To those of you who believe calling Washington should continue unabated, every day, I agree, be relentless. But many activists and organizations like Democracy For America (and others we hope to announce next week), have joined this mobilization, and are planning for a huge surge in calls on February 24th and 25th.
And speaking of no choice, no Medicare buy-in, no public option--even for the most beleaguered--small businesses, the self employed, we who are the most victimized by the insurance corporations. The Senate couldn't figure out how to deliver to this small group of Americans a smidgeon of competition.
One more thing speaking of Medicare, when was the last time you heard a podium pounding politician hold a press conference to decry the malfeasance and larceny of Medicare?
-To demand Congressional hearings into the treatment of America's elderly by the egregious and predatory behavior of Medicare?
-To introduce legislation to rein in Medicare abuses and atrocities inflicted on beneficiaries?
-To demand government oversight to control vicious and illegal Medicare denials, recissions, and price gouging?
Well you haven't, and you won't. This won't happen because Medicare is a sanctuary, not a for-profit insurance corporation. It's single payer healthcare, and all Americans deserve nothing less.
Last week, at the Hartford Free health Clinic (which I attended on my own dime), the medical director, who runs a Connecticut based free clinic, told me about a patient he has with myriad serious conditions. He said, "I'm helping this person hang on for dear life, I'm keeping her 'patched up', until she qualifies for Medicare in two years." This patient, needs surgery, which if she survives, will be delayed until she receives her Godsend--a Medicare card.
President Obama asked the money question during the State of the Union. "If anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors and stop insurance company abuses, let me know."
We all know the better way, and shame on us--every last one of us, for accepting such an untenable and yes, unsustainable solution.
But, we must get a bill passed, if only for all the Americans who will die without "reform".
Could you let us know by completing this very brief form, if we can count on you to make calls to Washington on February 24th and 25th? Thanks so much.