...for the Netroots Nation healthcare panel that I’m hoping to be on this summer with:
NN16 is doing the panel submissions a bit differently this year; they’re opening up 10 of the panel slots for voting.
Note that you have to be logged into a Netroots Nation account in order to vote on the panels, but once logged in, I hope a few folks will vote for ours (you can also find it by searching for “Uninsured” in the search field).
The thing is, today is not only the last day to submit panel requests, it’s also the last day to vote. So if you’d like to help out, I need you to log in and vote today, thanks!
UPDATE: NN ended up extending the deadline earlier today; you now have until 3/17 to vote! In addition, it turns out you can actually vote once per day (well, every 24 hours anyway).
So...anyone who logs in and votes tonight can do so 6 more times between now and next Thursday night!
HERE’S THE ACTUAL PANEL DESCRIPTION:
Getting to Zero Percent Uninsured: Small Steps and Large Goals
The ACA has cut the uninsurance rate almost in half, but it's still left a bit more than 10% of the adult population uninsured, and a larger chunk underinsured. Where do we go from here? How can we make quality healthcare affordable to all without busting federal & state budgets?
That question suggests 2 more: what healthcare system would be ideal and how can we move toward it given current US political realities? Combining long- and short-term thinking, we will consider healthcare reform 2.0 under the following circumstances:
1) What can a Dem prez do administratively? (more than you'd think)
2) What can be done with a GOP Congress?
3) What could be done with a Dem Congress?
4) What could be done with a large Democratic majority?
-
Moderator: Dr. Paul Song
-
Panelists: Charles Gaba, Amy Lotven, Andrew Sprung
What are the takeaways for people who attend this panel? Why is this panel important to the progressive movement?
As the debate between Sanders's sweeping single-payer proposal and Clinton's laundry list of fixes and additions to the ACA highlights, progressives need to think hard about how (or whether) short-term steps advance a long-term vision. Should viable current steps move us toward single payer, for example by gradually extending Medicare (or Medicaid/CHIP) eligibility? To what extent can blue states be labs for progressive advances (e.g., via ACA "innovation waivers" for states)? Can the ACA marketplace be improved by stricter regulation -- of rates, network adequacy and plan design? More broadly, do we want US healthcare in 20 years to look more like Canada's (single payer) or Switzerland's (private insurance with price controls?)
Why should the Netroots Nation community vote for your session?
States have enormous flexibility, not widely recognized, to improve on and even completely reinvent the ACA, from enacting state-wide single payer to building a one-state public option or expanding a low-cost (Medicaid-like) Basic Health Plan to all who need it. A progressive administration can also do a great deal administratively, without legislation (e.g., encourage state "innovation waiver" schemes, and undertake aggressive antitrust enforcement). Progressives need to consider the full range of tools at our disposal under a full range of possible political circumstances to make healthcare more affordable in a sustainable way.