"You had me at hello."
That's what Democrat Dan Maffei told about 15 members of our local Syracuse chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program this afternoon in a discussion on Medicare-for-All. He spent an hour and a half today with us at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Read on for more.
Quick review: Dan Maffei, a former aide to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, lost 49-51 to Republican incumbent Jim Walsh in 2006. Rather than face him again, Walsh retired. Dan himself says he's from the Democratic wing of the party. He's eager to pass health care reform, and he's opposed to the Iraq war. I'm proud to support him in November's contest. His page at ActBlue is here.
A little about Medicare-for-All: Right now, for-profit insurance companies consume a third of our national health care expenditures. Medicare, meanwhile, has just 3% overhead. As a single-payer privately-delivered system, Medicare-for-All would guarantee coverage to every American - not 95% or 98%, but 100%. We currently ration health care according to ability to pay. 47 million US residents were uninsured for ALL of 2006, and nearly double that, 89.6 million were uninsured for at least a month during the two-year period 2006-07. The uninsured often wait until it's too late, until that appendix bursts or that tooth really hurts before arriving in the emergency room.
Dan is committed to Medicare-for-All, but differed with us on strategy. We (PNHP) have argued that true healthcare reform will require a leap across a chasm. You can't leap half-way. Dan thinks incremental reform is more realistic. "But I hate to use the word 'incremental,'" he says. "It makes it sound so small." He wants to start with "Medikids," expanding Medicare to all children, because that will be hardest for Republicans to oppose. As for more comprehensive reform, he said, "If I saw an opportunity, I'd support it." For now, fearing attack ads from 527s, he declined to sign an explicit endorsement of HR 676, but he's having his campaign manager work with us to craft a mutually satisfactory statement. I had the sense that if he were already elected, he'd be bolder and less cautious on these policy details. He still faces a tough fight to the November election.
Dan Maffei knows the landscape in Central New York. He's running a smart campaign. And I'll be proud to call him my Congressperson. Please consider giving to help elect Dan Maffei!