If you are waiting for someone else to do the work of pushing for health care reform, you're gonna be sorry. The time for sitting back and letting someone else do the heavy lifting is gone. If you aren't willing to spend some time understanding what is needed and then go out on demand that it happen, you're gonna be sorry. And you might just take the rest of us along with you.
There are no authorized leaders waiting in the wings to make this happen. The authority will rise as our collective voices rise as one.
Getting change in health care is everyone’s responsibility. You can whine and complain all you like, but that won't change a thing. You simply have to understand what is happening and what is not, and you need to act. You may protest that you don't really understand how health care works, and it's someone else's job, and no one really listens to you anyway. That's not going to get you off the hook.
So, what do you need to do? You need to support HR 676.
First of all, you need to read the bill if you haven't already read it. It's not that long, only about 25 pages, and it's got large type.
So, now that you are familiar with the bill, I want to tell you what I think is wrong with it. Overall, it's good bill. A lot of administrative work is going to be need to done to write the actual rules to implement it, and its going to take a lot more work before it's ready to fire it up. But its an excellent bill. It has some flaws. The most significant flaw is that the administration of the universal single payer plan that is envisioned is an integral part of the government, administered directly by HHS. I believe that it is a mistake, because it subjects the administration of the national health system to political pressure that can in turn subvert the protections intended in this legislation. The administration of a national healthcare system needs to be carefully insulated from the political pressures of the government, because we cannot depend on the government to resist the pressure of lobbyists and special interests. When this much money and power is concentrated in the hands of a few people who are subjected to political appointment, we have seen the corruption and abuse that results. There are other flaws and holes as well, but they aren't fatal, and fixing them can wait until we are past the larger agenda of getting general support to get this done.
Last week I wrote a diary describing how I would implementa national single payer health plan. I deliberately chose not to read HR 676 before I wrote my diary, for fear I would be influenced by it and unable to separate my thoughts and ideas from those proposed by others. I was stunned when I read HR 676 at how closely it mirrors my thinking about how a national health systems would emerge. I am almost embarrassed to have proposed something that was already very well thought out. The more I have read and re-read the language of HR 676, the more impressed I am with the work that has gone into it. I believe it can and should be improved in some important ways. But overall, this is a piece of legislation that we must support.
I know this ground has been plowed before. I have reviewed some diaries written by DrSteveB, and Jamess, and SarahLee, all compellingly written and persuasive. And yet despite the repeated efforts of so many, this issue still is not getting the traction it so urgently needs. I felt compelled to add my voice to the voices that have preceded mine. I urge you all to get involved and stay involved until we have succeeded in getting this legislation passed. It will be resisted, strongly resisted, by those who will be threatened by loss of power and gain. We must continue to push, and push, and push. It's not only our health care that is at stake here. Our economy cannot recover under the weight of the burden that the current health care system imposes on our industries and our financial well being. As more people are pushed to bankruptcy battling illness, we all shoulder the burden of a sinking economy. Imagine how much easier recovery from this economic crisis would be with health care coverage shifted off the balance sheets of American corporations.
What can you do? First, be sure you understand what the legislation does and enables, so that you can address misinformation and propaganda about it directly. Second, contact your congresspeople, and let them know you support the bill and give them a couple of reasons that its passage is important. Third, choose five to ten friends, relatives, or associates to educate about the bill and get them to contact their congrresspeople and educate others. Fourth, keep aware of local events in your area in which you might be able to participate to show your support for this bill in particular and for single payer healthcare in general. Fifth, renew your commitment to these actions every month until single payer healthcare becomes law. Sixth, if you are so inclined write articles or letters of support, or speak publicly at appropriate events in support of single payer healthcare.
The fight for Civil Rights took decades, and is still in progress today. The progress that has been made reflects the courage and determination of a great many people. The battle for healthcare rights contains many of the same elements, and will require an effort of similar proportions. No single leader, or group of leaders, can make this happen. The opposition to change is too entrenched and has too many resources to overcome with a half-hearted effort.
February 12 is a day when proponents of HR 676 have chosen to make a concerted effort to contact Congress. That would be a great day to send your first message. Don’t let it be your last.
To look up your Congressperson, go to votesmart and put in your zip code.
There are also a variety of numbers you can use to contact them. Visit 9/9/09.org for more information.
Please forgive the cheerleader-like tone of this post. We need to get this done.