Well, the Dems and the GOPers have reached their predictable impasse. But, Nobody knows about single payer, and thats the way they want it. Single Payer works, its the solution many other countries ended up at after similar debates and it works.
The path we are following here, and this impasse, has occurred before, in probably at least 20 or 30 other countries. The US is one of the last holdouts to NOT have a universal plan THAT CAN DO COST CONTROL. Thats WHY big Pharma, in particular, has "drawn a line in the sand" and is funneling so much money into STOPPING REAL CHANGE in the US. PR firms, paid bloggers, swift boating, you name it!
THIS INACTION IS KILLING 20,000 to 100,000 Americans a year because they can't afford care that would be free in other countries!
A study came out yesterday showing that the US is now 49th in infant mortality! We are declining in measures of health faster than any other nation ever has. We are in a CRISIS. We have to act. They are fiddling while Rome burns. SHAME ON THEM!
But there are WORKING WAYS TO GET TO AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL.. Single Payer is one. Its barely been discussed, perhaps because it works. Its probably the least drastic because it preserves private ownership of hospitals, medical testing facilities, and doctor groups. But it still saves a lot of money.
We know it works. It cuts costs. The illness cartel and especially insurers and drug manufacturers hate it but it works.
Isn't the logical thing now to GO FOR THE REAL SOLUTION, go for broke to get the moderate position, at least, the basic Single Payer out there and examined? Costing of Single Payer will reveal the incredible truth that IT SAVES TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS OVER PUBLIC OPTION.. By its sheer simplicity, we save a lot.
Or should we go for the left wing position, a national health service that brings all medical facilities into a national health service and saves serious money so that the costs to the plan ARE CUT EVEN MORE and people don't go without health care any more,
(a NHS option seems to be the appropriate left side of the Overton window, not 'public option' which is a center- center-right position.)
The NHS )i.e. "socialized medicine") has plusses which should now be more obvious than ever, the NHS approach avoids the kind of problems that occur when health insurers and big hospital chains buy up all the hospitals in an area and drive up prices.
That's what happened in Massachusetts
Or, should we give up, and accept inaction, or a non-plan that does not save sick people any money and which leaves one fifth of all Americans in an even worse situation because not only can they not get insurance because they may have a health condition, they are now called criminals for not being able to afford it. And if they are forced to buy insurance, they wont have the money for drugs they need and their health will DECLINE.
So, this is a poll. What should we do next?
I think the real reason that the Dems aren't putting forward a "public option" is because they couldn't make the numbers work and they don't want to be caught in their lies about public option. They lied about Adverse Selection. They underestimated the costs of public option, with its inability to do strong cost control, and luckily, we called them on it. Now they CAN'T set it up to fail. BUT NOW WE HAVE TO PUSH FOR THE WORKING SOLUTIONS - the ones we KNOW work.. The ones that have been proven in other countries to work. We tried the "uniquely American solution" and the numbers didn't add up. LIKE THEY DON'T ADD UP NOW FOR MILLIONS OF US.
Last Monday, President Clinton said the below to a group of "very lucky bloggers" who met with him.
"Rationally, single payer is the best system","Our system is the WORST, most expensive and least effective."
Isn't that the clue we need to know how to actually get out of this mess? Lets bring some rationality to this debate (!) and SINCE WE REALLY NEED REAL CHANGE, bring our case to the people, ESPECIALLY THE RANK AND FILE REPUBLICANS WE KNOW!
Remember, in Canada, both left and right, both parties there - LOVE their national health care plan.
We have only ONE chance, lets USE IT. NOW. GO FOR THE REAL SOLUTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO WORK ELSEWHERE.. Not Obama and Cooper's untested "experimental procedure".
There's a reason there is a de-facto mainstream media blackout on discussing single payer and NHS style plans - Its because they WORK!
Now is the time for all you public option advocates to show your stuff, and switch to single payer!
Use that boundless energy to GET THE USA HEALTH CARE FOR ALL OF US.
IF you are a member of a group whose national leadership won't endorse single payer, SWITCH YOUR ALLEGIANCE TO A GROUP THAT WILL.
SINGLE PAYER AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL, NOW.