Dear Kos Community,
I was asked by Congressman John Conyers, specifically two of his indefatigable staffers, Joel Segal and Jonathan Godfrey (and one other Conyers hero, who I don't know named Dan), to come to Washington to speak to what they tell me is a large gathering of Congressional staffers about healthcare reform. Yeah, I'd prefer not to go. I know I'm probably much better sitting behind my computer.
They want me to give a picture of exactly what Americans are experiencing across the land. You see, living in Washington, and having access to Rolls Royce healthcare courtesy of the taxpayers and the FEHBP, probably makes many of these good people less aware of the suffering, than we are.
So I will give them a lesson in human suffering, death and misery. I will tell them what ordinary Americans experience day-in and day-out at the merciless hands of the for-profit insurance industry, and due to generations of official indifference from those we elect to do our business.
I will try to explain why the for-profit insurance industry is destroying families and the American way of life.
Truth be told, I'm petrified, I've never addressed a large gathering like this. I'd really prefer to say no. But, I want to bring your stories to Washington, so I'm going to suck it up and do the job.
I want to put human faces on this man made catastrophe. The plight of the 50 million uninsured and those of us woefully underinsured, is the result of decades of official indifference, and I will tell them this. And as Dallasdoc always says, until we have publically financed elections, and politicians are not owned by the insurance industry, we will not get the healthcare reform we so desperately need.
I want to tell them that even those of us with unaffordable junk insurance, are reluctant to seek medical care because we know, the for-profit insurance industry is nothing but a massive denial machine.
I want to tell them that there is no safety net for people who are uninsured.
I want to tell them that the American people find it unfathomable that we find over a trillion dollars to bail out the banking industry, yet there is nothing but official bellyaching about how the richest country in the history of the world, could allow this cataclysmic human suffering to go unabated for so long.
I will tell them that privately delivered, publically funded healthcare (also known as single payer), is the only system which is sustainable over the long term. Barring that, the American people demand a no-strings-attached public option. Forgive my choice of words, but, you know, I say what I believe, fuck the Trigger. President Obama, Senator Kennedy, hear us well, the trigger is a non-starter.
And I will remind this esteemed group that medical bankruptcies are soaring, medical costs now play a role in 62% of bankruptcy filings. God help this country.
Then, I'll probably end by asking these policy makers why, in the year 2009 in the richest country on the planet, healthcare remains a privilege not a right? I will ask these people to help us understand this monumental man made tragedy.
Yesterday, the National Nurses Movement made these suggestions, all of which are excellent.
While Baucus continued to aver that single payer can not pass the legislature, the nurses and doctors pressed him to:
• Hold a hearing in which the merits of single payer can be contrasted with the plans now rapidly advancing in the Senate. While Baucus said the tight timeline made that very difficult, Sanders noted that Sen. Chris Dodd is considering a health committee hearing on single payer, which Baucus could co-sponsor. Baucus said, "let me think about it."
• Have the Congressional Budget Office score, do a financial analysis, of single payer legislation in addition to other health bills it scores.
• Support legislation to allow federal waivers for individual states to enact single payer systems as national role models (another Sanders bill).
• Assist in arranging a similar meeting between single payer leaders and President Obama.
I want everything I say to come from you.
Please give me succinct comments and most important, please tell me of your healthcare experiences. Please be specific, name names. Identify the criminals the insurance companies that you've paid premiums to for years, then deny you or a loved one necessary care.
Thank you for helping me in this massive undertaking.