Please read this fine essay from Dr. Henry Aaron just published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
President Barack Obama has announced a bipartisan meeting on moving the reform process forward. It is an opportunity for all sides to present ideas for improving the bills that already have been passed by both houses of Congress. If modifications are identified that will command the support of simple majorities in both houses, they should be adopted through reconciliation. Then the House should pass the Senate bill.
This is from a policy analyst and scholar, may I use the word, desperate for reform not to fail--a sentiment I know all of us share.
Dr. Aaron argues here, as well, that reconciliation represents the only path forward.
This is why I hope you will pledge to help the 1,00,000 Calls to Congress campaign.
All I'm asking is that those of you who argue that the House simply pass the Senate bill, recognize that it's not that simple. And to not continually shoot the messenger for making this point.
So who is Dr. Henry Aaron speaking such heresy? A hugely respected health policy analyst at Brookings.
In the video clips which follow, Dr. Aaron explains why we must get a foot in the door on HCR. This is why I will continue to fight for healthcare reform until I have no breath left in my body.
This is from an October 28, 2009 panel discussion sponsored by the New England Journal of Medicine (BM - Before Massachusetts) - Part 1:
Here's a transcript of the important discussion which follows for people like slinkerwink and others, who may be hearing impaired.
"I think the more correct observation would be that if he [Obama] succeeds, he will be the first in a long line of Presidents who will be introducing legislation on health reform, probably for as long as anybody in this room is alive. The reason for that is that the industry is huge. If we got it right the first time, it would be nothing short of miraculous. We will make mistakes whatever we do. And I think by far and away the most important issue is not so much what we do, but that we do something, that we move off dead center on the issue of health reform."
Dr. Aaron - Part 2:
Yes, I know things have changed. Democrats are now the 59/41 minority party in the Senate. And the always amusing Chuck Schumer acknowledges their minority status by saying in a comment the other day on HCR, they're "trying to find a path forward".
This is Dr. Aaron's message to "leaders" like Chuck Schumer.
If health reform supporters cower before current public opinion polls, they will surely lose heavily come November - and, arguably, they will deserve to lose. If they stand up for the genuinely constructive legislation they have crafted, they can prevail and they will deserve to win.
[emphasis added]
http://www.brookings.edu/...
You can also watch the entire video here (transcript provided as well).
We're moving toward an end game, dear friends. We need a foot in the door, to insure we will live to fight the next battle, and the battle after that.
And this is why we hope there will be an unprecedented surge of 1,000,000 calls to Congress on February 24th and 25th.
Here's the list of those invited to attend the February 25th healthcare summit.
Imagine if a doctor who deals day-in and day-out with this national cataclysm, were attending. Instead, what you'll have is a room full of hacks politicians with one eye on the next election and the other on the lobbyists standing in the wings.
And this mortifying comment from Lawrence O'Donnell filling in for Ed Schultz the other night. God help this country, dear friends, if this is the real end game.
We're grateful for your assistance, just as Dr. Aaron says, whatever happens, this will be a long fight. We requires funds for among other reasons: voter outreach and education, Congressional outreach, advocacy for the uninsured and underinsured, including continuing work with the Free Clinics I have been privileged to attend. We must continue to tell stories like this.
And ending on a personal note, check out this incredible video of two L.A. County Fire Heroes, rescuing an emotionally unbalanced girl from a tree. I am so proud to say, one of the heroes, is the son of my beloved step-sister, Lorelei. How in the world did she get up there?
We're all fire heroes.
We all share one goal, to rescue our fellow citizens from our depraved and vicious healthcare system.