Rep. Weiner Pushing Single Payer Until the Last Dog Dies

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday September 08, 2009 · 6:02 AM PDT

2009/09/08 · 06:02

If you followed the health care debate closely, you know Representative Anthony Weiner has procured a floor vote to replace HR 3200 with Medicare for All. People will say it is a symbolic vote, and mostly they are right. A large segment of the activists Left and the Progressives in Congress abandoned single payer this year when it was declared off the metaphoric table by the Democratic leadership. Without significant pressure from left-leaning activists, Medicare for All, or a single payer system, has been willfully overlooked by our elected leaders, and the Democratic leadership has managed to keep it off limits... Save Anthony Weiner. Anthony Weiner has barnstormed townhalls and the talk show circuit presenting a compelling, cogent argument for improving and expanding Medicare to all Americans. On the eve of the President's address to Congress, Weiner offers the President and his Party a path toward political and policy success, that should be heeded and applauded by all Democrats.

Via Representative Anthony Weiner:

As President Obama prepares to address the nation about his vision for health care reform, we should not overlook the last, best truly transformative change to our health care system: Medicare. We have been staring so intently at the lessons of 1993 that we may have forgotten the universal rule of successful lawmaking: "keep it simple."

snip

The truth is that the United States already uses single-payer systems to cover over 47% of all medical bills through Medicare, Medicaid, the Veterans Administration, the Department of Defense and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Understanding that these single-payer health programs are already a major part of our overall health care system should help us visualize what an actual public plan would look like. These institutions also provide health care to millions of satisfied customers in every community who would heartily agree that the government can build and run programs that work quite well.

snip

At one town meeting the President responded that that he was worried about its "destructiveness."

Really? Americans would still go to the same doctor and the same neighborhood hospital. Sure, they would be able to delete the 1-800 number of their insurance company from their cell phones. And doctors would have to get rid of all those file cabinets full of paperwork while their assistants who spend time fighting with insurance companies would be able to actually speak to patients.

snip

I have no delusions about the muscle needed to overcome resistance from the insurance and pharmaceutical industries. But I believe that for every American we may lose to a slash-and-burn TV ad funded by these businesses, we will gain five among those who are looking for a clear rationale for what we are trying to accomplish and an example for what it may look like.

We also achieve something else: realignment of the political universe. Democrats understand the role of government and are proud of our signature achievement: Medicare. The Republicans care most about big business.

This content was created by a Daily Kos Community member.

Make YOUR voice heard!

Comments are closed on this story.