Dear Sanders Folks,
Now that Hillary has decided that the best way to beat Sanders is to join him and she is simply mimicking what he says since New Hampshire, I am concerned that her sleight of hand on healthcare will go unnoticed.
Most people do not know the difference between ‘single payer,’ ‘universal healthcare,’ and ‘public option.’ WE MUST EDUCATE THEM. Because there is a great sleight of hand going on here. This healthcare issue is a critical issue to the electorate. We must make sure that they know what is being proposed.
Most people when they hear those three terms, think that they are synonymous and that they all refer to ‘single payer,’ Medicare for all. NOT TRUE. Very, very important distinctions. “Single payer’ is the only one that is Medicare for all, and ‘universal healthcare’ is run by corporations, and state by state ‘public option’ is still operating according to the corporations rules because it has to compete with the corporations pricing structures, etc.
I do not have the background nor expertise to really do a good job on a healthcare diary, and ask if there is someone out there who has a good functional background on the different proposals for healthcare to consider doing a diary which will highlight the differences between Sander’s ‘single payer’ and HRC’s amalgam of plans. I am not sure what she is now calling for. But basically really explain the differences between these three: ‘single payer,’ ‘public option,’ and ‘universal healthcare’ from the point of view of who runs it and who profits.
The devil is in the details. As I read her call for tweaks on universal health care — it is just a continuation of allowing corporations to be the middle man between the patient and doctor and is thereby empowering the corporations. And then she talks about the public option being given to the states, however there has been some things written there how this is just lip service since at a state level not much will happen. All forms of Hillary Clinton saying ‘cut it out’ to the predatory and locust like healthcare corporations.
What is needed in our healthcare system now is not tweaks of the existing corrupt system but a new system completely. Like Sander’s ‘single payer,’ expanding Medicare for all. Takes the corporations out of their profit making role and puts the patient in direct contact with the healthcare that they need and not at the mercy of bankrupting themselves.
Trying to understand Hillary’s position is to dig between the minutiae, and really all it says is that she will tweak some things but maintain corporate control and profit making over our nations’ healthcare.
From Hillary Clinton’s website:
Health care
Affordable health care is a basic human right.
Hillary will:
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Defend the Affordable Care Act and build on it to slow the growth of out-of-pocket costs.
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Crack down on rising prescription drug prices and hold drug companies accountable so they get ahead by investing in research, not jacking up costs.
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Protect women’s access to reproductive health care, including contraception and safe, legal abortion.
Hillary led the fight to expand access to quality, affordable health care for decades—and she’s not going to stop now. Throughout her career, Hillary led the fight to expand health care access for every American:
Hillary has never given up on the fight for universal coverage—and she won’t stop now. Building on the Affordable Care Act to expand coverage for millions of Americans, Hillary will:
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Make premiums more affordable and lessen out-of-pocket expenses for consumers purchasing health insurance on the Obamacare exchanges. ..
- Support new incentives to encourage all states to expand Medicaid...
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Invest in navigators, advertising and other outreach activities to make enrollment easier. ...
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Expand access to affordable health care to families regardless of immigration status. ...
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Continue to support a “public option”—and work to build on the Affordable Care Act to make it possible. As she did in her 2008 campaign health plan, and consistently since then, Hillary supports a “public option” to reduce costs and broaden the choices of insurance coverage for every American. To make immediate progress toward that goal, Hillary will work with interested governors, using current flexibility under the Affordable Care Act, to empower states to establish a public option choice.
- Going forward, Hillary will build on these efforts and fight to ensure that the savings from these reforms benefits families—not just insurance companies, drug companies, and large corporations.
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Defend the Affordable Care Act….
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Lower out-of-pocket costs like copays and deductibles. ...
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Reduce the cost of prescription drugs. ...
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Transform our health care system to reward value and quality. ...
Hillary will also work to expand access to rural Americans, who often have difficulty finding quality, affordable health care. ..
THESE DISTINCTIONS ARE IMPORTANT.
Sander’s clearly calls for a Medicare for All, Single Payer System. No confusion there.
As she goes forward in this campaign and trys to sound like Sanders, these distinctions must be made clear.
So, if there is someone out there who has a deeper knowledge of all this than I do, please educate us to the distinction between all these words. So that voters will not be conned.
The Devil is in the details.
TX