Your Voice: Support for single-payer insurance
Oct 13, 2009 | 668 views | 8 
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With the passage of the health care reform bill out of the Senate Finance Committee, the debate moves forward. It must be noted, however, that the Senate bill, as described, is relatively weak in the important area of providing an alternative to insurance company profit mania.
The best solution would be the establishment of a single-payer system, such as that in Canada. (Don’t be fooled by the propaganda denigrating that system.)
Some months ago, I attended a meeting of CaliforniaSpeaks, which gathered voters chosen at random from across the state to voice their opinions, and the strong voice from California’s citizens was for single-payer across the state. Unfortunately, the insurance lobby has all but killed single-payer on the national level.
The best alternative, however, has been proposed in the form of a “public option, a secure, publicly run plan to compete with the insurance giants and assure universal coverage. It would essentially be an extension of Medicare.”
When it’s called Medicare, government-run heath insurance does not seem so bad. Rep. Jerry McNerney has acted forcefully on health care reform, supporting the public option and challenging the nonsense offered in the debate. Join him in supporting health security for all Americans.
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But these two things cannot happen because of the $$$ that trial lawyers and insurance companies donate to our corrupt politicians. We cannot trust them to give us any real reform in today's political climate. We certainly cannot trust them to run Canada-style health care, AKA single payer.
Our corrupt politicians, like Rep Jerry McNerney, have done nothing but run the plays that coach Nancy Pelosi sends in. McNerney is afraid to face any constituents who oppose massive new spending and medicare cuts, because he has no answers for the questions we have.
low taxes, open markets, and loose regulation -- are crucial elements of a job recovery.
low taxes, open markets, and loose regulation -- are crucial elements of a job recovery.
You've got to be kidding? Wall street has Tim G on speed dial. They even asked him if he was in a position to be handed out bonuses. In one regard you can be thankful that America under your current resident can still export exhorborant bonuses to foreign bank executives. You also have deregulation to thank and that happened before bush and after reagan when there were still interns and cigars in the oval office.
Probably a little distraction going on there?
That was a joke right? Jerry McNerney had a dial in phone conference with voters. What state do you live in?
And the insurance companies came out and said this week that it would actually increase healthcare costs.
If you told me we would get free healthcare I'd laugh. The opposite it true.
When asked if healthcare will help your companies medical coverage.
Most people say, "who cares? First they have to pass it".
The problem: you can't pass something when you're hiding behind a speaker phone.
On a jet airplane with Nancy?
The left has deamonized the insurance industry in this debate as it has before with players who wouldn't play ... auto, bank, energy, etc. This has NOTHING to do with health care but everything to do with power.
Why won't they let the voters have a 72 hour window to read the bill? Why have the democrats, who said that they supported this before, are not standing up to their committment to sign on?
Why, when they say the the bill is "deficit neutral", the assumptions are that we will save money eliminating "waste and fraud" ...???? Why aren't they doing that now?
These two point alone should send warning flags up that what is being discussed and passed in the finance committee is similar to stuff found after bovine have passed.
The problem with the letter writers "alternative to insurance company profit" is that single-payer means the elimination of the medical benefits that people currently have from their employer. This alternative also means the health care insurance industry will be abolished, if you were running an insurance you would be opposed to it to! Only in socialist countries do the leaders get to decide that a whole industry is now illegal or needs to be operated by the government.
The American people want everyone to be insured, but they do not want to give up their employer benefits, they do not want socialized medicine in which government makes the decisions and you will deal with a DMV style bureaucracy instead of your employer and the insurance company.
There are alternatives the preserve our liberty and freedom and offer true help and reduced insurance costs to all Americans.
No, the public option will be a choice between bad and worse insurance plans. The next four years will see the biggest price gouging Americans have ever experienced, making last years gas prices seem like a cake walk. Wall St. will collect as much money as they can, like they did last October in Bush's last days, and then, maybe, Americans will wake up and demand Medicare for All.