Nurses Criticize Clinton's Attack on Single Payer

[think]

Nurses Criticize Clinton's Attack on Single Payer




Press Release, 11/18/15

OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- National Nurses United, the largest U.S. organization of nurses, condemned the Hillary Clinton campaign today for its attack on Sen. Bernie Sanders' proposal for healthcare for all, including its slanted use of data on the economics of Medicare for all.

"Any politician that refuses to finance guaranteed health care has abandoned my patients, and I will never abandon my patients. That's why we support improved Medicare for all, and that's why I support Bernie Sanders," said NNU Co-President Jean Ross, RN.

"While the Affordable Care Act corrected some of the worst injustices in our insurance, profit-based healthcare system, the work of healthcare reform is far from done," said Ross. "Today, 33 million Americans remain uninsured. Tens of millions more remain underinsured, facing bankruptcy due to unpayable medical bills or the choice of getting the care they need or paying for food or housing for their families."

"The only fix for our broken system once and for all is the prescription Bernie Sanders has so eloquently presented – joining the rest of the world by expanding and updating Medicare to cover everyone," Ross said.

NNU also criticized Clinton for citing a rightwing report first published in the Wall Street Journal on the inflated cost of $15 trillion to implement a Medicare for all system. The Journal report claimed as its source research by University of Massachusetts Amherst economics professor Gerald Friedman...

Full press release:
http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/press/entry/nurses-criticize-clinton-attack-on-single-payer/

[Segami]

1. K&R!

[misterhighwasted]

2. Wasn't this the same Nurses United group that endorsed Nader vs Gore?

Is this the same Nurses United group that split the vote against Gore to give GW a much easier way to claim he'd won the GE?
Not sure if this is the same Nurses Group, just asking.
Anyone have info on this group?

[Scootaloo]

7. It was established in 2009, through a merging of three unions.

I'll spare you the letmegooglethatforyou link.

[gordyfl]

21. Nurses Endorsed Nader

"Wasn't this the same Nurses United group that endorsed Nader?"

If they were, it would make sense. Nader has always pushed for Medicare-for-All.

[misterhighwasted]

24. And we got GW instead of single payer.

That was stupid.
Oh well.

[roguevalley]

37. didn't take long to tear the nurses up. Am I

surprised? No.

[floriduck]

67. There's something seriously wrong

with the picture. They are all WOMEN. I thought that was Hill's main support group. How could these nurses vote for someone else, a MAN. This could mean the world will spin off its axis.

[sabrina 1]

53. Yeah the Supreme Court felonious five made sure Bush stole that election.

That was a unique way of getting around to 'nader did it', adding the Nurses to the 'blame anyone BUT the SC' meme was a nice touch!

Nader had zero to do with the theft of the 2000 election. Nor did the Nurses, damn, I never thought anyone would blame NURSES for the treasonous act of the SC.

Thankfully most people on the planet know that it was an act of Treason that put Bush in the WH. One day, maybe, in the future this country will begin to apply the LAW to those who commit horrific acts such as Lying us into War, Torturers, Wall St Criminals, and SC Justices who abuse their power and steal elections for War Mongers.

Until then, I guess we'll always have a few stragglers around who will try to 'blame Nader' (Scalia loves that one) and now it appears even NURSES are to blame, ANYONE BUT THE SC! Who on earth are there still people around trying to protect the SC for what they did to this country?

[Enthusiast]

74. Huge +1!

[Mnpaul]

90. But let us not forget

It would have taken only one Democratic Senator to join House members in throwing a monkey wrench into the whole deal by demanding to count the illegally disenfranchised voters in Florida.

[AllyCat]

64. Gee, if I only had as much power as a nurse as you say I do

Really? Blaming nurses for wanting better care for our patients. Jeez.

[BobTheSubgenius]

84. I know!!!

Who would want a system that serves people far better (and would, hopefully, get rid of the horrendous idea of profiting handsomely off the misery of others)?

Ummmm....every other advanced economy in the world and some that aren't so advanced?

[beerandjesus]

69. And under the bus, the nurses go!

[TM99]

54. Yeah, fuck the nurses, right?

What the hell do they know? They are over-paid and have lots of leisure time to go to large Nader, Paul, and now Sanders' rallies.

And definitely screw anyone who has ever wanted Medicare-for-all. Those goddamned fucking hippies! What will they ask for next? An end to the surveillance state? Fuck 'em, they can go to Russia with their buddy Snowden.

Am I right? Am I right?

[gordyfl]

27. Bernie 2015 - Nader 2000

Ralph Nader in 2000. Sound familiar?...

[Thinkingabout]

3. Bookmarking

[Rosa Luxemburg]

4. I love single payer health systems

I was born and raised with the NHS in UK and lived in Canada. Both have nice health systems.

[merrily]

8. +1

[JDPriestly]

18. I love them too. I lived in Europe for years.

I'd rather my taxes go to pay for Medicare for all than for war for all. Sometimes war is necessary, but do we need to spend so much on our military? What are our values when we can't afford healhcare for all who live in America but we can afford weapons all over the world.?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

48. Exactly

They can always find money for war.

[Unknown Beatle]

68. $8.5 trillion is unaccounted for in the Pentagon.

I really think that the missing and stolen trillions are being used for lavish lifestyles of generals and people higher up on the food chain at the pentagon. And yet republicans cry that there isn't enough money for anything else that helps the citizens of this country.

[Evergreen Emerald]

5. Is this Sanders' superpack?

[Scootaloo]

6. No, it's a nurse's union.

I don't know why wou would think they were a superPAC

[roguevalley]

40. they aren't for hillary so they attack. That's

what that was.

[Fuddnik]

23. No, I'm Bernies SuperPack.

Charter Member. Got a bumper sticker to prove it.

[MaggieD]

9. They are living in dreamland

People barely support the ACA and congress is not going to pass single payer. I give Clinton credit for not living in dreamland.

[Ron Green]

12. "Dreamland" is what we all need to wake from regarding

health care among several big issues; and your candidate is committed to no alarms.

[PowerToThePeople]

13. They are living in America

The land of dreams.

[LovingA2andMI]

15. Dreamland....

Similar to 2007/2008 and we all know the end result of that Dreamland.....She Lost.

[dflprincess]

16. A good many of the people who don't support the ACA dislike it because it didn't go far enough

and those people support single payer because they want access to health care, not a requirement that they continue to send money to the same corrupt companies that have been blocking that access for decades.

[MaggieD]

29. Is that right?

I think most of them don't like it because of the Medicaid expansion and subsidies. Only 50% support single payer. Problem is zero elected republicans support it. Ain't happening.

Does it bother you that Sanders shines you on with stuff like this?

[dflprincess]

47. I think most of us know single.payer won't happen without a fight

And Sanders isn't "shining" anyone on with it. Certainly not the way Clinton is shining you on that she'll rein in Wall.Street.

[Kentonio]

55. Only 50% support single payer

Because they've spent their entire adult lives being lied to and propagandized into believing that socialized medicine is expensive, poor quality and the kind of thing commies do.

When you ask someone if they'd prefer a system that is cheaper, more effective, covers everyone and requires the patient to fill out no forms or pay no money directly to access treatment, suddenly that 50% becomes 99%. Because being against universal healthcare is stupid. Seriously, it is just mindblowingly stupid, which is why pretty much every other developed country has it in some form already.

[passiveporcupine]

81. Because being against universal healthcare is stupid.

Unless, of course, you have money invested (401K) in the health insurance system, and pharmcos and health care, which many people may have. Or if you are a business owner and are afraid that you may not be able to offer "health insurance" as a way to attract good workers without paying higher wages.

What if businesses had to actually pay higher wages because health insurance was not part of your wage/benefits package. I wonder if it might not force wages up...geeze, maybe even to $15 an hour, or higher, which would be just awful. Can you imagine owning a business and being forced to pay living wages to your employees?

[tazkcmo]

34. Exactly.

What good is insurance if you can't afford to use it? And needing to purchase insurance because you were born makes no sense at all. That money we send to the insurance companies should be going to delivering healthcare to the citizens.

[Doctor_J]

62. And some of us because it went in the wrong direction

Making every american a customer of the insurance profiteers instead of no american

[Chef Eric]

26. Frederick Douglass was told he was living in dreamland, too.

But Frederick Douglass was courageous, and he fought for what he believed in.

You say that you are giving Clinton credit for "not living in dreamland," but what you are really giving her credit for is her lack of courage to fight for what sensible and well informed people know is best.

[kristopher]

66. +1

[tazkcmo]

36. Wow.

What a cynical statement. No dreams? Hope? Dare to try?

[MaggieD]

41. So what's the plan?

A dream without a plan is just a wish. And it's silly to pretend it will come true. Sanders has no viable plan. Never has. Which is why he has been ineffective for 25 years in congress.

[tazkcmo]

45. This veteran got to see doctor because

of his ineffectiveness during his 2 years on the Veteran's Affairs Committee which he chaired. You like to the stir the pot. I like to smoke it so you can respond and have the last. You're not o changing any one's mind and you're doing a very good job of losing support for you candidate in the GE. Good night.

[roguevalley]

42. Its better to bitch about things than take

stands. This idea that you shouldn't try lest you fail is hilarious. Dems used to go anyway and if they failed they still had their self respect.

[arcane1]

77. "Clinton 2016: Because Why Bother Trying to Change Things?"

Not a very convincing slogan, is it?

[Doctor_J]

10. Hillary has stopped pretending to be a democrat

She's got the nomination nailed down, and enough sycophants who would embrace wwiii if she came out in favor, to drop all of the pretense.

[SammyWinstonJack]

19. She may have the nomination nailed down, the GE?

I'm not very confident she has that nailed down.

I don't like her chances there.

[Chef Eric]

30. I'm not confident about her chances in the GE, either.

And I fear that if Trump were to win, he'd make George W. Bush look like Abraham Lincoln.

[Doctor_J]

60. No, she's going out of her way to alienate Sanders voters

They probably number 10 million or so. If they don't show up and vote for her, her chances are slim. She's counting on the female vote, and the yellow dogs, and on sane Republicans being unwilling to vote for an actual crazy person like Carson or Cruz. FWIW Sanders will endorse Clinton in the GE, but his supporters who are apolitical except for his candidacy will be repulsed by Mrs. Clinton's conservative politics and the remarkable viciousness of her fan club.

We might have a GE between two "unelectable" candidates. Gonna be a tough 4 years regardless.

[Cheese Sandwich]

11. "Any politician that refuses to finance guaranteed health care has abandoned my patients"

That is a very powerful statement. We should probably just let the nurses run healthcare and the result would probably be a hell of a lot better than what we have now.

[iandhr]

17. Though I support single payer in theory

What she said in the debate made sense. If Bernie's plan lets states run there own single payer system they can use it for an anti-choice agenda.

[moobu2]

33. Yes, and a lot of Republican states will use it to punish poor people

for ideological reasons. Bernies plan isn't good at all.

[roguevalley]

43. SO DON'T DO OR TRY ANYTHING, AMERICA,

BECAUSE OF SOMEONE. SOMEWHERE. SOMETHING.

How the fuck did we ever get to the moon?

[bullwinkle428]

44. ...

[lovemydog]

91. That was staged.

Just kidding.

[eridani]

57. So what? States implement ACA--or not--right now

Plenty of Repuke governors have refused to expand Medicaid. I don't see getting anything better than ACA nationally, but we can go for single payer state by state--the ACA in fact provides for that. Success in a few blue states will eventually drag the rest of the country along with them.

[Babel_17]

20. K&R

"I will never abandon my patients"

[SoapBox]

22. Total K & R!

Clinton is on the side of BIG insurance and BIG Pharma.

She will never support Single Payer.

[misterhighwasted]

25. HRC is NOT on the side of big pharma nor big ins.

Your post is untrue.
Perhaps you should listen to what she says & not what you are told to believe.
You have nothing to back up your accusation.

[MaggieD]

31. Smears - just smears

Not even an attempt to pretend they are based on facts. Sadly.

[AllyCat]

35. Oh you mean the part about moving MJ to a Schedule 2?

You know so brown people can still fill up our corporate prisons, but Pharma can "research" and make loads of cash on a plant?

Or her support of ACA to keep the insurance companies propped up with the increased premiums and co-pays?

I haven't been told what to believe. HRC says it, and I see where it takes our nation.

And then I contribute to Sanders.

[Cheese Sandwich]

28. Why should we listen to nurses? It's not like they know anything about health care.

Supposed to listen to hedge fund managers. They understand insurance.

[Trajan]

38. +1,000,000

[WillyT]

32. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[gordyfl]

39. Hillary ---> Big Pharma, Insurance Industry

Since Hillary's first bid for Senate in 2000, Clinton has accepted nearly $1 million from drug and health companies and more than $2.7 million from the insurance field and its related sectors, according to an analysis of public records from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Contributions tied to some of the same firms that gave to her 2008 presidential campaign appear in the latest disclosure, including donations connected to pharmaceutical companies Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.; and insurers Aetna Inc., MetLife Inc. and Centene Corp., the latter of which is among Clinton’s largest donors this year.


http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/10/14/hillary-takes-millions-in-campaign-cash-from-enemies

[Divernan]

46. Good, FACTUAL post. Welcome to DU

[wilsonbooks]

49. Welcome to DU

Bernie can't be bought and is not for sale.

[floriduck]

70. For MaggieD and Misterhighwaisted

Smears, you say? Any other vacant words of wisdom? Are you that closed minded that facts escape you?

[Cheese Sandwich]

50. That may have been Hillary's lowest movement ever

When she attacked the very idea of a single payer system during the debate. That was low. She wasn't saying we can't pass it, she just let us know why she's against it. So we can do away with the idea that we would all love it, but we can't get it past the Republicans. As we've known, it's the Democrats that are blocking it first.
'
And now they are using Obamacare to argue against single payer.

Hillary in the debate made it seem like if you want single payer, then you're against Obamacare. That's a low and dirty cheap shot.

[Oilwellian]

51. Even Obama has stated...

he'd like to see us get to single payer one day and Obamacare was a stepping stone.

[Kentonio]

56. It didn't need to be a stepping stone.

If he'd used the bully pulpit to put the entire weight of his vast new mandate onto the shoulders of any Democrat who dared to stand against single payer in those early days. They should have been threatened with complete withdrawal of any party support for future campaigns, and their treachery against the principles of the party shouted from the rooftops.

That's what is truly sad, it was actually achievable and it was given up on the basis of attempted bi-partisanship and party unity.

[PatrickforO]

52. More and more people speaking out in favor of

the issues Bernie is talking about.

[Scuba]

58. Hillary and her fans should be wary of throwing America's nurses under the bus ...

http://www.gallup.com/poll/180260/americans-rate-nurses-highest-honesty-ethical-standards.aspx

Americans Rate Nurses Highest on Honesty, Ethical Standards

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In 2014, Americans say nurses have the highest honesty and ethical standards. Members of Congress and car salespeople were given the worst ratings among the 11 professions included in this year's poll. Eighty percent of Americans say nurses have "very high" or "high" standards of honesty and ethics, compared with a 7% rating for members of Congress and 8% for car salespeople.

Americans have been asked to rate the honesty and ethics of various professions annually since 1990, and periodically since 1976. Nurses have topped the list each year since they were first included in 1999, with the exception of 2001 when firefighters were included in response to their work during and after the 9/11 attacks. Since 2005, at least 80% of Americans have said nurses have high ethics and honesty. Two other medical professions -- medical doctors and pharmacists -- tie this year for second place at 65%, with police officers and clergy approaching 50%.

[Cheese Sandwich]

59. We'll all be under there soon

[Doctor_J]

61. They are also predominantly female

She is going to need the women's vote to win the GE. I'm not sure working women identify that strongly with her anyway, and something like this could be critical.

[zentrum]

63. Have always loved

…the National Nurses Union. They are always on the side of patients and against Hospital CEOs and profit for health care . They fought hard for Obama during the ACA fight.

[Hepburn]

65. Proud to KNR this thread

Nurses cannot receive enough praise. Bless them!

[Scruffy1]

71. Not surprisung

She's a complete tool of the oligarchy or as I call it inverted fascism.. Yet, some dems are blind.

[Uncle Joe]

72. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, think.

[Enthusiast]

73. Kicked and recommended to the Max!

[marym625]

75. I met some of the nurses from this union at the Enough is Enough rally in San Francisco

They're just wonderful people. And they support Bernie big time

[Dont call me Shirley]

76. SINGLE PAYER NOW! NO ONE SHOULD GO WITHOUT HEALTHCARE! EVER!

[stupidicus]

78. obviously HC and her supporters don't care about the needless death and misery

of any of those 33M uninsured.

that's how they'd no doubt argue it if their reasoning on BS gun votes is a good example of what qualifies as reasoning for many/most of them.

[Cheese Sandwich]

79. Nurses are heroes. Insurance companies are zeros. Medicare for all. nt

[pangaia]

80. Of course nurses are for single payer health care.

It means more people can get...HEALTH CARE. And THAT, my friend, means more jobs for nurses, more demand, higher salary.

Rather obvious why they say what they say........isn't.....it..... ?

greedy bunch of....... women....

[NanceGreggs]

82. Just read the entire article.

And I'm not seeing HRC "attacking" single-payer anywhere. Not promising that something will be delivered does NOT constitute an "attack".

I live in Toronto (Canada) and have access to unlimited healthcare services funded via my taxes. And to say I have NO complaints about that would be the understatement of the century.

The problem with initiating that kind of healthcare in the US is having to un-do decades of RW propaganda. Over the years of my being here, I have been asked many questions by family and friends in the US about the system here: Are all doctors in Canada gov't employees? Does your doctor have to check with a gov't official before treating you? Does the gov't have a "say" in what treatment you can receive? Can the gov't limit how often you see a doctor, or how much money can be spent on your healthcare needs? Does the gov't appoint a doctor for you?

The GOP has instilled these ideas about "socialized medicine" for as long as I can remember. And I don't blame any US citizen for not understanding how universal healthcare works after being bombarded with RW talking points their whole lives.

So step one in promoting single-payer in the US will require the "un-brainwashing" (for lack of a better term) of millions of Americans whose only "knowledge" about it is based on years and years of misrepresentations, distortions, and outright lies.

That is NOT a small thing to overcome. It is going to take a truly intense "marketing campaign" - again, for lack of a better term - to convince Americans that universal healthcare is NOT what they've been told it is by the GOP and a totally complicit MSM.

I apologize for "hijacking" a thread about HRC's alleged "attacks" on single-payer, and going off on a rant about the importance of universal healthcare - which, to some degree, is "off topic" given the OP.

But to say that HRC has "attacked" the concept of single-payer is just not true, nor does the linked article point to anything that could even remotely be considered an "attack". HRC recognizes the uphill battle that needs to be waged here - and understands just how difficult that battle is going to be.

[WillyT]

83. This Might Help...

DULink: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251826229

[NanceGreggs]

85. Still not seeing HRC ...

... "attacking" the idea of single-payer healthcare.

[WillyT]

86. Like Clockwork... One Of Her Surrogates Did... Do You Parse Words All The Time ???

If it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck... it needs a DNA Test ???

[NanceGreggs]

87. One of her surrogates did?

Where is a link to Hillary "attacking" single payer?

[WillyT]

88. Like I Said...

G'Night.

[NanceGreggs]

89. IOW ...

... you have no evidence that HRC "attacked" the concept of single-payer.

That's fine - I didn't think you did.

G'night!