Single Payer Advocates Address Deep Flaws in Democratic Health Bill

[Joanne98]

On the day before Thanksgiving, members of single payer advocacy organizations gathered for a press conference to voice strong concerns with a Democratic health bill that they feel fails to address the biggest problems with health care in America.


Dr. Carol Paris and Dr. Margaret Flowers of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), Kevin Zeese of Prosperity Agenda, and Russell Mokhiber of Single Payer Action were all present for the press conference in the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. at 10 am ET.

All four were members of the Baucus Eight that were arrested for confronting senators anddisrupting a Senate hearingafter Sen. Max Baucus and other senators took single payer off the table.

Dr. Paris said the Democratic bill makes the mistake of “keeping the biggest problem, which is the waste of the private insurance industry” a part of the health reform solution being proposed by Congress.

According to Russell Mokhiber, “It's unfair to call this health reform. This is an insurance industry and pharmaceutical industry bailout.”

Dr. Flowers said, “It's designed to fail. If our goal for this country is to provide healthcare for every person in a way that is financially sustainable and have it be both universal and cost-efficient, this is not the way to do it.”

Like many advocates for single payer, Dr. Flowers is bothered by how much the insurance industry has influenced the health insurance enrichment bill and how the legislation will “further enrich and empower the health insurance industry by mandating that people purchase their products by usinghundreds of billions of federal dollars to subsidize the purchase of private insurance.”

Single payer advocates do not want to make the perfect the enemy of the good but because the Democratic bill currently mandates that people purchase a defective product---private insurance---compromise, for many advocates, is unjustifiable.

“By forcing people at the point of increased taxes and threat of incarceration to buy a product that's defective, first, it's an amazing first in our history, but second, it really undermines the good in this bill because it empowers the cause of health care problems,” said Zeese.

Zeese added “to mandate people buy health insurance under threat” of fines that are up to 2.5% of their income or to threaten criminal punishment is unconscionable especially since none of the basic problems of health insurance would be fixed with this bill.

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http://www.opednews.com/articles/Single-Payer-Advocates-Add-by-Kevin-Gosztola-091125-983.html

[niyad]

1. glad to know that this is being covered, however slightly.

[corpseratemedia]

2. if this "health reform" is going to be anything like another donuthole part D

then the democratic party will be known as the Bailout Party

i just don't think the people in power really care, all they care about is the corporate funding of their campaigns, nothing like "representing the people" in between elections.