As Obama Hosts Summit on Healthcare, Marginalized Advocates Ask Why Single Payer Is Ignored

[personman]

Source: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/3/6/as_obama_hosts_summit_on_health">Democracy Now! (w/ audio, video, and transcripts)

President Obama hosted a White House summit Thursday on reforming healthcare. While President Obama said every idea must be considered, the idea of creating a single-payer national health insurance program appears to have already been rejected. We speak to Harper’s senior editor Luke Mitchell, author of the article http://harpers.org/archive/2009/02/0082380">"Sick in the Head: Why America Won’t Get the Health-Care System It Needs."

JUAN GONZALEZ: President Barack Obama convened 120 experts to the White House Thursday for a summit on healthcare. Participants included doctors, health insurance companies, lawmakers and patients. Obama vowed to make passing healthcare reform a priority this year.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: In this effort, every voice has to be heard. Every idea must be considered. Every option must be on the table. There should be no sacred cows. Each of us must accept that none of us will get everything that we want and that no proposal for reform will be perfect. If that’s the measure, we will never get anything done. But when it comes to addressing our healthcare challenge, we can no longer let the perfect be the enemy of the essential.


JUAN GONZALEZ: While the President said every idea must be considered, the idea of creating a single-payer national health insurance program has already been rejected. White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs said Thursday, "The President doesn’t believe that’s the best way to achieve the goal of cutting costs and increasing access."

Initially, no supporters of single payer were invited to the summit. After protests were called, the White House invited Democratic Congressman John Conyers and the president of the Physicians for a National Health Program.

AMY GOODMAN: Single-payer advocates have also been largely silenced in the media. A new study being released today by FAIR, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, found the views of advocates of single payer have only been aired five times in the hundreds of major newspaper, broadcasts and cable stories about healthcare reform over the past week. No single-payer advocate has appeared on a major TV broadcast or cable network to talk about the policy during that period.

Well, to talk more about this, we’re joined by Luke Mitchell. He’s senior editor at

Harper’s Magazine. His article in the February issue is called http://harpers.org/archive/2009/02/0082380">"Sick in the Head: Why America Won’t Get the Health-Care System It Needs."

http://anarchismtoday.org/News/article/sid=143.html">Read more at http://anarchismtoday.org/">Anarchism Today

[Bonhomme Richard]

1. As long as the health care industry is a "profit making business"...

all those working to fix the nations health policies are simply pissing in the wind.

[Triana]

2. Exactly. Health care should not be a for-profit INDUSTRY. Until and unless it isn't

we don't have health care in this country. We have corprat welfare - scraped off the backs of the sick, injured, and dying. And that's all.

It's as immoral as it can get.

[hootinholler]

3. K&R WTF only 4?

[annabanana]

4. 5

The only way it will get coverage is if the 'nets embarrass them into it.

[bvar22]

5. There is NO need to "create a new system from scratch.

"...the idea of creating a single-payer national health insurance program appears to have already been rejected."

The US alreaady has a Single Player System in place and functioning.
Simply expand MediCare! (HR-676)


I am a solid advocate of HR-676.
There would be no need to outlaw For Profit private insurance.
Allow the American People to choose!

While Obama obliquely referenced the creation of an alternative "MediCare LIKE" system that Americans could "buy in to"...he has been very quiet about this option since the debates.

This is the "make or break" point for Obama. If there is NO alternative public NON-PROFIT system offered in Obama's Reform package.....

[Lugnut]

6. K&R

HR676.

[Pastiche423]

7. K&R!