Senate to Take up Bernie Sanders Single-Payer Health Plan Wednesday

[kpete]

Source: Common Dreams

Published on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 by CommonDreams.org
Senate to Take up Bernie Sanders Single-Payer Health Plan Wednesday

WASHINGTON, December 15 - The Senate on Wednesday will debate for the first time in American history a proposal to create a single-payer, Medicare-for-all health care system.

"In my view, the single-payer approach is the only way we will ever have a cost-effective, comprehensive health care system in this country," said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), whose amendment will come before the Senate.

The Sanders Amendment would provide health care and dental coverage for every American, save money, and improve health care results.

"One of the reasons our current health care system is so expensive, so wasteful, so bureaucratic, so inefficient is that it is heavily dominated by private health insurance comp

Read more: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/12/15-9

[DavidDvorkin]

1. Will there be a roll-call vote?

We know what will happen to this amendment, but I'd like to know who votes to kill it.

[MH1]

3. I can't wait to see that roll call!

I suspect that, sadly, there will be only a small number of yes votes.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

28. maybe they (Dems) will all accept and vote yes! That would anger the GOP!

give the GOP the run around

[Newsjock]

2. Alas

From TFA:

Sanders acknowledged that his amendment would not pass. "As a result of the power of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries, this amendment will not pass or even get very many votes. Nonetheless, given the view of millions of us that a single-payer approach is the only way this country will ever provide comprehensive, cost-effective health care to all its citizens, this is an important step forward.

[kirby]

4. Theatre...

Why didn't the Democratic leadership send this to the CBO for scoring!? That would have changed the entire debate.

[dflprincess]

5. You answered your own question

They didn't dare let the CBO score single payer.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

9. BINGO

[CTyankee]

22. It wouldn't make any difference. The RW simply picks and chooses the CBO score they

like and ignore the one they don't like. They even laugh and sneer and admit it, the way Mort Zuckerman did on Morning Joe a couple of weeks ago when he was debating hcr with Howard Dean. Dean said Mort couldn't pick and choose and Mort just snorted "Sure I can!" with a big laugh. Dean was so surprised he laughed too.

[dflprincess]

25. The same could be said of the Democrats

who was it didn't send single payer to be scored?

[CTyankee]

26. Well, but for a different reason...so many just wanted it shut out.

Not even get to the POINT of scoring. That was really bad from my point of view...

[wial]

6. in the real world

which surely this can't be, this would have passed long ago.

[AlbertCat]

7. this would have passed long ago.

It did!....in every civilized country on earth.

[damntexdem]

24. And that's the unfortunate entire story of single payer and the U.S.

We have teabaggers and the GOP to distract us from who really rules us and what they are doing to us THROUGH the Democratic Party.

[Ozymanithrax]

8. I admire Bernie Sanderse...

Clearly, he does not agree with Dean and is still fighting to pass a bill.

[pundaint]

14. There is no disagreement.

Dean hasn't given up, he just has a floor, below which he will not sink. Whereas, the elected Democrats will sink to any depths necessary to please the corporate weasels who have bought off OUR employees to work against us.

The Democrats misunderstood Yoda's meaning by "there is no try," thinking it meant make no effort on behalf of the People of America. Dean and Bernie both have plenty of TRY.

[PassingFair]

19. Bull shit. n/t

[FarLeftFist]

10. Imagine this got 60 votes. No one would see that one coming.

The media would actually have a collective nervous breakdown.

[avaistheone1]

13. Do with less votes on reconciliation.

[Freddie Stubbs]

17. It won't even get 50

[defendandprotect]

11. Good luck, Bernie !!!

[Fozzledick]

12. Politics aside, there are really only two choices

Either universal single payer, or else something that costs more for less coverage.

[earcandle]

15. We have to demand that our leaders stop acting stupid, ignorant and prejudice.

[Garam_Masala]

16. Bernie is right....Single payer is the ONLY real HC Reform

What is left of senator Reid's watered down HCR bill is a $900 Billion
welfare program for big pharma and the private health insurers.
It will surely subsidize the currently under insured but will raise
cost for all those who currently are insured.

There are no cost controls, taxes start in 2010 but benefits don't
start until 4 years later. It is a joke!

[pleah]

18. This is what we should be fighting for. n/t

[Vidar]

20. Bless you, Bernie!

[harun]

21. It is being read in its entirety in the Senate right now.

Thanks to the pukes who just want to waste time, at least they are reading a good amendment. All 700+ pages of it.

[Habibi]

23. Sanders withdrew it

to stop the reading.

[dflprincess]

27. He should have let them finish it

but Bernie has a conscience.

I did see a clip on Countdown of what he said when he withdrew it - he really gave the 'pukes hell.