Black Agenda Report: Reid's bill will subsidize private insurers and force us to buy their policies

[Better Believe It]

Harry Reid, Democratic Leaders and the White House Still Faking the Funk on Universal Health Care
by Bruce A. Dixon
Managing Editor, Black Agenda Report
October 28, 2009

This week the Senate's Harry Reid announced the consolidation of the Senate Democratic caucus version of health care reform. How central the “public option” is or is not depends on who you ask, as do precisely how many people it would be offered to and on what terms. What is clear is that it remains a Massachusetts-style bailout plan to subsidize private insurers, rather than one providing universal care at affordable rates. Meanwhile the gap between the actual public option and the imaginary ones sold by progressive Democrats is growing. How long it can be concealed, and what will happen when it is revealed are anybody's guess.

The behavior of some leading Democrats on single payer is positively schizophrenic, poo-pooing, downplaying and dismissing single payer while they describe their incredibly complicated some-of-you-in and most-of-you-out versions of the public option and the “robust” public option as Medicare For All in everything but name and unique American-ness.

The foundation of the president's plan, and the plans of Democratic leaders isn't single payer, it isn't Medicare For All, and it's not even any kind of public option, robust or otherwise. The foundation of of their health care reform remains bailing out the private insurance companies, guaranteeing them a lucrative market by forcing Americans to buy their policies, some of them with taxpayer subsidies and funds squeezed from existing Medicare, Medicaid and other care for those at high risk and low incomes.

Democrats can lie about or suppress discussion on these things for a little while to come. But the truth will come out, much of it well before the 2010 elections. The standard alibi of blue dog Democrats has always been that they can't support any “robust public option,” let alone single payer because their districts are sooooo conservative. But this doesn't hold water. Many blue dog districts are among the highest in proportions of the uninsured, and rife with bankruptcies, caused in large part by unpayable medical bills. These blue dogs have been shielded from progressive challengers in primary elections by none other than Rahm Emanuel for two or three terms now, and they expect that protection again for standing with private insurers against the voters of their districts.

Congress and the White House are continually bombarded with letters, phone calls, faxes and emails demanding the consideration of Medicare For All, HR 676, simple and effective single payer legislation introduced by Congressmen Conyers and Kucinich, and sponsored by 90 of their colleagues in this congress. The initiative in the struggle for universal health care remains where it always has been, in the streets and in the public and private meetings of single payer advocates. The harder they press, the more divided congressional Democrats become, between those who adamantly oppose single payer AND the imaginary public option, and the faction that keeps telling us their “robust public option” is so much like single payer that we'll hardly know the difference.

Please read the complete article at:

http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/harry-reid-democratic-leaders-and-white-house-still-faking-funk-universal-health-care

[nightrain]

1. knr. The Senate is worse off, more have been bought off, than the House.

[xchrom]

2. kick

[inna]

3. KR

[ej510]

4. This a fact.

[joeycola]

8. :-)

[joeycola]

5. that seems to be the jest of the Reid bill.

[ej510]

6. Creating a gold plated necklace and selling it as 48k gold.

[joeycola]

7. You just gave me an idea. I will call it "Fools gold" thanks.

[Better Believe It]

9. How about a plastic "pearl" necklace?

[Laelth]

10. k&r for the truth. This author tells it like it is. n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[timzi]

11. I Agree

[Thrill]

12. I don't believe Reid has even showed his combined bill

to anyone but the CBO.

And this article is written by another single payer advocate. One who fails to see the reality of single payer. It ain't happening unless there is is big time campaign finance reform. So no need shiting on every thing else because you can't get it.

[timzi]

13. EXACTLY

"It ain't happening unless there is is big time campaign finance reform: