Fallon to push for universal health care - DMR

[Debi]

http://www.dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060223/NEWS09/60223004/1001


Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed Fallon said today he would rally Iowans to demand universal health care in the state.

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"I don't see a huge tax increase needed to do this," he said. "Let me make it clear. It does not mean socialized medicine. This is going to be a public-private partnership."

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Fallon is the only candidate for governor to call for universal health care. Democrat Mike Blouin, the state's former economic development director, has proposed enhancements aimed at children, women and older Iowans. Secretary of State Chet Culver has proposed measures to help small businesses lower their health insurance costs

[IA_Seth]

1. Fallon...

I love this idea, but am unsure how it would be paid for.

Being a young single guy I have known PLENTY of people working for a pittance, with no health insurance to pay for their troubles.

I've known women with Endometriosis who could do nothing. I have known men who self-medicate with illegal drugs who would have been much better off with anti-depressants. I have known people who make home-made splints for broken fingers.

Its sad. And we COULD do something about it.

I am hoping to get to Fallon's speech here in CR tomorrow, but it isn't looking good as far as work goes. I would really like to know how we could pay for such a thing, and how it would work.

[pstans]

2. Here is the schedule of his tour

From an email I got:
State Representative and gubernatorial candidate Ed Fallon (D-Des Moines) will visit 8 cities in central and eastern Iowa on Thursday and Friday to introduce his plan for universal health care. The tour was initially scheduled for last week but had to be postponed due to poor weather conditions.

“Other politicians seem content to apply a few bandaids to our ailing health care system,” Fallon said. “What I’m offering is a transfusion, an overhaul of a system that fails more and more Iowans every year. Other states are moving forward with reform initiatives and with the right leadership, Iowa can too.”

DETAILS FOR THE EVENTS:

Thursday, February 23:
9:00 AM: Des Moines, State Capitol, East Wing, south side of hall
11:45 AM: Waterloo, Community Health Clinic
3:15 PM: Dubuque, St. Mark Community Center
6:00 PM: Davenport, United Neighbor Center

Friday, February 24:
9:00 AM: Clinton, Democratic Party Headquarters
11:30 AM: Muscatine, Muscatine Community College, Larson Hall Conference Room
1:30 PM: Iowa City, Emergency Room, U of I Hospital
3:30 PM: Cedar Rapids, Community Health Free Clinic

[rurallib]

3. This and campaign reform are why I prefer Fallon

Health care for all is an issue that seems so elementary as to be a no-brainer. Yet only ONE candidate is even proposing doing something. Other candidates want to put more band-aids on a cancer of a social problem. They are intimidated by fear of the 'socialized medicine' label.
Answer me this - if you were able to design a health care system from the ground up would you design one where health care depends on securing a job where the employer has group coverage? Else you must cover yourself with premiums getting to the point of unaffordable when you need them most? A system where a person could easily lose their life savings through no real fault of their own? A system where your health care depends on some insurance company's P&L statement? I could go on.
For some incredibly stupid reason Americans are willing to let this system continue and vote in candidates that keep us free from the scourge of gay marriage.
I would be willing to bet if Iowa was to become an insurance pool of its own with a one payer system total (and probably individual) costs would go down. And it would attract businesses who are looking to get out from under the current insane system. Then we could dump the corporate bribe and welfare system.

[pstans]

4. I would think that big business would be all for this

Health Care is the elephant that big business has to carry on its back. Would Maytag, Ford, and GM be laying all of these workers if they did not have to pay for health care. When I was looking for a job 3 years ago, a lot of places said that they had work for me to do, but they couldn't afford to hire anyone because of health care. That was 3 years ago. How bad do you think it is now?

[Debi]

6. They could afford to hire people and provide adequate health care

if they decided that they didn't need to drive Lexus or Mercedes and live in McMansions and vaca in the Bahamas. I refuse to believe the hype that large companies cannot afford to insure their employees. So what if they aren't listed in Forbes as the top-ten profit earners in the land? What if a large company had moderate profits and well compensated employees who made a living wage and used the money to purchase goods (as to create additional jobs)? What then?

[rurallib]

8. There is no compulsory reason for businesses to provide

health care. I look for businesses to start dumping this benefit real soon. And once some do, others will follow in quick succession. Then because the regressives have thwarted any kind of universal health care for decades, we will all have to get individual policies. Good luck with that.
This is what the regressives term a 'win-win'. Businesses lose an expense so they make more money and the politicians will get bigger donations.

[Debi]

5. It's not Americans that are allowing this system to continue

it's the people in office who rely on the $$$ of the companies that keep the process alive. It's the individuals who put profit above people that keep this going. If public pooling were allowed it would crash the huge profit that the insurance companies make off of healthy people who never use catastrophic care resources. We can't have those multi-millionaires eating peanut butter and jelly now, can we?

[pstans]

7. Here is Fallon's position paper on this

http://www.fallonforgovernor.net/files/downloads/Healthcarepositionpaper.pdf