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Doctors' Group: Obama Plan Leaves Millions Uninsured, Boosts Private Insurers
WASHINGTON - President Obama's health care proposal, preserving as it does a central role for the for-profit, private health insurance industry, is incapable of achieving the kind of universal, comprehensive and affordable reform the country needs, a spokesman for a national doctors' group said Wednesday.
"Regrettably, the president's proposal is built on some of the worst aspects of the Senate bill," said Dr. Quentin Young, national coordinator of Physicians for a National Health Program, an organization of 17,000 doctors who support single-payer, Medicare-for-All approach to reform. Young's statement comes on the eve of the president's bipartisan summit in Washington.
"For example, the president's proposal would ship hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to the private health insurance industry in the form of subsidies," Young said. "And to help finance this, it would impose a new tax on health benefits of workers, especially those in high-cost states.
"Its individual mandate would force millions of middle-income uninsured Americans to buy insurers' skimpy products - insurance policies full of gaps like ever-rising co-pays, deductibles and premiums. Such policies already leave middle-class American families vulnerable to economic hardship and medical bankruptcy in the event of a serious illness like cancer," continued Young, citing a recent study.
"Even so, at least 23 million people would remain uninsured," he said. "We know that being uninsured raises your chance of dying by about 40 percent," he continued, citing another recent study. "That translates into about 23,000 unnecessary deaths each year. As physicians, we find this completely unacceptable."
"In short," Young said, "this proposal is an insurance company bonanza, not good, evidence-based health reform. The president would do better by abandoning the insurance and drug companies and instead taking up the single-payer approach." His group has estimated that such an approach could save hundreds of billions of dollars annually by simplifying health administration.
"By building on and improving the already popular Medicare program, we could put our patients' interests first," he said. "Were President Obama to do so, he would meet with strong public support, including from the medical community."
Although the physicians' group requested an invitation to Thursday's summit at Blair House, no reply from the White House has been forthcoming, Young said. Similarly, requests from Reps. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, Anthony Weiner of New York and Peter Welch of Vermont president that single-payer advocates be included in the meeting have apparently gone unanswered.
Outside the Blair House on Thursday, a grassroots "Sidewalk Summit for Medicare for All" will underscore popular support for the measure.
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Show AllThis is no doubt that a major part of health care reform should have been not only getting rid of private insurer as the major player, but also addressing the other real health care problems we have in this country that supposedly has the best medical care in the world -- which I find highly debatable. Frankly, with or without insurance, I am terrified of going to a hospital these days.
If there was any doubt that Obomba is a minion of corporate capitalists, this article will disabuse you of that notion. The fact that the single payer advocates weren't even invited (even after asking to be invited) to this summit shows that. This is especially galling after his disingenuous plea a few weeks ago to listen to "any better ideas" regarding health care. What a bunch of crap.
People need either to boycott the elections of 2010 and 2012, write in "no suitable candidate" on every ballot line, or vote for (or write in) for your local socialist or green candidate. Sure the Republican Party will be swept into power. So what? Have the Democrats showed themselves to be substantially different? I think not. At least, it will be clear who the enemy is without the confusion of a well marketed "hope and change" candidate.
"Sooooeee, pigs, soooooeeee."
Farmer Obama is calling his herd and promises them a big feeding at the public trough.
You're going to love this. Single-payer was mentioned on NPR this morning, at the end of a short report. It's worth listening to. It's Vermont Congressman Peter Welsh who states the point briefly and succinctly. And at the end Scott Horsley says single-payer is "too comprehensive" for Obama. It was a beauty -- so rare for NPR. But I'll take any nugget I can get at this point.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124067983
I voted for Obama.
I chose a Honda over a Toyota.
I'm batting .500.
I should be in baseball.
Preferably in Toronto.
With the intelligent life forms.
I could maybe learn something.
Vote against Harper.
Bat .750?
peacekeepertwo:Reshape American Thought. Democrats in America need to work together. When I use the Word Democrat, I mean anyone who believes in Democracy. We will not survive this recession if we remain divided. We have been taught that Christianity and Capitalism are the same thing. You hear Evangelical Preachers saying, God wants to be Rich. Capitalism is the Way you get Rich. This has planted this Image in our mind, that God has conferred his blessing on the Capitalist System. As long as Americans view capitalism as a Blessing from god, we cannot make kind of changes that will unify this Country. Ministers should be encouraging those who attend their services, to look at Both Socialism, and Capitalism as Tools that should be used to improve our lives. Ministers are raking in too much Cash, preaching the virtues of capitalism. Ministers aren’t likely to give us the Change we can believe in. Our fate is in the hands of politicians, who understand their Career is linked to a Change we can believe in. Voters need to be re-educated, so they understand What the Word Socialism really means. To me the word Socialism means we have a shared responsibility, to give our neighbor’s a hand up when they fail. Single Payer health Care is part of accepting that Shared responsibility. Maybe the wealthy are frightened about Single Payer/Medicare for all, because it will open a Pandora’s Box. If you want to limit health costs you need to end homelessness, regulate agribusiness, and so on. Unregulated Capitalism will be the end of America.
All one has to do if they have a half brain is look at Canada, Western Europe and Australia and see having a single payer system/national health care does not mean wealth and innovation is halted--on the contrary, they have wealth and innovation.
It's ignorant to assume those contries with universal medical systems are not innovative and wealthy-- as this is not true though I hear this all the time on The Huffington Post by ignorant Democrats(Obamabots) and Republicans alike.
" A group of doctors has recommended that all private health insurance in the United States be abolished and replaced with a federal program that would assure equal care to everyone." Proposed by a 1,200 member group called Physicians for a National Health Program.(Jan. 12th, 1989)
"The "fourth world" is a populace of new poor, the unsupplied side, who trickeled down from bankrupt farms, closed factories and cuts in social programs to joblessness or low-paying jobs in fast food resturants, hotels, offices, stores ect., where the work is minimum wage, sometimes part-time and usually without benefits and who now suffer poverty in rich affluent America. The working poor may be able to move in with parents, relatives, friends or find low rent housing,scraping together enough money to buy food and clothes, but they do not have enough money to cover the cost of exorbitant private individual medical health insurance premiums or medical treatment and medications."(genie, Jan.20th,1989)I applaud the doctors groups for speaking up for health care for all and for their true compassion.
To those who appose Obama, Are you blind or just stupid? Did you not see the facial expressions of Republicans? Each one was full of extreme hatred. They can not accept a black guy to accomplish, the promises he made to all Americans. Are they oblivious of the present situation. Are you not been robbed by the CEOs of health industry. Medicine is no longer an honorable profession. It has become a money making industry for the' nonprofessionals'. The doctors are spending most of their time on paper filling to prevent law suits. The lawyers want every I dotted and T cut, or go through hell with litigation.
Obama's initial plan, Gov, Insurance was thrown out the door by republicans.
Now they know that Obama is going to forward without them, they want to get some credit, that is why they want the same Bill rewritten.
Once again, we have to kill this bill. Start over. Insist on single payer. Vote out vulture industry shills.
That's most of our incumbents.
As long as the American mentality embraces money as the only thing that counts, nothing will ever be achieved - be it in health insurance or any other program that would benefit the public. Greed, greed and more greed! And the government happily going along.