Re: "In Canada, it is a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison for a government bureaucrat to interfere in any way in a patient care issue or decision."

I'd like to cite the source for this. What's the source?

Regards, Robert DiGrazia

oldcreditiste with 50 years experience in Canada says that:
#1 He who pays the piper calls the tune.
#2 There are some advantages to a single payer system.
#3 There are repeated and continuous examples of government interference in patient care. Not directly but indirectly.
ie. There are never enough nursing home beds so patients who need to go to a nursing home are kept in active treatment hospitals and as a result the new patients coming to the emergency department can not be admitted be cause there is "no bed". This clogs up the emergency department and interferes with the care of all patients.
The government officials control the licenses for the nursing homes and the money which would allow the hospitals to hire nurses. Without nurses the doctors are useless. I know, I am one of them.
The devil is in the details as you will find out.

The ultimate problem seems to be that the legislators are gutless and are afraid to raise the taxes to pay for the things that they have promised to the people and the people are gulled again and again in the election campaigns and re-elect the same gutless politicians.

A single payer system gives greater control than ever to that single payer. I wish you all good health.

Nanoo

It's so right in your face how single payer would boost the economy. Hell, I could get hearing aids and new glasses and other medical things checked out and I already have the so called wonder Blue Cross % Shield. Just think of all the people who lack and need.

At this point there is only one way to get their attention, and that is by striking. a Nurse's Strike, A Doctor's Strike.

We're being told Doctors and Nurses are overwhelmingly behind single payer. OK, show them you want healthcare for all, no deductible, no co-pay, no lining the pockets of thieving legislators and corporate sharks.

STRIKE FOR "WE THE PEOPLE"

If we don't hit the streets, faxes, phones, e-mails pronto, we'll end up victims of the most massive political ripoff since
the bank bailout - except this one will kill.

Support HR 676 and let Washington know it.
Spread the word.

You're not alone out there - others are also acting, but it's time we became a visible mob, or series of mobs. They need to know just how many of us there are.

As long as I do not have to buy some crummy policy I cannot use. I can always buy my employers policy that is crummy but much less than what the gov. would cost.
When people are sick they usually end up being forced onto the gov. insurance. When people say they do not want the gov. in insurance that is what they end up with when they are ill and really need health insurance.
This is absolute insanity. Soon people will be paying thousands a month and living in a cardboard box so they can be denied care?
I do not understand why people who think insurance is affordable and a lifestyle choice are not purchasing their own.
I think I will just move to a socialist country because that way I can get the socialism I pay for.

UGH- the whole system is disgusting. I had to go to my Doctor today. She commented on my elevated heart rate and off the chart cholesterol. I asked her which of the three medications that she has me on could we change (rather than start taking more and MORE of their god damn poison pills) and she had the nerve to look me in the eye and state that the medications didn't cause any of it.

My jaw about literally came unhinged. I told her that my cardiologist directly called out one of the meds as being known to alter ~ (what else) heart beat rates. She said that was impossible. I went straight to a magazine right there in the exam room and was within SECONDS was able to directly get to an article affirming the validity of my statement.

She herself has ordered cholesterol tests from time to time to verify that medications she has prescribed were not sending my cholesterol levels skyward. Out of the blue she claims today- it would have to be genetic! I laughed out loud at this. "Where did you hear such a thing?" she said. "From you. YOU told me." was my reply.

I guess that they must be terrified of lawsuits? Maybe receiving kickbacks from BigPharma to keep pushing these drugs?

Well, well... going to healthcare hell? No. We are all ready there. It isn't just the insurance industry- it's ALL of them.

Finally this is third item we are doing and would like to go national. Please copy and send as an email blast to everyone you know.

BRANDING the SINGLE PAYER Movement

Two thousand years ago a Roman senator suggested that all slaves wear white armbands to better identify them. “No,” said a wiser senator. “If they see how many of them there are, they may revolt.”

The insurance industry control that has been consolidated at the top of our government, including members of Congress, know that keeping us unseen and divided about what we can agree upon has worked to their advantage.

We, as a Single Payer Movement, need to let the American people - and our President, Senators and Representatives - know just how many we are by adopting a very simple self empowerment symbolism.

That is why Floridians for Health Care is going national with a proposal that every single payer advocate and supporter begin wearing a BLUE BANDANA as a symbol or “brand” for our movement.

It’s almost too easy - but so effective. It’s a dollar store item that anyone can afford. It is easily seen and can be displayed with without difficulty in cars, planes, boats or trains - As a scarf around your neck, or as a pouf in your suit jacket.

Tie it on your car, your briefcase or your bag.

Wear it on your head, your neck or your arm.

Hang it in your house window, tie it to your mailbox -
Heck, you can even put one on your pet

Make it visible daily

By wearing something all the time like a bandana, the power of seeing others on the street who have the same beliefs, courage and desires will be visible to all quickly and easily and transforms each participant.

Remember, they are few, we are many but we need to see who we are. Let’s show the world how many of us believe we can change knowing we are not alone.

By extended discussion of the correctness of symbolism, we discount our momentum and paralyze achieving our desired results. If Americans can show support for our troops by displaying yellow ribbons on our cars and trees, we can show our support for single payer by wearing blue bandanas. [Why Blue? No particular reason other than it seems to fit the progressive movement better than red].

The bandana revolution can reach critical mass very quickly. Remember while we are busy waging armchair guerrilla warfare, the health care insurance industry is succeeding in destroying us because we can’t even see who “us” is. We say stand out where you are and let me see you.

A traveling visible symbol lets us know in a gas line, in a supermarket or at work who you are and what you stand for. Let it be a conversation starter to explain single payer if someone asks why everyone is wearing blue bandanas.

This is an in-your-face, legal, significant in numbers idea. It came to us when one of our members, Melinda Clark, realized that our own Roman Senators in the American Empire (Congress) are significant to us because we recognize the players. We see them. They are visible to each of us. Only when they see how many of us there are, will we see then what they think about conducting “business as usual.”

We need to SEE bandanas………………………………….and so do THEY.

SO, WE ARE ASKING EVERY SINGLE PAYER SUPPORTER NATIONWIDE TO START IMMEDIATELY WEARING A BLUE BANDANA EVERY DAY EVERY WHERE YOU GO - ALL THE TIME
Let the people who believe in affordable and accessible health care for all see every day we are millions strong. That we are the voice of change. That we ”slaves” to the FOR-PROFIT insurance industry that controls our representatives may just “revolt” if true health care reform that insures
“EVERYBODY IN, NOBODY OUT”
is not enacted.

JOIN THE BANDANA REVOLUTION ! !

WEAR A BLUE BANDANA TODAY ! !

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW

SUPPORT SINGLE PAYER MEDICARE-FOR-ALL
H.R. 676 S.B. 703

Here is the second one we are doing next week. This could be copied and dates, times and places changes to adapt to your area. The last line connects to the third event we are doing nationwide.

RALLY FOR
HEALTH CARE REFORM!

Thursday June 25th
at the corner of Okeechobee and Parker
West Palm Beach
5:00pm-7:00pm
(park in the Kravis Center or City Place)
Or ride your bike!

In solidarity with the National Rally being held in DC
Now is the time to show Washington the power of the people.
The economy is not working for working families today—and health care is a major part of the problem. Across America, families are making hard decisions between paying for health care and paying for other necessities and struggling with a system that is too often cruel and inefficient.

Come Support Improved and Expanded Medicare For All
(the implementing legislation has already been proposed)
H.R. 676 and S. 703

We must expose the Congressional leaders that are colluding in advancing lousy, wasteful legislation knowing full well that Americans are hurting, and will continue to die and go bankrupt because of its shortcomings.
We must do what it takes to get the attention of the masses.

On this day, June 25, it is important that you be there to give our message the strong voice that will make it heard.

MAKE A SIGN SUPPORTING SINGLE PAYER
( suggestions below)

AND
WEAR A BLUE BANDANA !

Here are three things that we have done in South Florida. Here is the first one.

We live in Palm Beach County. We have come up with an idea that we plan on pursuing in our County, but would like to expand State wide if we can get your help. Most of the participants at my meeting want a single payer system, and at the very least will be unsatisfied with any legislation that does not include a STRONG PUBLIC HEALTH CARE OPTION. All politics is local, and our very own Senator Nelson is not supporting this. Since he needs our support for reelection, we are going to change his mind

1) We are holding a "Walk on Nelson" day, on Tuesday JUNE 23. If we get enough participation, we will extend it into the next day and so on. What this means is that we want individuals to Walk into Senator Nelson's local office during the day, hand them their "health care story" and tell them they want the Senator to support a Single Payer system and refuse to settle for anything less than a strong Public Insurance Plan. We must make him hear what we want.

The beauty of this plan is that it accomplishes a lot without requiring much time on the part of those who participate. It only requires they take an hour out of their day, one time, to visit their Representative.

If you are interested in organizing this event in your area for your respective Congressmembers, please contact us at themintz4@aol.com. We have developed Call scripts, Online forms to capture health stories, and an online calendar so people can sign up online to go to the Senators office.

Yes, the situation will clearly be worse if any of the things being talked about pass.

There is one ultra right wing combination that even Obama is trying to avoid, a mandate and no public option. If this happens, it will be a full scale fascist health policy if there ever was one.

Have any governments ever even contemplated trying to force people to pay for a private product, and a very overpriced one at that? I doubt any state in the history of the world has ever even talked about something this looney. I say "try to force," because of course in real life you can not actually force someone to pay for something that they do not have the money to pay for.

As for those who do have some money, how exactly will the US Government force someone to pay, will the US Government be garnishing wages and seizing bank accounts for Blue Cross?

Anyone who is at risk of running out of money to pay for housing, food, and other things that are even more basic necessities than health care, who voluntarily pays for the grossly overpriced private health insurance, is a fool. Both now and regardless of what changes. In this economy, probably at least 100,000,000 people are at such risk.

The only thing I can say is the line uttered by Charlton Heston at the end of the original "Planet of the Apes":

"Damn you! God damn you all to hell!"

don't fret, pet. we're making some appropriate arrangements.

Thank you Donna for a very cogent view!

I am very disappointed in most Congress critters and particularly Obama for the sellout job he is doing.

His healthcare proposals are more of the same bs that we've been living with for years. It's more money for the "too big to die" health insurance corporations and far too little for Americans. We deserve all-encompassing healthcare coverage, nothing less.

I'll be damned if I am mandated to purchase something from these robber barons until Medicare kicks in.

These Senators and Congresspeople lie and protect the corporations and give Americans the finger.

Hope folks will watch this and spread it out and about... it makes the point well too. From Consumer Watchdog:

Pirates of the Health Care-Ibbean

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk23AtoTzMM

Donna Smith, American SiCKO

Single-payer ain't gonna happen. Why? Because this is America and the motto is: I've got mine, screw you.

Obama and Congress have now lied to gay people.

They lied about the wars.

They lied about funding science and new technologies.

Now they are lying about the one issue that got them elected.

Time for a March on Washington, but not for a single issue.

Time for a March on Washington to let people in office know that, like Iran, we will not be fooled with their lies.

No single payer - because (IMO) the lawmakers are beholden to the health insurance conglomerate for helping them attain office. And by the way, since what the congressfolks did is probably illegal, if we were to charge them on any of this they'd come back and put YOU in jail for saying they're criminals

JOIN US IN DC NEXT THURSDAY!
June 25th

National Rally for Health Care for All, NOW
http://www.1payer.net/

What do we name the new single party system for the United States? The Demobulicans or the Republicrats?

Who needs the anti-christ? We have Obama!

Single payer and it's step child the so called Public Option are dead on arrival. The DINO party isn't going to do anything to hurt it's biggest campaign contributors bottom line. LOL and we all bought the Change we can believe in line didn't we? At least the Iranians have some balls, we're all sheep anymore.

300,000,000 citizen-slaves...550 government-masters...

600,000 to 1...

It would be easier to eliminate the Congress than it is to make them provide single payer.

Congress, to paraphrase RR, is the problem.

Yes Slavery vis a vis Health Care was mostly satire. Slavery was a moral blight which became intolerable. Universal health care is (or should be) a moral issue as well as a profit maximising "industry".

Single payer is the best solution -- but we've never had a strategy to win it. We certainly don't have a strategy to win it this year. Ask Bernie Sanders, the sole supporter of the single-payer bill in the Senate:

"The American people have got to weigh in on this debate--get involved in this struggle -- to say at the very least we want a strong public plan option." interview in The Nation 6/4/09

"I am sure that there are some single payer advocates who think the only thing worth fighting for is single payer. What I have also introduced, which we will be fighting for, is a five-state option. That would mean five states would have the option of running pilot programs in universal health care but one would have to be single payer .... In my view, if you had a level playing field and a public program and a private insurance program providing the same level of benefits, people would come into the public program because the public program would be substantially more efficient. I think we can make that case, and I will advocate for it in the legislation." interview in the Washington Post 6/5/09

Fear is a powerful tool in the hands of health reform opponents like the giant insurance and drug companies. Single payer allows them to claim that something bad and unknown is going to happen to your health care.

Here's a way to think of the public option. Imagine the US Postal Service just served government offices -- municipal, state, federal. The rest of us get our mail through UPS, FedEx, Mailboxes Etc. and others -- and we have a lot of complaints about their prices and service. We see the government getting good service at good rates, on our dime. We want in -- we want the public to have the option to use the USPS, with all its benefits of greater scale. UPS, FedEx etc fight it of course, but they don't get a lot of sympathy from their home or business customers -- people are tired of their high prices and lousy service and look forward to having a choice -- and if they don't improve service and cut costs, that's their problem and they'll go out of business over time. We win! We finally get good postal service like the rest of the world. That's the public option.

Now imagine that we try to replace UPS, FedEx etc with the USPS. It's the most efficient, cost-effective way to deliver the mail, after all, and we have all the evidence and statistics we could ever want. But the private companies this would put out of business are desperate, they call it a "Washington takeover of your private mail." They sow fear and doubt in the customers who like them, temporarily cut their rates, put out feel-good ads, raise fears of higher taxes, and enlist the support of everyone who's anti-government anyway. We lose -- again -- and are stuck with lousy private mail for another couple of decades. That's the single payer challenge.

For the first time ever, the public option gives us a strategy to, in the unique and messed-up world of US health care, actually win quality affordable health care for all. It's being attacked day in and day out by right-wing nutcases, Republicans eager to bring down our President, and chicken Democrats -- and right now the momentum is with THEM, not US.

The least we can do is give the public option a fair hearing, starting with the assumption that the people proposing it, many of whom have spent decades fighting for single payer, are not naive and see the public option as the first potential strategy to win we've ever had. Don't we owe it to all the people who don't have quality affordable health care (most of us) to fight hard for a strong public option?

Thanks for your continued work Donna Smith. I hope we can all get on board and support your efforts on behalf of all of us.

Actually, we're already in the middle of healthcare hell. I'll tell you one thing though. Out here in Witchita, KS gun sales and gun training are booming. What does this have to do with healthcare you ask? If we had a government that actually cared for its people and would stop bullying its citizens or making it too easy for big corporations to do so, there'd be far fewer vigilantes having to do the counter bullying. The Democrats in Washington have been learning lessons from DLC hacks on state and local levels. Believe it or not, Obama is like Kathleen Sebelius but with an even more conservative streak. If Sebelius were governor today instead of HHS, she would no doubt be competing with Obama to out-rightwing him. If anyone wants to march to Capitol Hill and put single payer on the table, I suggest being armed to counter-bully the MFers.

Wellpoint, the company with 1400 ways to dump their customer, is an "independent licensee of BCBSA." who has the contract for federal employee's care with "premium income exceeding $18 billion..." I pass this along, in solidarity with the caller in to C-Span this morning who had the $5000 deductible each for herself and her husband. I had to give up my "insurance" even with my $7500 deductible after the recession dropped my income. Like me, she said SHE COULDN'T AFFORD TO USE HER "INSURANCE." And, if I had ever become sick or seriously injured, they would have dropped me anyway. 1400 ways!

----------

BCBSA is made up of 39 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies collectively providing healthcare coverage to more than 99 million people - nearly one in three of all Americans.

Senior Vice President, National Programs

Steve Gammarino is Senior Vice President, National Programs for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), a national federation of 39 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies collectively providing healthcare coverage for more than 99 million people - nearly one-in-three of all Americans.

Gammarino oversees BCBSA's Federal Employee Program (FEP), which administers the largest privately underwritten health insurance contract in the world - serving more than 4.5 million active and retired federal employees, and with premium income exceeding $18 billion. Under Gammarino's leadership, FEP has gained more than 1 million members since 1995, and now has more than 55 percent of the Federal market.

http://www.insuranceusa.com/directorymanagement.php?id=Blue_Cross_Blue_Shield

------

*&%^$ Baucus and every other member of congress who cannot hear what we are saying because they've got checks stuffed in their ears. Shame on congress!

Health Care reform is analogous to the history of slavery in
in the USA.

Slaves were first imported in the early 1700's. It took 160 years, plus a Civil War, to to eliminate legalized slavery. It took another century for blacks to gain civil rights.

Universal health care was first proposed by Theodore Roosevelt in the 1900's. Then it was introduced by FDR in 1934 and was not implemented. Then by Truman, LBJ, Clinton, and now Obama.

The point is that you must take the long view in attempting to obtain a universal, equitable, health care program. Health care for your great grandchildren might be possible. Health care now?-no way! A 150 year time line is apprpriate. Patience, folks, patience. Think 2150.

I think everyone should commit to memory the following extracts from the Bernie Sander's petition

"The United States spends $2.3 trillion each year on health care, 16 percent of its Gross Domestic Product"

"Americans spend $7,129 per person on health care, 50 percent more than other industrialized countries, including those with universal care"

One of the first things we need to do is stop the train- wreck that Congress will be foisting on us.

Why do we need legislation by the end of summer?

One of the tenets of the "shock doctrine' is to strike while the people are confused and disorganized. Obama and Congress are moving as fast as possible - Why??

EVERY American should be involved in the process. There should be education and discussion in every community. All representatives of the people should be at these meetings where they should clearly explain their position.

Legislation should be moved to next year - just prior to elections. Representatives who do not respond to the people should be voted out of office.

The American Public should also be educated to the PNHP proposals - HR 676 is an admirable political solution but leaves too much power in the hands of the President, the Secretary of Health and directors and committees that are appointed by the POTUS or his appointees.

The PNHP Plan is run by the people - not by politicans. The administrative aspects of Single Payer must be made crystal clear - as with Canada - political interference whould be a felony crime..

So how do we slow down the train wreck-

Ask you Congress Critter why the hurry?

What is more pathetic--the lies told by those who want to protect private insurers or the public that is so confused, misinformed that it is willing to believe the lies. For months I wore a Single Payer button only to be subjected to insulting jabs by those who knew what it meant and by inquiries from others who had no idea of what it meant. The American public- frozen in its ignorance and prejudice. It's not surprising that private health care insurers prey on them. I'm out of compassion or empathy--the brain dead American public-- you deserve what you get.

I let the folks at whitehouse.gov know how ineffective their reform plans are.

Okay, I'm pissed.

Instead of just pissing away here on CD, however, I did one little thing - I signed Bernie Sanders' Single Payer petition (below). And, I will be contacting my con-gress people to demand Single Payer.

Will they be enough? No, they won't be as long as I'm the only one.

To sign the petition: http://tinyurl.com/lfo473