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Where Are the Fighting Dems?
Oct 23, 2009
Let's hear it for false fact studies from lobbyists! This one seems
to have served as a declaration of war. Last week, America's Health
Insurance Plans released a study claiming that healthcare reform would
cause Americans' premiums to soar, and hey presto...
Suddenly, the Democrats are acting like they're actually in a fight.
Nancy Pelosi has vowed to bring a plan with a robust public option to
the House floor, and even Senate leader Harry Reid Twittered his
intention to strip insurance companies of their protections from
anti-trust laws.
Reid says that the law allows insurers to fix prices and monopolize
markets in ways that are illegal and uncompetitive. Surprise surprise,
some senior Democrats are starting to back him up. The President even
mentioned the exemption in his weekly address.
So are Democrats finally growing spine? Well, not so fast. Obama
still won't commit to ending the exemption that allows insurance
companies to do with our health what we don't let Microsoft do with
computer software. And he hasn't declared a war for Medicare for all.
Getting insurers to agree to cover everyone is nice -- but without a
public option, it does nothing to drive down price.
With new polls showing that public support for the public option has
only increased since August, it's time for Obama to take a stand.
Americans didn't elect a president of insurance, they elected a
president of the country. It's Obama's job to lead on this issue, to
fight for the promises he made on the campaign trail: a public plan to
keep insurance companies honest, no individual mandate and no taxes on
employer-provided care. It's time for the Democrats to fight for
measures that will actually improve care, not just sound nice on CNN.
Go for it.
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© 2023 Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders interviews forward-thinking people about the key questions of our time on The Laura Flanders Show, a nationally syndicated radio and television program also available as a podcast. A contributing writer to The Nation, Flanders is also the author of six books, including "Bushwomen: How They Won the White House for Their Man" (2005). She is the recipient of a 2019 Izzy Award for excellence in independent journalism, the Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award for advancing women's and girls' visibility in media, and a 2020 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship for her reporting and advocacy for public media. lauraflanders.org
Let's hear it for false fact studies from lobbyists! This one seems
to have served as a declaration of war. Last week, America's Health
Insurance Plans released a study claiming that healthcare reform would
cause Americans' premiums to soar, and hey presto...
Suddenly, the Democrats are acting like they're actually in a fight.
Nancy Pelosi has vowed to bring a plan with a robust public option to
the House floor, and even Senate leader Harry Reid Twittered his
intention to strip insurance companies of their protections from
anti-trust laws.
Reid says that the law allows insurers to fix prices and monopolize
markets in ways that are illegal and uncompetitive. Surprise surprise,
some senior Democrats are starting to back him up. The President even
mentioned the exemption in his weekly address.
So are Democrats finally growing spine? Well, not so fast. Obama
still won't commit to ending the exemption that allows insurance
companies to do with our health what we don't let Microsoft do with
computer software. And he hasn't declared a war for Medicare for all.
Getting insurers to agree to cover everyone is nice -- but without a
public option, it does nothing to drive down price.
With new polls showing that public support for the public option has
only increased since August, it's time for Obama to take a stand.
Americans didn't elect a president of insurance, they elected a
president of the country. It's Obama's job to lead on this issue, to
fight for the promises he made on the campaign trail: a public plan to
keep insurance companies honest, no individual mandate and no taxes on
employer-provided care. It's time for the Democrats to fight for
measures that will actually improve care, not just sound nice on CNN.
Go for it.
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders interviews forward-thinking people about the key questions of our time on The Laura Flanders Show, a nationally syndicated radio and television program also available as a podcast. A contributing writer to The Nation, Flanders is also the author of six books, including "Bushwomen: How They Won the White House for Their Man" (2005). She is the recipient of a 2019 Izzy Award for excellence in independent journalism, the Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award for advancing women's and girls' visibility in media, and a 2020 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship for her reporting and advocacy for public media. lauraflanders.org
Let's hear it for false fact studies from lobbyists! This one seems
to have served as a declaration of war. Last week, America's Health
Insurance Plans released a study claiming that healthcare reform would
cause Americans' premiums to soar, and hey presto...
Suddenly, the Democrats are acting like they're actually in a fight.
Nancy Pelosi has vowed to bring a plan with a robust public option to
the House floor, and even Senate leader Harry Reid Twittered his
intention to strip insurance companies of their protections from
anti-trust laws.
Reid says that the law allows insurers to fix prices and monopolize
markets in ways that are illegal and uncompetitive. Surprise surprise,
some senior Democrats are starting to back him up. The President even
mentioned the exemption in his weekly address.
So are Democrats finally growing spine? Well, not so fast. Obama
still won't commit to ending the exemption that allows insurance
companies to do with our health what we don't let Microsoft do with
computer software. And he hasn't declared a war for Medicare for all.
Getting insurers to agree to cover everyone is nice -- but without a
public option, it does nothing to drive down price.
With new polls showing that public support for the public option has
only increased since August, it's time for Obama to take a stand.
Americans didn't elect a president of insurance, they elected a
president of the country. It's Obama's job to lead on this issue, to
fight for the promises he made on the campaign trail: a public plan to
keep insurance companies honest, no individual mandate and no taxes on
employer-provided care. It's time for the Democrats to fight for
measures that will actually improve care, not just sound nice on CNN.
Go for it.
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