Liberals are thoughtful, methodical, intelligent, intellectually honest, and calculative. Unfortunately the Right Wing and the Republican Party do not conform to any of these values in any discourse. They are willing to distort, misrepresent, and lie even when confronted with reality. It is our ineptitude to take the fight to the Right in every venue that has allowed the potential killing of the Public Option in the healthcare debate.

I live in a Right Wing Republican town in the suburbs and am amazed at how flat footed we have been found in the debate. Republicans have been successful in creating the perfect cyclical argument that works at our most instinctively carnal level. They first destroy their followers' faith in the government to accomplish anything positive for its citizens. They then vilify the reason for said governmental ineptitude as some effort to do you wrong. Once that concept of government is metastasized into their brain it becomes easy to make any government program or solution a cause for irrational and violent opposition as in their distorted view anything done by the government is bad.

We have failed to rightfully vilify the insurance companies early in the debate graphically, often, and in every venue illustrating their greed and inflation of our healthcare system.  Our response to Rick Scott's ads has been tepid at best. We never have readymade effective sound bites to keep the opponent off guard on TV programs. Republicans understand that the feebleminded respond to message repetition and use it effectively.

The only hope we have of getting a public option now is scaring the hell out of folks into believing the truth that without the public option things will get much worst. Moreover, we must get beyond the Internet, mobilize to town halls with support placards, add public option support stickers to our cars, write supportive letters to newspaper/online editors, create videos in support on youtube.com, iReports.com, and any other video site. Videos, letters, and editorial must contain simple minded sound bites that can be remembered subliminally by the reader/listener.

e.g)

• Without a public option insurance companies will continue to kill many you know.
• Without a public option you will not be able to afford health insurance.
• Without a public option Medicare will go bankrupt.
• Those opposing the public option worship private insurance and not Christian values.
• Those opposing the public option are the new Pharisees.
• No public option the currently insured will become the poor and uninsured.
• Without a public option your taxes will be raised.
• Those without insurance will remain so without a public option.
• Without a public option insurance companies steal our accumulated wealth.

REPEAT OVER AND OVER.

Your Senator's Contact HERE
Your Congress Person Contact HERE

Subscribe to my Healthcare Reform Twitter Updates HERE

Political & Healthcare Reform Websites
http://www.SinglePayerHealthcareNow.com
http://PoliticalTruths.info

President Obama has been insightful in realizing that one of the tenants to ensure a robust and lasting recovery is a strong healthcare reform bill to ensure no one needs to be bankrupted by medical costs and to ensure that companies who provide medical insurance can do so in a deterministic way thus ensuring they can compete effectively with countries that do not place an inordinate burden of healthcare on private companies. Make no mistake, all positive social and humane changes in this country have been effected by Progressive Liberal Republicans and Progressive Liberal Democrats.

It boggles the mind why the Obama administration is incapable of articulating effectively that there are two major components to healthcare; One) paying for health care, a process tantamount to paying a bill that requires no innovation that morally should not be for profit, and Two) the delivery of healthcare, the process of treating, housing, and medicating a patient in which innovation provides for better healthcare justifying a profit motive in order to provide incentive. If that is understood, it is easy to dispel justifiable citizens' fears that the administration is trying to nationalize healthcare by illustrating that  private insurance skimming 30% or more of our premiums to pay overpaid executive, advertising, lobbying, and shareholder dividends is much more costly than one entity collecting all premiums and paying all insured medical bills.

Additional efficiencies garnered from doctors no longer having to spend time fighting private health insurance companies to provide requisite care to their patients will also increase the number of patients they can see thus reducing costs per patient further. This is not conjecture, this is a fact. Medicare with all its problems including fraud, the inability to negotiate for drugs, and an older sicker population is much more efficient than private insurance. All of this information is readily available and verifiable.

That said, if a Progressive Liberal President and a Progressive Liberal Congress with large majorities are unable to pass an effective healthcare reform bill with a strong public option, an option 72 percent of Americans still want and an option that will force insurance companies to be more efficient,  means that in effect we are becoming an oligarchy in which powerful private corporations with the assistance of small but very loud, vocal, and ill informed group of citizens will dictate a policy that continues a massive transfer of wealth using private health insurance system as the medium to do so. This will continue the process of the average American's loss of wealth. The question is whether we will come to the correct realization before the transfer is complete.

http://PoliticalTruths.info
http://SinglePayerHealthcareNow.com

Signup For My Updates: http://Twitter.com/EgbertoWillies

For Healthcare reform to be of any value

• Every legal American citizen and resident must be covered.
• Everyone capable of paying premiums must do so. Those legitimately unable to pay should be subsidized.
• Preferably a non-profit government run insurance should pay for healthcare but at minimum a robust public insurance option must be included that channel all healthcare dollars to healthcare.

The aforementioned requirements are simple but extremely difficult to implement for one specific reason; many large corporations make exorbitant profits from the current inefficiency of our system and have thus far successfully lobbied Congress to write Healthcare Reform to insure their exorbitant profits remain. The reality is the only way to reduce our healthcare cost is to remove profits from areas where no real innovation is required, specifically private insurance companies that take 30% of your premiums simply to pay your bill.

Let's be clear. If healthcare reform does not occur now, it will likely not occur for some time and will be more costly to solve going forward. If healthcare reform does not occur now, many employers will drop health insurance, all premiums will be increased immediately, those with pre-existing conditions will likely remain uninsurable, and private insurance companies will continue to rescind policies, select procedures you may have, select medicines your doctor may prescribe, select the hospital you are able to get care from, and select your doctor in order to maximize their profits.

Those concerned that illegal aliens may get medical care should insist that the healthcare reform ensure ones nationality for care except for communicable diseases which could affect us all irrespective of nationality.

Healthcare reform should be paid for by everyone based on one's ability to pay. While it is true that this will puts a heavier burden on the wealthy, said burden is justified given the nature of wealth in this country being unevenly distributed to the top 5% and 1%, not because they are more productive or produce anything of lasting value to society, but because of the structural design of our capitalist society rewarding capital manipulation more so than producing goods and services of societal value. With 1% of the population owning 34% of the wealth of our nation, 5% owning 58.9%, 10% owning 71%, 20% owning 85%, and the lower 40% owning less than 1% of the wealth, as well as income similarly distributed, the societal gain from marginally taxing those of us who benefited from a country rewarding the skills that allowed us to flourish, should be seen as a responsibility to maintain a viable society.

One should note that most working people pay taxes on most of their income while the very rich whose monies are tied to stocks and investments will generally pay a maximum indexed tax to 28%. One should also note that most working people pay social security taxes on all their income while the more well off stop paying social security taxes on income over $106,000.

The argument then that asking the rich to pay a bit more in taxes for healthcare reform is unfair or would affect the economy is at best a scare tactic or at worst selfish and evil. If one stands by facts and understand income and wealth distribution in the country and the real reasons for such inequity, the population at large will be able to force politicians to pass healthcare reform specifically and better laws that inhibits the unsustainable transfer of wealth our current healthcare system and financial structures continue to allow.

 

If false and misleading ads from the private for profit health insurance companies and their cohorts were debated objectively by responsible journalists, the healthcare reform debate would be over. If Congress follows the will of the people and the facts that are readily available on the internet from reputable objective organizations, the healthcare debate would be over.

Follow my healthcare tweets at http://twitter.com/EgbertoWillies

Video

Fact:
It is mathematically impossible for a for profit private insurer to be less expensive than a public not for profit insurance giving the same benefits. It is for this reason why insurers are fighting the public option. They must convince you that basic arithmetic does not apply here. Of course it does.

Fact:
Medicare's administrative cost is between a low of 2 percent and a high of 6 percent. Private for profit insurance ranges from 16 percent to over 30% in administrative costs. In other words for every thousand dollars you pay in premiums 300 of those dollars go into the pockets of shareholders, overpaid executives, advertising and other costs. Those are dollars that could have been used to lower healthcare costs.

Fact:
US Healthcare as % of GDP: 15.3%
Canada Healthcare as % of GDP: 10%

Fact:
US Per Capita Cost of Healthcare: $6714.00
Canada Per Capita Cost of Healthcare: $3,678.00

Fact:
Government Spending on Healthcare Per Capita is 23% higher in the US than Canada.

Fact:
Canadian health outcomes are better than ours.

Basic Statistics U.S. Canada
Life Expectancy (Male)74.8    77.4
Life Expectancy (Female)           80.1    82.4
Infant Mortality/1000 live births   6.8     5.3
Obesity Rate (Male)                31.1    17.0
Obesity Rate (Female)              32.2    19.0
HC spending as % of GDP (2005)     16.0%   10.4%

Fact:
Accusations by for profit health insurers and their cohorts stating that government will take over healthcare delivery are false. It is a fact that for profit insurance today tells you which doctor you can see. It is a fact that for profit insurance tells you what medical procedure you can have. It is a fact that for profit insurance tells you which hospital you can use. It is a fact that for profit insurance tells your doctor which drugs you may be prescribed. It is a fact that for profit insurance selectively rescind your coverage if they can find away to qualify your medical condition as pre-existing. It is a fact that for profit insurance will not insure those with pre-existing conditions.

If we stick to the facts healthcare reform will be realized

Links:
Most People Support Public Option
CBS/New York Times Poll
Quinnipiac Poll

Cost of Administering Healthcare in US Versus Canada Versus All Countries
The New England Journal Of Medicine
OECD Health Data 2009
World Health Organization Core Health Indicators

Healthcare must be an inalienable right and must be treated as such. This will only be realized if we find a balance between for profit free market services and not for profit government services.

 

Call your congressman today. Tell them you want a single payer public option in the healthcare reform bill. Do it today as the policy is being written now.

Senator's Contact info:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

 

Congress Person Contact info:

http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/mcapdir.html

 

The media has been deafeningly silent on single payer insurance. It is imperative that the media explore the details of single payer insurance in order for citizens to get factual and unbiased information.

As citizens we must also ensure that Congress understand that we are aware that 60% of Americans want some sort of universal healthcare. We must bombard all avenues including blogs, chatrooms, call in programs, TV stations, radio stations (conservative and liberal) constantly and effectively daily, hourly to provide the logical reason we support a single payer healthcare insurance as well as detail the failures of for profit health insurance.

Contact your specific senator and congressperson and the specific representatives listed below.

Call frequently. Call them and let them know we want single payer. I am doing this everyday with many others.

Please do your part as this is for us all.

Waxman - (202) 225-3976 (DC) (310) 652-3095, (818) 878-7400, (323) 651-1040 (LA).

Rangel - 202-225-4365 (DC), 212-663-3900 (NY)

Miller - 202-225-2095(DC), 925-602-1880, 510-262-6500, 707-645-1888

http://SinglePayerHealthcareNow.com

 

Last night Bill Moyers Journal had an excellent fact based expose on Single Payer Insurance. Some clips are used to illustrate the realities behind why we must have such a system. President Obama understands that the state of our health insurance system will bankrupt both the country and individuals within. In fact he understood that single payer insurance was the only way out in 2003. If he does not use his ability to educate the masses as to what is at stake and support Single Payer Healthcare Insurance unnecessary deaths will continue. It would be the equivalent of Health Insurance Sanctioned Manslaughter.

And my next rant: http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-262550

http://SinglePayerHealthcareNow.com

http://PoliticalTruths.info

 

There is no need for private healthcare insurance companies. Single Payer Health Insurance is the only solution. See an excellent expose by Bill Moyers on it at http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-262091.

Visit: http://SinglePayerHealthcareNow.com

 

In this video President Obama implies that he does not want to risk the failure of getting a Healthcare Reform Bill at the expense of ideological purity. He states that if we were starting from scratch he understands that the Single Payer Healthcare insurance would be preferable and that given that healthcare is 1/6th of our economy that we probably could not make that drastic transition.

We should stand with the President on this issue under one and only one condition. If the bill includes a public option that any citizen has the ability to join irrespective of preexisting conditions or current employer provided plan. The reason we can accept this compromise is that ultimately the mathematics of the Single Payer Government option (public option) will ultimately effect a transition of most citizens to the public plan simply based on the cost.

Visit: http://SinglePayerHealthcareNow.com

I am one of President Obama's most ardent supporters. I canvassed for him, I donated to his campaign, I raised money for his campaign, I was a precinct captain, and I continue speaking to conservatives convincing many of them to what we all assume President Obama is trying to attain.

A single payer health care insurance is absolutely the most efficient way to pay for healthcare. Mathematically speaking that fact is incontrovertible.  In the past President Obama supported that. The President stated that he would let the facts dictate the solution to this problem. I understand that because of disinformation on the attempt to equate a single payer healthcare insurance with socialize medicine, that many in congress are scared to go outright with such a system. The only acceptable alternative is to have the government provide competing not for profit insurance. The reality over time will likely make the government not for profit insurance option the only viable option which is where we want to be given its efficiency and because the vast majority of premiums will go into healthcare as opposed to shareholder dividends, executive pay, and salesmen pay. Additionally because doctors will have one source to work with for payments, there cost is dramatically reduced given that fewer employees would be necessary and wasted time for the complexity of working with different insurance companies are no longer required.

We have a very small window to effect this drastic change. If it is not done by summer, it will not be done. It is imperative that everyone call their Senator and Congress person and let them know that we must have single payer insurance but that we will accept no less than a not for profit government insurance to compete with the for profit insurance companies.

Let us be honest. If President Obama allows the insurance companies to win this battle, we can no longer support him as if he caves on one of the most important issues to our country, then it is unlikely he will accomplish any of the other necessary and progressive items we elected him for.  If this is the case, it is time for use to work arduously to the creation of a third party as both the Democratic and Republican parties would have proved to be incompetent.

Visit http://www.SinglePayerHealthcareNow.com and http://PoliticalTruths.info for more on rational for single payer healthcare insurance.

 

 FULL ARTICLE

The race for healthcare reform is on. It is imperative that we contact the senators. If it is not passed this year we are toast for at least 4 more years.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, Montana Democrat, who is expected to take the lead on writing a health care reform package, has said he wants to have a bill ready by the end of June.

The committee's top Republican, Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, said last week that "if we don't get it done this year ... it ain't going to be done for four years."

"That's why Senator Baucus and I are on an aggressive schedule," said Mr. Grassley during a health care forum in his home state last week. "I think we have momentum right now."

Beginning this week, the committee will host a series of three roundtable meetings between senators and health care industry experts in preparation for piecing together a health care reform package.

A single payer insurance is preferable however we must insist that at least the government-run insurance to compete with private insurance is included. Ultimately that will converge to a single payer system as a for profit insurance simply cannot compete with a non-profit insurance plan. Esoteric plans can be handled by the private sector but we must have a single payer for basic healthcare insurance.

A bitter partisan battle almost certainly will accompany any attempt to change the nation's health care system.

Democrats likely will insist on the inclusion of a government-run insurance plan for middle-class Americans that would compete with the private sector - a provision that worries Republicans. A massive government-insurance plan modeled after Medicare and Medicaid may drive many private insurers out of business, Republicans say, resulting in fewer health care options for Americans.

"I think we believe, along what Democrats believe, that all Americans should have access to high-quality, affordable health insurance," House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" program. But "we're not for a plan that puts the government in charge of our health care, decides what doctors ought to be paid or what treatments ought to be prescribed."

Let your senator and congress person know that they have your support for fast-tracking healthcare via reconciliation which only requires a simple majority vote.

Another difficult decision Democratic leaders face is whether to bypass regular legislative rules to allow health care reform to pass the Senate by a simple majority using a fast-track procedure called "reconciliation."

 

http://SinglePayerHealthcareNow.com

 

Texas, my state, has very qualified conservatives like Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson and Congressman Ted Poe with whom I mostly disagree but have respected for their deeds. Texas Governor Rick Perry is the perfect encapsulation of what conservatives have allowed themselves to become. Threatening Texas' cessation from the United States of America was not only silly but dangerous for the militia and fringe element in our state that will use that statement as a catalyst for their movement. One simply needs view the crowd's reaction to his statement. The irony in all of this is that Governor Perry and his cohorts would normally accuse anyone making such statements as being un-American or hating their country. What hypocrisy.

Insurance companies think we are dumb. It is for that reason that they constantly fool us. Please comment on my rant at http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-242991. I want your views.

---

http://SinglePayerHealthcareNow.com.

 It would be naive to believe that racist do not exist in every political party. That said, no mainstream party has so used race as a systemic method for dividing people with the expectation of achieving a particular goal.

This is not an accident, it is by design. The Southern Strategy was popularized by Richard Nixon's strategist Kevin Phillips. It was continued with Ronald Reagan kicking off his campaign in Philadelphia Mississippi, the place where three civil rights leaders were murdered, under the pretext of states rights.

Click here for snippets of what the McCain campaign has evolved to. No self-respecting human being should be a part of this party. This is the reason the ranks of Independents and Democrats continue to grow. I am sure the party will be relegated to the racists, haters, and self-haters in the not too distant future.