When I was interviewing people for this week's cover story on health-care reform in Kansas, one Republican and one Democrat whispered two dreaded words -- but told me not to quote them.
Those two dreaded words? "Single" and "payer." As in a government-funded health-care system for everyone. Those words are so scary for politicians because as soon as you say them, people start wailing about "socialized medicine."
But guess what. Kansans support it.
I've written about this before, but here it is again. Last year, a think tank called the Ad Astra Institute of Kansas
released the results of a survey showing that 67 percent of likely
Kansas voters "supported providing health-care coverage to everyone.
Moreover, 63 percent would support a tax-funded health insurance
program covering all Americans without private insurance company
involvement, if it endorsed high quality medical care and free choice
among doctors." (Here's a PDF of the survey.)
Memo to politicians: 63 percent of Kansans are in favor of this idea, so please stop being afraid to talk about it.
One source described how it could work this way: It would be like if we took two little digits out of Medicare eligibility
-- those digits being 65, the age of eligibility. In other words,
Medicare basically works for old folks, right? So what would be so
wrong with just
eliminating "65" and extending Medicare benefits to everyone?
See, that's not so scary, now, is it?
One way to have a conversation about this highly threatening-to-the-status-quo idea is to sign for the Ad Astra Institute's single-payer newsletter. Every once in awhile, they'll send you a news story from someplace where someone's not so afraid.
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What is the premium due for the long term care portion of the health reform bill? I know it is called the Class Act, but you have to pay into it at I believe over $100.00 per month. Any ideas?
I like how, when someone is trying to push a policy measure, they use a term that actually is the opposite of what they are pushing.
In this case they are using "Single payer" to push a policy in which EVERYONE PAYS*! Whether you use it or not. That's awesome!
*Well, I guess if you don't work and have no income, then you don't pay.
I believe there are some who would disagree medicare actually works in every instance. I lived in Canada for two years (1997 & 1998), and experienced first hand socialized health care. I admit socialized health care is great for the average illness. When you have a sinus infection, you do not hesitate to go to the doctor because you do not have to budget for a co-pay. Asthma sufferers enjoy continued and consistent care because they are not burdened by their portion of medication and/or weekly injections. Socialized medicine works great under those conditions. The problem with socialized health care is for more complicated and major illnesses such as cancers or heart disease. At the time I lived in Canada, there were only two hospitals who specialized in heart conditions in all of Canada. One in Toronto and one in Vancouver. If you lived in the plains of Alberta and needed heart surgery, you would have to travel to one of those locations at your own expense to receive medical care. My wife suffered a pseudo cerebral tumor after a still birth. The only hospital with an MRI was 50 miles away from our house and put her on the schedule; four months out. The doctor basically had to convince government health regulators that an MRI was necessary immediately because at the time he thought it was an actual brain tumor. The doctor did not think my wife had four months to live. The other factor in socialized health care is the doctors, nurses, hospital administrators ARE government employees because the government funds the health care. Do we really want a government that can not figure out how to balance their check book in control of our health care? The government siphoned every last dollar from Social Security to pay for pet projects of corrupt politicians, do you really want these same people in control of the funds for health care? Lobbyist control legislation with campaign contributions, do we really want these scumbags who are only out to make money off the poor and needy determining what is and is not a necessary medical treatment? Seriously, we think HMO's are evil and corrupt, wait until the government gets a hold of health care and starts to decide who is worthy of living and not living. I'm sure we will regret handing our health care choices over to politicians who are corrupt, evil, and ONLY out to see how much money they can strip off the backs of the American worker. If this is what we want, then we all had better stop drinking, stop smoking, stop eating Dairy Queen, and get into the best shape possible because the government will decide if any of us is worthy of that last rationed health care procedure.
Dear Bob, I may be slow but you obviously can't read. So just for you I will type in capital letters. IF YOU WANT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY DO NOT PRODUCE FAKE HALF-ASS SURVEYS TO PROVE YOUR POINT OF VIEW. THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT PEOPLE WOULD APPROVE OF IF YOU SEPARATE THEM FROM THE COST.Who knows, your results may have been the same but you didn't bother to find out. Also, despite being slow I can copy and even paste so please don't do me any favors.
meesha. v wrote: "I must be missing something...... I can run surveys like this all day long: "Do you think all Americans should live in a 4 bedroom house with HDTV in every room"? "Do you think every American should have a maid?" "Do you think hookers should work for free"? As one of my favorite comedians said "Statistically 9 out of 10 people enjoy gang rape"."
Yes Meesha you are indeed missing something. Let me explain this slowly and with detail so even you can understand it.
We are not talking about 4 Bedroom Houses, HDTVs, maids, hookers or Gang Rape. We are talking about Health Care something which is NEEDED by everyone to enjoy a healthy and prosperous life. Health Care is not a luxury it is a necessity. We have other such necessities whose cost is displaced on to society in an equitable and just manner. Those include the Fire Department and the Police Department. Those institutions work just fine and I hear or read of no such efforts to privatize them. The grim reality is the Health Care System as it exists in this country is failing miserably. 18,000 to 22,000 people die needlessly every year in this country from preventable causes because they lacked health insurance. And when you stop to consider the United States spends more on Health Care than any other country on earth the nature of the scandal becomes readily apparent. To be exact the US spends twice per person than the average of the 17 other Industrialized Nations all of which have some form of Single Payer Health Care. The US spends 40% more than it's nearest rival Canada which has a single payer system. All of which proves how wasteful, inefficient and inept the Fee-for-Service Insurance System truly is and why it is necessary to be changed post-haste.
Great article! Excellent sites to check out for current information on single payer efforts include Physicians for a National Health Program (www.pnhp.org) and www.singlepayeraction.org.
Bernie Sanders' (D-VT) bill, S703, actually aims facilitate single-payer health care at the state level. Perhaps if we could institute this in one or more states, and show how well it works, people like our President would be less afraid of it. That's how women got the vote, after all, state-by-state.
I also lived overseas,read about the subject,watched Michael More movie,etc. In this case I was actually questioning the validity of the survey where questions where phrased out of context (what's new).As far as vaccinations go, even people who have it covered don't necessarily run out and get them.If vaccinations weren't mandatory for schools you would see a big drop in the numbers even if they were free. Private healthcare insurance is a part of what ate Detroit, together with bad management, inferior products, competition, overpaying for labor, idiotic contracts,etc.Sorry I don't have a website to promote.
Sorry Meesha- I've lived overseas- what we have here is abomination- costly and inconsistant.
Single payer would cost less for 95 pct of all americans than they pay (or employers pay on their behalf) now.
And everybody would be covered. Enjoy your next meal out if the cook's sick because they did not get vaccinated- hope it isn't too contagious.
Private Healthcare insurance ate Detroit, and now it's coming after you.
If you care to see some facts go to PNHP.org or healthcare-now.org.
If you would like to help pressure Congress to pass single payer health care please join our voting bloc at:
http://www.votingbloc.org/Heal...
I must be missing something, where is the question "Do you agree that all Americans should have health insurance if it would cost YOU PERSONALLY 1/5/10/whatever thousand dollars a year". I can run surveys like this all day long: "Do you think all Americans should live in a 4 bedroom house with HDTV in every room"? "Do you think every American should have a maid?" "Do you think hookers should work for free"? As one of my favorite comedians said "Statistically 9 out of 10 people enjoy gang rape". You can't be that delusional.
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