Aug 15 2008
Will the Dems Really Deliver “Guaranteed Healthcare for All”?
According to a new report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, about 11.4 million Americans with chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes or asthma lack health insurance. Such Americans either delay or forego much-needed medical care. The health care crisis in America affects everyone in the middle class and below, and yet, how often is it a deciding factor in electoral politics? Well last week the Democratic Party agreed to a platform that surprisingly included “guaranteed health care for all.” This is actually quite different from the term “universal health coverage.” In fact the language specifies that everybody is to be included and no one is to be left out, a concept that is much closer to a single-payer system. Given that even progressive groups like ACORN, Planned Parenthood, and Campaign for America’s Future have set their sights lower by pushing for affordable healthcare for all, instead of a Medicare style, single-payer system, how is it that one of the two major parties has now committed to fight for healthcare for all Americans? One woman who was at the DNC platform meeting last weekend tells us the story.
GUEST: Donna Smith, Communications Specialist for California Nurses Association (CNA) and the National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC) as well as the national co-chair for the Healthcare Not Warfare campaign of Progressive Democrats of America
For more information visit www.pdamerica.org and www.guaranteedhealthcare.org.
One Response to “Will the Dems Really Deliver “Guaranteed Healthcare for All”?”
The Democrats perpetrated a cruel hoax on the American People with the introduction of HR-676, entitled Medicare for All, 18 months ago. Authored by John Conyers HR676 would have enacted a Canadian Style Single Payer Healthcare System in this country. The Democrats used this bill as a way to firm up support among their wilting constituencies and then pulled the rug out from underneath them. During one highly publicized committee hearing Michael Moore along with members of Physcians for a National Health Program and the California Nurses Association gave compelling testimony in supporting the immediate implementation of of a Single Payer Health Care System. At the time Moore’s documentary Sicko was making the rounds through movie theaters in the country. Excerpts from the Congressional committeee hearings can be found at http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=HR-676+The+Single+Payer+Solution&search_type=&aq=f
Despite receiving 89 cosponsors the bill languished in committee and was never brought to the floor for debate. Recent Bills with as few as 14 cosponsors have sailed through congress yet HR-676 went absolutely no where ! HR-676 was not renewed in the 110th Congress and if Obama is elected it will NEVER be renewed as Obama’s position on Healthcare is to advance a Healthcare scheme that subsidizes the profits of the insurance industry.
The “Progressive” legislators who initiated HR-676 are now running from it as fast as they can in order to cow-tow to the insurance industry that is bankrolling Obama’s Campaign.
Ralph Nader is one of two candidates for President that has publicly called for a Single Payer Healthcare System. When recently asked about the Nader Campaign Michael Moore, the producer of Sicko, was quoted as calling Nader’s Supporters as “those crazy Nader Voters”. What Moore fails to grasp is the only time the citzenry has any meaningful leverage over their elected officials is when they cast their votes. Abandoning ones principles to vote for the “Lesser Evil” in the hopes reform after election is truely psychotic behavior.