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Health Insurance Groups Will Stop at Nothing to Kill Reform |
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Stunning in their brazenness, insurance industry groups like Humana have sent out mailings to Medicare beneficiaries trying to scare seniors into erroneously believing that health care reform will harm their Medicare benefits.
This from the Alliance for Retired Americans:
On Monday, Medicare demanded that certain private insurance companies cease sending out potentially misleading mailings to beneficiaries regarding health care and insurance reform.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) specifically asked Humana, Inc. to end such mailings, and Humana has obliged. In their letters, Humana states that “millions of seniors and disabled individuals could lose many of the important benefits and services that make Medicare Advantage health plans so valuable”—a claim that many senior advocates strongly disagree with.
Apparently, the insurance industry saw the effectiveness of the big lie about so-called death panels and decided scaring seniors is a fine way to kill health care reform.
Ruben Burks, secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance puts it this way:
Deceitful rhetoric by insurance companies is especially worrisome when it is implemented to dupe seniors.
Humana is the second-largest Medicare Advantage provider in the nation.
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“Deceitful rhetoric by insurance companies is especially worrisome when it is implemented to dupe seniors.”
The AFL-CIO at the recent convention in Pittsburgh voted unanimously in support of “single-payer” Medicare-for-All universal health care.
“Deceitful rhetoric” employed by AFL-CIO union “leaders” to continue support Obama’s “health care reform” is perhaps more than “worrisone”. This refusal to support “single payer” is a betrayal of the explicit demands of the AFL-CIO union members and ignores the desperate needs of all working people.
Why does the conservative and pro-corporate agenda still control the U.S. labor movement? There are now many economic and social crises that are destroying the lives of millions of working people. Continued support of Obama’s “health care reform” and subservience to the Democratic Party (only 10 per cent of Dems are pro-labor), will further destroy the enfeebled trade union movement (now at it’s lowest level in decades).
Two critical historical articles of interest:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/sep2009/trum-s17.shtml
Who is Richard Trumka?
By Jerry White
17 September 2009
On Wednesday, John Sweeney, who has led the AFL-CIO since 1995, stepped down and was succeeded by his long-time lieutenant, Richard Trumka, who ran unopposed and was elected by delegates at the AFL-CIO convention in Pittsburgh.
Few workers will take notice of the changing of the guard at the summit of the right-wing trade union apparatus. However, the corporate media and various “left” apologists for the labor bureaucracy have suggested that the elevation of the former president of the United Mine Workers might lead to a revival of the labor movement.
Similar claims were made when Sweeney succeeded Lane Kirkland, and then proceeded to preside over a further catastrophe for workers and a fall in unionization rates to levels not seen since the beginning of the last century. In 2008, only 7.6 percent of private sector workers were in unions, the lowest rate since 1900.
……………………………………….>see link above for full article <……………………
What is the AFL-CIO?
18 September 2009
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/sep2009/pers-s18.shtml
At its convention this week, the AFL-CIO chose a new president to replace the retiring John Sweeney, who had headed the organization for 14 years. One measure of the decrepitude of the trade union federation is the fact that the leadership change barely registered on the public consciousness, least of all among workers, including the small minority who are AFL-CIO members.
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It is a sad commentary that the change in leadership of a 17 million member organization barely rates a “blip” in the media.
Unfortunately it reflects the bad job labor has done over the last 50-plus years to reach out to the general public.
Organized labor was scared spit-less by the “Red Scare” in the 1950’s and decided to play the bosses games to stay safe. That is the road to destruction and we are still on it!
It always amazes me that people like you are even on an AFL-CIO blog, or for that matter, why they are fair enough to permit it. There has been an enormous amount of press on the change to Richard Trumka as our President. If you come off your blogs long enough, you might know that.
This morning’s talk shows featured limited discussion on public attitudes relative to US government policy; prevailing attitudes from the right and from the left. It surrounded discussions on health care, some using footage of Bill Clinton, and whether there’s evidence of a “right wing conspiracy.” He’s was gracious in noting that the “right wing conspiracy” today, while not nearly as “vast” as it used to be, remains vocal in its virulent opposition to Obama and health care reform.
Here’s what I’ve noticed as the health care discussions have moved forward. It seems to me that arguments and those arguing from the right are far more vicious, ruthless, paranoid and insecure; advancing corrupted opinions. To top it off, people on the right think the people and approaches on the left are the same. No so; the left is far more intelligent, compassionate, more people oriented and more inclined to get things done.
Albert Colone
Oneonta, NY 13820
607/432-4057