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Health Care Reform Makes Us ‘More Decent’ Nation
This morning, The New York Times op-ed columnist Paul Krugman presented the straight-forward, reasoned and no-hype case why the U.S. House this weekend should pass health care reform.
For one thing, he writes, the bill would end abuses like those of a South Carolina health insurance company that had “a systematic policy of revoking its clients’ policies when they got sick.”
What is on the table, ready to go, is legislation that is fiscally responsible, takes major steps toward dealing with rising health care costs, and would make us a better, fairer, more decent nation.
Read Krugman’s entire column here and then call 1-877-3-AFLCIO and tell you representative to vote this Sunday to pass health care reform.
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The reality of this “Health Care Reform” is discussed below on the World Socialist Web Site. The link below is to the full article, with several excerpts posted here.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/mar2010/heal-m20.shtml
US Congress poised to pass Obama’s cost-cutting health plan
By Kate Randall
20 March 2010
Barack Obama spoke Friday in northern Virginia, making a final pitch for passage of his health care legislation. The rally at George Mason University culminated a weeks-long public relations blitz for the plan, in which the president has sought to present its cost-cutting features as a boon for ordinary Americans.
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In reality, Obama’s health care plan will increase private insurance company profits, slash hundreds of billions of dollars from the Medicare program for the elderly, and set into motion a series of measures that will result in reduced care and rationing of services for the vast majority of working families. The legislation has nothing to do with “reform” of the health system to expand and improve care, but is aimed rather at radically reducing government spending and business costs.
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Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Democrat of Ohio, switched his vote from “no” to “yes” on Wednesday, throwing in his lot with the Obama plan after months of opposing it because it did not include a public option and would leave “patients financially vulnerable to insurance companies.” His move followed some one-on-one coaxing from Obama. (See “Kucinich throws his support behind Obama health care bill”) (Kucinich article link here:)
http://wsws.org/articles/2010/mar2010/kuci-m19.shtml
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In fact, it constitutes a boondoggle for the insurance companies, who will gain millions of new customers. Individuals and families will be required to purchase coverage, or face a penalty if they do not—up to 2.5 percent of income by 2016. Employers will be under no obligation to provide insurance to their workers and will face only minimal fines if their employees receive government subsidies to purchase insurance from private firms on the health care exchanges that are to be set up.
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The tax on so-called “Cadillac” health plans will be delayed from the schedule proposed in the Senate version of legislation. Plans will be taxed at a 40 percent rate for that portion of premiums costing more than $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for families, beginning in 2018 instead of 2013. The number of plans taxed is expected to rise yearly as insurers raise premiums.
This tax will be born in full by millions of workers, including many trade unionists, who receive insurance under company-sponsored plans. Their benefits will be cut and their out-of-pocket costs increased.
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Obama’s plan includes the establishment of a new body—the “Independent Payment Advisory Board”—to root out “waste and abuse” in the Medicare program. This unelected body of presidential appointees will wield broad powers to reduce costs and services and rewrite Medicare regulations. The changes this panel proposes can be overruled only by a super-majority vote in Congress.
I did call ” 1-877-3-AFLCIO ” to tell Henry Waxman, my California U.S. Representative 30th District, Santa Monica, California) to VOTE NO! on Obama’s so called “Health Care Reform”.
I had to leave a message as the line was busy. Mr. Waxman, in every instance since Obama was elected, has done nothing but vote for corporate profits and against the needs of working people.
His record this two-year term, in full support of the corporatist Obama agenda.
Supported the bailout of Wall Street gangsters. (but nothing to support the nation’s public school sytems, or rescue bankrupt state budgets).
Supported Obama’s expansion of wars and war budget. (Should be opposed as the wars are further bankrupting the nations services).
Supported (authored) a “cap and trade” bill that allows profitable polluters to keep destroying the planet by paying for some polllution “credits”. “Cap and trade” is inadequate to and even furthers the crisis of Global Warming.
Mr. Waxman ran unopposed in the 2008 election.
I e-mailed and thanked my senators for doing whats right and for taking the first step for health care reform now letys get the Employee Free Choice Act through as well