Healthcare Hoax from Hell

Lies, damn lies, and promises from Democrats. An amendment allowing states to create state-level single-payer healthcare has been stripped out of the House healthcare bill, after having passed in committee back in July by a vote of 27 to 19. And rumor has it that a vote on national single-payer that was promised in July in exchange for skipping a committee vote on it will now be denied.

First, the state single-payer amendment.

Back in July, the House Committee on Education and Labor did something right, something that could have made all the difference in the world to millions of Americans. Congressman Dennis Kucinich introduced in the committee an amendment that would have effectively allowed states to improve on our healthcare system if they chose to, allowed them to create state-level single-payer healthcare. There are bills to do this in several state legislatures already. Such a bill has passed and been vetoed in California twice, where a change in governor is imminent.

President Obama told the committee chairman, George Miller, to oppose Kucinich's amendment, and he did so, leading off the voting with a resounding "No." But the Democrats voted 14 to 14 with one member passing and two failing to vote. And the Republicans voted 13 to 5 with one member failing to vote. That added up to 27 yes votes and 19 no votes. Some Republicans may have voted yes simply because the chairman voted no, but they said they were voting yes for states' rights. And that would be a sensible, decent, and constitutional position. Why shouldn't states be permitted to do better, as well as worse, than Washington, even if the insurance companies bring in less blood money?

Canada got its healthcare system in one province first. If California or Pennsylvania joins the civilized world and treats healthcare as a right, and eliminates the waste and bureaucracy of the health insurance companies, our whole nation may just be forced to come along, or watch half the population migrate to California and Pennsylvania.

Ah, but it's not to be. Unless Americans behave as a civilized people and raise holy hell over this immediately. Sadly, a huge chunk of Americans opposes being provided with healthcare, and another huge chunk is drunk with a teenage crush on the guy who no doubt told Pelosi to strip out the amendment.

In the healthcare advocacy world, a big group has focused on the godforsaken bastard policy known as "public option" which at best will offer a token mitigating element in some states for a disastrous healthcare policy imposed on all states. But the states that choose to do right by their residents will not be able to choose a real solution like single-payer, not without a drawn-out legal battle with the insurance companies over the federal laws that Kucinich's amendment would have waived.

Another big group of healthcare advocates has been so obsessed with getting national single-payer immediately, rather than state-by-state, that they've barely lifted a finger for the Kucinich amendment, which I predicted in July would be stripped out.

Which brings us to the Weiner Amendment. The deal cut with Congressman Anthony Weiner was cut in committee. It's on video. Chairman Henry Waxman told Weiner that Pelosi would allow a floor vote if he skipped a committee vote. Weiner agreed. Weiner may have been lied to. But whether his amendment gets a vote or not, it has served as a big glaring distraction from the Kucinich Amendment.

A conversation I had with Congresswoman Betty Sutton is typical. She told me that the Kucinich Amendment was no big deal and shouldn't be paid any attention to. She said she wanted everyone to focus on the Weiner Amendment on which she planned to vote yes. Asked if there was any chance the Weiner Amendment would pass, she replied of course not.

From Congresswoman Sutton's point of view, a bill that will fail is far more important than a life-saving measure in a bill that might pass, because she planned to vote right on the former and brag about it to her constituents. "See, I tried. I really tried." But if Sutton's state, Ohio, passes the bill currently making its way through the state legislature and establishes single-payer for all Ohioans, the death panels, aka health insurance companies, will sue. And without the Kucinich Amendment they will win or at least hold things up for several years and several thousand deaths.

Will Sutton or any other members of Congress fight for either of these amendments? Will any of them call out Pelosi? Forcing the Kucinich amendment back into the bill and forcing a floor vote on the Weiner amendment are admirable immediate goals (as of now Pelosi will be allowing no floor amendments of any sort), but healthcare is very complex with the devil in the details, and the details are being written by devils, blood-soaked devils. The central demand of members of Congress must be: Vote No. The reason they should have to listen must be: We will occupy your offices and prevent you from working unless you commit to voting No, but if you commit to voting No and vote No, we will consider possibly not throwing your sorry ass in the street in next year's elections.

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David Swanson is the author of the new book "Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union" by Seven Stories Press. You can order it and find out when tour will be in your town: http://davidswanson.org/book.

But kicked works, as what I'm doing now.

Groups are still calling on people to call the House leadership to reinstall the Kucinich amendment & allow a vote on the Weiner amendment.

-Speaker Nancy Pelosi: DC (202) 225.4965 - SF (415) 556.4862
-Rep. George Miller: DC (202) 225.2095 - Concord (925) 602.1880
-Rep. Henry Waxman: DC (202) 225.3976 - LA (323) 651.1040

http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/callalert/index.tt?alertid=14249971

Please pass this link along!

Forum Name General Discussion: Presidential
Topic subject Wiener needs your help on his single payer Medicare For All amendment.--send Pelosi a fax...FREE
Topic URL http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8719898#8719912
8719912, Wiener needs your help on his single payer Medicare For All amendment.--send Pelosi a fax...FREE
Posted by joeycola on Wed Oct-28-09 03:30 PM

Repost of a related post

Forum Name General Discussion: Presidential
Topic subject Congressman Wiener needs your help on his single payer Medicare For All amendment.
Topic URL http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8715792#8715792
8715792, Congressman Wiener needs your help on his single payer Medicare For All amendment.
Posted by joeycola on Mon Oct-26-09 04:27 AM


Do it. Thanks.

Dear xxxxx

Congressman Wiener needs your help on his single payer Medicare For All amendment. I just got back from a conference in Boston where Rep. Wiener asked for help on two things:

First, and urgently, he wants people to contact Speaker Pelosi and ask her to keep her promise to allow a floor amendment and floor debate on a single payer amendment to the House bill. Although the Speaker promised such a floor amendment in July , there is a strong likelihood that she will back down on that promise in the very near future unless she gets a flood of emails, faxes or calls. So let's flood Nancy Pelosi's office with faxes like we did once before.

http://www.1payer.net/faxapp/senders/add/cid:40

Remarkably, Speaker Pelosi said in Democratic Caucus "If it were up to me, we would have single payer." Let's remind Nancy Pelosi with a flood of faxes: it IS up to her because she is the Speaker.

Second, Rep. Wiener asked that we flood our Congresspersons with calls and push them to support the single payer Medicare For All amendment. About 100 other Congressmen are solidly behind it now and even blue dogs are wavering, so Wiener thinks a push on Congress will help a great deal. You can send a fax supporting the Wiener single payer Medicare For All amendment right now. Just click here.

You can send a FREE fax to Pelosi very simply and easily.

Here is the link to the fax.

It simply asks Pelosi to keep her promise for a floor debate in the House. The Pelosi fax linked above is very important. You can also call her office at

202-225-4965.

Don't let her back down on her promise of a single payer floor debate in the House.

:kick:

i don't think its the raise in taxes that the repukes are saying is socialism. maybe?

Saskatchewan was a small rural province with mostly dirt poor farmers who formed collectives to sell their wheat and then they formed collectives to provide insurance, both health, crop and auto.

Tommie Douglas is the most admired Canadian according to a recent national poll.

So the right wing idiots are correct. It is creeping socialism. but that is better than the alternative, creaping capitalism. At least it stands by and for the people.

these Dems running in front of the camera telling us that they have passed a bill when they are going through committee after committee then,they show on one of these television shows and tell us they know they will have a robust public option.

When you wake up the next day another Dem is on telling us that they have to go through another committee and they don't have enough votes. Today we hear that the House is revealing a bill and all I hear is that they don't have enough votes.

Next,we will hear it is going back to the senate. Last night,what did I see on tv,Stupak from Michigan complaining about abortion being in the bill and how he can't vote for it if it is. We have been hearing about that issue for months now and he knows that it is not in the bill.So what does that tell me? that he is a bluedog/RepubliCON..

Now,why would he bring up this issue AGAIN and at this particular time?

What's up with that?

Health insurance prices are rising SO FAST. Cementing the for-profit insurance industry into the position of permanent middle-man guarantees our insurance prices will rise even faster.

So what's the objection to having a choice? A non-profit government entity will cost LESS, and will either force the insurance industry to keep their prices in-check or they'll lose customers to the non-profit government entity. Either way "we the people" would benefit - unless we only do the part where the for-profit insurance industry gets their customer base by mandate, with no regulation on price.

HOW can people object to a choice, but NOT object to being forced to play the INSURANCE SCAM game?

How can people object to a choice?

The people, as defined by websters don't. The people, as defined by the insurance industry in their spin factor, do. It's called paid shilling.

So it's just symbolic, but the Kucinich amendment could actually have some positive effect.

I don't like that Dennis' amendment was excluded, but ...
I am confused. States can do anything they want regarding health care. California tried to create a single-payer plan in the past. Will the new bill actually prevent states from creating their own single-payer? How?

Won't removal of the insurance industry's anti-trust exemption make it easier to implement single-payer?

If it's not in the final bill, the final bill should go down. It is depressing that the leadership is inclined to sell us out on this.

California will almost certainly have single-payer in 2011 if the Federal Government will allow it. There's only one reason not to allow it (to protect health insurance companies).

This is too depressing.

:dem:

-Laelth

It's not over yet. It may re-appear in the final bill.

If not, I will tell every elected official who will listen to vote against the bill.

:dem:

-Laelth

a similar amendment by Sanders never even made it out of committee.

I just can't wait to see how I'm going to get reamed and what kind of means testing is used to qualify for 'public option'. I'm gonna get screwed coming(payout for policy) and going (decuctables, co-pays, and insurance co. hanky-panky), butI should be used to that by now, no?

Meanwhhile the insurance companies make billions in PROFIT, money paid in that could be used to benefit us, but no, our reigning capitalist religion makes it a mortal sin to plow money back into the society and people that generated it.

they don't want the healthcare bill to pass. These motherfuckers think they are God they think that we should pay for their healthcare but when it comes to us they are saying go sit down we are the be all and end all. They are working for the insurance companies and their family members and friends are too.

'...to oppose Kucinich's amendment'?

And the Senate version is worse.

Reid :rofl:

Pelosi :rofl:

Baaa..raucous Oooooobama and the Neocon Democratic Congress :puke:

but I'll give it a :kick:

:(

the final bill is signed. Therefore, I propose that we need a Trojan Horse. I just don't know what form it will take. I did suggest that people who have FICA taken out of their checks start demanding access to Medicare since they pay for it.