Can The Democrats Avoid A Populist
Health Care Rebellion?
By Kevin Zeese
20 October, 2009
Countercurrents.org
The leadership of the Democratic Party is on the verge of passing health insurance reform. The centerpiece of the “reform” is requiring Americans to buy overpriced insurance from private corporations. But, it is evident that many in the Democratic voting base see the insurance industry as the problem – not the solution – and are getting angry about a new law that will force people to buy from corporations they don’t trust.
Just a few weeks ago the Mobilization for Health Care for All was announced (www.MobilizeForHealthCare.org). The Mobilization focuses on the denial of doctor-recommended care by the insurance industry. Sit-ins were planned at health insurance companies with demands that insurance corporations stop the denials. The Mobilization sought 100 people willing to sit-in at insurance corporations and risk arrest as people sat in at lunch counters two generations ago.
The response has been explosive, nearly 800 have signed up to risk arrest and thousands have signed up to join the protests. In the last 20 days 78 people have been arrested protesting the real death panels – the private insurance industry – who according to a California study deny doctor recommended care 20% of the time.
The Mobilization hoped to have “patients not profits sit-ins” in three cities last week, and instead it had them in nine cities. On the next Mobilization day, October 28th, there is likely to be twice as many cities protesting the insurance industry – just as Congress considers forcing Americans to buy insurance. This may be developing into the largest campaign of non-violent civil resistance since the Civil Rights era.
Many of the protesters supported Obama and were active in Democratic campaigns. Does the Democratic Party think that people willing to risk arrest against the corruption of the insurance industry will support Democratic candidates with time, money and votes who force them to buy insurance from these corporations?
These are protests the Democratic Party should not ignore. At the Washington, DC mobilization one woman, Linda from Annapolis, spoke to president Obama, said she had helped him get elected in part because he promised real change in health care. She still wants him to come through but reminded him – “we elected you, we can un-elect you.” Linda reflects the view of many Democratic Party activists who are angry at the pro-insurance bill being pushed by Congressional leaders.
As people come to understand the reform bill, which began as health “care” reform but devolved into health “insurance” reform, the anger will grow – not just from the right, but from the Democratic voting base who voted for the hope of real reform, not more of the corporate-dominated Washington, DC non-solutions to problems Americans face every day.
Indeed, Americans of all stripes will be angry. At the Washington, DC mobilization police allowed the sit-in to occur, despite it being illegal, and refused to arrest the participants. We later found out that the police had to make wage concessions to keep their health care.
And the mainstream and much of the alternate media is not carrying the story. Ownership calling shots is apparent. News is what the boss wants hirelings to sing. They fear, they stay on key. But the naked emperor ultimately is called out, and the Dem's time will come if they continue to ignore those who hesitantly trusted them.
Which is why they love Michele Bachmann and why she is allowed so much press attention. "Hey look, loudmouth malcontent, this is your alternative to me, to us." It is good for their retention rates. Good for perpetuation of the status quo. The lesser evil game, redux.
Same source, a shorter excerpt, from here - and please read both originals:
House and Senate Health Care Reform Bills
The House bill is HR 3200: America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009. The Senate's version is America's Healthy Future Act of 2009. After clearing the Finance Committee on October 13, further consideration now moves to both floors where significant hurdles remain.
In an earlier article, this writer explained that House and Senate bills will ration health care, enrich insurers, drug companies, and large hospital chains, and make a dysfunctional system worse. If Obamacare passes, hundreds of billions in Medicare cuts will harm seniors. Most others as well, especially the poor, chronically ill, all working Americans paying more and getting less, and millions more left uninsured. In addition, employers will be able to opt out of providing coverage, but since insurance will be mandated, those without it will have to buy it or face hundreds of dollars in penalties - still a debated figure ahead of House and Senate floor debate, votes in both chambers, and if passed, approving final legislation to be sent to the President for signing.
Four of the five House and Senate versions include a public option. Only the Baucus bill excludes it. Instead, it calls for expanding nonprofit health care cooperatives, similar to ones in many states that sell insurance, can pick and choose their members, are able to charge premiums comparable to private insurers, and in most areas provide little, if any, real competition.
If a public option becomes law, it will provide fig leaf cover for a weak and ineffective plan, not what many want but won't get. Most, in fact, won't qualify because it'll be a limited to high-risk individuals, offloaded to the government for substandard care under an "adverse selection" process. Private insurers will get to skim off the cream, charge as much as they want, profit handsomely at low risk, and leave Washington stuck with ones the industry doesn't want.
Yet they want more, are using hyperinflated cost estimates well above projected increases without "reform" legislation, and claim Medicare cuts will mean higher costs for the privately insured. They also say taxing higher-priced "Cadillac" plans and being prohibited from denying preexisting conditions will raise costs for everyone.
More still according to Wendell Potter, former PR executive for CIGNA insurance, now a whisleblower exposing shenanigans he saw on the inside, including the industry's "Medical Loss Ratio" (MLR) profit margin. Until about two decades ago, it was five cents on the dollar. Now it's a quarter or five times as much, and they're still not satisfied, so they're going for broke on Obamacare to skim hundreds more billions off the top in what will be greater than ever grand theft if they get it.
The people are getting bent over. By professionals.
A bendover you can believe in.
With all the posturing taking so long because it takes long to hide a robbery of a nation. The thing we can expect without a massive public outcry is unfortunately what we likely will get even with an outcry - a worse deal than the status quo, packaged in perfume - but at least an outcry might gain attention and real change might grudgingly emerge. But absent being forced to the wall, it will be a bendover of the citizens, one you can count on.
True and lasting reform, remember this, requires only the simple sentence, "Medicare coverage is extended to every citizen." Then without smoke and mirrors and in the sunshine of public scrutiny if Medicare is unsustainable and changes are made the changes can reach throughout what the federal government does, including making war and funding a brass-heavy military. Troops on the ground are costly enough. But look at all the brass in the Pentagon that could be factored out of the burdens column when it comes to benefits and burdens of public action being looked at with a mood to balance things.
______UPDATE_____
Riley who I respect is intent on calling out the plethora of Bachmann lies about healthcare reform; a good effort - read about it here - but we must be cautious to not let the loudmouthed fringe lull us into believing we can concentrate on their disingenuous postures to the extent we abandon caution over what our "champions" are about to pull off. Two additional things to think about; waffling reported here, and the know-nothing legions, noted here. This looks to be the classic thousand page bill game, reminding me of the Tom Waits line, "The big print giveth; the small print taketh away." The Dem's print is getting smaller and smaller to where we wonder what we will be able to see of what gets to the Obama desk for a signature. My take on his use of the "bully pulpit" is that he knows it will stink to high heaven for bending over the citizenry, and he can say, "I left it to Congress and the political process - it is their effort, not mine. i was busy being President. Talking to McCrystal, all that." And Biden can add his comment about Cheney as equally applicable in the Biden-brain for any distress the people might feel on ultimate healthcare legislation, "Who cares?" Let us hope for better - but from track records so far let us expect the worse. Wave those tiny American flags (made in China).
________FURTHER UPDATE________
Here is a Wikipedia image of Cassandra tearing at her hair when her cohorts ignored her prophecy and festively took the big wooden horse within the city walls. She said something about distrust of Greeks, getting greeked, something confusing to where she was insufficiently understood or trusted as a seer.