by BAR managing editor Bruce Dixon
Now we know what the Obama administration means by “health care reform”. They mean guranteeing the rights of insurance and drug companies to their profits. They mean making health insurance like car insurance, with everyone compelled by law to purchase it from a private vendor, except for the very poorest among us, who will be offered a “public option” so limited and expensive as to discredit the word “public” when used in assocation with health care at all.
Played, Betrayed, Health Care Delayed: House Passes Bailout For Private Insurance Companies.
By BAR managing editor Bruce A. Dixon
There's no polite way to put it. If you're one of millions who voted Democrats into Congress and the White House last year to enact universal health care, you've been played and betrayed.
The legislation squeezed out by the House on Saturday was a giant step away from ensuring the kind of quality, affordable, everybody in, nobody out health care that polling shows most Americans favor. Apologists for the White House and its party of course insist that while imperfect, it's a giant step forward, providing health insurance coverage to millions who didn't have it before, and that in any case it was the best they could do under the political circumstances. It's hard to see how anyone can believe this.
Instead of recognizing a human right to health care, the White House and congressional Democrats have enshrined into law a corporate right to profit on the delivery or the non-delivery of health care. Health insurance will be mandatory, like car insurance, and government subsidies will enable everyone to purchase the shoddy, deceptive and defective products of the private insurance industry, which already rakes off fully one out of every three health care dollars in tolls for nothing more than standing between patients and their health care.
Many of the millions of new customers the insurance companies will get due to the individual mandate, as it's called, are the young and healthy who pay premiums and seldom need much in the way of care --- the very most profitable customers of private insurers.
Drug companies will be shielded against competition from generics in the fastest growing categories of drugs, the so-called biologics, which include just about all vaccines.
The public option which progressives insisted all summer would be the line in the sand beyond which they would not retreat, had been gutted by early spring. Members of congress knew it, but fed us hype all summer and fall about its imaginary wonders, how it would keep costs down, provide choice and effectively compete with private insurers. Even Howard Dean told us the public option was “best thought of as Medicare.” He lied, and so did many Democrats.
And the ban on pre-existing conditions is undercut by provisions in the law that encourage insurance companies to institute “wellness” incentives, a backdoor means of achieving the same kind of segmentation that discrimination on the basis of pre-existing conditions served.
Insurance companies are not only prohibited to offer abortion services in any policy paid for in part with government funds, they are not even required to offer pelvic examinations or family planning services of any kinds. Doubtless then, some will not.
Medicare will be slashed, depending on which version you prefer, from $300 to $500 billion and the medical benefits of those who have them now taxed to fund the “public option” and low-end private insurance offerings, enabling racist Republicans a peg to tell their constituencies that their hard working tax dollars are paying for the meds of undeserving, lazy black people and so-called “illegals.”
And although millions more will receive some kind of health insurance, just about all those who do so between now and 2013 will do so through the expansion of Medicaid, rather than the private insurance exchanges, which are not scheduled to be fully operational till 2013 at the earliest.
Why President Obama's attempt to reform health care should take 3 or more years when Medicare back in the 1960s was fully operational in under a year is a question almost never asked.
2013 is a long way off. It's two election cycles down, past the 2010 mid-terms and beyond the 2012 presidential contest. Hope is a heady drug, but it's hard to imagine how the crack pipe can be kept hot that long. Between now and the time the illusion of Obamacare, if we can call it that, unravels, thousands more will die because they cannot get medical care, and hundreds of thousands will go bankrupt. The differences between the promises and the facts are multiplying, and could cost the Democrats control of Congress as soon as next year.
But real change rarely if ever comes from above. Real change comes from below. The wave of sit-ins and civil actions in favor of single payer health care, the only plausible solution to the crisis, shows no signs of stopping. Like the housing and general economic crises, which the administrationa nd media tell us every day have turned around, the health care crisis will drag on for the forseeable future.
Bruce Dixon is managing editor at Black Agenda Report, and based in Atlanta. He can be reached at bruce.dixon(at)blackagendareport.com
Comments
Healthcare
As it has been for years................at least for me and other's I've spoken to regarding hospitals (like Roosevelt Hospital at 59th and 10th Avenue in Manhattan);some healthcare professionals fail to treat patients with respect, bully us and give us poor care instead. I have waited hours many times regardless of having an appointment when going to Roosevelt Hospital. When I've gone to Elmhurst Hospital after stepping on glass in Coney Island and in a lot of pain............they also made me wait for about 6 hours until I finally gave up and left and had to use the last dollars I had for food for a Taxi instead to go to another hospital. Believe it or not, I went to Elmhurst AFTER Mount Sinai in Queens tried to treat me just inside the emergency rooms double doors! They were very unprofessional and treated me like I don't deserve to be treated like other patients. THEN they proceeded to trick me and lie to me and YANKED A DRIED GAUZE BANDAGE OUT OF MY 1/2 DEEP X 1 INCH DEEP CUT!!! I felt like I was in a third world country the way I was treated there. A Doctor told a male Nurse to do this to me standing next to him as they told me "Don't worry, we will not yank it out". LIARS, LIARS, LIARS. I was screaming in extreme pain when they did that, alarming(sadly)other elderly patients etc., there as I couldn't help it. DO NOT GO TO ROOSEVELT HOSPITAL OR MOUNT SINAI IN QUEENS. THEY'RE VERY SADISTIC!! Roosevelt Hospital's 4 Doctors even told me when I got out of Volunteering in Ground Zero; "You don't have enough exposure to get a respiratory test". This was my Thank-you from Roosevelt Hospital for working to protect the U.S.. I was told by the guys I worked with at building #7 that I should not let anyone tell me I don't need a test. These 4 Doctors at Roosevelt Hospital got in my face after I told the first one that I respectfully insist, as I was sitting down, on getting a Respiratory Test. I don't appreciate Roosevelt Hospital's bullying of me. Even when I respectfull and kindly explained the issue at Administration, they blatantly disregarded me. After that, I had another nurse at the uptown St. Lukes Hospital(affiliate)harass me that I shouldn't be there AFTER getting an emergency appt. for the cut in my foot and she proceeded to get a supervisor that started YELLING at me and so I found a supervisor OVER her and that lady, Mary Pugliese corrected the supervisor. I though that was the end of it, but no. The lower Supervisor in retaliation, started yelling at/harassing me again and then St. Luke's Security came and started harassing me too as I was finishing up a conversation giving someone advice regarding a medical issue I had a lot of experience with and insisted I leave. He whispered that "Don't worry, we'll take care of her" but he still had no right standing right up in my face contemptuously as I spoke to a couple in the waiting room & then threatening to call the Police on ME. I was so appalled by the way I was treated, I complained to other security there and they agreed with me. Then I called 911 and the CORRUPTED POLICE just yessed me and followed me to the train station! I was the victim, not the troublemaker and he was just adding insult to injury. Roosevelt Hospital has an African-American Nurse who's very big and got in my face as I made a good point to a doctor and he didn't care. He started the conversation by standing at a distance inside a counter that has glass with a small hole and I couldn't hear him. He got an attitude when I respectfully asked him to come out and speak to me. He had no respect. He used the Nurse who's around 6 feet tall and plus size to get in my face even though another Doctor, AGAIN, gave me a prescription after I was seen there that was NOT covered by my insurance to give me a hard time. This is a regular problem at Roosevelt Hospital when you are a financially poor patient. I ended up ripping up the prescription and walking out. I had no choice after that but to take an expired medicine for the same medicine as I had gotten before there. THIS is how the financially poor are treated. So............all you financially secure people with great insurance need to calm down and pay up! We are kept down so you can have a good life and you ARE doing well off OUR backs..........so stop giving us a hard time!~*~*~*~*~Respectfully and Sincerely, Ms. Victoria Mary Stong / 9/11 Family Member, Former 1st Responder & Ground Zero Worker at Bldg.7 & in various locations from 9/11-11/10/01, Former Auxiliary Police Officer, Humanitarian, Civil Rights & Community Activist-Well Seasoned in and out of ALL types of Media!
I had a bad experience several years ago at St. Luke's Hospital
I was with a patient, not the patient.
Thanks for the correction
Thanks for the correction :-).
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Health care is a right...
Let me get this straight. All we need to do is eat healthy and we won't need health insurance? As when we drive safely we don't need car insurance? Where's the healthy food? These insurance companies share your logic or maybe, you have adopted theirs! We have to stay healthy or die. If we submit claims, we are denied care. Excuses are manufactured in order to deny the claims of people who need the assurance their money has been buying! Same thing with car insurance. When you have an accident, you become too much of a risk and you are dismissed!. No refunds, no accountability, no shame. People who pay these exorbitant premiums must also go searching for "healthy" foods that make them sick! Get out of here!
Unbelievable - "change is
Unbelievable - "change is coming" - yeah right. This ploy to protect greedy insurance and pharmaceutical companies is just another feather in a slimy politician's hat. This bill will see the uninsured and less fortunate Americans fall deeper into crisis as the insurance company profits skyrocket. -eurail pass
Health Care Scam
Why should the naive crowds expect anything new and exciting in the Health Care Reform Legislation when everything else points out to null?! From the escalation of war and excessive defense spending, to the bailouts both under the Bush-Bama administrations to the million plus home foreclosures, to the near-depression rising unemployment rate, to the sweeping monopoly of our economy by the giant financial institutions, everything carries no foreseeable hope. Simple and plain, our political system is corrupt and has no potential for renovation. This is beyond partisan politics, beyond one administration, and beyond one elect president. There is no sense in wasting time fixing an old pair of pants that needs a thousand patches. Why not just throw it away and get a new pair? The key to the solution is not in the hands of one single legislation. The masses must grow out from beneath the big umbrella of the ruling elite and finds it its own way through the surface. Grassroots movement is the only hope we have and the country must be broken down into smaller communities that are self-sufficient and self-reliant. If one under the ruling elite umbrella must pay premium to a private giant insurance company, why not pay the same premium to a non-profit, not-for-profit community insurance that is bound locally on some kind of common denominator? If one must pay mortgage insurance along with mortgage interest to greedy financial institutions, why not pay the same to a non-profit community financial institution that pools community money and manage it through local credit unions? In these horrible times of corporate greed and governmental abuse of authority and defense of corporate interest, why small communities do not rise up to the occasion and get independent of government programs, control, and agenda? Our tax money has been totally wasted between bailouts of predatory financial institutions and wasteful defense spending in shadowy wars. The same tax money can be put to use in non-profit community institutions that could cater to the public needs. Localization of resources and power is the only way to go in the face of a vicious sweeping world order and financial monopoly of the nation economy. STOP blaming the government for everything as the government is not there to serve your interest. The government is of the elite for the elite and by the elite. STEP UP and take control if you want to survive in the jungle.
Politicians must stand behind
Politicians must stand behind people without health care insurance, they should know what its feel like. Not all people afford to pay for health insurance in this global recession.
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Disgusting
I am one of those many people without health insurance. I want health insurance and have been working to get out of debtso we can afford it. This legislation disgusts me. It's suppose to "help" people like me afford and get insurance but instead it will make it harder. I am just hoping the Senate tears the thing apart and it doesn't come to pass.
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There is obviously a lot of
There is obviously a lot of controversy with the health care issue and I would agree that everyone who voted in democrats into our congress and white house have been lied to and betrayed.
But when it comes down to it, I would have a much more sympathy for people with no health care if they lived healthy lifestyles. Majority of Americans are killing themselves by eating unhealthy and never excersising. Maybe the reason why they can afford free health care in other countries is because people actually take care of their bodies. It's ridiculous! If people want free health care then they should start by proving they can try to cut costs as much as possible by taking care of their bodies first.
Regards,
Apex Professionals
One can eat right and
One can eat right and exercise regularly and still fall victim to sickness. Environmental toxins assault air breathed and water drank 24/7. Hormone-infused livestock and genetically modified foods are everywhere and practically unavoidable for average citizens - especially those without financial means to buy organic (a crapshoot as every company is slapping organic and natural on its labels) and hormone/HFCS/GMO free grocerices. Even the svelte healthy excerciser can be involved in an accident and require weeks of hospital care followed by months of rehab.
In addition, hereditary illnesses or simply the aging process can lead to medical bills too. Therefore, one shouldn't use the "if they just ate right and exercised more" line to justify slamming those who require health care. Good living or bad - most of us will require health services. Yes, I agree that healthier living will reduce many problems incurred by the citizenry. But, that's only part of the picture. Healthcare should be a right. Our right to bear arms is defended to the death by folks of all socio-econ and political stripes, yet, we hear little for the need for healthcare to be given the same protection.
As for healthcare being free in other countries - or here with Medicare/Medicaid - it is not free. Tax dollars are used to pay for healthcare. Despite our govt's propensity to waste dollars, Medicare is one program it actually does right. It's not perfect, but it is light years better in providing access to quality care than the private insurance hodge podge we now have that covers some great, a few so-so, and a lot not at all.
It's better to to take health
It's better to to take health insurance as soon as possible.
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Majority of Americans are killing themselves by eating unhealthy
I don't even know where to begin with this ridiculous assertion.
I live in one of the most toxic cities in the country, surrounded at both ends of the valley by chemical, power plants, and coal. I could eat a macrobiotic diet and exercise until I pass out and still am most likely to die of cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease,et al due to arsenic,mercury,selenium,sulfur dioxide I breathe, eat, and drink daily.
As a matter of fact I cook 99% of my meals and walk the dogs daily am a healthy weight and STILL have very high blood pressure.
This wellness pr crap you are pushing is just that and it's being used in the same way the anti-smoking campaign was used, to hide the real causes of ill health and to blame the victim.
I cordially invite you to visit my hometown and take a nice long run under the blue haze and breathe in the chlorine.
regards to you
jlf..:after shock of the title, your comment is a good surprise
and true. In many places. And people get sick, injured, etc.
AMMORAL ABSOLUTISM OR IMMORAL ABSOLUTISM?
The uninsured have the exact same lifestyle as the insured. I have no love for snobs who try to justify their indifference for the have nots.
IT'S JUST A GAME
Politicians aren't the only ones engaged in political theatre. Bloggers claim that their existence is due to the need to challenge the establishment. We learned this week that most bloggers care less about fighting the lies, games and political strategy of the establishment than becoming part of the establishment. They went into full crisis mode when the Stupak amendment was put to a vote, but they wouldn't do anything close to that to get Kucinich's amendment (which had actually passed in committee unlike the Stupak amendment) back into the bill. Just like Booker T. Obama, they should quit pretending to support "universal" healthcare. Then, their readers can listen to those who actually do.
Sicko's Donna Smith makes it very plain. http://www.mefeedia.com/watch/24691402
Yes, change will come from us, from the bottom up. Today:DemNow
has good first segment with one of the founders of Physicians for National Health Program. www.democracynow.org
www.pnhp.org suggests rewriting the whole legislation. Awhile ago, I'd suggested on a website comment section, when the blogger asked, "why is it taking so long for Republicans to review the bill?" that it could be that the lobbyists didn't remember what they'd written. Today's DemNow guest from pnhp points out that the Senate version of the bill was written by a former head of a health industry group. The guest suggests the entire legislation needs rewriting.
People are going to get real angry, as suggested on BAR weeks ago, when, in my words, the Potemkin Village facade gets peeled away on what folks are getting with this bad legislation. And as a Medicare user, I am watching as it gets chopped...And although my uterus is no longer on "active duty", I am really really angry at the blow to women's choice via the Stupak amendment.
So, it's "rev" up the "we want single payer/Medicare for All" movement. Who will be the last person to die before we have medical coverage for all? (to paraphrase the former Vietnam vet for peace who is a US Senator and former candidate for President).
Addenda: I notice a "push" on two so-called "liberal" websites, (I don't read many), to get the readers to accept the bad bill as progress or, as one radio host who should know better said yesterday, "it's a move forward" (no it is the illusion of a "move forward"). There is the "play" going on to imply or say that if you don't support the (bad) bill in House and Senate, then you are helping/with the Republicans. We aren't stupid.
And my favorite (well, Lenny Bruce was a hero of mine), was the headline yesterday on the google news list, asking "Are the Dems going to have civil war over antiabortion" in the bill? To quote Bernard White,former Program Director of WBAI (see www.takebackwbai.org),
"Stay strong and pay close attention." Bernard White