|
Friday, Dec. 28, 2007
Medicare For All
via H.R. 676
by Stephen Crockett, co-host of
Democratic Talk Radio
A bill has already
been introduced in The House by Congressman John Conyers that
effectively addresses the issue. H.R. 676 expands Medicare to cover
all citizens.
The scope of the healthcare crisis in America is
huge. It has very serious economic and moral implications. It is
crippling our nation in terms of protecting American manufacturing,
competing in the global economy and undermines our national security.
It reflects badly on us as a just and moral society. It is literally
killing Americans in huge numbers.
The number of Americans without health insurance
is currently 47 million and growing rapidly. The number of
underinsured Americans is much larger than the number of uninsured
Americans. In America, over half of all personal bankruptcies are the
direct result of medical crises. Over half of those bankruptcies are
from individuals who had health insurance when their medical crises
started.
Industry friendly studies of the number of
Americans who died because they had no health insurance place the
number at around 50 per week. The number is absurdly low and
illogical.
Doing without
healthcare at any point in life for a significant period of time will
likely create health issues and physical damage. This damage
accumulates over a lifetime and shortens your lifespan. You die
younger than you would have if you had always had adequate healthcare.
You might die at 70 instead of 85. In addition, the last years might
have much lower levels of quality. Since most people die after
reaching the age where Medicare coverage is already in effect, those
deaths are not counted as resulting from a lack of healthcare
insurance although they can be directly traced to an earlier lack of
coverage. Most of the deaths resulting from a lack of healthcare
insurance are thus concealed.
Even using the fraudulent 50 per week figure,
killing Americans to preserve the profits of HMO’s and insurance
companies is completely immoral. Bankrupting Americans because of
illness is a national disgrace. It does not happen in other
industrialized nations. Out of the top 75 most industrialized nations
in the world, only in the United States are citizens not provided by
their government with universal healthcare.
In the United States, we saddle our businesses
and corporations with the cost of providing for the healthcare needs
of their employees. Our international competitors do not. This is one
of the major reasons why good paying manufacturing and service sector
jobs are leaving our nation. It is economic suicide.
None of the Band-Aid approaches advocated by the
top Democratic Presidential candidates deal effectively with the trade
implications of healthcare policy. I am personally supporting Edwards
because he is more inclined to advance fair and balanced trade
agreements than Clinton and Obama. For example, Clinton and Obama
supported the most recent “so-called free trade” agreement with Peru
while Edwards did not. However, even Edwards has not yet addressed the
clear connection between international trade and healthcare.
The best solution for providing universal
healthcare is expanding Medicare to cover all American citizens.
Medicare is a proven program. It is popular and cost-effective. Our
current private system has much higher levels of overhead costs than
does Medicare. The only inefficient aspects of Medicare are the
“privatized” programs added by the Bush White House and their
Republican allies in the Senate. Medicare has been hugely successful
despite ongoing Republican and corporate attempts to undermine it.
We can count on Republican politicians to label
any move toward universal healthcare as “socialized medicine.” They
attempted mightily to destroy Medicare in the past using such tactics
and failed completely. Politically, providing universal healthcare by
expanding Medicare will be much easier than any other approach.
The private, profit-drive healthcare system is
terribly unfair and inefficient. We spend 17 percent of our total
economy on healthcare while our international competitors spend only 8
percent. They cover everyone and we do not. The numbers speak for
themselves!
Expanding Medicare to cover everyone will not
prevent citizens from buying supplemental healthcare if they can
afford it. It will greatly help doctors who are General Practitioners
by making medical need become effective demand. It will help hospitals
by removing the burden of providing healthcare to those who cannot pay
for it. It will make our workers healthier and more productive.
There must be a grassroots movement built behind
“Medicare For All.” Local activists, union leaders, businesses and
politicians must all exert their efforts in a common movement. Most
national union organizations and state AFL-CIO organizations are
supporting H.R. 676. They are joined by many members of Congress. The
legislation has 89 co-sponsors with more being added frequently. Many
candidates are backing it!
Local leaders are already getting organized all
over the nation. People like Amos B. McCluney, Jr. in Delaware and
Alena Bandy in Maryland are actively organizing Medicare For All state
chapters. Both leaders are grassroots Democratic activists with roots
in the United Auto Workers. Both are reaching out into the community
recruiting civil rights leaders, churches, community organizations and
local politicians behind H.R. 676. They are not alone. I personally
have talked with local activists from Tennessee, Massachusetts, New
York, Pennsylvania and several other states who are working on
building support for this legislation.
Pressure must be placed on all opinion leaders to
support Medicare For All. Presidential, Senatorial and Congressional
candidates should be pressured to support H.R. 676. All candidates
should be placed on record that they would not veto Medicare For All
nor place legislative obstacles in the way of passing H.R. 676, even
if they do not actively support passage. Candidates failing to make
such public pledges should not be supported by any American citizen.
Average Americans must reframe the debate over
healthcare. Instead of calling for universal healthcare or
single-payer healthcare, we should simplify the debate. We should be
calling for “Medicare For All” and supporting H.R. 676.
comment on this news item...
Written by Stephen
Crockett (co-host of Democratic Talk Radio
http://www.DemocraticTalkRadio.com ).
Mail: P.O. Box 283, Earleville, Maryland
21919. Phone: 443-907-2367. Email:
midsouthcm@aol.com .
|
