Two interesting articles sent by a U.S. ally:
A Real Win for Single-Payer Advocates [1]
posted by JOHN NICHOLS
The NATION, 07/17/2009
Canada did not establish its national health care
program with a bold, immediate political move by the
federal government.
The initial progress came at the provincial level, led
by the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation's Tommy
Douglas when he served from 1941 to 1960 premier of
Saskatchewan. The universal, publicly-funded "single-
payer" health care system that Douglas and his
socialist allies developed in Saskatchewan proved to be
so successful and so popular that it was eventually
adopted by other provinces and, ultimately, by Canada's
federal government.
For his efforts, Douglas would be hailed in a national
survey as "The Greatest Canadian" of all time. But
Douglas' regional initiative also offers a lesson for
Americans.
Those of us who know that the only real cure for what
ails the U.S. health care system is a universal public
plan that provides health care for all Americans while
controlling costs recognize the frustrating reality
that there are many economic and political barriers to
the federal action that would create a single-payer
system. This makes clearing the way experimentation at
the state level all the more important.
And, remarkably, the forces of real reform have won a
congressional victory on that front, a victory that
ought not be underestimated.
By a 25-19 vote, the House Committee on Education and
Labor on Friday approved an amendment to the House's
health-care reform bill allowing states to create
single-payer health care systems if they so choose. (...)
What's at stake in the U.S. health care debate? [2] by Collen Fuller
The U.S. health care debate again sorts out for us the parasites and demagogues in our midst, while the despicable corporate media (how do these people get through the night?) does its best to muddy up the waters.
"I happen to be a proponent of a single payer health care program."
Senatorial candidate, Barack Obama, speaking to the AFL-CIO in Illinois, June 30, 2003
"If I were designing a system from scratch, I would probably go ahead with a single-payer system."
Presidential candidate, Barack Obama, town hall meeting, Albuquerque, New Mexico, August 18, 2008
"The only problem is that we're not starting from scratch."
President Barack Obama, town hall meeting, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, May 14, 2009 (...)
Links:
[1] http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/452493/a_real_win_for_single_payer_advocates
[2] http://www.bestcyrano.org/?p=2790
[3] http://rabble.ca/print/babble/body-and-soul/denying-health-care-us-citizens-big-business#comment-1041303
[4] http://rabble.ca/print/babble/body-and-soul/denying-health-care-us-citizens-big-business#comment-1041591
[5] http://rabble.ca/print/babble/body-and-soul/denying-health-care-us-citizens-big-business#comment-1041680
[6] http://rabble.ca/user
[7] http://rabble.ca/user/register
Obama Health Plan: Is It Really Better Than Nothing?
http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/obama-health-care-plan-reall...
"Like just about everything else, your take on the national health care debate depends on whether you're inside or outside the matrix"
That effort, in time, inspired a broader program the hospital now calls its Urban Health Initiative.
snip ...
The medical center markets its initiative as an effort to improve patient health for the poor and at the same time free its resources for emergencies and complicated procedures. The Urban Health Initiative also could save the hospital substantial amounts of money, by removing the nonpaying poor patients from its emergency room.
"An ER visit for something that's not an emergency costs the medical center $1,200," said Kelly Sullivan, a hospital spokeswoman. "That's sucking up dollars in health care that we don't all have to just blow through carelessly.
snip ...
although many people welcomed the initiative, primary-care doctors opposed it as a break with the center's commitment to the community. Opinion research showed that a small but passionate group of people already considered the hospital to be elitist, arrogant and lacking in "cultural empathy" for the surrounding economically depressed South Side neighborhood, according to a draft report obtained by The Washington Post. Some doctors in focus groups dismissed local health clinics as "wholly inadequate."
One of the suggestions ... Change the name of the initiative.
"Internal and external respondents expressed the opinion that the word 'urban' is code for 'black' or 'black and poor,' " according to a report the firm gave the medical center on May 14, 2007. "Based on the research, consideration should be given to re-branding the initiative."
etc ...
link
Obama Press Conference: Evasions and Lies
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jul2009/obam-j23.shtml
"President Obama's press conference Wednesday night was an hour-long effort to conceal from the American people the sweeping impact of the cuts in medical benefits that will be imposed in his administration's planned restructuring of the US health care system."