Obama Was For Sinlge Payer Health Care...

[Yes We Did]

Run time: 00:54 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpAyan1fXCE   Posted on YouTube: June 29, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: March 05, 2009 By DU Member: Yes We Did Views on DU: 796

 
Now... Not So Much. Sad.

http://www.corporatecrimereporter.com/conyers030309.htm

[YOY]

1. Jesus Christ...let the man work.

He's been kicking ass and has much more ass to kick. He's done more positive in nearly 2 months than Bush did in 8 years. If he doesn't do jack in 2 to 3 years, you can start bitching.

[Donnachaidh]

7. some of the uninsured DON'T HAVE 2 or 3 years to wait.

And allowing insurance companies in on the plan will SCREW those people who most need single-payer.

[vaberella]

10. Give me a break....

They can wait another two the three years. Let's be serious here. These things have to go through a process and I notice a lot of people getting on some high horse of reason wanting this and that legislation passed, it doesn't work like that.

The guy is dealing with a major economic crisis that has his favorbility rating going up and down. He's dealing with programs he wants to push in the long run...for all of us from sorely needed infrastructure investment and education investment...not to mention health care. But also he's passing legislation that women have needed even longer than 60 years...since the moment they got the vote. All in all he's been here for less than two months and people are acting like rabid dogs in relation to passing programs.

Don't get me wrong. I don't have health insurance and I sorely need it. Not to mention I know millions of others are in my same problem. However, I also know that Obama is in a bind economically and the insurance companies DON'T have the upper hand.

They can't have it and if one sat there and realistically looked at things there's no way they are going to have it. Why? Because we are in an economic crisis. People are losing their healthcare left and right and basically out of all the insurances out there health insurance is the most expendable. People will forgo it and most will either join the medicaid bracket and flooding that area. That will then force medicaid to be competitive with health insurance and force medicaid to be better equipped in order to deal with the influx of patients. That's what a shitty economy does. So it won't even take 2-3 years to get things done...it just will happen when economics plays a major role.

Right after so many people go and apply for unemployment many of them will also apply for medicaid as their healthcare plans will run out. For the government to subsidize these health insurance companies would call them single payer anyway. All in all these insurance companies don't have room to talk and basically are on the verge of their own bankruptcy. You just don't hear anyone talking about.

Think about Bear Stearns people and Lehman Brother's people; they were all getting health insurance and they were all knocked out of it. Now...where are they? They don't have health insurance in most cases unless they found a job. This says that as jobs are taken out so is health insurance and that in tow forces the hand of the government to move in because of the natural progression of things.

Give it time but don't get in a tizzy when the man has been in for only two months. I give it until March/April until this is a hot topic and then we can really push our hand because by then money will be moving in the U.S.

[Donnachaidh]

12. nice strawman -- those Bear Sterns folks had SEVERANCE pay

THEY can afford the COBRA payments.

Universal healthcare was THE topic for most of America. Now we have Obama having meetings with INSURANCE companies? Is he offering them cake and coffee and then telling them to go f*ck themselves, which is what the AMERICA that voted for him WANTS him to do?

Hell no. He's shut OUT the folks pushing for single-payer. Ya THINK it might just be because he DOESN'T plan on giving the voters what THEY gave him a mandate to do?

The insurance companies are a MAJOR reason why people are losing their jobs. They are the reason why people are filing for bankruptcy. And THEY get a seat at the summit?

Where is the TRANSPARENCY in these closed-door negotiations? This STINKS. And making excuses for Obama doesn't make it any better.

[vaberella]

16. Once again...

How long will they last with that? You act like their severance pay will last indefinitely. Considering if they have families, car bills, house bills, education bills, and other accumulated debt acquired. No severance pay is an eternal well of money. Sure they could afford the cobra payments, the question is for how long and how many of them "really" got the severance pay and how much of a severance pay.

Most of America is not all of America and he can't place it into law like you want it to be done it seems. There is a process. Secondly, you like to assume that he's making a "deal".

I'm far from making excuses for Obama but there is one thing I'm sure of...he's just getting settled in. He hasn't even chosen all of his cabinet and there are people who haven't even been confirmed with. Another point is, that the people didn't give him a mandate for single payer. Get over that. He said he supported the option of single payer but he never said he was going to make it a law to put it in place. Further more, he has ALWAYS said he was going to speak to the insurance companies to find way for them to lower insurance. In every bloody talk, in every bloody debate, in every bloody state he went too he always said he was planning on talking to insurance companies so they could lower the rate. That's one option he always offered along side possibilities of other alternatives.

You need to get off your high horse and get a grip. Really. I don't see him being contradictory and I don't see why this is so hard to grasp. I'm far from making excuses but listening to the man when he spoke to the people. I should know, as I said I don't have bloody health care. So I remember his words very clearly and you could look up any of his talks while he trekked through states and even his debates with McCain on health care. Bargaining with them was always on the table and was always going to happen because he knows those bastards are crippling the American people.

You may assume I'm making excuses for him because you are ready to crucify him when he's just started and getting things rolling. If you can't bother to recognize that you are wrong on your accounts that's just fine. However, so far Obama has not lied to us and he's doing the best he can in the short time he's been in office from what I can see.

[Juche]

15. What are you upset about

I agree Obama is doing a good job considering the kinds of problems he has inherited.

But this makes yet another issue where Obama has hidden his progressive views and become more centrist. In 1996 Obama said he supports gay marriage. In 2009 he does not. Now we find out he supported HR 676. I don't know the exact year of this video, but healthcare was only 14% of GDP (like he says in the video) around 2002.

[YOY]

19. He's been president less than 2 months.

And people I have never heard of are tying knots in their underwear in protest because everything is not magically better immediately.

Yeah I want single payer medical care. He has plenty of problems to deal with first. He's moving fast.

As for gay marriage. What the hell is he supposed to do? He can appoint SC justices and that is about all.

[Juche]

21. You are missing the point

The point is that before Obama became a president or presidential candidate he supported single payer and gay marriage. Now that he is president he has abandoned those views. That is what I am upset about, and I'm sure alot of people feel the same way. Abandoning our principles and doing whatever the polls ask of us as progressives is one of the reasons we have done poorly in elections (until recently). People generally don't trust someone who will abandon what s/he truly believes in favor of what the moment asks. This was one of the biggest criticisms of Hillary Clinton in the primary. Even if the GOP is wrong or unpopular, they will stick with their principles. Democrats generally will not stand up for what they believe in and Obama doesn't seem to be an exception in some areas.

Not only that, but its not like gay marriage & single payer are unpopular. About 30-50% of the public support those issues. So what are people like Obama hiding from?

[Jeep789]

2. Obama is still for Single Payer

He just doesn't think he can get it through now. He said so much during the campaign.

Edited to add: I happen to disagree with that assessment and think that now is the perfect time to do it. I also think that if we lock ourselves in with the insurance companies now it will be even harder to ever get single payer.

That said, Obama done a fine job so far and if he can just ensure that companies can't turn you down or raise rates, I will be pretty darn pleased.

[madfloridian]

4. He should be able to keep the option in the plans.

I like what Dean is doing, speaking for the option of at least keeping Medicare as an opt in.

[biopowertoday]

5. yes, now is the time. His plan now is a 94 redux.

[dflprincess]

6. As smart as Obama is, he just doesn't seem to grasp that

access to health insurance does not guarantee access to health care. As long as the private, for profit insurers are involved, we are screwed.
Now is the time to push single payer.

[Donnachaidh]

8. can't turn you down will mean huge premiums for pre-existing conditions

Insurance companies will find a way to circumvent universal healthcare -- it's what they do. They should NOT be in the planning.

[Jeep789]

11. Obama's plan was that they couldn't raise premiums

for pre-existing conditions. That is an extremely important part of the plan.

[Donnachaidh]

13. yeah -- but they have to SET premiums for people coming into the system

Do you really THINK the AIDS patient is going to get the SAME premium as the twenty-something non-smoker who is healthy? Or the kid with hemophilia? Or the diabetic who also has other conditions happening, due to the diabetes?

Think again.

Allowing insurance companies to be in the mix will SCREW the people MOST in need of healthcare. They always have, and they always will.

[Jeep789]

14. He's promised everyone could afford it

We'll see if he can actually do it.

[vaberella]

17. He's said two things...

He said he's going to try to lower the cost of health insurance so people who already have it and are happy with them can keep it but at a lower cost of course. And he's aid that he wants to throw alternatives out there so that even those who can't afford the price of the health insurance can join an alternative system like Medicare (so it would be competitive in the market). That would eventually lead to people joining the medicare system in competition because of crowding out and the health insurance companies would be null and void. It's a stepping stone towards single payer. Not to mention it's pretty understandable that the economy the way it's going people are gong to be finding health care relatively expendable but realise they need it and will probably join or flood Medicaid----opening the doors faster for a more efficiently government run program.

However his intention was always to speak with the insurance companies so he could find a way to lower rates...this is why I don't get why some people are in a tizzy he's meeting with insurance companies. The economy is in shambles and people will end up dropping their methodology in the future anyway for something cheaper.

[Jeep789]

18. Right you are

and it is even possible that his way will work out better than going for Single Payer now. I'm a bit skeptical but he has pulled off some rather amazing feats so far. I'm willing to give him a bit of leeway on this. Single payer used to be my top issue, unfortunately. the Bush administration has forced employment to the forefront.

[vaberella]

20. Agreed.

I think this method needs to be done. This is a process and it's America. Change is not easy or quick we should know after a 2 year primary run. It took a lot of mind changing and getting the word out to get things done. So I'd be surprised for people to think they could get things done quickly.

Not to sound unsympathetic to what's going on today but seriously the collapse of the economy is the best thing that could happen to having single-payer becoming a more plausible fact.

[midnight]

3. We can do it. Everyone who has been denied medical treatment

are counting on single payer. We took back the White House and the Senate, we can take back our right to health care for all.

[dflprincess]

9. I followed the advice of a poster on another thread and emailed the White House

and asked why single payer advocates are being left out of this health "care" (really insurance) summit. Let them know we're paying attention

http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/