Want Single Payer Health Insurance? Here's How We Get It.

[John Q. Citizen]

"ORGANIZING FOR AMERICA"

"Organizing for America" will be conducting a listening session on healthcare at a location near you on Saturday, June 6th. The following link will give you location and time information on the session being held in your area: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/search_simple?source=sidenav.

President Obama is using this vehicle to gather public input for healthcare reform. It's important that you show up and speak out for single-payer universal health care!




Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee and national vice president of the AFL-CIO, said the fight for single-payer is a civil rights movement, and that people "have to turn up the heat."

When someone questions the political viability of single-payer, she said, we should question "allowing people to die and suffer for lack of political will."

[sandnsea]

1. It is an organizing meeting, not a listening session

It is primarily to organize a service event on June 27th so if you go, plan to volunteer to do something besides bitch.

There are 49 million people whose health is in peril as they wait for a solution.

[John Q. Citizen]

2. It's absolutely criminal that the Romney plan from MA is the model for reform. We can do

better than that.

I believe in my ability to bring about real change.

When I asked Betsy Myers (Obama's COO of the campaign) during the campaign If the people really wanted to go farther than Obama's campaign health care plan and cut out private insurance companies would Obama be willing go along with what the people want, she said yes, absolutely.

And I believe her. We just need to let him know.

How many of those 49 million people do you think the service event will save?

I know for a fact when the people work together and Obama hears us, that we will get a single payer system. All those people and their children, and their children's children will get high quality care without regard to their economic status.

We have to succeed. We can't leave their fate up to the Romney plan and to private insurance companies.

There is no turning back.

[John Q. Citizen]

3. This is from the Organizing for America Web Site:

The Details
OFA Listening Tour & Health Care Kickoff (Health Care Organizing Kickoff)
Organizing for America is dedicated to advancing President Obama’s legislative agenda and to build on the grassroots foundation that was built during the campaign. But to be successful, we need to hear from you -- your effort and commitment are the backbone of this movement and this organization.

OFA is getting organized for health care reform. Join us to:

* share personal health care stories;

* learn about President Obama's principles for health care reform;

* plan Hamilton's participation in the National Health Care Day of Service on June 27th; and

* get organized to organize others for health care reform this summer!

Health care reform is happening now. Join us to make sure that the voices for reform are louder than the special interests that don't want real change. Yes we can!

So you see, we are both correct!

I'm going to propose we offer health insurance sales people computer services and resume writing classes to help them land productive jobs in the new economy. (Or is that too snarky for you?)

[sandnsea]

4. I'm hosting an event, I know the purpose

This organized disruption is bullshit. I'm glad the single payer people in my town are more respectful. They are even going to help with the June 27th event. Why can't you go with a cooperative attitude? You think the state leaders don't already know the single payer people are out there?

[John Q. Citizen]

8. Why split everyone in two? I've been working on health care reform since 1990

It the main reason I went to Camp Obama a year ago February and worked my ass off to get Obama the nomination and then the presidency. We beat Hillary in Stevi even after Bill came and spoke there a few weeks before the election. We volunteers opened our own office long before we even had paid organizers.

We live here and we know what we want.

It's like you believe you can manipulate people to work against their own best interest. Well you can't and you shouldn't even try.

How respectful is it to be shut out of the debate? Ask yourself that question, then get back to me.

[sandnsea]

10. Who says not to work for single payer?

Nobody. Work for it. But the Saturday meeting isn't the place to do it. If you can create a real groundswell for single payer, then the OFA team will be in place to push it through Congress. If not, then at least there will be a group fighting for the public option and open enrollment. Somebody has to do it. Single payer has been introduced in both houses. Do you have the votes? It's that simple.

[John Q. Citizen]

11. I think we have the votes to stop the insurance industry bill. Right now we need to get public

hearings so people can understand what their choices are.

Saying we can continue to allow people to die and go bankrupt because we don't have the political will to do the right thing is just plain wrong.

Look at what happened to the public private plan in MA. It's a stunning failure, and they passed it with the insurance companies blessings.

We have to work for people and quit working for the insurance corporations.

Yes we can! If decide to.

[sandnsea]

12. We had public hearings

They were all over the country. They had some in Montana. I think you went to some. Did you read the post about the Blue Dogs? They're fighting the public option and open enrollment altogether. How in the world do you think you're going to get them to vote for single payer? And stop calling it the insurance industry bill, that's just ideological bullshit.

I have an idea. You pick five random pages out of the phone book. I will too. You call every 5 people, ask a simple question. Do you support ending health insurance and having a government entity reimburse your doctor the way Medicare does now. We'll do our own little single payer survey. How about that?

[John Q. Citizen]

13. If it's bought and paid for, and supported by the insurance industy, then that's what I call it.

We need hearing where it counts, not where they don't even report on the amount of the public who supports single payer.

We need the congressional accounting office to compare whatever bill the insurance company supports and a single payer alternative.


Your poll it an example of the kind of polling the apologists for the medical industrial complex does.

There were over 200 people at Baucus' office today in Missoula, all volunteers, all giving up their lunch hour because they a fed up with the bullshit.

We want single payer and we aren't going to go for the private insurance bail out bill. No way!

I canvassed 40 a doors a night five nights a week for 3 years, 50 weeks a year. i know people want real change. They don't want the Romney Bill warmed over. They want single payer.

This insurance company driven "change" is bs.

[sandnsea]

14. Then why don't those people vote Green

If 60% of the country wants an end to all wars, all bases around the world closed, electric cars and single payer - then why isn't Ralph Nader President?

[John Q. Citizen]

17. If you are so smart, why aren't you rich?

Is what my friend's girl friend's mom used to say to him many years ago.

If you love war, empire, gas guzzlers, and insurance companies, then why are you on DU?

[sandnsea]

21. Are you drunk?

You must be because you're just being an ass tonight. Bye.

[sandnsea]

15. OFA - President's position on single payer

This was in the talking points for tomorrow, that I got this morning and just had time to go through.

5. Where does the President stand on “single-payer” health care?

The President will support any plan coming out of Congress that 1) reduces costs, 2) gives Americans the freedom to keep whatever doctor and health care plan they have or to choose a new doctor or health care plan if they want, and 3) makes quality, affordable healthcare available to all Americans. Leaders in Congress, in consultation with the President and his administration, are in the midst discussing the best way to achieve these goals.

In this effort, every voice must be heard, every idea must be considered, and every option must be on the table – including a single-payer system. But when it comes to addressing our health care challenge, we can no longer let the perfect be the enemy of the essential.

[John Q. Citizen]

18. You do what Obama tells you to, and I'll do what i have to do. The MA plan is no good

but if Obama tell you to like it you can if you want to.

I'll think for myself.

[John Q. Citizen]

19. Obama apparently would sign a bill without a public option, based on that.

What if a person's current plan is unaffordable but they think their insurance agent is cute and they want to keep it?

Under what he said, which principle would win out?

How much health care to all Americans? If a bill gives every American a band-aide that would meet the criteria. But that's not good enough, is it?

See, Obama won't put out a plan, so I think I'll propose that we endorse the Sanders bill in the Senate.

Meanwhile the house progressive caucus has just put their principles out, and they are far more detailed and specific.

http://oxdown.firedoglake.com/diary/5631

[sandnsea]

20. Legislation comes from the Congress

That's the way the government is supposed to work. Support the Sanders bill, that's a great idea. Get the votes to pass it. That's how our government works. The President IS NOT a Dictator, contrary to what Bush would have chosen.

Yes the Progressive Caucus put out principles. Are you going to help fight to get those in the final bill, or stick to your single payer principles?

[John Q. Citizen]

22. they will llose insurance company support if those are in the bill and i doubrt it will pass the

finance committee any easier than single payer will.
So not fighting for single payer doesn't help pass the bill.

President's often call for specific measures to be in legislation. The sometimes get a member of congress to carry their bill. But obama doesn't want to be blamed so he's keeping his hands off.


Here's the deal. If Obama would call on congress to pass a single payer bill and call on the people to help him pass it, we could, especially if single payer were put under the microscope side by side with any other bill.

costs and benefits would make the choice obvious for Americans

[sandnsea]

23. There's a bill in the House and one in the Senate

Organize and get 40% absolute yes votes in each house and another 20% maybes. That's when the President will know the entire country is serious about single payer.

I think you're really mad because you know within 2-3 weeks you're going to have to be doing exactly what I've suggested all along and that's help make sure we have a public option, open enrollment, and no trigger.

[John Q. Citizen]

24. No, I'm mad because the fix was in from the get go, Obama's favorite union,

(SEIU)the health care industrial complex, and Repos and Dems decided to bail out private health insurance companies and call it reform.

Then they pretended to listen to people and they just went ahead and did what they wanted all along.

That was until the people woke up to the fact that the fix was in. Baucus followed the script but a brave group of doctors and nurses blew their cover.

This was all PR from the get go. They want a Massachusetts style forced purchase of private insurance and public financing for private insurance. They will dump the poor and the sick into a weak public pool and kill reform for 20 more years. They have already started from about the weakest position possible.

This totally top down change. It's a joke, really.

[sandnsea]

25. Nobody ever ever said there would be single payer

What reality do you live in? I do not get it. There was never going to be a single payer plan from anybody, not Hillary, not Edwards, not Obama, no one. What was said is that the insurance companies would not own the debate, and they haven't. Just because people didn't drop at the single payer alter and orgasm in praise does not mean that everything else is an insurance company conspiracy.

Get the votes, you get the legislation. It's pretty simple and absolutely doable.

[John Q. Citizen]

26. How do you control costs by subsidizing private insurance companies?

Or is money no object, in your world and in your reality? Must be nice...

I recall that nobody said top down change, that nobody said manditory purchase of insurance, in fact that was debated by Obama and Hillary.

But you will take what ever they tell you to take so you don't stop and ask about that. No, all you care about is that Obama didn't promise single payer.
The fact the rest was added in by the insurance industry after the fact is cool wiuth you because they know more about this stuff than you do and when they say jump you ask how high.

At least be honest. You will take what ever they tell you to take and you will think it's great.

[sandnsea]

27. St Pat's, Community, Marcus Daly

Most of the hospitals in Montana are nonprofit. BCBS is nonprofit.

How come medical care in Montana isn't half the price of the rest of the country? Profit in not the entirety of the problem.

Nothing Is Perfect. I'm honest enough about the health care we already have to recognize that.

I have subsidized health insurance right now, and compared to the nothing that I had, yes it is pretty damn great. If I can get what I have for everybody in the country, that would be fucking awesome! But I'm fighting for more than just the subsidized insurance they would like to give us because I doubt that it's sustainable. But if we end up with subsidized insurance, I'll fight like hell to get that passed too because I wouldn't be deaf in one ear if I'd had health care all my life.

You make a helluva lot of assumptions about people. You need to knock it the hell off.

[John Q. Citizen]

28. Hey, Obama didn't run on....for some reason you can use that but if i do I'm an

asshole?

Look, the people want single payer. Yesterday a self organized rally put together by unpaid volunteers drew 200+ people during lunch hour in front of the Baucus office. Mostly seniors. These people are voters. They didn't have a data base of every Obama supporter from the election. It was mostly word of mouth, friends calling friends.

Today at noon about 25- to 30 people plus about 5 or 6 paid organizers (Seiu, Forward MT, A Baucus staffer and a couple of other professional organizers) met for the Obama Organize for America meeting. About 3/4 of the civilians were for single payer and the organizers had to keep steering the discussion away from single payer.

Back in late Fall or in early Winter a meeting was held somewhere and it was decided that single payer was getting tossed under the bus in return for the health care industrial complex playing ball with Obama.

We are getting top down change we can't believe in, chosen for us by the people who have been ripping us off all these years and would like to do it better.

I can't say i'm very excited.

How did your meeting go?

[sandnsea]

5. You live in Hamilton?

Really?? I used to live in Stevensville. Or did we have this discussion and I forgot.

[John Q. Citizen]

7. Florence. I think we might have.

[eridani]

6. I'll be participating in the day of service

I don't intend to miss any opportunity to prosyletize for single payer.

[John Q. Citizen]

9. hallelujah brother

[Wednesdays]

16. K&R

:kick: