Reply #136: I think we are victims of Hillary's semantics of universal healthcare -

[RaleighNCDUer]

meaning universal health insurance, which is what she (and some others) advocate. She continues to insist that what she offers is universal healthcare, when it is NOT. She is deliberately confusing the message. The result of that message is that those who support her plan support keeping private insurance in the system and, worse, mandating their use. I'm sure it is just a coincidence that she has received more contributions than any other candidate from the pharma/medical/insurance industries.

We must continually fight the notion that universal healthcare = universal health insurance.

Universal healthcare simply means everybody gets it, regardless. Single-payer specifies that what they are getting is NOT private insurance. Universal single-payer could be considered redundant, but as it is Medicare is, in effect, single-payer without being universal.

Thus, universal single-payer healthcare. IOW, Dennis' plan.

I really think a lot of this involves clarifying our definitions. For decades, the republicans have twisted the polity to their will by twisting definitions to suit their purpose. One of the biggest problems I have with Hillary is her penchant to do the same - calling universal mandated insurance "universal healthcare", for one. It was just such playing with definitions that gave us the warped, pro-pharma prescription bill a couple years ago (with the backing of the AARP insurance companies).