"Ring Ring" A conversation with the party

[The Straight Story]

The People: Ok, so we worked our butts off and here is what we want. An end to the wars and single payer...

The Party: Great! Listen, here is the deal. It will take some time to end the wars, you can't just leave over night. Give us time, we are on the same page.

The People: Ok, sounds fair. Now about health care....

The Party: Well, see here is the thing. Single payer is out. We could look at a public option though.

The People: What? Why? All the major democratic countries in the world have single payer, why can't we?

The Party: Well, it is just too much too soon. Give us a few decades. In the meantime, with public option we can mandate everyone buys health insurance from the private industry and let some buy it through the government. We can raise taxes to pay for them, and the rest of you don't have to pay us anything, you just have to pay private companies.

The People: Uh...well

The Party: OH! And we will reform some bad business practices, like not covering pre-existing conditions. Normally we would not do that, but hey if we bundle it in with the rest of the changes it should work.

The People: Look, we had this guy, Andy Stephenson, he needed care quickly to save his life. Instead he had to raise money and then care was delayed and he died. Are such things going to be fixed as well?

The Party: Hmmm Well that may take some time, costs money you know and it does not grow on trees.

RING! RING!

The Party: Hold on (talks for about ten minutes on the phone) Sorry about that....

The People: So back to health care and saving lives.

The Party: Look, would love to talk more, but that was a conference call I pulled onto with the CEO's of several banks and Insurance companies, they need almost a trillion dollars to fix things they screwed up. We need to move on it quick. How about we throw out a public option trigger in say, ten years, or maybe even a scaled back one now that a few people can choose- the rest won't be able to use it, but think about how your money is going to help blue cross and other companies and all the jobs it will create.

The People: So...we basically are just getting the ability to have pre-existing conditions accepted, a few can get a public option, and the rest have to give a private company money to be covered?

The Party: Yep! Isn't that great? You will FINALLY have what you really wanted, a public option and reform. Now please leave as I have to get a bill through for war funding and a bail out for banks. Can't have investors and CEO's losing all that they have worked for.

[AuntPatsy]

1. hated to reccommend but had no choice

[The Straight Story]

3. Thanks, I think

:)

[peacebird]

2. we are feeling quite disappointed - had hoped for more from Congress...

I keep hoping. But the Blue Dogs (like Warner, my utterly USELESS excuse for a senator) are intent on protecting the rich.

I wish Obama was more emphatic on the change we need. Health care reform seems to be slipping away, and I think that the insurance companies have won. Everyone will HAVE to buy insurance - but there is no guarentee that "insurance" covers anything. My insurance covers routine health care 100% - except that if my colonoscopy finds a polyp it is no longer "routine" - it becomes "diagnostic" which means I have to pay. Same for papsmears and mammograms.