to me, at least, that the government does NOT represent the people...and hasn't for quite some time...

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Federal Officials By Zip

You can email your Rep, 2 Senators and Obama in one easy step ...

But Please Call Your Rep, Senators and the White House, even if it is only to leave this message:

We Want Single Payer Health Care ... PERIOD !

Do it Now, Don't Wait !

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This article failed to show how single payer health care will benefit the middle class. I don’t care about the Deamonte Drivers.

I want to see how the people that got an education, put off having kids until they were financially stable, and made smart choices with their credit will benefit from this.

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How much are they willing to pay for for it--and with what kind of taxes?

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probably for the same reasons that they didn't listen to the people on the bank bailout. and probably for the same reasons that they didn't listen to the people who argued against invading Iraq/Afghanistan. and probably for the same reasons they didn't listen to arguments about offshoring good paying jobs by enacting NAFTA.
etc, so on, ad nauseum...

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The creepiest part is the absolute lack of candor on the part of the Democratic polticians.

When single-payer is brought up, they just start frowning and shaking their heads and saying, "Nope. Not gonna happen.," without a word of coherent explanation. Given the polls, it makes no sense that it's "not gonna happen." So what's up? They refuse to talk about it, even though we all know the reaosn.

This an exceedingly unhealthy relationship between voters and their representatives. :(

As we all know, President Obama is no help. Gone is the candidate who praised single-payer. He is clearly going to make damn sure we don't get what we want.

To further screw us, Obama has also insured that we won't be getting publicly-financed elections soon. Thanks to our new President, we may never get out of this mess.

Note to progressives: if we ever get another shot at the big-time, please vet your goddamn candidate.


Swine!

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pure Big Insurance written bunk. I hate to say this but we need to vote the pols out already. They aren't going to listen otherwise. I've received pathetic replies from Senator Warner and Rep Frank Wolf badmouthing single payer health care and even making it look as if big insurance companies are somehow great for the economy which they aren't. Obama has been of no help whatsoever even on this issue. He can whore around on the media and insult people who ask him about Baucus's repeated attempts to force single payer off the table with his parroting rightwing talking points about bureaucracy and "personal responsibility" but this is the issue which is already dooming his presidency. Yes Mr. Obama, America needs to change its lifestyles but why do you keep supporting Big Insurance/Pharma who still want to rip the consumers off just to prop up their stolen money as "profit" ?

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If legislation without a public plan component is considered by the Congress, and if Obama really believes in a public plan, he should pull a Bush and announce that he will veto any legislation that does not contain such an option.

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The problem is always the same; we do not need health insurance. We need a program of healthcare; where doctors make the decisions, the government pays them, and yes people need to take a little responsibility and admit that those in healthcare are not gods. They can not save everyone. We are finite beings. Healthcare is not a right. It is a privilidge. One that as an American citizen you should have. Anyone else, send their country a bill.

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Representative democracy isn't the solution anymore. It's been deliberately, meticulously, callously gamed into part of the problem.


FREE AMERICA

REVOLUTIONARY (DIRECT) DEMOCRACY

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My idea is to get all federal employees the same health care as the uninsured. No exceptions. None. Never. It should be interesting since I keep hearing that we are supposed to be a Christian nation (paraphrase of what Christ said whatever you do to the least of us you do to me).

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And continue to be FUCKED ! If Ralph Nader had been president, he wouldn't have been a motherfucking sissy like Obama or Mccain and would have put single payer FIRST. Obama and Mccain always voiced their opposition to single payer but you sorry ass losers just wouldn't give a flying fuck and now it's time for you to pay the price ! EAT SHIT !

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All financial contributions to political parties from anyone should be outlawed. Hell, it's a scam to buy your politician and have him do your bidding.
Especially large corporations such as pharmaceutical companies and of course insurance companies.
Health care is a right, not a privilege.

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It is time for action! Marches, candelight vigils, surround congress and the White House with masses of people.

If we don't scare hell out of them, we will get NOTHING!

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Its all about money and GREED. You are talking BILLIONS of dollars at risk so rest assured it will NEVER happen.

RT
Online Privacy when it Counts

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There are 50 States in this country.

If you want single-payer health care, then lobby your State to "outlaw" Private Health Insurance and establish the single payer system. All insurance is administered through the States anyway so it shouldn't be that tough.

FUCK CONGRESS and their bribe-inspired foot dragging! Each State can set up their own single-payer system.

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I've heard Obama talk about our tradition of employers providing health insurance and how he would mandate that employers cover their employees. But unless that's heavily subsidized, what would it do to our economy. How can small businesses, many of which are already failing, possibly do that? Single-payer would actually be a big boon to small businesses. It could take away a lot of the costs of providing health care, of workman's comp insurance, etc. But I haven't heard anyone talk about this aspect. I, of course, don't expect to. Major media controls what most people hear, large corporations control what congress will do. As far as I'm concerned, we're sunk. But do use the link one poster provided and stay active anyway. I will.

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As long as it was funded by those it covered and operated separately of the private sector by those who fancy Medicare-style delivery, then I'd say it's worth a try. It would be their risk, and their potential reward for medical services in bulk. If it was proven to be sustainable and cheaper than my current options, I'd even hop onboard eventually!

Perhaps even a minimal contribution from those not benefitted by Medicare-style delivery might not be wholly unfair. Folks who send little Johnny to private school still pay property taxes and federal taxes that help support public schools. The question, though, becomes how much I have to pay to support your beer-ciggy-hamburger-fries habit, while still trying to take care of my family, or more bluntly, why I have to take care of adult* "children" who aren't nearly as cute as my own.

If you want choices, including Medicare for yourself, pony up and go it, by all means. Many of us, however, are doing quite well, and aren't so cozy with the idea of a bunch of greedy takers running ramshod over the services we rely on, satisfactorily. You know, the whole "I don't have everything I want, so I'll take some of yours!" mentality.

*I think reasonable people can make a distinction between helping the helpless and victims of catastrophic illness, versus "gimme more, gimme free!" types, but I'll point out that I'm all for kids, the indigent, and the most vulnerable amongst us being able to see a doc when they need too, even if they or their parents can't pay their way.

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You say you want a real public option.

Fine.

The American people really want single payer - but we'll settle for a legit public option - reluctantly. Warning! We won't be fooled by triggers or other BS designed to trick us.

Remember Hillary Clinton? Had she pushed for single payer in the 90s, we would be calling her "Madam President" today. Screw us now and the most popular Democratic candidate in '04 will be "Anyone But You." Trust me on this.

If you - with 70% of the American people behind you and a Democratic congress - can't push this through, you don't want to.

We.

Will.

Not.

Forget.

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Only in America could that kind of title make sense.

It's not enough to vote, it never has been. Democracy is designed to be a particapatory form of government, and there are too many who do not participate in any meaningful way. If you wait until election day to get involved, it's already too late. It isn't just health care that needs to be ovehauled, it's our entire system for electing public officials.

Here's the funny part. It's the officials who got their jobs through the present system who are in charge of creating a new one, and most of them wouldn't stand a chance of getting elected if things were changed to facilitate the people being able to vote in their own interests.

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Obama proposes first coverage for those without private insurance and covered by gov't.The problem is the private sector can't compete with the gov't and the private health insurance would disappear and we will be left with universal health care-England and Canada whose patients are rationed, some forms of cancer are not traeted because it is not cost-effective,people can't select their own doctor and wil have to wait in line for important surgery, some dying before they can have surgery. Is it any wonder that patients go to the US from England and Canada to get treatment right away even if they have to pay more money from thir own pocket. These have tried for many years and ask any English or Canadian if they happyn with it.Currently those without private health insurance can always go to Gov't hospitals and emergency rooms and they will treated. With the new plan you can't seek emergency treatment even if you are dying. You have to wait until a spot is avilable.Imagine how many have died just waiting for the treament to be avilable.

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Obviously, many Americans would clearly prefer
the option of single payer health care insurance. There is an alternative to allowing
our government total control. It is called the
Alexander McGee Medical Plan. For weeks, in my
columns, I have been urging anyone, who would
listen, to at least give this plan or some
derivative of it, some serious consideration.
For all the information please go to
www.breakingnewsjournal.net and see my article
entitled "Health Care-Who Cares-I do". In my
humble opinion, we must not let this Congress
ram a government 'sponsored' health insurance
program through, to the detriment of all.

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Waxing a bit poetic:

If this were truly a DEMOcracy, the congress would attend to the will of the DEMOgraphic. If they do not, the will DEMOstrate that they are merely overly paid DEMOns.

If they refuse to listen to us, run 'em outta town. After all, they have $1.3 M to live on. More than I have.

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Since Reagan, we as a society have allowed ourselves to become more and more divided by the "what's best for me" theory! This is a time when we need to think "what's the best thing for society as a whole"! For those that have health-care, whose rising premiums, or if your deductibles are not a problem for you, then bless you! For those that have health-care but have issues with "the plan" or deductibles, or who have special needs, or family members with special needs, or those that don't have health-care because they cannot afford it - single payer is the plan!

No one is complaining about Medicare, or Medicaid! No one calls it "socialized" when it's the military doctors; no one even thinks about "how does it benefit me" when they call the police, the fireman, or an ambulance! So for all of those that are so satisfied - think of single payer as competition - and just think that you might make out better for it!

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It does boggle me though. Not only don't politicians listen, I think a lot of people don't understand it or listen to the other side of the argument.

I know a lot of conservatives do not like the idea of public health, because the current government mismanages a lot of things. I think it is elite politicians with smooth words creating waste that line their backer's pockets, rather than incompetence though.

If we could create something like single payer, and have it managed by something like a representative government, that would be great. It would save money, from a conservative point of view, and it would save lives, and families from unnecessary financial hardship, from a humanitarian one.

Right now, because providers are able to do unaccountable cost shifting, they can charge people many, many times what a service really costs, and say it's because of people without insurance. This is seen as a compromise because they are mandated to provide certain services. This increases costs for everyone and creates a huge loophole to overcharge. I would be for either fixing the wasteful, over bureaucratic system, or get rid of government interference altogether.

There is a conservative fear that government will just do more of what it is already doing, which is increasing costs for everyone while helping very few people per dollar taken. Right now, gvt takes a lot of money, pays less than standard rates, mandates things and allows hospitals to "make it up" by cost shifting "the balance" from others.

If the people who want to save money and get rid of over bureaucracy aligned with the people who want to help save lives and money, and the news quit shutting out arguements trying to decide what people should know and think, I think government would have to listen. If another wasteful democratic plan is proposed, with its obvious inefficiencies and inadequacies are proposed, like the failed Massachusetts model, I think conservatives have a responsibility to oppose it, for all our sakes.

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...Because they don't have to! The subjects of the USA don't pay the politicians anymore, the companies (including the hospitals, health care companies, drug manufacturers, insurance and medical boards, among others) do. Go look at who they bribes in the last election, and who, among our public whores, are on the decision-making committees regarding the 'reform' Obama is trying to push.

They gave us a great big FUCK YOU when they took the public option off the table.

Be sure to thank your health care provider for their monetary vote next time they 'service' you...

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industries, not people. It is heavily commercial-sided. That's one of the things Pres Obama went in to change. Bill & Hillary were bought off on this issue in the nineties...if the people of this country sit back and say and do nothing, it will happen again. Pres Obama said if it doesn't happen this year (2009), it's not going to happen at all. He knows the powerful lobbying forces behind it that are trying to keep it from happening...again. And that small group has got way more money than the 119 million protesters put together. If nothing else, this should teach the middle class and the lower middle class a lesson about electing Republicans to office ever again.

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...too busy paying the equivalent of a mortgage for $5,000 deductible, co-pay, pre-existing exclusion insurance-for-profit premiums that stress us out and make us sick. That's why.

Sushi
"It's a sick world and I feel fine."

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Bill & Hillary were bought off on this issue in the nineties...they're not even going to PAY Obama to stop it; they're just going to out-crowd and out-shout him. If he looks out the window in DC and sees no one there...all they will say is, "You don't see America bothering to protest, do you?" And he will have to shrug his shoulders and walk away from the table. It's now or never, people.

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politicians and profit machines filling their pockets.

In East Tennessee and southwest Virginia, Profit Care is clearly more important than Patient Care.

www.wisecountyissues.com/?p=62

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In order to make single-payer a reality we can't do the usual call our Congressional Reps. We have to go way beyond that.

Over the weekend across the country Obama health care house parties occurred all over the country. According to the Washington Post, single-payer advocates were crashing these parties. Read "crashing" as "practicing democracy." In a small town near me 20 people showed up, including our group of single-payer activists. The whole mmeeting was about single-payer; we got new converts and workers. In the next town, the same thing. This will be the easiest crashing you've ever done; people want to talk single-payer.

Get invited to any function that will give you a few minutes and talk single-payer (I order literature through Healthcare-NOW to pass out too so the truth is in print.) We joined the local Fourth of July parade and handed out lit a few years ago.

That's the first step --- taking over the conversation at the local level. To educate yourself, the Physicians for a National Health Care Program site has everything you need: pnhp.org.

Politically speaking, stay on the local level, especially if you have a Congressman who has said no, and he means no as never, forget it, etc. Find local or state-level candidates who support single-payer and are vocal about their support. I am volunteering now for a candidate running for the state legislative body and also for a lieutenant-governor candidate, both of whom support HR 676. I refuse to work for candidates who don't. (Make them commit in some public setting --- and tell those who won't commit why you'll neither volunteer nor vote for them.) Then get out as many people as possible to carry the single-payer candidates through; you will have to get out of the house and away from your computer to do this. State government has a powerful role in petitioning (lobbying?) the federal. These candidates are essential, and, by the way, we may still need to depend on one state finally passing single-payer before we get a national plan.

On the national level, find out what is happening through Progressive Democrats of America or Healthcare-NOW. Then join a demonstration --- we've had them everywhere someone would organize in the past few weeks.
Let's go to DC soon ---- millions of us.

Don't give the opposition any power by talking about them. Check in to see what they're up to and interrupt them whenever and wherever you can. Sometimes that can get you arrested; so be careful if you can't afford an arrest. (Number one activist rule: turn the hours you spend bitching about the opposition into productive work.)

If your representative or senator refuses to support single-payer (by the way, some readers must be represented by one of the co-sponsors of HR 676 and some must even be represented by John Conyers or Bernie Sanders ---- remember to thank them again and again and ask what they need you to do), but, if you have one of the "NO" guys, start working to replace him or her.

Watch SiCKO again.

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The GOP is hell bent on total destruction of our social/people system from public libraries to state and national forests, parks to public schools, and public transit systems etc...all built with the blood and tears of the common folk tax payer. The GOP wants to give preferably all of the public tax monies and public wealth to themselves and their rich cronies.

They want a society where a few wealthy landlords own all means of sustenance and the rest of us free laborers in exchange for a meager meal every now and then. Believe this and fight hard now because they are half way there

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It's because the whole argument is summed up in the sub-heading of "Rarely has an issue more dramatically highlighted the question of whether our government represents the people's interests or an industry's." And the answer is, the government always represents their industries over people. We're not a manufacturing based economy where you needed a lot of people to work in them anymore. America's economy now thrives on the rich 1% generating its wealth.

And needless to say those 119 million people who want universal health care are not the 1%. And the politicians (usually Democrat) who claim they go to Washington to "fight for working Americans" also don't really want this to change, because what would they run on in their re-election? They need to keep the proverbial carrots on the sticks issues such as universal health care to keep luring their voting base back in the polling booths for them. It's set up not to change.

Plus there's that whole corporations they claim to be railing against actually fund their campaigns thing.

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"However, there is the additional fact that executives from health insurance companies and related industries are major campaign contributors to members of Congress on both sides of the aisle."
. . . . .

It continues to fascinate me that members of Congress get "campaign contributions" from private industry when they are not campaigning for anything. They get "campaign contributions" even immediately after they have won reëlection.

Why can't we stop using this cute euphemism and call these "campaign contributions" what they really are: BRIBES. Far too many in Congress, those who we have entrusted to represent us, those who we expect to do The People's business, are the recipients of a continuous stream of bribes, as evidenced so well by Grassley's complete siding with the private insurance industry, thanks to the intake of a few hundred thou in "campaign contributions."

He's not alone, of course; he's just front and center in this latest outrageous example of Our Representatives On The Take: "One hundred million-plus Americans be damned, the people who voted for me be damned, the will of The People be damned; I'm going to tap-dance for whomever pays me the highest fee."

Our government is not our government; our actual "government" sits in the boardrooms of american corporations and/or in the living rooms, Ferraris and Bentleys of the the billionaires of America – who became billionaires by the sweat of OUR brows. The government that is visible to us merely tap dances to whichever corporation, financial institution or "campaign contributor" calls the tune.

And now it seems all too likely that we will not even gain the right to affordable health insurance that the people of every other industrialized nation on the planet has had for decades. It is my hope that every one of those 100-million+ americans floods Washington's Emails and phone lines from now until time itself runs out or we get what is our right. That is about all that we can do to remind our greedy little small-"c" congress of whom they are supposed to be working for.

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A lot of people are asking "how can we afford this?" That's a reasonable question. The fact is that we have the most inefficient health care system in the world. Enormous amounts of resources are spend figuring out "who is going to pay for this"? And passing the buck around.

Nobel-prize winning economist Paul Krugman estimates that we will SAVE $150 BILLION annually by switching to a single-payer system.

(link to MP3 lecture)

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Any time you hear or read the word market stated or written by anyone in congress or the senate, you can bet that person has been bought off and hasn't even bothered to change the wording of Big Business, but parrots the talking points received from neocon crooks. We like to laugh at the corruption in countries south of the border, when, in reality they're taking lessons from US. It seems the ONLY way to end the poisonous and destructive corruption in Washington is through a general strike, and/or massive street demonstrations. We seem to have lost our resolve and courage to do either, and the crooks have us right where they want us.

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from the insurance industry alone, so it is hardly a "GOP problem".
In 2003, Obama said that if Democrats had the House, the Senate and the presidency, they would pass single payer. Some argue that the so-called public option is a step towards this,mbut, I argue, that as long as health care (and war, etc)which are life or death issues that are open to free market terror-we will receive the worst care in the civilized world for the highest price.

Incremental change may actually satisfy a few and hold us back. Obama could begin by giving Conyers and kucinich HR 676 a listen. It implements Medicare for All over the course of a decade.

Shame on the Dems.

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It is truly a shame that the US does not have universal health insurance for all within our borders. There is not a single industrialized nation which fails in their coverage (this is my fiekld of study and furthermore I became ill five or so years ago and have used the Canadian, the UK, the French, German and Austrian systems. In every respect the US was the worst.
It is a Canard to claim this to be "socialized medicine". Socialized medicine means that payment is through the government. That is the case in Canada, France, Scandinavia ans I believe the Nethrlands. All the others have an extremely tightly controlled system via insurance paid by employer/employee or if the patient is unemployed or elderly by the state. It works well in some, not so well /UK) in others.

There is a different attitude in these countries than here. Here we crawl into the ER and the clerk--full of compassion--leans forward with the patient on the verge of falling and asys "what insurance do you have." In Europe it is starkly different. I come in and ask about insurance. The clerk--evidently offended´--says to my question about insurance "No, no Monsieur; We take care of people. We will woryy about finances when you are well." In some countries (Denmark) there is no charge for any medical procedure whether you are a Dane or a Hottentot. I know some who had CABG with no charge,

Vocabulary;

Single tiered; Everyone gets the same and no one can buy more of those things which affect outcome---ohysicians, nursing staff, waiting time, physicians, medications or procedures. You can get an insurancve for eytra luxuries: TV, private room. etc.

Multiple tiered: Everyone receives "basic health Care" but can buy insurance which shortens the waiting period, etc.

Single payer is not single tier: single payer means that a single entity pays---this may be the government or insurance conglommorate. It is compatible with either multiple or single tiered. In the US supposedly "fully insured" cannot meet the co-payments for every visit, every prescription (good for a month), every test or procedure and very, very many cannot afford this. >20% are totally uninsured, the rest only partly.

To draw in the insurance from the first is a mistake. They are to a large extent the problem.

Dr. Erich H. Loewy
Professor & F'ding Chair, Bioethics (Emeritus)
U of C, Davis
ehloewy@ucdavis.edu

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"We also ask our readers to refrain from responding to posts by people who only want to derail the conversation with conservative talking points. Please report these comments; do not respond."

Is ANYONE on this site following this admonishion from Alternet? I would dearly love to post on this site but the posts here are SO POOR its a waste of time. There's no point in conversing with a pack of fools.

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"119 Million Americans Want a Public Health Option -- Why Aren't Politicians Listening?"

Answer: Because the 119 million continue to vote for these corporate shills that are denying us health care!

99% of the liberals continue to uncritically vote Democratic, even when these "Democrats" are selling us out to the corporations.

Why should they anger their corporate paymasters when you've shown you'll vote for them no matter what they do?

Both the Green Party and Ralph Nader are 100% behind single-payer, yet 99% of you liberals didn't vote for them.

You got what you voted for. If you're trying to figure out who's to blame for the politicians continuing to screw you, just look in the mirror.

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that had happened we might not be having this conversation. If no incumbent politicians were allowed to accept any political contributions there would be times when the phone just wouldn't get answered.

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now must be greater than anything we have seen in this lifetime. My political contingent does not care. You can't scare them. Coburn inherited his fathers millions. Inhofe knows where he is going after he leaves the senate. Tom Cole is the representative from the Chickasaw tribe. He was working in Washington before he came back and ran for office with a guarantee from the RNC. They are independent from the voter. They just use us.

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It sounds like if we had a universal health care plan supplied by the government we would not need private insurance. Also, it sounds like the people want universal health care but only Congress can make that happen. Congress is thinking about not biting the hand that fills its re-election trough while conveniently ignoring the fact that we the voters are the ones that adopted their sorry butts and gave them a place to live. It also sounds like this pack of adoptees accepted our hospitality while giving their loyalty to any stranger with a bone in its hand.

Frankly having a pet that does not listen is worthless to me. If it thinks it is in charge and refuses to come when it’s called or worse yet if it growls at me when I tell it to do something that is a real problem. I can do several things. I can whine and cry about its bad behavior but continue to let it sleep in my house. This doesn’t solve anything but it’s easier than actually fixing the problem.

I can take charge by training myself to be a better, more responsible owner. I can start being a better owner by insisting that obeying a direct order is the only acceptable response to a direct order. When I say jump I expect my pet to do it without hesitation. Any signs of willful disobedience is a sign that this pet is not happy and it needs to find another home. Perhaps it would be happier living with one of the strangers who is feeding it bones under the table.

Actually, that would solve a lot of the problems all the way around. I think as soon as I find out my pet is eating its meals at someone else’s house he is out of here. I would give it its freedom immediately. If it would be happier living somewhere else on someone else’s meal ticket so be it. I can do that. Then I would replace it with a pet that loves and adores me for who I am and would bite any intruders offering it bribes, I mean bones.

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If a political party or a candidate goes door to door and offers to pay people for voting one way than the other then that is illegal.

But when corporate interests feed the campaign coffers of politicians to the tune of thousands and thousands of dollars for each senator and representative then that's just the way we do business. Most of it is above board and legal.

Is this the democracy we think we want?

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Lets see...

We bailed out the banks with billions of dollars with no real restrictions on how the money was spent.

We bailed out the stockmarket/financial folks with over a trillion dollars with no real restrictions on how the money was spent.

We bailed out big business with billions of dollars.

Many of the folks above got big bonuses from our tax dollar bailout, and probably most of them will have a "good" tax plan to prevent paying it back in taxes.

Who paid? The middles class and the poor who pay taxes. Me and unfortunately my son, and probably his daughter. Me in taxes, and they in a bigger government debt to pay.

Certainly it was not the rich folks or corporations with their offshore accounts that they don't pay taxes on. You remember those Caribbean Island tax shelter companies that were in the news for about 2 days. The ones we no longer hear about.

It was the average taxpayer who paid for the banks, the stockmarketeers and big businesses. We paid and paid and paid some more, and will continue to pay because we are Americans.

We paid because they created a financial crises and needed us to bail them out.

WELL PRESIDENT OBAMA AND MR CONGRESS PERSON HEALTH CARE IS OUR BAIL OUT. I REPEAT HEALTH CARE IS THE MIDDLE CLASS, THE WORKING AND NON WORKING AND THE POOR BAILOUT.

Private plan care, i.e., single payor health care, you remember the kind you promised us when you were campaigning... That is our bailout.

It would also help stimulate the economy because without medical expenses we would have more money to spend. Small businesses would be helped too. They would have more money to grow.

We pay and our politicians, who have an
exceptional health care plan, say it would take away our ability to have a choice of plans.

I think that is rather creative reasoning.

I read an article once by S. Hiyakawa about good reasons and real reasons. The former are valid, but they are the camouflage reasons. The second, the real reasons ARE the REAL reasons.

Senator Grassley is one of the finest examples of a politician using good reasons without stating the real reason. He says a single payor plan would eventually take away our choice of medical provider. He has taken millions of dollars from the health care industry.

This issue is going to conclusively prove without a doubt who this democracy runs for. Will it be the special interest big money folks or will it be the people?

This is the REAL TEST for President Obama. Here is his defining Presidential issue and his legacy. Clear and definite. It is not war. It is not foreign diplomacy.

IT IS, WILL BIG BUSINESS DICTATE OVER THE WILL AND NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE?

We will see a lot of brainwashing by politicians to try and make us believe that any plan is better for us than one where the government pays. We will hear how it is NOT POSSIBLE because...blah, blah.

Other countries can and have done it...

Just remember is it better to have a choice and pay, or to have NO medical bill to pay?

To pay or not to pay that is the question. Whether it is better to suffer and pay continuously rising medical costs or to fight and pay none.

Either way we are going to continue to pay taxes.

The question is will the politicians help bail us out? Do they understand we are the engine of the economy? We are the group that needs help.

You better get involved. Write a letter to your congressman or to the President.

I think its our turn for a bailout!!!

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Part of me would love to have a basic national health care system. The part of me that is concerned is the part who sees that much of the health issues we have here in the states is related to poor lifestyle choices. Smoking, high fat, high sugar, misuse of alcohol all play a huge role in the majority of health concerns people seek medical care for.

Look at the rise in obesity, and adult onset diabetes amongst children. All are related to poor food choices. And these issues eat up the biggest chunk of medical dollars. So how do we provide health care for people who have no desire to change poor lifestyle choices?

As Americans we have people who feel they have a right to do what they want, yet also demand or expect society to pay for their choices. The founding fathers noted we have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but no where do they say government is supposed to pay.

And how many people want a quick fix in the form of a pill, or end up with high cost care rather than make drastic changes to diet, exercise?

When my husband had a stress fracture above his right ankle, one doctor had him see an orthopedic surgeon, who wanted to do surgery within days. We told his primary physician that we wanted to try one of the Velcro leg/ankle/foot braces which would cost less than $100.00, and he agreed. Within a month the break was healing well. Surgery would have been paid for by insurance, but would have cost around five thousand dollars. Sometimes doing less saves money and pain.

~Beth~

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It's because people forget all this on election days and vote for the lesser of two evils when they know in between it's BS. It's because even in between, they continue to rationalize and make excuses and apologies for the Democrats. First they needed a majority, which they got, then they needed the presidency too, and now, just "nuh uh".

I think when he says "now or never", he means this is their chance to force a wasteful MA type model down people's throats with no reasoned opposition, using the rhetoric of coverage for all. They can ram through their own insurance company, essentially, that's appears cheap but lives off taking money from private insurers, taxes and people with insurance, until the costs are so high we're all on the subsided, high cost insurance.

Obama is not dumb and he is not being tricked. He tried to put Daschle in charge, for crying out load, one of the most uber lobbyists that's not a lobbyist because he's so high up the food chain. Daschle and Dole were key combining traditional democratic and republican lobbyist ties for our Alston & Bird. Welcome to the new politics, that makes the old regime look honest by virtue of its previous obviousness, and downright clunky in comparison.

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ALL HANDS ON DECK!

Howard Dean and the Democrats are correct.

"a" (Toothy, Robust, Affordable, Immediate, Triggerless, Medicare-Like ) "public health insurance option" (For All Who Want It) "is more important than bipartisanship, and Democrats should pass health-care legislation that includes the option with 51 votes if necessary."

"Democrats should have "no intention" of working with Republicans if it's not the strongest possible legislation that could be passed with a simple majority." (Howard Dean)

CONTACT CONGRESS and your representatives Now! And tell them you demand ALL of the minimum requirements above. This is the time for maximal, toothy, sustained pressure on Congress to get this done. Be creative. But be relentless.

This is what WE THE PEOPLE gave the Democrats all that power to do for ALL of us.

In medicine and healthcare there is only one acceptable standard. And that standard is the HIGHEST level of EXCELLENCE! you can provide for everyone. Nothing less is acceptable for a precious human life.

And the White House is right. "Good health care reform is essentially good economic policy." (Christina Romer)

BUT HEAR ME WELL! Just as I warned you before 911. Before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And before the US and Global economic crisis.

I must tell you now that healthcare reform is now a critical matter of NATIONAL SECURITY. A-H1N1 (Swine Flu) was yet another loud WAKE-UP! call. And there is MUCH! worse lurking, and poised to strike at any moment. Working against the clock, many of us have known this for a long time now. And this is why we have been pushing so hard for so long without fully saying why. But Congress and the American people are literally running out of time.

I'll tell you more later. But get healthcare reform done NOW!.

SPREAD THE WORD!

God Bless All Of You

jacksmith -- WORKING CLASS

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"Rarely has an issue more dramatically highlighted the question of whether our government represents the people's interests or an industry's." –Robert Parry

Sadly, in America even if 95% of Americans wanted Single Payer Health Care, nothing would happen. Parry's question is so rhetorical as to be laughable. Oligarchical rule by an plutocracy is axiomatic in what passes for 'Democracy' in the catastrophe that is America, its very fundament. The iron rule of Capitalism is the very exigent being of America. Just as Americans must have permanent war in their inviolable love affair with the Pentagon, Socialism remains an anathema. Both strains of belief have an appalling, symbiotic congruency.They go 'hand in hand.' Only the hopelessly näivé and the willfully ignorant expected anything different from the Obama regime. His role, as that of ANY American President, is to serve the Plutocracy.

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I've lived in countries that have "national health" and it's a terrible existence and the overall quality is MAJORLY diminished, physicians are basically reduced to civil servants so there's no motivation to become a physician not to mention that EVERYTHING will be taxed up the ass in order to TRY to pay for it. I'm a Democrat, military retiree, Black professional and a staunch supporter of President Obama but this is a HORRIBLE IDEA, there's NO evidence that it will work because it's failed everywhere else on the globe that it's been tried. There needs to be a pilot program set up to test this over time to see what the ACTUAL fallout will be. If it proves effective fine but if not we CAN'T go there. Absent that type of testing, I am 100% against this. Obama needs to slow the hell down and inject some REALITY into this whole plan. It won't work...ask Hillary. All the masses see is what they perceive as FREE medical insurance but they're not asking the REAL question, which is; WHO IS GOING TO PAY FOR IT?

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President Barack Obama, whose mother had to fight with her health insurance company while dying of cancer, says he continues to favor including a public option in the bill as necessary to keep the insurance industry honest. Sen. Ted Kennedy, chairman of the Health and Education Committee which also has jurisdiction over the bill, also favors a strong public plan.
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TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 13 > § 242 Prev | Next § 242. Deprivation of rights under color of law - Alternate Dispute Resolution T42CFR417.1 - fighting with health insurance companies - during Hospitalization - racketeering
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Hospitalized ENTITLED Individual's, are not able - physically or mentally - to fight T42CFR417.1 grievance procedures - for their DENIED Covered T42CFR409.33 Hospital Extended Care Claims.
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CITE: 42CFR438.704 -- Federal HMO T42CFR417.1 Adverse Determination | Anti-Dumping Violation
Sec. 438.704 Amounts of civil money penalties
(1) The limit is $25,000 for Each Determination under the following paragraphs of Sec. 438.700:
(i) Paragraph (b)(1) ( Failure to provide services ). (ii) Paragraph (b)(5) ( Misrepresentation or false statements to enrollees, potential enrollees, or health care providers ). (iii) Paragraph (b)(6) ( failure to comply with physician incentive plan requirements ). (iv) Paragraph (c) ( Marketing violations ).
(2) The limit is $100,000 for each determination under paragraph (b)(3) ( discrimination ) or (b)(4) ( Misrepresentation or false statements to CMS or the State) of Sec. 438.700. (3) The limit is $15,000 for each recipient the State determines was not enrolled because of a discriminatory practice under paragraph (b)(3) of Sec. 438.700. (This is subject to the overall limit of $100,000 under paragraph (b)(2) of this section). (c) Specific amount. For premiums or charges in excess [ illegal kickback conversions 1998 HHS OIG Volentary Disclousure Program for PROVIDERS to defraud Entitled Individuals - Anti-dumping violation, with respect to T42CFR409.33 claims, to force, fraud by fright, illegal State Medicaid Kickback conversion T18CFR371CRIME ] of the amounts permitted under the Medicaid program, the amount of the penalty is $25,000 or double the amount of the excess charges, whichever is greater. The STATE MUST deduct from the penalty the amount of overcharge and RETURN IT to the affected enrollees.
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Subj: Re: Health Alliance ( Hospital ) Insurance Fraud - HHS T42CFR417 anti-dumping and anti-kickback violation Date: 2/21/2003 5:07:41 PM Eastern Standard Time From: senator@stabenow.senate.gov (Senator Debbie Stabenow) D- Michigan To: kstbylite1@aol.com
February 21, 2003
Thank you for contacting me about ( OPM FEHBP ) insurance & Medicaid ( kickback ) fraud committed by ( Federal HMO ) Health Alliance Plan. I appreciate that you have taken the time to communicate your views and concerns with me. ( T18CFR1518CRIME Obstruction of justice ). I understand your concern about this issue. Should related legislation ( medicare drug plan November 2003 ) come before the U.S. Senate for a vote, I will keep your views in mind, and share your thoughts on this issue with my colleagues who serve on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Thank you again for contacting me. Please feel free to contact me whenever I can be of assistance to you or your family. Sincerely, Debbie Stabenow - D-Michigan ~ United States Senator - Federal Budget Committee - Hospital Insurance ( HI ) Trust Fund Account - Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Account - et al
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2003 Federal Budget Committee ~ knowingly ~ Financed $130 Billion Dollars for 1998 U.S. Attorney General and HHS OIG 'Volentary Discloused' Health Care Fraud and Abuse T42CFR417.1 AGAINST Entitled Federal Beneficiaries and Federal Health Care Programs ~ Claiming it ~> HCFA State Medicaid Kickback Conversions T18CFR242CRIME

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Play the "You Bet Your Health" Game

From the California nurses association

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If we can just convince everyone that the government perpetrated 9/11, the health care crisis will be solved!

Ron Paul! Alex Jones! David Icke!

Barack Obama is an 8-foot-tall bloodsucking extradimensional reptilian humanoid!

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Your article is again sophomoric like much written here.Of course most of us want single payer health care, but most of America did not want to bail out the banks.But they did it. They did it in spite of our outrage by manufactureing our consent-- they always do. through FOX news........
We live in a dictatorship and have been for decades.What we should be doing is galvanizing that 119 million into an recall vote for the present government .........

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Compelling evidence for the historic lack of a viable "market solution" to the US health care problem is that since the end of WWII, the share of US government spending in total US health care spending has continually grown; before the 1965 expansion of the SSA to create Medicare and Medicaid, government share of total health care spending was only 20 to 25% and based on various, piecemeal programs. Beween 1965 and the 1990s creation and expansion of the state level SCHIP programs total government share in health care spending grew to about 45%. According to a well known 2002 Health Affairs journal article by David Himmelstein and Steffie Woolhandler, two physicians and activists for single payer, universal health care, as much as 60% of total national health care spending, which they estimated to be about $2.1 trillion in 2002, came from all levels of government!!

If market solutions were always so plentiful, why has the government share of total health care costs been steadily growing since the end of WWII? Currently we have about 83 million people receiving both Medicare and Medicaid plus another 7 million children receiving medical benefits under the SCHIP program; this is due to the fact that their family incomes are too high for Medicaid and too low to afford regular medical insurance. When we count veterans and others we are probably looking at between 90 and 100 million Americans who rely on the government for medical assistance. Add in the more than 45 million uninsured and without any government assistance nearly half the US population would have absolutely no health care whatsoever.

Now let's examine those with private coverage. This is most Americans, about 60%. These folks have high copayments for outpatient medication and treatment along with high deductables. These medical bills lead to financial insolvency; about 2 million Americans annually file for bankruptcy over medical bills. Federal tax expenditures subsidize private employers who provide their workers with medical coverage; the problem is despite the yearly increase of these tax expenditures (in 2006, these tax expenditures were about $143 billion; 2008's was over $152 billion; and 2009's is projected to exceed $168 billion) fewer and fewer employers can afford the rising medical insurance premiums. The obvious reason for this is that per capita health care costs are always on the rise; in 1998, just under $4,200/capita was spent, in 2002, expenditures rose to over $5,200, in 2006, per capita US health care spending broke the $7,000 barrier for the first time, and by 2007, the figure rose to about 7,900/capita) The US continues to spend more per capita on health care than other advanced countries and those covered by private insurance goes down.

Premiums for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program have been increasing both per person and over all. About 60% of Federal Employees have Blue Cross Blue Shield but total administrative costs to be saved by single payer are over $300 billion which is about what those costs of having separate billing and administrative costs are presently.

Single payer is the way to go. It is health care and big pharma lobbies that are keeping it from happening.

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... people will be asking themselves, what took us so long!

GREED runs the chicken coop of US political affairs and when u figure out a way to separate greed from politics then perhaps the people will have there elected officials back working for them instead of the heavily subsidized lobby interests!

non-profit healthcare is the only sane response in the medical debate!
everything else is hubris and should be discarded as anti-American!

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A sound you won't hear from 119 million Americans if the following happens.

"the private health insurance industry would collapse or become a shadow of its current self. That, in turn, would lead even more Americans entering the government plan, making private insurance even less viable."

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Obviously, the most demanded policy is NOT to have public options for health care, and with good reason.

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laughing all the way to the bank while some of us literally die.

Private health care is another scheme like Wall Street to steal our money.

It always amazes me how easy it is to get the middle class to fight with the middle classs.

We are all in this together and right now we are all being ripped off for billions. The private health care system is nothing more than a way to steal money from taxpayers and citizens for nothing.

A quote from the patron Saint of the Right always reminds of what the real problem is "The disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and the powerful is the great and almost universal cause of the corruption of our moral sentiments.'

Health care is a corruption of our moral sentiments, no one should die for lack of it, no one should lose their home for lack of it, no one should have to file bankruptcy for lack of it, our businesses should no be put on uncompetitive footing because of it, and list continues.

For a look at the Merchants of Greed and how they have stolen from us all get a copy of "Free Lunch" and check on how they stole billions from our supposed more efficient HMOs. Eye opening and angering.

As far as the Prostitutes that haunt our hallowed halls, Term Limits and NO Campiagn contributions of any kind. Maybe their sorry behinds won't be owned then. We have so few real statesmen and women that we are in danger of losing everything.

Single Payer Now.

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I have been submitting letters to the editors of local newspapers saying that your congressman and senatorS are not working for you and if they don't vote for national healthcare that they will not be reelected. Then I call the rep at 202-224-3121 and tell them thatI am doing the above and that I will not vote for them again if they reject national heathcare and put ten's of thousands of people at risk for bribes from special interests. YOU SHOULD STOP BLBBERING AND DO THE SAME. LET'S GET THESE GUYS OUT AND TELL THEM WE MEAN BUSINESS!

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Over the years the excuses given us by our so called representatives for not giving us health care has gotten ridiculously lame. We elected a president for the express reason of change. Now when he starts waffling on his promises, everybody just bends right over and grabs their ankles. Now that Bush is no longer president I think a little civil disobedience would not result in a trip to a foreign gulag. We can protest again, remind them that we voted him in and can just as easily vote him out. Now the GOP is saying that a public plan option would be unfair because the insurance companies can't compete with that. There is just so many things about that statement that deserve ridicule, its hard to pick one to start with. How about this?Too fuckin bad, we couldn't compete with them, their lobbyists, their buying off everyone we elected to help us. Their inpenetrable layers of beaurocracy. The arbitrary denial of payment for anything we needed done. The continuously rising premiums and copays. Yeah, we couldn't compete with that. But did you listen to us, NO. So fuck that. Another thing, you can't compete with the entity you mocked as incompetent? If single payer is as horrific as you say, then you must be worse. And if your claim of profit motive making you unable to compete is valid, then why hasn't the post office exposed Fedex and UPS as a gaggle of whining dilettantes like you by now? Deal with it, take a pay cut, we did. Lay off your CEO he is way more overpaid than an autoworker. Better yet, send your claims dept to India, hire untouchables you douchebags, I have about as much sympathy for the insurance industry as they had for us.

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I'm always glad to see civil disobedience and protests, but they'll likely not do too much in the way of bringing change

35 million worldwide protested the Iraq war before it even started, which was unheard of both in numbers and in being before the war even began. This set a U.S. and worldwide record. It achieved absolutely nothing. Yes, Bush was in office, but it likely wouldn't have mattered who was in office.

You can protest things that aren't concerned with finance & imperialism and possibly get a result, but when it comes to protesting wars and imperialism and financial matters there is a highly, highly likely chance that nothing will change.

Also, it's close to impossible to get the info out that the masses need to reach the kind of momentum necessary for achieving a positive result. Corporate media won't let it through, and as alternative info grows in availability - info that might produce a change in the status quo - corporate media goes on ahead and tweaks there coverage so that the alt news is undercut before it reaches enough people.

"Let's pressure the democrats" is a strategy that hasn't worked very well in the past. Someone posted a pretty good link on another thread the other day to questionwar.com . . . there's an article there entitled "liberal holocaust," which goes through the deaths/slaughters that took place under democrats and liberals . . . I already knew the number was high, but, as usual, it was even worse than I thought. I bring this up just to say, the idea of appealing (intellectually or emotionally) to a group of people who can consistently kill innocent people (think Iraqi children under the sanctions) is a rather depressing and silly thought.

The green party is appealing, but as I've said elsewhere, it'd damn near take a revolution to get one in office. The media would have to radically change, for one, and everyone knows how likely that is. The only viable way for a green party candidate to get elected is for him or her to sell out.

Civil Rights legislation was passed not after protesting or emotional appeals or intellectual appeals but rather after weeks of rioting. It goes to show what the state is apt to respond to.

These aren't things that are enjoyable to point out, but I believe everyone here who has a problem with healthcare or war or media or any other thing ought to bear in mind what the state responds to and what it doesn't respond to.

&, By the way, personally I still believe in non-violence, I've just come to realize it's not very likely to produce much.

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why aren't politicians listening? there's a simple, one-word answer: capitalism. politicians are beholden to corporations, and the citizenry is left to fend for itself. policy is driven by ideology, not by reason or the meeting of human needs. the government serves its corporate masters, not "we the people." listen to how politicians justify our exploitative, inefficient, and inadequate "health care" system - changing it would be bad for "the market" or for the insurance monopolies. that is ideology...and insanity.

believing otherwise is akin to believing fairy tales.

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Sen Grassley while u rite Politico u admit 119 mil Americans dump private ins 4 gov option maybe cuz dat what they want:http://tiny.cc/JIcEe

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I want, and I think we ALL should DEMAND the same Med. Coverage that Congress gets. 100% coverage on EVERYTHING !!

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These wealthy representatives in Congress and the Senate don't give a shit about what Americans want or need.As long as they can protect their own best interest,getting re-elected and reaping campaign donations,they are satisified.

What we need to do right now is watch and listen to the opponents to health care reform.Remember who they are come election time and vote them out.We have the energy and the numbers to do it.How many votes can the insurance and pharmaceutical industries cast for their benefactors?

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Obama broke the country...there is not a dime for national health care...57 million did not vote for secular socialism...119 million is a false figure...false premise = another lie to get control over our lives...liberals are never happy...
they can't (yet) rig the DOW and your 401k...
how ya like that change? Ya like the 9.4% BHO Misery Index jobless?

J. Carter Obama...SUCKAS

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The reason that the government is fighting to respond to our pleas is that they will not be able to make any money from it. When are we going to realize the greed on this planet is killing us. In an health crisis there is no true basic health record. Through years as an RN I have witnessed many patients that arrived by themselves, too sick or confused to state their allergies, current meds etc. If a patient was having a seizure is it because they sustained a head injury, high fever or are they an epiletic. Of course they get thrown into a high dollar CT machine anyway. I designed a website.....www.medicvue.com to help avoid unessecary testing and provide a quicker more cost effective, decrease admissions and save folks like myself without healthcare insurance money.

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When the have not's exceed the have's, then it is time to be careful. Maybe 1.5m have not's may change the dynamics, but be assured it will change. Not necessarily to the liking of all

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We need to abolish this crooked for profit system period, the only way to go is with government run healthcare, check out H.R. 676.
Insurance companies need to be banned and pharmaceutical companies need to be regulated with no more patents granted, this is why you pay 1.00-15.00 per pill for new medicines, we are the only industrialized company in the world that allows the pharmaceutical companies to patent new medicines and set ridiculously high prices for them. Insurance companies also dictate what care we can and cannot receive, they have supplanted M.D.'s as the decision makers in healthcare, they make money by denying care, this has got to stop.
We need Universal Health Care, we spend twice as much money as anyone else on healthcare and rank #37 in the world according the the WHO. All the top counties have Universal Health Care, don't let regressives running B.S. ads scare you into thinking that these other country's systems are inferior to ours. That is hogwash perpetuated by the lobbyists, insurance and pharmaceutical companies who are bankrolling these scare tactics.

Robert Young R.N.

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Check it out for yourselves
Sponsored by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
True change put on the table by true patriots.

H.R. 676 main site, all you need to know on 1 easy to understand website... Main Page here

Bill Sponsors are listed here... is your Representative listed?

More information here!
Google Search H.R.676

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What he says is more refined but it's the same thing.

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...is representative oligarchy government. The politicians represent only THEMSELVES...their only purpose in life is to do what gets re-elected over and over ad-nausium.

The pimp in this oligarchy is the corporate world and Bam Bam is just one of its whores.

The only solution is a third party, as all we have now is one party with two different types of rhetoric.

Wake up Obamabots...your boy is NOT what his platitudes led you to believe he is...he is NOT a progressive...he is Shrub-Lite, and you have been drinking it into a stupor. It is time to go to a 12 step program.

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