Single-Payer National Health Insurance

Carrol Cox cbcox at ilstu.edu
Tue Aug 24 12:37:42 PDT 1999


Tom Lehman wrote:


> I sense a lot of support for single-payer national health insurance.
> Interestingly enough, Charles Peters of the Washington Monthly is the
> only person that I can think of who has given any ink to a nuts and
> bolts look at the Canadian system and American possibilities.

I can't think of many things needed more. And you are as far as I know correct as to fairly widespread popular support. Nevertheless I should like to see some concrete argument that real health care such as you described would not be harder to get through Congress than it would be to stage a revolution, given the tremendous political and economic power now wielded by insurance companies and HMOs deeply involved in health care. I think the Clintons sank (deliberately, I tend to think) the last chance for some time to bring the necessary political muscle to bear. The complex of forces arrayed against it has grown too much in the last decade.

I hope I'm wrong.

Carrol



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