Let's be clear that what the ACTUAL result they are looking to get is not single payer but something else:
>From an editorial written by the head of Health Policy at the New America
Foundation just as the Maryland Fair Share bill was about to pass:
http://www.newamerica.net/index.cfm?pg=article&DocID=2818
Wal-Mart Bill is No Solution By Len Nichols Director, Health Policy Program
"Attacking real or imagined health care villains, though sometimes necessary and always fun, will not make health care more affordable today or tomorrow unless we also face hard facts and reform our system. It is broken and our leaders know it, but courage to talk about real solutions is scarce, so most stick to diversionary tactics.
The ultraliberals' diversion is to blame capitalism and greed, to pretend that employers could just pay more while insurers and providers could charge less, which would occur under the magic of total government control...
Fixing the economy is hard, but we know a fair bit about how to fix the health care system: Require everyone to cover themselves, create a market in which they can do so fairly, subsidize those who need help and use information tools and better incentives to make our delivery system far more efficient than it is today so that we can afford to help those who need it, forever.
Diagnosing our health care situation is not difficult.
What we lack is the political leadership to level with the people. Perhaps that adult conversation can begin this week in Maryland."
Doug (and others)-- you're being played for fools if you don't understand what this whole upsurge in talk about "universal coverage" is all about. It's about mandates on individuals and Health Care Savings accounts and, at best, subsidized vouchers.
-- Nathan Newman