On Thu, 4 Dec 2008, James Straub wrote:
> If she got the position, it really would make change to win look more
> politically marginal (she's not from the ctw camp). Which I actually
> think would be good. CtW now appears to have been a great blunder and
> the sooner we come back to the afl the better.
Apropos, I just today realized that with all the discussion of how SEIU and Change to Win aren't down for single payer, I somehow missed how the AFL-CIO now is. The Federation adopted this plank last year:
<quote>
AFL-CIO Executive Council: Universal Health Care Should Be Built on Medicare Blueprint
by Mike Hall, Mar 6, 2007
The 47-member AFL-CIO Executive Council today says because the nation
is in desperate need of a universal health care system, such a system
should be built upon:
The nation's most successful universal health coverage plan for
seniors--Medicare.
In a statement addressing the nation's health care crisis, council
members say:
It is time to mobilize America behind a concrete plan to enact
universal health care and the AFL-CIO commits its full resources to
asserting leadership in this historic effort.
The council, meeting in Las Vegas for its annual winter meeting,
approved a statement that outlines a health agenda that includes
universal coverage; comprehensive and affordable coverage; choice of
providers; financing through shared responsibility; effect cost
control; and a plan that, until it goes into effect, does not undermine
existing coverage.
The council statement says that Medicare meets those targets:
In its 40-year history, Medicare has delivered substantial advances
for the health care of older Americans and people with disabilities.
Medicare has guaranteed coverage, made health care more affordable,
included a form of shared financial responsibility, significantly
reduced administrative costs compared with those of private plans
and has been the largely unheralded financer of America's medical
science advances. Medicare also has been a leader in advancing
quality care and improvements in health care service delivery in the
United States.
Such an approach would require updating and expanding Medicare
benefits to fit the working population and children, as well as
negotiating prices with physicians and providers that families--and
the country--can afford. It would encourage innovation in health
care services and medical technology. Employers' responsibility for
health care financing would be broadly and equitably shared,
substantially reducing burdens on all businesses and reducing
disadvantages currently faced in the global marketplace. In building
on Medicare to move toward a universal program, we can find a
practical, achievable and affordable solution to our country's
health care crisis.
To read the full statement: http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/thisistheaflcio/ecouncil/ec03062007.cfm
<end quote>
Michael