--- On Sun, 8/16/09, Left-Wing Wacko <leftwingwacko at gmail.com> wrote:
> come up with. Shit, if there were enough left leaning
> Dems pushing
> for single payer, he might even sign it. They really
> are just
> abdicating any real leadership on the details.
>
> I suppose it doesn't matter if they throw out the public
> option, it
> probably would have sucked anyway and would have just
> wrongly smeared
> publicly funded health care. Maybe its better that
> its jettisoned now
> so we can come back to fight for single payer another day?
[WS:] I think it would require a full blown revolution not just enough left leaning Democrats. There was a reason why FDR pursued only old age insurance but not national health care and that reason became only stronger today - the opposition from insurance companies, big pharma, AMA, and right wing loons is too strong for any government to overcome by legal means. There will be no health care reform in the United States as long as this country exists in its current institutional form - it is a simple as that.
Actually, health care reformers, especially the well-meaning ones can do more damage than good. In their effort to do something, they may pass a mandate to buy private insurance (as MA did) or tax employer provided health benefits. That would really suck, especially for people like me.
I have decent insurance from JHU and only about 9 years to become eligible for Medicare - so a health reform or lack of it would not affect me as much. Even if I lost my job before I become eligible for Medicare, I can coast without a private insurance, since paying for basic medical care is less expensive than buying insurance and paying for basic medical care. I support a health care reform not from self-interest, but for political reasons (seeing big business getting a good kick in their teeth is priceless, even if it does not benefit me in any way.
That will change, however, if they tax my health benefits and force me to buy private insurance whether I want one or not. There will probably be some loopholes to avoid the later, but not the former. With the 'public option' - no matter how bad - I could at least have an option of not feeding the pig of private insurance companies. Without that option, the 'reform' is likely to suck big time, as it will do nothing to cut medical cost, but it will impose additional cost (insurance mandates, taxes) on average citizen.
Wojtek