Congressman Grayson Wins Another Round in Healthcare Debate

[Joanne98]

by John Nichols

Florida Congressman Alan Grayson keeps provoking congressional Republicans and their media allies with fact-based challenges to the lies being used to block health care reform.

Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., speaks at a town hall meeting on health care in Tavares, Florida (AP Photo/John Raoux) The insurance-industry stooges keep taking the bait.

And the truth about the high cost of delaying needed changes in America's health care delivery system keeps getting the attention it deserves.

Why is Grayson so effective?

Because, unlike many other Democrats and mainstream Republicans, he refuses to be intimidated by the bullying tactics employed by the GOP's "Party of 'No' caucus" and its accomplices.

No matter how desperately Republicans in Congress and their amen corner in the media may try to the censor the dissident Democrats, Grayson is reminding America about the trail of dead left by insurance-company greed and political neglect.

The Florida Democrat who drew national attention last month when he declared on the House floor that the Republican plan for uninsured Americans was "don't get sick, and if you do get sick, die quickly," was back on the House floor this week to announce the creation of a website to honor the victims of the current system.

Grayson, who has taken the lead in highlighting a Harvard study that shows 44,000 Americans die annually because they have no health insurance, told the House and the nation: "I think it dishonors all those Americans who have lost their lives because they had no health coverage, by ignoring them, by not paying attention to them, and by doing nothing to change the situation that led them to lose their live."

With that in mind, he announced the launch of a Names of the Dead website.

Grayson's welcoming message at the site declares:


Every year, more than 44,000 Americans die simply because have no health insurance.
I have created this project in their memory. I hope that honoring them will help us end this senseless loss of American lives. If you have lost a loved one, please share the story of that loved one with us. Help us ensure that their legacy is a more just America, where every life that can be saved will be saved.

Visitors to the site are invited to add the names and stories of people who have died. They're also asked where they stand with regard to the health-care reform debate. There are links to the Harvard study, Grayson's speeches and his congressional and campaign websites.

The last link stirred predictable objections from Republican political operatives who are not used to Democrats who take the health care debate seriously enough to try and win it.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/10/23-3

[wroberts189]

1. "he refuses to be intimidated" a true life super hero. KNR nt

[goclark]

2. Superman Grayson!

That's my guy ~

[eridani]

3. Well, he's wrong about one thing

They don't die for lack of insurance, but for lack of care. The Sarkisans had insurance, but the shitstains denied their claim.

[UpInArms]

4. obviously, you don't remember Andy

http://www.seattleweekly.com/2005-07-13/news/a-fight-to-the-end

Stephenson became ill in January, and months of treatment followed. In April, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Like the fighter he was, Stephenson was determined to beat the disease and decided to have surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. But he was out of work and without insurance, and Hopkins requires payment in full for out-of-state, uninsured patients. So Stephenson's online community raised $50,000 for him over the Internet. San Francisco's Elisabeth Ferrari led the effort, raising the money in just 12 days. It was a tribute to his political work and another demonstration of the power of the Internet. But it also spawned a bizarre Web campaign that accused Stephenson of faking his illness to scam money (see "Cancerous Campaign," July 6). In response, a page (homepage.mac.com/benburch/Andy) was created to document his treatment.

[eridani]

8. Still, that same thing happens a lot to people WITH insurance

It is care that we need, not "coverage."

[JohnWxy]

5. good point. Would like to see the number of people who die while insured but not covered.

Death by profit motive.

[Delphinus]

6. There are also many

who have insurance but don't have care because they cannot afford both.

[bobshin]

7. Wasn't this tried listing those who died in Iraq...

the "war" didn't end. Photos are needed, not just names...