Will your pro public option Senator and/or Rep fold?

[cali]

That's what I'm worried about. I'm not as worried about my Senators and Reps- after all, Bernie won't fold and neither will my rep Peter Welch. I'm pretty sure that Leahy won't either, but I am worried that reps and senators who are ostensibly pro a public option will end up voting for some version of healthcare reform that is worse than nothing with no public option and people forced to buy private insurance. And I'm worried that President Obama will sign such an abomination into law. As far as I'm concerned, no viable public option, no support. period. and that's the message I believe we should send to those who represent us in D.C.

[AlinPA]

1. I don't think Casey (PA) will fold; Specter will.

[BonnieJW]

2. One of my senators is Sen. Warner

and he informed me that he does not favor a public option. I emailed him back and said it didn't matter what he favors. 80% of Americans favor a public option and since he's a part of a REPRESENTATIVE form of government, he needs to do what his consituents want. I donated to that creep's campaign.

[warren pease]

3. Merkley no; Wyden folds like a scared shipping clerk in Saipan's lovely garment district...

In fact, he floated his own plan some time back -- kind of an homage to the for-profit insurance industry. And as always, whenever you see or hear the word "coverage" from one of these hacks, remember that it's just code for:

We support the continued involvement of for-profit insurance carriers in the US medical services delivery system. This means our plan will carry within it the seeds of its own destruction, but we'll have moved on through the revolving door to our next career by then, so fuck you, you deaf, dumb and blind idiot consumers.

Which is only logical. If these industry tools are going to propose health care "reform" built around the most destructive element in the current mess, why would anybody expect different results?


Here's a summary of Wyden's alleged plan called the Healthy Americans Act (has that Bushean "Clear Skies Act" or "Healthy Forests Initiative" ring to it, eh?):

* guarantees you private health care coverage that doesn't go away, even if you change jobs, lose your job, retire, go to school, or become too sick to work.
* provides a generous benefit equal to those of Members of Congress
* ensures that everyone has affordable health care coverage, including meaningful assistance to low-income * puts you in charge of your health care choices, not your employer
* makes sure that everyone has the same affordable coverage options, no matter your age, gender, genetic information, or pre-existing health conditions
* saves $1.48 trillion over 10 years through tough cost containment
* provides incentives for individuals and insurers to focus on prevention, wellness and disease management
* creates meaningful and easy-to-understand wellness statistics so that Americans can compare health care plans
* is fully paid for by spending the $2.2 trillion currently spent on health care in America

And why would he float such a hideous substitute for single payer? Well gee whiz... It couldn't be about money, could it? Nah...

I'm sure his love for the for-profit medical insurance industry is blind. Says so right here.


On the other hand, it's beyond me why these tools can't just adopt this basic set of single-payer principles and run with them:

One nation, one payer
Everybody in, nobody out
No exclusions for pre-existing conditions
No doctor bills
No hospital bills
No deductibles
No co-pays
No in network
No out of network
No corporate profits
No more medical bankruptcies

Oh yeah, money... That's why... Money... Not my goddamn money, mind you, because I can't afford to purchase the personal attention of a US Senator. These guys' money... Note the chart as you scroll down the page. Talk about return on investment.


sf


Edited to add the "health care" page from Wyden's website.