Wendell Potter -- Health Insurers Have Had Their Chance

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Health-Insurers-Have-Had-T-by-Wendell-Potter-110531-299.html

Of the many supporters of a single-payer health care system in the United States, some of the most ardent are small business owners who have struggled to continue offering coverage to their workers.

Among them are David Steil, a small business owner and former Republican -- yes, Republican -- state legislator in Pennsylvania who earlier this year became president of the advocacy group Health Care 4 All PA.

Another supporter is Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, who last Thursday signed a bill that sets the stage for the country's first single-payer plan. If all goes as Shumlin and the bill's many backers hope, all 620,000 Vermonters will eventually be enrolled in a state-run plan to replace Blue Cross, CIGNA and other private insurers whose business practices have contributed to the number of Vermonters without coverage -- approximately 60,000 and growing.

Both men told me last week that their feelings were shaped by their backgrounds. Their experiences as businessmen convinced them that a health care system controlled by private insurers cannot be sustained, regardless of attempts to force those insurers to provide affordable access to care for all Americans. They are both skeptical that the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act will provide the fix the country needs, even with the new regulations and consumer protections.

More at the link --

[leftstreet]

1. K&R

[Uncle Joe]

2. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Donnachaidh.

[Donnachaidh]

3. any time

:hi:

[Uncle Joe]

8. ..

Peace to you, Donna.:hi:

[xchrom]

4. Recommend

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

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[fascisthunter]

6. private health insurance has FAILED!

[OHdem10]

7. I can distincly remember from the early 80s if not sooner,

the Health Insurers and Health Industrial Complex have
promised in hearings before Congress they would work on
on bringing costs down. For a while on a couple of occasions
they appeared to try for about a yaar and then bingo@@ it
was higher than ever. Think about it. It is designed
for profit. To keep their rating on Wall Street they
must increase profits every quarter. They sure as h---
had been not have their profits drop. The Ratings Companies
will come down on them like a ton of bricks. This they cannot
afford. So profits go up and American people are saddled
with Health Insurance they cannot afford.

These are the arguments we must make if we ever want change
and Health Care we can afford.