How Libby, Montana, Got MEDICARE For ALL

[Segami]

:smoke: :smoke:


" In 2009 when the Washington beltway was tied up with the health care reform tussle, Montana Democratic Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the all powerful Senate Finance Committee, said everything was on the table–except for single payer. When doctors, nurses and others rose in his hearing to insist that single payer be included in the debate, Baucus had them arrested. As more stood up, Baucus could be heard on his open microphone saying, “We need more police.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwrudYlwxqE ( at the 2:00 mark ) Yet when Senator Baucus needed a solution to a catastrophic health disaster in Libby, Montana, and surrounding Lincoln County, he turned to the nation’s single payer healthcare system, Medicare, to solve the problem.



Baucus’ problem was caused by a vermiculite mine that had spread deadly airborne asbestos killing hundreds and sickening thousands in Libby and northwest Montana. The W. R. Grace Company that owned the mine denied its connection to the massive levels of mesothelioma and asbestosis and dodged responsibility for this environmental and health disaster. When all law suits and legal avenues failed, Baucus turned to our country’s single payer plan, Medicare.



The single payer plan that Baucus kept off the table is now very much on the table in Libby. Unknown to most of the public, Baucus inserted a section into the health reform bill that covers the suffering people of Libby, Montana, not just the former miners but the whole community—all covered by Medicare.




They don’t have to be 65 years old or more.

They don’t have to wait until 2014 for the state exchanges.

No ten year roll out—it’s immediate.

They don’t have to purchase a plan—this is not a buy-in to Medicare—it’s free.

They don’t have to be disabled for two years before they apply.

They don’t have to go without care for three years until Medicaid expands.

They don’t have to meet income tests.

They don’t have to apply for a subsidy.

They don’t have to pay a fine for failure to buy insurance.

They don’t have to hope that the market will make a plan affordable.

They don’t have to hide their pre-existing conditions.

They don’t have to find a job that provides coverage.




cont'

http://my.firedoglake.com/kaytillow/2011/06/15/how-libby-montana-got-medicare-for-all/


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[Scuba]

1. Excellent find, Segami. Thanks for your post.

[postulater]

2. Good enough for an earmark but not for the rest of us?

jerk.

[Segami]

3. Since our primary focus these days surround deficit reduction in the TRILLIONS. then why aren't

WE, as Democrats not making the case for ' TRILLION DOLLAR HEALTH CARE SAVINGS ' if we adopted Universal Coverage as Bill Clinton has claimed?:


"...Clinton said Canada and the European countries that have universal health coverage for their citizens spend a smaller percentage of their gross domestic product on healthcare than the United States does.

"Germany and France, with what is considered the most effective systems in the world in terms of universal coverage and quality of treatment, they spend 10 percent. Canada spends 10.5 percent," Clinton said.

"The United States spends 17.2 percent without having universal coverage," Clinton said.

"That means if we just scrapped our system and adopted any other wealthy country's system, at a minimum we would have a trillion dollars more a year for pay raises, for investment in new technology, to create new jobs or whatever."


http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/07/us-healthcare-clinton-idUSTRE7566U520110607



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[xchrom]

4. re, i can think of. nt

[hootinholler]

5. Maybe I should buy a dental floss ranch there!

Movin to Montana sooon.
Gonna be a dental floss tycoon...

Seriously, why don't we all move to Libby Montanna?

-Hoot

[Schema Thing]

6. kick

[Wilms]

7. ^