By Duane Campell
The right-wing rage fueling the disruption at some of this month’s congressional health-care town hall meetings fascinates the media but doesn’t address why health care reform is needed now.
I support Medicare for everyone. I am 68. I have had Medicare for 3 years. Prior to Medicare, I had Kaiser. I and my employer paid for Kaiser care.
Now, I, and the Medicare system pay for my Kaiser Advantage system using Medicare. There has been no noticeable to me difference in the care, only a difference in billing for drugs. I get good care. We should all get good care.
This would save billions each year by eliminating the insurance industry.
Some people want a public option in our health care, Medicare is a public option.
Many people want a Single Payer system to save money. Medicare is a single payer system. Most people have private doctors under Medicare. I prefer an HMO, Kaiser.
The media’s attention on right-wing organizing has led some people to despair that a good health care bill can be passed in this Congress. But what the Left needs to do is not despair – but fight even harder! Sure, the right gained some momentum during the last few weeks as corporate forces harnessed right-wing populism to smear health care reform efforts. The insurance companies are financing the first campaign of “Birthers against Obama” in order to prevent passage of a national health care reform bill.
And it is hard to defend the administration proposal because we don’t yet know exactly what the final bill will contain, but that does not mean that health care legislation is doomed. In fact, single-payer advocates have just won a significant victory (see below). Besides, those corporate-funded right-wing foundations, think tanks and advocacy groups wouldn’t be fighting so hard and spending so much money in the process if reform were already dead. That means we organize now, at this critical stage of the fight, to counter the Right’s offensive.
First, the victory: the House leadership agreed to allow an amendment (proposed by New York Representative Anthony Weiner) to substitute the single payer bill, HR 676, for the leadership bill. This will provide the first up or down vote on single payer in the House of Representatives, and it offers a great opportunity to demonstrate the level of support for public provision of national health care. It is important that we bring as much pressure as possible on our representatives to vote for this amendment when it is put to a vote in September. That vote will be used to gauge the strength of progressive forces in the House, which will in turn significantly influence whether a strong public option and state single-payer opt-out clause appear in the final version of a national health care bill that passes.
So, what can you and I do to advance an improved medical system for all other than engaging in a screaming match at a local town hall meeting? Well, we can’t compete with the millions being spent by corporations to lobby the Congress.
· We can engage in grass roots organizing.
· Write letters to the editor of your local publications—something that's easy to do.
· Read news items on line and respond in the comments section with rational, reasonable suggestions.
· Submit an editorial column, a more advanced form of advocacy that takes more time to perfect. Newspaper web sites have instructions on how to submit these "op-ed" articles.
· Or, read op-ed pieces in your newspaper and respond with a letter to the editor.
· Arrange to meet with your members of Congress (both senators and representatives)—or their staffs, which tends to be easier—in their local offices in your area. Just call up an make an appointment, preferably when the member is in town on the weekend or during a Congressional break. If you live in the district, the odds are good that you will get in. Bring facts and material to support your position.
A good fact sheet is on the blog of the Sacramento Progressive Alliance;
http://sacramentopa.blogspot.com/2009/08/support-for-health-care-reform.html
And, let’s work together on this. There are many more battles to come.
Duane Campbell is the Chair of Sacramento Democratic Socialists of America.
http://sites.google.com/site/sacramentodsa/
He blogs at http://www.choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com
DSA, along with unions and other progressive organizations is focused on passing a health care reform program in the current Congress.
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