Thanks Marisa.

as if we needed any more talking points, but here’s a map showing the UnInsured in America

mouse over to see the numbers by state

Is the good congresswoman/man aware there are ___ families in her/his state with no access to healthcare?

may prove helpful with the “undecideds” on the list

UnInsured Map

Sent emails to both Sestak and his staffer that works on health issues. Waiting to see which one gets back to me first. He talks public option but likes the MA plan. We shall see. I’ll report when I hear.

He’s not in the progressive caucus but he wants to run for Senate against Haggis. So which is the better stance fora senate bid, huh?

That’s from my local PBS station! Small world!

Well if he’s planning on getting progressive support, I think that’s a pretty easy question to answer.

ITA – I think we need to go after Sestak on this and have him ‘fully on board’ of a robust public option. For political reasons alone – I don’t see why he would not do it to place Specter on the spot. He really should go BIG TIME with this – it would help him capture the Philly vote and huge Union Support.

call Raaammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Rahms family in ISRAEL has

The Health Care System in Israel:
An Historical Perspective

Israel’s high standard of health services, top-quality medical technology and research, modern hospital facilities and an impressive ratio of physicians to population all contribute to the country’s high standard of health today.

The Ministry of Health is responsible for the development of health policy, operation of the nation’s public health services and management of the governmental health care budget. The government also owns and operates many of the nation’s larger hospitals. It licenses the medical and paramedical professions and initiates and oversees implementation of all health-related legislation passed by the Knesset. Medical services are provided through four health insurance companies, known as sick funds: Kupat Holim Clalit, Kupat Holim Maccabi, Kupat Holim Meuhedet and Kupat Holim Leumit. Kupat Holim Clalit (General Sick Fund), the largest organization and the first health insurance institution, was founded in 1911 by a small group of agricultural workers and taken over by the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor) in 1920.

Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the issue of health care has never left the public agenda. The public debate on reform of the health system has focused on enactment of a national health insurance law. Reform was spurred by recommendations of the Natanyahu Commission (1990). Its recommendations served as a catalyst for the passage of the National Health Insurance Law which came into effect on January 1, 1995.

The present review traces some of the milestones in health care services, in order to better understand the roots of both the achievements and the problems of the system, and to define future prospects.

got the PUBLIC OPTION RAMBO

GUESS WHAT

OVER 50,000,OOO MERKINS HAVE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OPTION

nadda,zippo…the iceman cometh

I just got home, so all y’all probably already know that Governor Sanford’s press conference outlined his affair with a woman in Argentina. I am too sad about political morality to be snarky about this.

Americans have no idea how good medical care is in France, Italy, GB, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Germany, Greece, Spain and of course the corporate media will do nothing to enlighten them. Americans should be demanding the very same health care afforded the pigs in Congress.

Could it be that the White House signaled that it would be willing to drop the public option in a Senate bill and then put it back in in conference with the House?

I had long thought that a public option would pass the House, but not the Senate and would be put back in during conference to pass the Senate then.

Whoa. That could get interesting…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkin

Interesting. Sausage making at it’s finest? And with “Democrat” DiFi already whining, we can see what a minefield this might be in the Senate.

Must we insult pigs? They are really smart animals. Wish I could say the same for congresscritters.

This from John Hall (NY19). But he did not address “the pledge.”

Thank you for contacting me about universal health coverage for all Americans. I support ensuring that all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care and I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

The U.S. spends significantly more than any other industrialized nation on health care, as a percentage of our gross national product, yet our results are not as good. Health care costs have increased faster than inflation every year for almost 40 years. The average family’s health insurance premiums cost over $10,000 a year. Most Western nations provide comprehensive coverage to their entire populations, while almost 50 million Americans are completely uninsured and millions more are inadequately covered. This is unacceptable, and Congress and the Obama Administration must address these problems.

In every Congress a number of bills are introduced to overhaul our health care system, ranging from expanding federal programs that provide health care to the uninsured, to instituting a comprehensive national health insurance system, to offering tax incentives for people to purchase more private insurance. I am thoroughly evaluating each bill before endorsing any specific plan for universal health care. I believe that the best solution is to create a universal health care program, providing full and complete coverage to all Americans.

One proposal is H.R. 676, introduced by Rep. John Conyers of Michigan. H.R. 676 would provide all Americans with necessary medical services by the physicians of their choice without co-payments or other fees at the time of service. The bill would fully cover primary care, dental, mental health, prescription drugs, and long-term care. Payment for this program would come from a variety of sources, including an increase in the payroll tax and an increase in the tax rate on the wealthiest taxpayers. I support the goals of H.R. 676, however I have many concerns about the specifics of the legislation. In particular, I am concerned that a massive increase in the payroll tax, the most regressive tax, would really hurt lower-income people. That is why I have not cosponsored it.

I was proud that this year we finally made long overdue improvements to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). I voted for H.R. 2, the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, which expands SCHIP from providing health insurance to 7 million children nationwide to covering more than 11 million children who would otherwise be uninsured. This legislation provides states with sufficient funding to continue their current SCHIP programs and expands them to include additional qualified children. H.R. 2 also adds guaranteed coverage for dental care and mental health services for all children enrolled in SCHIP. H.R. 2 was signed into law by President Obama on February 4, 2009. I am proud to have worked with the overwhelming majority in Congress to pass this vital legislation for America’s children and hope to expand on this work to help all Americans who are struggling to get affordable, quality health care.

Well, we do know that anything is possible in conference now. Yes, a shitty Senate bill and a good House bill could meet in conference, but the conferees have a stronger hand if they know the House can not pass a bill that doesn’t have a strong public option.

Thanks to everyone who has been calling today, we really appreciate it. Lots of good responses. Will have more updates later.

Getting reps to answer a question isn’t a challenge; getting them to answer them the one your asking can be.

You’re absolutely right. I thought of using “whores” but that would not have been fair to “whores”. Maybe members of Congress, with very few exceptions, should just be called gangsters.

Just got a call from AARP urging that we call our congress critter and demand insurance that everyone would be covered by. 1800-929-4030 from there you can reach your critter FREE.. Nada and demand they support Single Payer!! Looks like all the people’s players are coming out and getting behind National Health Care as so many are denied coverage for OH some many reasons… Fuck RICK Scott is on AGAIN basically saying if we get NHC 119 million will loose their coverage. Boy the Rupukes will do anything to stop Single Payer where just as all Government employees get!!

GREED GREED we need to let the People know that is what the Repukes are really saying they are protecting their Big Moneyed backers $$$$

I say Fuck them, force them out of business!! They have had since Truman’s time to get it right and things have only gotten WORSE on their watch. Time they went the way of Darwin’s theories of extinction!!!

I’m wondering if there was some way to get two bills on the floor in the House…one with a public option and one with a co-op idea and let the public option pass and the co-op idea fail.

The risk here is that the Republicans endorse the co-op plan and outvote the progressives forcing Obama to either veto the co-op and push for the public plan (while bearing the brunt of the “President vetoes bipartisan healthcare because it’s not liberal enough” meme) or sign a bad bill and kill the public option.

But politics is not without it’s risks…for any of us.

nyceve is upstairs!
Pay to Play: $1.4 Million a Day Buys a Lot of Votes

Zombie HMOs

I guess Republicans have a hard time reading the polls which show Americans not only want reform, but they want a public option — by a large margin.

Suits me fine. When Dems make it law the next election will be that much easier.