I am in favor of single payer health care, also known as Medicare for all. I won’t settle for “reform” legislation written by the insurance industry to maximize profits at the expense of working families. Former New York State Assemblyman Marty Luster and Theresa Alt of the Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) today issued this press release, stating the case more strongly:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 17, 2009
ITHACA SOCIALISTS SAY “KILL THE BILL!”
The Ithaca Local of Democratic Socialists of America today called for the defeat of the health care “reform” bill that is emerging from the Senate.
The bill reportedly contains no public option (immediate or triggered), no Medicare buy-in for those under age 65, no competition for for-profit plans, no meaningful cost containment and no prohibition against insurance companies colluding on premiums and terms of coverage.
“This is not a reform bill in any sense of the word,” said Marty Luster, Chair of the Ithaca local. “This is a piece of legislation written by and for the insurance industry. It mandates individuals to purchase health insurance from for-profit corporations which retain as much as 40% of premiums paid for administration (including obscene executive salaries), marketing and profit.* We will be better off if the bill fails and we have the opportunity to start over with a real reform plan,” he said.
“Medicare has 3% administrative costs and nothing goes to profits, so Medicare for all would have been the fiscally responsible way to go,” Theresa Alt, Secretary of Ithaca DSA, said. “The Democratic majority really missed the boat when they gave up in advance on Medicare for all and instead pushed the ‘public option’, a compromise from the start. Since then they have compromised again and again until now there is hardly any reform left in the bill,” she added.
The Democratic Socialists of America is the nation’s largest socialist organization. It supports a single payer (Medicare for All) health care plan, although it has urged, at a minimum, that any plan adopted by Congress contain a robust public option.
*Report by Families USA
Contact: Theresa Alt 607-273-3009 or Marty Luster mabl64@zoom-dsl.com, 607- 279-2904
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Please comment on two things:
55 Trillion dollars of unfunded liability in Social Security and Medicare ( I don’t want an explanation of how we got there, just what you would propose to get rid of this).
Secondly, personal responsibility costs are not covered by “progressives” except me:
$147 Billion per year in obesity costs per the CDC
$157 Billion per year in smoking costs per the CDC
As a microcosmic example:
There is a husband and wife in Ithaca that I know for a fact consume $780 per month in cigarettes. They smoke with their kids in the car. No politician or activist I know of that is “progressive” ever holds these people’s feet to the fire and honestly admits this system is doomed fiscally until personal responsibility changes too. Ugly but true facts.
Scott Noren DDS
US Senate Candidate
BTW…Kirsten Gillibrand is #1 in the entire Senate and House as a recipient of Commercial Banking money and Schumer is #1 in the whole Senate as a recipient of Insurance Lobby money…and you want honest legislation?
You want single payer? Then we need to lose weight, eat better, stop smoking, exercise and pass National Tort reform to reduce defensive medicine; we need to cap liability insurance premiums which are out of control. I pay $21,000 per year in liability insurance alone.