June 25, 2009 3:34 PM

Liberals Demand "Public Option" At Capitol Hill Rally

By
Stephanie Condon
Topics
Health Care
(CBS / Stephanie Condon)
Health care reform advocates are taking direct aim at health insurance companies. In a rally on Capitol Hill today, some high profile politicians joined thousands of union workers, doctors and other health care reform supporters in a united front against the industry and demanded a government-sponsored health insurance option.

"Harry's dead and Louise has got diabetes," Gerald McEntee, international president of the AFSCME, told the thousands at the rally, sponsored by the organization Health Care For America Now. He was referencing the infamous television commercial, funded by the Health Insurance Association of America, that had a hand in killing President Clinton's attempt at health care reform in the 1990's.

"Rush Limbaugh, Rick Scott, the insurance companies," McEntee continued. "They don't want to fix health care, they want to scare people."

As conservatives have attempted to paint President Obama's call for a government-sponsored health insurance plan, or "public option," as a government takeover, liberals have responded with attacks that the health insurance industry is the real culprit when it comes to interferences in health care.

"Whose choice is it who will be your doctor?" asked Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), a senior member of one of the committees responsible for Medicare. "Yours or your insurance company's?"

(CBS / Stephanie Condon)
"Do we want to let the insurance companies run the show?" Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) yelled, getting a fevered "No!" in response from the crowd. "Do we want a strong public option?"

As a key member of the Senate Finance Committee, Schumer has been responsible for drafting a plan for how to implement a public option for the health care reform package the committee will introduce.

"We cannot do this alone," Schumer said. "You being here, we'll make sure you hold everybody in that building's feet to the fire," he added, motioning to the Capitol building in view behind the podium.

Schumer and the other speakers stood before a sea of colors and acronyms, with different colored shirts representing different unions. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) wore purple, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) wore red, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) wore green, and so on.

"They want to divide us, worker against worker," said McEntee, speaking about opponents of health care reform. "But we are united."

Union influence can be found in more than just the debate over a public plan. President Obama's positions on other controversial proposals for reform, like taxing health care benefits (which Mr. Obama opposes) and a "pay or play" mandate (which the president supports), are in line with the unions.

Taxing health care benefits "will hurt working families," McEntee said.

"We say to the deadbeat employers," said Larry Cohen, president of the CWA, "we will fight for the employer mandate."

The focus of the rally, however, was certainly the public option.

"We're counting on you to go across the street and cajole… and do what you need to do to get a strong public option," said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who sits on one of the Senate committees drafting health care legislation. "Let me assure you, the health insurance industry will not hijack this process."

Brown challenged the health insurance industry's opposition to the public plan with the same logic Mr. Obama has used repeatedly.

"The insurance industry always tells us they can do it best, that government can't run anything," he said. "Then explain to me why the insurance industry is so afraid that the public option is going to put them out of business."

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean suggested that if a public option is not included in the final health care reform package, it will not just be Republicans who suffer the consequences. Democrats won the 2008 elections handily because Americans are looking for change, he said.

"If we don't get it, there's going to be more change," he said. "We want a public health insurance option now."

Add a Comment See all 49 Comments
by jacquelynbrowne June 27, 2009 4:54 AM EDT
If you are uninsured and does not have insurance, you should check out the website http://UninsuredAmerica.blogspot.com - jacquelynbrowne, California
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by pepperwood2 June 26, 2009 12:48 PM EDT
Liberals Demand "Public Option" At Capitol Hill Rally - Taxing health care benefits "will hurt working families," McEntee said.

He also failed to inform The Union Sheep & People that without the Unions Excessive Fees the Union Crooks would not have been able to afford the Luxurious Life Styles that the Union Elite now enjoy at the expense of our Jobs Going Overseas. By aligning themselves with BO did it save your job at GM? No but it made their's secure. But they had to promise to side with BO on this ridiculous health scam care.

The FIRST thing this Administration & Unions needs to realize it is time to GET this Country out of Debt. We have to NOW pay excessive banking fees for the BANK Bailouts of Trillions of dollars. Tax & Spend does not work because YOU WILL BE THE ONE & ONLY TAXED to pay for the National & Your Personal Debt. It's happening already! So Sad!
Reply to this comment
by artorus June 26, 2009 12:46 PM EDT
I'm sure most of you smarter folks out there already know this but there is a middle ground between a commie gov't run system and a fascist/corporatist system. For example: the government can act as an insurance company, taking volunteers and competing with the regular insurers. Or, they can provide subsidies to the best companies. Or they can provide a minimum of preventative health care while the private sector provides specialized treatment. There are a bunch of solutions that don't involve completely scrapping one side for another. In my humble opinion this is where the solution lies.
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by connunism June 26, 2009 12:27 PM EDT
Republicant's despise transparency, hate the facts, can't handle the truth, while at the same time remain completely obsessed about the bedroom manners of all American's.
Reply to this comment
by Dwaraka36 June 26, 2009 12:21 PM EDT
Besides the private and public options, there is the law of supply and demand and its strong impact on costs. One day a few years ago, I saw my doctor at the BJ?s Wholesale Club. It occurred to me that despite his great earnings, he would buy stuff based on price. Shoppers choose between Neiman Marcus, Lord and Taylor, Macy?s, Sears, K-Mart, and Wal-Mart based on their needs, acceptable quality, shopping experience, and ability to pay. This kind of market of suppliers does not exist for healthcare. It is essential that the US public demands that the number of healthcare professionals is increased and productivity increased. If a US healthcare plan adds another forty plus million people on the demand side with no compensatory increase on the supply side, the prices of healthcare will go through the roof. The specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities of healthcare professionals should be supplemented by assistants doing tasks that require adequate skills only. Highly expensive diagnostic equipment may be used over three shifts to reduce unit costs with peak and off-peak rates. In addition to political debate, we need business sense and methods.
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by hangelle June 26, 2009 12:19 PM EDT
Why isn't Rick Scott in prison?!
Reply to this comment
by earlysaid June 26, 2009 6:03 PM EDT
That is a good question about Rick Scott. He was one of those scammers who made millions or billions and then bailed out before his company went downhill fast.
by thusspokezara June 26, 2009 12:05 PM EDT
Loved the picture of all those out of shape, overweight demonstrators demanding health care reform. They are probably hoping that gastric bypass surgery will be included in the public health care passage so that they can go on stuffing their faces.
Reply to this comment
by hangelle June 26, 2009 12:19 PM EDT
You are such a small person.
by koko98-2009 June 26, 2009 12:02 PM EDT
These things take time. It took two decades from the time Truman proposed Medicare in the '40's until it passed in the '60s and I haven't seen the republic collapse. This idea's time will come.
Reply to this comment
by thusspokezara June 26, 2009 11:38 AM EDT
Loved that picture of that morbidly obese lady holding a sign: Insurance Companies Make Me Sick. It should have read: The massive amount of fried chicken, ribs, pork, and greens that I consume everyday while sitting on my big fat gluteus maximus make me sick.
Reply to this comment
by hangelle June 26, 2009 12:20 PM EDT
No. You're the pig!
by mentalpestilence June 26, 2009 11:35 AM EDT
In his book "A Second Opinion", Dr Arnold S Relman describes the evolution of the commercialization of health care and why it hasn't worked to keep costs down. Specifically, he mentions Kenneth Arrow's article "Uncertainty and the Welfare Economics of Medical Care" from the American Economic Review of 1963 which gives a pellucid view as to why health insurance is unlike any other "commodity" of the free-market.

For one, the relationship of supply and demand break down since the demand for health services is not regular or predictable. Two, the supply of services does not simply respond to the desires of the buyer. What that means is physicians are the ultimate informed consumers of health care. Although a patient can voice their opinion or insist on a specific treatment, the physician is the person who will be ordering the types and number of tests, procedures and prescriptions.

Three, there are limitation on who can enter the provider side of the market due to high start up costs and education, licensing and so forth. And finally, there is significant insensitivity of prices in the health care system. No hospitals or doctors are actively advertising lower prices or clearance procedures! Simultaneously, a majority of patients don't actively seek out those price reductions. There aren't many individuals who are willing to risk monetary savings for assumed quality of service.

Thus, we shouldn't expect to see many changes by trying to alter the current system a little here or there, or going as far as implementing cumpolsory health insurance. Let me include this caveat: by no means am I saying that single-payer health insurance is the answer to all of our problems. There are many other reasons why health care costs are continuing to rise and are hard to control (ie. how health care is administered). However, as Dr Michael Ybarra states, "administrative costs make up 7% [of health care costs]. [Accounting] for $168 billion dollars annually". The significance of this number is shown when compared to Medicare's 2% administrative costs.

- www.mentalpestilence.com
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