Wendell Potter: Rally Against Wall Street's Health Care Takeover
Posted on September 1st, 2009 by Wendell Potter - Center for Media and Democracy in Profits Before People
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Saturday, August 29 I had the good fortune to speak at a community rally for health care reform in a city park in downtown Portland, Oregon. It was a broad-based and diverse group with many signs and placards supporting the 'public option' being debated by Congress, and others calling for 'single payer' reform like that working effectively in other countries such as Canada. Here is what I said:
I would like to begin by apologizing to all of you for the role I played 15 years ago in cheating you out of a reformed health care system. Had it not been for greedy insurance companies and other special interests, and their army of lobbyists and spin-doctors like I used to be, we wouldn’t be here today.
I’m ashamed that I let myself get caught up in deceitful and dishonest PR campaigns that worked so well, hundreds of thousands of our citizens have died, and millions of others have lost their homes and been forced into bankruptcy, so that a very few corporate executives and their Wall Street masters could become obscenely rich.
What crap. Millions will die with this abomination you fools want to pass.
I just want to know the truth and despise both sides for blurring the facts. My feeling is we need Health Insurance Reform (regulation of the insurance companies). The medical care we get in the U.S is great, the problem isn't the quality of care but skyrocketing costs /premiums. The private sector gives us innovation that we wouldn't get from the govt and I don't want govt micromanaging my healthcare. I'm concerned that the rhetoric from the administration doesn't match what the CBO says in terms of the real cost of a public option. I'm concerend that, according the New England Journal of Medicine, the rate of doctors going into primary care practice has been on the decline for years yet we want to bring on 46 million more people to cover under a public plan. How can this "not" lead to rationing of healthcare? I want clarification on these before taking a side and I certainly don't think this is something we should be rushing through without careful deliberation.
Good for you for looking for facts. Here's what the COB says about the public option:
http://www.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_treatment/archive/2009/07/10/exclusive-early-cbo-score-on-public-plan-it-s-good.aspx
As for the doctor concern, it's a good point. There are two ways to deal with this. First, all reforms are phased in over a period of five years or so, so it's not a shock to the system. Second, money was provided in the stimulus for training of more primary care doctors to alleviate this shortage.
I am an RN who works for a hospital, contacting insurance companies for approval of care. Medicare requires no pre approval or permission for any proceedure. We just do it according to the standards of care, which apply to all patients, insurance or no. Insurance rations care, not the government. Medicare Advantage is no advantage at all, just manage the money into their pockets while rationing senior's care. If, we had a public option, just like Medicare, which anyone could choose to join, it would be great. Totally portable nationwide, no pre existing,no lifetime max, accepted by all hospitals and Drs; like Medicare is now. We would pay premiums. Why do they not take that into consideration for how to pay for it? I would pay $500 or so a month. It will not be free. Sliding scale and only subsidies for people or families below poverty or some such. It would be great to have a younger pool, of less ill people, contributing to the plan. Isn't that how insurance companies are making the huge profits? With the Public Option all the money would stay in the system and not be spent for million dollar salaries and bonuses. People keep acting as if they would have to join, not true. It is an option, one which I would love to have. My employer now dictates to me what insurance company I can have; and of course all the Drs work for them and they own all the hospitals in the network. I get to choose to pay really high premiums- over $700 per month, or pay really high out of pocket expenses, over $10,000 per year and I have a lifetime max. Some choice. If I want to retire early? No can do, I loose my employer based insuracne. I want choice, isn't that what freedom and democracy are all about? I can not see any reason for the Republicans to fight against freedom of choice, except for thier own greed and lust to regain power. Also, as a healthcare worker, we are offended that the public would beleive we would plot to kill them for profit. Nurses and other healthcare workers don't go into the field expecting to become rich and we are the ones at your bedside when the time comes. I encourage all my patients to have a durable power of attorney and living will; so that we can be sure their wishes are followed; not anyone elses. That is all that was in the bill , for Medicare to pay the Dr for the time to talk with their patient's, if the patient wanted to, about their choices.If you don't want to talk to your Dr, fine, go to a lawyer like people have to do now, it was just an option. Shame on all of you for thinking we would collude in some government plot to kill people. We have been doing living wills and durable power of attorney for decades, just not getting paid for the time.