Finish the year (and health reform) right
Posted on December 31st, 2009 by Jason Rosenbaum in Take Action!
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Over the last week, tens of thousands of people have sent a letter to President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Majority Leader Reid telling them to finish health reform right. Joining them, hundreds of organizations who care about health reform - from huge international unions to small community groups - and health care and political experts like Jacob Hacker, Wendell Potter, and Mike Lux have also signed on to the letter.
With one voice, we're all fighting for some very important things as the House and Senate health care bills head into conference to be reconciled. Things like:
- Affordable health care for low and middle income people - a mixture of the House and Senate bills
- Affordable health care at work, with employers pitching in their fair share to cover employees, as is done in the House bill
- A financing plan for health reform that doesn't tax middle class health benefits, as is done in the House bill
- Strong insurance regulations like a national exchange and standard benefit plans, like those in the House bill
- And a national public health insurance option, like the House bill
These things are important. They will lower cost to government and to people. They will hold the insurance industry accountable and do away with their bad practices. They will increase competition. And they will make health care for you and me better.
These things are worth fighting for, and so we're sending an important message.
Next week, we'll be turning up the volume. We've got a television ad all set to go, sending a clear message to Congress and the White House that important things must be fixed in conference. The ad is set to run in all 50 states and Washington, DC, guaranteeing our politicians get the message.
Watch it:
Can you help us put this ad on the air? It's the end of the year, so can you chip in $10 to help us finish health reform right? Click here to donate securely online and help us turn up the volume.
Good luck at fourth and goal from the 2 yardline against the Tea Party Movement, Senator Lieberman and yes them gawdawful free market people… let's have a clean run at it.
1, 2, 3 GO DEFENSE!!!
This is a political policy. I can do nothing but wish the health reform will achieve success.
I'm not sure what this ad is supposed to accomplish. The fact that this ad advocates for the House bill as opposed to the Senate bill will be lost on the general public. It's just a bit too subtle. But perhaps it isn't really supposed to be directed at the general public.
I'd say the audience is largely Congress and the President, yes.
There is ONLY way to get the attention of Democrats in Congress who have willingly painted themselves into a corner on this mess on behalf of the health care and financial industries. (Q: How much do you think the National Association of Insurance Commissioners estimates the insurance industry as a whole has invested in the financial industry of this country? A: Over $1 Trillion.)
That is for HCAN to pledge to join lawsuits against the constitutionality of a mandate if the final bill does not have a publicly-owned option all people can join at will. And forget all the nattering about the Commerce Clause, it's a First Amendment issue against forced association. The argument whether the alternate tax is constitutional or not is just as a smokescreen meant to distract all too easily distracted reform advocates.
If the mandate falls, Congress is stuck in the position of arguing the tax "penalty" now is just a health care tax (can't penalize someone for breaking what is a valid law). We would then be in a much better position of arguing it should go to publicly-owned plan rather than sent to private industry with all the waste and abuse actually occurs.
Won't donate to this ad shown above which is a waste of time and money, but would to one that explains the moral bankruptcy of mandate without a public option and pledge of legal action if that happens.
It's pretty hard to have a lawsuit against a law that doesn't exist yet…