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October 5, 2008 at 06:55:28
Promoted to Headline (H3) on 10/5/08: by Mickey Z. Page 1 of 1 page(s) |
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My fellow Big Apple resident Katie Robbins is one of the lucky few able to make organizing and movement-building a full time job. She’s worked on projects with Food Not Bombs in her hometown Akron, Ohio, advocated for family rights through Head Start, and is credited with organizing and directing the first community-based production of The Vagina Monologues to Seoul, Korea (where the bilingual production is still being performed annually by both Korean and foreigner actresses and activists). But while any of those credits would be worthy of a discussion, none of them are specifically why I’m interviewing her here. This conversation relates to her important work with Healthcare-NOW! Healthcare-NOW! -- with chapters and networks working for national health care in almost every state in the union -- is a single-issue campaign supporting the movement for a single-payer, national, guaranteed healthcare plan in the United States. Healthcare-NOW’s mission is to eliminate health care injustice in the United States by implementing Bill HR 676 (introduced by Representative John Conyers).
Katie and I exchanged e-mails over the course of two days and here’s how it went:
Mickey Z: It seems no one (outside of the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries, of course) is happy with America's market-driven health care system. Do you think the country -- particularly in light of the current economic crisis -- is finally ready to embrace single-payer as a logical alternative?
Katie Robbins: Yes, the country is absolutely ready ... and we've got the polling to prove it. According to an Associated Press poll in December 2007, 65 percent responded that the United States should adopt a universal health insurance program in which everyone is covered under a program like Medicare. Another poll-side victory was celebrated this year when a study showed a solid majority of doctors -- 59 percent -- now support national health insurance. The current free-market health system in the United States is ruled by health care disparities, waste, and greed that results in poor health care outcomes. A single-payer, Medicare-for-all system provides a simple, effective, and morally-just alternative.
MZ: In response to such support, heavily funded corporate interests have worked long and hard to portray single-payer as socialized medicine that will result in rationed care, long lines, no choice in terms of doctors, and bureaucratic nightmares (which, ironically, describes what we have now). Can you tell us why this is nothing but a smear campaign?
KR: Ah yes, the "S" word ... mentioning socialized medicine has proved a successful method of striking fear into the hearts of the American people. The unfortunate reality is that the health care nightmare is right here at home. We are ranked 37th in the world for our health care system, and we have a higher infant mortality rate than countries like Cyprus and Slovenia. While it is true that the United States has access to the best health care technology in the world, U.S. residents also experience the most extreme form of rationing because health care is only available to those who can pay for it. Financial barriers to care prevent over one-third of the people from accessing needed care resulting in thousands of unnecessary deaths each year. The current system functions with insurance bureaucrats sitting behind desks to advise health care professionals how to treat their patients. People are dying before they get the approval for needed care. Each denial results in direct profits for the insurance companies. A single-payer system (not socialized medicine) removes profit from health care allowing people to choose any doctor in the country and will provide accurate, streamlined payment for quality care delivered in a timely fashion to everyone ... while simultaneously saving money.
MZ: In the face of an economic crisis, Congress was able to come up with a plan for $700 billion to do something that the architects of the bailout plan claim will protect the American people. A local news station reported that the amount for the bailout equates to 2,000 apple pies from McDonald's for every person in the United States. Your thoughts?
KR: It would take a lot less apple pie to provide comprehensive health coverage to everyone in the United States. There have been countless cost-benefit analyses done on HR 676, and every time the savings is a staggering amount somewhere between $70 billion and $350 billion in the first year of implementation. Savings that will go directly to the people who are currently paying outrageous healthcare premiums, copays, and deductibles: individuals, families, schools, city, county, and state government, small businesses, and more. Under HR 676, the savings wouldn't first go through Wall Street where profits are skimmed off the top, leaving less for the people of the United States. We need to tell our elected officials that health care is the economy, and that we can't afford not to have single-payer national health insurance.
MZ: Okay, let’s say you reach enough Americans with this kind of information -- you energize and motivate them to take control of their health and health care -- we’d still have two major party candidates refusing to consider single-payer. How can someone reading this interview work for universal, accessible, affordable health care outside of the current electoral farce?
KR: Great question. Waiting for a president to get elected on a single-payer platform is pretty ... unlikely. Regardless of the Nov. 4th outcomes, we need a Congress in place that will be courageous enough to pass this much-needed legislation. History shows us that any window of opportunity for national health insurance has slammed shut only to be loosened up again every 10-20 years or so. Why does this cycle keep repeating itself? Consistently missing from each historical opportunity for health care reform is a massive groundswell directly from the people demanding change. People have been working on single-payer health care reform for decades, but no matter how many health professionals or policy wonks support the idea, without pressure on elected officials coming from their constituency, nothing will change for the better. If you want to contribute to working for real health care reform, join the movement. Make your voice heard. Vote for single-payer candidates. Find a list of candidates we are tracking here. Get a group of people in your district to visit your representative. Make your elected officials nervous. Show them the polls of support for single-payer. Healthcare-NOW! has used a variety of different techniques to create more momentum behind HR 676. A coordinated Day of Protest was held on June 19th, 2008. People took to the streets in front of almost 20 different insurance companies around the country. Healthcare-NOW! has sponsored hundreds of Truth Hearings around the country where people gather town-hall meeting style with elected officials to hear the stories directly from the people who have experienced injustice in health care. As a result of these and other concentrated actions, HR 676, the National Health Insurance Act, has 91 congressional cosponsors - more than any health care reform legislation to date. Even better, Healthcare-NOW! is a bottom-up movement meaning that the network of activists develop the actions taken each year at our national strategy conference. So join us!
To learn more, contact Katie Robbins and Healthcare-NOW!
healthcarenow08@gmail.com
800-453-1305
Upcoming nationwide events
Also, New Yorkers, mark your calendars:
*Poets for Healthcare: A Benefit*
November 10 @ 8pm
The Poetry Project at St. Marks Church
131 E. 10th St., NYC
info@poetryproject.com / 212-674-0910
$8 general admission
Mickey Z. can be found on the Web here.
http://www.mickeyz.net
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
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After seeing last weeks pathetic
performance, where virtually EVERYONE in the U.S. (and other couintries) were not just saying NO, but HELL NO, to the Billionaries Bailout - congress simply CAVES to the criminal conspiricy (YET AGAIN) - then I think NOTHING will ever be done... the WEALTHY elites don't give a damned about anyone but the WEALTHY elites. Nothing will change until there is yet a second U.S. REVOLUTION - and at this point I seriously doubt it will be "peaceful" (i.e. at the ballot box). The elites have shown CLEARLY they will NEVER let it happen - therefore, the ONLY way we will have any meaningful and significant change is when the elites blood is running in the streets - sadly so will the blood of people who believe in fairness, true equality and social justice - the wealthy elite will never yied willingly - so be it. by aaronbav (1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 15 comments) on Sunday, Oct 5, 2008 at 11:45:09 AM  (0+)
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It seems to me that
Mickey Z's S*** it so strong, he could just visit a few reservoirs around Greater NYC and squat down and take a dump. Then enormous numbers of New Yorkers would actually visit medical offices between now and November 4. The snowball effect - or should I say "ripple effect"? - would widen from New York Center to the rest of the country, and voila, the insurance companies' lock on American health care would be History. by GLloyd Rowsey (104 articles, 65 quicklinks, 60 diaries, 828 comments [4 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Oct 5, 2008 at 12:16:26 PM (0+)
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Single Payer is the Answer
And as you point out it has broad popular support. Unfortunately we cannot get our Presidential Contenders to endorse it. It will take protests by the people. It will take concerted concentrated effort. It will take the Congress passing the legislation and the President signing it based on the popularity of the measure. Will it happen? The health care industry uses our money, paid in by our employers and our premiums, deductibles and co-pays to amass an impressive war chest of money used to pay off our selected officials. The end result, when the selection campaigns cost hundreds of millions of dollars is that while we go to the polls every 4 years - they get the votes in the house and we get the shaft for 4 years. Then we get the fairy tale explanations of how hard they tried to support the people. People are wising up - it will take a ground swell. It will take collective action. There are 47 million people uninsured. They all should put on their boots, organize and start standing outside their elected officials offices with a constant 24/7/365 vigil until there is single payer health care for everyone. Change? So far it's a lot more of the same. We must not let down our guard. The internet information surge must be followed with collective organizing of mass amounts of people power. Once that power begins to grow and rallies and marches and protests become the mainstay of our society - then maybe the people will have a chance. I suspect a lot more pain will have be endured before the "masses" reach the breaking point. So far the erosion of our society has been from the bottom up and we have not yet reached critical mass.... but I believe the financial downfall may just be the straw that breaks middle America's back. I've had enough, when I see people rallying or marching in the street, I'll be there. So far, just a lot of internet action.... I do hope that we see a day when the "elite" need to run for cover for their crimes against humanity. I hope that day is near.... and I hope that there are no nations on earth where they feel safe. by August Adams (11 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 585 comments [12 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Oct 5, 2008 at 12:30:01 PM (0+)
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For this reason alone
I have always maintained that the lack of support from Obama for a single payer system is reason enough to reject him and understand that he too is a pawn of the elite two-party plutocracy. As someone on Medicare that has had major health problems I can attest to its many benefits, though it is far from perfect; supplemental coverage is necessary because it does not cover about 20 percent of health care costs and the prescription drug program utterly sucks. by Joel S. Hirschhorn (141 articles, 50 quicklinks, 65 diaries, 546 comments [2 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Oct 5, 2008 at 2:26:47 PM (0+)
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Reply: Yeah,
health uncare is definitely the sleeper issue. It sucks, if you're lucky enough to have insurance. If you don't, fagiddaboutit. And the "plan" is to make the insurance system MORE of a suck, by adding everyone else to it. (My "primary care physician" evidently has 2,000 patients, and when I start describing my symptoms, he's already writing out a "specialist referral.") And more and more younger and younger unwealthy people are "going to the doctor." Who - like the doctors - are becoming educated more and more on this very issue. While it's getting WORSE all the time. by GLloyd Rowsey (104 articles, 65 quicklinks, 60 diaries, 828 comments [4 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Oct 5, 2008 at 4:00:07 PM (0+)
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I guess
the Real Secret is that virtually nowhere is participation in a national health plan mandatory for doctors. So Mr. And Ms. Gotbucks don't have to move to Switzerland or the French Riviera to hire a private doc. And (certainly initially) any doc in the richest country in the world can refuse to participate in "socialized medicine" and make a living off the filthy rich. You know, out there in the competitive world of professional medicine. by GLloyd Rowsey (104 articles, 65 quicklinks, 60 diaries, 828 comments [4 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Oct 5, 2008 at 4:16:15 PM (0+)
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Live for the moment - don't plan for the future
While I empathize with some of you I, for one, don't desire a single payer system by any means. Maybe you all should read more about what's wrong with the UK system and Canada's system. Life is a series of surprises and sometimes tragedies, I understand that, but for the typical responsible adult there are many opportunities to prepare yourself and your family for these types of events in your lives. Why is everyone so eager for to shift the cost of your care to others? If we do end up with a single payer system it's very likely you'll have things like the following articles speaks of to worry about. by Jesse Locke (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments) on Sunday, Oct 19, 2008 at 2:38:04 AM (0+)
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