5 Things You Need to Know About Obama's Public Health Insurance Option

[Sue Copening]

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OBAMA'S PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE OPTION

Did you know that MOST American's support either a "single payer" health care system OR a reform of our current system with government subsidized insurance?

Obama's Public Health Insurance is NOT government paid health care... but it is a REAL step toward reform and the lowering of health care costs for ALL.

The choice of a public health insurance plan is crucial to real health care reform. But right now, it's being smeared by conservatives and insurance-industry front groups. Here's what you really need to know:

1. Choice, choice, choice. If the public option passes, Americans will be able to choose between their current insurance and a high-quality, government-run plan similar to Medicare. If you like your current care, you can keep it. If you don't—or don't have any—you can get the public insurance plan.

2. It will be high-quality coverage with a choice of doctors. Government-run plans have a track record of innovating to improve quality, because they're not just focused on short-term profits. And if you choose the public plan, you'll still get to choose your doctor and hospital.

3. We'll all save a bunch of money. The public option won't have to spend money on things like CEO bonuses, shareholder dividends, or excessive advertising, (almost 1/3 of "for profit" dollars go to these things) so it'll cost a lot less. Plus, the private plans will have to lower their rates and provide better value to compete, so people who keep their current insurance will save, too.

4. It will always be there for you and your family. A for-profit insurer can close, move out of the area, or just kick you off their insurance rolls. The public option will always be available to provide you with the health security you need.

5. And it's a key part of universal health care. No longer will sick people or folks in rural communities, or low-income Americans be forced to go without coverage. The public option will be available and accessible to everyone. And for those struggling to make ends meet, the premiums will be subsidized by the government.

And finally.... the US has been losing a HUGE amount of jobs to overseas. Why? In part because the cost of providing health care to employees is too costly to companies and the lure of cheaper labor and lower costs in other countries is too tempting. By FIXING our broken health care system we can "stop the bleeding" of these jobs and insure more stay right here in the good ole USA.

So who wants to keep the broken system? Lot of politicians who are in the pocket's of big business and the health care industry. Last week a strategy summit on Capitol Hill laid out plans for how to defeat key parts of the president's health care plan.

At one point, pollster Frank Luntz declared, "You're not going to get what you want, but you can kill what they're trying to do."

Luntz wrote a confidential memo that laid out the strategy:

1) Pretend to support reform.
2) Mislead Americans about the heart of Obama's plan, the public health insurance option.
3) Scare enough misinformed people to doom real reform.

Since most people don't know much about the public health care option, these lies could take root if we don't fight back. Can you send this out to all your friends and neighbors?

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Now ...keep in mind that Obama's plan is NOT "Single Payer" ...in fact... single payer is not even on the table right now (the insurance companies have a stranglehold on Congress and most politicians are scared to death to lose their "cash cows"

CLICK to SEE THIS video where Doctors and Lawyers are thrown OUT of...

We really need "Single Payer" system... like EVERY other industrialized country has. In this video... Elizabeth Kucinich, wife of Congressman Dennis Kucinich, explains how the single payer health care system would work.

Perhaps we can work TOWARD it if we keep going.


Elizabeth says... HR-676 is really the policy that will stop this nonsense debate that goes on in Congress all the time. Its just disgusting what goes on in the presidential campaign (this was taped when Dennis was running for President) ....with all the other candidates. They try to spin that they are for universal healthcare. But what they are really for is for the for-profit system to remain in control. So you can continue to pay premiums co-payments and deductibles, with the option of the for insurance companies not to cover you, and if you can't afford the premiums co-payments and deductibles, it's ok the government will subsidize you. Well whop-tee-do. Then you get more of your tax dollars going into the the for profit system, it doesn't put caps on that, it doesn't keep the expenses down, it raises it up, and again we start to bankrupt goverment. These are policies for people who don't want to see government working for people. I wan't to see a government that represents people."

What do other people say...?

1) "My GAWD! We can't have a non-profit health care system designed to help people instead of making lots and lots of money! That's socialism and will lead a totalitarian police state!

Just like they have in China! And Cuba! And Canada. And the UK. And Germany, France, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Israel, Peru, India, New Zealand, Spain, Italy, Singapore, Brazil, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Georgia, Greece, Ireland, Luxombourg, The Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Malta..."

2) "Please google John Russell and read about Single Payer... Single Payer is a MUST for the American economy. The insurance industry "buys" its security through their corporate lobbyists.

Single Payer as Elizabeth says here IS NOT Socialized Medicine. The Right Wing propagandists act constantly to MISINFORM their base on this point.

We need this sort of truth spoken to CONSERVATIVES because they will buy in with us IF THEY HEAR THE TRUTH! Thanks Mrs. Kucinich!"

3) "Physicians like me understand the importance of keeping corporate interests out of healthcare decisions.

If you have EVER had to fight your insurance company for the simplest of treatments, of you have EVER been frustrated by the high cost of your insurance plan or the level of out-of-pocket expenses for treatment or prescription drugs, then you WILL benefit from single-payer healthcare. Any government-run plan would have much more transparency than corporate profiteers currently allow."

4) "22,000 people die in the U.S. every year due to a lack of health insurance." This is seven times the number of victims that perished in the 9/11 tragedy.

Dr. Margaret Flowers, one of the eight arrested, added in the press release: "Health insurance administrators are practicing medicine without a license. The result is the suffering and death of thousands of patients for the sake of private profit. The private insurance industry has a solid grip on patients, providers and legislators. It is time to stand up and declare that health care is a human right."