Compromise on Public Option is Not Acceptable

Since June we've known that there are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) that plan to vote against any healthcare legislation that does not provide for a robust public option. Yesterday we finally saw the list of the 50 members of the House who plan to hold firm to their belief that a Democrat in the White House and 60 in the Senate is the right time to advance legislation that actually meets the needs of the 47 million Americans without healthcare. The list may be seen here. Follow the link and you will also see a list of an additional 11 members who are apparently leaning towards voting against a plan without a robust public option.

Firedoglake has been instrumental in putting pressure on the members of the CPC, as well as reporting on the issue. They have a great tool on their site that provides the names and contact info of all the CPC members and where they stand on the issue. Please contact these folks and urge them to hold firm.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if the argument is that the federal government can't do anything right, why is the right so worried about private insurance companies' inability to compete with a government program? If the ideology is all about competition, and the government can provide better and cheaper services, why is that a bad thing?

I know that part of the answer is that it is unfair for the federal government to use its size and accompanying power to essentially create a monopoly that makes it unfair and virtually impossible for private businesses to compete. In fact, we have anti-trust laws that prohibit such actions. But if we engage in a meaningful and critical discussion about this particular issue, and don't simply accept this rationale on face-value, we then must ask if healthcare is just like every other commodity and/or service, or if it is inherently different?

To equate healhcare with any other enterprise (and that is unfortunately what it has become) is to dehumanize us all, particularly low-income folks and people of color who are disproportionately impacted by the disparities in access to and quality of care. We must stop prioritizing the GNP, GDP, and shareholders' needs over the fundamental right all people in every other indutrialized nation currently have to healthcare. Let's join the ranks already.

And it's enough already with the government bureaucrat standing between you and your doctor bullshit defense of for-profit insurance. The imagery of people dying in emergency waiting rooms and while they wait for approval for a necessary procedure is real, it's just misplaced. It's happening now as insurance companies look for ways to beef up their bottom lines, no matter the human costs. These costs, after all, are just another number on a ledger. Who thinks the current system that places a profit-driven technocrat between you and your doctor is working well? Find a doctor or a person who is not wealthy that does and get back to me.

The time for compromise, appeasement, and comforting rhetoric is over. The time to pass sweeping changes to healthcare is now. We all have a part to play. Now, let's play it. It is vital that we contact the elected officials who have the power to force an end to this conciliatory bullshit and make the Congress and the President act in a significant way. There are already signs of waffling, so let's get to it. If we don't act now, we will have no one to blame but ourselves.