Doctors risking arrest for Single Payer

[catmando]

These men are heroes for healthcare;

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/10/28-3

Doctors Risking Arrest for Healthcare for All, Challenge System That Makes Them Complicit

by Kevin Gosztola

At least three doctors will be risking arrest in civil disobedience actions during Mobilization for Healthcare for All's third wave of actions this week, which are being held to demand an end to insurance abuse and to demand real health care reform for all.

Ken Weinberg, who will be risking arrest at the Wellpoint Offices in New York City, says it dawned on him that this is a moral issue, he needs to be out there, and he is risking arrest because he doesn't know what else to do. "I've met with my senators and congressman and nothing works," says Weinberg. "I think what really pushed me over was the new study that came out from Harvard that showed that 45,000 people die each year because they don't have health insurance and that to me is criminal."

Weinberg adds, "Our elected representatives are so in the pockets of the insurance companies that they're not doing anything. They're not responsive to the American people. So, this is a wake up call to them as well. "

Matt Hendrickson, who will be risking arrest at the Cigna Offices in Glendale near downtown Los Angeles, says he's "inspired by the people that have already gotten arrested in the last three weeks."

"They're just as angry as I am by how the private insurance industry is ruining our healthcare system," says Hendrickson.

Additionally, Hendrickson cites the fact that 50 percent of his patients either have no insurance or they are underinsured, being a self-employed doctor whose premiums are going up 15% a year, and previous human rights movements (civil rights, anti-war, self-determination, etc) as reasons for being willing to risk arrest.

Margaret Flowers, who will be risking arrest at Carefirst Blue Cross/Blue Shield in Baltimore, Maryland on Thursday, explains that as the Senate Finance Committee hearing started hearings on health care single-payer advocates were excluded. This really showed Flowers that America's democratic process was not in tact and functioning.

She explains at the first meeting "there were 41 people that testified. They had AHIP, Pharma, and Big Business " but nobody was there "that really represented the health providers and the patient's point of view." And, there definitely was no person advocating for a national health care program. So, at the second Finance Committee hearing on May 5th, she and other single payer advocates showed up at the hearing to ask why their voices weren't being included in the debate.

Since the spring, there has been an effort to discount and outright ignore the single-payer action movement that has been carrying out several campaigns to push back against anti-health care reform agendas and improve any reform that may funnel or divert money into the hands of insurance companies for profits instead of patient care.

Despite snubs from Democrats and Obama, the single-payer action movement has momentum and is why the public option is being considered. "The reason why the public option was introduced, according to congress people that have spoken to the single-payer movement, was because of the single-payer movement," says Hendrickson. "There was such an upswell [by progressives] for single-payer that [leaders] opted for some compromise that would not have been given if there wasn't so much support for single-payer."

So, why are progressives settling for incremental change? Why are they settling for a public option that has proven to be a failure in states like Tennessee, Oregon, and Massachusetts?

With the public option now being outfitted with an opt-out provision, with leaders doing everything they can to make sure the option will fail to compete with insurance companies, and with Sen. Joe Lieberman publicly declaring that he has no problem with obstructing a vote on health care on behalf of for-profit insurers, isn't it time to up the ante?

And isn't it time for more doctors and nurses to come out of the woodwork for real healthcare reform?

"We swore an oath when we finished our medical school and part of that was to practice our professional dignity and honor and to keep the health of our patients first and foremost," says Flowers. "So, how can we continue to be silent in the face of a private insurance market-based model of healthcare which is literally killing our patients?"

"We're all complicit in this. We're forced to be complicit," says Weinberg. "What we want is patient care. We want the best possible patient care for people and we are constantly having to play games to skirt around what the insurance companies are forcing us to do."

Or, as Hendrickson so eloquently puts it:

"It is a personal decision and everybody knows when it's the right time to make that sacrifice. Doctors do have an enormous moral authority in our society. And when you see physicians that advocate for a status quo approach that the American Medical Association has basically pushed, it really hurts our image as physicians.

We as physicians have a noble duty to care for our patients. And to be given an opportunity to make a relatively small sacrifice ---spend a few hours, maybe a night in jail--- in exchange for bringing this issue of the private insurance industry and how much harm they're doing to medicine [to the forefront]--- I think it's a phenomenal opportunity.

And, Hendrickson hopes the physicians getting arrested tomorrow and others planning to be arrested in the next wave in November will give "more confidence, more motivation, more inspiration to follow suit because so many of us know how badly the insurance industry is harming our ability to practice medicine."

Flowers is a pediatrician and mother who quit her practice a few years ago to educate legislators, colleagues, and others on real healthcare reform.

Weinberg is an emergency care physician who has been practicing for twenty-five years and who has been advocating for single-payer for fifteen years.

Hendrickson is a self-employed doctor.

Each of these doctors will be participating in actions, which will occur Wednesday, October 28th or Thursday, October 29th.

MobilizeforHealthcare.org will post updates on the actions as they are received.

Kevin Gosztola is a trusted author who publishes his writing regularly to OpEdNews and Open Salon and he is a 2009 Young People For Fellow. He is a documentary filmmaker currently completing a Film/Video degree at Columbia College in Chicago. Currently, he is working on a documentary project on Renaissance 2010 and Chicago Public Schools.

[leafs43]

CommonDreams.org, "Join the movement. For the greater good."


Umm no thanks hive mind.

[reyalp]

tl;dr.

[Stizzel]

Originally Posted by catmando

These men are heroes for healthcare;

Ctrl-C

Ctrl-V

wat

[SDMuscleBuddy]

Unfortunately, we could have a million health care practitioners protesting today, and it would all fall on deaf ears. Corporatists have staged a sit-in of their own, at the Capitol.

[againstall0dds]

Real martyrs

[GirthyCawk]

Props to the docs for fighting for what they believe in, but inherent in their stance is the belief that under single payer, those 45,000 (.015% of the population [not 1.5%, but .015%]; 15 per 100,000) will be taken care of without any drop in quality of care for the rest of the population. Doubtful.

Originally Posted by Dr.Martyr

I think what really pushed me over was the new study that came out from Harvard that showed that 45,000 people die each year because they don't have health insurance and that to me is criminal."

Not that I'm entirely against single payer in theory. But it pisses me off when people support legislation based purely on moral grounds, without consideration for whether or not it will actually work in reality (single payer, gun control, etc.). It's just a tough situation.

[Melkor]

More people die each year by doctor mistakes than by not having health care. I'm going to start risking arrest to make sure no one has health care so I can be a hero too.

mind = blown?

[thepointman]

Originally Posted by GirthyCawk

Props to the docs for fighting for what they believe in, but inherent in their stance is the belief that under single payer, those 45,000 (.015% of the population [not 1.5%, but .015%]; 15 per 100,000) will be taken care of without any drop in quality of care for the rest of the population. Doubtful.

So half a million people dying per decade is no big deal to you for no reason beyond not having health insurance? Christ, you are a sick person. Then I guess you REALLY don't give a **** about the troops that have died in the wars, since they only account for .0001% of the population per year.

[An hero]

Originally Posted by thepointman

So half a million people dying per decade is no big deal to you for no reason beyond not having health insurance? Christ, you are a sick person. Then I guess you REALLY don't give a **** about the troops that have died in the wars, since they only account for .0001% of the population per year.

I can't possibly see how you're red

[reyalp]

Originally Posted by thepointman

So half a million people dying per decade is no big deal to you for no reason beyond not having health insurance? Christ, you are a sick person. Then I guess you REALLY don't give a **** about the troops that have died in the wars, since they only account for .0001% of the population per year.

cite sources or GTFO

[Stizzel]

I put a ron paul sticker on my car, which means I'm at risk to be charged with terrorism. These doctors are just wanna be's. Risk giving up habeus corpus and then we'll talk.

[wow_strong_misc]

Originally Posted by catmando

\"I think what really pushed me over was the new study that came out from Harvard that showed that 45,000 people die each year because they don't have health insurance and that to me is criminal."

I heard on the radio that this statistic is completely BS, that the statistic merely took a survey on how many people did NOT have health care like 15 years ago, and then died in the following years for ANY reason.

Since my source is the radio I can't link to it, but maybe someone else heard similar.

[Large_Emu]

Originally Posted by catmando

45,000 people die each year because they don't have health insurance

How can americans look at this and still not suport the health care plan? Is it purely greed?

oh and in before obama hatters say the statistic is made up.

[thepointman]

Originally Posted by wow_strong_misc

I heard on the radio that this statistic is completely BS, that the statistic merely took a survey on how many people did NOT have health care like 15 years ago, and then died in the following years for ANY reason.

Since my source is the radio I can't link to it, but maybe someone else heard similar.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...100503798.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/lates.../idUSN07651650
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/...n3689315.shtml
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/opinion/30sat2.html

Preventable deaths from best to worst:

# France
# Japan
# Australia
# Spain
# Italy
# Canada
# Norway
# The Netherlands
# Sweden
# Greece
# Austria
# Germany
# Finland
# New Zealand
# Denmark
# U.K.
# Ireland
# Portugal
# U.S.

Now let's compare with the best health care systems:

1 France
2 Italy
7 Spain
10 Japan
11 Norway
12 Portugal
14 Greece
15 Iceland
16 Luxembourg
17 Netherlands
18 United Kingdom
19 Ireland
20 Switzerland
21 Belgium
23 Sweden
25 Germany
30 Canada
31 Finland
32 Australia
34 Denmark
37 United States of America

Hrm... curious correlation, no?

[14kRPM]

I think it's admirable that these doctors feel they have a debt to pay to society.
Too bad they intend to pay that debt with other people's money.

[reyalp]

Originally Posted by thepointman

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...100503798.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/lates.../idUSN07651650
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/...n3689315.shtml
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/opinion/30sat2.html

Preventable deaths from best to worst:

# France
# Japan
# Australia
# Spain
# Italy
# Canada
# Norway
# The Netherlands
# Sweden
# Greece
# Austria
# Germany
# Finland
# New Zealand
# Denmark
# U.K.
# Ireland
# Portugal
# U.S.

Now let's compare with the best health care systems:

1 France
2 Italy
7 Spain
10 Japan
11 Norway
12 Portugal
14 Greece
15 Iceland
16 Luxembourg
17 Netherlands
18 United Kingdom
19 Ireland
20 Switzerland
21 Belgium
23 Sweden
25 Germany
30 Canada
31 Finland
32 Australia
34 Denmark
37 United States of America

Hrm... curious correlation, no?

You need to learn how to cite sources

http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi...tract/27/1/58/

1,2,7
thepointman can count!

[Stizzel]

Originally Posted by Large_Emu

How can americans look at this and still not suport the health care plan? Is it purely greed?

oh and in before obama hatters say the statistic is made up.

If the people without health care deserved that health care, they would be able to pay for it.

Sorry reality sucks brah, but its time to grow up.

[thepointman]

Originally Posted by reyalp

You need to learn how to cite sources

http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi...tract/27/1/58/

1,2,7
thepointman can count!

I took out the irrelevant ones so as not to confuse and distract anyone. I thought that was obvious, but then again I forgot I was targeting my argument towards conservatives.

[reyalp]

Originally Posted by thepointman

I took out the irrelevant ones so as not to confuse and distract anyone. I thought that was obvious, but then again I forgot I was targeting my argument towards conservatives.

Cool ad hom bro. Go ahead and cite your health rankings.

[GrokTheCube]

Another thing I'll add to that list...

Most of those countries spend less than us per person on healthcare...

[psamty]

I support UHC brahs. But it has to come at a price to those who are the recipients. No more drinking soda and twinkies.

[catmando]

Originally Posted by Stizzel

If the people without health care deserved that health care, they would be able to pay for it.

Sorry reality sucks brah, but its time to grow up.

There you go, the perfect Republican, Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman screed; I can pay for mine, if you can't pay for yours, die quickly. Alan Grayson was right.

[MindFree]

Originally Posted by leafs43

CommonDreams.org, "Join the movement. For the greater good."


Umm no thanks hive mind.

Originally Posted by catmando

There you go, the perfect Republican, Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman screed; I can pay for mine, if you can't pay for yours, die quickly. Alan Grayson was right.

Bzzzt bzzzt *click click* *tsts*

for the good of our colony!

*click click click* *bzzzt* *click*

[OatsandSteak]

Well, this is pretty insightful, not to sure what to say about it.

[reyalp]

Originally Posted by catmando

There you go, the perfect Republican, Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman screed; I can pay for mine, if you can't pay for yours, die quickly. Alan Grayson was right.

In before universal food access.

[Bushmaster]

Originally Posted by reyalp

In before universal food access.

And universal housing..

[reyalp]

Originally Posted by Bushmaster

And universal housing..

and I already proposed Universal Gun Access earlier

This is fun

[Bushmaster]

Originally Posted by reyalp

and I already proposed Universal Gun Access earlier

This is fun

Nice.

How about universal transportation? Mine car is getting close to 100k miles on it...

[jackal337]

Originally Posted by Bushmaster

Nice.

How about universal transportation? Mine car is getting close to 100k miles on it...

Let us not forget universal utilities, universal education, and universal employment.

Hell we almost have those things already in that utilities are subsidized, we have universal (and compulsory) primary and secondary school, and if you want a job the military will always be there.

Not saying I'm necessarily for or against any of these things by the way.