The Health Care Debate And The Archimedes Movement

An activist from the Archimedes Movement recently wrote the following. Whether she is speaking for herself or for the Movement doesn't matter (and isn't clear). The health care debate continues to be polarizing--which only means that some people want us to have healthcare and some corporate and political forces don't. Every social question worth taking up becomes polarizing at some point and we shouldn't be afraid of that. The question is how to win and hold the people who vote and who have been either left out of the debate or who have been deliberately scared and confused by the right. One test of the Democrats is whether or not we get real healthcare reform. That fight isn't over. The bigger test, I think, is whether or not the Democrats can organize and fight against the right in 2010 by building upon the pro-healthcare majority we have at the grassroots and in the workplaces. I like these powerful words:

Here's what I know. We have not worked all these years on health reform in order for Congress to pass a bill mandating that Americans must buy health insurance from a private company, regardless of whether it is for-profit or not-for-profit. If this is the primary focus of reform legislation, this is not acceptable. We want legislation that is going to lead us to improved health, lower the overall cost and improve the patient's experience as they interact with the system.

This debate has been whittled down until it's hard to recognize where we are in terms of progress, much less where we are going. How did the debate end up being about an individual mandate to purchase private insurance? Or, was that the intended question all along? And I can only imagine that there are vested stakeholders out there who are chuckling at what they will gain if these proposals actually get enacted as legislation. This is the health insurance version of the Medicare Part D boondoggle - the industry gets a lot of people who are required to participate, and American taxpayers will foot the bill.

I will not be cornered when someone asks me if I will settle for reform without a public insurance option. That is 100% the wrong question and I hope you'll join me in letting Congress know that they themselves have been cornered into solving the wrong problem.