April I. 2009
Page A4
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Medicare for All: Now is the Time
by
L eonard R odberg
President Barack Obama has
said repeatedly that he wants
"ideas that work." In spite of
this, leading D em ocrats are
w orking hard on plans for
health care reform that will fail.
These plans, pushed by Sen.
Max Baucus and others, seek to
extend coverage to everyone by
mandating the purchase of pri­
vate insurance, with perhaps an
option to buy into a public plan.
They would ease this purchase
through an "insu ran ce ex ­
change," while subsidizing pre­
miums for those with low in­
comes.
A dvo cates o f such plans
readily acknowledge some of the
key problems the country faces:
the large number of uninsured,
now approaching 50 million: the
high cost of health insurance,
with the average annual premium
for an employer-purchased fam­
ily policy now above $12,500,
fully one-fourth of the median
family income; and the continu­
ing rise in the cost of health care
itself, at two to three times the
rate of inflation.
Yet their proposed solution
- a multi-payer mix of private
and public plans - won’t get us
the health care we need.
Here’s why: Mandates can­
not possibly assure that every­
one is covered. A recent report
by the Congressional Budget
Office shows that no existing
government mandate, whether
to purchase auto insurance,
pay income taxes or immunize
children, achieves more than 85
percent success.
In Massachusetts, where a
state mandate supposedly de­
livers “universal” health care,
many thousands remain unin­
sured. And more than a third of
those with insurance are avoid­
ing treatment because of the
co st. In su ra n c e co -p ay s,
deductibles, and limits on cov­
erage still keep them from the
care they need.
M ulti-payer financing sys­
tems involve high marketing and
adm in istrativ e costs. These
and hospitals.
Moreover, such incremental
reforms would do nothing to
help the growing number of
A m erican s
w ho
are
underinsured. Recent studies
show that 40 percent or more of
us, including those with insur­
ance, are having difficulties
paying our medical bills.
Yet most leading Democrats
would have us cling to our fail­
ing private health insurance
system. "You can keep what
you have” is the mantra, ignor­
ing that “what we have” is con­
tinually deteriorating or, in the
current econom ic downturn,
even disappearing.
The bottom line: these piece­
these measures are as likely to meal health proposals don't re­
increase costs as to reduce them. ally reform the system; they just
Others point to the Federal add to it. They will not work.
Employees Health Benefit Pro­ As long as our nation contin­
gram as a model, but this pro­ ues to rely on a private multi­
gram is merely a menu of pri­ payer insurance system, uni­
vate insurance plans. Federal versal c o v erag e w ill be
em p lo y e e s w ho get sick unachievable and costs will re­
enough to use their plans face main uncontrollable.
In contrast, a unified plan
huge co-pays in even the best
plan, often leaving them owing modeled on our successful ex­
thousands of dollars to doctors perience with Medicare would
the necessary budgeting and
planning tools needed to save
w asteful expenditures pres­ money over the long haul.
Some D em ocrats tout the
ently consume nearly one-third
of every U.S. health care dollar. cost-saving potential of better
Baucus’ plan would do noth­ medical information technology
ing to cure this problem, and and b etter m anagem ent of
would likely worsen it because chronic illness. But the Congres­
of its added complexity. In fact. sional Budget Office finds that
Single payer gets us the health care we need
A unified plan modeled on
our successful experience with
Medicare would effectively
address our problems, including
containing costs.
advocates of this approach ac­
knowledge it will cost us addi­
tional tens of billions more than
what we spend now.
Multi-payer systems are un­
able to control costs. The only
way to assure cost containment
is to adopt a unified financing
mechanism that has the lever­
age to negotiate lower prices
(with the pharmaceutical com­
panies, for example) and provide
effectively address our prob­
lem s, including containing
costs. It would automatically
enroll everyone. Patients would
go to the doctor or hospital of
their choice. The administrative
cost savings of a single-payer
system would amount to over
$350 billion annually, enough to
cover all the uninsured and to
e lim in a te all co -p ay s and
deductibles. Everyone would
be guaranteed the same high-
quality care. Polls show that
such an approach - an im ­
proved and expanded Medi-
care-for-All - has majority sup­
port, including among physi­
cians. But Sen. Baucus and oth­
ers dismiss such talk, saying
the time's not right.
President Obama should in­
sist that single payer be on the
table. Our nation deserves noth­
ing less.
Leonard Rodberg is chair­
man o f urban studies at Queens
College, City University o f New
York, and research director o f
the N. Y. Metro chapter o f Phy­
sicians fo r a National Health
Program.
Progressives Must Seize the Moment Participating
strong that Bill Clinton gov­
erned as a centrist who em ­
braced some of the Republi­
cans' flagship initiatives, e.g.,
downsizing government, end­
ing "welfare as we know it" and
lobbying for the passage of the
North A m erican Free Trade
Agreement.
The march to rightwing su­
prem acy was consum m ated
with the seizure of power by
George W. Bush in the Hawed
2(XM) election - ushering in one
of the most reckless, corrupt,
greed driven and dangerous
eras in American history.
Consequently, in my mind,
on labor w hile unabashedly there was no doubt that defeat­
advocating economic policies ing the forces of the right was
to benefit corporations anil the an absolute imperative in the
wealthy. He launched a fero­ 2008 election. The first order of
cious attack on affirmative ac­ business was to stop the dam­
tion and race based remedies age and c reate space for
and began the process of un­ progressives to maneuver.
That an African American
dermining the culture of rights
by ripping huge holes in the named Barack Obama was cap­
turing the imagination of the
social safety net.
The rise to hegemony of the nation and the world with his
right gained momentum in 1994 pledge to bring "Change" we
when Republicans took control could believe in was all the more
of both Houses of Congress. promising. However, we should
T he rig h tw a rd tide w as so never have had any illusions
that Obama was committed to
or could by himself have the
capacity to foster the kind of
major reforms and fundamental
change p ro g ressiv es would
envision for a new America.
This is not to say that what
An ongoing senes of questions and answers about America's natural healing profession
President Obama is doing is in­
Dr. Billy R. Flowers
significant. The policy recom­
m endations he is advancing
mark a decided shift from the
catastrophic policies o f the
Reagan-Bush era.
f \ : My shoulders hurt so to doctor seeking relief, being caused the injury. You see,
At a time when the Republi­
bad at times, I can hardly told they have bursitis at one the cause was there long be­
cans, with their mascot "Joe the
sleep. What can Chiropractic office, tenosynovitis at another fore the pain itself. By treat­
Plumber." are accusing Presi­
do for me that no one else has and so on until they return home ing the cause, we not only
dent Obama of leading the na­
confused, frustrated and still in relieve the pain, d o n 't suffer
been able to?
tion down the path to Social­
A : Shoulder pain ism with agony. As Chiropractors, we through another sleepless
ism or the "Europeanization" of
j out question, one of the are concerned about nerve night. Call for an appointment
America, progressives should
most debilitating types of pain flow to the various parts of the to find out how Chiropractic
be seizing the opportunity cre­
we encounter. Because the body. O f course, we look to can eliminate the cause of the
ated by the greatest crisis since
shoulder is so intricately re­ see if a bursal sac has been problem once and for all. Or
the Great Depression to edu­
lated to the spine, virtually any traum atized or if a tendon has feel free to call us if you have
cate the American people about
movement can be excruciat­ been injured. But more im por­ any questions w hatsoever
the urgent need for far ranging
ing. Itisnot at all uncommon to tantly, we look to see what about your health.
and fundamental change.
see cases like yours where pa­
But, p ro g re ssiv e s seem
tients' hurt so bad, they can­
locked in a mode of critiquing
not even get a decent night’s 2124N.E. Hancock Street, Portland Oregon 97212
and refining Obama's incremen­
sleep. To Complicate matters,
tal agenda. This may be due to
Phone: (503) 287-5504
many patients go from doctor
the utter relief of being rid of
the horrific years under George
W. Bush. However, relief from
Portland Observer welcomes freelance sub­
Cl" TJortlanb (Pbscrucr Established 1970 The
missions. Manuscripts and photographs should be
Bush is not enough. Now is the
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time
for the progressive move­
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perfect union. If we fail to act,
purchased the composition o f such ad. O 21 MW
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A m ericans and W hite men
without property excluded from
the franchise. The fate of the
infant nation was placed in
the hands of W hite men
by D r . R on D aniels
with property.
As the Obama presi­
The genius of the Con­
dency u n fo ld s, the
stitution,
however, is its
question is whether the
"elasticity."
Through social
progressive movement
is prepared to seize the oppor­ and political movements, it can
tunity presented by this remark­ be stretched or constricted to
able moment in history.
In my view, the major theme
of America's history is the per­
petual struggle to define the
ultimate nature of "a more per­
fect union." When George W.
Bush proudly proclaimed him­
self a "strict constructionist" include or exclude constituen­
during his campaign for Presi­ cies and categories of rights
dent in 2000, he was associat­ based on how it is interpreted.
Historically, arrayed against
ing himself with a political ten­
dency within the conservative the strict constructionists has
movement that has sought to been liberal-left-progressive
narrowly and literally interpret movements which have sought
the Constitution in ways that to stretch the Constitution to in­
would restrict democracy to clude those initially locked out
White men with property, power and to expand civil liberties, civil
and social rights in the quest to
and privilege.
Indeed, the system which achieve a "more perfect union."
With the election of Ronald
was birthed in 1787 was essen­
tially "democracy for the few," Reagan, a strict construction­
with women, Blacks, Native ist, we witnessed the opening
The Obama
presidency
salvo in the strategic effort by
the conservatives to turn back
the clock, to reverse the mini­
mal gains achieved by liberal-
left-progressive forces as a re­
sult o f g enerations o f hard
fought, often bloody struggles.
With the firing of members of
the Professional A ir Traffic
C o n tro lle rs
A sso ciatio n ,
Reagan declared outright war
Now is the time for the
progressive movement to boldly
articulate its vision.
____________ THE_____________
SPINACOLUMN
Part 13. Shoulder Pain: Why many people
cannot, and should not, take it lying down.
Flowers' Chiropractic Office
t
in Democracy
Early voting
makes sense
by K athryn
K olbert
T h ro u g h o u t last
year's primary and gen­
eral elections, we dis­
covered that the Ameri­
can people were ener­
gized and eager to participate
in our democracy as never
before. Despite the fact that
some of the problems plagu­
ing our elections in 2(XM) and
2004 haven't been entirely ad­
dressed, there was record
turnout across the country
and a relatively smooth elec­
tion process.
Much of that success can
be attributed to the popular­
ity o f early voting: Figures
show one in four voters cast
their ballots before Election
Day, and that made a differ­
ence to everyone. Plainly,
more states should open up
early access to the ballot box.
tribution of voting machines
caused lines that were 12
hours long in some places.
Four years later, many of those
same voters waited just
a fraction of that time.
Thanks to the newly-
instituted early voting
process, tens of thou­
sands of voters were
able to cast a ballot before the
polls even opened, spreading
out a similar number of vot­
ers over a much longer period
of time.
Early voting makes the pro­
cess more accessible, espe­
cially for crucial constituen­
cies that often have the most
difficult time getting their
votes counted. On average,
minorities-particularly Afri­
can A m ericans-take advan­
tage of early voting at higher
rates than others do. In Geor­
gia, in 2008, almost 60 percent
of African-Americans voted
early, while around 50 percent
of white voters did the same.
Plainly, more states should
open up early access to the
ballot box.
These measures encourage
wider voter participation and
help m itigate barriers that
have marred recent elections:
long lines at the polls, purges
o f e lig ib le voters, poorly
trained poll w orkers, d is­
counted provisional ballots,
and rules and regulations de­
signed to make it hard for
people to register and to vote.
Millions of Americans are
d ise n fra n c h ise d at every
stage o f the process: from
registering to vote, to casting
their ballots, to having those
votes accurately counted.
But early voting is a straight­
fo rw ard w ay to sid e ste p
many of those obstacles.
For instance, if a voter's eli­
gibility is challenged at a poll­
ing place, there's little time for
effective recourse, and for
that reason challenges have
becom e a popular tool for
th o se w ho w ant to drive
down participation. But if a
voter is challenged while at­
tempting to vote early, that
voter has the opportunity to
fix the problem well before
Election Day.
Just as importantly, early
voting can reduce long lines.
In 2004 in Ohio, unequal dis­
T hat pattern holds true
across all age groups, in
Florida, 34 percent of African
American 18-year-olds voted
early compared to only 15
percent of white 18-year-olds,
and a whopping 45 percent of
African American voters age
60 to 65 voted early compared
with only 25 percent of white
voters of the same age.
It should be unthinkable
that our elected leaders would
permit another national elec­
tion to be marred by voting
irregularities that call into
question its very integrity.
Nonetheless, some politicians
are still attempting to block
thorough reform. Although
there are many voting rights
reforms to consider, early vot­
ing is one initiative we can all
agree upon that can make a
big difference.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
many times used the phrase,
"The urgency of now." We
need badly early voting, a
common sense reform to en­
sure that the most votes will
be cast and counted. Such
reform is within our grasp.
Kathryn Kolbert is presi­
dent o f People fo r the Ameri­
can Way.