Did Obama snub Dean because Dean would NEVER cave to Zeke Emanuel's plan to PRIVATIZE MEDICARE? [View All]

[Faryn Balyncd]

Has anyone else started to feel a slightly sickening feeling regarding the health "summit", and what sort of "reform" may be in the making?





The man rumored as possible "Healthcare Czar" Zeke Emanuel, opposes Single Payer, and proposes a voucher system of mandated insurance which would "phase out" (i.e. PRIVATIZE) Medicare for future retirees.


Supporters of Single Payer Healthcare-for-All have been conspicuously NOT INVITED to the upcoming Health Summit.


A voucher system would transfer the problem of uncontrolled health costs from the federal government to individual Americans, who would be mandated to purchase one of the offered private policies. Not only would younger Americans not have the option to "buy in" to Medicare, but FUTURE RETIREES WOULD NOT HAVE THE OPTION OF MEDICARE. That is correct. Medicare would be PRIVATIZED. Whatever you want to call it, there would be NO PUBLIC OPTION.


Howard Dean has unequivocally stated that any healthcare "reform" will rise and fall on the basis of whether or not the public is allowed to opt in to Medicare. For Howard Dean, the preservation of the public option, which Zeke Emanuel's plan EXCLUDES, is essential:

"If Barack Obama’s bill gets changed to exclude the public entities, it is not health insurance reform…it rises and falls on whether the public is allowed to choose Medicare if they’re under 65 or not. If they are allowed to choose Medicare as an option, this bill will be real health care reform. If they’re not, we will be back fighting about it for another 20 years before somebody tries again."

- Howard Dean


http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/02/24/dean-public-option/

When drug companies were allowed to write the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (and obstruct the re-importation of American made drugs that were sold in Canada at a better price negotiated by the Canadian government), what, besides skyrocketing drug prices, did we get?

When Dick Cheney, Ken Lay, et al were allowed to make energy policy, what was the result?

When corporate welfare queens on Wall Street were allowed to design their own bailout, what, besides million dollar bonuses, did we get?

Was Howard Dean snubbed because he knows what is ahead for Americans if so-called healthcare "reform" is written by insurance, hospital, and pharmaceutical lobbyists?

Because he knows that prices for these private insurance plans will rapidly surpass any voucher? And that Americans forced to buy insurance will be in no position to negotiate fair prices with the insurance companies that were too powerful for even the head of HHS?





Would not a system of vouchers and mandated insurance be an insurance CEO's wet dream?





Is it possible that our Democratic administration may bring to pass what Bush & Cheney would NEVER have been able?


That a Democratic president & Congress may bring about not only Massachusetts-style mandated insurance, but the PRIVATIZATION of MEDICARE?


Is all this just a bad dream?


Is this really possible?






:kick: