In case you haven’t seen this, tell me, have you seen a bigger prick than Max Baucus? This guy calls himself a Democrat.
I think what burns me the most about this is the contemptuous laughter directed at the activists and then Baucus’ patronizing speech on how much he ‘respects’ their views. What an ass.
So, he “respects” the views of those of us who want Single Payer Health Care, eh? Just not enough to spare one of the fifteen seats at the table for a Single Payer advocate. Plenty of private insurers there, though!
Fax the Senate Finance Committee to demand that Single Payer advocates be given a seat at the table to “reform” health care.
And before someone comes here and starts screaming about “government run health care” here is what Single Payer Health Care is:
Single-payer national health insurance is a system in which a single public or quasi-public agency organizes health financing, but delivery of care remains largely private.
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The reason we spend more and get less than the rest of the world is because we have a patchwork system of for-profit payers. Private insurers necessarily waste health dollars on things that have nothing to do with care: overhead, underwriting, billing, sales and marketing departments as well as huge profits and exorbitant executive pay. Doctors and hospitals must maintain costly administrative staffs to deal with the bureaucracy. Combined, this needless administration consumes one-third (31 percent) of Americans’ health dollars.
Single-payer financing is the only way to recapture this wasted money. The potential savings on paperwork, more than $350 billion per year, are enough to provide comprehensive coverage to everyone without paying any more than we already do.
Under a single-payer system, all Americans would be covered for all medically necessary services, including: doctor, hospital, preventive, long-term care, mental health, reproductive health care, dental, vision, prescription drug and medical supply costs. Patients would regain free choice of doctor and hospital, and doctors would regain autonomy over patient care.
Physicians would be paid fee-for-service according to a negotiated formulary or receive salary from a hospital or nonprofit HMO / group practice. Hospitals would receive a global budget for operating expenses. Health facilities and expensive equipment purchases would be managed by regional health planning boards.
A single-payer system would be financed by eliminating private insurers and recapturing their administrative waste. Modest new taxes would replace premiums and out-of-pocket payments currently paid by individuals and business. Costs would be controlled through negotiated fees, global budgeting and bulk purchasing.
