676 OR QUIT!

Representative Weiner is guy behind HR 676. He's one of the last true Democrats.

If you want to know the economics behind his health reform plan, go here. Keep in mind that in Missouri (for example) the average health insurance premium is $12,925. Under Obama's putrid plan (which is not single-payer), folks in MO would still pay that amount to the insurance racketeers for Krappy Kare.

Ah, but under Weiner's HR 676 plan, you would pay much, much less. Yes, there's a tax increase. But it is very small and it targets the ultra-affluent. Always remember that you would no longer be handing the insurance companies a huge chunk of your earnings. Paying $0 to the racketeers sure beats paying $12,925 -- doesn't it?

So where is the revenue going to come from? Under 676, hospital bills are, in part, paid for by a tiny tax on stock and bond transactions -- so tiny that the traders won't even notice. Other countries started taxing trades ages ago, and their stock markets did not collapse. It's a long-overdue idea.

Savings will amount to $350 billion in the first year due to reduced administration and marketing costs, removal of for-profit interests, and bulk purchasing of drugs.

Single payer is not socialized medicine. Doctors and hospitals can remain in private practice. You can choose your own doctor or health care provider, without having an insurance company limit your choice. Providers will send claims to one national office using one accepted form, not the thousands of forms required by insurance companies today.

A reader has sent the following message to all of his friends and family:

Here is a chance to DO SOMETHING about health care. There are two different health care bills before congress - you can contact your congresspersons and tell them which of these 2 bills you want.

Me, I want single-payer health care. I want the same level of health coverage that congress gets, and that's single-payer health coverage. I do not want the health plan that's supported by the insurance industry and the big pharmaceutical corporations.

HR676 (House of Representatives bill #676) is the single-payer proposal. That's the one I think is best. It's the kind of coverage that the military gets, and the elderly get through medicare, and congress gets. It is national health insurance. Billing, advertising, overhead and profit margin costs would be eliminated.

HR3200 (House of Representatives bill #2300) is the health care "reform" proposal. This is the one that congress thinks you and I should have, but they have written an exclusion for themselves ... congress currently has single-payer and wants to keep it that way. They want us to have this lesser option (HR3200).

If you have a high speed (not dial-up) internet connection, please take 8 minutes to view this video from YouTube. It is an interview that sums up why HR676 is a good option for regular people like us. Click here to see the interview .... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz5hG8LqxTI

Here is a longer interview by public television journalist Bill Moyers ... http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/05222009/watch2.html

Half of bankruptcies are caused by a family medical catastrophe, and 75% of these bankruptcies are families that actually had health coverage! That's the insurance industry's ethics.

Plain & simple - national health insurance DOES NOT MEAN that all medical professionals work for the government; it means that they bill the government (like in Medicare).

You can use this link to find out who your representative & senators are, and you can use it to go directly to their government website and tell them what you want.
All you have to provide is your zip code - - - http://www.govtrack.us/congress/findyourreps.xpd

And here is the message being sent to the pols:

I believe that America needs universal health coverage. And, I believe that the insurance & pharmaceutical industries have demonstrated that the quality & quantity of healthcare is not in the interest of their bottom line.

This is why I urge you to support single-payer health care for all (HR676 or its senate equivalent).

And this is why I urge you to vote NO on the health care industry-sponsored health coverage "reform" act (HR3200 or its senate equivalent).

This issue is extremely important to me, and I will be paying close attention to your position and your vote on these two options.

You may want to go even stronger. Consider sending a message like this to your congressperson:

676 OR QUIT!

If you don't vote for HR 676, I'll vote for your opponent -- even if you're running against Jack the Ripper. In fact, I'll send money to Jack's campaign.

And let's get on Al Franken's ass to sponsor something like 676 in the Senate.

I'm not optimistic about our chances. You want optimism, find another blogger. But I do believe in trying.

The following gets good only about half-way through, when Weiner shows up:


Weiner's bit of political theater vis-a-vis Medicare drives home the same point I tried to make here.

By the way: Daily Kos still has nothing about 676 on its front page, where the big news is still birther blather. No single-payer news on TPM. No single-payer news on PuffHo. Some "progressives" they are!