As Congress tinkers with the system, the broad outlines of the “reform” that some sections of corporate America want to approve are emerging: More money—all of it ultimately from the pockets of the people—will be funneled to private insurers to provide coverage for many (not all) of the uninsured, or continued corporate subsidies. If any public insurance option is allowed, it will play the role of absorbing the sickest (most expensive) patients and those who can’t pay for insurance, thus helping guarantee the profits of the private insurers and the rest of the health industry.
We will be made to pay for a bigger private insurance industry—and guarantee its profits—and we will get no guarantee of getting quality health care.
The corporations that run our country are pushing for this “reform.” Why? The system is too expensive, and the cost is cutting into their profits at a time when profits are falling. They want the government to absorb the cost of care for the poorest and sickest. They want to restructure the health industry to cut its costs and boost its profitability. They are trying to “reform” the system in their interest, which means maintaining private property and corporate profits. As the corporations tighten their grip on society, they want to be certain that health care restructuring translates into government by and for the corporations at the expense of the people.
Despite this corporate push a fight is brewing. It is being expressed in single payer bills, such as HR 676, HR 3200, and other legislative proposals to secure single payer or Medicare for all within the states. Tireless efforts have resulted in the more comprehensive bill, HR 676, being scheduled for a hearing in Congress. While this represents a type of victory for the people, the health industry has been successful in fostering confusion about single payer. The specter of “government interfering in your health care” has been used to frighten people into favoring private coverage. But there is no private coverage if you have no job. And more and more employers are either not providing insurance for workers, or are jacking the price up and cutting benefits every year. Indeed, GM recently ended vision and dental to all their retirees.
Images from the health care struggle reflect how our country is polarizing as the system crumbles. Some people—fearful of any change, even though their own access to care could be gone tomorrow—have flocked to the recent public hearings to denounce “government-run health care.” Meanwhile, 2,000 people showed up desperately seeking services on the first day of a free medical clinic in Inglewood, Calif. In California alone, 2,190 people lose their coverage every day. For the insured, annual premiums are expected to hit $22,660 in a few years.
Workers need guaranteed care, not more insurance. The place to start is single payer. Over the longer term, the next big step is to nationalize health care.
The British example shows what can be done. Great Britain guarantees all its citizens coverage, paid for by taxes and delivered by doctors employed by the health care system. According to the World Health Organization, the United Kingdom spends 6% of its economy on health care and ranks 18th out of 191 countries in health system performance. The United States spends 16% of its economy on health care, but we rank 37th in performance.
Revolutionaries need to fight for the simple proposition that good health care is a human right, not a commodity to be sold for private profit.
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