Top Ten Reasons to Support a Public Option
I’ve become pretty political lately when it comes to Health Care Reform and the Public Option (you know my whole ‘personal story‘ and all). So much so, that I started a Facebook page for like-minded people. 
Anyhoo, one thing I’ve found (other than realizing why so many people don’t get political: angry friends= not fun) is that a lot of people don’t see the benefit to a Public Option. They think it will create higher taxes, that it will become “government run”, and so on. So, I’ve put together my top ten reasons why we should have a Public Option. I’ve even included references/links. They might not be in the order you would put them in, but hey, we can’t agree on everything.
Quick Edit: I’d like to add a quote from The Nation’s article: What Obama Should Be Saying About a Public Option:
“Obama can still get a public option. But he needs to understand that the public option is, itself, a compromise. It falls short of the “Medicare for All” model favored by serious reformers. As such, the president cannot compromise the compromise.”
Top Ten Reasons to Support a Public Option
10. We Love Other Public Options
Imagine what it would be like if we didn’t have these Public Options. If my house is burning down, I really don’t want to call 911 and have them make sure my fire station takes my HMO.
9. People Should Come Before Profits
The Health Industry spends over 6.2 million lobbying against the Public Option, and is known for rescinding insurance coverage of patients in order to get higher bonuses. That says a lot about where the private industry interests go when it comes to your health and wellbeing. Your health should not be someone else’s bottom line.
8. Help the Backbone of Our Economy
A Public Option would help small businesses by saving them thousands of dollars. It would also help contractors and freelancers, college students transitioning into the workplace, and those who recently lost their jobs (can anyone actually afford COBRA?).
7. It’s American!
Having as many choices as possible as well as creating competition is “American,” isn’t it? Well, 76% of Americans are asking for a choice between a public and private option. And to those who say it’s unfair competition, I hate to break it to you, but public universities have not killed private universities. Bring on the choices, bring on the competition!
6. Put the Breaks on Special Interests
A democratic government is supposed to be run “by the people, FOR the people”. Not “by the rich, for the private interests”. Get it together, Max Baucus. When you receive over 2 million from the health industry, it’s not hard to see why you’re on their side. Except you work for us—the public.
5. Put Our Money Where Our Families Are
This is NOT the issue to wave the “fiscally conservative” flag. Why can we spend near trillions of dollars on wars, but not even close to that on creating healthy American people? PLUS, Obama even says he won’t sign a bill that adds to our deficit! AND just because you think you’re being economically mindful (looking past the odd moment to be so), doesn’t mean that in the long run you’re actually making a fiscally conservative judgment (you’ll see at #2)
4. Longer, Healthier American Lives
The United States has a life expectancy below that of 41 other nations, and over 45,000 Americans die each year from lack of Health Insurance. A Public Option would give these people a fighting chance that would dramatically improve our ranking.
3. Move Into the 21st Century
Universal health care is available in all industrialized countries except ours. At the very LEAST we should have a Public Option!
2. Save our Economy
The majority of Americans who filed for bankruptcies in 2007 were due to medical costs… and of those people, 80% had Health Insurance. A Public Option will help bring down bankruptcies by lowering costs, creating competition, and in the long run save all Americans money (we won’t be paying for all those bankruptcies!).
And the Number 1 reason to support a Public Option…
1. It’s the Right Thing To Do
It’s a moral issue. We, as humans, should not decide who does or does not get help when they need it. Every person deserves health care. Apologies to those who are not Christian, but to quote Susan Brooks’ article: “Jesus was not about debating whether we should or should not heal the sick; Jesus went ahead and delivered health care directly to people who didn’t have any health care.”
(The Lord said) “’For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me. ‘ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. ‘” (Matthew 25:42-45 NIV)
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If you’re on the same page as me… come join No Compromise! Americans for the Public Option.
Barack Obama Responds to My Open Letter
Remember my Open Letter to Barack Obama? Well, he wrote me back. Seriously!
And although it’s a totally canned email (doesn’t the “Dear Friend” give it away?), and I’m sure thousands of other people receive the same one, I thought I’d share.
Dear Friend:
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I have heard from countless Americans struggling to afford health insurance and health professionals striving to provide care. I appreciate your perspective.
There is broad consensus among the American people on the need for affordable, high-quality health care. The rising cost of health care is the most pressing financial challenge for families and for our Nation, and controlling this cost is essential to bringing down the Federal deficits we inherited. We must end unfair insurance practices that leave millions of Americans without coverage, denying them access to care, and exposing them to extraordinary burdens. And we should ensure that all small business employees have access to affordable, high-quality health plans so that we can make our economy–and our small businesses- -more competitive. Now is the time to move forward, and I am working to get health insurance reform done this year.
Since I took office, we have done more to improve health care than we have in the previous decade. In February, I signed H.R. 2 to provide coverage for millions of children through the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and I signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to make key investments in computerized medical records and preventive services.
Still, more must be done to lower costs, expand coverage, and improve the quality of health care. My 2010 Budget makes a major down payment on health insurance reform by implementing efficiencies in government health care spending while improving the quality of care. To help fulfill the debt we owe to our service men and women, it includes the largest proposed single-year increase in veterans funding in 30 years. It expands health care coverage to an additional 500,000 veterans by 2013, implements technology that eases the transition from military care to veterans’ care, and enhances screening and treatment services for those suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury.
Looking forward, there are tough choices to be made, and I will seek to bring employers and workers, health care providers and patients, and Democrats and Republicans together to create a system that delivers better care and puts the Nation on a sustainable, long-term fiscal path. To learn more about my agenda or to share a personal story, please join me online at: www.healthreform.gov. For further information on health care and assistance that may be available to you, you may call 1-800-FEDINFO or visit: www.usa.gov.
I share the sense of urgency that millions of Americans have voiced. I watched as my ailing mother struggled with stacks of insurance forms in the last moments of her life. This is not who we are as a Nation; together, we will fix it.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
To be a part of our agenda for change, join us at www.WhiteHouse.gov