President Obama said last week:
“Now, the truth is that, unless you have a — what’s called a single-payer system, in which everybody is automatically covered, then you’re probably not going to reach every single individual because there’s always going to be somebody out there who thinks they’re indestructible and doesn’t want to get health care, doesn’t bother getting health care, and then, unfortunately, when they get hit by a bus, end up in the emergency room and the rest of us have to pay for it.”
Another name for “what’s called a single-payer system” would be: healthcare as a human right, not a commodity to be purchased. Many humans have this right. They just aren’t Americans.
Obama’s mention of single-payer, in passing, as something that would be better than anything else, but something that mysteriously lies out of reach, is typical of the very few mentions of single-payer healthcare in the U.S. corporate media.
I just did some searches in the Lexis-Nexis databases of major U.S. and world publications, news wire services, and TV and radio broadcast transcripts. Searching for “healthcare” in July 2009 found over 1,000 documents, the maximum number that Lexis-Nexis will display.
In fact, searching just the past two days found over 1,000 documents. Another search confirmed that this is “Michael Jackson” level coverage.
And another search confirmed that virtually none of these documents mentioned single-payer at all, much less told anyone what it was. A search for documents later than July 1 containing single-payer OR “single payer” turned up only 197 documents.
Americans have consistently told pollsters for decades that they want single-payer. But America’s government refuses to provide it, and therefore America’s state media refuses to discuss it.
Of the 197 records of the media mentioning single-payer in July, almost half were congressional records or press releases or otherwise not media reports at all. Others were articles in medical trade publications.
Even so, those articles tended to mention single-payer very briefly and dismiss it — in the unfortunate phrase used by Kaiser Health News — as “dead on arrival.” Several others were transcripts of unidentified local shows that mentioned the word in passing. Others were blurbs in local newspapers announcing events. And several were reports and columns in British and Canadian newspapers.
The Canadians, by the way, seem to be under the impression that President Obama is seeking to create single-payer healthcare. Several more documents — by far the best and most extensive U.S. coverage of single-payer — consisted of letters to the editor.
A Boston Globe editorial mentions single-payer in a list but says nothing about it. A four-sentence Associated Press report on an event mentions the word. A Washington Post column by Dana Milbank attempts to mock all humanity and somehow mentions single-payer in the process.
Several articles report on town hall forums at which people have asked President Obama why he doesn’t support single-payer. The Washington Times complained that such questions were permitted.
The Washington Post praised Obama for appearing ready for such a question and answering it “calmly.” No word on whether his answer made any sense or not.
There’s a report of an event at which the Secretary of Health and Human Services opposed single-payer. There are several reports of a press conference held by the White House Press Secretary at which someone apparently shouted out “single payer” for a laugh and got it.
There are a number of reports and transcripts that attack single-payer without explaining what it is.
Most of them attack the so-called “public option” as leading to single-payer. That is to say, the media is afraid that people will overwhelmingly prefer precisely what the media opposes, and the media opposes it precisely because people would prefer it. The public option could only lead to single-payer if everyone decided they preferred it to the high costs and poor health provided by the for-profit insurers.
The reports taking this approach include a CNBC interview in which the host makes this claim; a Washington Times column by Sen. Judd Gregg, R-New Hampshire; an Associated Press story quoting Sen. Gregg; a transcript of the Ed Schultz Show on which another Republican senator made the same claim; another MSNBC transcript with Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa; a Copley News column by Phyllis Schlafly; a Fox News interview by Sean Hannity of Louisiana’s Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal; a Fox News transcript with Rep. John Fleming, R-Louisiana; and a transcript of Chris Matthews interviewing Sen. Orin Hatch, R-Utah.
Other transcripts attack single-payer more directly, if no more substantively. Two of these are from Fox News. One is from CNN. Two are from Bloomberg TV.
There’s a short New York Times interview of Howard Dean opposing single-payer. (Dean favors a strong public option, while arguing that single-payer would infringe on the American desire for “choice”).
There’s an NPR Morning Edition transcript of Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-New York, saying he’d like single-payer but that it’s “off the table.”
There’s an NPR “Talk of the Nation” transcript that briefly mentions single-payer. There’s an NPR “Fresh Air” transcript in which Terry Gross asks a guest whether he would really prefer single-payer and the guest says “Yes, but . …”
There’s a four-sentence editorial by the Boston Globe explaining that “Harry and Louise” advertisements are false because single-payer is not under consideration. There’s a Washington Times article suggesting that Obama might move away from single-payer. Never mind that Obama has not supported it for years.
There’s a Toronto Star report on Wal-Mart’s proposal to solve the U.S. healthcare crisis. There’s a Copley News column complaining that the “Bill Moyers’ Journal” on PBS has covered single-payer.
There’s a Washington Post column by Harold Meyerson complaining, in passing, that citizens will not create a movement for single-payer, even though it was that movement that put single-payer on Bill Moyers’s program.
There are five transcripts from the Ed Schultz Show, some of them treating single-payer honestly, including an interview of Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio. There are interviews of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, by Fox News as well as Ed Schultz.
And there are reports in print. One article from McClatchy reports on a poll finding that Canadians prefer their system. A lengthy St. Petersburg Times article compares the U.S. and Canadian systems, making Canada appear the winner.
One Boston Globe column by Jonathan Cohn supports single-payer. And a short op-ed, accompanied by two opposing op-eds, in the Los Angeles Times, was written by a Brit who wants to know what in the world is wrong with single-payer. He won’t find an answer in the U.S. media, which is barely even willing to explain what single-payer is.
But an excerpt from a recent Washington Post article that did not mention single-payer may help make clear where our government and our government media are coming from:
“Private insurers have effectively engaged in rationing, so they’re doing the dirty work for everybody else,” said Jeff D. Emerson, a former health plan chief executive. “It’s a thankless job . . . but somebody has to do it or health care will be even more expensive than it is now.”
Private insurers might be better situated than the government to do the unpopular work of saying no, said Paul B. Ginsburg, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change, because they are less susceptible to political pressure.
There you have it. For-profit companies best serve the public interest precisely because they are not subject to public control.
Why? Because the public wants what is worst for the public. And how does the Washington Post know this? It has dinner with all the right people, and charges them for the privilege.
By the way, a similar search in Lexis-Nexis’ blogs database turned up another 139 reports, with much more substance and honesty. And most blogs are not included in the search engine.
David Swanson is the founder of AfterDowningStreet.org and the author of the upcoming book “Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union” by Seven Stories Press. You can pre-order it for a discount price here.
LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET OUT OF THE WAY. (Thomas Paine)
We have the 37th worst quality of healthcare in the developed world. Conservative estimates are that over 120,000 of you dies each year in America from treatable illness that people in other developed countries don’t die from. Rich, middle class, and poor a like. Insured and uninsured. Men, women, children, and babies. This is what being 37th in quality of healthcare means.
I know that many of you are angry and frustrated that REPUBLICANS! In congress are dragging their feet and trying to block TRUE healthcare reform. What republicans want is just a taxpayer bailout of the DISGRACEFUL GREED DRIVEN PRIVATE FOR PROFIT health insurance industry, and the DISGRACEFUL GREED DRIVEN PRIVATE FOR PROFIT healthcare industry. A trillion dollar taxpayer funded private health insurance bailout is all you really get without a robust government-run public option available on day one.
YOU CANT HAVE AN INSURANCE MANDATE WITHOUT A ROBUST PUBLIC OPTION. MANDATING PRIVATE FOR PROFIT HEALTH INSURANCE AS YOUR ONLY CHOICE WOULD BE UNETHICAL, CORRUPT, AND MORALLY REPUGNANT. AND PROBABLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL AS WELL.
These industries have been slaughtering you and your loved ones like cattle for decades for profit. Including members of congress and their families. These REPUBLICANS are FOOLS!
Republicans and their traitorous allies have been trying to make it look like it’s President Obama’s fault for the delays, and foot dragging. But I think you all know better than that. President Obama inherited one of the worst government catastrophes in American history from these REPUBLICANS! And President Obama has done a brilliant job of turning things around, and working his heart out for all of us.
But Republicans think you are just a bunch of stupid, idiot, cash cows with short memories. Just like they did under the Bush administration when they helped Bush and Cheney rape America and the rest of the World.
But you don’t have to put up with that. And this is what you can do. The Republicans below will be up for reelection on November 2, 2010. Just a little over 13 months from now. And many of you will be able to vote early. So pick some names and tell their voters that their representatives (by name) are obstructing TRUE healthcare reform. And are sellouts to the insurance and medical lobbyist.
Ask them to contact their representatives and tell them that they are going to work to throw them out of office on November 2, 2010, if not before by impeachment, or recall elections. Doing this will give you something more to do to make things better in America. And it will help you feel better too.
There are many resources on the internet that can help you find people to call and contact. For example, many social networking sites can be searched by state, city, or University. Be inventive and creative. I can think of many ways to do this. But be nice. These are your neighbors. And most will want to help.
I know there are a few democrats that have been trying to obstruct TRUE healthcare reform too. But the main problem is the Bush Republicans. Removing them is the best thing tactically to do. On the other hand. If you can easily replace a democrat obstructionist with a supportive democrat, DO IT!
You have been AMAZING!!! my people. Don’t loose heart. You knew it wasn’t going to be easy saving the World. :-)
God Bless You
jacksmith — Working Class
I REST MY CASE (http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/why-markets-cant-cure-healthcare/)
Republican Senators up for re-election in 2010.
* Richard Shelby of Alabama
* Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
* John McCain of Arizona
* Mel Martinez of Florida
* Johnny Isakson of Georgia
* Mike Crapo of Idaho
* Chuck Grassley of Iowa
* Sam Brownback of Kansas
* Jim Bunning of Kentucky
* David Vitter of Louisiana
* Kit Bond of Missouri
* Judd Gregg of New Hampshire
* Richard Burr of North Carolina
* George Voinovich of Ohio
* Tom Coburn of Oklahoma
* Jim DeMint of South Carolina
* John Thune of South Dakota
* Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas
* Bob Bennett of Utah
@jacksmith
I find it peculiar that you said ‘God Bless You’ after quoting Thomas Paine at the beginning of your article.
Either way, good quote, he was a great man.
The last time there was a general strike in the US it led to the 8 hour day and the 5 day workweek. Now is the time for healthcare.
I suggest Sept 3&4, the runup to the Labor Day Weekend.
No leaders, no organizers, nowhere to go and nothing to sign. Just don’t go to work.
http://www.healthcarestrike.wordpress.com
Thank God for the “blue dogs Democrats” who are holding up this bill and cudos to them. They represent the center right liberals who want true “fiscal responsibility” in all our governments actions. Some say that it is because they are afraid of not being re-elected in their conservative districts. So!! I think all our Senators and representatives should be afraid all the time about not being elected. Pres. Obama needs to remember that it was the center independent voters who got him elected. That is aong with the faltering economy which by the way is still faltering.
You can not blame this one on the Republicans. And now more and more people are looking closer at the 1018 page health care reform bill. Recently someone who is for it asked me if I had read it. Come on!! if it was meant for me the regular average citizen to read and understand it would not be 1018 pages legal format. I don’t think he had read it either but it certainly was a discussion stopper. I think people are starting to see that it has nothing in it to reform health care expenses and spending. And as usual the far left comes up with their very usual response..Well! We will tax the rich! Even a uneducated person who is being laid off by their over taxed and regulated “rich boss” can see the bad economic results of this over used liberal idea. Anyone with a business sense knows it will eventually lead to more job loss resulting in the the health care tax burden being brought down onto the few middle class. The ones who will still have jobs. People want and need jobs before they want health care. Pres. Obama needs to deal with the growing unemployment and faltering economy of this country. After all t is the number one concern of the people. The people he is suppose to be serving. Unemployment is no longer a problem for just the poor and disabled. It is touching all of us.
I see some reporters on the news stations saying that republicans don’t have any health care reforms proposals of their own. This is a out right lie!! The conservative health care proponants have come up with many cost cutting plans that can and would work without throwing out our whole health care system Unless you call reduced,limited and rationed care cost cutting…
Pres. Obama was quoted as saying (and I heard him with my own ears) that maybe rather than give a aging senior something like a expensive surgury (like a hip replacement) that maybe pain control would be better. And who is going to make that call?? Oh Yeah a five member “health panel” made up by him and only unaccountable to him (like his 30 already named czars they will have no accountability to the other two brances of our govt). What?? Is all I could say when I heard this plan!! If you believe in and understand our constitution at all this is a very bad move. It will effect our “freedom” in this country as we know it
SOmething to think about is that research shows that seniors who can remain living independently are less of a drain on our medical system than those needing long term care. So maybe granny gettting a new hip means she can remain in her home and independent longer before throwing her in a nursing home to waste away.
Now that the bill has been stalled by the “blue dog” Democrats we all have a chance to look at it closer. And why not??Why is there nothing in this bill about tort reform that would end frivilous medical law suits. Why is the bill talking about funding for end of life counseling for seniors? Isn’t that alreay being done between a patients doctor,family,and church. Where it should be left. I do not want the government in betwen me and my life support system. why is there no talk about how much of our health care budget goes to research and development. We are the only country leading it up. Do we want to stop supporting it? What other country is prepared or willing take it over. Are we willing to sacrifice the possibility of a major medical developments that may save ours or a loved ones lives. I may be wrong that this 1018 page bill bill does not considers research costs in the total costs of the bill. But I would be surprised if it was. And yes our health care costs have been greatly increased but so has the choices and treatments it affords us.
As in everything the Unted States has always led and paid for things that the whole world can and does benifit from. Why do more foreigners come here for their medical care than we go any where else. If we do leave it is for controversial unregulated cancer cures,plastic surgury and for some with no coverage they can sometimes get it cheaper. But these reasons are not because there is better health care elsewhere. We have some of the worlds highest cancer and heart disease rcovery rates. Okay!! Try and prove me wrong!!
When looking at our birth mortality rates in comparrison to United Kingdom and Canada I found it to be a difference of about 1 birth per 1000(another thing thrown at me while discussing health care reform and of which the person did not seem able to elaborate on with raw data). Are we willing to change our whole system on that small difference when it can have so many other variables. The countries with much lower birth rates have other factors like more homeogenic populations,healthier life styles, diets and in many cases better economies. All things that can also effect rates. I am so thankful for the graduate reasearch I had to do as it opened my eyes to the positive and negative effects that stats can scew!! We all know that the best health care is dependent on us all having healthy life styles. Until you can get people in the USA to clean that up we will appear to have hgher infant mortality and death rates compared to other countries with similiar geographics. I won’t even get into genetics around this topic. And do you really think our government would be able to mandate better personal health care?? Good luck!! What’s the consequence going to be?? Denial of care?
As I said statistics can be shown to go any way the presenter wants them to go. It is up to us the consumer to go further and do our own research. This may be a surprise to liberals but as fiscally conservative independent I do want to cut costs and find ways to cover all the people in this country who do not have health care. Health care is not a state right (at least in our constitution) but as humans beings we need to take care of each other. But a one payer universal govt. plan will infringe on my “individual right” to have a private insurance choice. A choice that we all know thatindependent companies cannot survive when in competition with a govt. plan.
But first the truth about uninsured numbers being given to us is true and clear. Of the 40-50 million (we have a total population of around 350 million)that they say are uninsured you will find young people who don’t think they need insurance,undocumented workers who use our emergency rooms for their primary care ,people who can afford insurance but choose not to get it,those in between jobs but can now access cobra for up to 18 months, and the truely poor and disabled who can be covered under medicaide but still arn’t. Even I a simple housewife who runs a household can think of ways to help all these population that would cut expenses without throwing out our whole system. A system that a large percentage of us say we are happy with.
Think about it. If we are truely going to reform health care spending does getting our Government involved as a provider or over-seer the answer? Where have they ever cut costs. Step back! Please!!. This is a huge decision for our country and there is no reason for political differences to be the determiner of our future health care. This is surious and probably one of the biggest decision(except for our economy) of these times. I thought things were suppose to be different under Pres. Obama but in 6 months our country has become even more polorized than I have seen in a very long time. Maybe since te 60′s. Sad!!
On the personal side I am a middle age white woman from a large lower middle class family, have a masters degree in social work,along with my husband have raised two adopted hispanic childen,I am a spiritual and giving person but do not attend a formal church,have worked in the dental field,waited table,sold retail,tied steel for one week when I was really hungary,been poor,been rich, been homeless, and even worked as a nanny afew times. And believe it or not I have been scared shitless when pulled over by a cop. And although I wanted to defend myself I kept my mouth shut. Believe it or not I was raised to keep my mouth shut when some one of authority was talking to me. Don’t need to learn that in the slums…Catholic education and a strict German father showed me that.
We have raised our two hispanic children to be aware of racial differences but to never use it as a excuse. And I am proud to say they have both grown into wonderful and responsible “tax paying” citizens. One is a dentist and the other who did not go to college is a dependable worker in a manufacturing company. And I know this because people compliment us all the time on what wonderfull human beings they are. It is positive inter-racial experiences that we all share with others who are different from us that will erase bigotry and racism in this country. Obviously affirmative action is not doing it. It is appearing that even people who get into college based on it are still suffering regardless of it. I have seen with my own eyes how adopted minority kids who are raised to blame everything on discrimination and adoption end up being very confused and frustrated adults. No one in our family of four is related by blood but I know we are more bonded than many geneticly bonded families I see.
Pres. Obama talked about his mother’s illness and how over welmed she was by the insurance forms she had to fill out. Why as a educated person he couldn’t do it for her aludes me. Does Pres. Obama really think that government involvement is going to cut back on the red tape . Really! Think about it. This is you and your childrens future health care at stake her. Not to mention the tax burden it is sure to become on all of us. Do not take it lightly. Educate yourself. Listen to both sides. And there are two sides and somewhere in the middle is the answer. Don’t take it when others say you don’t care about the poor and uninsured when you question fiscal responsibility of a bill. This is used to stop you from thinking rationally by use of the guilt factor. I am sorry but that doesn’t work on me. I have been very sick when I had no insurance,I have family members who don’t have coverage,I do care about the uninsured,and the future prospect of being on government funded medicare scares the shit out of me. But a univerasal government health care is not going to be the same as Medicare and should not be compared to it. If the government is your health care provider(in between you and your doctor)who is left for you to complain to? So far with medicare the Doctor is not employed by the government. In a universal government plan your Doctor will be working for a government run program. They are making it look like they will just be payees but that is not going to be the end result. Lack of tax dollar funds and the need to control usage will drive us to a total take over by our government. And the insurance options we now have will be long gone. No turning back…Yes! I know we need some health insurance reform.
We also need to look at how this added debt may possibily take down and change this country as we know it. How in one breath can some people in power say we have the best country in the world and in the next say we need to fundamentily change it all. I say we just need to make it even better with timely respectable review and discussion of our options. Most people who leave this country leave because they are hiding from something or they don’t want to pay anymore high and unregulated taxes. Taxes that are no longer used wisely by those in Washington D.C. with whom we have entrusted it .
Thank you for taking the time to read and consider my thoughts. Also we need to move on from blaming Bres. Bush to dealing with the spending that is now being done post Bush(stimulous,cap and trade,and now health care). This excuse is getting old and should not be used in pushing us into more debt.
Please go past the nightly news quips that last only a few minutes and do not open your eyes to other possibilities but rather close them. With true knowledge comes power. Power to find the truth.
I will leave God out of my signing off. Even though we all know that one’s beliefs or maybe no beliefs always have a part in how we vote!! If we could all vote uneffected by our beliefs we would have no need for a Supreme Court!! And even at that level I don’t think it is ever totally uneffected by it’s members beliefs. But it is the best we have and no other country has ever done it better. People all over the world want to live here and even die trying to get here. Yes they may hate us at times but anyone who was had the top position anywhere knows that it comes with job.
I sometimes get sad when a few tough times in History when we made mistakes is used to wipe out all the good we have done in the world. Well I am a eternal optimist and I know that we will rise above this and once again come together under one union. Of which for some reason we now have to leave under God out!! The way this wonderful country is being torn apart right now I don’t think God wants the role anyway . I thought we have come so far in accepting that others may have a different looking God than our own. Believing in something higher than ourselves is the only way we can all live peacefully together. Peacefully together on this one planet. For if there is no one higher than you than you have to answer to no one. Think about it.
“Reason obeys itself; Ignorance submits to what is dictated to it.”
Thomas Paine
You would do well to research all of your accusations against the Republicans and garner a little more support for those allegations.
Remember, the DEMOCRATIC house speaker Nancy Pelosi took impeachement OFF the table when it came to holding the president responsible.
And anyone that reads or even begins to understand Krugman has serious freemarket issues.
http://mises.org/story/103
http://mises.org/story/3530
http://blog.mises.org/archives/010358.asp
“You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.”
Adrian Rodgers
I am very impressed with Weiner’s courage in planning to push for substitution of the Kucinich/Conyers Single Health Payer Health Care Bill. I’ve noticed in coverage the press is still trying to pretend that Dennis Kucinich is not the leader of the movement for the single-payer system. Many of the articles are so contrived to leave his name out that it is really obvious that they don’t want America to know that Kucinich is the one standing up for the interests of the people.
Honestly Peg, you wrote your comment like it was your job.Thankfully you wont get paid for it because A) no one cares enough about what you think to read the book you posted here and B) teh 1st 2 sentences showed me that you are a angry rethug and I dont really care what you have to say since you all spew the same garbage.Thanks for taking up half the page.Your drivel is longer than this article! I understand that you like to hear yourself type and have such a huge ego that you would think that ANYONE would read all of that.But the truth is your the only one, Im willing to bet, who actually read what you said.The 2 sentences I read were a waste of time and you owe me my 30 sec of my life back.
umm really: well said.
Ruth, I really appreciate your comments. I understand your point about Kucinich but I know he’s concerned about doing the right thing and supporting the people and good legislation and isn’t concerned about credit. I’m glad that Weiner have taken the ball and gotten HR 676 to the next step of visibility. Now that it’s “On the table it’s a whole other ballgame.
Why do Americans get their knickers in a twist worrying that the single payer option gives them no “CHOICE”, They ought to consider the 45 million people that certainly have no choice the ones who cant pay the insurance companies because they have no money to give to the greedy predators.
It is very simple. The health industry corporations being bigger than the government. So many elected officials wouldn’t have been elected if not for the bribes from the extremely profitable healthcare and pharma industries. They are not only too big to fail, but they have bought off most of our politicians, including Democrats.
Keith Olbermann’s show on 8-3-09 was more powerful than anything I’ve seen. Thank God that at least one mainstream media outlet will be honest and ethical.
The argument about fiscal responsibility didn’t apply when Bush gave a trillion to his rich friends at the cost of the rest of us and racked a HUGE deficit. The latest estimate on the total cost of a war based on a lie is $7 to $10 trillion, effectively doubling our deficit. How easy it is to forget 8 years of hell in 6 months.
All the Republicans are doing by whining and stalling is totally ruining their party. It’s actually fun to just sit back and watch them do it.
Our present Health Care Insurance is basically a PREDATORY PROFITEERING PRIVATE DISCRETIONARY INSURANCE designed to encourage the poor,the sick,the jobless, the single parent family provider & children and the disadvantaged to DIE from lack of Health Care that would restore their lives with a modicum of Health Care procedures or support.
The PRIVATE PREDATORY PROFITEERING HEALTH INSURANCE CORPORATIONS and the REPUBLICAN PARTY are seeking to maintain their ‘FASCIST POLITICAL SYSTEM’ (where gov’t officials & private industry collude & exploit society to provide benefit to the wealthy elite by excluding the citizenry) since the false theory of ‘TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS’ that winsome Ronnie Raygun espoused was dethroned & debunked by King Georgie Bushwhack who BANKRUPTED AMERICA with that PRIVATE PROFITEERING PREDATORY FASCIST SYSTEM that now threatens to destroy America from within.
That is why REPUBLICANS & HEALTH CARE INSURANCE PREDATORY PROFITEERS are LYING and STEALING from the American public as long as they can before the TRUTH of justice,equality,freedom & mercy values & principles of our U.S. Constitution are once again established in the hearts & minds of the American people for the 21st century!
The time is NOW! The issue is JUSTICE & FREEDOM! The path is SINGLE PAYER for working American families!