(Also published at Firedoglake and The Agonist)
A fact never went into partnership with a miracle. Truth scorns the assistance of wonders. A fact will fit every other fact in the universe, and that is how you can tell whether it is or is not a fact. A lie will not fit anything except another lie.
- Robert Green Ingersoll
A tiger can smile. A snake will say it loves you. Lies make us evil.
- Chuck Palahniuk
Of all the lies and propaganda directed by the Far Right at the American Sheeple, perhaps the most egregious and long-lasting disinformation has to do with health care. By conflating health care reform with “Socialism”, those with financial ties to the health care industry and those who reflexively hate all things Obama have succeeded in convincing the American Sheeple that health care reform equals increased government tyranny. They’ve managed to convince Americans that we have the best health care system in the world, one that government can only screw up by requiring Americans to purchase health insurance. In so doing, they’ve ensured the continuation of an inefficient and inequitable system that makes access to quality health care proportional to the size of one’s bank account. It’s as reprehensible as it is immoral, and yet Americans have eagerly bought into the propaganda. In so doing, Americans have willingly settled for so much less than what might be possible if America instituted the one system that would ensure quality, affordable health care for EVERY American: a single-payer system.
I find it disturbing that Americans are so incurious about what might be done to improve a system so vital to our collective well-being. Into that vacuum, courtesy of Fox News Channel, the Tea Party, and the GOP, come the lies, propaganda, and disinformation about health care reform have carried the day.
Currently, the US spends twice as much on health care as any other industrialized country. Why? Because private health insurers consume 31 cents of every health care dollar. This system is an inefficient as it is inequitable, yet the industry’s lobby has worked furiously to maintain the status quo, because any move towards a single-payer system would imperil their bottom line. They understand that streamlining payment for health care through a single payer system could save $400 billion per year (which would common from their bottom line). This would be enough to provide quality, affordable health care for every single American, regardless of the state of their bank account. This should be a no-brainer, but deep pockets can buy a lot of propaganda and disinformation, which is exactly what’s happened.
In the interest of fairness and full disclosure, I should mention that I have a dog in this fight. I’ve been without health insurance for the past 19 months. I’m fortunate to be healthy, but like millions of other uninsured Americans, I live with the reality that I’m one accident or serious illness away from financial ruin. No person should have to live with that burden hanging over them. That should go without saying, but in America, health care is merit-based, the merit being one’s ability to pay. Health care, which should be a basic human right, is by and large limited to those who can pay.
Single-payer financing is the only way to recapture this wasted money. The potential savings on paperwork, more than $400 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.
There are those who would argue that any American has access to health care; all they need do is go to the nearest emergency room. This argument is as absurd as it is inaccurate and insensitive. True, any American can go to an emergency room, which is normally what happens when one has a health care emergency. When it comes to basic preventative care, though, no money and/or health insurance normally means no care. While those who already have health insurance and enjoy quality care may think nothing of the emergency room argument, it completely ignores the reality that millions of Americans lack access to quality, afford health care- preventative care that in many cases will detect issues that, if addressed early, can save millions. Yet there are those among us who honestly believe that any systems which addresses this inequity is tantamount to “Socialism”…not that most who feel this way could accurately define “Socialism.”
Some really ought to tell those folks that when an uninsured American goes to an emergency room, EVERYONE is on the hook for it.
Mention the health care systems in Canada, Norway, Sweden, France, and other countries with single-payer systems, and you can count on being greeted with hoots of derision. America has the best health care system in the world, many argue, so why would we need “socialized” medicine? Why should we tolerate government becoming the single payer? Wouldn’t that be injecting yet another level of government tyranny into our lives? Except that if one takes an honest look at our health care “system”, one would realize that it denies a basic human right to millions of Americans.
The thing that Canada, Norway, Sweden, France, and other countries with single-payer systems do is to provide a guaranteed basic level of health care to each and every one of their citizens. People in those countries know that, if they need basic preventative care or if they become ill, they won’t have to worry about how to pay for the care they need. Really, shouldn’t that be something that every American deserves? Should the most powerful economy in the world be able to find it within itself to guarantee a basic level of health care to ALL Americans? Or are you really so devoted to your inhuman Randian meritocracy that you’re OK with some of your fellow Americans dying because their bank account’s on “E”?
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.
How is it that we can pay for two never-ending wars, yet putting together a coherent and equitable health care system is unattainable? How is it that providing a guaranteed level of basic health care to all Americans is “Socialism”? Why have we allowed those who traffic in lies, disinformation, and fear-mongering to control the debate and thus maintain the status quo?
Because of the American Sheeple don’t care to be reminded of (much less think about) anything that doesn’t impact their lives directly. When it hits home, THEN it’s a problem. If it happens to someone else…well, let them eat cake.
WE DESERVE BETTER.
