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health insurance again
So we were in Manhattan Tuesday night to visit ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
la_peregrina and her hospitalized husband, and outside Penn Station we heard bullhorns. As we got closer, we realized it was a health-care protest rally. As we got still closer, we realized it was two health-care protest rallies, a few yards apart. One, most of whose participants were in wheelchairs, was waving signs saying "Medicare for All" and chanting "Nobody out! Everybody in! Single Payer Now!"; the other group were waving signs saying "Mr. Obama, we stand with you in supporting a robust public option" and chanting "What do we want? Health care! When do we want it? Now!" And I suddenly remembered that Obama was in town for some terrorism-related event, which would explain the increased police and military presence on the streets.
So this is how the debate looks in "blue" America: do we go for single-payer, which is simple, easy to understand, and proven to work and save money in dozens of other developed nations, or do we accept that despite all those advantages, single-payer won't happen while even one insurance-industry lobbyist draws breath (because they're fighting for the survival of their industry), and aim only for giving the insurance companies some real competition and regulation that might drive down their profit margins?
la_peregrina and her hospitalized husband, and outside Penn Station we heard bullhorns. As we got closer, we realized it was a health-care protest rally. As we got still closer, we realized it was two health-care protest rallies, a few yards apart. One, most of whose participants were in wheelchairs, was waving signs saying "Medicare for All" and chanting "Nobody out! Everybody in! Single Payer Now!"; the other group were waving signs saying "Mr. Obama, we stand with you in supporting a robust public option" and chanting "What do we want? Health care! When do we want it? Now!" And I suddenly remembered that Obama was in town for some terrorism-related event, which would explain the increased police and military presence on the streets.So this is how the debate looks in "blue" America: do we go for single-payer, which is simple, easy to understand, and proven to work and save money in dozens of other developed nations, or do we accept that despite all those advantages, single-payer won't happen while even one insurance-industry lobbyist draws breath (because they're fighting for the survival of their industry), and aim only for giving the insurance companies some real competition and regulation that might drive down their profit margins?