Last week I heard Congressman Anthony Weiner discuss healthcare reform in Brooklyn, NY. Weiner, though I have disagreed with him at times in the past, is an amazing champion of healthcare reform and I wish we had Congress full of Anthony Weiners right about now because then we'd have real healthcare reform pretty damned fast.

Weiner briefly emphasized a point I have made many times and will reiterate below: that our current healthcare system is highly overpriced and yet delivers only mediocre care. I put it that we pay more than any other nation for our healthcare system and yet get a quality of care comparable to that of Albania, Slovenia, etc. (See below for a repeat of the details). Those "socialist" nations that the Republicans are scaring us with, namely Sweden, Finland, Israel, Britain and Canada, have cheaper and better healthcare systems. Doesn't it make sense to model our system after ones that are BETTER and CHEAPER than our own? The Republicans just don't get that for some reason.
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Although I will take an anti-choice Democrat over an anti-choice Republican any day, I have to say that the 64 Democrats who voted for the anti-choice Stupak-Pitts Amendment are a serious disappointment. Some are expected. Some I really hoped for better and I can safely say I am unlikely to support them in the future.

Here is the statement from Planned Parenthood on the passage of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment:

“Planned Parenthood condemns the adoption of the Stupak/Pitts amendment in HR 3962 this evening. This amendment is an unacceptable addition to the health care reform bill that, if enacted, would result in women losing health benefits they have today. Simply put, the Stupak/Pitts amendment would restrict women’s access to abortion coverage in the private health insurance market, undermining the ability of women to purchase private health plans that cover abortion, even if they pay for most of the premiums with their own money. This amendment reaches much further than the Hyde Amendment, which has prohibited public funding of abortion in most instances since 1977.
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UPS has apparently declared war against America. They are pouring millions of dollars into defeating clean air and healthcare reform legislation. As a scientist and a parent, I can't think of too many issues more important than clean energy and healthcare reform. UPS has, in my opinion, declared war on me and my kids.

This comes from MoveOn.org:

Why would a company like UPS oppose solutions to global warming?

UPS is a prominent member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which just launched a $100 million campaign described as a "declaration of war on the White House." The Chamber is pouring millions into killing clean energy as well as health care reform.1

Recently, an uprising of companies fighting back against the Chamber of Commerce has begun, led by companies like Apple, Nike, Johnson & Johnson, and GE.2

But UPS continues to help fund the Chamber's anti-climate agenda through their Chamber dues.

Can you call UPS and urge them to quit the Chamber of Commerce? If you're a customer of UPS, be sure to mention it when you call. Here's the info:

UPS
(404) 828-7123

Then, report your call by clicking here:

http://pol.moveon.org/chambercalls/ups.html?id=17578-5690110-AVy5Q_x&t=4
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This comes from the National Jewish Democratic Council:

Forty-seven million Americans are already without health insurance, and everyday 14,000 more lose their coverage. In the last 10 years, premiums have doubled, out-of-pocket costs have increased by a third, and deductibles have continued to rise.

As American Jews, we strive to pursue justice – and as leaders in our community, our rabbis lead the way in pursuing justice. Yet it is not a just society when families are forced to choose between paying their mortgages or paying for prescription drugs. It is not a just society when small businesses must choose between being profitable or providing coverage to their employees. It is not a just society when people are denied health insurance because they have a pre-existing condition for which they need medical care. Equal access to safe and affordable healthcare is an essential social justice issue of our time.

We can do better than this – we must do better than this.
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I recently came across this article: Health Care Round-Up: Schock Misleads, Bean And Foster Still Undecided

Why are Bean and Foster undecided? We do not need delay. People are DYING for lack of healthcare. Americans are dying. Our economy is suffering from overpriced and inadequate healthcare. What are Bean and Foster waiting for?

I helped, with donations and blogging, both Bean and Foster. With Foster in particular I busted my butt to do all I could from a distance to get him elected. Congresswoman Bean and Congressman Foster: SUPPORT HEALTHCARE REFORM WITH A STRONG PUBLIC OPTION. This is the moment you prove yourselves to those who supported you. American healthcare is among the most expensive in the world, yet gives health outcomes on par with Albania, Cuba, Slovakia. That is not right. It is time to fix it and Bean and Foster are in a position to do it. I keep dwelling on these numbers, but maybe someone had better start sending them to Bean and Foster because the numbers show starkly that we are paying too much for lousy healthcare. Here they are (2005 numbers, but the costs have only gone up and the quality down):
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I was among the first to sign up for Howard Dean's Democracy Bond program. Since July 2005 I have given $20 per month to the DNC. That is four solid years of monthly contributions. Now that isn't by any means the only donations I have made to Democrats, but it felt good to be part of Dean's 50 state strategy that did so well in 2006 and 2008.

I cancelled that monthly contribution today because I cannot believe that the Democrats I have been supporting for so long now want to go on vacation rather than actually enact precisely what America needs to begin fixing our very broken healthcare system. In essence, I will not contribute to people who think their vacation is more valuable than our health.
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