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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The Health Care vote in the house was close. And it still needs to pass the Senate. Poor branding, such as the term Public Option, didn't help the cause. But it's not too late to win the support of Republican enemies and the Teabaggers who control them. I submit a list of re-branding alternatives that will have Obamacare foes supporting health care reform faster than you can say Death Panels! Vote on which one will have the Teabaggers Teabagging for reform.
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The Private Option
The Keep the Government out of my Medicare/ Medicaid Option
• The Eternal Life Panels Option
• The "This Option Kills Commies" Option
• The "This Option Defeats Gay Marriage" Option

Introduction

I am circulating this plan at this late stage of the health care debate because most of the proposals out there are totally inadequate. This plan is a hybrid of government provided coverage, private insurance and regional and trade association co-ops (Not as public option replacements, but as an additional choice. I'd be very disappointed if the eventual health care bill doesn't include a public option and co-ops are inadequate alternatives).

I originally came up with this healthcare plan in 2005 and never formally put it to paper because I worked for someone who advocated single payer, which I believe is a worthy goal, but impossible in today's political and economic climate.

Plans without a public option are essentially worthless. They will inadequately extend the coverage safety net and will not put adequate competitive pressure on private insurance pricing.

Other things I dislike about the current proposals include forced consumer participation, taxing benefits and limiting charitable deductions. Although this plan will require businesses large and small to insure all full time and most part time workers, employer mandated financial burdens in some situations will be less than half of what some current proposals require.
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Like my fellow American patriots, I refuse to sit by while the Nazi Marxist President sends storm troops of Dr Mengeles to pull the plug on millions of grannies. Just keep out of our persona lives. My health care is my business and it's between me myself and I(nsurance companies.) Up until yesterday, I was telling the government to stay out of my granny's Medicare, which works just fine, thank you very much. But I recently learned that Medicare is actually government provided, public-option program (they're a sly, wily and sneaky bunch of Jews, they are.) And, because I'm no hypocrite, I'm putting my money where my mouth is and un-enrolling Granny from Medicare. If Medicare spreads to younger people, I will reject all benefits. My fellow Americans who say no to government takeover of our lives and organs, won't you please join me in my boycott of government funded health insurance? Sign the NO PUBLIC OPTION pledge!

For those of us on Medicare or with a family member on Medicare:

I ______
oppose the Nazi-Communist infiltration of my personal life via Medicare, and thus reject all Medicare benefits for myself and my family.

 
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Here is a roundup of events in New Jersey over the next couple of weeks fighting for healthcare reform with a strong public option. All from Organizing for America:

Morris County Democrats Phone Bank (Phone Bank)

This Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 4pm until 9 pm, we will be having a Phone Bank in our Morristown HQ, 11 Washington Street. Shifts usually run from 4-6pm and then from 6-8pm and we need all the support we can get. Our office is located in Morristown right across from the Famished Frog, down from the green. If you have any questions please give us a call at 973 984 8080.

Times: Tuesday, August 25 from 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Wednesday, August 26 from 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Thursday, August 27 from 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Friday, August 28 from 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Host: Bassam Gergi
Contact Phone: 973 984 8080
Location:
Morris County HQ (Morristown, NJ)
11 Washinton Street
Morristown, NJ 07960

Westfield canvass (Health Care Canvass)

Collect signatures in support of Pres. Obama's healthcare reform principles of reduced cost, choice, including a public option and affordable access. We will operate from 7 - 9 PM in downtown Westfield on Tuesdays during the Sweetsounds in Downtown performances.

Time: Tuesday, August 25 from 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Host: Edward O'Malley
Location:
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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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