The Fight for Single Payer Has Transformed the Healthcare Debate. Last Night Was Proof.
During CNN’s Monday night debate about the Affordable Care Act, it became clear that progressives have set the terms of discussion.
Anderson, Theo. (2017, September 26). In These Times.
The grassroots fight for single payer, championed by Bernie Sanders, has thoroughly reframed the healthcare debate over the past year.
That became clear during CNN’s Monday night healthcare debate between Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). The debate came as Republicans labor, Sisyphus-like, to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Graham said in his opening remarks that the debate was about “who we want to be as a nation.” Cassidy said that it was about who has power.
Sanders, who dutifully defended the ACA on Monday but made it clear that his ultimate goal is a single-payer system, agrees with Graham and Cassidy that the healthcare debate isn’t really about healthcare. As he said to a Vox interviewer recently, “what this struggle is about really, honestly, is not a healthcare debate.”
What is it about then? Well, it’s about power. And it’s about who we want to be as a nation. Just like Graham and Cassidy said. In other words, the healthcare debate centers around the big-picture questions of our moral responsibilities to one another—and our distribution of resources within U.S. society. . . .
It’s impossible to talk about single payer without talking about the inequalities of the current system, and the fact that 28 million people are still uninsured. . . .
It’s impossible to talk about universal coverage without talking about the power and corrupting influence of corporations. . . .
Whether they actually believe these things doesn’t matter. What matters is that Republicans were talking about healthcare using a progressive framework that focuses on power and inequality. . . .
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Commentary
In the face of their failure to pass the Graham-Cassidy bill, the GOP has conceded defeat. They were not able to get 50 votes necessary to repeal the Affordable Care Act – for the umpteenth time! Good thing. If they had, millions of Americans would lose the insurance coverage they have.
It’s important to note that even if their coverage is too restrictive, too expensive and too complicated, Americans know they need it! If the battle over Obamacare has taught Americans anything, they now understand that something is better than nothing when it comes to health insurance.
The Obamacare battle has dominated the news for months. But today it’s a dramatically different debate than it’s been in the past. The debate is being re-framed, even as you read this.
Instead of debate focused on traditional concepts like “free market,” “deregulation” and “entitlements,” more and more the debate today centers on “moral responsibilities” and “power structures.”
As shown in the CNN debate, both sides recognize that the Affordable Care Act has failed to control costs, pricing millions out of the market. And now practically everybody – even the GOP – understands that the real winners are the pharmaceutical companies, health insurers and hospitals. And the real losers are the American people, businesses and the public sector (state and local government, including education and public transportation, etc).
How do Americans feel about the winners? They distrust them. According to a January, 2017 Harris Poll:
Only nine percent of U.S. consumers believe pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies put patients over profits, while only 16 percent believe health insurance companies do, according to a Harris Poll study released today. Meanwhile, 36 percent of U.S. adults believe health care providers (such as doctors and nurses) put patients over profits, compared to hospitals (23%).
“We are in the midst of a health care maelstrom,” said Wendy Salomon, vice president of reputation management and public affairs at Nielsen. “Consumers see no safe port, no place where their interests are truly protected – and that lack of consumer trust is reflected in the reputational risk we see across the U.S. health care landscape.”
This fundamental distrust of corporate healthcare should and hopefully will dominate the healthcare debate as more and more Americans recognize our vulnerability. Shifting the debate to power and inequality is exactly the direction we need to go.
Do you think Americans deserve guaranteed healthcare that prioritizes their needs? Do you want to see California take the lead, showing the nation how it can be done? If so, get involved!
What YOU Can DO
If you agree that we need California Medicare for All, take action!
> Add your voice to those of other business owners. Join the Business Alliance for a Healthy California!
> Tell your State Assemblymember to co-sponsor SB 562, The Healthy California Act!
> Sign our Open Letter to Governor Brown and Our Legislative Leaders!
Dear Governor Brown, Senate President Pro Tem DeLeón and Assembly Speaker Rendon:
Californians need and want guaranteed healthcare that covers everybody for everything for life!
We support the Healthy California Act introduced by Senator Ricardo Lara and co-sponsored by Senator Toni Atkins.
Help all Californians fight the heartless and cruel threats to our health care from Washington DC.
Let’s HEAL California with SB 562, the Healthy California Act!
Yours Truly,
