Reupblican Geraldo Rivera comes out in favor of single payer

[eridani]

Geraldo Rivera
November 1, 2013

“You know, it’s great that people get health care. I want everyone to have health care. I want single payer. I want Medicare for everybody. I want it to be like Sweden. I want it to be like the United Kingdom or Canada. I want everyone to have health care. This program (Obamacare), though, is deeply flawed, and I think part of the problem is we let the insurance industry write the legislation, and when the insurance industry, like they did for the prescription plan, Part B (D), when they write the legislation, they stack the deck so they’re the beneficiaries.

Geraldo Rivera Radio, 11/1/2013 - at the 48:55 mark:
http://www.wabcradio.com/common/page.php?pt=Geraldo+Podcasts&id=512&is_corp=0

Comment by Don McCanne of PNHP: Geraldo Rivera was quite sincere when, on his radio show, he discussed briefly the serious flaws of Obamacare and then explicitly supported single payer - Medicare for everybody. This is from a Republican who also has a show (“Geraldo-at-Large”) on the Fox News Channel.

Recently, much of the media attention on single payer has been coming from conservatives who seem to be threatening us with the prospect of single payer as an inevitable outcome of expanded coverage through the Affordable Care Act. They may be correct, but not for the reasons they imply. Rather than ACA being a step closer to single payer, it moves in the direction of expansion of enrollment in private plans, whereas single payer would essentially eliminate private plans.

The real reason that ACA moves us closer to single payer is that the plans are further limiting our choices of physicians and hospitals, and they are shifting an unbearable amount of the costs to patients. Once a critical threshold of patients experience these abuses, the public will demand that everyone be covered with a public program like Medicare.

During our PNHP meeting in Boston last weekend, Fox News broadcast an attack on single pager (likely only coincidental that it was during our meeting). It represents what seems to be an orchestrated attempt to discredit single payer before it gains further traction. If you watch the 7 minute video at the following link, you may find disconcerting the fact that media professionals apparently believe that the intellect of the average American is so low that they would be swayed by their framing. Anyway, I report, you decide:

(Preview)
Play (Show link) ObamaCare rollout strikes blow to dream of single-payer? foxnewstest Can taxpayers thank their lucky stars?

On a more positive note, there are many Republicans, such as Geraldo Rivera, who do understand and support the single payer model. We need to expand our message beyond the progressive community by increasing our efforts to communicate with Republicans and with the business community.

Tomorrow, November 7, Geraldo Rivera is going to have as a guest on his program, PNHP co-founder David Himmelstein:

My comment: ACA allows state single payer in 2017. We need to get moving on this.

[blkmusclmachine]

1. Rivera's still around, on Faux Nooz I presume? F/ck that sh!t.

[B Calm]

2. Republicans view Geraldo Rivera as a liberal.

I know, it's comical. . .

[PragmaticLiberal]

5. I don't think it's that comical really.

Every so often he'll throw out a right wing talking point to appease his audience but I'm fairly certain he's a liberal.

[merrily]

3. " My comment: ACA allows state single payer in 2017. We need to get moving on this."

Amen!


Rivera? Don't trust him not to recant later, but it's good for Fox viewers to hear someone on Fox endorse single payer.

[pinboy3niner]

4. Just give him a sandbox and he'll diagram where Fox News positions are located

[Zeke L Brimstone]

8. No, he shall merely find the sandbox to be empty

On live television.

[dotymed]

6. "Choking out the free market?"

What "free market?" Get real.

And yes, Americans deserve universal health care just like the other 1st world nations have.

Screw insurance companies and their catastrophe profiteering, "give us everything you have and own or die if you get sick."

Only the wealthy should have health care?
what an elitist crock of shit.
It is obvious if you compare American health care against Universal or single payer...
They have much better results at a fraction of the price.

[gulliver]

7. He's not the first to use single payer to undermine the ACA.

You have to hand it to Rivera for a nice rhetorical hedge here. He uses single payer to bludgeon the ACA. He has bills to pay I guess, and there are a lot of rubes out there.

[freshwest]

9. Yes, he can do more good by promoting higher taxes on the rich to pay for it as that's how it's done

in all the countries that he cited. Until then, he gets no credit from me.

I'm underwhelmed by his pontification on the ACA since he's playing the part of the conservatives at being human again.

Sorry, no sale.

COME OUT AND CALL FOR A HIGH TAX RATE ON THE RICH AND PROGRESSIVE TAX POLICIES, GERALDO!

Because that's how it is paid for and he knows it but TAX is a 4 letter word!

[Xolodno]

10. Be wary....

....the establishment GOP maybe trying to slowly hijack this as their mantra.

Single payer for everyone...(but if your wealthy you can buy your own separate private coverage..and you know that's whats going to to happen...because independents/moderates can get behind it).

[eridani]

11. Rich people buying extras would not affect the system

Last edited Fri Nov 8, 2013, 05:04 AM - Edit history (1)

They'd still be required to pay in, just like they are required to pay for public schools even if they send their kids to private ones.

[fadedrose]

12. Good for him!!