Reply #4: Physicians for a National Health Plan have a FAQ section that [View All]

[Cleita]

answers a lot of those RW concerns like people losing their jobs. http://www.pnhp.org/facts/single-payer-faq#insurance_companies

What will happen to all of the people who work for insurance companies?

The new system will still need some people to administer claims. Administration will shrink, however, eliminating the need for many insurance workers, as well as administrative staff in hospitals, clinics and nursing homes. More health care providers, especially in the fields of long-term care, home health care, and public health, will be needed, and many insurance clerks can be retrained to enter these fields. Many people now working in the insurance industry are, in fact, already health professionals (e.g. nurses) who will be able to find work in the health care field again. But many insurance and health administrative workers will need a job retraining and placement program. We anticipate that such a program would cost about $20 billion, a small fraction of the administrative savings from the transition to national health insurance.

PNHP has worked with labor unions and others to develop plans for a jobs conversion program with would protect the incomes of displaced clerical workers until they were retrained and transitioned to other jobs.

Next time you do this arm yourself with some counter arguments. I have done this successfully when working tables during elections years and you will be surprised how many people are sincere and get their eyes opened when you give them a few facts to hold on to. There's a difference between hard ass conservatives and those who have just been propagandized and need some information.

Thank you for your activism and keep up the good work!