Discussing what public wants in health care, Luntz left out top priority

[NNN0LHI]

http://mediamatters.org/items/200708080008?f=h_top

On the August 7 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, Sean Hannity answered Alan Colmes' question, "Most people want national health care. Don't they?" with a flat "No." Colmes said he wanted guest Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster, to answer his question. Luntz did not answer whether the public wanted "national health care," instead claiming that people want "control. What they want is the ability to determine their doctor, their hospital, their pharmaceutical plan, and their insurance company." In fact, polling from May and June found that a majority of the public wants a national health insurance program. Moreover, one of those polls, conducted by a Democratic polling firm, found that a majority of likely voters favored universal health insurance even if it limited choices among health care providers.

Several polls taken in May and June found that a majority of respondents favored a government program to provide health insurance to all Americans:

[eleny]

1. And so long as the insurance has portability

Frankly, this whole issue of limiting what physicians we can use is ridiculous. What are they going to do, put many physicians out of business? It's so silly. We should be able to go to any doctor or hospital wherever we happen to be. Otherwise, the plan is useless.

[LSK]

2. Edwards plan just adds a medicare plan available to everyone to the mix

That just so happens to be the cheapest and probably most efficient of them all. The beauty of it is that Edwards plan is to use the market to undercut the insurance companies when everyone flocks to the cheaper and more efficient medicare plan.

[ramapo]

3. The only choice I have is how many tens of thousands of $$ to spend

I just want to scream every time I hear this false argument about losing choice with a national plan.

Few of us have much choice today. We can take what is offered by our employer's plan or not. And we are the lucky ones. Few plans allow you freedom of choice. I'm lucky enough to have an out-of-network option. Nice but very expensive. Many specialists don't take any insurance any longer but are nice enough to submit your claim (once you pay up front).

The network providers change constantly. My wife has had a succession of gynos. Some choice.

I certainly don't have a choice of insurers. Yes as employers we do and our options range from bad and expensive to horrible and expensive.

I don't have a choice of where to work. Health insurance becomes an overriding criteria. If not for this, I'd more than likely be doing something else today.

[Terry in Austin]

4. Frank Luntz

Let's remember he's not simply "a Republican pollster," but the very architect of rightwing Newspeak and its systematic destruction of rational dialogue. He's a key figure in the neocon brain trust, right in there with Grover Norquist and Dick Cheney.

Definitive Luntz quote: "a compelling story, even if factually inaccurate, can be more emotionally compelling than a dry recitation of the truth."
-www.luntzspeak.com

Frank Luntz, the Republican Party's shape-shifting pollster, political consultant, and spin-doctor, is never far from the political spotlight...
-Disinfopedia, the encyclopedia of propaganda