I've become an evangelist at all my health care providers

[undeterred]

A Democratic evangelist, that is. My dentist already knew - she saw my bumpersticker so she let me know she was a Dem during my last visit. This time I was talking to her assistant before she came in and we had already gotten to the crisis in health and dental care in our conversation before my dentist came in. I can't remember discussing politics with my health care providers in the past. But now, I can't stop.

So today I go to the pharmacy, to pick up a prescription that I have to pay for out of pocket. When the Pharmacist asks "Do you have any questions" I ask him if he is voting for Democrats this fall so that we can fix the broken health care system. And he agrees (quietly). If he doesn't already know, I can tell him which of his colleagues are Democrats.

Then I talk to the guy who is waiting. He has a family of 5 and his insurance deduction from his paycheck is $658 a month. And he is a blue collar worker... we commiserate and at the end I say, you're voting for Democrats this fall, aren't you? And he says, Yes, of course.

We can win the election on this issue alone.

[Breeze54]

1. Good for you!! - I do the same everywhere I can!

It works too, I think. Word of mouth from 'real' people and not just talking heads and politician's.

Health care is a huge issue and now, so are food and gas prices and housing. To many to chose from now. :(

[Warpy]

2. Whenever I hear anybody complaining about prices

I tie them to the hedge funds and make sure they know the reason the speculators can get away with this stuff is deregulation by Republics.

Oddly enough, people are listening. They're waking up.

[Donkeykick]

3. Sometimes I find it strange...

when you run in to people that can not acknowledge that there is a problem with health care--they got to be rich or something. :eyes:

[undeterred]

5. Everyone picking up prescriptions in a pharmacy

either thinks their copay is too much or they are paying for it out of pocket, which is too much. And its gone up a ton in the last 5 years. So yeah, you'd have to have money to burn to think there's no problem.

[midnight]

4. Would the issue be to provide health care treatment to those

in need regardless of what the gatekeepers say? Because if the insurance co./gatekeepers have their two cents on this subject they will easily say that treatment is experimental and not medically necessary.

[undeterred]

6. I think every part of the system that has a "for profit" motive

is a problem. Their incentive is to make money by DENYING health care. How can that be a solution?

[Horse with no Name]

7. The way I see it is this

I have some physicians that I have not seen in a long time. I saw two local physicians who came close to killing me. In the first one's office, they played Fox. I quit going to them. That was my statement. The second one plays religious music in his office. I quit going to him. I went back to my former Doctors...even though it is a 3-hour drive. One has a TV that plays health information, one plays that soothing background music, one has a TV that is set on mindless programming--but there is usually less than a 5-min wait at that office so it doesn't really matter.
The former two were imposing their beliefs on me and I was offended.
The latter three go out of their way not to...so I will respect them and not impose MY beliefs on them. I have no idea what their political affiliations are and I kind of like it that way. One of my physicians is Jewish so I can kind of guess his response to any conversation about the I/P situation.

As far as discussing in the waiting room...I just don't see it as a venue to do that. I do not want to start what could turn out to be a passionate argument in an office full of sick people. I just don't see it as the time or place when people are worried about their health and already have that stressor.

But, with that being said, I find that in the pharmacy people are VERY willing to discuss the state of the economy in regard to co-pays and insurance, etc. I find that to generally always be a lively discussion hotbed.

[undeterred]

9. I realize it isn't always an opportune time to talk about it

And certainly a health care provider who is behaving professionally isn't going to bring it up because their patients are all over the map politically. Actually they had Fox television on at my last dentist and every time I had an appt. I told them to "turn that right wing crap off because I find it highly offensive", and they did.

I changed to a closer dentists office, and it turned out that this dentist is the same one I saw 5 years ago. She left to join another practice, but wasn't allowed to tell her patients where she was going. I really liked her, and I found her again by accident. While the health care professional can't start the conversation- if the patient does, they can open up a little. Turns out that we had other things in common too.

I have one doctor I've been going to for 20 years, and our values are so similar I always "knew" he was a Democrat- and he certainly knows where I stand. But I never heard him rant about the health care system until recently... I think doctors are just as frustrated as patients.

I had a new appt with a specialist last year - a very funny British woman - she walked into the office and told me a joke about Bush. And it was funny! I knew I was going to absolutely love her, and I did.

Anyway, its a subject that everyone has to deal with and pretty much everyone is spending a lot more than they used to. Its not as controversial as the war or abortion, etc. So I think this is a good issue for gaining ground. The Republican answer to health care is "drop dead, we don't care".

[Vincardog]

8. What are you doing to convince our candidates that they should shun the insurance companies and vote

for US?

[undeterred]

12. What to you mean vote for "US"? I don't know what that is.

I am a coordinator for PDA, which is promoting Conyer's bill HR676 all over the country. My congresswoman is already a sponsor, although she is also a Hillary supporter who thinks Clinton's plan is the only one that will work.

Through PDA I am planning a huge event on the theme of "Healthcare not Warfare" this summer.
http://pdamerica.org/articles/misc/2008-02-29-14-19-42-misc.php

In Wisconsin we have a good state plan called "Healthy Wisconsin" so that may end up being one of the first state plans passed.

[Vincardog]

14. US is us. Not BIG PHARM or the insurance parasites. Last I heard HRC and the establishment DLC said

Single Payer is un-doable.

[undeterred]

15. Thats why we have to push single payer

or state plans. HRC doesn't WANT to do single payer because the insurance companies are lining her pockets. And the pharmaceutical companies give to the candidates too.

I don't want my health care dollars paying for donations to corporate candidates, or to line the pockets of insurance company and pharmaceutical company executives. We must DEMAND single payer. And it will be a lot cheaper than what we have now. And people will stop dying from lack of access to care.

When Hillary bows out, I hope the DLC crawls off to die.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

10. Electing Democrats will help IF

they have the courage to take on the insurance companies.

[Breeze54]

11. But the rethugs WON'T ever do that, so the Dems are the best chance, imho. n/t

[undeterred]

13. In my state we have a plan called "Healthy Wisconsin"

We have no statewide races this year. But we need to pick up 3 assembly seats in order to have a majority in both chambers of our state government. With a Democratic majority we should be able to pass this state plan- and maybe even get some federal support through Feingold's bill for pilot state programs.

So I was encouraging this man to vote for Democrats - thinking of our state races for assembly and senate seats in particular.