Katrina vanden Heuvel: Real Health, Real Reform

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from The Nation:



Real Health, Real Reform
posted by Katrina vanden Heuvel on 07/08/2009 @ 3:33pm


With both the House and Senate looking to pass health care bills prior to the summer recess, which begins August 8, now is the moment of truth for Democrats: will they offer a real public plan option to compete with private plans and drive down costs? Or will they cater to the healthcare industry, which is now spending $1.4 million per day on lobbyists to protect their profits?

Throughout this debate, one Senator who has been willing to tell it like it is, with the people's interest at heart, is Bernie Sanders. This week he will publish The Health Care Crisis: Letters from Vermont and America--a collection of healthcare stories sent to him from across the nation.

"In early June we sent out a letter to our email list--and we said two things," Sen. Sanders told me in an interview this week. "Number one, please sign a petition calling for a single-payer system; and two, give us some of your experiences with the private health insurance and your experience in terms of health care in general. Well, in a few weeks, we got 40,000 signatures on a single-payer petition. But, as important, we received well over 4,000 responses--from Vermont and all over the country--people telling us what's going on in their lives with regard to healthcare."

These stories remind us of the powerful, personal experiences that too often get lost in the abstract and arcane arguments over healthcare reform. I spoke with the Senator about these stories and the battle for real reform as it enters the stretch run. Here is our conversation, and some excerpts from the healthcare stories as well:

Sen. Sanders: If you read the responses--they're just unbelievable. It really makes you believe that in this area (of healthcare) you're living in a Third World country. You know, people dying because they don't have access to healthcare. People getting much sicker than they should have because they can't find a doctor. People going bankrupt. I mean, all of the stories we read about but it really is mind-blowing just to read it in the words straight from people's mouths. It's very emotional, I think it's a good piece. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut/449824/real_health_real_reform

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1. Rec. #3 (n/t)