Kaiser Family Foundation, PNHP and AHIP....Which organization works for the people?

[slipslidingaway]

Kaiser Family Foundation is Not Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser_Family_Foundation

"...The Foundation was established in 1948 by Henry J. Kaiser. In 1977, ten years after Kaiser's death, his conglomerate of disparate organizations split apart. The Kaiser Family Foundation was initially a major owner of these shares, at the time of dissolution, the Foundation owned 32 percent according to Fortune Magazine.<2>

By 1985, the foundation no longer had an ownership stake in Kaiser's old companies, and therefore is no longer associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries. Family members did not retain seats on Kaiser companies, but have remained active with the foundation..."

Kaiser Health News...

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/About.aspx

"Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit news organization committed to in-depth coverage of health care policy and politics. KHN is a major program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit private operating foundation, based in Menlo Park, Calif., dedicated to producing and communicating the best possible analysis and information on health issues..."


About PNHP...

http://pnhp.org/about/about_pnhp.php

"Physicians for a National Health Program is a single issue organization advocating a universal, comprehensive single-payer national health program. PNHP has more than 16,000 members and chapters across the United States.

Since 1987, we've advocated for reform in the U.S. health care system. We educate physicians and other health professionals about the benefits of a single-payer system--including fewer administrative costs and affording health insurance for the 46 million Americans who have none...

PNHP is the only national physician organization in the United States dedicated exclusively to implementing a single-payer national health program."


PNHP Mission Statement...

http://pnhp.org/about/pnhp_mission_statement.php

"Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) believes that access to high-quality health care is a right of all people and should be provided equitably as a public service rather than bought and sold as a commodity...

...PNHP believes this program should be financed by truly progressive taxation. PNHP actively opposes current changes in the health care system that are designed to maximize the profits of investors and the incomes of high-level executives rather than to serve patients.

PNHP's goal is the restoration of what it views as the primary mission of physicians, acting as professional advocates for our patients..."


About AHIP...

http://www.ahip.org/content/default.aspx?bc=31

"Welcome to AHIP’s web site. America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) is the national association representing nearly 1,300 member companies providing health insurance coverage to more than 200 million Americans..."

http://www.ahip.org/

"Visit www.AmericanHealthSolution.org to see the latest news and information on health care reform and to learn more about AHIP’s Campaign for an American Solution, a national grassroots and educational initiative to build support for health care reform..."

http://americanhealthsolution.org/


Bill Moyers interview with Wendell Potter

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/transcript2.html

"BILL MOYERS: What were they afraid of?

WENDELL POTTER: They were afraid that people would believe Michael Moore.

BILL MOYERS: We obtained a copy of the game plan that was adopted by the industry's trade association, AHIP. And it spells out the industry strategies in gold letters. It says, "Highlight horror stories of government-run systems." What was that about?

Note: You can download the documents by clicking here and here (PDFs)

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/ahip1.pdf
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/ahip2.pdf

WENDELL POTTER: The industry has always tried to make Americans think that government-run systems are the worst thing that could possibly happen to them, that if you even consider that, you're heading down on the slippery slope towards socialism. So they have used scare tactics for years and years and years, to keep that from happening. If there were a broader program like our Medicare program, it could potentially reduce the profits of these big companies. So that is their biggest concern."

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. and...?

[nightrain]

2. yes, we get to make up our own minds about

which organizations are ones we believe exist to support regular people.

Thanks for the info.

[slipslidingaway]

4. Exactly!!! n/t

[slipslidingaway]

3. Prompted by the thread below quoting Kaiser and a PNHP article

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6106621&mesg_id=6106621

Also modified the subject line.

PNHP, a real threat to insurance companies, excluded from the health care debate, AHIP included in the debates.

:think: :think: :think:

[RaleighNCDUer]

6. Thanks for the context - missed the earlier thread. nt

[slipslidingaway]

7. I must apologize...

for being a bit harsh in my reply and not linking the other thread in the original OP.

It is annoying to watch which groups were included and excluded from the discussions, and then be told that the insurance companies are so powerful.

[slipslidingaway]

5. New AHIP ad ....

"Illness" - AHIP Reform Ad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R36YJl8SagU

[slipslidingaway]

8. Single-Payer: The Top 10 Enemies

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6107812&mesg_id=6107812

They have the Kaiser Foundation on this list, more for what they have not covered.

"Kaiser Family Foundation: One of the most prestigious liberal inside the beltway think tanks on health reform policy. Saul Friedman is a reporter for Newsday. In February, Friedman wrote an article for Newsday arguing that single payer is suffering from a conspiracy of silence. And he says Kaiser is the most culpable of the co-conpsirators. Kaiser, funded initially by insurance industry money, regularly keeps single payer off the table, Friedman says. When single payer advocates released a study in January asserting that Congressman John Conyers' single payer bill (HR 676) could create 2.6 million new jobs and would cost far less than the private insurance currently paid for by individuals and employers, "the Kaiser Family Foundation's daily online report on health care developments at kff.org didn't mention it," Friedman reported. "Nor has Kaiser, the most comprehensive online source of health care information, made any mention of single-payer or the Conyers bill since it was introduced in 2003, despite widespread support for such a plan according to Kaiser's own polls." After a number of insistent inquiries, Kaiser told Friedman that they would publish charts in March comparing the Stark and Conyers bills. They never did."


That being said, there is no doubt in my mind that AHIP works for the insurance companies and PNHP works for the people.