A People's list of healthcare demands, we need something to show people, here's mine

[Lorax7844]

Instead of letting congress screw us, why don't we spend our time, since now we have time, figuring out just what needs to be in the bill and send that to congress. I trust people here to be able to come up with something good, so why not write our own bill and demand a few things from congress for a change.

If they can not figure out the specifics then we should.

I'll start:

1 Pay for healthcare by taxing people that make our a million a year. Let the tax be graded someone that makes ten million a year should pay more and those with 100 million a year even more and billionaires should be hit the hardest.

2 Demand that we have a public option that first allows the un-insured and slowly (not 10 years slowly) but over the next 3 years lets those with insurance can actually choose if they want to be a part of the public plan.

3 Demand that we have the right to negotiate drug prices again.

4 Demand that there is a scale of what doctors/hospitals can charge for different procedures and medications. I should not have to pay a $100 for an aspirin just because I went to the wrong hospital.

5 Demand that the public option and private insurance be affordable, by affordable no more than 10% of my yearly income should go towards health insurance.

6 Demand that insurance companies can not deny coverage because I have a pre-existing condition or got sick.

7 If you lose your job, you will be immediately enrolled in the public option free of charge.

Things we will not accept:

1 Mandatory anything, I thought that this was about having a choice!

2 No taxing businesses that have less than 200 employees. Since most small businesses do not have 200 employees then they should be ok.

If they bitch about any of our demands?

Demand single payer, cause that's cheaper anyway.

Rec if you agree on these demands.

[1]

1. to what end? this isn't california. we don't get to say how it goes...

[Lorax7844]

2. Wow, thanks for helping I'll add that to the list.

Dude, if we let them figure it all out then we will most def be robbed first and screwed later.

[sandnsea]

3. Most of that is already in the plans

The only part that I'm not sure on is the timeline for implementation. How drug prices will be dealt with will be up to the HHS when they develop the guidelines. The rest of it is already in there. Except the public option is not medicaid. Unemployed people will either get help with their premiums which was passed earlier this year, or qualify for medicaid since they're increasing eligibility.

[Lorax7844]

5. yeah, but there is a lot of it not in the bill either

Like negotiating drug prices, that should be a law.

Doctors and hospitals haven't agreed to a pay scale for drugs and procedures, the AMA would not endorse the plan if they had that in it. To sweeten the pot for them we should say that those who choose to become doctors and nurses will have their college debt forgiven once they have worked as a doctor or nurse for 5 years. No payments unless they decide not to become doctors or nurses in that 5 years.

the 10% of our income isn't in there and neither is a graded tax for the uber wealthy.

I'm just saying we need to have a few specific demands that we can get the public behind.

Howard Dean explained the timeline and how we have no bureaucracy for 47-100 million to just be in the public option. I would support a 3 year to 5 year timeline. Damn, train people for the work and give us some much needed jobs.

[sandnsea]

12. Yes, most of it is

There is a sliding scale where people will get assistance and I think it is less than 10%. There are plans to pay hospitals and doctors on a flat rate rather than by procedure. There is assistance to pay for college debt. There isn't enough on prescription drugs, but there's also the option to get more with HHS when they implement the plan.

[Lorax7844]

16. Good, I'm just saying that we need something to show people

that don't have all day to read policy. People don't know what is going on and they need it spelled out for them. A comprehensive people's list of demands is something that we all can get behind.

[Lorax7844]

18. Do you agree that we need to get a comprehensive list together

for the public? You know they will never be able to get behind something if we let the media explain this to them.

[stuball111]

4. I'll do one better, and It's already written up and ready to go! And it works!

Just send em this, save a lot of time! (of course, there would have to be a few words changed like "Canada" and the flag would be like ours)

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hcs-sss/medi-assur/cha-lcs/overview-apercu-eng.php:hi:

[Lorax7844]

6. That is what we should shout if they insist on being assholes

Single payer isn't off my table fuckers. That is our best negotiation.

[stuball111]

7. Amen to that!

And tell em to stay the fuck in Washington until they pass it!...

[Lorax7844]

8. We really need to be proactive here people

we need to get these demands out there for the public, the media will not do it for us.

We need a website or a page where everyone can go and sign a petition that says we want this. We get a few million names and we might actually get the things we want and deserve.

[Lorax7844]

10. Who took away my 1 rec?

Coward! are you a freeper or a lobbyist?

[stuball111]

20. What's a "rec?

I'm relatively new to DU, and keep seeing this term. What does it mean please?

[Lorax7844]

22. At the bottom of any original post (OP) then you can recommend something

or unrecommend something. If you like what I wrote and think other people should read it, look at the bottom and hit recommend.

[stuball111]

23. Oh... Thanks

I'll recommend ya!:toast:

[stuball111]

19. Good point...

I wish I was puter geek enough to do that. If you get one happening, I'll support it

[Lorax7844]

21. thanks I'm sending this out to a few newspapers and to the people in my email

[Naturyl]

9. Here's my detailed proposal, hope it's not too long:

1. Single-payer.

2. See 1.

[Lorax7844]

13. that is our negotiation

and we should have it be know that if they do not do the things above that will actually reform healthcare then we will demand that.

We have to start somewhere.

[TheKentuckian]

25. Do you sell a 95 Escort and start the bidding at a trillion dollars?

That's not pressure or negotiation. They know as well as we do that we could brow beat the Senate members like dogs and still only come up with maybe 35 votes. I don't think Single Payer could even find a majority in the House.

[elocs]

11. Yes, this is DU--where all that is known to be known resides.

At least that appears to be the opinion of some DUers. (DU often does appear to be an alternate universe separated from reality where if you really, really want something to be so, so it should be.)

[Lorax7844]

14. What the hell does that mean?

Are you saying we should just let them decide everything and just hope that it isn't all a massive give away to big business?

Why shouldn't we be able to come up with a peoples list of demands? If we can all agree on a few core issues then we know what we are talking about and can make them hear us.

Right now healthcare reform is all over the place, we need to all get behind something and start shouting it. Sadly public option is too vague.

As a single payer supporter myself, I still think we need to get a few things in order. If you take this list and show it to your grandmother it might be something that she agrees with, she could show it to her friends and so on and so on. We don't have much time and right now tons of different people are yelling out too many different things.

[rog]

15. Here you go ...

HR 676 (pdf file): http://www.pnhp.org/nhibill/nhi_bill_final.pdf

At John Conyers' web site:
http://conyers.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Issues.Home&Issue_id=063b74a4-19b9-b4b1-126b-f67f60e05f8c

At Physicians For A National Health Care Program:
http://www.pnhp.org/publications/united_states_national_health_care_act_hr_676.php

.rog.

[Lorax7844]

17. yes that is our ultimate bargaining chip

If you can convince the freepers it's not socialism and the news people to even cover it then by all means let me know.

[Lorax7844]

24. no one has anything to add? really?

[nightrain]

26. it's the middle of the night, give it some time!

plus--some of us have been working on this for 20-30 years, so there is already a body of info/research on what works--health policy wonks.

[Lorax7844]

27. kick

[TheBigotBasher]

28. There are lessons to be learnt from the British NHS

but despite stupid Contracts for Doctors that have ended up rewarding less work, it remains much better than any gold level US insurance coverage.