Democrats kill public option choice in healthcare reform

Democrats kill public option choice in healthcare reform

by Lynda Carson December 10, 2009

Oakland - In a huge set back to healthcare reform, Democrats killed off the public option needed by the 40 million and more non insured Americans that will be criminalized with huge fines, penalties and possible jail time if they fail to comply with the mandatory health insurance proposals that may soon become the law of the land.

On Tuesday December 8, Democrats sided with the GOP, ruthless insurance companies, greedy doctors, and pharmaceutical companies to scrap a government-run health insurance option from sweeping health care legislation being proposed in the House and Senate.

The recent debates and proposals for healthcare coverage of Americans has turned into an ultra right-wing ideological war against a women's right to choose, single payer healthcare proposals, a government-run public option insurance program, and imported low-cost pharmaceuticals from other countries.

Enforcing mandatory health insurance with out achieving major cost savings for the general welfare of the public will create more poverty and destitution, among a generation of citizens being turned in to criminals and penalized for not being able to afford health insurance coverage.

As reported in a recent November letter by the Joint Committee on Taxation, the health reform bill H.R. 3962 already passed by the House of Representatives will criminalize citizens who fail to buy a $15,000 health insurance plan, and threatens them with up to five years imprisonment and fines up to $250,000 for those who fail to comply.

In protest against the Democratic and Republican joint efforts to kill off the public option needed to reign in the costs of exorbitant rip off insurance policies currently being foisted upon the general public, on Dec. 8 "Move On" a liberal grassroots organization, sponsored hundreds of vigils across the nation to protest and send congress the message that Americans want a public option.

Powerful Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman has made demands that the public option be stripped from healthcare reform on behalf of the wealthiest insurance companies that have corrupted and payed him off, and with other powerful democrats joining in the chorus to kill off the public option, any meaningful cost containment healthcare reform that would actually benefit the welfare of the nation's public has been terminated, and dashed to bits for the foreseeable future, and many years to come.

In another effort to save the public option, Health Care for America NOW, a large coalition fighting for the public option has an online petition called, "Say No To Joe," which says, "A public health insurance option that is accountable to voters and Congress and available nationally from day one is essential to lower health care costs and to keeping insurance companies honest. Otherwise, the insurance companies win. Health reform cannot be held hostage by Joe Lieberman. We the American people, reject this so-called compromise."

Organized calls to action have also been on-going, asking Californians to call Senator Boxer, Senator Feinstein, and Congresswoman Barbara Lee to demand that a public option not be abandoned by the democratic party, and their allies.

The $848 billion healthcare reform bill that has the public option eliminated from it, is being supported by President Obama, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democratic Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, and other lawmakers and industry groups with considerable influence on Capital Hill.

Democrats hope that their sell-out on the public option question will keep the healthcare legislation on track for a final passage, sometime before Christmas.

Lynda Carson may be reached at tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com