Thank You, Dennis Kucinich

Today, Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio announced that he will vote yes on the health care reform bill, and I want to thank him. Although the bill is far from perfect, and I am disappointed it does not include a public option, it does contain provisions that will help many Americans. Here are the top ten immediate benefits according to the House Democrats:

• Prohibit pre-existing condition exclusions for children in all new plans;
  
• Provide immediate access to insurance for uninsured Americans who are uninsured because of a pre-existing condition through a temporary high-risk pool;
  
• Prohibit dropping people from coverage when they get sick in all individual plans;
  
• Lower seniors prescription drug prices by beginning to close the donut hole;
  
• Offer tax credits to small businesses to purchase coverage;
  
• Eliminate lifetime limits and restrictive annual limits on benefits in all plans;
  
• Require plans to cover an enrollee’s dependent children until age 26;
  
• Require new plans to cover preventive services and immunizations without cost-sharing;
  
• Ensure consumers have access to an effective internal and external appeals process to appeal new insurance plan decisions;
  
• Require premium rebates to enrollees from insurers with high administrative expenditures and require public disclosure of the percent of premiums applied to overhead costs.

Representative Kucinich, by changing his vote, is helping millions of Americans. And when this legislation takes effect and brings visible benefits and is not the boogieman that the Republicans are making it out to be, that will pave the way for further reform.

Finally, it is so important that we not allow the Republicans the victory of defeating this legislation just for the sake of hurting President Obama. Because that is all it is about for the Republicans. They don't care about anything but political victories.

So thank you, Dennis Kucinich, for making this courageous move. And for all the progressives out there who are criticizing him for it, please look at the bigger picture. This is not a harmful bill. It just doesn't go as far as we would have liked. Don't allow the Republicans a victory because we can't unite. If the liberals contribute to the bill not passing, they are just as bad as the Blue Dogs.

The Stupak Amendment: Keep the Pressure Up

I really think the Democrats underestimated how angry we Democratic women were going to be after they helped pass the Stupak Amendment. As I mentioned in my last post, the Stupak Amendment takes the current law that prohibits federal funding for abortion and takes it a huge step further - prohibiting federal funds from being used for abortion services in any health exchange be it public or private.

At first, the White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs refused to address it. Then Senator Claire McCaskill said it wasn't that big a deal. Fortunately, the backlash must have had an effect. President Obama said in an ABC News interview that it needs to be changed to maintain the status quo. Senator McCaskill has already reversed course, tweeting that she opposed adding such an amendment to the Senate Bill. And women's rights champions like Senator Barbara Boxer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand are speaking out, denouncing the Stupak Amendment and saying that it will not make it through the Senate.

What this all shows me is that we have to make sure our voices continue to be heard. Get the blogosphere buzzing. Set the twitterverse a-twitter. Contact our representatives, call in to radio shows and write letters to the editor. We must keep the pressure on the Democrats so that they know this is important and not an issue to compromise away. For reference, here is a list of Democrats who voted yes on the Stupak Amendment. Even more interesting, here is a list of strongly pro-choice Democrats who voted yes on the amendment.

Here is Rachel Maddow's segment on the Stupak Amendment that lays out very clearly why this is so serious.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The Democratic Party Platform states:

The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally support Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right.

Let's hold our representatives accountable to uphold our principles and uphold this key women's rights issue.

The Stupak Amendment - Democrats' Disappointing Compromise

So the House of Representatives passed their health care reform bill. Why am I not more excited? Because of the Stupak Amendment. The Stupak Amendment takes the current law that prohibits federal funding for abortion and takes it a huge step further - prohibiting federal funds from being used for abortion services in any health exchange be it public or private.
According the National Organization for Women's (NOW) statement:

The Stupak Amendment goes far beyond the abusive Hyde Amendment, which has denied federal funding of abortion since 1976. The Stupak Amendment, if incorporated into the final version of health insurance reform legislation, will:

o Prevent women receiving tax subsidies from using their own money to purchase private insurance that covers abortion;
o Prevent women participating in the public health insurance exchange, administered by private insurance companies, from using 100 percent of their own money to purchase private insurance that covers abortion;
o Prevent low-income women from accessing abortion entirely, in many cases.

I continue to be amazed at what the Democrats are willing to give up in the quest to be bi-partisan. They seem to be forgetting that the reason there is an overwhelming Democratic majority in the House, that there is a 60-vote, filibuster-proof Democratic super-majority in the Senate, that there is a Democrat in the White House is because We the People voted for them to be there based on the Democratic Party platform (see p. 50 re: opposing any effort to weaken or undermine the right to choose a safe and legal abortion regardless of ability to pay) and based on what they told us they stand for. The majority of the American people want Health Care Reform with a public option. The majority of American people (78%) believe abortion should be legal in at least some circumstances. Get a spine and stand up for what We the People that you represent believe in!

Get the Facts on Health Care Reform

It's amazing how with all the coverage of health care reform, the focus has been on town halls and the uncivil discourse and yet, hardly any coverage is pointing out what is fact vs. what is fiction. Here are some useful links for finding the truth:

Hear it directly from White House. Here is the official website for setting the record straight.

Here is a useful summary from moveon.org of the myths and how to dispel them.

Hearing a lot about "death panels"? It is complete hypocrisy on the part of the Republicans. The provision being referred to is about providing so-called "end-of-life" counseling. Now, this does not mean counseling people near the end of their life. It means getting people to put in place things like a living will, detailing one's wishes on medical treatment when something happens. Nobody wants to end up like Terri Schiavo -- having parents and husband fight for years over what you would have wanted. Here are two articles pointing out how many Republicans have voted for and supported this type of provision in the past, including the queen of hypocrites: Sarah Palin.

And finally, read about how the Republicans have no qualms about destroying a man's reputation. Dr. Ezekiel Emmanuel has a sister with cerebral palsy and has opposed euthanasia for his entire career. Yet the Republicans have no problem completely mischaracterizing his positions and selectively quoting out of context. (See Sonia Sotomayor for further evidence of such practice).

The health insurance and pharma industries have been spending a whole lot of money to destroy health care reform, and the Republican Party is doing its best to do their bidding -- lying, mischaracterizing, flip-flopping, and worst of all, inciting people to such rage and anger that I am truly afraid that something very bad could happen.

The Anti-Health Care Reform Crowd and Their Contradictions

Health care reform has become a signature issue for President Obama and therefore, the Republicans (and the powerful insurance and pharma lobby) are doing all they can to make sure he fails. This includes lying, exaggerating and fear-mongering. So let's go through some of these arguments.

First, there is the line about putting a bureaucrat between you and your doctor. Um, hello? That is already taking place today in the form of the insurance company bureaucrats! And does anyone really believe the insurance companies are looking out for the best interest of patients? No, they are working to make a profit -- hence their for-profit status. This is why you hear horror stories about people being stripped of coverage just when they need it the most, and why medical care and benefits are denied and appeals processes are a futile effort. So, would I rather have a government bureaucrat or an insurance company bureaucrat between me and my doctor? This is not really a hard decision!

Second, there is the portrayal of the government as a bunch of nincompoops who can't get anything right, let alone your health care. And yet, somehow we entrust the government to manage our military, our postal service, our fire and police departments, and any other number of services. Why is it only health care at which the government will be totally incompetent? And in fact, Congress and Veterans and retirees are all on government health care and seem to do just fine!

Then, there is the argument that having a public option is anti-free market and will crush the private insurance industry. If the government is so incompetent (see above), how will they be able to crush the insurance companies so easily? And shouldn't free marketers be for all competition? Isn't that the whole argument for a free market? Competition makes everyone better?

Finally, there is the constant drumming of how our health care system is the best in the world, and this is going to screw it all up. Is it the best in the world for those who can't get health insurance or quality medical care? Is it the best in the world for those who are forced into bankruptcy due to the overwhelming medical bills that can come from a serious illness?

Bottom line, I am not willing to say that health care should only be there for those who are able to afford it. I am not willing to say that someone should die if they don't have the money for a life-saving treatment.

Health care reform has to happen, and the sixty Democratic Senators had better grow a pair and make it happen.