Daily Archives: September 29, 2009

health care

Congressional Progressive Caucus Stands Firm for Robust Public Option

1 Comment

Public option — accept nothing less

By Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.)

09/22/09 05:26 PM ET

Reforming healthcare is more than angry town halls and political rhetoric thrown around cable news shows and in the halls of Congress. It is a serious matter that requires serious solutions. Members of Congress have an obligation to make access to healthcare affordable and accessible and take control of the ballooning costs. These skyrocketing costs are consuming budgets, overwhelming families and crippling our nation’s resources.

For decades, this country has endured a broken system that restricts and denies coverage when individuals need it most. Everyday, my office hears heartbreaking stories of individuals and families losing their insurance due to pre-existing conditions, bankruptcies and the exorbitant cost of care. Even for those with “good quality” healthcare coverage, the premiums alone force many to choose between medication or food on the table.

Continue reading Congressional Progressive Caucus Stands Firm for Robust Public Option →

health care

Why the Current Bills Don’t Solve Our Health Care Crisis

Leave a comment

headshotby Michael Moore

Sept. 29, 2009

Now we know why they’ve stopped calling this health care reform, and started calling it insurance reform. The current bills advancing in Congress look more like rearranging the deck chairs on the insurance Titanic than actually ending our long health care nightmare.

Some laudable elements are in various versions of the bills, especially expanding Medicaid, cutting the private insurance-padding waste of Medicare Advantage, and limiting the ability of the insurance giants to ban and dump people who have been or who ever will be sick.

But, overall, the leading bills and the President’s proposal are, like the dog that didn’t bark, more notable for what is missing.

Here are 13 problems with the current health care bills (partial list):

Continue reading Why the Current Bills Don’t Solve Our Health Care Crisis →