Why doesn't the USA have universal health care? one word: Race

[bluewater]

Last edited Mon Sep 16, 2019, 08:21 PM - Edit history (4)

Link to tweet

In 1945, when President Truman called on Congress to expand the nation’s hospital system as part of a larger health care plan, Southern Democrats obtained key concessions that shaped the American medical landscape for decades to come. The Hill-Burton Act provided federal grants for hospital construction to communities in need, giving funding priority to rural areas (many of them in the South). But it also ensured that states controlled the disbursement of funds and could segregate resulting facilities.

Professional societies like the American Medical Association barred black doctors; medical schools excluded black students, and most hospitals and health clinics segregated black patients. Federal health care policy was designed, both implicitly and explicitly, to exclude black Americans. As a result, they faced an array of inequities — including statistically shorter, sicker lives than their white counterparts. What’s more, access to good medical care was predicated on a system of employer-based insurance that was inherently difficult for black Americans to get. “They were denied most of the jobs that offered coverage,” says David Barton Smith, an emeritus historian of health care policy at Temple University. “And even when some of them got health insurance, as the Pullman porters did, they couldn’t make use of white facilities.”

In the shadows of this exclusion, black communities created their own health systems. Lay black women began a national community health care movement that included fund-raising for black health facilities; campaigns to educate black communities about nutrition, sanitation and disease prevention; and programs like National Negro Health Week that drew national attention to racial health disparities. Black doctors and nurses — most of them trained at one of two black medical colleges, Meharry and Howard — established their own professional organizations and began a concerted war against medical apartheid. By the 1950s, they were pushing for a federal health care system for all citizens.

That fight put the National Medical Association (the leading black medical society) into direct conflict with the A.M.A., which was opposed to any nationalized health plan. In the late 1930s and the 1940s, the group helped defeat two such proposals with a vitriolic campaign that informs present-day debates: They called the idea socialist and un-American and warned of government intervention in the doctor-patient relationship. The group used the same arguments in the mid-’60s, when proponents of national health insurance introduced Medicare. This time, the N.M.A. developed a countermessage: Health care was a basic human right.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/universal-health-care-racism.html

As our candidates discuss Medicare for All in the primary debates, this article seemed especially pertinent. I wish Warren or Sanders, as supporters of Medicare for All, would raise this point explicitly in the next debate -- systemic racism has greatly affected the healthcare system in America. Heck, I wish all the candidates would raise this point.

[Loki Liesmith]

1. This ain't it

[Bradical79]

31. ?

[Hortensis]

2. Black and white thinking. How'd this guy get his degree?

If Dr. Whatsit took even a brief look at Europe, which enslaved white people and didn't need to import other races, his thesis would be blasted before he closed the first screen.

OR, he could just look to his right and check out the thinking of our Republican leadership.

Question asked of Republican Senator Ron Johnson:

“Do you personally consider health care as a privilege or a right?”

“I think it’s probably more of a privilege. Do you consider food a right? Do you consider clothing a right? Do you consider shelter a right? What we have as rights is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Past that point, we have the right to freedom. Past that point everything else is a limited resource that we have to use our opportunities given to us to afford those things.

“Sen. Rand Paul talked about this on the floor of the Senate. He’s a doctor. He said the minute you consider health care a right, well, who’s going to satisfy that right? And those people who have the skills to satisfy that right, what does that make them if they’re forced to provide you with that rightful product or service?”

Rep. Mo Brooks of AL: (R-Ala.) arguing for why people with pre-existing conditions should be taken out of the regular insurance pool and put into "high-risk pools." (At enormous premiums most couldn't afford.): ... "it offsets all these costs, thereby reducing the cost to those people who lead good lives. They're healthy. They've done the things to keep their bodies healthy. And right now those are the people who have done things the right way that are seeing their costs skyrocketing." He did allow that there are some people who have pre-existing conditions "through no fault of their own,"....

The notion that deserving people create their good fortune and that should be rewarded and undeserving people should be punished until they learn to be good (or die) is seen in the earliest available records around the planet. It's embedded in the text of every major religion, and of course almost all societies.

The only valid functions of government are protection of person and property." Charles Koch, and he means police, fire services, military.

[bluewater]

3. You don't think systemic racism in the US has affected healthcare?

[mountain grammy]

5. It damn sure has..

Anyone who worked in the system in the 60’s 70’s or 80’s, like I did saw it every day.

[bluewater]

6. +1000

[Hortensis]

9. Straw's for baskets, not man. Everyone should wonder why

every issue is being turned into a race indictment against the Democratic Party. Not healthcare for all, racism. Not good liberal education for all, racism. Not helping people in trouble, racism. Not equal pay, racism. Not ANYTHING good, just racism.

I suggest everyone look to his own right for the raging threat of racism to worry about.

This was Cindy Hyde-Smith, now elected Senator Hyde-Smith by the good conservatives of MS after saying this: "If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be on the front row,..."

Mississippi, of course, has a beyond-dreadful legacy of lynching, more than any other state, but clearly most conservatives are far from sickened and shamed but share Smith's respect for a lost problem-solving technique.

[betsuni]

42. "every issue is being turned into a race indictment against the Democratic Party."

Yes, it will be the main attack. Aimed at the depressing support of the Democratic base. The drip drip drip of these stories until people think where there's smoke there's fire. Like last time.

[LincolnRossiter]

13. It's impossible to exclude race as a factor or ignore often disparate racial outcomes for just about

any persistent, large-scale issue in the United States. Race and racial bias have permeated just about every area of American society—cultural, economic, spiritual, etc. But to say that we don’t have universal healthcare simply because of race is lazy and simplistic. I’m sure there are racial factors for some disparities in access, coverage, and outcomes, but there are other major factors as well—cultural, socioeconomic, and even regional. Some rural areas have arguably more onerous hurtles to adequate access than even the poorest inner citiy neighborhoods.

[Hortensis]

48. NO one excluded race, though, right?

Let's keep this honest.

This OP claims one overwhelming reason, and anyone foolish enough to fall victim to that idea is dangerously deficient in understanding the far more complex world we live in and its people.

Problems aren't solved by people who have no idea what they are, but their ignorance is a dandy tool in the hands of pernicious agents. The Tea Party and Trump's election couldn't be bigger examples. Both were profoundly ignorant rebellions against the growing kleptocrat classes the Republican leadership serves.

[Act_of_Reparation]

4. Did we just flat out forget about the Southern Strategy?

[Hortensis]

11. Did we just forget this is about OUR PRIMARY CANDIDATES?

[Celerity]

36. every single one of our Democratic primary candidates except Hickenlooper said they're for universal

healthcare, even Delaney, Klobuchar, Bullock, and Biden, although Biden's plan admits it will leave 10 million uninsured as is currently stated on his website.

Hickenlooper said universal healthcare was 'dangerous for Americans', AFTER he had earlier claimed to be for it, so he cleary is confused as to definitions and/or what he believes.

You do NOT need to use single-payer or MFA or eliminate private insurance to get to universal healthcare. All advanced nations in the world except the US have it, and many are not single-payer, and many use private insurance.

[Hortensis]

45. Celerity you're promoting an already exposed lie.

And don't say Biden's website says 10 million would be left uncovered. It does not. You really should have looked for yourself before you posted such a thing. THIS is from his website, though:

For Biden, this is personal. He believes that every American has a right to the peace of mind that comes with knowing they have access to affordable, quality health care. ...

Under Obamacare, those who can't afford to pay any premium at all will have those premiums covered by the rest of the taxpayers. Us. Just like the ACA already does for millions, except it will now cover those unfortunates whom Republicans, especially in state governments, have cruelly managed to bar from coverage.

Currently, signing up for premium subsidy on the ACA's public marketplace requires only one more step than signing up for insurance alone, which is like healthcare heaven it's so easy.

1. To sign up for insurance, you enter your name and address and enter the insurance plan you've chosen. That's it!

2. If you need a subsidy, you THEN enter I believe (it's been a while) your last year's income and this year's anticipated income. Then you hit enter and find out what your anticipated premium will be.

And that's the lie Castro pushed at the debate -- that in future, as those needing complete subsidization are added, having to "opt in" by entering their income/means information on that last screen would bar them from coverage.

Biden in Iowa the other day: The public option is the quickest, most rational way to get universal coverage for all. Yep: No one can argue with that "quickest" either. The ACA's public option has been ready to go from the beginning. We already did that.

[Celerity]

46. no, you are just plain wrong, sorry, and I have posted this in detail before

Biden's own website itself says (and this is a BEST-CASE scenario) that around 10 million (it states 97% will be covered, do the math) will remain uninsured (so it is NOT universal coverage at all) and that has been fact-checked as true.

Also the entire exchange between Castro and Biden about the 'buy-in' versus auto enrolment was mischaracterised as Castro being wrong on what he said. He was not, Biden DID say what Castro claimed he did. I will show this definitively below.


https://joebiden.com/healthcare/




Fact check: Kamala Harris on Biden's health care plan leaving out 10 million Americans

https://edition.cnn.com/politics/live-news/democratic-debate-july-31-2019/h_15d6c3c87a7150d7d7e2c9db01f64e83

Sen. Kamala Harris attacked former Vice President Joe Biden’s health care plan, saying it “leaves out almost 10 million Americans.”

Facts first: Harris is right.

Biden’s plan -- which builds on the Affordable Care Act by creating a government-backed health insurance option and increasing Obamacare’s federal subsidies – would insure more than an estimated 97% of Americans, according to his plan.

That means out of the population of 327 million in the country, roughly 10 million would be left without any health insurance.

However, it’s unclear exactly who would be uninsured. But under Biden’s plan, families buying coverage on the Obamacare exchanges would spend no more than 8.5% of their income on health insurance – a sum that might be too pricey for some Americans.

snip


also the population will be over 330 million by the time (and IF) Biden's plan is implemented. It is already almost 330 million NOW, that 327 figure is dated.


https://www.census.gov/popclock/

(this is real-time updated continuously, so when you look the number will be higher than my screenshot right below)





Fact-Checking the Democratic Debate

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/12/us/politics/fact-check-democratic-debate-september.html

Our reporters followed all of the exchanges and fact-checked the candidates, providing context and explanation on the policy debates.

WHAT THE FACTS ARE

Julián Castro said Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s health plan would not cover enough of the nation’s uninsured population and would not automatically enroll people who were eligible.

WHAT MR. CASTRO SAID:

“I also worked for President Obama, Vice President Biden, and I know that the problem with your plan is that it leaves 10 million people uncovered.”

Later, he added, “The difference between what I support and what you support, Vice President Biden, is that you require them to opt in, and I would not require them to opt in — they would automatically be enrolled.”


This is mostly true. Mr. Biden is not backing the Medicare for All Act being promoted by Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, which would replace all private insurance coverage with a government-run plan.

Mr. Biden wants to expand Obamacare by offering a public option. He says his plan would cover 97 percent of Americans — a figure that Mr. Castro appeared to seize on to justify his statement that the Biden plan would leave 10 million people uncovered. Among them would be undocumented immigrants who would not qualify for the federal subsidies that could help make coverage affordable.

Most people would have to enroll themselves in the public option under Mr. Biden’s plan — leaving the possibility that some would fall through the cracks — but it would automatically enroll millions of low-income people in states that have rejected the option of expanding Medicaid under Obamacare.

snip


Joe Biden Doesn’t Seem to Understand Health Care

The Democratic debate reveals that the vice president has only a shaky grasp on his competitors' plans—as well as his own.

https://newrepublic.com/article/155048/joe-biden-doesnt-seem-understand-health-care

If we are going to keep having these grim circuses that we call debates, and begin each one with an extended segment about health care, it would be nice if we could stop asking the same questions again and again—but what about taxes?—and try to pin the leading candidates down on the specifics of their plans. They could ask Kamala Harris why anyone would keep their employer insurance if her Medicare plan would limit out-of-pocket spending to $200, or ask Bernie Sanders how a Medicare For All system would decide what to cover. But it’s the frontrunner who is most in need of a grilling, because lately he has seemed incapable of discussing any health care plan, including his own, with any accuracy.

Joe Biden says his plan will “guarantee that everyone will be able to have affordable insurance.” It is impossible to say that his plan will accomplish this. Biden’s plan would increase subsidies on the Affordable Care Act marketplace and lower the premium limit on marketplace plans from 9.86 to 8.5 percent of annual income. As Julián Castro noted, to Biden’s head-shaking, Biden’s own website says it would leave three percent of Americans uninsured, or more than 10 million people. It’s also pretty laughable to assert that lowering the premium limit to 8.5 percent and pegging subsidies to Gold instead of Silver plans will “guarantee” that everyone’s coverage will be affordable, particularly when this only applies to marketplace plans that cover just 11 million people.

Biden’s plan would limit deductibles to $1,000—which, while better than the astronomical deductibles millions have today, would certainly not be affordable for many families to pay in one go—but doesn’t appear to have any mechanism to lower employer-based plan premiums, which continue to rise. (Indeed, it’s hard to imagine that insurers wouldn’t dramatically raise premiums if deductibles were limited; another great reason to get rid of insurers entirely.) And merely promising “affordable insurance” is not enough, of course, when so many expenses are incurred even with affordable insurance, such drug costs and out-of-network bills.

Some health care concepts seem to escape him entirely. When pressing Sanders on the cost of his plan, Biden said that Sanders’s plan promised “a deductible in your paycheck.” This does not make sense. Clearly, he means a tax or a premium, but this is at least the second time he’s said this, and his team pushed the line out on Twitter as well. It is troubling that his proficiency with the jargon of health care financing is so loose after many months of campaigning, let alone after eight years of being vice president in the administration that passed the Affordable Care Act.

The oddest moment arose during a discussion as to whether Biden’s plan would “automatically” cover people. Sanders insisted that his plan was the “only one” that would prevent people going into “financial ruin because they suffered with a diagnosis of cancer.” Biden, as is his wont, said cancer was “personal” to him, and objected to Sanders’s contention: “Every single person who is diagnosed with cancer or any other disease can automatically become part of this plan. They will not go bankrupt because of that. They will not go bankrupt because of that. They can join immediately.”

But it is not true that a person facing such a diagnosis would “automatically” get Biden’s public option, because access to that public option will still be determined by a complicated system of premiums and subsidies—in other words, means testing. We don’t know how much the premiums under Biden’s public option would cost, but it seems clear that his understanding of health care access is very simplistic. To Biden’s mind, if you’re poor enough to have free or subsidized access to the public option, you should be able to afford all associated health care costs. And if you’re not poor enough, it means you’re sufficiently well-off to bear the costs.

snip



https://www.factcheck.org/2019/08/factchecking-julys-round-two-debate/

Harris-Biden Spar on Health Care

Biden initially said that his health care plan would cover the “vast, vast, vast majority” of Americans, but when pushed by Harris, he later said it would “cover everyone.” His own campaign website says otherwise.

Harris: I’m going to go back to Vice President Biden, because your plan does not cover everyone in America.

By your staff’s and your own definition, 10 million people — as many as 10 million people will not have access to health care. And in 2019 in America, for a Democrat to be running for president with a plan that does not cover everyone, I think is without excuse. Our plan covers everyone. …

Biden: My plan does — will cover everyone, number one.

Biden’s website does not claim that his health care plan would cover everyone in the U.S.

Biden’s plan calls for, among other things, offering a Medicare-style public health insurance option as a choice and increasing tax credits for individuals purchasing insurance on the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges.

His website says his plan to “build on the Affordable Care Act” will “insure more than an estimated 97% of Americans.”

snip


the same subject, but between Biden and Castro in the next debate this time was was fact checked here, in even more detail



finally

a post on here led me to go back and look at the transcript and Castro was right, not Biden



Biden DID say what Castro said he did, Biden did say BUY IN, and he did say the 'can automatically become part of this plan' and ' They can join immediately.' Biden did not (and his plan does not say it either) say they are automatically ENROLLED. The ONLY people Biden's plans states who will be automatically enrolled are the extreme poor (138% and under of the Federal poverty level).

A person who loses their insurance from a job that pays above that will NOT be auto-enrolled. Do not take my word for it, go search 'enroll' and 'automatically' in his entire healthcare plan at the transcript link right below. What Biden did was to try and conflate a DIFFERENT EXAMPLE (ie. where he says below IF they are eligible for MEDICAID (ie the 138% of FPL) when the conversation was NOT about only that group of extremely poor, and YES a person making more not only is not auto-enrolled, BUT they do have to BUY-IN, which is EXACTLY what Castro said about Biden's OWN WORDS.

He (Castro) was right. Biden said first they DID have to buy in (the job-loser, and he NEVER stipulated they had to only a near poverty worker), then Biden said he did not say that, but he did say it. Biden was wrong. He tried to play 'move-the-goalpost' when he was challenged by Castro.

The key part is when Biden tried to claim

BIDEN: I said anyone like your grandmother who has no money.

He did not say that when he was talking about a job-loser (which is exactly what Castro was talking about.) Biden also DID say BUY-IN (exactly what Castro claimed) as anyone making over 138% of FPL does have to buy-in, and also they are NOT auto-enrolled. Read the transcript below for yourself, read Biden's own plan.

It is a big deal, as people eligible for Medicaid are only a relatively small percentage of the full-time or near full-time workforce, most are children, the ageing, limited part-time workers and the disabled,most of whom are not covered by an employer-based insurance plan anyway.

138% of FPL is only $16,753. If you make around 8.50 USD per hour or more and work 40 hours a week, you do not qualify. If you are a couple filing jointly it is even harder to qualify, even if you also had a child.

https://help.ihealthagents.com/hc/en-us/articles/223155407-What-are-Federal-Poverty-Levels-Used-for-




The Transcript

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/09/13/transcript-third-democratic-debate/



snip



snip







I am not pushing lies, maybe YOU should do some more research before you post such accusatory tosh.

[Hortensis]

47. "Biden: Do not have to buy in if you can't afford it."

[Celerity]

58. that not only doesn't address the main points, but it also shows the inherent weakness of his plan

as it is current constituted.

He made multiple erroneous claims, which both Harris and then Castro called out.

1 His plan doe NOT cover everyone, via its very own words on Biden's website it doesn't cover 10 million (and that has been fact-checked so many times.)

2 Biden gave an example of a worker being laid off and having to buy in which he then later falsely claimed he was talking about Castros grandmother (at the time of the laid off worker comment by Biden, CASTRO HAD NOT even mentioned his grandmother yet.) After Castro challenged him, Biden THEN switched to the Medicaid poverty test. Furthermore, IF that laid off worker is above 138% of the Federal Poverty level they most definitely have to buy in and pay accordingly (which again Biden never even says what the rates are, not even on his website.)

138% of FPL is only $16,753. If you make around 8.50 USD per hour or more and work 40 hours a week, you do not qualify. If you are a couple filing jointly it is even harder to qualify, even if you also had a child, as two workers making 8.50 an hour each at forty hours per week are WELL above the limit for two people, i fact they are close to 11,000 USD over the limit for 2 people ($10,792 over to be exact at 2018 FPL guideline levels). Even if they had a qualifying child they are still almost 5000 USD over the limit ($4830 over the limit to be exact.) Even if you add a second child, and one of the adults gets a one dollar per hour raise, the STILL do not qualify, as they would be around 1000 USD over the limit. Thats is two adults making 8.50 and the other 9.50 per hour at a fulltime 40 hours per week, plus TWO children, and his plan does not allow them to get on the public option.

A single mother making the much touted 15 USD per hour minimum wage full time at 40 hours per week not only does not qualify is she has a child, she still doesn't qualify if she has TWO children. No auto-enrollment, and not eligible for Biden's Medicaid Option as she makes over 2500 USD too much per year, ($2524 to be exact).

3 Biden at first DID say 'buy in' (and only said that pre existing conditions cannot stop you, which is the case now) as he was talking about a laid off worker IF and people are falsely hammering Castro for pointing that out. Biden did NOT say anything about near poverty in THE PART Castro was questioning. Biden then corrected himself by sliding the goalpost and ex-post facto bring up the part you just replied with to me.


4 Biden falsely claimed every single person who is diagnosed with cancer or any other disease can automatically become part of his plan. If they make too much, they are not eligible.



I break this down into a play by play


Here is the part Castro was referring to from Biden




Biden then makes this FALSE claim next




IF they make too much, they DO NOT QUALIFY, cancer or any other disease (which Biden just claimed), for the Biden Medicare plan (which IS what he is talking about now) and they are NOT auto-enrolled



Castro then CORRECTLY states this, the 10 million left uncovered, again multiple times fact-checked a TRUE





here is what Castro said when he got a chance later on




here is Biden responding and then Castro




Castro is RIGHT as what Biden said above was a BUYING IN (and the fact that a preexisting condition could not stop you, which is already the case) Biden also made the false claim that anyone with cancer or any disease automatically qualifies and is auto enrolled, which they ARE NOT, if they make too much, as documented above and below.


here again is what Biden said, BEFORE, the part Castro is TALKING ABOUT

go look at the transcript




NOW Biden tries to cover by adding in the Medicaid poverty test, WHICH HE NEVER SAID UNTIL NOW




Castro now correctly calls Biden out again, as Biden had only just now made the Medicaid poverty exception


Biden then FALSELY claims he was talking about Castro's grandmother or other people too poor

WHICH if you go search the entire Debate you will NEVER FIND HIM (BIDEN) SAYING THAT UNTIL RIGHT HERE

CASTRO WAS DEAD SPOT ON RIGHT




done with that, case closed


Finally


back to the Biden plan with the most key takeaway from thsi article I posted before, as they summarise this issues nicely


https://newrepublic.com/article/155048/joe-biden-doesnt-seem-understand-health-care

snip

Joe Biden says his plan will “guarantee that everyone will be able to have affordable insurance.” It is impossible to say that his plan will accomplish this. Biden’s plan would increase subsidies on the Affordable Care Act marketplace and lower the premium limit on marketplace plans from 9.86 to 8.5 percent of annual income. As Julián Castro noted, to Biden’s head-shaking, Biden’s own website says it would leave three percent of Americans uninsured, or more than 10 million people. It’s also pretty laughable to assert that lowering the premium limit to 8.5 percent and pegging subsidies to Gold instead of Silver plans will “guarantee” that everyone’s coverage will be affordable, particularly when this only applies to marketplace plans that cover just 11 million people.

Biden’s plan would limit deductibles to $1,000—which, while better than the astronomical deductibles millions have today, would certainly not be affordable for many families to pay in one go—but doesn’t appear to have any mechanism to lower employer-based plan premiums, which continue to rise. (Indeed, it’s hard to imagine that insurers wouldn’t dramatically raise premiums if deductibles were limited; another great reason to get rid of insurers entirely.) And merely promising “affordable insurance” is not enough, of course, when so many expenses are incurred even with affordable insurance, such drug costs and out-of-network bills.

snip

The oddest moment arose during a discussion as to whether Biden’s plan would “automatically” cover people. Sanders insisted that his plan was the “only one” that would prevent people going into “financial ruin because they suffered with a diagnosis of cancer.” Biden, as is his wont, said cancer was “personal” to him, and objected to Sanders’s contention: “Every single person who is diagnosed with cancer or any other disease can automatically become part of this plan. They will not go bankrupt because of that. They will not go bankrupt because of that. They can join immediately.”

But it is not true that a person facing such a diagnosis would “automatically” get Biden’s public option, because access to that public option will still be determined by a complicated system of premiums and subsidies—in other words, means testing. We don’t know how much the premiums under Biden’s public option would cost, but it seems clear that his understanding of health care access is very simplistic. To Biden’s mind, if you’re poor enough to have free or subsidized access to the public option, you should be able to afford all associated health care costs. And if you’re not poor enough, it means you’re sufficiently well-off to bear the costs.

snip

[Act_of_Reparation]

44. Most of our primary candidates seem as if they are well aware of the right's success...

...in mobilizing the public against welfare programs by way of racism.

Also, I think your shift key might be sticky.

[Hortensis]

56. :) Thanks, Act Of. I'll check that shift key.

[BlueWI]

54. How'd this guy get his degree? Really?

You had to go there over a difference of opinion?

[AllaN01Bear]

7. this

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill%E2%80%93Burton_Act

[Midnight Writer]

8. Another word: profit. The American oligarchs are making a "killing" by extorting the sick.

[throwthe_shoe]

19. right on! race is just one of the tools the oligarchs use to....

manipulate the costs and profits.. period... if they could get even richer screwing the white race they would do it..... there is nothing more than that...PROFITS, PROFITS, PROFITS

to believe much of anything else shows ignorance

[ehrnst]

10. Racial disparities is also an issue in Canada and in Australia, where there is UHC.

So it's not going to neccessarily be the solution to that.

There will have to be action taken on what some consider to be "identity politics."

http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/race-policy-dialogue-papers/racial-inequality-access-health-care-services


https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032315-021439

[IronLionZion]

12. "White legislators argued that free assistance of any kind would breed dependence"

White legislators argued that free assistance of any kind would breed dependence and that when it came to black infirmity, hard labor was a better salve than white medicine. As the death toll rose, they developed a new theory: Blacks were so ill suited to freedom that the entire race was going extinct. “No charitable black scheme can wash out the color of the Negro, change his inferior nature or save him from his inevitable fate,” an Ohio congressman said.

I'm glad DUers are discussing this now. There were also efforts to exclude black Americans from Social Security and other benefits, purely out of spite. Woodrow Wilson fired most black people from the federal government because his wife thought they might be a danger to the white women working there and having white workers reporting to a black manager was just plain unacceptable back then.

There was an asshole on another liberal forum this morning insisting that he has earned his tax subsidized healthcare but doesn't want his taxes paying for the healthcare for lazy freeloading .... he was banned from that site and posts deleted because of the racial nature of who he felt deserved healthcare. It was disgusting.

A lot of people seem to think undocumented immigrants are getting free Obamacare, for example.

[certainot]

14. we don't have single payer because the left/dems let 1500 radio stations blast the country with BS

going on 30 years now

we gave limbag a free speech free ride to stop hillary when she tried to get reform started and haven't done shit re talk radio as it spread bullshit all over the country for 3 decades about socialism, canadians streaming across the border to get health care here, long lines for life saving operations, british docs can't afford cars, etc.

that's what obama was up against and the russians were helping then, getting the teabaggers organized and screaming talk radio talking points at town halls etc, then the dumbshits fell for the 'he's not trying' bullshit and didn't vote in 2010

the only reason we don't have single payer is we continue the biggest political mistake in history - ignoring talk radio

[Duppers]

24. Glad you keep reminding folks of this! 👍

What can be done to stop this propaganda filling the airwaves? Besides keeping reminding folks and boycotting sponsors?

Thanks!



Disclosure: I've a personal interest because talk radio, in great part, was responsible for my brother's intense, seemingly irreparable brainwashing.

[certainot]

39. thxs. destroy the RW talk radio monopoly w/market demand - it's not enough to vote, GOTV, donate.

artificial intelligence makes it easy, cheap to digitize talk radio - the ad industry will do the work once they become aware of how easy it is for activists to record, transcribe, and list advertisers with hardly any listening required.

talk radio is the only unique advantage they have and at $1000/hr 1200 stations x 15 hrs/day is worth about $5BIL/year FREE to them - and the kremlin trolls piggybacking it.. they know how important it is and democratic and media leadership clearly think it's irrelevant. ad it should not be considered part of the free speech spectrum as long as it is a well protected and coordinated monopoly. destroying the talk radio propaganda operation will help on every level, every issue, every election.

it wouldn't take much activism for the ad industry to get the message it has to start asking radio ad clients if they REALLY want to support the global warming denial, racism, hate, and ignorance

RW has perpetuated the myth that the monopoly is a reflection of the market demand for hate and lies ---advertisers will head for the hills and many stations will have to change programming to stay alive

and it wouldn't hurt for students and communities to start protesting anything trump at the 88+ universities that broadcast sports on 260 limbaugh stations. those schools need to be asked what they would do if the KKK bought those stations, because basically they did 20 or 30 years agor

[Duppers]

41. OP this post. Yep, again.

Folks need to click that link & read.

[BlueWI]

55. Spot on.

There's not enough Democratic-leaning media that is pitched to a younger audience. An organizing effort of this kind is critical, and unless it starts with grassroots action, it ain't happening. I agree that this should be an OP AND a movement. Food for thought.

[mwooldri]

15. Race definitely played a part during America's Apartheid era.

Today, profit plays a much bigger part. Race still does but for profit healthcare is the big barrier today.

A lot of Europe got universal healthcare as a result of being bombed to smithereens in WW2 and as the rebuilding was going on a whole lot of social programs got put into place, one of them being the UK's NHS - among other systems introduced in Europe around that time. I don't want to bomb the USA to bits to get universal healthcare but it will need a political revolution to get it to happen.

[George II]

16. That's simply not true. Seems like some of these writer are coming to a conclusion and then....

...trying to back into the rationale behind that conclusion.

[Oppaloopa]

17. American Dental Association was worse. We had a dentist in St Petersburg who was denined entry

because he was black. When they changed their rules he refused to join. He was my dentist 30 years ago. I don't know if he is still with us. He treated a lot of low income people including me at the time $25 to pull a tooth. Thank you Dr Spann.

[Kind of Blue]

18. Thanks for posting.

[NewJeffCT]

20. They also could have had healthcare in the 1970s as well

Nixon had proposed a healthcare plan that included a public option. It was nixed by Democrats at the time as not being liberal enough, but a public option is a more liberal plan than the ACA.

Jimmy Carter and Teddy Kennedy then could not come to an agreement when Dems had big majorities in both houses of Congress and Carter was president - Kennedy wanted something like a Medicare for All Plan, while Carter wanted something closer to what Nixon had proposed.

[at140]

28. Good info..I knew nothing about this...nt

[Mosby]

21. All insurance companies should be member owned

It's a public good.

Same with hospitals and utilities.

[BlueMississippi]

22. This is election time demagoguery

to make M4A a race issue. A last ditch effort to get AA support for BS and Sen. Warren.

It is so glaringly transparent, it is hilarious.

[bluewater]

23. A major news project observing the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery

is election time demagoguery?

The 1619 Project is a major initiative from The New York Times observing the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country’s history, understanding 1619 as our true founding, and placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are.

Well, everyone has an opinion, I guess....

[Kurt V.]

27. omg. lol. again.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

29. I encourage you to read upon the 1619 Project. It's amazing.

Here's a PDF if you need one: http://pulitzercenter.org/sites/default/files/full_issue_of_the_1619_project.pdf

[BlueMississippi]

52. You mean I was not hallucinating?

Can I stop taking my clozapine now?

[elocs]

25. The U.S. is not western Europe or Canada or Australia.

There is no reason to believe we can just plop down the socialized healthcare systems that work in those countries and have them magically work here.
The picture painted for Medicare for All is so perfectly rosy that to anyone who has 2 brain cells to rub together would think is too good to be true. Yet the proponents of MFA seem puzzled why everyone does not enthusiastically swallow it hook, line, and sinker.

Conservatively, at least a third of Americans are passionately against anything that hints of socialism and they actually bother to turn out and vote. What are you going to do with them? Reeducation camps?
When Medicare for All does not work out as promised, what will be the excuses given for that?
But the truth is that MFA is unlikely to be ever passed into law although its proponents will never admit that, holding out a dream as reality.

[Kurt V.]

26. There is a much bigger problem at play here. you would ask me to believe that all other countries

are wrong in their approach to healthcare and that the u.s. approach is Singularly correct.

[elocs]

33. Nope, you said that. Nice try though. n/t

[Kurt V.]

34. I'm not trying anything. I'm pointing out that all industrialized , modern economies have

some form of universal health care. and you call it socialism. That's a big problem

[Bradical79]

35. No We Can't

The Democratic motto.

[bluewater]

37. Canada is an excellent proof of concept for Medicare for All in the US.

First, culturally Canada and the US are very similar.

Second, Canada, like the US, is a geographically large country with dispersed population centers stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans.

Third, Canada has a fairly large and diverse population of over ~35 million people compared to the US population of~335 Million.
This means Canada has been roughly a 1/10th scale test project of universal health care since 1961 that the US can see has worked.

A 1/10th scale proof of concept is HUGE proof the system works.

[elocs]

43. How about the MFA banning private insurance?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Canada

"30 percent of Canadians' healthcare is paid for through the private sector. This mostly goes towards services not covered or partially covered by Medicare, such as prescription drugs, dentistry and optometry. Approximately 65 to 75 percent of Canadians have some form of supplementary health insurance related to the aforementioned reasons;"

The Canadian Medicare doesn't cover prescription drugs, dental, or vision coverage.
No, the U.S. is not Canada.
And MFA is painted as being this miracle healthcare solution that will just magically happen and get paid for. Americans are generally smart enough to realize that when something sound too good to be true it usually is.

[mr_lebowski]

57. And WHY, do you suppose, in their heart of hearts, so many are worried about 'socialism'?

Because it means the station and fate of black and brown people will be raised at the expense of the white ruling class.

Numerous Repubs, even recently, have claimed that National Health Plans work in various European Countries because of their populations 'homogeneity' and 'shared values'.

IOW, they're very white, so people go along with these programs there because it's benefiting almost entirely their own race.

Anyone who thinks that the paranoia about anything resembling 'socialism' in this country is primarily because of fear of 'socialism', and NOT, in reality a FRONT for their racism (and classism) ... is fucking clueless, IMHO.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

30. K&R. Understanding the role of race and racism in U.S. policies will help us make more effective and

lasting change.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

32. The fact that some see this as an attack on a certain candidate or the Democratic Party in

general just goes to show how vehemently some people resist talking about race and racism.

[AllyCat]

50. That's what I was thinking.

What Democrat would not want all the information to root out this festering rot in our nation?

[BlueWI]

53. You said it.

Minds that think critically on other issues often snap shut when the topic turns to race. People can be so outraged that their actions can be complicit with racism that they don't engage the topic of race with reason.

[MadDAsHell]

38. Wd don't have universal health CARE because Americans won't pay for universal health INSURANCE.

80% of America's healthcare costs are incurred by far less than 20% of the population. Our natural cowboy attitude as Americans makes it very difficult for some people to swallow the idea that they are going to subsidize the higher healthcare costs of others who cost more than them, especially when so much of those costs are a direct result of choices not to care for oneself (e.g. tobacco use, obesity, drug use, etc.).

Americans prefer the auto insurance approach where your personal choices directly impact your personal cost.

Americans cowboy attitudes have far more to do with the lack of universal healthcare than racism.

[The Mouth]

59. My observation, also

Almost NONE of my family members think that ANYONE who smokes, or has ever used hard drugs, or not worked a job every day unless they were actively looking for work *ANY* work, deserves anything more than death under a bridge somewhere.

I'm exaggerating, but covering everyone, regardless of their lifestyle choices (alcohol, obesity, smoking) is anathema to a whole hell of a lot of Americans.

[Skya Rhen]

40. So much concern for the black race - as an AA, I am so appreciative.

[Sneederbunk]

51. Two words Big Insurance.

[Joe941]

60. Nope the one word is Greed!