Reply #12: "It's time for the candidates to . . . get behind a single-payer system" . . .

[OneBlueSky]

yes, it is . . . but in order to do that, the candidates have to do the one thing that will make a single payer system feasible . . . and that is to remove the insurance/HMO industry from the healthcare equation . . . they contribute nothing to the provision of healthcare services other than rationing them for short-term profits, and every dollar that they skim off the system is one less dollar that goes for patient care . . .

so unless a president is willing to stand up to the insurance industry and say "NO MORE!," the chances of achieving real healthcare reform are slim and none . . . and since both Democratic candidates receive substantial campaign contributions from that very industry, the chances of a single-payer system happening in either a Clinton or an Obama administration are equally slim and none . . .

bottom line: unless we can get the insurance industry out of the healthcare business and stop paying for their corporate salaries, perks, and obscene profits with our healthcare dollars, nothing will ever really change . . .