Remember the Name Dawn Smith

Dawn Smith is a vibrant young woman that has a brain tumor. She also has healthcare from CIGNA that she pays for. And that is the dilemma and problem with our healthcare system. CIGNA takes her premium payments but when the cost of her healthcare is to high, CIGNA just says “NO”! Then they more than double her premiums and nobody can stop them from just saying “NO”! Or can we? My thanks to MoveOn.ORG for sending me this email and video…

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The whole debate about healthcare isn’t about giving away the treasury of the country but holding companies like CIGNA to the fire when they fail to fulfill the obligation they accepted when they cash people like Dawn Smith’s healthcare premium check. In Dawn Smith's case, the check cleared and she drove off the lot with a lemon when it comes to her healthcare provider.

Feel free to go to MoveON.ORG and sign the petition that is forwarding your comments to the CEO of CIGNA. Then by all means feel free to contact your Congressional member to demand the system get fixed. Without the public option then all insurance companies can chuck the bird at everyone paying a premium for healthcare. Regulation of the insurance industry alone will not fix the system. Competition is the only way and if it comes from the government, all the better.

I wonder how much of a salary the CEO of CIGNA, H. Edward Hanway took over the last few years that was based on how aggressive his company was towards NOT paying out benefits for major illnesses. Better yet, how much in bonuses did he receive over the last few years that were funded by letting people like Dawn Smith fade away in the complaint department or just up and die? Brain tumor, how long could she keep complaining. Las Vegas odds would be with CIGNA on keeping the bulk of her premiums. Stamps are cheaper than an MRI or CAT scan last time I checked.

H. Edward Hanway gets the Papamoka Fundamental Unjust Corrupt Kevorkian Utopian Proffesional award this week. I’ll have to think of an abbreviation or acronym for it. Feel free to send suggestions in the comments.

Papamoka

Moving Healthcare Forward

Things in the healthcare debate are fired up and finally the left side of the aisle is coming back from summer vacation. It’s a given that the right wing attack on healthcare is in the last gasps for breath when Joe Lieberman comes out begging that the congress tackle this whole scenario in smaller bites. Wait till the economy recovers, or the recession is over, or till pigs fly. Well jumping parties Joe, Swine Flu is here and that meets one of the criteria for me to get it all done NOW!

Now is the time for all you vacationing Dem’s, and Liberal’s, and self declared whacko Leftie’s, to get on board the peace train and contact your elected leaders in the congress.

I noticed over the past few weeks that many of the people against healthcare have showed up for these town halls with some pretty anti American slogans. All the power to them, matter of fact, please keep it up. Left leaning blogs like this one can always use material of someone declaring themselves right wing with a swastika poster in hand. It doesn’t matter how you carry it or the message you wanted it to send, it still is an abomination to democracy no matter how loud you yell or scream.

We on the left side of the aisle can do better and just buy a ticket on the peace train. Call, email, or even write a letter to your congressional members in the house and senate. All aboard!

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Papamoka

Obama Bails On Public Option

President’ Obama and his spin doctors announced today that they are not blindly tied to the public option for healthcare reform that he fought for during his campaign for the Presidency. The translation of that statement for those of you that do not speak Politicism is that the private healthcare insurance industry has won the battle once more. Fifty million people will still not have health care and the cost for those of you that do will continue to rise unabated.

White House ready to drop ‘public option’? - MSNBC

WASHINGTON - Bowing to Republican pressure and an uneasy public, President Barack Obama's administration signaled Sunday it is ready to abandon the idea of giving Americans the option of government-run insurance as part of a new health care system.

Facing mounting opposition to the overhaul, administration officials left open the chance for a compromise with Republicans that would include health insurance cooperatives instead of a government-run plan. Such a concession would likely enrage his liberal supporters but could deliver Obama a much-needed win on a top domestic priority opposed by GOP lawmakers.

What it all comes down to is yet one more politician that happens to be the President selling out the millions of people that fought so hard for him to get elected. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were the only ones with workable plans for a public option for health care during the election and that is why it was basically a battle of the super stars of politics right down to the actual vote in the presidential primary. And a public health care option is why so many people worked to elect a Democratic party lead congress in both houses.

As a Democrat, and now somewhat progressive in thought person, I feel like I just got stabbed in the back. If President Obama wanted the full healthcare bill passed then he could have simply negotiated with his own political party to get the job done. It makes no sense to me why he is even considering Republican debate on this at all. Or could it be that the healthcare insurance industry saw the potential to be knocked off like a Soprano character if a public option was passed by the congress and used its own negotiating powers to kill it instead? That sounds more logical. I find it unbelievable that the political party with all the votes to get real healthcare reform passed was or is being handed its head on a silver platter courtesy of the opposition. I’m not just upset with my President either, my political party ran for cover at the first sign of trouble when it came to healthcare. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and Senate President, Harry Reid may have said they were behind the President on healthcare reform but neither was willing to fight for it in the congress.

In the end the health care insurance industry will be handed free money by the government courtesy of the GOP as long as they (wink, wink) promise to cut cost to consumers. Ten years from now there will be not 50 million but 100 million Americans without healthcare but the government subsidy checks to the insurance companies will still be cashed. Isn’t that the way it always works, the little guys get screwed and the money gets doled out to the people screwing America over anyway!

Healthcare reform is officially a dead issue. Without the public option it is just another meaningless spending bill for special interest groups that have bigger teeth than John or Jane Doe in America. And that would be the way it is simply because John and Jane Doe don’t have healthcare insurance.

Papamoka