Progressive Democrats of America continues its campaign to add a firm commitment to universal health care to the 2008 Democratic platform. PDA activists were at the platform committee's gathering in Cleveland last weekend, and they plan a major presence at the key pre-convention session this coming weekend in Pittsburgh.

Getting language as strong as PDA seeks will be difficult. Illinois Senator Barack Obama, whose campaign controls the platform-writing process, has been cautious about committing too firmly to the mandates that would be required to insure universal coverage.

That was clear at last weekend's Cleveland gathering.

But the PDA activists are winning allies.

More than 180 delegates to this summer's Democratic National Convention -- led by House Judiciary Committee chair John Conyers, the second-longest serving Democrat in teh House and an early and essential Obama backer -- have now signed on to the following letter:

Senator Barack Obama has called for passage of universal health care as one of his most important legislative priorities if elected president. Senator Hillary Clinton also called for passage of universal health care as one of her most important legislative priorities if elected president.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors, at its June 2008 national meeting, passed a resolution in support of single-payer health care. A recent study found that 59 percent of physicians support universal health care. Thirty-five state AFL-CIO organizations support single-payer health care.

Today, 47 million Americans have no health insurance, and another 50 million are under-insured. The Institute of Medicine tells us that 21,000 people die each year because of a lack of health insurance, and the United States ranks 37th in overall health care indicators in the world.

Leaders of American businesses cite rising health care costs as a crisis that is undermining American business's ability to compete with other countries that have lower health care costs.

Forty percent of all bankruptcies are due to unpaid medical bills, and most of those who filed for bankruptcy had health insurance at the time of filing. An estimated 58 million adults are at risk of incurring medical bills they may not be able to afford, including 17.6 million privately insured adults.

For the Platform to be adopted at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, we support a plank calling for our nation to enact universal health care that will:

* Guarantee accessible health care for all.

* Create a single standard of high quality, comprehensive, and preventive health care for all.

* Allow freedom of choice of physician, hospital, and other health care providers.

* Eliminate financial barriers that prevent families and individuals from obtaining the medically necessary care they need.

* Allow physicians, nurses and other licenced health care providers to make health care decisions based on what is best for the health of the patient.

The PDA letter will be delivered in Pittsburgh, where the progressive Democrats and their allies plan to rally for a "Health Care for All" platform.

Comments (37)

1. Fairy Tale.

   However, if you're gonna dream, you might as well dream big.

   Posted by Benchrest at 08/04/2008 @ 4:40pm

2. Well, SLIGHTLY less than Bench, the truth is...

   If Obama wins big...you guys will get UHC.

   If it's a squeaker...he'll nibble at the edges as he's talked about.

   Only MASSIVE public support (i.e. a landslide over McCain and good polling in 2009) will get a "Medicare for All" plan through Congress.

   Just the way it is right now.

   (May I add..."fortuntely"...for reasons long espoused on this blog.)

   Posted by Maskdelta at 08/04/2008 @ 4:50pm

3. Hey, while they're at it, shouldn't American 'progressives' vote to give every man, woman and child in America a guaranteed $100,000 salary for life? Shit, why not $1,000,000?

   Oh yeah. That would be impractical.

   LOL!

   Posted by pontificus at 08/04/2008 @ 5:51pm

4. There is a big difference between Universal healthcare and One Payer-Medicare for all. Senator Obama is in favor of 'Universal Healthcare' which does not eliminate the insurance industry from the equation. He is showing his true corporate colors.

   Posted by nursevic at 08/04/2008 @ 6:54pm

5. you know,

   we comment on the efficiency

   or cost

   of the numbers.

   but we are talking about people's health.

   a doctor makes far more money than a farmer, yet who is more important?

   a lawyer makes more money than a musician, yet who would we miss more if they all disappeared?

   we seem to equate people's importance with their income.

   "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

   and so one of the noblest goals we can have is to help our fellow human, especially when they are ill.

   you fear that a system of shared medical expenses will not work as well. well, make it work.

   why not? if you can make bombs that are smart, why can't you make hospital administrators smart, too?

   of course doctors et al. need to get paid.

   but medicine for profit?

   sick.

   Posted by frosty zoom at 08/04/2008 @ 7:57pm

6. It is important to make the distinction between health care and health insurance. I saw a post on another blog from a woman whose son lives in Mass. He bought a cheap policy, being young and healthy. He needed care 3 times in the first year - a broken arm, some medication and I don't remember the rest. The point is that his insurance didn't pay for any of it.

   It makes no sense to require insurance, unless you also require the insurers to pay for care. I personally think profits have no place in the provision of health care. In our system, insurance companies make a profit from providing less care, while providers profit from providing more care. The result is a system in which a few people get more care than they need, while everyone else gets less.

   Personally I have Medicare, with help paying for it from Medicaid, and I have never had better care. I get to choose my providers and have gotten through cancer twice with no problems. If people realized what single payer really meant, it would pass tomorrow.

   Posted by ramara at 08/04/2008 @ 7:58pm

7. Posted by frosty zoom at 08/04/2008 @ 7:57pm

   "but medicine for profit?

   sick."

   You'd have to be crazy to go through the hell of medical school without the reward of a doctor's comfortable profession at the end, FROSTY. The fact is, FROSTY, that good service of any kind depends on a profit motive to motivate people. I'm sure you're well aware of all the deficiencies of Canadian health care. The trouble is, you think it's a defect that you can cure. You should learn to live with the fact that inefficiency and second rate care (e.g., long wait times that compel your politicians to seek care in the US) are a feature of non-profit government delivered services, not a defect.

   On a lighter note, sure, I'd miss you musicians if you were all gone. Especially the good musicians. But I'd miss a good cancer specialist a hell of a lot more, if and when I need one. Plus, you should take it as a hint that drug use among musicians rarely gets noticed, whereas doctors smoking pot don't generally last long.

   Posted by pontificus at 08/04/2008 @ 8:17pm

8. Posted by ramara at 08/04/2008 @ 7:58pm

   "Personally I have Medicare, with help paying for it from Medicaid, and I have never had better care. I get to choose my providers and have gotten through cancer twice with no problems. If people realized what single payer really meant, it would pass tomorrow."

   Yeah, Medicare works great for the current aging cohort. It won't work so well for the kids currently paying for it when the trillions spent on you folks finally comes due and the money runs out.

   Posted by pontificus at 08/04/2008 @ 8:20pm

9. Most people enjoying social security, medicare and medicaid today are receiving far more out of the system than they ever put into it. These three programs are the greatest Ponzi schemes in history, put in place by the selfish, liberal, narcissistic baby boomers who are leaving huge, unpayable bills for their children to pay. This country is facing a fiscal train wreck in the coming decades as the trillions in deferred costs for these programs come due and the money finally comes due.

   Posted by pontificus at 08/04/2008 @ 8:23pm

10. Posted by pontificus at 08/04/2008 @ 8:17pm

    of course doctors should be compensated for the dedication necessary to do it well.

    but are they more important that farmers?

    if all of both of those fields (heheh) went on strike tomorrow, who would you miss first?

    but medicine for profit,

    sick.

    i heard philip morris is in a bid to take over humana.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/04/2008 @ 8:30pm

11. The fact is, FROSTY, that good service of any kind depends on a profit motive to motivate people.

    Posted by pontificus at 08/04/2008 @ 8:17pm

    not at all.

    i'm constantly helping people for free.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/04/2008 @ 8:31pm

12. I'm sure you're well aware of all the deficiencies of Canadian health care.

    Posted by pontificus at 08/04/2008 @ 8:17pm

    well,

    from my experience it's not bad at all.

    i'm still here, aren't i?

    you want good health care?

    eat well and smile.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/04/2008 @ 8:33pm

13. These three programs are the greatest Ponzi schemes in history,

    Posted by pontificus at 08/04/2008 @ 8:23pm

    no way.

    the federal reserve bank's (and fractional reserve banking in general) fiat money system tops that.

    did you know that the u.s. government owns half of the u.s. governments debt?

    and you thought subprime was dangerous.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/04/2008 @ 8:35pm

14. Plus, you should take it as a hint that drug use among musicians rarely gets noticed, whereas doctors smoking pot don't generally last long.

    Posted by pontificus at 08/04/2008 @ 8:17pm

    ha!

    you don't know very many doctors.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/04/2008 @ 8:36pm

15. If Canada's healthcare is so messed up--and apparently we are all aware of the deficiencies...which I am not, although I am aware that many of the deficiencies I hear from conservative types have no bearing on reality (see Iraq and Afghanistan as well)--why do Canadians enjoy their healthcare system a hell of a lot more than US citizens enjoy their's? Once again, the hardcore Jesus wing shows they would rather let people die than be healthy.

    Posted by onthehelm at 08/04/2008 @ 9:38pm

16. Pontificus pontificates.

    I'm on disability, not regular SS. But I also went without health insurance for about 10 years, and had both good and bad insurance. And saving SS is easy - just eliminate the cap. I don't suppose the govt will ever pay back what it owes the SS fund. That would also help.

    Medicare and Medicaid need fixing - the first needs to start paying for preventive and home based care, and the latter needs long term care separated. I still think 3% administrative costs beats 18%.

    Posted by ramara at 08/04/2008 @ 11:57pm

17. Canada does have a waiting list for tummy tucks, but if you get hit by a bus you get excellent health care in Canada. You don't have to shop around for the best. Please dear god let's elect an intelligent man who has enough situational awareness to know when he is in Iraq and when he is in Germany. Let's not just preach to the choir an congratulate each other at how smart we are after we have lost another one. This isn't about left right progressive conservative. It's about sanity. The GOP hasn't been rational for at least 40 years.

    Posted by julien38 at 08/04/2008 @ 11:59pm

18. I still think 3% administrative costs beats 18%.

    Posted by ramara at 08/04/2008 @ 11:57pm

    yep.

    and broccoli beats toaster strudel.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/05/2008 @ 12:01am

19. Start the day off right by enjoying convenient Pillsbury® Toaster Strudel® pastries- your family's favorite breakfast solution.

    From your freezer to the toaster, Pillsbury® Toaster Strudel's warm, flaky pastry, ooey gooey fillings, and sweet creamy icing is a sure-fire hit that your kids will love.

    Treat them to the warm delicious breakfast they want to eat!

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/05/2008 @ 12:01am

20. Serving Size 54 grams

    Amount per serving

    Calories 200 Calories from Fat 90

    Total Fat 10g 15%

    Saturated Fat 4g 20%

    Cholesterol 10mg 3%

    Sodium 210mg 9%

    Total Carbohydrates 23g 8%

    Sugars 8g

    Protein 3g

    Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 0% Calcium 0% Iron 0%

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/05/2008 @ 12:11am

21. treat your kids to some real food!

    that's the best health care plan.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/05/2008 @ 12:12am

22. An old language teacher from this area used to say, "The key to learning a foreign language is repetition, repetition." So if we keep repeating the need for an overhaul of the horrendous for profit medical system, someday & I hope soon, the message will get through & we'll reform it.

    Posted by Sorelish at 08/05/2008 @ 12:13am

23. frostyzoom - didn't I say preventive care? Though mostly I don't eat broccoli for breakfast. Mostly I don't eat toaster strudel either. Your comment confused me.

    Posted by ramara at 08/05/2008 @ 02:53am

24. Posted by frosty zoom at 08/04/2008 @ 8:33pm

    "i'm still here, aren't i?"

    I'm sure the fact that it's mostly free to you has something to do with your great satisfaction with it. Here's a question for you though. Since we all know that for Canadians who can afford it, the US health care system is the go-to place when you REALLY need to survive (google: Belinda Stronach and cancer) - where would you go if we socialized our health care too? North Korea? Cuba? Food for thought.

    Plus, given that almost all of the medical technology and drugs that Canada uses were developed and paid for in the for-profit systems of the world, where will future advances come from when your non-profit systems eliminate any incentives for people to take financial risks in developing said technologies?

    Take another toke and ponder that, FROSTY. Socialism always sounds great until you actually implement it, and millions of poor experimental subjects have discovered.

    Posted by pontificus at 08/05/2008 @ 07:23am

25. From one of FROSTY's fellow Canadians, commenting on Belinda Stronach's visit to the US for treating her own breast cancer, after a political career which Ms. Stronach spent stamping out private medical care options for Canadians in Canada:

    Kim While living in the USA several years ago I found a lump in my breast. I went to the doctor the next day, she had me in for a ultrasound and mam the very next day. We are now living in Canada again, this time my doctor here found a lump, she sent me to a specialist ( 10 1/2 weeks it took), still haven't had a mam. This Canadian system is scary, and needs to be fixed! I too if I had the money would seek treatment in the USA.

    Posted by pontificus at 08/05/2008 @ 07:33am

26. FZ

    I've often tried the "healthcare for profits blows" argument...to no avail (even though the entirety of the industrialized nations has it....sans USA)

    Ponti

    In your 08/05/2008 @ 07:33am the key there is "If I had the money" In the US, if you don't have the money for a cancer treatment the outcome is death. In Canada its a bit of a wait. Hmmm ... wait in line or die. Guess I'll have to think about that one. OK, all done....I'll get in line.

    And the garp about needing to have an entirely profit-based system is crap. A) Most of the best hospitals are either run via a major university or a "Saint this or that" religious umbrella and B) the majority medical research is likewise generated out of public university systems.

    Finally....dismantle the absolutely useless parasitic health insurance industry and use the savings to fund universal health care and social security...and a few dollars in job training to teach insurance salesman a real vocation.

    Posted by leftofcenter at 08/05/2008 @ 08:04am

27. Before you continue to advocate the Regressive notion of Universal Heath Care, JOHN NICHOLS, keep in mind that self sufficiency is the key to independence.

    You obviously don't care about yours

    Posted by william.harry13 at 08/05/2008 @ 08:22am

28. Your comment confused me.

    Posted by ramara at 08/05/2008 @ 02:53am

    sorry.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/05/2008 @ 1:40pm

29. I'm sure the fact that it's mostly free to you has something to do with your great satisfaction with it.

    •••••• actually, i rarely use the system. is a farmer's labour less valuable than a lawyer's? not money. value. a price on your brother's health..........

    Here's a question for you though. Since we all know that for Canadians who can afford it, the US health care system is the go-to place when you REALLY need to survive (google: Belinda Stronach and cancer)

    •••••• belinda stronach?!?!? what a loser. the canadian joe lieberman.

    - where would you go if we socialized our health care too? North Korea? Cuba?

    •••••••  my mom had a root canal done while on vacation in cuba. our dentist said they did an excellent job.

    Food for thought.

    ••••••• no. flax is food for thought. hemp, too. omega 3,6,9.

    Plus, given that almost all of the medical technology and drugs that Canada uses were developed and paid for in the for-profit systems of the world,

    ••••••• well, thank you america! hahahaha! if we didn't have this new character limit, i would deluge you with some very eye-opening information. banting and best worked for the public university of toronto.

    where will future advances come from when your non-profit systems eliminate any incentives for people to take financial risks in developing said technologies?

    ••••••• that's right. god forbid someone would want to do something out of altruism.

    Take another toke and ponder that, FROSTY.

    ••••••• @ 07:23am is a little early for the coors lite, planti.

    Socialism always sounds great until you actually implement it, and millions of poor experimental subjects have discovered.

    ••••••• yep. can here those swedes begging for help all the way 'cross the atlantic.

    plantificus at @ 7:23

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/05/2008 @ 1:51pm

30. This Canadian system is scary, and needs to be fixed! I too if I had the money would seek treatment in the USA.

    Posted by pontificus at 08/05/2008 @ 07:33am

    "needs to be fixed" -- not scrapped, fixed. i believe "kim" wants it repaired. i don't think "kim" wants private health "insurance".

    "if i had the money" -- millions of americans don't -- that's why many come to canada for care and skip out without paying.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/05/2008 @ 1:53pm

31. Comment by Barbara Mascaro January 14th, 2008 at 5:43 pm Yes…My Dr's office has been fighting with GHI over a claim for a CAT scan on my lungs which had been denied by the insurance company…Originally, my doctor had put me in the hospital because he thought my symptoms were heart related, after running some tests it was determined my heart was fine…Now, they're looking into my lungs as the possible culprit, but the insurance company has no interest in finding out what the cause of my problem is, they basically could care less…My doctor basically told them today that either they approve the CAT scan or he is going to order me to go to the hospital for further evaluation, which in turn, will cost the insurance four times the amount of having the test done…I have difficulty breathing and chest discomfort, which has been going on for weeks now…I am scared that something terrible might be going on…I guess that might be the fear of the insurance company too, and that's why they rather I not have the test done…So basically, they've been playing Dr. with me, and making decisions on my life…To boot, they also never documented the fact that the claim was put in by my Dr., I found that one out today…So people, be aware, that if your going to sue an insurance company for not allowing you to have the needed tests for your diagnosis…I can almost guarantee you that there is not going to be any "paper trail" on there end…So, good luck…

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/05/2008 @ 2:02pm

32. Comment by Chicago Cheryl November 29th, 2007 at 12:46 am My three year old daughter and myself have health insurance and have had many claims that been rejected in the past six months. It has been very shocking. I have spent so much of my time dealing with this. All I know there is a big health insurance crisis going on! Because it is so big the hospital my daughter had surgery at made me pay up front her deductible and co- insurance. I asked for a payment plan and they said no I would have to reschedule her surgery. They were getting $10,000.00 from the insurance company and made me pay $1,000.00 for the deductible and co- insurance up front. I kept asking the hospital how do they know that the deductible would be theirs. But they didn't know if it would and didn't care. The day before my three year olds surgery the hospital called me to tell me the surgery was pre existing and my insurance wouldn't cover it. (Even though we got a pre approval from the insurance company a month before that.) The hospital wanted us to pay it all up front. I hit the ceiling and called the insurance claim department. After two hours on hold I found out the claims department was in a meeting and couldn't reach the claims dept. until four pm. By that time the person from the hospital left work and couldn't help us. I tried to explain to the person from the hospital that there was a law in Illinois that insurance companies can't deny anesthesia for a child. They didn't care and kept telling me it was pre existing. We called my daughters doctor and he totally freaked out too. After hours on the phone with the claims dept. of the insurance company they said it would probably be covered. They had no record of telling the hospital that it was pre existing and might not be covered. They couldn'

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/05/2008 @ 2:03pm

33. Comment by Starved Rock -IL November 25th, 2007 at 1:11 am BLUE CROSS/BLUE SHIELD plays gotcha. My compliments to their customer service staff…they couldn't be sweeter. But you need to go up the ladder to the not so sweet decision makers sometimes.

    My outpatient spine surgery was set for a one hour minimally invasive disc removal. Doctor got pre-approval, hospital got pre-approval, all were in the BC/BS provider group.

    Complicatons and the discovery of bone cancer led to a four hour surgery with much bone removed and stabilization and consequently an unplanned overnight stay. $50,000 hospital bill denied. ANESTHESIOLOGIST $9,000 bill denied. (THEY WERE NOT IN THE PROVIDER GROUP…always check them out also!!!!)

    Unable to move much and I am 64 years young and it was painful but I made thirteen phone calls and won the battle. It went like this: I was told that I PERSONALLY had failed to call BC/BS and ask their permission to have the surgery so it was denied. This requirement, they informed me, is stated on the back of the card in itsy bitsy lettering. The following narrative is minus quote marks, if you don't mind. But said I, it was planned for outpatient and I am not required to notify you personally for that, as I understand it.

    May I speak to your supervisor? They said….Well, we could consider this a 23 hour observation but under that classification you needed to have notified us personally within 48 hours that you were hospitalized. Denied.

    May I speak to your supervisor? They said…..Well, we could provide coverage but penilize you $200 for PERSONALLY FAILING TO NOTIFY US that you were held over on a 23 hour observation.

    May I please speak to your supervisor? Well, if the hospital will document the need for your overnight stay and document that you were heavily

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/05/2008 @ 2:04pm

34. keep in mind that self sufficiency is the key to independence.

    Posted by william.harry13 at 08/05/2008

    that's nice.

    what are you going to do if you break both your legs (for example. i wish no ill upon you) in a car accident.

    get up and tape your legs back together.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/05/2008 @ 2:06pm

35. The funding for that medical research comes form, just maybe, `profits'? And of course, Fed handouts that isn't too likely to go to for-profit hospitals, another..........just maybe?

    Posted by 2HAPPY at 08/05/2008 @ 12:01pm

    sure. profits from oil revenue, for example.

    but profits from other people's illness?

    sick.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/05/2008 @ 2:07pm

36. In a similar fashion, our mammoth government-run health insurance company (Medicare) operates at a fraction of the cost of private insurance corporations such as Aetna, Cigna, United, Blue Shield Blue Cross, Kaiser Permanente and Humana. Medicare, the government health insurance for the elderly uses only 1-2% of your dollar to achieve rates of morbidity (sickness) and mortality (death) among their patients which are identical to those of the private health insurance corporations. However, private insurance corporate bureaucracies inefficiently siphon $350 billion per year, or 20-25% of your hard earned dollars away from doctors, hospitals and patient care into the pockets of their executives, administrative employees, shareholders and politicians. The recent stock option fraud perpetrated by the CEO of United Health Care demonstrates the negligent disdain the private insurance corporations have for physicians, hospitals, health care workers and patients. Since their founding 40 years ago, private health maintenance insurance corporations have failed to deliver what their business plans always promise; lower rates of morbidity and mortality associated with low costs to the patients. These insurance companies are financially profitable for their shareholders and executives, but medically bankrupt for their patients. Without their own massive government subsidies, government protection from malpractice lawsuits, and a government ban on collective bargaining by physicians the private health insurance corporate bureaucracies of Aetna, Cigna, United and Humana, and hundreds of other smaller health insurance companies of the health insurance industry would undoubted fail to exist. Most elderly people who call themselves Republicans, and conservative physicians in this Country

    Posted by hag2 at 08/06/2008 @ 10:18pm

37. Most elderly people who call themselves Republicans, and conservative physicians in this Country have recognized the efficacy of our government regulated Medicare health insurance corporation and have enrolled themselves and utilized this Government run health insurance company for their own medical needs (despite the shrill cries of socialized medicine from their leaders). 40 years ago we heard these same shrill cries from organized medicine and Republicans concerning the establishment of Medicare. After accepting hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicare Insurance payments over the ensuing 4 decades, one can only wonder why conservative physicians still rally like Quixote against this government run insurance product.

    The following 9 steps will simply suggest how, without the inefficiencies and burden to productivity of private insurance corporations, we can deliver efficient and effective comprehensive health care with great savings and no sacrifice of jobs. In fact, we may be able to decrease morbidity and mortality in this Country with one coordinated system which cares for all Americans, and concurrently analyzes optimal diagnoses and treatment modalities through its integrated computerized billing system. The savings incurred insuring all Americans through the more efficient Medicare system will benefit all citizens of our Country. http://www.pnhp.org/news/2008/february/what_government_does.php

    Posted by hag2 at 08/06/2008 @ 10:20pm