The health care reform debate has taken a turn for the surreal in the last couple weeks, where Republican and health insurance giants are spreading misinformation and propaganda that seems to be getting some traction in the main stream media and worse yet, in the mindset of the American public. As a regular debater on Digg and Twitter, it is almost like a full time job trying to debunk all of these. The fortunate side to this is that in the meantime, I have compiled a massive set of links that respond to many individual points brought up by those who favor the status quo.
That our country needs to reform its health care system is beyond a doubt in my mind. Costs are spiraling out of control, record numbers of people are losing basic coverage, this is the #1 reason behind bankruptcies and home foreclosures, and frankly, we deserve better.
The health care systems in other Western nations, especially in the Scandinavian countries are great examples of how good health care systems can be. We need to take the best of what works from those systems and apply it in America.
People will be calling their congress people and then getting online to help push a solution that has real reform before the summer recess. With the GOP continuing to spread lies and the insurance corporations spending $1.4 million per day on lobbyists and slick advertising full of misinformation, there is a definite urgency to real health care reform.
*Also please refer to this invaluable resource: Guide to Debunking Healthcare Reform Myths http://tr.im/ublE or http://healthcarereformmyths.org/HealthcareReformMyths.php
HEALTH CARE REFORM LINKS
CASE FOR
Obama calls for Real reform http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Weekly-Address-President-Obama-Calls-for-Real-Health-Care-Reform/
Health care reform explained by the president http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Full-Video-A-National-Discussion-on-Health-Care-Reform/
*District by District Impact - HR 3200 America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1717:hr-3200-americas-affordable-health-choices-act-of-2009-markup-district-by-district&catid=156:reports&Itemid=55#toc10
The scientific arguments for US healthcare reform http://tr.im/u2Bs
Single payer can cut 31% of the total costs overnight by eliminating administrative overhead http://www.johnconyers.com/hr676faq
Nationalized Health Care Would be Good FOR THE INSURED http://forecastingrain.blogspot.com/2009/03/why-nationalized-health-care-would-be.html
UNINSURED
*Who is uninsured, why is it increasing, why is it bad, how it costs more money http://www.nchc.org/facts/coverage.shtml
Dramatic Increase in the Uninsured Rate in Every State http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/05/uninsured_increase_map.html
Study: 86.7 million Americans uninsured over last two years http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/04/uninsured.epidemic.obama/
SPIRALING COSTS
*health-care premiums shot up more than 90 percent between 2000 and 2007, while the profits of the 10 largest insurers increased 428 percent over the same period http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/24/AR2009072401876.html
Krugman: runaway health care costs http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/28/runaway-health-care-costs-were-1/
MISC REASONS FOR
Medical Bills Behind Most Bankruptcies http://blog.aflcio.org/2009/06/05/study-medical-bills-behind-most-bankruptcies/
Inequality in spending by income http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/spend.php
Higher Rates of Disease in non whites http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/healthdisparities/index.html
GOP/INSURANCE PROPAGANDA/SCARE TACTICS
Health insurance companies spending over $1.4 million PER DAY on lobbyists http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/05/AR2009070502770.html
Research Firm Cited by GOP Is Owned by Health Insurer http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/22/AR2009072202216.html
GOP cites research from UnitedHealth Group http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/7/23/756777/-GOPers-cite-nonpartisan-research-from-UnitedHealth-Group-subsidiary
Secret Right-Wing Strategy on Health Care—Exposed http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2009051907/secret-right-wing-strategy-health-care-exposed
Crazy Wingnut Healthcare Attacks Exposed http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/crazy-wingnut-healthcare_b_243075.html
Insurance corporations begin their propaganda war http://healthcare.change.org/blog/view/private_insurance_begins_its_propaganda_war
DEBUNKING MISINFORMATION
*Guide to Debunking Healthcare Reform Myths http://tr.im/ublE or http://healthcarereformmyths.org/HealthcareReformMyths.php
New CBO study: Public health care option won't dominate system or wipe out competition http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/07/27/new-cbo-study-public-health-care-option-wont-dominate-system/
New HELP Bill Costs $600 Billion, Covers 97%, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/01/tnr-full-help-bill-covers_n_224509.html
Fact check on Obama's health care reform statements http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=7922187&page=1
COMPETITION and GREED
Insurance corporations have been merging and removing competition since Bush took office http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/24/AR2009072401876.html
*94 percent of statewide insurance markets are highly concentrated http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/24/AR2009072401876.html
In the past 13 years, there have been more than 400 corporate mergers involving health insurers http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/24/AR2009072401876.html
Interactive Map: Insurance Market Domination Leads to Fewer Choices http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/06/health_competition_map.html
UnitedHealthCare © Profits Double http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2009/07/unitedhealthcare-profits-doubled.html
Report finds insurance wrongfully charged consumers http://digg.com/health/Senate_Report_Finds_Insurers_Wrongfully_Charged_Consumers_Bi
Health Insurance Industry focus on profits, not health http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/6/7/739718/-THE-FACTS-ABOUT-THE-HEALTH-INSURANCE-INDUSTRY
WHY STALLED? CORPORATE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS
Members of five committees working on health care reform legislation received $187.1 million in campaign contributions over their career from health and insurance interests http://www.campaignmoney.org/threevotes
Elected officials who voted against health reform legislation received 65% more in contributions from insurance corporations than officials who voted for reform http://www.campaignmoney.org/threevotes
Health reform legislation is bottled up in two committees whose members have received nearly $100 million in campaign contributions from vested industries http://www.campaignmoney.org/threevotes
WHO TO CALL: a list of votes for the Public Option with names, emails, phone numbers, and party afiliation http://standwithdrdean.com/where_congress_stands?page=2
Phone numbers for senators http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Contact your Representative http://tinyurl.com/nj45r and Senator http://tinyurl.com/b1lm
Tweet your members of congress http://bit.ly/vIe0J
COUNTRY COMPARISONS
Health Care Reform Series: The Taiwan health care system http://www.examiner.com/x-6665-Liberal-Examiner~y2009m7d23-Health-Care-Reform-Series-The-health-care-system-of-Taiwan
Health Care Reform Series: The British health care system http://www.examiner.com/x-6665-Liberal-Examiner~y2009m7d22-Health-Care-Reform-Series-The-British-health-care-system
Health Care Reform Series: The Canadian health care system http://www.examiner.com/x-6665-Liberal-Examiner~y2009m7d20-Health-Care-Reform-Series-The-Canadian-health-care-system
Debunking Canadian Health Care Myths http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/06/07-0
Patients in Universal Healthcare Countries More Satisfied http://scienceblogs.com/denialism/2009/05/are_patients_in_universal_heal.php
Health care spending vs life expectancy http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/health/spend/cost_longlife75.gif
WHO ranking of world's health systems (US is 37th) http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html
Healthcare spending in rich countries http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13932149
Graphs: US health stats vs other countries. PBS- Frontline http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/etc/graphs.html
National Health Expenditures per Capita, 1990-2007 http://facts.kff.org/chart.aspx?ch=203
UNCLASSIFIED AND MISC
health care in US data speak volumes http://keysnews.com/node/14359
Health Care: Which Chart Scares You More? http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/07/16/health-care-which-chart-scares-you-more/
