Bill Moyers scored a coup with guest Wendell Potter, a former health insurance insider who decided to speak out about the industry's self-preservation efforts.
The industry has always tried to make Americans think that government-run systems are the worst thing that could possibly happen to them, that if you even consider that, you're heading down on the slippery slope towards socialism. So they have used scare tactics for years and years and years, to keep that from happening. If there were a broader program like our Medicare program, it could potentially reduce the profits of these big companies. So that is their biggest concern.
...
BILL MOYERS: I have a memo, from Frank Luntz. I have a memo written by Frank Luntz. He's the Republican strategist who we discovered, in the spring, has written the script for opponents of health care reform. "First," he says, "you have to pretend to support it. Then use phrases like, "government takeover," "delayed care is denied care," "consequences of rationing," "bureaucrats, not doctors prescribing medicine." That was a memo, by Frank Luntz, to the opponents of health care reform in this debate. Now watch this clip.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER: The forthcoming plan from Democratic leaders will make health care more expensive, limit treatments, ration care, and put bureaucrats in charge of medical decisions rather than patients and doctors.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL: Americans need to realize that when someone says "government option," what could really occur is a government takeover that soon could lead to government bureaucrats denying and delaying care, and telling Americans what kind of care they can have.
SEN. JON KYL: Washington run healthcare would diminish access to quality care, leading to denials, shortages and long delays for treatment.
REP. JOE WILSON: How will a government run health plan not lead to the same rationing of care that we have seen in other countries?
REP. TOM PRICE: We don't want to put the government, we don't want to put bureaucrats between a doctor and a patient.
That's what she said.
Try Not to Sing Along
2 months ago
2 comments:
It makes me nuts that that Republicans are using Luntz's plan to demonize public healthcare. Their position has nothing to do with the quality of care - a quick Google search will tell you that other countries with single-payer systems get better health results for less money. They only oppose it to protect the interests of the insurers who line their pockets. What does strike me is the ads for national healthcare that are paid for by pharmaceutical companies. They have realized that if more people are covered they will sell more pills, and make more money as a result. Ugh. The whole thing is wearing me down.
Excellent. A friend at work told me about this. I am going to blog this on the local 29 website.
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