The speaker was elderly and distinguished-looking, with a mane of carefully-coiffed white hair. He was speaking to an even older audience in an auditorium in a retirement community.
“Make no mistake, if Obama’s health care plan passes, you can kiss your Medicare benefits goodbye. If you are fortunate enough to have a job with employer-provided healthcare benefits, you can forget those too. The proposed plan will put you in the same boat with all those who are currently uninsured.”
He had their attention. Some gray heads in the audience were nodding.
Near the back of the audience, sitting apart from the rest was a small bespectacled man, probably in his sixties or seventies. He had a sheaf of papers on his lap which he referred to occasionally. Finally, he raised a hand, and when the speaker recognized him, he asked:
“Where does it say in Obama’s plan that it will reduce Medicare benefits or employer-provided healthcare benefits?” asked spectacles, with a prim smile.
“They won’t come right out and say it,” countered the speaker, “but that is their plan.”
“How do you know that?” persisted the bespectacled gadfly.
“Do you trust the government to decide what medical procedures you should get more than your doctor?” asked the speaker.
“Well,” spectacles proclaimed, “if I have to choose between a for-profit insurance company and the government, I think I would prefer the government. It seems to me that the insurance company has a very basic conflict-of-interest: Profits vs. procedures. While government may have an interest in cost-containment, their employees are not making decisions that affect the bottom line of their employer.”
“And by the way,” spectacles continued, “whom do you work for?”
“I am just a private citizen voicing his concerns,” replied white hair.
The prim smile on spectacles’ face turned predatory. “I Googled you this afternoon, and I found that you work for the Lewin Group.”
“Yes, that is true. The Lewin Group is a respected nonpartisan research firm specializing in health care issues.”
Spectacles nodded. “Yes, they are indeed a research firm specializing in healthcare. Can you tell us who the owner of The Lewin Group is?”
The speaker reddened. “What has that to do with this discussion?”
“I think it has everything to do with this discussion,” replied spectacles.
Spectacles turned to the audience. “The owner of the Lewin Group is United Healthcare, one of the biggest health care insurers in the nation. I will not address the issue of whether they are nonpartisan, but on the issue of health care, they are clearly not a disinterested observer. In fact, I will venture that they are a profoundly biased observer!”
Turning back to the speaker he continued, “Your employer fears that people will opt for the public plan because they would find it more attractive. It would provide the same or better services, and charge much lower premiums.”
“Oh, and about your statement that the government cannot be trusted to make medical decisions: Your own employer published a report stating that, like Medicare, Obama’s plan would do less than private insurers to restrict medical care.”
Several in the audience had heard enough.
“Sit down and shut up, Harvey. Let the man have his say.”
Spectacles, now identified as Harvey, looked at them contemptuously.
“Before I came here, I did my homework. I found out who this guy was, and who he worked for. I looked at the claims being made against Obama’s health care plan, and I looked for the facts about what the plan contains. How many of you did that?”
He looked around. Nobody said anything.
“That’s what I thought. None of you have a clue about this issue. You listen to Fox News and the lies that they spread, and you listen to the sound bites from Republican Congressmen, and you think you have the facts. You do not.”
He sighed. “Okay. You don’t want to know the truth, so I will leave you in ignorance to be duped by this charlatan.”
He collected his papers, rose, and walked out of the auditorium.
An embarrassed silence followed. White hair tried to salvage the situation.
“Well, now that the distraction is over, let’s get back to the issues.”
The audience returned their attention to him, but the mood had changed. There was an atmosphere of doubt and skepticism. After a few minutes, a man in the audience stood.
“Y’know, we need to hear both sides of this. We need to get Harvey back in here.”
He headed for the door and went out to find Harvey. In a few minutes he returned, out of breath.
“Harvey says he won’t come back. He says if we want to know about the health care issue, we should do what he did…go learn the facts and stop listening to talking heads like this guy and the ones on Fox News. Stop listening to ten-second sound bites from politicians with axes to grind. From people who hate Obama and want him to fail, and don’t give a damn about whether we get health care for everyone or not.”
He paused. “Oh yeah, one more thing Harvey said. He said that insuring the fifty million people without any health insurance is the right thing to do. It’s gonna cost some money…a lot of money…but we Medicare recipients should think about how WE would feel if we didn’t have any insurance.”
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Comments: 36
You need to make it a little more sensational.
Oh a funny, Fresno's Republican Congressman used a PowerPoint presentation, prepared by Lewin Group, at his town hall meeting last summer Lewin Group, When called on it he said "they are a nonpartisian research orginazation."
My surprise was that The Fresno Bee did report this and say that Lewin was owned by United Healthcare-McClatchey leans Conserv.
Now for a my rant.
Insurance companies are just like the oil companies! ...Who Us? NO! We're not making ANY money! ka-ching! ka-ching! ka-ching!
We could believe that if they stopped posting record profits!
I just think we should make a really big insurance pool--the sized of the country! That'd fix 'em!
But, that screaming right frightens me. I keep hearing echos of the Islamic Revolution.
Also, as Harvey said, they don't have a motivation to deny medical care to enhance their profit. For both reasons, I think a government-managed plan would be better and cheaper...and fairer.
When I lived in Orange County I had a great medi-gap policy that included dental for about $30-$35 per month. I moved to a smaller city in Northern California and to get the same coverage it would cost $250 ..... with a much reduced insome I could not afford that ... so Idid without and hoped no hospital visits would be in my future. About 6 years later Blue-Cross came out with som e cheap plan for $40 a month that did not include dental. I took it and so far have had no problems with the arrangement.
It is all about location and Medical Redlining.
it wasn't my first thought that the insurgents were
industry shills; but, it did not take long before those
suspicions arose -- just a bit too orchestrated.
Now, we know Bert's "fantasy" is not all that fantastic.
Also, since not all seniors are Internet-savvy and no longer drive cars, they might have trouble researching something like the health plan, and I doubt they'd nod their heads--unless it were to doze.
The 'Republicans are taking advantage of that ignorance and apathy, ane may well manage to torpedo health care reform.
If that happens, we have nobody to blame but ourselves when the ripoff by private health care providers continues to escalate until it impoverishes us.
I have experience regarding 1. Based on several experiences I've had in the last 10 years, I know some of the things these people are claiming about the superiority/adequacy of current U.S. health care are incorrect.
Having had good health until I was 60 or so, I was somewhat ignorant of medical protocols, etc., which made me too trusting of them. Therefore, even though I'm an intelligent, educated person, I didn't know enough at the time to question what happened. If this could happen to me, this and worse is likely to happen to others.
In 2005, I had to wait three months to get in to a specialist for something that indications suggested might require a lung transplant! I spent an anxious three months only to find the radiologist had made an incorrect diagnosis, and the x-ray showed, in the pulmonologist's words, a "recovering lung."
The doctor I had while I was in an HMO didn't listen to my requests for tests to get a proper diagnosis for the severe back and leg pain I was having. I was seeing him weekly and all he did was give me a leg/hip manipulation. Eventually, after I changed my insurer and my doctor, I was diagnosed with severe spinal stenosis. I began physical therapy, which immensely eased the pain without drugs. I continue to do those and other exercises daily. Most people my age think I'm the picture of health.
That same doctor ignored the results of an osteoporosis screening that I undertook and paid for on my own, which showed I had advanced osteopenia, a precursor of osteoporosis. Another doctor finally paid attention, and I was diagnosed with osteoporosis and began treatment. However, I'm 2 1/2 inches shorter than I was when I first went to the doctor who ignored my request.
In my travels, several years ago, I met and talked to two Canadian doctors. They like their system, and wonder how we can tolerate ours.
Medicare is the best medical insurance I've ever had. And every senior I know says the same thing, even those who are Republican.
It's "I've got mine, Jack and to Hell with you." Very selfish and UNhumanitarian. Not at all the generous and humanitarian spirit that we like to think we have as Americans.
It's also item 3. Seniors fear that bringing in all those poor uninsured souls will dilute and degrade Medicare. While that is a legitimate fear which so far Obama has failed to allay, he has repeatedly said that Medicare will not be affected. However he is being shouted down by the Republican spin machine.
I wish my little tale could get wider circulation. It might wake some people up.
I'm really surprised that there are no comments from the wingnuts who always give the same two answers to expanding Medicare: "Medicare is bankrupt now; how can we expand it", or the old "the government can't do healthcare" cant.
So far, they are staying away in droves!
Also, take a look at Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco. They have universal health care for their citizens. Does the entire city of San Francisco depict a microcosm? Does the VA?
The VA system is "socialized medicine." Medicare is "socialized medicine."
So when the scaremongers bleat that Obama's plan is "socialized medicine," I think...yeah, so what. We already have it for major segments of the population, and it is VERY SUCCESSFUL. Just ask any senior (like me) how they like Medicare.
So...why not provide it for everybody?