[Peace-discuss] Helpful article in today's N-G

[David Green]

 PROGRESSIVE MEDIAPROJECT The real health carestory is in the states By BEN PALMQUISTTribune News ServiceAlthough House Speaker Paul Ryan’s plan tostrip health care from 24 million people came up short, Congress and the Trumpadministration are planning a series of actions and legislation that would domuch of the same. The question is not whether they will cut and privatize healthcare, but how deeply they will drive the knife.But a bigger and more inspiring story isdeveloping in the states. From Maine to Hawaii, people are not only resistingRepublican attacks on health care, but are laying the foundation for a profoundtransformation of the American health care system.By redefining health care as a human right,grassroots campaigns are challenging the core logic of the private insuranceindustry: that health care is a commodity that should be available only tothose who can afford it.Though calls to replace private insurance withuniversal, publicly financed coverage are not new, this political moment offersa unique opportunity. As health care access is attacked, people are turning outto town halls in droves, demanding more public involvement in health care, notless.Polls show that a large majority of peoplerecognize that government has an obligation to make sure everyone can get care.Bernie Sanders’ call for Medicare for allhelped make him one of the most popular politicians in the country. And theinsurance and drug industries have approval ratings even lower than DonaldTrump. The public is way ahead of both parties.But the insurance industry and its allies holdpowerful control over the Republicans and Democrats and have so farsuccessfully blocked every attempt at universal health care since the days ofHarry Truman. To win, we need a mass people’s movement. But with Washingtonunder the control of free-market ideologues, our path to power runs through thestates.In just about every state in the country,there is an active and organized grassroots campaign for universal health care,and state campaigns have already achieved significant success. The Campaign forNew York Health has twice passed a bill for universal health care through thestate assembly. And the Healthy California campaign has just introduced a billin Sacramento that has powerful backing from the coalition’s 150 memberorganizations and their 4 million members.Some of the most remarkable organizing isbeing led by the members of the Vermont Workers’ Center, Put People FirstPennsylvania, and Southern Maine Workers’ Center, whose Healthcare Is a HumanRight campaigns focus on the leadership of poor and working class people whoare directly impacted by the injustices of the health care system.We now have the chance of a lifetime, but ifwe’re going to win universal health care and refocus our economy on meetinghuman needs, we can’t afford to be passive, and we certainly can’t follow thelead of the Democratic Party. It’s time to turn down the Washington rhetoric,tune into our friends and neighbors, and get to work.Ben Palmquist is a campaign manager with theNational Economic and Social Rights Initiative and helps coordinate theHealthcare Is a Human Right Collaborative. He wrote this for Progressive MediaProject, a source of liberal commentary on domestic and international issues;it is affiliated with The Progressive magazine.
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