healthcare not wealthcare

7/31/2019 Healthcare not wealthcare

1/12


2/12

FASCISM

So what defines a fascist society? Often times, fascism is subconsciously linked to the grainy

black and white pictures of marauding Wermacht and SS troops from the 1940s. However, this

shows a mental normalness which is incorrect. While Nazism did have fascist overtones,

Nazism is not a form of government. Nazism is political ideology implemented through the use

of a fascist government system. It is this system that needs to be understood and not the policy

employed through it. This is vital since any form of government yes, including a democracy can be operated through a fascist structure. It is not exclusive to a dictatorship. As this article

will show, you may be surprised by the results of the analysis.

Now, you reader, may argue that who cares what the actual meaning of the word is, because it hastaken on further societal overtones and inferences which society and its people now attribute to theword. However, this does not do justice to the reality of the word or the reality of the world we live intoday.You see, if we were to associate the word Fascist with Nazi, then we consciously set ourselves upto be oblivious to actual fascist tendencies which do not exhibit the racial or genocidal image that onehas of Hitlers master race.In order to analyze the events of the world today, we need a clearunderstanding of the true nature of Fascism, separate from its societal inferences. When this is done wesee surprising results. So what is fascism ?

My argument comes at the issue from a different point of view. Instead of considering the above astraits of fascism, I believe that in fact, the fascist structure of government is what enables theseattributes to manifest themselves. That fascist structure of government begins with the co-option ofcorporate and government interests becoming one in the same. This is the primary transition in thenature and operation of the government apparatus. Corporate power is not so much as protected; it isone in the same as government power. Hence the government is an extension of the corporatepowerbrokers in society. AuthorPervez Dastoor

CAPITALISM

We are constantly told that we live in a Capitalist society. But what does Capitalism mean?The word comes from the Latin capitalis, meaning of the head, and the relation of thisconcept to the later financial connotation of the word capital is unclear. Its first use in thatsense was actually the word capitale, meaning stock or property. The basic building unit ofcapitalism is the corporation, and these first started in the 1600s. The development of thecorporation was spurred on by the improvement of sailing and navigation technology, and theensuing boom of the shipping industry. This is why the root word mer, meaning sea is at theheart of the word mercantile, and why we still say shipping when we are referring to thetransport of goods, no matter the method. The improvement of seafaring led to the blossoming ofa new form of economy. Now merchants could sail to India, Asia, Africa, or even the Americas,and trade an unprecedented variety of goods.

But ships and crew were still expensive, and the voyages dangerous. If one trip went bad, an investorcould find himself in debt for life, and worse, in debtors prison. So the government of Holland, aleading power amongst the sea merchants of Europe, came up with a novel concept by which numerousmerchants could pool their resources and minimize their individual investment risk. They created acorporation: a group of investors who would collectively invest in a business venture to form acompany, which then became a legal person according to a declaration in the companys charter,granted by the government. This person was then able to enter into legal contracts and businessventures, just like a regular person. But there was one important difference: unlike a real person, thecorporation could not be thrown into debtors prison. AuthorTracy R Twyman
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18890.htmhttp://www.quintessentialpublications.com/tracyrtwyman/?p=2636http://www.quintessentialpublications.com/tracyrtwyman/?author=1http://www.quintessentialpublications.com/tracyrtwyman/?author=1http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18890.htmhttp://www.quintessentialpublications.com/tracyrtwyman/?p=2636http://www.quintessentialpublications.com/tracyrtwyman/?author=1


3/12

COMMUNISM-SOCIALISM

People tried for centuries to improve their status. Elites spend big money to make fail those atempts.

The word communism is related to the words community and commune and is based on the concept ofsharing. The word communism,and examples of living communally, predates the modern materialisticform of communism preached by Marx and Mao and practiced by Russia and China. As we will see insubsequent paragraphs, JESUS AND THE ESSENES WERE CERTAINLY COMMUNISTS BUTABSOLUTELY WERE NOT MARXISTS. The differences between the communism of EsseneYAHSHUA and modern Marxists are very major.

Christian communism is a form ofreligious communism based on Christianity. It is a theologicaland political theory based upon the view that the teachings ofJesus Christ compel Christians to supportcommunism as the ideal social system. Although there is no universal agreement on the exact datewhen Christian communism was founded, many Christian communists assert that evidence from theBible suggests that the first Christians, including theApostles, created their own small communistsociety in the years following Jesus' death and resurrection. As such, many advocates of Christiancommunism argue that it was taught by Jesus and practiced by the Apostles themselves.

"Christian communism can be seen as aradical form ofChristian socialism. Christian communists may

or may not agree with various parts ofMarxism. They generally do not agree with the antireligiousviews held by secular Marxists, but do agree with many of the economic and existential aspects ofMarxist theory, such as the idea thatcapitalism exploits theworking class by extracting surplus valuefrom the workers in the form ofprofits and that wage-laboris a tool of human alienationthat promotesarbitrary and unjust authority. Christian communism, like Marxism, also holds that capitalismencourages the negative aspects of human nature, supplanting values such as mercy, kindness, justiceand compassion in favor of greed, selfishness and blind ambition.

Source Wikipedia

COMMUNALISM: From Its Origins to the Twentieth Century, book by Kenneth Rexroth

Conclusion: So called communism-socialism or national socialism were just another links in chain ofuprising against elitarian political-economical system where the few makes profit while majoritysufers. Empire works both ways: is draining wealth outside and inside borders. Nobody could explain itbetter than General Smedley Butler in his book War is a racket. Instead focusing on -ism simply followthe money it give us more accurate result.

In this essay I will be focused inside of empire as in America is no longer a land of opportunity,Joseph Stiglitz or in The Great Transformation: From the Welfare State to the Imperial Police StateProf. James Petras said.

Healthcare not wealthcare

by Johanna W.H.van Wijk-Bos

"The time has arrived to help millions of Americans living without a full measure of opportunity toachieve and enjoy good health... and to have protection... against the economic effects of sickness."Harry S. Truman, September 19, 1945

The Presbyterian Church (USA) took a step toward divestment from for-profit health insurance
http://www.essene.org/Essene_Communalism.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_communismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Apostleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Apostleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_communismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_radicalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_radicalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_socialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_socialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_classhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_classhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surplus_valuehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profit_(economics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage-laborhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_alienationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_alienationhttp://www.bopsecrets.org/rexroth/communalism.htmhttp://theglobalist.com/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=9613http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/56c7e518-bc8f-11e1-a111-00144feabdc0.htmlhttp://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=31898http://www.pnhp.org/news/2012/july/presbyterian-church-takes-step-toward-divestment-from-for-profit-health-insurershttp://www.essene.org/Essene_Communalism.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_communismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Apostleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_communismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_radicalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_socialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_classhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surplus_valuehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profit_(economics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage-laborhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_alienationhttp://www.bopsecrets.org/rexroth/communalism.htmhttp://theglobalist.com/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=9613http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/56c7e518-bc8f-11e1-a111-00144feabdc0.htmlhttp://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=31898http://www.pnhp.org/news/2012/july/presbyterian-church-takes-step-toward-divestment-from-for-profit-health-insurers


4/12

companies in the United States by instructing the appropriate committee of the General Assembly tobegin a process of information gathering. The Mission Through Responsible Investing Committee(MRTI) is instructed by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to requestinformation and explanations of health insurance companies.

This information will focus especially on the insurers practices in regard to state and federal lobbyingexpenditures and political campaign contributions, government subsidies and profit margins, denials of

claims, and top executives compensation packages. Other directives include a conversation with theBoard of Pensions, the overseeing body that works with the health care provider, to ensure that thechurchs health plan submits to the same standards that it asks of other insurers. Based on its analysisMRTI will evaluate the variance between church principles of universal access and affordability on theone hand and corporate objectives on the other. It will also assess the likelihood of significant change incorporate behavior.

Advocacy Statement By Johanna W.H.van Wijk-Bos

There is an overview here on the resource table for your interest and much of it is described in the

rationale and background materials of the overture. I lift out only the last sentence of the document:The only way for the health insurance companies to make a profit for their shareholders is to findways not to pay for the care of the sick. This is the basic flaw in for-profit health insurance. Theyadd no social value to justify their profits and the negative effects they inflict on the entire medicalsystem.

The overture that you have before you was written by my husband, whose name was also David, whobelieved strongly in a Church that calls society and government to its responsibilities of caring for theweakest among us first of all. He would have stood before you today, had his sudden and unexpecteddeath in February of last year not robbed us of his presence.

As he lay in the hospital, struggling with the oxygen mask provided to give his lungs the air they

needed, he spoke haltingly what would be his last words on this earth: How much will this cost? Hedied six days later.

Three weeks after his death a representative from our health insurance company informed me in atelephone call that they rejected the claim to pay for my husbands hospitalization and medical costsbecause of a pre-existing condition.

How much will it cost? The existing problems are clear, our mandate is clear, so how much will it costour denomination to continue on the path we have started on? It will cost us only the courage to standup and investigate where the money lavishly earned at times and lavishly spread around, also to us as adenomination, where this money is coming from, and how it is gained.

ANOTHER REASON FOR DIVESTMENT FROM HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES

Single-payer system would save billions of dollars! And lots of lives. Enough said.

Goldman Sachs expects large managed health care companies, like WellPoint, are seeking tobroadenexposure to public-sector managed careand revenue growth that it presents. WellPoint bought aMedicaid insurance company, Amerigroup, for $4.5 billion. Wall Street analysts and investors see thisdeal as a revenue growth opportunity for the companies, reflected by the 3.8% increase in WellPointsshare price and 38% jump for Amerigroup.
http://www.hcn-nyc.org/?p=681http://dollarsandsense.org/archives/2012/0312friedman.pdfhttp://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2012/07/11/goldman-predicts-more-medicaid-tied-ma-after-wellpoint-deal/?KEYWORDS=medicarehttp://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2012/07/11/goldman-predicts-more-medicaid-tied-ma-after-wellpoint-deal/?KEYWORDS=medicarehttp://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2012/07/11/goldman-predicts-more-medicaid-tied-ma-after-wellpoint-deal/?KEYWORDS=medicarehttp://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2012/07/09/wellpoint-gets-medicaid-expansion-with-amerigroup-deal/http://www.hcn-nyc.org/?p=681http://dollarsandsense.org/archives/2012/0312friedman.pdfhttp://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2012/07/11/goldman-predicts-more-medicaid-tied-ma-after-wellpoint-deal/?KEYWORDS=medicarehttp://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2012/07/11/goldman-predicts-more-medicaid-tied-ma-after-wellpoint-deal/?KEYWORDS=medicarehttp://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2012/07/09/wellpoint-gets-medicaid-expansion-with-amerigroup-deal/


5/12

In comparison with ten Western European nations and Canada, the United States is last with respect tothe public share of total health expenditures (Figure 1). Although the United States is the highest healthcare spender (public and private combined) as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), it stillretains the lowest share of public expenditure as a percentage of GDP (Table 1). The same pattern isobserved in comparing public health expenditures for the elderly as a percentage of GNP (Table 2).

TABLE 1 Health Care Expenditures, 1982

Public Expenditures on Health in GDP Total Expenditures on Health in GDPa

Australia 4.8 7.6

Austria 4.7 7.3

Belgium 5.8 6.2

Canada 6.1 8.2

Denmark 5.9 6.8

Finland 5.2 6.6

France 6.6 9.3Germany 6.6 8.2

Ireland 7.7 8.2

Iceland 6.6 7.6

Italy 6.1 7.2

Japan 4.8 6.6

Luxembourg 7.4 6.5

Netherlands 6.9 8.7

New Zealand 5.1 5.7

Norway 6.6 6.8

Sweden 8.9 9.7

Switzerland 4.7 7.8

United Kingdom 5.2 5.9

United States 4.5 10.6

OECD Average 5.8 7.4

Source: Measuring Health Care, 1960?1983 (Paris: OECD, 1985). Based on data in Table 2, p. 12.

aPreliminary estimates for 1984 may be found in G. J. Schieber and J. P. Poullier, "International Health

Care Spending.' Health Affairs 5 (Fall 1986): 111-22.TABLE 2 Public Expenditures for Health Care of the Elderly, 1980

Public Expenditures as Percentage of GNPa

United States 3.9

Canada 5.8

Denmark 6.4

France 6.1


6/12

Germany 6.2

Netherlands 6.5

Norway 5.8

Sweden 8.9

Switzerland 4.5

United Kingdom 5.2

Source: Adapted from U.S. Senate, Special Committee on Aging, Long-Term Care in Western Europeand Canada: Implications for the United States (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, July1984).

aOrganization for Economic Cooperation and Development, "Expenditures on Health Services," draft(Paris: OECD, April 1983); and International Monetary Fund, International Financial StatisticsYearbook (Washington, D.C.: The Fund).

Health Care And Profits

The Supreme Court has ruled favorably on the legality of the Affordable Care Act. Actually, despite itsname, the Act has more to do with extending and attempting to improve private health insurancecoverage than it does with improving care or reducing its cost.

Unfortunately for us, the effort to improve our health care system has remained within bounds set bythe needs of private health care providers and insurers. As President Obama made clear from the startof his push for health care reform, there would be no consideration of a universal system.

Critics of such a universal system are always quick to argue that only market forces driven by the

private pursuit of profit can ensure an efficient health care system. Of course, in determining whetherthis is true, we need to recognize that efficiency is a complex term and that our health care system, likeall systems, produces multiple outcomes. The most obvious ones are private profit as well as the qualityand cost of the relevant health care.
http://media.lclark.edu/content/hart-landsberg/2012/07/09/health-care-and-profits/http://media.lclark.edu/content/hart-landsberg/2012/07/09/health-care-and-profits/


7/12

What does all of this mean in terms of health outcomes? According to the OECD report:

Most OECD countries have enjoyed large gains in life expectancy over the past decades. Inthe United States, life expectancy at birth increased by almost 9 years between 1960 and2010, but this is less than the increase of over 15 years in Japan and over 11 years onaverage in OECD countries. As a result, while life expectancy in the United States used to


8/12

be 1 year above the OECD average in 1960, it is now, at 78.7 years in 2010, more thanone year below the average of 79.8 years. Japan, Switzerland, Italy and Spain are theOECD countries with the highest life expectancy, exceeding 82 years.

One possible explanation for this lagging performance, highlighted in an earlier OECDreport, is thatthe U.S. ranked 26th in terms of the number of practicing physicians relative to its population, 29th interms of the number of doctor consultations per capita, 29th in terms of the number of hospital beds per

capita, and 29th in terms of the average length of hospital stay. At the same time, the U.S. healthsystem does do a lot of interventions . . . it has a lot of expensive diagnostic equipment, which it uses alot. And it does a lot of elective surgery the sort of activities where it is not always clear cut aboutwhether a particular intervention is necessary or not.

Private health care providers and insurers are clear about how they measure health care efficiency. Andas long as we rely on them to set the terms of the debate we will continue to suffer the consequences.

"Insurance companies are cost plus providers which, have no incentive to reduce costs. They act

as "gatekeeper" and for their role in the monopoly will not pay for any treatment which comes

from outside the cartel. This nation is coming to understand this horror is a result of

complacency as well as collusion between government agency, pharmaceutical interests andinstitutional medicine and its powerful financial influence over nearly every facet of the

worldwide bureaucracy and mass media. "--Pixley

Why does Singapore insurance system not work for US

Why can't we adopt a Singapore model system with modifications. A proposal that someone discussedwith me recently was this:

1. Medicare retained for 65 yrs+

2. Medicaid remains for folks at povery levels (2x multiplier)3. Medicare tax hiked to include a "universal" catastrophic insurance coverage - cancer, heart attack etc...4. Individual Insurance accounts for other healthcare services5. Drive down cost so that MRI doesn't cost $4000 but closer to $300 charged for cash services today6. Insurance companies will be given mandate to manage your account. You will retain the flexibility ofshifting accounts. Companies publish a list of negotiated costs for you to decide on company

Will such a system work?

In addition - i wanted to add 1 more point. America needs more doctors and at nearly 3.06doctors/1000, it lags Cuba (5.9!) and Russia (4.25!!!) - the second and seventh best rates globally. It is

also reported that USA needs 150,000 more doctors by 2025. In 2025, US is projected to have nearly350million population. At 4 doctors/1000 - a 25% increase in physician rates from today - we arelooking to add a NET OF half a million doctors in 12 years.12k residents pass out each year and weneed to get it to 42k as per this calculation (1) Will it help to add numbers at that levels (2) Is it possibleto add so many without decreasing quality of the doctors.

t has nothing to do with Singapore or Switzerland having a good or very good system of medicalinsurance for their people.

The USA is an 'exceptionalist' state and believes it is so unique and so special that nobody else's healthcare experience (say a Germany which had universal care since 1880 or so) or anywhere else has
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/12/16/49084355.pdfhttp://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/12/16/49084355.pdfhttp://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/12/16/49084355.pdfhttp://www.chelationtherapyonline.com/anatomy/p84.htmhttp://www.whale.to/p/pixley.htmlhttp://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/06/21/1102061/-Why-does-Singapore-insurance-system-not-work-for-US-Question-to-Kossaks-Help-plshttp://www.nyu.edu/projects/rodwin/american.htmlhttp://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/12/16/49084355.pdfhttp://www.chelationtherapyonline.com/anatomy/p84.htmhttp://www.whale.to/p/pixley.htmlhttp://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/06/21/1102061/-Why-does-Singapore-insurance-system-not-work-for-US-Question-to-Kossaks-Help-plshttp://www.nyu.edu/projects/rodwin/american.html


9/12

ANYTHING to offer.

Yes, the arrogance and cowardice in the political leaders who wet their pants or panties if someonementions 'socialized medicine' and promptly reach for Maalox or a depressant to avoid getting excitedor frightened about talking plain truths to their constituents.

Doesn't matter. America has 4 simultaneously running kinds of health care 1. fee for service for 20 to40 million, prepaid insurance for about 120 million, government socialized medicine full coverage forpoliticians, the military and certain classes of federal workers, and a Medicaid system for the indigentwho have to qualify in the states -and the states try to avoid placing people on it so effectively 60million have no access and another 40 million lose their health care at some time within the last twoyears.

And they make a mess out of paying for ALL OF THEM OR TRY TO GOUGE like the 4 thousanddollar PET scans that can be done for 95 dollars in the Japanese doctor's office. Or drugs that cost 10,20 30 times what they do in Europe or Australia or Asia. The 15% to 35% overhead, commissions,profiteering don't help either.

And the consumers of health care are swindled and tricked into believing only small changes arepossible, and of course it will keep costing more and more. Those profits are more sacred than Jesus

Christ or Joseph Smith.

We are going to get an ugly reversal to confound and screw up our health care system yet again andmake it worse than it has been for years if possible when the SCOTUS rules a mandate is not permitted.

The default call must be not a 3,299 page bundle of exceptions to enshrine every two bit hustler andcheater and scammer and grifter into sucking blood from people unless they get paid but Medicare forall, all ages.

I don't believe any politician has two ounces of courage in their 200 lbs or 300 lbs of carry weight, so itwill be mass demonstrations, mass strikes, a doctors and hospital/ clinical strike for sanity and to stopthe insanity of 5 middle aged corporate lawyers fellating the biggest insurers into an orgy of billions ofdollars stolen yet again....102 million dollars spent in 2009 to defeat or neuter the Affordable Care Act.Successfully.

Let's get medicare for all, a single payer system in place and let the SCOTUS stroke out, have heartattacks, over the fall in their shares of the pirate and bloodsucker companies that they own!

The number of medical schools had increased from 90 in 1880 to 154 in 1903. As an official AMAhistory by James Gordon Burrow puts it, the "frightening competition" showed a need for "educationreform," i.e., cartelization. The state legislatures showed little interest in more restrictionist laws, so theAMA appointed the secretary of the Kentucky State Board of Health to rouse the profession to lobby.

Joseph N. McCormack spent a decade in agitprop among the doctors of more than 2,000 cities and

towns, inspiring them with such speeches as "The Danger to the Public From an Unorganized andUnderpaid Medical Profession." Like medical ethicists before and since, he denounced advertising(letting customers know services and prices in advance) and quackery (unapproved competition). Joinour union, he said, and we will raise your pay. By 1910, about 70,000 doctors belonged to the AMA, aneight-fold increase over the previous decade.

To help bring about a higher-paid profession, the AMA in 1904 created the Council on MedicalEducation, which sought to shut down more than half the existing medical schools by rating them on ascale of A to C. In cooperation with state medical boards composed of what Arthur Dean Boran, head
http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/medical.htmlhttp://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/medical.html


10/12

of the council, called the "right sort of men," the AMA succeeded in cutting the number of schools to131 by 1910, from a high of 166.

Then the council's secretary N.P. Colwell helped plan (and some say write) the famous 1910 report byAbraham Flexner. Flexner, the owner of a bankrupt prep school, had the good fortune to have a brother,Simon, who was director of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. At his brother's suggestion,Abraham Flexner was hired by the Rockefeller-allied Carnegie Foundation so that the report would not

be seen as a Rockefeller initiative. And Carnegie, whose main goal was to "rationalize" highereducation, that is, replace religion with science, saw the AMA cartelization drive as useful. Claiming tohave investigated nearly every school in the country, Flexner rated them on suitability. Schools hepraised received lush grants from the Rockefeller and associated foundations, and almost all themedical schools he condemned were shut down, especially the "commercial" institutions. AMA-dominated state medical boards ruled that in order to practice medicine, a doctor had to graduate froman approved school. Post-Flexner, a school could not be approved if it taught alternative therapies,didn't restrict the number of students, or made profits based on student fees.

Why the opposition to for-profit schools? If an institution were supported by student fees rather thanphilanthropic donations, it could be independent of the foundations. The Rockefeller family hadinvested heavily in allopathic drug companies and wanted doctors to use their products.

Now that Santas list has gone from anticipation to information its time for all the other lists to comeout of hiding.Most are innocuous enough The Golden Globes, The Oscars, The Grammys but 2012is an election year, so they will all have a much shorter half-life as we embark on our forced march toNovember. Healthcare Reform will continue to play a pivotal role for President Obama and his yet-to-be-named challenger. With healthcare at almost 18% of GDP well it should. Adding suspense to boththe debate and the election itself is a Supreme Court decision (well before November) on theconstitutionality of a key requirement of the current healthcare reform (PPACA), the individualmandate.

A Healthcare List

There are more MRI machines in Pittsburghthan Canada

80% of healthcare bills contain errors

Insurance claim errors are estimated at about $17B per year

The Milliman Medical Index measures the total annual cost of healthcare for a typical familyof 4 covered by a preferred provider plan (PPO). In 2002 it was $9,235. For 2011 it was$19,393

By 2025 the average annual cost of family healthcare insurance will equal the average annualhousehold income

Ohio spent about $600M in 2009 on Medicaid, Foodstamps and Welfare for employees of thatstates 50 largest employers (including WalMart, McDonalds, Wendys and Krogers)

HEALTH CARE: HUMAN RIGHT AND MORAL IMPERATIVE

Hal Sanders, a former hospital administrator with Allegheny General Hospital and St. Johns, and amember of East Liberty Presbyterian Church, advocated successfully for the passage of the single-payer overture passed by the General Assembly, beginning with its adoption by the Pittsburgh
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/03/how_does_the_individual_mandat.htmlhttp://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/03/how_does_the_individual_mandat.htmlhttp://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/03/how_does_the_individual_mandat.htmlhttp://www.forbes.com/sites/danmunro/2011/12/30/a-healthcare-list/http://healthcare-economist.com/2008/02/11/pittsburgh-has-more-mri-machines-than-canada/http://healthcare-economist.com/2008/02/11/pittsburgh-has-more-mri-machines-than-canada/http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_14813339http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/news/news/ama-health-insurer-report-card.pagehttp://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/news/news/ama-health-insurer-report-card.pagehttp://insight.milliman.com/article.php?cntid=7628http://www.graham-center.org/online/graham/home/publications/onepagers/2005/op40-insurance-2025.htmlhttp://www.daytondailynews.com/news/ohio-news/employees-of-big-companies-fill-ohios-medicaid-food-stamp-rolls-report-says-323224.htmlhttp://www.wpasinglepayer.org/ConferenceNewsStory.htmlhttp://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/03/how_does_the_individual_mandat.htmlhttp://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/03/how_does_the_individual_mandat.htmlhttp://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/03/how_does_the_individual_mandat.htmlhttp://www.forbes.com/sites/danmunro/2011/12/30/a-healthcare-list/http://healthcare-economist.com/2008/02/11/pittsburgh-has-more-mri-machines-than-canada/http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_14813339http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/news/news/ama-health-insurer-report-card.pagehttp://insight.milliman.com/article.php?cntid=7628http://www.graham-center.org/online/graham/home/publications/onepagers/2005/op40-insurance-2025.htmlhttp://www.daytondailynews.com/news/ohio-news/employees-of-big-companies-fill-ohios-medicaid-food-stamp-rolls-report-says-323224.htmlhttp://www.wpasinglepayer.org/ConferenceNewsStory.html


11/12

Presbytery, a conservative group. Chairing the Pittsburgh conference as Board Member of the WesternPA Coalition for Single-Payer Healthcare, Sanders notes Our profit focused-insurance controlledhealth system is the biggest problem facing millions of working people in this country. The emergingdebate in Congress is corrupted by the money big insurance and pharmaceutical interests heap on ourelected officials.The clear majority of people in this country favor universal, single-payer healthcare.Poll after poll verifies this. It is time our elected officials respect the wishes of the public they are in

office to serve."

A Look at the Austrian Health Care System

The main principles of theAustrian health care system are solidarity, affordability and universality. InAustria, health care is based on a social insurance model...

If you will be moving abroad to Austria you may be wondering what type of health care system theyhave and if you will be eligible as an expatriate. Austria is known for its generous social welfaresystem, which includes the health care system. And as an expat you will be able to receive medicaltreatment while in Austria under their health care system.

The Austrian health care system has a large network of doctors and hospitals all over the country, evenin the more remote areas of Austria. The quality of health care in Austria is very high. The Austrianhealth care system offers health care services and treatment at no cost. This free health care is notlimited to just the resident of Austria either. If you are a tourist visiting Austria you are entitled accessto basic health care at no cost. If you are staying in Austria on a temporary basis you are also entitled tobasic health care at no cost. There are also reciprocal health care agreements with other EuropeanUnion countries. You may need to have your European Health Insurance Card if you are a citizen ofanother European Union country.

If you are living and working in Austria then you are required to make contributions to the healthinsurance scheme which helps to fund the health care system. It is part of the larger social insurance or

social welfare system of Austria. Under the Austrian health care system any basic health care servicesor treatment in public hospitals, basic dental care and medication are covered at no cost. Certain visitsto specialists are also covered under the health care system.

If you have private health insurance your cost for various services will vary. It will be based on yourincome, so it will likely be different than that of someone else that has the same private insurance.

The Mondragn Cooperative Corporation (MCC), the largest consortium of worker-owned companies,has developed a different way ofdoing businessa way that puts workers, not shareholders, first.

In conclusion, the Mondragn Cooperative Corporation is an outstanding success. While not without its

own challenges, the MCC offers important lessons for any enterprise considering employeeinvolvement in business ownership.

This fall's (1996) contest between Bob Dole and Bill Clinton may offer Americans concerned aboutcorporate power the narrowest and most conservative range of alternatives since 1924, when Silent CalCoolidge faced J.P. Morgan's attorney John Davis. Today's Republicans argue that government hasbecome irrelevant in the age of the global economy. Pensions, environmental regulations, welfare -- allmust shrink or disappear to allow corporations to compete better in the world marketplace. DigitalDemocrats like Labor Secretary Robert Reich disagree. Government can play a constructive role, theyargue, by offering tax breaks to kindly, "responsible" corporations that work hard and play by the rules.
http://voices.yahoo.com/a-look-austrian-health-care-system-517192.htmlhttp://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?id=3510http://www.ownershipassociates.com/mcc-intro.shtmhttp://www.uwcc.wisc.edu/info/bologna.htmlhttp://www.uwcc.wisc.edu/info/bologna.htmlhttp://voices.yahoo.com/a-look-austrian-health-care-system-517192.htmlhttp://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?id=3510http://www.ownershipassociates.com/mcc-intro.shtmhttp://www.uwcc.wisc.edu/info/bologna.htmlhttp://www.uwcc.wisc.edu/info/bologna.html


12/12

To see that there are other options, you have to travel to the richest city in Italy: Bologna -- CommunistBologna (six years ago the Italian Communist Party renamed itself the Democratic Party of the Left, orP.D.S.). Polls confirm it as the favorite city of all Italians. The historic center, with its soaring medievaltowers, Renaissance palazzos and Baroque porticoes, is among the best-preserved in Italy. And perhapseven more remarkable, working-class Bolognese continue to live there. Since the anti-Fascist resistancecame down from the hills and took power fifty years ago, Bologna and the surrounding Emilia-

Romagna region have been transformed into a working left-wing model of a future Italy, an alternativeto the alliance of media mogul Silvio Berlusconi and neo-Fascist Gianfranco Fini [see Daniel Singer'seditorial, "Italy's Olive Tree," this week]. Here is a place where the left came to power and didn't makea mess.

Bottom line. Obamacare is not healthcare reform since there is no reform of money flow out of publicfunds into corporate bottomless pocket. Real refrom should toward public healthcare system. Thissystem can run simultaneously beside private as we see in all countries with public healthcare system,as example I choosed Austria, where cradle to grave public healthcare system is alternated with privateinsurances. As cooperatives successfully alternate capitalism, public healthcare system successfullyalternate private system. Cooperatives maintain their own school system, their own healthcare andpension funds, their own research centers.

Sanders notes Our profit focused-insurance controlled health system is the biggest problem facingmillions of working people in this country. The emerging debate in Congress is corrupted by the moneybig insurance and pharmaceutical interests heap on our elected officials.The clear majority of people inthis country favor universal, single-payer healthcare. Poll after poll verifies this. It is time our electedofficials respect the wishes of the public they are in office to serve."

American exceptionalism has one more point: Bankruptcy

Nearly two-thirds, or 62%, of all bankruptcy filings in the United States in 2007 were due toillness or medical bills. Source: American Journal of Medicine, June 2009

Among the medical bankruptcy filers in 2007, most were well-educated, owned homes,employed in middle-class occupations, and three-quarters had health insurance. Source:American Journal of Medicine, June 2009

This make USA real exception in developed world.
http://www.wpasinglepayer.org/ConferenceNewsStory.htmlhttp://www.healthpaconline.net/health-care-statistics-in-the-united-states.htmhttp://www.nyu.edu/projects/rodwin/american.htmlhttp://www.wpasinglepayer.org/ConferenceNewsStory.htmlhttp://www.healthpaconline.net/health-care-statistics-in-the-united-states.htmhttp://www.nyu.edu/projects/rodwin/american.html

healthcare not wealthcare

Documents