New Weiner Study Shows 151 Members of House and Senate Get the "Public Option" Now
Weiner Calls on GOP Opponents of the Public Option to Give Up Their Medicare
From Representative Anthony Weiner:
A new study by Representative Anthony Weiner (D – Queens & Brooklyn), member of the Health Subcommittee and Co-Chair of the Caucus on the Middle Class, revealed that 151 members of the House and Senate currently receive government-funded; government-administered single-payer health care - Medicare.
On the list of recipients are 55 Republicans who have steadfastly opposed other Americans getting the public option, like the one they have chosen.
Weiner said, "Even in a town known for hypocrisy, this list of 55 Members of Congress deserve some sort of prize. They apparently think the public option is ok for them, but not anyone else."
The list of congressional recipients of Medicare who also oppose the public option is below:
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Republican politicians are afraid of universal health care because they know it will work. They don't want to see universal health care gain the same kind of political untouchability that Medicare and Social Security have earned. Because both of those programs are hugely successful. They both relieve huge burdens for our nations' citizens. And they were both Democratic policies that Republicans fought tooth and nail.
Remember this from Think Progress last September?
On Thursday, the National Republican Campaign Committee worked alongside the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) to host a small rally opposing President Obama and his health care reforms. Earlier in the day, ThinkProgress caught up with a spokesman for AAPS, who explained that the group opposes any government involvement in health care and supports privatizing Medicare. Similarly, at the rally, Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) — a card carrying member of the AAPS — promised the audience that "we will not rest until we make certain that government-run health care is ended."Republicans know that if they come right out and say they want to end Medicare they lose - because while a few seniors may like to complain about it, there is now way they want to lose it. Just like the Bush Admins failed attempt to privatize Social Security - it would be a policy doomed to failure.
Asked by ThinkProgress to explain if his pronouncement included the government-run program of Medicare, Price evaded:
Q: You said on the stage that you wanted to end government healthcare, do you support privatizing Medicare?
PRICE: What government-run medicine does is forces other individuals besides themselves and their families making medical decisions. [...]
Q: You said on the stage that you want to get rid of government-run healthcare, what’s the difference between Medicare and the public option?
PRICE: No what I support is allowing patients to make independent medical decisions.
Q: So you support government health care when it’s Medicare.
PRICE: What I support is patients making independent medical decisions.
And so, they want to deny Americans Single Payer or a Public Option because they know it would be another good policy for the county's citizens and thus a win for Democrats.
Don't let them succeed. Take everything else away from the debate and the basic truth - beyond the heart breaking stories of bankruptcies and death - is that our national economy cannot recover in any sustainable fashion without a good national health care plan.
Pick up the phone and start calling.
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