ROGER HICKEY

Leaving Us To The Mercy Of The Insurance Companies

As quoted in Talking Points Memo: "If they throw out major portions of the reform the most important thing for Dems to talk about right now is how Republicans and the Court are leaving us to the mercy of the private insurance companies ... And that’s not just the Supreme Court decision, but it’s the Ryan budget. …

Republicans are trying to impose austerity because they say that Medicare is bankrupting the country, and Dems should point out that Republicans want to dismantle the one functioning part of our health care system — Medicare — that actually works for people, that actually controls cost. And what they’re proposing is incredibly unpopular with the voters ...

We have to break the power of the insurance industry at least with a public option, and we have to control drug company costs, again using Medicare as a leverage. And we should be talking about a real comprehensive health care system that is closer to single payer."