A Kafka moment

Submitted by Anna on Fri, 03/19/2010 - 23:15

March 19, 2010

I hope you had a chance to read my article on the PDA home page yesterday entitled “Healthcare Torture.” It’s a short analysis of the history of the current healthcare legislation with an inside/outside perspective.

In the article, I point my finger at well-funded organizations, MoveOn and HCAN, who failed to join with the majority of Americans and organizations (like PDA) in supporting enhanced Medicare for all. They endorsed the “politically feasible” public option—over the best option—and moved the course of the debate rightward.

(For more analysis, see Norman Solomon’s “Zero Public Option + One Mandate = Disaster.”)

Political feasibility, combined with the corporate health insurance industry and a Congress unable to embrace simplicity, was the death knell for meaningful reform. Whether this bill passes or not, healthcare reform will be back in our lifetimes.

Read the Rest Here