Ted Kennedy Speaks Out On Health Care Reform: "The Cause Of My Life"

Newsweek:

In 1964, I was flying with several companions to the Massachusetts Democratic Convention when our small plane crashed and burned short of the runway. My friend and colleague in the Senate, Birch Bayh, risked his life to pull me from the wreckage. Our pilot, Edwin Zimny, and my administrative assistant, Ed Moss, didn't survive. With crushed vertebrae, broken ribs, and a collapsed lung, I spent months in New England Baptist Hospital in Boston. To prevent paralysis, I was strapped into a special bed that immobilizes a patient between two canvas slings. Nurses would regularly turn me over so my lungs didn't fill with fluid. I knew the care was expensive, but I didn't have to worry about that. I needed the care and I got it.

Read the whole story: Newsweek

Comments

[CarbonCreditSeller]

teddybare; wish i was their to selebrate - maryjoe

[Chaimirija]

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/51105717.html

Millions more...lac­king in health insurance

[Samalabear]

Here is the latest news on the Massachusetts Plan, which is basically what the bill that's out now immitates. It's bleak:

Hard Insurance Lessons from Masschusetts

Massachusetts is dropping legal, green-carded immigrants from its subsidies for health insurance and will probably make it harder for poor citizens to get coverage. The state's small businesses are being slammed with double-digit insurance premium increases, some over 20%. Insurance companies have responded by offering to sell bare-bones small-business plans with deductibles of $4,000 or more and higher co-pays, costing employees far more than the projected savings to their employers. The "cheap" plans would also cut payments to doctors and hospitals, so they would actually be more profitable for insurance companies.

Bottom line: Private insurers will always seek to increase their proft and executive salaries at the expense of our health and our pocketbooks. Industry whistleblower Wendell Potter, who was an insurance executive for 20 years, recently told a Congressional hearing:

The rest: http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/patients/articles/?storyId=28407

[jmpurser]

Then he spent his entire life ignoring the cause of his life and will check out without making any real changes.

Sad to pathetic for the "liberal lion" that has had the right crapping on themselves for 30 years.

[justobserve]

Some doctors suggested that TORT reform should be on the list too or doctors who have to cover their as, just in case, still recommend unnecessary tests and waste money. That is a very important point. Also, some suggested that the health costs are high due to people who are illegal immigrants getting free treatment while we don't have it for legal citizens. That is two different but related issues and must be addressed. The reform distractors would use this to oppose the health care reform but the high costs of our current health care system has many facets incl uding the private insurers' big profit and high and wasteful administrative costs. We must take thoses off the equations with a universal system. Any cut with illegal immigrants and other problems will add to the streamline of the current system and further reduce costs. Distractors are those who have their own health insurance paid by either their companies or government. It comes down to their insurance are paid by their companies' customers or taxpayers. They just don't want to sharethe honey pot to others. I am particularly angry with congressmen who oppose this reform while their health insurance are paid by taxpayers. If that is not already "socialized medicine", what is? Universal health care is NOW OR NEVER! We have been delayed it for four decades!

[littlepeople]

Brilliant

[piercingvision]

Ted Kennedy fails to point out that although we are the only major industrial country without universal health care our healthcare system is still the envy of the world. He also does not point out how universal health care in most other countries has led to long lines and less care for those that truly need it. Today 47 million or so are without insurance. 20 million make over 75,000 per year and choose not to be covered. Another 20 million could be included in a medicare program or are illegal aliens. Unfortunately this bill has a good chance to make it through congress this year. My plans as a small business owner are obvious. If it does I will have to lay off about 20% of my workforce to pay the bills and certainly I won't be hiring anytime soon.

[glockman]

"In 1964, I was flying with several companions to the Massachusetts Democratic Convention when our small plane crashed and burned short of the runway. My friend and colleague in the Senate, Birch Bayh, risked his life to pull me from the wreckage"

But you sure didn't risk your life for Mary Jo Kopechne.

[mountclemens]

Right. And we should never forget. That kind of incident defines a person. Self-centered to the point of letting another person, a companion, die in a car in the water.

Meanwhile, on health coverage, he admits that "single-payer" is the best but that he gave it up a long time ago. THAT WAS his big MISTAKE on this issue. Since then, he has spent his "efforts" struggling with the adsurd complexities of trying to help a minority of people while enriching the wealthy insurers and BigMed, and trying to look grand. Stupid. Waste Of Time.

Single-payer, like a Medicare For All, wipes away the absurb complexities. It's not a tough decision. It's simply the right decision to anyone who is educated about this issue and truly wants to help the majority of We The People. OBAMA KNEW it, and knows it, but now he lies about it.
Here he is in a video from some years ago saying "single-payer" is the best solution:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpAyan1fXCE

If Kennedy wants to do something great before he dies, he ought to return to the best idea he had but gave up. He ought to push the idea Obama knew was best but sold out when the private insurers bought him. Kennedy should shout:

"Medicare For All." Enroll us all now. Most problems solved. If you want to go buy other insurance, you still can. Docs and hospitals remain as they are, mostly private.

[mg moore]

Funny,

up until this point I thought that scotch, skirts and late night drives had been the causes of his life.

[PaxEterna]

30 years and where are we?

Worse off every day.

There is no legacy here worth applauding.

Until every American can helipcopter to the hospital of his/her choice, convene specialists to assess his/her medical needs, and NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT HOW MUCH ANY OF IT IS GOING TO COST, there is nothing to applaud.

Really, this is a ridiculously WEAK track record, and actually, we can probably thank RMK for taking Single Payer off the table since he has been in the pocket of Big Pharma for years, and wants to get "something" done before he dies.

That's the true narrative here, otherwise he should be leading the charge for SINGLE PAYER NOW.

[BarakCarpathia]

Quick call 9 - 11. McDonalds is out of fries.

You get a lot of this with medicare already. Imagine when its free for all.

[patriotgirl76]

Why are senators "entitled" to cadillac healthcare? They ARE NOT. But they voted themselves that PERK.

[Whinger]

Wolves always hunt in a pack, but they're cowards at heart and can be faced down!

[BarakCarpathia]

Ted you know what today is?

[Ramirez]

I'm sure he does.

[Firbolg]

Referring to his efforts in the early 70s Kennedy says “I eventually came to believe that we'd have to give up on the ideal of a government-run, single-payer system if we wanted to get universal care.”
That was his call at the time and I’m prepared to grant it was an honest decision. However, I believe any objective person looking at what has happened in the intervening 30 + years would have to concede that it has not worked out, to put it mildly.
Accepting that, then the honest and courageous approach now would be to admit that decision was wrong and strive to correct it. Instead we have bills that tinker with the current system and heap praise on the partial return of congress sanctioned extortionate profits from the benefactors of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003.
We are latecomers to the idea of civilized healthcare for all our people. The UK, for example, has had its system in place since shortly after the end of WWII. That should give us the advantage of picking the “best of breed” for ourselves. Instead we are putting bigger wheels on our horse and buggy system and celebrating our ingenuity.
Pass the Prozac, please.

[Givethemhellharry]

17 years ago my daughter died in Washington. At the time my niece was working for Senator Kennedy. At his direction, his staff helped us through a very difficult time. I never got a chance to adequately thank this great man for this help.

Ted Kennedy truly has great intellect, heart and compassion for people. For over 40 years this great man, like his brothers, has fought for the rights and needs of the average man. When he leaves the national stage he will be sorely missed and I hope there are those who have the courage, heart, vision and drive to pick up the banner and carry on the fight for justice and fairness in the future.

Senator, your legacy is the millions that have been helped by your service and the tens of millions more that will be helped in the future. In my humble opinion you will go down as one of the greatest Senators in the history of the Republic.

Thank you Senator from a grateful father and a grateful citizen for the battles you have waged on our behalf. If their is a just God, your place in heaven is assured.

[Jonni Rae]

CBO has judged the House Bill as deficit neutral. Check out Daily Kos. Deficit neutral!!!!!! This should be the lead story on Huff post. I love you, Senator Kennedy. We are going to do this!!

[flapjack]

Wrong. They have said it will add 239 billion to this nation's debt over 10 years.