Obama Favors Single-Payer Healthcare

Throughout the summer, the entire country has been almost singularly focused upon the subject of healthcare.

Without a doubt, there has been much debate over how the bills being formulated in Congress would change the healthcare experienced by all Americans.

It should come as no surprise that it has been difficult for the truth to come to light. Instead of reporting Obama for his “fishy” comments, it is in this setting that I will reveal the true stances of the president and his cohorts.

Recently, the president has told us that he does not want a single-payer system to be instituted in the United States. In other words, he claims he does not wish for the federal government to become the insurer of all Americans. In order to find the truth, we should look much more closely at the president’s position on this particular issue.

In order to dispel the idea that the proposed public option is a means by which to obtain a system of nationalized healthcare, President Obama said, “Let me also address an illegitimate concern that’s being put forward by those who are claiming a public option is somehow a Trojan horse for a single-payer system. I’ll be honest; there are countries where a single-payer system works pretty well. But I believe…that it’s important for our efforts to build on our traditions here in the United States. So when you hear the naysayers claim that I’m trying to bring about government-run health care, know this: They’re not telling the truth.”

This quotation alone should immediately raise flags of caution in the minds of Americans. President Obama flatly rejects the idea that he adheres to the notion of nationalized healthcare and argues that anyone who is concerned that he might hold this position does so in an “illegitimate” fashion. The fact that Obama believes “there are countries where a single-payer system works pretty well” should, at the very least, cause one to question the president’s honesty.

After examining the previous comments of the president in regard to this topic, the statement previously noted should cause us to react just as our fellow citizens have done all over the country at various town hall meetings.

In 2003, as a state senator, Obama said, “I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal healthcare program. I see no reason why the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, spending 14 percent of its gross national product on healthcare, cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody…But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately.”

During the campaign, the president told us that it would be his commitment “to make sure that we’ve got universal health care for all Americans by the end of my first term as president...I would hope that we could setup a system that allows those who can’t go through their employer to access a federal system or a state pool of some sort…I don’t think we’re going to be able to eliminate employer coverage immediately. There’s going to be potentially some transition process. I can envision a decade out or 15 years out or 20 years out…”

Congressman Barney Frank said, “I think if we get a good public option it could lead to single-payer and that’s the best way to reach single-payer.”

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky revealed the true intention of the public option when she related the concerns of an insurance company employee who stated that “a public option will put the private insurance industry out of business and lead to single-payer.” Schakowsky emphatically responded to this comment by shouting, “He was right! The man was right!”

It can clearly be seen that the president, by his own admission, is a proponent of a single-payer healthcare system. Without a doubt, Obama’s falling poll numbers have led him to be less than genuine about his true feelings on the subject of single-payer healthcare. If he were to tell the American people the unadulterated truth, his presidency would be in grave danger.

President Obama didn’t count on the American people seeking the truth. Regardless, we have identified the true positions of the president and his colleagues. The words of Obama, Frank, and Schakowsky are more than enough for us to know the truth.

Don’t be fooled into believing the public option is not “a Trojan horse for a single-payer system.” This is exactly what the public option is. If instituted, we will be on a seemingly irrevocable march toward a single-payer healthcare system.

Stand against the socialistic intentions of the president and the liberals in Congress. Your concerns are legitimate. Write, call, e-mail, or protest in order to make your feelings known to your elected representatives.

--As Appeared in The Daily Mississippian on Wednesday, August 26, 2009