Thursday, April 2, 2020

Bernie will take away your healthcare plans - Union Leaders (Mulgrew, Randi) Need to Answer for Opposition to Medicare for All as layoffs and loss of health care mount

As even those with good health care plans are laid off and lose
them, there is a lot to answer for opposing and even mocking Bernie Sanders' single payer ideas that would have protected all those with much loved health plans (Not). As for how he would have paid for it -- where's your God now, Moses?
Remember those much loved health care plans union leaders were defending in their attacks on Bernie? Remember the "how will you pay for that?" arguments by anti-Bernie Dems and union leaders and even some of my friends? Bernie's answer was that in his plan it doesn't make a difference where you work and if fired or laid off or if changing jobs, you still were covered. As for how we would have paid for Single payer --- Triple LOL. Joe Biden's comments about expanding Obamacare are double, triple LOL. And how about paying for Corona virus treatment? And how about the insane world of profit in the healthcare industry which Bernie attacked at every opportunity.

Now we see a cone of silence with the only words that Bernie should drop out, not that he was so correct. And in the midst of this Biden says he still would veto a Single payer bill but Bernie is expected to drop out.

And also in the midst of this are attacks on Bernie supporters who might
not rush to Biden, people forgetting that the very reason Bernie attracted so many young people is precisely because of his medicare for all plan. So fagetaboutit - Like there is no burden on Biden to move in their direction - that this is only about Trump.

As for our own union leaders who defended the current system of health care, they may think UFT members are fairly well protected in terms of health care. Well let's think of the massive budget cuts and layoffs coming in the fall and how many UFT members will lose their much loved health plans whereas they would still be covered under Bernie programs.

Hey, you anti-Bernies - you have a lot of splainin to do.

Instead of calling for Bernie to drop out you should hide your faces in shame.

Listen - I do believe Bernie's rhetoric and refusal to vary his argument and be more nimble in his responses. His self-branding himself as a democratic socialist is not even accurate. I heard Noam Chomsky call him an Eisenhower era Republican and Chomsky asked "why would you use the word "socialist" in this country  when at most you are an FDR traditional Democrat?

Jacobin:

There’s Never Been a Better Time for Us to End Private Health Insurance Than Right Now

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why would we lose our DOE health benefits?

ed notes online said...

What do you think happens if you get laid off as I believe many teachers will be in the fall? And then there are the emergency cuts coming to health care due to lack of money. So be careful out there and admit that Bernie is correct.

Tom Forbes said...

I do not understand how a union would be opposed to medicare for all but is probably closer to a medicaid for all type health care plan. As a retired UFT member I have around $280 a month deducted from my retirement which is a good deal as far as market prices are concerned. The fact I pay copayments, have a deductible for emergency room service and have had problems with surprise bills in the past with out of network providers for an emergency room visit which I ended up staying for 13 days in the hospital. Even the ambulance gave me a surprise bill. Also surprise bills when using out patient services for colonoscopy. I feel a single payer health care system would be cheaper for me out of pocket and be just as good of service we currently have with out union insurance. When I left the UFT I waited 3 years to be eligible to receive retirement benefits and it was a much higher cost to pay for health insurance through the plan provided by my wife's employer.

Anonymous said...

Don't we have a no layoff contract? Wouldn't union need to agree to any cuts or in cuts to healthcare?

Anonymous said...

I'm retired too, not from the city, but a civil service job and I pay about $600/month for a family plan but that includes dental and vision. $25 Dr. copays. Lots pay more. My kid is only on my plan another year or so. I hope he gets a job with benefits, but who knows. I really wish we had medicare for all. I'd pay more to see everyone covered.

ed notes online said...

1975 - 15,000 laid off. Emergency voids contracts.

Tom Forbes said...

Sorry for the fake news Norm. I have $148.93 deducted each month from the retirement for GHI/Emblem and another $20/month for SHIP. I guess the $280 was from my student loan payments from many years ago.