Attended a labor union-sponsored rally for Hillary Clinton today in Davenport, Iowa. Two stories: Out of the rough-hewn crowd of carpenters, pipe-fitters and plumbers, teachers and health care workers, one of their elected leaders stood up to testify to the fact that, when his son lost his right eye and right thumb in a IED attack in Afghanistan, Senator Tom Harkin said he could not help in getting him home for surgery, but he knew who could.
A call to Hillary Clinton got the boy home in 48 hours. He is now self-employed, had his surgery in Texas, and is doing well. More to the point: Secretary Clinton spoke of a man she met on the campaign trail recently who had two daughters with cystic fibrosis. He told her that he had tried everywhere, but could not get health insurance for them. She said, “Have you really tried everywhere?” He said, “Yes, and the last insurance agent told me ‘We don’t insure burning buildings.’ Looking up with tears in his eyes, he said, “They told me my daughters were burning buildings!
Today, because of Obama-care, they are insured. There is no longer any exclusion for pre-existing conditions. It is illegal.
If we have achieved 90% of our journey toward universal health care, Hillary said, Why in the world would we want to risk those gains by opening up the debate all over again in the search for a single-payer system rather than building on Obama-care to approach the goal of truly universal health care coverage.
Surely it is better, she said, to close a ten per cent gap than to start all over again and risk throwing the whole thing back to the private insurance companies.
Good point.
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