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January
6, 2002
Tariq
Ali
Battleground
Kashmir
January
5, 2002
Mark Schneider
Kifah:
The Movie Star
Israel Killed
Edward
Said
Is
Israel More Secure Now?
January
4, 2002
CG Estabrook
Anti-War
= Anti-Globalization
Jordan
Green
What's
Changed in New York
January
3, 2002
Walt Brasch
Exit
Cheney, Enter Ridge
Mokhiber
and Weissman
The
10 Worst Corporations
of 2001
Robert
Hunter Wade
America's
Empire Rules an Unbalanced World
Shahid
Alam
Is
There an Islamic Problem?
January
2, 2002
Ross Regnart
Patriot
Act Redefines the Mob as "Terrorist Associates"
John Chuckman
The
Republicans' Secret Plan X
David
Vest
Turn,
Turn, Turn
January
1, 2002
Kathy
Kelly
Iraq's
New Year
December
31, 2001
John Absood
An
Alternative to War in Iraq
Ramzi
Kysia
Iraq
Goes Radioactive
December
28, 2001
John Chuckman
Observing
George Bush
Suren
Pillay
Civilian
Bodies
Aaron
Lehmer
Inviting
Future Terrorism
December
27, 2001
Patrick
McNamara
Palestinian
Children Bear Brunt of Mideast Violence
Nelson
Valdés
A
Possible Scenario on the Location of bin Laden
Jensen
and Mahajan
Remember
the Afghan Dead
Philip
Farruggio
A
New Year's Resolution
Ramzi
Kysia
The
People of the Valley
December 26, 2001
John Chuckman
In
Praise of the Unspeakable
Sam Bahour
2002:
Year of the Twos
December 25, 2001
Jennifer Loewenstein
Israel's
Human Rights Record
December 24, 2001
Sam Bahour
It
Happened One Morning
Yair Khilou
Why I Resisted
Being Drafted into the Israeli Army
Michael
Chisari
War
as Diversionary Tactic
Cockburn/St. Clair
Enron
and the Green Seal
A Photographic Journal of Life
in an Afghan Refugee Camp
By Judith Mann
Resources:
100s of Links
About 9/11
CounterPunch:
Complete
Coverage of 9/11 and Its Aftermath
Five
Days That
Shook The World:
Seattle and Beyond
By Alexander
Cockburn
and Jeffrey St. Clair
Photos by Allan Sekula
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War Diary
CIA's Assassination Plan a History of
Torture in US Prisons
bin Laden and Bush
Business Connections
Aisha Ikramuddin on the Hidden Hype
of US Food Bombs
Peter Linebaugh on
Pakistan
Christopher Hitchens' Love for Mrs. Thatcher
Jiang Zemin Tells Bush:
Nuke 'Em
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How the CIA's Backing of the Mujahideen Created the World's Most
Robust Heroin Market and Helped to Finance the Rise of the Taliban
and Osama bin Laden
Whiteout:
CIA, Drugs & the
Press
by Alexander
Cockburn
and Jeffrey St. Clair
The Memphis Blues Again:
Six Decades of Memphis Music Photographs
Photos by Ernest Withers
Text by Daniel Wolff
The New Intifada:
Resisting Israel's Apartheid
Edited by Roane Carey
A Pocket Guide to
Environmental Bad Guys
by James Ridgeway
and Jeffrey St. Clair
The
Phoenix Program
by Douglas Valentine
Al Gore:
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by Cockburn
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January
6, 2002
Better Medicine
By Philip Farruggio
Okay here's the deal: our elected officials are
called "public servants". Now, go to any household
that maintains servants and see who has the better health care,
the "master" or the "server". Yet, our Congresspeople
and state representatives have the best health coverage our tax
money can buy. Tell that to the family of four, with two "breadwinners"
who earn a combined $40 or $50k annually. They probably shell
out $400 --$500 a month for less coverage than their elected
representatives are receiving. Next time you're on line at the
supermarket, remember that one of every six holding that quart
of milk or that dozen eggs, on average, has no health coverage.
Probably 3 in 6 of Americans have inadequate coverage at best
--one major illness/accident from financial ruin.
True progressive thinkers/writers do
not merely find fault --we offer solutions! That is, to expand
the current Medicare/Medicaid system to include all. Each person
contributes according to one's income (with a ceiling) similar
to the FICA tax structure. Employers contribute in the same manner
as well. Cover all workers, part time and full, and give the
employer a tax write off for those contributions. That places
all Americans under one umbrella of coverage. Simply put, one
form to submit, one insurer (the people <a.k.a>. the gov't)
and a savings of possibly hundreds of millions a year in administration
costs alone. With one insurer the government can pressure the
drug companies to charge less (as in the Cipro incident) and
also allow for generics to compete fairly with the original brands.
How about the doctors? Will they sit
still for this? Well, over 30 some odd years ago many health
professionals, through their lobbyists, fought like hell against
Medicare/Medicaid. They called it socialistic (it is). They called
it flawed (somewhat ). They said it would never work. Well, were
they wrong! It does work, better than if left to the private
sector. What it did was drive down the ceiling on fees. Doctors
had a decision: is a "bird in the hand worth more than two
in the bush" (no pun intended)? Was it better to get a lower
payment as opposed to outrageous collection problems? You see,
a patient with no (or limited) health coverage, making "peanuts"
a year in income, just cannot pay high medical bills. I asked
my dentist how he felt about including dental coverage under
the universal healthcare umbrella. His answer was that despite
the low fee payments, it was still worth it. He told of the tremendous
number of people who cannot and do not pay their bills, causing
a collection nightmare.
So, all we do is adopt the system of
"universal medicare", including dental and alternative
therapies like psychological counseling, chiropractic, acupuncture,
massage, etc. This then offers most Americans more options from
the current "cut and drug" status quo. We also should
give the doctors a break as well, if they participate . They'd
receive subsidies to cover their medical schooling, thus eliminating
a "shingle with $100-150k of debt". We'd help them
with their malpractice premiums as well. As long as they act
professionally, the gov't picks up most of the tab. In return
they participate in this "universal" program.
Just think of all the money this "streamlined"
system would save. We could visit our doctor of choice, get proper
services rendered, and everyone makes out-except the insurance
companies. In actuality the insurance on life, home and health
is in fact "legalized gambling". The insurance company
does not create a product, or even provide a service. They are
simply what I call the "reverse bookmaker". If you
"win", by dying, being injured or having your home
hit by a tornado, then the "bookie" pays up. If you
lose by being healthy and safe, then the bookie wins and keeps
your premiums. Why do we need private insurers? Local, state
and federal governments can operate as insurers, saving consumers
lots of money. When we take the profit out of the insurance concept,
the people profit!
For those of you who say the system will
be corrupt: with all the money saved on claim processing alone,
we can afford to closely monitor fraud. We can increase the penalties
for any such scams as well. Plus, we could have a "co-pay"
structure of perhaps 5-10 dollars per visit to discourage frivolous
use of the program.
The bottom line is that all Americans
would have the security and peace of mind that our retired and
indigent folk have. Plus, this new system would be even more
comprehensive than the current Medicare/Medicaid. So, why not
immediately contact your elected officials --tell them if they
don't grant you the same coverage as they have, you'll vote "no"
on their re-election bid. That, to this writer is better medicine.
Philip Farruggio,
son of a longshoreman, is Brooklyn born, raised and educated
(Brooklyn College, Class of '74). A former progressive talk show
host, Philip runs a manufacturers representative business and
writes regularly for many publications. He lives currently in
Port Orange, FL. You can contact him at: brooklynphilly@aol.com.
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