Want the public option for health care to pass? You can help!

[Kuya]

I'm putting what i posted in this thread, in its own thread since i think it's so important and effective.

Usually you see these online things and they seem useless, right? Well the difference being here is that it has proven to actually work. What is done is ads are run with donations in the home states of certain select senators in order to preassure them to vote for the public option. The ads have already forced two Democrats who were previously opposed to a public option to then support it.

In the last 72 hours, two senators named in our TV ad -- Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Kay Hagan (D-NC) -- announced support for the public option!
The big lesson? Pressure works. TV ads work. Now it's our job to keep the momentum high. So we'll be running versions of our hard-hitting ad in targeted states -- pressuring individual Senate Democrats back home where it hurts most. We just need you to help us decide where.

On the voting page, you'll see profiles of eight senators -- including how much money they've taken from the health and insurance interests, whether they sit on important committees, and their statements on the public option. Each version of the ad will feature the names of a senator's local constituents who "signed" our ad -- representing the 76% of Americans who demand a public option. It will also display the senator's big contributors.

We know that these ads are working. Not only have our ads been featured in the New York Times and Washington Post (which said we're rattling Democratic senators), but MoveOn and Blue America have been running ads in Sen. Hagan and Sen. Lincoln's home states. And the result? They are coming around. Two down, eight to go.

You can vote for which 3 senators to go after next and donate to help run the ads in this site:

WeWantThePublicOption.Com! - Vote for our next target!

edit: here is where you can sign to have the House continue to work on the bill until it passes. Posting this from the last page:

It seems that Republicans and Blue Dogs have switched from their usual rhetoric against the public plan, to trying to delay the passing of the bill. You now have them accusing people of rushing the bill, as if they genuinely cared about passing a public plan in the first place. The intent is to drag it out so there might be a chance to not pass it.

In lieu of this, here is a site where you can sign your signature to have it delivered on video to the House to ask them to stay in session until the bill is passed. This will dissuade the argument that we need to slow them, because then they have no incentive to delay it, if there will be no break.

The Republicans, the Blue Dogs and Joe Lieberman want to stall passing a health care bill, because they know that if members go back to their districts in August it gives the health insurance lobby a chance to hammer them with millions in advertising. There's one word for that: unacceptable. The House should keep working until they pass a health reform bill - health care is more important than vacation.

We just created a petition asking the House to stay in session to pass health reform. Click here to sign the petition.Mike Stark will be delivering your signature on video to the House at the end of this week. Some Members of Congress want three weeks of vacation before they tackle health care reform. There is a real human cost for going on vacation. Three weeks in America without health care means:

143,250 people will lose their health insurance coverage
53,507 people will file for bankruptcy because they can't pay their medical bills
1,265 people will die because they lack coverage

[Beckwin]

I voted and donated 25 bucks. I double-dog-dare everyone to beat that.

[tyven]

you guys are cute. tomorrow and Wednesday i bring 950 people from around the country to Capitol Hill to meet with their Senators and reps about health care reform.

[Olo401]

I'm in for $50 just to get Kerry's ass off the damn fence. I'll gladly do another $50 as a match to anyone else here.

[Kuya]

you guys are cute. tomorrow and Wednesday i bring 950 people from around the country to Capitol Hill to meet with their Senators and reps about health care reform.

What is your line of work?

[tyven]

government relations - i do grassroots lobbying

[Kuya]

Do you have a site?

[Beckwin]

this should go here:

Bill Moyers Journal . Watch & Listen | PBS

Moyers interview with Cigna's former head of communications. The guy pretty well exposes the industry's business practices and even confirms that Moore's Sicko was pretty damn accurate (causing the industry to attempt smearing Moore).

[tyven]

Do you have a site?

I do but i would rather not post it and get crucified for working with the bad guys.

[Kuya]

I do but i would rather not post it and get crucified for working with the bad guys.

Wait, you're helping lobby against the public option?

[tyven]

unfortunately

[Beckwin]

that's ho shit tyven

but anyhow, an excerpt from the link I posted:

BILL MOYERS: You told Congress that the industry has hijacked our health care system and turned it into a giant ATM for Wall Street. You said, "I saw how they confuse their customers and dump the sick, all so they can satisfy their Wall Street investors." How do they satisfy their Wall Street investors?
WENDELL POTTER: Well, there's a measure of profitability that investors look to, and it's called a medical loss ratio. And it's unique to the health insurance industry. And by medical loss ratio, I mean that it's a measure that tells investors or anyone else how much of a premium dollar is used by the insurance company to actually pay medical claims. And that has been shrinking, over the years, since the industry's been dominated by, or become dominated by for-profit insurance companies. Back in the early '90s, or back during the time that the Clinton plan was being debated, 95 cents out of every dollar was sent, you know, on average was used by the insurance companies to pay claims. Last year, it was down to just slightly above 80 percent.
So, investors want that to keep shrinking. And if they see that an insurance company has not done what they think meets their expectations with the medical loss ratio, they'll punish them. Investors will start leaving in droves.
I've seen a company stock price fall 20 percent in a single day, when it did not meet Wall Street's expectations with this medical loss ratio.
For example, if one company's medical loss ratio was 77.9 percent, for example, in one quarter, and the next quarter, it was 78.2 percent. It seems like a small movement. But investors will think that's ridiculous. And it's horrible.
BILL MOYERS: That they're spending more money for medical claims.
WENDELL POTTER: Yeah.
BILL MOYERS: And less money on profits?
WENDELL POTTER: Exactly. And they think that this company has not done a good job of managing medical expenses. It has not denied enough claims. It has not kicked enough people off the rolls. And that's what-- that is what happens, what these companies do, to make sure that they satisfy Wall Street's expectations with the medical loss ratio.
BILL MOYERS: And they do what to make sure that they keep diminishing the medical loss ratio?
WENDELL POTTER: Rescission is one thing. Denying claims is another. Being, you know, really careful as they review claims, particularly for things like liver transplants, to make sure, from their point of view, that it really is medically necessary and not experimental. That's one thing. And that was that issue in the Nataline Sarkisyan case.
But another way is to purge employer accounts, that-- if a small business has an employee, for example, who suddenly has have a lot of treatment, or is in an accident. And medical bills are piling up, and this employee is filing claims with the insurance company. That'll be noticed by the insurance company.
And when that business is up for renewal, and it typically is up, once a year, up for renewal, the underwriters will look at that. And they'll say, "We need to jack up the rates here, because the experience was," when I say experience, the claim experience, the number of claims filed was more than we anticipated. So we need to jack up the price. Jack up the premiums. Often they'll do this, knowing that the employer will have no alternative but to leave. And that happens all the time.
They'll resort to things like the rescissions that we saw earlier. Or dumping, actually dumping employer groups from the rolls. So the more of my premium that goes to my health claims, pays for my medical coverage, the less money the company makes.

[Tyche]

What an interesting tweest.

[tyven]

hey man, i dont get to pick what i lobby for. they tell me to get my grassroots on, i get my grassroots on. the lobbyists take it from there

[Kuya]

hey man, i dont get to pick what i lobby for. they tell me to get my grassroots on, i get my grassroots on. the lobbyists take it from there

>______________>

[Beckwin]

hey man, i dont get to pick what i lobby for. they tell me to get my grassroots on, i get my grassroots on. the lobbyists take it from there

nah it's cool, I work for someone who I fundamentally disagree with too.





just in this case, I'm wondering what the hell grassroots has to do with opposing a public option, lol.

[Maxxthepenguin]

hey man, i dont get to pick what i lobby for. they tell me to get my grassroots on, i get my grassroots on. the lobbyists take it from there

Wat.

How the hell is this grassroots?

[tyven]

oh the 1000 people im bringing are all licensed health insurance agents

[tyven]

thats the grassroots part

[Mizango]

I told you all, Tyven is a mover and shaker in chocolate city.

Big thing poppin'.