CrooksandLiars.com did a piece yesterday on CNN's Dana Bash. Bash did a CNN report on Canadian health care. The perspective the CNN reporter took was the same as Republican Mitch McConnell's……and I might add, the same that many far right commenters have repeated on the Blog of Mass Destruction.
The Bash piece attempted to focus on how long Canadians might have to wait for specific treatment, even repeating this false rumor from McConnell….
Bash:
"GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell singled out Kingston as exhibit A of staggering delays in Canadian care. We played his speech. SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: Knee replacements. At Kingston General, the average wait is about 340 days."
DR. DAVID ZELT, KINGSTON GEN. HOSP. CHIEF OF STAFF:
Average time to get a knee replacement here is 91 days.
91, just in case this slips by, is a much smaller number than…umm….340.
My complaint about CNN, and Bash specifically, isn't that they rely on daily Republican talking points to make up their many "breaking news reports," they do,…..but I'm used to that.
My complaint is with the deception.
Consider: Here's Dana Bash's opening words….
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: "Wolf, when the Senate's top Republican speaks out against the government-run health insurance plan, he says it could lead to government control of the health care system, and he warns the U.S. could end up like Canada, with treatments delayed or denied. So we came here just north of the border to Ontario to see for ourselves and separate rhetoric from reality."
The very obvious problem with Bash's starting point is that, in the U.S., there is no Congressional bill which includes a single-payer Canadian style health care plan. None. CNN's Dana Bash goes to Canada to compare the apples of Canadian single-payer health care with the oranges of the Democratic proposal in their health care reform bill to include a public option alongside current multi-faceted private health insurance plans.
If a public option is included in the U.S. Congress' health care reform bill, our national health care system will not resemble, in the least, Canada's single-payer, government run system.
Taking Republican Mitch McConnell's talking point verbatim led CNN's Bash to start her "report" with a bit of deception.
Anyway….Bash goes through her "report" after deceptively setting it up…and then at the end of her piece she throws this in…
BASH: Now, to be clear, no Democratic health care plan now on the table calls for the kind of government-run system they have here in Canada. But consider this statistic. All Canadians have health coverage. That's 33 million people, compared to 47 million, that's just the number of uninsured in the U.S. — Wolf?
Unbelievable. Bash goes to the trouble to compare Canadian single-payer health care with Obama's health care plan, complete with regurgitated Mitch McConnell bullsh*t, ……and then admits at the end that…..'Well no,…Democrats aren't proposing a Canadian single-payer system, but if they were, if they were…..33 million is a smaller number than 47 million."
This is what passes for "journalistic reporting" today. Start with a phony Republican talking point, take it seriously, add a bit of deception, and then conclude that even though what the Republicans are saying isn't entirely accurate, it could be…..so there.
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
So you're saying that the dems aren't proposing a single payer system, just a single payer option.
And that option will help the 47 million be insured.
And for 47 million people, the single payer option will be their single payer system.
Love the faux outrage… maybe you can call Bash a jihadist.
If my main talking point was that every country in the world is better than the U.S. at something I probably wouldn't want the pesky media investigating the claim, either.
First, the irony of your complaint of media bias is laughable when you compare this report to the avalanche of misinformation on Obama's 'stimulus' fiasco, nationalization of private enterprise, and the 'impartial' supreme court nominee.
Secondly, the health care plan is merely another attempt to control and obtain additional revenue from a large sector of the economy that already suffers from too much government intervention. Those currently insured will be taxed on benefits to pay for the uninsured. Another classic redistribution of wealth.
Incidentally, while some people choose not to carry health insurance, no one is ever denied care in the ER. In fact, this is a problem because there are many who abuse this benefit and use the ER for routine, non-emergent care.
The systemic problems in health care will not be fixed by the proposed plan. It will only worsen quality of care for those currently insured.
If physicians had to compete in a true market based economic model, cost would be reduced because they would need to price their services based on competitive supply and demand. Automation of their offices would occur because it saves the practice money, not because the government mandates it as a business requirement.
A basic catastrophic health insurance plan would still be needed by everyone for severe medical trauma, but that cost is significantly lower than what current insurance companies are expected to cover.
The bottom line always comes down to the basic philosophy of life – are people responsible enough to become informed and make decisions in enlightened self interest, or will they cede that responsibility so they can complain about the government while sitting on the couch eating cheetos and watch the Michael Jackson memorial circus. In this case, I'll put my money on the latter.
The world has been turned upside down. The Clinton News Network is now going against the democrats? Unbelievable! I'm not sure why health care is news. Seems like it is a 10th amendment issue, and the federal government should stay out of it. And oh by-the-way, if you haven't figured it out there isn't journalistic integrity anymore, just cheerleading. Perhaps the saying "government is fine, if you keep the politics out of it" should be "news reporting is fine, if you keep the politics out of it". When are we going to overhaul social security so the people that didn't save enough when they worked won't have to live on the small government stipend?
Not faux outrage….it's a constantly simmering ass-burn caused by compromised and incompetent major media.
Panem….
"…the economy that already suffers from too much government intervention."
Because the Republican-led federal government (with Democratic assistance) did NOT intervene in the Bankster scams…..we are now experiencing a very bad recession. It was a government hands-off policy that led to the mess we're in.
"…no one is ever denied care in the ER. In fact, this is a problem because there are many who abuse this benefit and use the ER for routine, non-emergent care."
Well, yeah…..that's the freaking point. Those people need to have regular coverage so they don't run up the cost for everyone else by using the expensive services of the emergency room. Those people could see, like, a doctor regularly.
"The bottom line always comes down to the basic philosophy of life – are people responsible enough to become informed and make decisions in enlightened self interest, or will they cede that responsibility so they can complain about the government while sitting on the couch eating cheetos and watch the Michael Jackson memorial circus."
Here, Panem, indeed, presents his philosophy of life. You get what you deserve, so don't complain.
Rather than deal with the larger concern, Panem characterizes, saying that cheetos eating teevee viewers are irresponsible and uninformed and, therefore, can't make enlightened decisions in their own interest.
My post was about a main media figure on a major news network misleading her audience on health care. Corporate media's propaganda, like it did in the fraud-up to Iraq, convinced Americans to believe in a mission which produced hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis and 4300 dead U.S. soldiers…..plus the 30,000 wounded….. plus the staggering cost…..and produced nothing of value for the American people.
Same corporate media, same Republicans, now it's health care. Just pointing it out.
Reverend,
You mean the same corporate media that got Obama elected? Now they are actually doing their job and you have an issue with how they cover things.
Maybe I can enlighten you a little bit. I recently moved to Ohio from Detroit, where I worked for a Medical Device vendor. I was responsible for covering and working in almost every major hospital from Monroe, Mi to Port Huron.
As a typical lefty you seem to believe that Govt has all the answers and can never let facts get in the way of your arguement.
Please tell me why over 30% of the patients in these hospitals are from Canada? Also please explain why there are so many Canadian Dr's practicing in the area, if Canada has such a fine health system?
Is this the same corporate media that said Obama is a Moderate? Isnt this the same corporate media that told us the Stimulus is working?
I guess the Media is only corporate when they finally do some actual investigative reporting.
Just pointing that out
Chris
Too bad you statement has been debunked
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=121985
Rev,
Did you consider two small factors when you wrote your piece?
1. the original people advising and still part of his team have very publicly stated that intially the health care system will not be a single payer system but the system will be designed to assure that a single payer system emerges as soon as possible.
2. Have you talked to people in Canada about their opinion of the system and what direction is it taking?
As my son said a few years ago "it is a great system as long as you have nothing more serious than a broken arm but anything beyond that find a comfortable place to sit and wait to die"
Good link, mary.
average…
"the system will be designed to assure that a single payer system emerges as soon as possible."
Even though single-payer would be the most efficient…..what you're saying is pure speculation. People who have private health coverage will keep it.
I've asked Canadians how they like their system…..they like it, they whine about higher taxes, but they love their health care. The evidence that they do is seen in mary's link.
Chris…Obama is a moderate…AND…the stimulus is doing what it was intended to do.
Great post. I wonder why the insurance companies are so afraid of a government-sponsored or co-operative plan? Likely because they know they are milking the system and us.
Mary's link has me a little befuddled. The only dates included in the article cover the period from 1994 to 1998, while one of the sources quoted acknowledged an uptick in Canadians going to America for care since "funding cutbacks in the 1990s." That calls all the numbers into question. It seems typical of the healthcare numbers game I see in the media these days.
It's also odd that they surveyed Canadian physicians to see how many of their patients were going across the border (1.5 percent). To me that is a significant percentage, as two percent of folks who've already paid for their healthcare are choosing to pay for it again. But what about the Canadians who have American doctors? What would that push the percentage to?
1.5%, an uptick from 1%, is, to larry, a "significant percentage."
You know what's a "significant percentage"? Mitch McConnell and lapdog Dana Bash saying that Canadian hip replacement surgeries had a waiting time of 340 days…when the truth, according to the Kingston doctor, was 91 days.
rayy….exactly.
The stimulus is doind what was intended…filling budget holes that nobody wants to fix and medicare, oh yeah, and pork projects that line the pockets of those who supported our moderate president during his campaign.
The health bill isn't just for single payer health provisions, take a look, there's a decent amount of pork added on to this bill. Besides, we can't pay for the stimulus bill, the TARP or the 2nd and 3rd stimulus planned. The CBO released a new "damning" report on the administration's spending habits but the Michael Jackson coverage killed the release of the report. If we can't pay for those, how are we going to pay for this healthcare bill, where is this money coming from? Obama is taking cues right out of the Keynesian playbook. Didn't work before, won't work this time.
The Rev is just mad that CNN and the rest of the media don't toe the Obama line 100% of the time. They only do it 90% of the time. The other 10% of the time, they act like journalists.
And how will a government option NOT lead to employers dropping private insurance coverage for employees ? That gets them out from under that burden. Obama has even said that's part of his plan on more than one occasion. The government option is the Trojan Horse leading ultimately to single-payer, which is what the statists want.
If that's what happens, fine. If not, at least there's a medical safety-net for all Americans at the lowest prices possible.
King, do you believe in efficiency? If you do, then you'll see the wisdom in putting all Americans into one huge risk pool, which, by definition, will lower the cost of coverage. Cost of coverage IS the problem.
That's the way Reverend–go dishonestly simplistic then just keep repeating. It works for Master!
I answered your question over on my blog, Rev, so I won't bore you by repeating it here. I'll just say, yes, I believe in efficiency, and the government is the opposite of that.
"dishonestly simplistic"….good one
call CNN a bunch of jihadists, rev!!
Some of the CNN team have trained with the best. My personal favorite is Lou Dobbs. What an American, huh?
Yeah, Dobbs is like Hitler, or the devil, or an evil jihading spawn of both… no blood for oil… war is not my voice.