Howard Dean Joins With TP’s Igor Volsky And Faiz Shakir To Author Book On Health Care Reform
Howard Dean Joins With TP’s Igor Volsky And Faiz Shakir To Author Book On Health Care Reform
In recent months, Howard Dean — the former physician, Governor of Vermont, and DNC Chairman — has been passionately advocating for health care reform that contains a public health insurance option. Now, he’s written a book fleshing out his detailed ideas for comprehensive progressive health care reform. And I, along with Wonk Room health care blogger Igor Volsky, are honored to be his co-authors.
The book — which is being released in paperback today — is titled “Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Health Care Reform.” (If it’s not available in your local bookstore, you can purchase a copy online here.)
The book is being released in the midst of a heated policy debate over health care reform. A number of so-called “moderate” Democratic senators — including Max Baucus, Kent Conrad, Joe Lieberman, and others — have indicated they are opposing President Obama’s efforts to include a public plan. Our book is part of an effort to ensure that Congress and the Obama administration do not abandon core principles that the vast majority of the public supports. As we write in the book:
Americans need real healthcare reform, not just insurance reform, and nobody should mistake the two. If we only get reform that requires insurance companies to provide coverage to everyone who applies, charge everyone the same premiums, and end their predatory practices, that would be great insurance reform. But that is not healthcare reform.
Igor and I recently sat down with Gov. Dean to discuss our book. Gov. Dean taped this message specifically for the ThinkProgress community. Take a look:
Also, Gov. Dean recently discussed the book on The Colbert Report. Watch it here.
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I’m a Howard Dean fan. He’s smart, sharp-edged, well-spoken and experienced.
I would love to see him make another run at the White House after Obama’s done.
July 1st, 2009 at 11:34 amAmericasBack Says:
I really really hope that the corporate thugs don’t get to these people.
A bit late for that….by about 60 years.
July 1st, 2009 at 11:39 amWhat makes you think the insurance companies would ever let Howard Dean become president?
July 1st, 2009 at 11:44 amwow! way to go, guys!
i did not know this… it’s hard to read the fine print on the tv…
July 1st, 2009 at 11:54 amCongratulations, Faiz! I’ll definitely buy that book. :)
Does this mean Faiz won’t stay at TP forever? Oh nooooes!
July 1st, 2009 at 11:55 amso faiz… what about that Billy Tauzin and PhRMA?
i’m having a hard time giving him/them the benefit of the doubt…
July 1st, 2009 at 11:56 amThe insurance lobbies own the airwaves and the 24-hour news channels.
They don’t own the blogosphere, and they are really mad about that.
Keep voting against any repiggie, even for local office. They are all in on the corporate fleecing of our society.
July 1st, 2009 at 12:05 pmWell Katy, it looks like they want a seat at the table to negotiate over some of the phrma-related items, like comparative effectiveness research and the public plan’s power to negotiate drug prices. They want to be on the inside, rather than outside, during the course of this debate. Hopefully, we can leverage these wonderful ads they’re running to muster more pressure for progressive health care reforms.
July 1st, 2009 at 12:08 pmSingle payer.
July 1st, 2009 at 12:10 pmAmericasBack Says:
(I think it’s Progressive Insur. or AIG insur. Co)
“Power To The People!”
It’s Progressive; I really don’t see the insult, though- just stupidity and the way she says it makes my skin crawl (as does she).
July 1st, 2009 at 12:12 pmBernie Sanders of Vermont is now calling on the Democrats to prevent a repiggie filibuster on health-care reform.
Bernie is a saint.
July 1st, 2009 at 12:12 pmI’m impressed, Faiz, congratulations on your collaboration with Dr. Dean.
Dr. Dean needs to be given a higher public profile on health care reform. He’s ’spot on’ with his ideas and potential solutions.
Why isn’t President Obama working closer with Dr. Dean?
…Rahm…
July 1st, 2009 at 12:13 pmHoward Dean is a smart man and I like the way he feels passionate about health care reform for all Americans.
July 1st, 2009 at 12:16 pmWhile he is at it, Obama should totally scrap Medicare Part D. and do it over the correct way.
July 1st, 2009 at 12:17 pmevangenital Says: Bernie is a saint.
Couldn’t agree more.
Thank you, Senator Sanders for your hard work in representing citizens over corporations all these years.
July 1st, 2009 at 12:17 pmthanks, faiz…
but remember – “looks can be deceiving”.
it’s true… “can’t judge a book” and all that…
i mean – he pushed the Medicare Part D through at 3am!!!
ugh…
vigilance!
July 1st, 2009 at 12:19 pmFaiz Shakir Says:
July 1st, 2009 at 12:08 pm
If I were an arsonist, I’d want to be on the inside of the “match and accelerant” reconciliation process.
Just sayin’…
July 1st, 2009 at 12:36 pmAmericasBack
Thanks, apologies for not conveying my post, I feel his passion for health care reform very strongly and I admire that. I don’t even wanna go talk about these money whore health insurance companies you gave a dissent that I agree with ;-]
July 1st, 2009 at 12:41 pmHoward Dean will be speaking and doing a book signing at DemocracyFest on July 19th in Burlington, VT. http://www.DemocracyFest.net
July 1st, 2009 at 12:49 pmWhat if people stopped using insurance to pay for every little thing?
I just got new tires on my car and I didn’t use my car insurance to pay for it.
But I’ll likely go to the doctor’s office to simply get a prescription for allergy medicine next week. The visit will cost a lot less than the tires did, but for some reason I’ll use my insurance to pay for it.
It doesn’t make any sense, but that’s what we do.
And it’s probably the main reason prices are so high.
July 1st, 2009 at 1:02 pmYeah. I need to have a talk with Senator Wyden. But I’m in the middle of a crash-course with Fireworks and Dreamweaver and have a lot of laundry to do. If you guys want to start picking this apart, have at it. Democracy is haaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrd, sometimes.
July 1st, 2009 at 2:45 pm
No offense, Igor proved himself lightweight with come of his past misunderstandings of the role of insurers vs. providers. This sounds the Democratic response to Frank Luntz.
Obama’s plan has bad theory in it. Pay for performance will do for health care what it did for Wall Street. His plans to get more primary care doctors is laughable.
I’m sure the book has all the John Podesta/Rahm Emanuel/David Axelrod talking points. If it’s available as a free download off the web, I’ll peruse it.
Mostly, I’m waiting for the bill out of conference. The rest is a kabuki dance.
July 1st, 2009 at 2:49 pmGov Dean is right, reform w/out a public option is a win for the insurance/pharmacy caballs, but a big loss for working Americans. WRITE AND CALL YOUR REPS! DO IT AGAIN!
THANK YOU
July 1st, 2009 at 3:12 pmMy sole income is social security disability, and I’m enrolled in medicare with compulsory part D. It costs over $200 a month, yet hasn’t paid one damn penny in benefits. What good is it? Public v. private? Single payer? Pfffttt.
I buy expensive noncoverage for health “care” that doesn’t even care for me, let alone cure anything—and we are all relegated to the salves and magic potions approach we’ve used since prehistoric times.
Hey, here’s an idea! What about affordable, effective, CURATIVE health treatment? We have the technology to remedy any and every illness and injury, quickly, with an office visit and on an outpatient basis. Have a look at this. This man developed a process that was 100% effective at curing malignant cancer, no less, in laboratory rats, observing strict scientific experimental method. Further, he could give blood from treated rats to untreated rats and the untreated rats were cured. That’s very sigificant. And he was demonstrating the process as early as 1960.
World industries and your government will never allow breakthrough technology in health because keeping us stupid, sick, broke, scared and dying young is the secret to their retaining power over us. Faiz, if you don’t bring this up, you are wasting your time.
July 1st, 2009 at 9:58 pmSince you live in a world of complete delusion why not just fantasize a perfect private policy that cost a quater a year.
July 2nd, 2009 at 3:39 amI haven’t actually seen this technology, so I can’t swear it’s real. Dr. Kansius explains how he learned he could burn sea water while trying to find a way for his wife to fight cancer. He’s using a big power supply and a radio frequency generator. His technology is undergoing scientific study, described as amazing.
Although I find a wealth of confirmation from credible people in different fields, and that part seems more than adequate, I have to see it myself to be sure, and I haven’t seen this.
You should care because, as an American taxpayer, the R&D for exotic, secret, electromagnetic devices and power sources is the most expensive thing you’ve purchased. It was done by classified budget without scrutiny from Congress or the White House. Some of these fabulous technologies provide very complete solutions to some of our most daunting problems, and they belong to us. I always thought disclosure was understood. It isn’t, so I was delusional about that.
You can find references to health technology and many sources in Project Censored’s “US Electromagnetic Weapons,” reposted on their site. Good for them, and God bless ‘em.
“Health care” is a manufactured political issue with a politically fabricated framework of discussion. What really improves health care isn’t public versus private surety. It’s something else. But what? Aren’t you tired of being forced to buy insurance? I’m paying Humana money every month to keep a database of information about my health, when what I paid them to do is help pay the bill, which they don’t, at all. It’s a good deal for them, but just another swindle for me.
You aren’t there yet, but you’ll get there. I am in great health and don’t ask much of these services. If I get anything more serious than a chipped tooth, they have to take me out back and shoot me. That’s reality, mine and many others.’
July 3rd, 2009 at 1:53 am