Consensus Among Voters, Candidates Out of the Loop

Regular readers are aware of the efforts of Kathleen O'Connor over at Code Blue Now! The last time we checked in on her efforts was back in January when we shared her efforts to poll the voting public for their input on what would constitute a national health care solution.

Well, she is at it again. Now that the numbers are in from their surveys, CodeBlueNow! has released their findings, many of which agree with George C. Halvorson's proposals in Health Care Reform Now. The Seattle Business Wire brings us the details and information collated for CodeBlueNow! by the Gilmore Research Group of Seattle, WA:

Republicans, Democrats and Independents typically think very differently about many issues. But when it comes to health care, widespread agreement exists among all voters on key issues including:

• Universal coverage
  
• Basic benefit package
  
• Support of preventive care over high-tech cures
  
• Health care as a shared responsibility of employer, individual and government

There was also universal agreement that a basic benefit package should include many licensed health care professionals, not just medical doctors. Ironically, none of the current candidate proposals would gain support from the public because the proposals don’t address concerns across party lines or the concerns of Independents.

To see how the results of this research compare to the plans proposed by our Presidential candidates, you can download a PDF which graphs the results. It's available on the front page of the Code Blue Now! website. It is quite interesting to observe how many times the phrase "no provision," appears next to almost every candidate's name while you go through the data.

Members of the CodeBlueNow! Honorary Board see this data as confirmation that a Voters Health Care Platform of a non-partisan nature could become a reality. If so, that platform could serve as the bedrock for effective reform efforts that cut across the rigid ideological lines of the established parties. Governor Richard Lamm (D-CO), also on the organizations honorary board, said, "It is lack of political courage -- not lack of public support -- that keeps America from Universal Coverage."

[O'Connor] says the findings about Independents are particularly interesting in this election year, because Independents are seen as a key voting group for the presidential candidates.

“The key is Independents. They shift back and forth between Republicans and Democrats depending on the issue. This means we have the chance to have a safe, problem-solving conversation that won’t explode in our faces. We Americans have more in common than we are told. We shine as a people when we toss aside party lines and focus on solving a problem.”

SOURCE: " New Research Commissioned by CodeBlueNow! Finds Surprising Agreement on Health Care Reform But None of the Current Proposals by Either Party Are Supported" 03/03/08
SOURCE: "CodeBlueNow!" 03/03/08
photo courtesy of tsanfranannie, used under this Creative Commons license

Taking The Nation's Pulse With CodeBlueNow!

Kathleen O'Connor, the founder and CEO of CodeBlueNow!, is serious about health care reform. The consumer advocate is conducting a survey she calls the "CodeBlueNow! Pulse" that gathers people's attitudes about health care reform. You can take the survey online right now at the following link:

http://www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=788175

The survey takes no more than 15 minutes to complete, your answers are confidential and your identity is not tracked.

Here's a 4-minute video from YouTube in which Ms. O'Connor explains the CodeBlueNow! Pulse? and the organization's mission:

O'Connor was a guest columnist in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer at the end of last week. She began by reminding us that the call for reform is not a new thing, citing the 1932 Report of the Committee on the Cost of Health Care. A wide variety of proposed solutions have failed over the intervening years.

The vision O'Connor presents has several important underpinnings, including universal coverage, emphasis on prevention, transparency within the industry about costs and benefits (especially in situations involving complex health decisions), and greater accountability in the health care industry.

Ms. O'Connor delivers a call to action for the voting public to become informed by facts rather than talking points and to take health care out of the hands of vested interests and politicians.

Our voice -- the public's voice -- hasn't been heard over the choruses profiting from the status quo. The complexity of our health care system is held up as a key reason the public cannot solve the problem -- "it's too complex."

But it's not. The complexity charge is an excuse to maintain the status quo, shouted by the foxes guarding the hen house.

More consensus exists than politicians and pundits lead us to believe. Our CodeBlueNow! Pulse® results from Iowa and Washington state (two very different states politically) clearly show there is astonishing agreement on some core values and key elements. We offer these visions and values as a starting point to create "The Voters' Health Care Platform." We must start with a vision and core values and build consensus along the way. This is a proven path to change with any social movement.

Yankee ingenuity, "can-do" attitude, spirit of innovation -- these are all iconic traits of the American culture. If we can harness those traits in the battle for health care reform, our odds of creating a uniquely American system of universal health care increase exponentially.

The CodeBlueNow! reports linked above show that a consensus at the public level is not lacking in this matter. I will continue to report as they gather and release more data.

SOURCE: "It's time to speak up on health care" 01/25/08
SOURCE: "CodeBlueNow!"