Is it a requirement of FOX that all their anchors be pompous, picturesque and ignorant?
Notice how the right wing-nuts rely on anecdotal worst-case evidence while single payer supporters rely on valid polls, economics & macro level evidence. The "I know somebody who had to wait 6 weeks for brain surgery in Canada" can easily be countered with "I know somebody who died in Oregon- after a $200,000 hospital state -because his insurance company would pay for his diabetes medication". The fact is that Medicare was the most efficient health care delivery system in the world until Congress saddled it with an utterly stupid drug benefit designed by and for the drug and insurance companies. If the private sector is so superior then they shouldn't mind competing with a public option, should they? But methinks they protest too much.

That is, the insurance company would NOT pay for his medication.

One should know what a plan covers and won't. People should seek out professional advice buying a health plan, not all plans cover all name brand drugs.

No one is advocating adopting the British system where the government owns the hospitals and doctors are employees. We want a single-payer, NOT a single-owner system. So let's leave Great Britain out of the debate.

If we get a single-payer system, people will pay their health care premiums to the U.S. government instead of a myriad of insurance companies. The government will then write the checks to pay self-employed doctors and private (or public) hospitals and pharmacies. Doctors, hospitals and pharmacists will only submit claim forms to one place, instead of having to have a large staff of people billing a bunch of different places.

No more co-pays! You pay your premium (yes, it will instead be called the dreaded "T" word, tax, but it's really no different than an insurance premium) and you get full coverage.

In other words, single-payer would stream-line the system, make it equitable, and far less expensive.

It's a system only a greedy insurance corporation could hate!

WHAT a WONDERFUL explanation. This person needs to be on every "news" show available for this simple presentation!

you are assuming a government plan will be cheaper. Remember $500 hammers?

$500 hammers were in the Defense Department, not Medicare.

I am advocating a system like the British have, so it is not true to say that no one advocates that. The health care debate should be between those who support expansion of Medicare to create universal Single Payer, which is HR-676 and advocates of expansion of the Veterans Health Administration, which would be like the British system. Patents of the VHA have the best health outcomes at the lowest cost of any group in the U.S.A. I believe our best choice would be to expand the VHA to cover everyone. It solves the problems created by fee for service because the health care professionals are salaried, so there is no financial incentive for excessive tests or procedures

I'm all for single-payer but to be honest with you, Tim Carpenter did not do a good job in responsing to the questions by the Fox News reporter. She didn't really ask anything that surprising which which I feel he should have been better prepared to answer. Why didn't he tell the Canadian woman who was gonna wait 6 months to see a doctor that she's lucky because, 45 millions Americans have been waiting all of their lives to see a doctor because they don't have any health care insurance and allowing the HMOs to continue their operations is not gonna change that!

"Why didn't he tell the Canadian woman who was gonna wait 6 months to see a doctor that she's lucky because, 45 millions Americans have been waiting all of their lives to see a doctor"

All their lives come on, She was unlucky to live in a country where had to wait.

Tim Carpenter is indeed a talker. It really paid off for him in this segment. Fox news, as usual, did not really want to have a debate on the real issues. All FOX could do is keep bringing up examples of people who don't like Canada's or the UK's health system. However, surveys show large majorities, I've seen anywhere from 87 to 92%, when asked if they would trade places with Americans and have their healthcare system report a decided NO. On top of that, Canada and the UK cover EVERYONE for EVERYTHING. They do not cover some stuff and not other stuff or some people and not others. They also do not have a two-tiered system like we do in this country with elites getting cadillac services paid for by taxpayers and workers while the rest of the population gets spotty coverage, denials when they really need care and lots of breaks in coverages, including times when they cannot get it at any cost. Sure, you can always find people who fall through the cracks in any system. But at least they get a system that actually delivers care for health needs. I would take that any day to get out of the expensive, lousy, non-system we have here in America.

Lunamina,

I like the manner in which you refute the complaints heard from some Canadians. As Tim said, of course some fall between the cracks. But if you are right that polls show 87% - 92% suport for the system, well that about says it all. Let the heavy breathing friends of the insurers, pharmeceuticals and the AMA huff and puff all they want.

I like to put that same argument to anyone who offers up complaints about the difficulty and desireability of ballot initiatives. The argument suggests that if the majority of the citizens living in any of the 24 states which grant ballot initiative procedures disliked being so empowered then they can vote to give that power away. I doubt many would.

But here we have Max Baucus refusing to even hear the will of the people.

I hope all readers will check out www.vote.org

To my knowledge, the AMA actually supports single payer health care. The vast majority of Health=care providers do support single-payer as they are the ones who see many times a day, the underhanded tricks and problems that the private insurance industry is capable of.

Like Robert above, this is also a very well written piece--so polished that I'd guess it too is a canned product of industry lobbyists.

It's a good thing that Americans who are not health industry lobbyists (or millionaire CEO's) are overwhelmingly ready to give the boot to a "system" that rewards a few (CEO's and top executives) with big $$ over the healths and lives of themselves and their children.

PS: I'm an unemployed volunteer in what has become a huge movement to improve the health of Americans by providing them with affordable access to health care. Not a paid lobbyist.

falling through the cracks that is a little heart less don't you think?

Tim's response to the dilemma of the Canadian woman who was unable to access the health care system in a timely manner (for a brain tumor!), as well as his reluctance to respond to other similar situations where Canadians have had to deal with waiting lists for rationed services, was troubling to me. I live in a New England community where we have several Canadian families who confirm the inadequacies the Fox reporter described. I also have relatives in Great Britain who describe problems with rationed services. These kinds of concerns need to be dealt with more effectively, with a high degree of specificity, by single payer advocacy groups, or I'm afraid the program won't wash with a majority of legislators, regardless of political affiliation. What good is universal health care if you can't access it when you need it?

Whenever the health care discussion comes up, the Republicans and Insurance companies will use England and Canada as examples of what we can expect from a single-payer system. These are the POOREST examples to give, because there ARE other countries who have EXCELLENT systems that cover ALL citizens. You should look into the health care in Norway ... in fact, not only is their health care system excellent, but they do not have the homeless and poor people that we have here. Even single mothers are taken care of in an excellent fashion. They do not have the poor children we have here, that have to be on free breakfast and lunch programs, etc. Our system is BROKEN and what we have exists to serve those with the most money, foreign dignitaries, and our health care is doled out by mostly managed care systems. People with pre-existing conditions have difficulty getting coverage or pay exorbitant premiums and co-pays to get coverage. And, by the way, last year I tried to get an appointment with a gastroentrologist to prepare for a routine colonscopy. It took OVER 4 months to get that appointment and another 2 months to schedule with a hospital for the procedure.

The bottom line regarding an alternative health care system is: don't knock it until you've tried it. So far, the people profiting the most from our system is the people running it and raking in the $$$$$.

To be fair, let them look at systems that work well in OTHER countries instead of picking out the worst to try to make their feeble case against it, so they can help protect the rich capitalists in this country.

You're obviously not in the health care field or you would know that the problem is multifactorial. Not just the blanket statements that you stand behind---the poor aren't covered, it bankrupts families, the insurance companies are getting rich, the pharmaceuticals are taking advantage of us. Being in the healthcare field, I know firsthand what needs to be done but the liberal media does not report on it. Start with malpractice reform and watch the cost fall. Make patients that don't take care of themselves should pay additional premiums. If you are obese, smoke, do drugs then you should pay more. Why should my premiums be higher to help pay for their bad habits. Health care absolutely must be rationed! Sorry that the 90 yr old granny has 3 vessel coronary disease. She cannot get bypass surgery. The 85 yr old with metastatic cancer cannot get chemo. That is just the reality of life. Finally, let the free market rule. Pool the insured to bring the premium cost down.
Your plan: give everybody health care, including illegals, raise taxes on the upper 5% and hope for the best, although it hasn't worked well in any other country.

Norway is so good what is their unemployment rate?

My several personal antedotal stories of single payer health care programs can trump yours, Robert. My parents have lived in Holland under the Dutch system, my sister lives in France raising six kids under the French system for over 30 years. Let's me tell you about prompt care and excellent service that they have enjoyed over and over, for health care issues large and small. How about house calls for asthmatic kids? Look for that here in the US at any price, eh? My sister is continually shocked at what we put up with her in America!

But these stories, like Robert's, lend little to a debate about a new, American plan designed to meet the needs and situation of our country. Thanks Tim, for your excellent and thoughtful commentary.

thanks Kathy

you just what someone else to pay for your health care

Sorry Robert-
but as a professional Rhetorician and scholar of journalism & media writing, I would argue that your post is a canned statement prepared by a professional media or lobbyist for the for-profit health care industry.

With so many millions of Americans doing without critical health care due to your sector of the industry--which makes health insurance unaffordable for working Americans and their children--I'm forced to focus my volunteer efforts in conversation with the majority of working families who have stated their preference for the health of their families over the profits of your companies.

Thank you for defending us. As someone willing to pay whatever it would cost for health care insurance (The average quote for me, a 47 year old rather healthy female was $ 700 a month!) I was outright denied coverage and left uninsured due to "pre-existing conditions."

Then after getting on an HMO coverage package once my husband became insured through the County government, I found that the HMO made me wait six weeks to receive back the results of radiology tests.

If those tests had proven to show cancer - would that six week wait have been a good thing? And the operation that I needed was constantly stalled.

Meanwhile one out of every 700 bucks spent on health care go the bonus of one individual - the President of United HealthCare of Minnesota!

There was a woman around the corner from me (in Colorado) who was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had no health insurance, so she and her husband gave up their US citizenship and moved to Canada so that she could get treatment. That is just wrong, no matter which way you look at it.

Good we don't what them as citizen then leaching off others buy some health insurance with a high deductible. The cost a less that $10 a day

What good is private insurance if you can't pay for it or they don't cover you after you have paid premiums for the coverage?

buy some health insurance with a high deductible. The cost a less that $10 a day
Sell the big Screen television drop cable TV stop eating out every night. Get health and go shopping for the best plan out there

Robert that is a good point and a legitimate one, by ignoring these instances you only set yourself up for disillusionment by going headlong into something and advocating it before you know all the facts. i could agree to the streamlining part of the argument and the greedy insurance corp's. part, but to ignore instances of waiting like the Canadian woman or others in Great britian is JUST PLAIN FOOLHARDY!!! of course no one wants people to be without access to healthcare and there has to be soultions or at least WELL-THOUGHT OUT ATTEMPTS AT SOLUTIONS,not taking positions and sticking with them based on emotive appeals or ideologies of big governemnt vs, socialism, whioh what apperas to have taken root in Great britian, yet we have to avoid the all important motive of money and avoidance of covering people because of no insurance. There are many complexities to this argument and I hope most of us can see through a workable solution rather than name calling and labeling, because of the enormous costs to people and who needs a huge tax bill like Canadians have!! And I hope we can avoid lobbyists controlling legislators actions throught this process. We as the electorate REAALY need to watch out on this one!

Dear PDA Members,

Earlier your director was on FOX news promoting which gave fair balance and speech to your idea. Get the facts on healthcare It is incorrect to say 47 million do not have healthcare insurance it is 8 million. 85% of Americans like the current healthcare system, have access to ED or physician, equipment in a timely manner. It is the administration and reimbursement methods,amounts by the government for medicaid, medicare that needs to be brought up to date Healthcare does not to rushed through this year. Take the time to review all the data, how is it going to be paid for? This administration is running out of money and other peoples money and proposing another tax to take care of current affairs. Once the new system or program is in place, it should be reviewed every 30 years for the growing population have Congress be accountable for the tax dollars being spent on the program.

@DZ, please don't present your made-up "facts" here. If you feel like disputing numbers that Tim has presented, provide a reference. It not hard... here is the US Census Bureau information which states that there were 46 million people uninsured in the US in 2007:

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/hlthins....

Bruce is right-
and I notice that Dz does not provide the sources for the "facts" he presents, whereas PDA's Tim Carpenter stated on the Foz show exactly where he got the info he gave.

All the reliable data supports the PDA position: main-stream polls, as well as scholarly studies, and think-tank research NOT biased by money from pharma & insurance companies & their paid lobbyists.

thanks Bruce

You are terribly mis-informed. Even the right wing opponents of single payer healthcare admit that it is 47 million Americans with out insurance, NOT 8 million.

DZ who cares spend spend spend

Do you think that Fox will finally get it? Great job Tim going into the Fox den and coming out looking good AND getting the point across! Bravo!!

It was stressful to watch the program because the moderator used so many tactics in order to dominate the conversation and discredit her guest. My heart was in my throat the whole time!

I don't know if Fox will ever get it but I think we can organize circles around them and their money because Americans have said they are fed up and want the fairness you can only get from a single-payer plan. Thanks Angie!

Dianne grow up life is not fair. Your mother told you lies.

I was wonder if Tim was going to take a breath.

Tim is awesome - focused and articulate, not easily flustered! Even though they cut off his mic at one point (only once!) he gets his points made.

focused he couldn't shut up to take a breath, good thing he didn't have a heath attack in Canada.
Hey what does Mexico have let's try that.

Sorry Mr. Yarnall, but your personal anecdotes are hardly convincing when held against actual facts, like the U.S.'s dismal life expectancy, infant mortality and maternal mortality when compared to all other Western industrialized nations.
And the fact that we spend close to twice as much as Canada per capita and can't even cover our own population.

What do you have against your fellow American citizens that you don't even want them to live as long as Canadians? Or do you just love profit more than your country's health?
Our greed-driven health care "system" is a national embarrassment.

And btw, all of my Canadian relatives think our private-insurer health care financing is insane and immoral, with Americans dying for insurance profit.

can you say obese we eat crap and expect to pay less per person in Canada. Hey what about Cuba?

Why didn't he just say that we currently have a government plan here called Medicare. It works and any covered citizen can see whatever doctor they want and get credible treatment. All we need to do is expand the system to cover others. Maybe we shouldn't cover everyone all at once since it might not be practicle to add millions of patients without making sure there are enough doctors around to treat them. But over time, if we wanted to, we could open up the system and train however many healthcare workers we need. We don't need to be like Canada or any other country. We already have the model for doing this... all we need is the political will and good planning to get it done.

Hey Mark Medicare is out of money how's that working for you buddy.

Who did pay for that Canadian woman's treatment?

Who cares she should have died anyway.

"Faux" news is no news at all, the commentators are rude, over talk the guest , and ask questions
without letting an answer get on the air. They LIE without compunction . WHY ARE THEY ALLOWED
TO USE THE AIRWAVES TO LIE AND PRETEND TO BE A 'NEWS' OUTLET???? Propaganda is
a tool of Fascism; not democracy.

Ann Wood member of the democratic socialist party. Fascism, hey read your history Germany was a broke and beaten country that became a world power is a few years. Maybe we should learn how they did it. Ann Wood member of the democratic socialist party.

Thank you Tim for your courage and stamina to put up with such biased hostile questions! It was good that you did it - hopefully a few open minded people heard you and will check into Single Payer further.

open minded will mental illness be covered? I'd go to a shrink everyday, sure would be nice to have someone to talk to.

@Matthew, I can understand you would have to pay someone to want to talk to you...

That was simply awful reporting.. as usual, by Fox News. There's a huge difference between asking tough questions and verbally assaulting your interviewees. I hope Fox's viewers were able to see that Kelly was assaulting and not interviewing. And also hear what he was saying in spite of her constant jabbing and talking over him.

I'm impressed with Tim's ability to deliver as much dialog as he could in such a short amount of time.. remaining so focused in the face of such hostility.

Mr. Carpenter talks so fast that he is almost unintelligible, regardless of the positive program he is advocating. The Fox News host had her biased cliches, that he failed to address--like the waiting time for medical services. How long does a sick person, who has no insurance, have to wait in the US? How long does an insured US citizen have to wait for service for a 'pre-existing condition' that is not covered by the insurance policy? Clearly a waiting time does not apply to these citizens. At least they can get some health care in Canada! Oh--and those illegal immigrants should be forced to leave the country or drop dead! What about US citizens living abroad, should they forced to return the US to receive health care? Is health care a human right? Definitely not according to Fox News! Clearly the Fox hostess is insured! Lucky her; as are all the politicians voting on the matter.

He really did not answer the waiting question. He should have responded that we don't advocate the same system as Canada has. What we are advocating is Medicare for all which allow us to pick our own physicians and hospitals. Also, we do wait in this country for surgeries. What we need is to find out what the wait is and them explain that we to wait for some kinds of treatment or wit to see a doctor.

So---how long do you wait for health care if you are uninsured?? What about if you're uninsured, and also poor?? I'm for SINGLE PAYER NATIONAL HEALTH CARE! I want to be perfectly clear! A major problem in this country is the profit motivated Insurance Industry, which PROFITS by denying health care! It also profits by selectively denying coverage to people who are sick! We need a system which covers everyone ( yes, I'm including "illegal immigrants" ), and is set up to serve the needs of the people!

Tim Carpenter's appearance on Fox News was excellent, and I believe that an increasing majority of the electorate agree with him. This past Tuesday. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords held a Town Hall meeting on Health Care Reform in a large Tucson high school auditorium. About 1000 people attended. Judging by the response of the audience to the 14 speakers presenting differing points of view about health care, the majority of those who attended favored single payer plans. Only three of the 14 speakers actually said they opposed such a plan: the Chamber of Commerce man, anothr man repreenting the Small Business organization, and one other whose affiliation was with the Association of Health Underwriters. All the rest, representing everything from AARP, Council on Aging, Mental Health, and Border Health and Rural Health offices called for universal coverage , and the majority did mention single payer health care favorably. . .

When you have a guest on a program you usually allow him to present his point of view without continually interrupting and forcefully giving YOUR point of view. I an a U.S. citizen living in Canada and even with some of the shortcomings, which they are continuing to correct, I wouldn't trade this system with any other. The woman with brain cancer is not correct about being able to consult other specialists. I have always been able to consult other doctors when I want a second even third opinion. Yes there are waiting times but urgent cases are seen first and it also depends in which region of the country you live in as some have better doctor coverage than others. But NO CITIZEN or PERMANENT RESIDENT in Canada will ever be denied medical care or be forced to declare bankruptcy as a result. I am more than happy to pay taxes which cover my and my family and friends health needs and pay much lower prices for medications. In fact in Ontario as a senior citizen I pay nothing for my allowed medications. In the U.S. when I visit, people at the prescription counters are always loudly objecting to the costs they have to pay!

Universal Health Care is the ONLY way to properly cover every citizen in the U.S. and eventually pay for itself. No other system involving the private sector will survive.

He didn't bother to address the lies in her questions. Why not? He talked over her, she talked over him, what's the point? He never once said "independent private providers", he never said "no, it's only the insurance that's run by the government, not the hospitals or clinics." What a waste.

I agree with you 100%. What a great opportunity that was wasted. She brought up points that needed to be addressed and they were ignored. He did nothing to allay any fears, to educate. It was just stating lines over and over again. What about when she called 16,000 physicians "a handfull"? What was the answer to the wait times in Canada? I hear Canadians complain about this a lot. Any advocate should be well versed in the other systems, the oppositions lies and obfuscations, and address them directly. Not ignore them.

Both Tim Carpenter and Megyn Kelly made valid points about the U.S. healthcare system versus the Canadian healthcare system. What was perfectly clear to me, while watching the interview, is that there's an enormous amount of room for improvement with our system that Ms. Kelly didn't make mention of. A news station like Fox television has no business making judgements about a foreign system when ours is so corrupt, one-sided and ineffective. I noticed that Megyn Kelly didn't make any comments or references about Michael Moore's movie "Sicko". That movie emphasized the strengths of foreign systems compared with ours.

Unfortunately, Both Tim Carpenter and Megyn Kelly were speaking at the same time throughout much of the interview. If the healthcare debate is to result in real progress for the American people, each side needs to be respectful of the other's right to speak and be heard. Each side needs to listen to the other.

What an arrogant bitch - well trained in how to bully and push lies and misinformation. Tim did a good job - I wish he had been even stronger.

That Fox Talking Head set it up rather fairly, for Fox, very surprised. I bet she lied anyhow about the fox listeners saying they do not agree with singlepayer. Anyhow, "universal" healthcare sounds great! He is a boom boom speaker indeed. thousands of doctors is a handful she said...
anyhow, 6 months to see a neurosurgeon, at least she gets to see one! 22 thousand americans die a year he says right after! love how he thanked them too! Bam!

It seems to me that if healthcare in Canada and the UK were so bad, they would have done something about it a long time ago. The citizens of those countries would have risen up against this type of healthcare and changed it. Why didn't they if it's so bad?

My understanding is that no country that goes to universal tax-paid coverage has ever had any desire to return to our style of slash and burn, profit motivated health "care" choices.

This blond bimbo is a real piece of work. Now I remember why I hate FOX "news" so much. Like so many in our country, the woman is closed to all ideas and all debate. Brain dead newscasts for the brain dead viewers who willingly watch this station.

Tim, you did a good job on this pitiful show.

I have lived in Scandanavia and been treated in Canada.

Anyone who is against single payer is a fool and the insurance companies love you.

What Fake Noise doesn't know is here in America, or at least in Tennessee and Virginia, this is deemed, defended and supported as "the acceptable standards of health care" http://www.wisecountyissues.com/?p=62 Profit Care is more important to the health care industry than Patient Care.

Good job Tim.

Progressives need first-rate media advisors to teach and coach us on the best way to grab control of "interviews" like this one. The right has been well-taught in the techniques for dominating a "discussion", but we tend to rely only on calm, rational talk. That doesn't work. The woman in this clip made mincemeat of Carpenter. Learn how to bully and threaten like that ex-governor-wrestler from Minnesota. Fight fire with fire or ignore Fox.

Also, with all due respect , Tim was not exactly telegenic alongside the blonde tart from Fox. We need well-dressed pretty faces WITH BRAINS to go up against the likes of Fox. Tim has the brains and is well-informed for sure. Intelligent, well-informed, rational people in frumpy brown suits and messy hair just don't cut it. Swallow hard and play their game at their level. Go for the gut.

I thought the newscaster should of shut her mouth and let who she was interviewing talk. she obviously has an agenda that she wants to get across instead of having an inquiry. A news person should inquire with an open mind.

Great segment on Fox. You didn't let yourself be intimidated. Way to go Tim!

I think Tim Carpenter was "Excellent" in dispelling all the disinformation and lies from that Fox News whore Megyn Kelly ! Carpenter is exactly the kind of advocate spokesman we need for the Single Payer Health Care fight that no doubt is coming from all the F'd up right wingnut bitches & bastards.

Tim was superb against Megyn Kelly, he was relentless and focused against the right wing attack from the bitch, and Carpenter has the right kind of moxie and determination to lead the fight for Single Payer Health Care !

God Bless Tim Carpenter !

I think Tim did a great job, and I am graterful to him for putting himself on the line and standing up to the usual Fox ambush job. I do think he might have been better for the inevitable anecdote from Canada. He could have gotten a lot of mileage out of a few choice stories of how much worse it can be here, under the present system.

I admire Tim Carpenter's ability to keep his cool while the news anchor kept distorting what he had to say. Interesting were the sidebars of misinformation that accompanied his dialogue. While I admire the tenancity, I'm not certain whether it's really effective to attempt to get the message out on Fox. The people I'm acquainted with who look to Fox for their news, don't seem capable of seeing through Fox's distortions. That's my judgment of course. Fox is very disturbing to watch. I need to go clear my head now. I don't want to go to sleep tonight thinking that up is down and fiction is fact.

They cut his mic! Assholes! They let her talk all over him because they knew he was right.

and another thing, Americans all know that Fox News and all their T.V. personalities are far from journalist's, they perform like a bunch of right wing hacks who are auditioning for a bad T.V. show like Gilligan's Island.

Anyone from the Left who visits a Fox News show for an interview from those Sluts, needs to always remember to "take total control and dominate their F'ing interviews, otherwise they will, and it would be better for anyone from the Left if they are going to go on Fox News, to "always appear in a studio along side those ass-holes" and dominate their interviews and really take control in their Fox News studios rather than from a remote satellite feed where the Fox News munchkin technicians can silence the Progressive Voices !

thanks to Tim Carpenter for speaking truth, despite the misleading 'questions' of
the interviewer.

A Single Payer system will eliminate the waste of 1/3 of the money spent on health care, that currently
goes to the parasitical health insurance industry, who provide nothing of value to anyone, and only
exist for their profits.

Thanks to FOX news for providing some forum for a little truth here.

Since when does the government decrease the cost of anything? Name me one example, just one!

Driving down the street. It's free because the government paid, using tax dollars, to pave the street.

Tim, that was Great! Thank you very much.

Karen, My understanding is that under single payer all citizens would pay a modest premium (tax) for coverage but that citizens would remain free to get additional insurance to pay for additional special care. It's like public school. We all pay for basic educational services for everyone so that society as a whole is strong...those that want more send their kids to private schools. As it stands now 45 million people don't have the coverage they need to get regular checkups for preventative care, so their problems begin to snowball.

I've always maintained that the only doctors that I know are named Bill. I will never forget reading an article in Newsweek about 10-12 years ago which said the AMA was lobbying to limit the number of doctors graduating from medical school. The Association which represents doctors is not interested in the Hippocratic Oath any more than the insurance companies are.

The bottom line is ,no Canadian has ever died becuse they didn't have healthcare insurance..No Canadian has ever gone into bankruptcy because they got sick and couldn't pay their hospital bills.. That happens in the United States every single day.. Meanwhile,for profit health insurance companies make billions and billions of dollars every year in profits.. Wouldn't that money be better spent lowering costs and providing healthcare??/ The answer to that question is a resounding YES.. How do you do that?? You do it with a single payer system.. You will have a hard time finding a Canadian that would swap their healthcare system for ours.. If their system was so bad,they could always invite the American health insurance companies to come to Canada and pillage their citizens like they've done in America for decades.. If Canada were to do that there would be rioting in the streets.. Don't be duped..canada's healthcare problems pale in comparison to the nightmare Americans are forced to endure at the hands of for profit health insurance companies!!!America, the only industriazized nation in the world where you can lose your home,life savings or just die because you got sick!!! That won't happen in Canada!!

When Megyn Kelly asked Tim about the wait times Canadians endure for certain procedures, the key word she used was "up to" a certain time period. I'm sure some Americans can endure the same wait times. I would like to ask Megyn what the "average" wait time Canadians endure for these same procedures as compared to the US. Some Americans die before they can even see a doctor to diagnose their problem in order to get the procedure. I would like to ask Megyn that question. Fox News is very adept at manipulating and twisting the facts and are masters of deceiving their audience.

One other thing I would like to ask Megyn. Would Jesus Christ ask for a green card if someone needed healing?

Ask the talking heads how they get health care--I'll bet they're all covered by AFTRA, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the union representing anybody on TV or radio.

They get great coverage, they just don't want the same for the rest of us.

I think Fox News is staffed by people who cannot in anyway be classified as journalists. I'm not sure why they would bother to have someone from PDA on their "news" program. I do thind that Tim Carpenter made his point as well as to be expected in such a forum.

I am one of the lucky
Americans who has health care, but I think Fair is Fair and everybody should be covered. Even if that means my own coverage is not as good. Leave the Insurance companies out and use that money to pay for some more coverage.

I'd love to comment to FOX news regarding the slanted, NON-VERBAL comments displayed around Tim as he spoke, which presented their arguments visually even as he spoke to counter those statements. The commentator wouldn't even let him finish a sentence and accused him of running over her. Amazing that they call this a news station.

From the report "Phantoms in the Snow": "...the number of Canadians routinely coming across the border seeking health care appears to be relatively small, indeed infinitesimal when compared with the amount of care provided by their own system..."

Read the entire report at this link:
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/fu...

Fox News has met its match: Tim Carpenter. Despite its typical efforts to intimidate guests which it obviously disagrees with, Tim rose to the occasion insisting that the single payer advantages be given a fair hearing and denying the negative spin the interviewer persisted in voicing.

Fox News obviously did not want to have a considered debate -- they wanted to keep pushing their point of view. I do think that if PDA has another opportunity to speak on Fox News they should not try to get in so many words, but just keep pushing the two or three most important points.

Megan Kelley was polite and balanced. Tim carpenter was rude and talked over Ms.Kelley. He avoided answering her questions about illegals getting tax payer health coverage. He mis-spoke about 22 million Americans dying w/o healthcare and had to be corrected. Thank you for sending this out. People need to know this information. Please ask everyone to watch to the end.

Here is where Tim got his uninsured Americans facts: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/hlthins..... There are probably more now two years later.

Angela, you obviously own stock in the insurance industry or are just amazingly ignorant to, without even the slightest reservation or question, take FOX's lies and corporate-backed political dialogue as some holy grail of knowledge. The thing about being indoctrinated like you must be is that you are seldom ever aware of the subconscious control over your own free will. And always to your ultimate detrement.

Angela, you need to read the ACTUAL GOVERNMENT STATISTICS BASED ON OUR CENSUS. Fox News(?) does not report the truth. They push agendas and propaganda for the right wing capitalists. Try checking out some FACTUAL sources and don't rely on Fox for any kind of TRUTH.

Angela, did you actually watch the "interview"? She cut him off every time he was making a point. Concerning the "illegals", he did say everyonie in the US would be covered. It would be more cost effective to insure them and then he got cut off. Remember if you vacationed in England, got sick or injured, you would be treated there for free.

Neither Canadians nor any other country with single-payer would choose to give it up for something worse, namely what we've got.

FOX news is one of the biggest threats to Democracy in modern times.

Mr. Carpenter should have kept to the facts and statistics, and not been vocally combative and defensive at all, though I am sure it was hard. His initial verbal presumption of FOX's readiness to refute his position likely did more to reinforce the blind loyalty of FOX's viewership, than serving their educational enlightenment. He might have been best served by relenting on the most important distinctions that cause the public's confusion, and challenged viewers to visit specific (non-partisan) web sites that explain in greater and clearer detail the overall debate. He was a marked man just by the name of the organization, so that didn't help either. We need those guys that were on Bill Moyers Journal last week to get on FOX and other networks. They know how to have fun with it.

So was this a step forward or a step back? Hard to say what really goes on in the tiny ostrich minds of the FOX Sheeple Empire.

I think this interview was a lost opportunity. Answer the friggin' questions. And because you are talking to Fox news viewers, the answers should be short and sweet. I am an avid supporter of single-payer care and I was fed up with the constant stream of facts and figures the PDA spokesperson spouted. How is it that you haven't figured out that people don't want to hear facts and figures. Publically funded, privately run should be the PDA mantra on health care. Long waits? Privately run means there will be more doctors in the system who can provide care? Publically funded so all participate, privately run so competition gives us great care by qualified doctors in our neighborhoods. Having to go to the US for care?What border will we go to? First of all, I always take those stories with a grain of salt because there aren't many people who could afford to pay the expenses of care in the US, but even if it is so, we won't have to go anywhere because we've learned from Canada's system and will make ours privately run.

I live in Japan where care is publically funded, privately run. There are doctors on every corner. No system is perfect, and that is important to remember, but single-payer is a lot closer to it than what we have now. Come on, speak to the people listening.

I'm amazed that this woman can spew this line of s**t with a straight face. FOX lies again!

In United States our care is rationed - over 47million have access only through the Emergency Room - the underinsured wait until they are very sick to access care and this rationing is done on the ability to pay rather than at their doctor's discretion as it is in Canada. Canada has a mechanism for addressing their problems unlike our fragmented system which seems to be unable to control rising costs and difficulties with access. Canada spends less than half per capita on health care than we do and some of their difficulties are due to lack of funding in certain areas. The proposed Single Payer plan would be adequately funded if we continue to spend the amount we are currently spending per capita. Administrative costs would be cut and enough money would be saved through streamlined paperwork, less advertising, lower profits and administrative salaries and being able to negotiate prescription drug prices and do bulk purchasing just to name a few. Such a plan would cover everyone with a very comprehensive benefit package which would surpass the employer based insurance many of us have.

Megyn Kelly is the antithesis of a reporter/news anchor. She should be fired for bringing to the "interview" with Tim Carpenter obvious lies and and distortions. Such unprofessional behaviour as mocking the guest and talking over him should not be tolerated.

Given the hysterical shouting of Megyn Kelly, Tim Carpenter did a good job of keeping his cool and getting out some information on the essential advantages of a Single Payer Health Care System. As someone who lives in England and the U.S., I can attest to the benefits of universal health care, where the annual cost per individual in England is $2,700 compared with $6,700 per person in the U.S., and the care in England is, in my experience, infinitely superior. And as it is not tied to your employment, there is freedom to chamge jobs, and no loss coverage if you lose your job. Persons 60 and over, having paid into the system all their life, no longer pay any premiums and there are no copays for medicines.

Without a Single Payer Health Care System, not linked to employment, we in the U.S. are moving to the bottom of the leauge of developed nations.

Thought it was a good job on Tim's part. He out talked the FOX reporter.

You bitch that you may have to wait, while 40+ million don't even have the chance to do that.
A 'me' society, indeed.

Say it with me folks:

GOOD RIDDANCE TO HEATHCARE DENIAL PROFITEERING

He speaks well but looks bad ... shifty, sweaty, almost ill. I know that's shallow, and possibly deliberate on the part of the Fox makeup crew, but best counter it next time.

Another suggestion ... when they play the racist dog-whistle about "brown people who sneaked in" ... point out that public health requires treating everybody, for infectious disease reasons as well as treatment cost reasons. Eventually sick people who are socially despised will get bad expensive treatment, and we'll pay for that instead of the good inexpensive treatment they could have had.

Finally ... on the somewhat true point that countries with single payer have issues ... you might make the rose garden point. Single payer is not perfect ... but it's better. We have rationing right here today, but the gatekeepers wear insurance company name tags.

oh she is horrible. gah. i can't watch/listen to her. Thanks for trying Tim. AND SHE CUT HIS MIC. unbelievable. Fox news is just the worst.

It was originally invented to protect corporations who put toxins in the environment to avoid litigation. Besides making Billions of dollars at the individual CEO level the privately maintained Medical Insurance Companies will do everything to avoid linking environmental toxins to illnesses in a work place or community.

These large companies created Medical insurance groups to protect themselves from anyone being able to sue them. The current Medical Insurance Complex is a Trojan Horse!! It's much more than that now, but its true identity is the Trojan Horse.

In the famous Erin Brockovitch case we had all the victims of PG&E being served by PG&E company doctors. PG&E sent in their own doctors to take care of the sick town’s people and to treat them for problems they knew were caused by PG&E's own toxins. These doctors, paid by PG&E, lied straight out to these people. The first insurance legislation was created by Kaiser, a big corporation that specializes in mining and metals world wide. This is one of the dirtiest industries in the world. The Medical Insurance Agency is a Trojan Horse created to protect the world's giant corporations ability to dispose of filth cheaply right in our own backyards. Cheaply, if you don't count the cost of human suffering, pain, grief, loss, etc. They also enjoy the luxury of running dirty work sites that aren't expensive to run with disposable employees.

If you have medical problems that the medical insurance group approves of or that won't keep you from working all day, they will help you. Otherwise, you're going to be put on the short list for ending service one way or another. The doctors operate without too much conscience because they are relieved of making these decisions by the bean counters and they don't have to feel conflicted. Any problems you might have involving possible exposure to industrial toxic chemicals will never be considered, tested for, or discussed. No matter how often you bring up this concern there will be no notes taken of this for the record.

I have been dealing with HMOs providers that are completely married to huge polluters in my town. Very long story involving city water, 200 years of history, the railroad and oil industry, superfund sites, and thousands of documented illnesses at world record numbers in my hometown.

Nothing protects a polluter more than a sick person with no access to health care. But to insure complete dominance of the land and resources at a cheap price, the medical health care industry provides a controlled health care designed to deflect victims from information regarding their illnesses and knowledge of exposure to chemical industrial waste. Most importantly, these victims are unable to create documentation. They are completely censored from understanding and proving a case against anyone in any way.

This is the veiled truth of the Medical insurance companies. We are not just fighting the medical insurance companies for single payer health care; we are fighting all the other major polluters sitting quietly in the corner protecting their interests.

I know this might sound kind of conspiracy theory-ish, but if you think about it, you will see why big business isn't clamoring to relieve themselves of the burden of health care.

You'd think that any News organization would want some facts about whatever it is they are covering rather than play silly arrogant games with those they interview.

There is nothing more frightening than active ignorance. Not my ignorance, the ignorance of Fox News. The foxy Fox bitch should be in pornography.

Defenders of single payer systems should make sure to point out that while other countries may have waiting periods, no one goes bankrupt from medical costs. And in this country, the insurance companies are delaying and denying care even more egregiously. Finally, why does no one point out that we can learn from the deficiencies of the countries that came before us and try to create a better system? We have a larger population pool than other developed countries and more trained doctors here, so the likelihood is we can leverage that into a better system than Canada, the UK and Japan, which have much smaller populations.

Although Tim said we should get the insurance companies out of the healthcare business, I am informed that I may not use the PDA logo on a business card if it says: "Healthcare, YES -- Insurance companies, NO.:" I am told that PDA only wants it's logo associated with "Healthcare, not Warfare." I firmly believe that PDA's phrase is not what will bring out people in support of single payer healthcare! Warfare has nothing whatever to do with single payer healthcare. Let me know if I can use the PDA logo with my preferred message. Thanks.

Excellent job, Tim!!!

You go!

Canadians and Europeans have had universal health care for years and by and large are satisfied with it. No system is perfect and there are bound to be deficiencies here and there, but by and large the systems work and the vast majority of the people are served and are happy with their medical service.

Unfortunately, at Fox it is not the guest who has the power to cut off the host's mike. Tim was set up to be the object of derision with virtually no opportunity to respond or make a cogent argument. Getting into an argument about numbers is a mistake. The Fox audience was not enlightened or educated. At the end of the interview there was not a sudden upsurge in hits at the PDA web site. Had I been in Tim's place, I might have hammered at the fact that Canada and all the other industrial countries are all democracies, and while of course there are people who fall through the cracks, there is no movement calling for a turn to the American healthcare system. Europeans and Canadians may have been unlucky in their birthplaces, but they're not idiots.

Absolutely agree. He was speaking fast, but that is not enough. You have to have well-schooled anticipatory exercises to go up against FAUX. You need to have Canadians who use their system and do not have to wait and disclose how much they have to pay monthly. Also, who paid for the Canadian lady's operation, Mayo? Herself, Canada? If Canada paid for it all, then this is really breaking news! She has coverage in the US. Does the Canadian system cover the visits in the US? See, there is a lot we need to find out that we do not know and we need to get more Canadian doctors, administrators and patients involved and ask them a lot of the tough, detailed questions so we can be prepared in dark blue suits, wearing red power ties with a nice haircut and know exactly what we are talking about.

Faux News set him up to start telling the facts about single payer ,then cut him off when his facts were not what the network wanted the viewers to hear.
It was an opprotunity for Tim to speak but like sending a lamb into a lions den to tell them no meat for lunch.

He lost a great chance to explain. Too much promotion. Rude interviewer. Surprise there. Should stress we don't want to copy but take the best of others and add what we want in America. Need to ease the fears that we will lose what is the best of ours and adopt the worst of theirs. What people need are simple explanations of how this will be good for them.

FAUX had an alledged Canadian lady who went to Mayo. Tim should have been ready with a Canadian family of his own that can go into an emergency room or simple doctor's office and not have to prove that they have the financial resources to get treatment. That's the absurdity, even if you have private insurance. in this country. Next time, Tim, bring on your own Canadians and wear a blue suit, red power tie and get a haircut. This is only way you can reach Faux news viewers.

I personally help take care of those who can and cannot pay. The treatment is no different. Our hospital gives millions of dollars of free care a year ( as do many hosptials) but you don't hear about it in the media.

it doesn't take a genius to see the current system is simply not working. as with any system, there will be flaws, simple chance and probability will dictate that. personally, i like the idea of being able to walk into a hospital with the notion of being helped instead of fearing how i will pay for that help. could someone please enlighten me to why having a universal type system in place is so bad?

Was the Canadian lady covered in the US by the Canadian single payer system??? That is the main question that needs to be answered. My friends in Germany including one who was working here are covered here and around the world by their national system. This is really, really important to know. The German friend working here did not want any US policy we offered her because of the inferior coverage with co-pays and deductibles. Without detailed examination of the systems, how they would actually work and what would the patient in a variety of medical situations actually experience, we are going to lose this debate. So somebody, someplace please go to Canada and talk to them in detail and report back. Please stop talking about poll numbers and start talking about out of pocket expenses, coverage, AVOIDING waiting times, freedom from being tied to a job and how, by developing a guest worker program all employers would be responsible for keeping track of their newly-documented workers contributions into the system.

wow, I never watch FOX and had no idea how rude their anchors were. Way to go Tim, I could not have remained so composed in the face of such blatant hostility. Every time they pull the Candadian boo hoo bs we need to counter with a US horror story and a good story from France or Norway or Taiwan. They don't go bankrupt in Canada when they get sick.

It is mandatory for everyone to watch at least one hour of FAUX news per day. How do you know how they argue if you don't? These are the talking points that your Republican or right-wing friends spit back at you and what passes for their political opinion which influendes Congress directly. You have to be ready with all your might to counterpunch their arguments with all the facts you can muster and eventually you will win the arguments with them.

FRANCE HAS THE BEST HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN THE WORLD!!!!!! We lived in Ontario for 10 years, also all over the world!
Agree, the moderator was rude rather unprofessional, but her actions don't change any facts, and we ARE Democrats!!!!!!

Oh, and more thing, stop talking about the 47 million uninsured. FAUX viewers don't care about anyone of them. They do care, that they themselves might go bankrupt, even if they have coverage. That should be the main line of attack along with the actual facts about the other systems.

I had a dear friend in her late 50's who died because she was unable to get in to see a doctor for 5 months. She was feeling poorly had lost 20 pounds without trying. By the time she got in to see a doctor, the brain tumor was beyond treatment. She died 3 months later. Where was this? -- Cleveland, Ohio.
Lest you think this is unusual, I just had to wait 6 weeks to see a specialist in Ohio.

If she was such a "dear friend," you would have sought a physician for her and am certain would have found one to take her within a week, unlike Canada, England, etc

Glenn,
Had she lived in Canada or England she wouldn't have waited 5 months to see a doctor because she couldn't afford to see one..She wouldn't have had to risk losing her home or life savings just because she got sick..This happens every single day in the United States and that is a disgrace.. The richest country in the world and the ONLY one that allows this travesty to exist.. Every member of Congress who takes a nickel from the for profit health insurance companies should be arrested for taking bribes..That this nightmare of a healthcare system has been allowed to exist with no government intervention is a national disgrace!!I will take Canada's ,Englands or France's system any day..For profit health insurance companies are not part of the problem,,THEY ARE THE PROBLEM.. They are in no way part of the solution..

Tim Carpenter probably hasn't lived in Ontario! The woman from Canada who spoke is right...BUT one may go to another Dr.,and pay cash! Everyone deserves health care, but, the private sector e.g. Blue Cross, needs to be part of the solution, & not just the government. The waits in Canada are long...many physicians opt of the government programs as they take too long to pay. Dr's see what the Dr's in the "states" make and want the same. But, Medicare takes forever to pay too...& they are really "socialized" medicine, as in the UK or Canada. Dr's, drug companies, people, insurance companies have to work together for the good of all---not the profit of one over another. If someone is working & no ins. with company, they should pay what they can based on their income, even if $20 a month, to get the basic "big stuff". Major, major things...not a band aid--then go to a free clinic. But, everyone should have access to something.

Tim, you're like my teenage son---Think you know so much and really know sooo little.

Thank you Tim.

The New York Times says that >100,000 people leave the U.S. each year for elective surgeries.

Canadian wait times are a scandal because everyone in Canada expects to be seen and treated. In Canada when someone "falls through the cracks" as you said, it is a public scandal.

U.S. wait times, which are much worse than Canada's, are not a scandal because the system values money, not people. The poor will be seen at the emergency room (which by law cannot turn them away) but whether or not they are treated appropriately depends upon the ability to pay. In the United States when someone falls through the cracks, it is a private tragedy.

Single payer now!

"The poor will be seen at the emergency room (which by law cannot turn them away) but whether or not they are treated appropriately depends upon the ability to pay." And how the heck do you arrive at that conclusion. I work as an ER nurse and non-paying/indigent patients get the same care as the ones that have Blue Cross. Please don't just post emotional, nonfactual statements.

Glenn, When you have a "non-paying/indigent" patient, do you work for free? No! my taxes pay the bill. Wouldn't just make more sense to give everyone medical treatment at a doctor's office and not the ER?

The statement was made that "whether or not they are treated appropriately depends upon the ability to pay" which is total BS!

God, I can't help but scream whenever I watch any segment from Faux News. This was no exception. This twit of an 'interviewer' was not interested in interviewing; she was interested in insinuating her point via the question, then talking over Tim when he tried to answer, and then kept demanding that she get to make her point! If she wants to make HER point, why doesn't she let someone interview her and quit the pretense of being an interviewer? Whatever happened to objectivity in journalism? Oh, yes, that's right - Faux News isn't news, and they don't employ journalists - just abrasive, rude mouthpieces for the right.

PDA, kudos for TIm for hanging in there but you really need a handsome, sharp trial lawyer to turn the tables on these people. They are well trained in manipulation and selective facts.
Aside from countering her with examples of perfectly good health care in countries like Norway (single payer) he should about how plenty of people in THIS country have to wait for long lengths to see anyone.

Yes, Tim is quite homely, as are most democrats.

All Tim had to say were memorized statements, most memorable being the one about illegals being covered. Why should we taxpayers pay for that?

I know why democrats are for this...they pay little to no taxes to begin with so it is no skin off their backs!

Where did you get that boneheaded idea that we Democrats "don't pay taxes?" If you know of some loophole I should be getting, please share with us!

That was a stupid comment, Glenn!

I said "pay little to no taxes," Christine. That is a fact. Not something I made up. Republicans pay most of the taxes in this country. That is why Democrats like the entitlement programs so much, which is why they/you are pushing for government health care.

Poor Glenn, I hope you never have a need in your Bush supporting, O'Reilly-loving, people-hating, pitiful life.

Glenn, have you read Matthew? If you call your self a christian, how do you not support providing health care for your fellow man?

You're obviously not in the health care field or you would know that every "fellow man" gets health care, regardless of their method of payment. The problem is multifactorial. Not just the blanket statements that you stand behind---the poor aren't covered, it bankrupts families, the insurance companies are getting rich, the pharmaceuticals are taking advantage of us. Being in the healthcare field, I know firsthand what needs to be done but the liberal media does not report on it. Start with malpractice reform and watch the cost fall. Make patients that don't take care of themselves should pay additional premiums. If you are obese, smoke, do drugs then you should pay more. Why should my premiums be higher to help pay for their bad habits. Health care absolutely must be rationed! Sorry that the 90 yr old granny has 3 vessel coronary disease. She cannot get bypass surgery. The 85 yr old with metastatic cancer cannot get chemo. That is just the reality of life. Finally, let the free market rule. Pool the insured to bring the premium cost down.
Your plan: give everybody health care, including illegals, raise taxes on the upper 5% and hope for the best, although it hasn't worked well in any other country.

Glenn, do think maybe it is because they are humans? Duh!

God, I can't help but scream when the interviewee just barks out memorized, nonfactual statements and doesn't answer the questions.

Single-Payer universal health-care is what the French have. I have seen their plan in action and it is great. Old folks who receive weekly visits from nurses who also bring medications; cancer patients who are diagnosed and operated on within a month and then driven to radiation centers and back home weekly until their treatment is finished, etc. Just check the longevity tables of the French versus the Americans. And it's dramatic to compare their live-birth rates with ours. Where health is concerned we are a third-world country!

It's the wine. We just all need to be given free red wine and we will live much longer. Please call your leader and request this.

Glad he persevered, but it's a waste of time with Fox --- I forced myself to watch this and was reminded once again how ludicrous it is that they call themselves "fair and balanced". It's enough to make one ill. Tell Tim to keep up the good work but don't waste his time on Fox.

Fox is full of Bull S--t__I think the network should be taken down by the FCC and the Licensing __revoked. It is a rigtwing nut station that panders to the right

Ah, yes Rich, we should all be forced to listen to the "fair and balanced" MSNBC, CNN, CBS, NBC networks.

Single-payer advocates are NOT advocating that we have a Canadian system, and they are NOT advocating that we have a government-run system - We are advocating that as an intelligent problem-solving country we take a look at the number of universal health care systems around the world, and create our own American health care system. Despite the rhetoric and the selection of skewed samples of information, the US does have one of the most backward healthcare systems in the world - people DO have to wait for things here, and right now everytime someone loses a job (through no fault of their own), they lose access to healthcare. How does this make sense?

What a stupid air-head that is getting her questions through her Bush feeding tube. Fixed News is noyhing but a mouthpiece for the Republican party and the corporate greedy bastards.

Vee, 10:23 PM , May 28, 2009

We agree with Tim all americans should have single payer healthcare.
congress and the senate has had excellent health care plan for years
and their no better than the average person. And their's is at a reasonable price.
And it's passed time for them to come with an excellent plan for the people that pays their salaries. Or be voted out of office. Enough said.

Get the for-profit insurance companies out of health care. They are engaged in the same kind of pump & dump, fraudulent financial practices as were the sub-prime mortgage banksters and gangsters who have landed the economy where it now is. Get rid of them. Don't let them submerge the country any further.
If you doubt me, just check into the profits, shenanigans, and ill gotten gains of some of the health insurance CEOs, especially: 1) William W. McGuire, former CEO of United Health Group, or 2) Jay Gellert, CEO of Health Net Inc. Just google these and you'll find out more than you would wish to know about the nether worlds of money and fraud.
Single Payer, the cost-effective, just and fair way to go.

Loved it! You got the most words in--and there were good ones too. Go, Tim.

Having trained in the UK and worked as an RN in Quebec and spent the last 39 years here in USA I can honestly tell you that healthcare in the USA is in crisis. It has become a business where insurance and the pharmaceutical companies have too much power and profit from illness.
I recently went to the UK last year to support my sister through bilateral mastectomy surgery. The treatment was exemplory. Supportive care and the availability of many alternative therapies were offered for free while she was receiving chemotherapy and radiation. This is amazing. Treating people holistically was of prime importance while I was in training. There was no waiting and psychological care and the fitting for prosthesis or follow up reconstruction was available if desired as part of the healthcare program.
We do not offer any of this here in the USA. In fact many insurance companies discharge post operative mastectomy patients with drains coming from their wounds on the same day as the surgery. It is outrageous.
We are very aware that diabetes is a big killer. The UK health system invests a huge amount of money in preventive care so that patients blood sugar is better controlled in order that they do not suffer from the chronic diseases of heart and kidney failure. They realize this is one of the many ways to save costs.
My young 22 year old neice benefitted from the best of care which she got from blood and disease specialists in a London Hospital to help combat her rare cancer.
I met a lady when I was visiting in Denver who told me that her insurance company denied her coverage for chemotherapy. I dont know about you but I want my doctor to have the last word not a non medical person working for the insurance company. As for waiting ... I have personally waited 6-7 weeks in the USA to see a neurosurgeon and a rheumatoidologist. I have also been asked to help a friend choose a local physician from the list his insurance company provided. Sadly I was unable to recommend anyone on the list. He didnt really have the choice of the best physicians in the area. Another acquaintance chose not to see the neurosurgeon on the list provided because he wanted someone who came more highly recommended for the procedure that was advised. Many insurance companies do not cover rehabilitation which is extremely important to get the patient back to work.If people are unable to return to work, guess what, they nolonger have insurance. If they find another job they often find that they cannot afford the deductibles and premiums.
We subsidize insurance companies who take our money when we are well and deny us when we are ill so the tax payer picks up the tab. It is a terrible system where we have to beg for money for bone marrow transplants and other proceedures for our loved ones etc.
When single payer healthcare is allowed to be introduced here, we shall be able to benefit from knowing the pros and cons of other systems available in the free world so we can provide the best practises and have The American Model of Healthcare for All with preventive care at a cost savings.

Fox News automatically starts negative comments, distorts the facts, interupts and paints a totally incorrect picture. They use the usual fear factor

I guess it's hard to get to the facts with someone who pushes 1 or 2 cases. I would just suggest being ready with facts to hit back with, and as succinctly as possible, i.e. as so much was presented in the Frontline documentary Sick Around the World, for example the experiences in Taiwan, Japan...... One major point I'd make to the FOX crew is that all the countries that do have single payer, no one ever goes bankrupt due to health bills. As far as the waits she tried to justify as a problem with single payer, I would have shot back with that with private insurance people are DENIED needed healthcare, forget the "waits" issue. Also those waits have been greatly reduced, as opposed to the U.S. private insurance companies who deny healthcare and people die. And she presented one case. Who knows the truth of that person's case. These type of folks always present one case as if it is the norm.

I don't think going on Faux News is a valuable use of time or energy. Anyone who would listen to Faux News is probably not intelligent enough or open minded enough to comprehend the truth. I rarely see Faux News and I'm always amazed that anyone would want to be seen on one of their shows. Where do they dig up those awful anchor people?

Why didn't Tim use the "Medicare for All" description of single payer?

The fear tactics here are ridiculous from this woman. She's so obnoxiously cheerily dismissive. I loved Tim's first comment - not surprised Fox would have writers against single payer! He just kept going and it was delightful to see her get frustrated and flummoxed. She ran out of talking poitnts. I've been an actress long enough to recognize acting when I see it - and this anchor is playing outraged, reasonable conservative good-daughter moral woman. But she's so on the wrong side of this argument, except when you pretend that there are no uninsured and underinsured. And that's where this pretty-doll stuff leaves us. We are left to think we are all fine - blonde and lively and well-paid and champions of the good (the woman with the wait - yes, that was bad. But she ignores that all the uninsured are waiting too - and some of them are dying of brain tumors and everything else.)
Excellent, Tim!!!!!

Fox "reporting" is more like a soap opera than news. They over-dramatize and exaggerate everything. Good job working to keep it real Tim. We need people to see a full length discussion of health care policy ideas in this country. What happened to Obama's promise to televise health care negotiations???

This is not about FOX NEWS or ANYONE else.It is about erradicating the
CANCER that is eating all of us : THE INSURANCE COMPANIES AND THE PIRATES
IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY.
LET'S GET 250,000,000 (TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLION) signatures and send
them to Washington;then hold our breath to see who waters-down our efforts.
Let's see who the lobbyists are and which politicians they have bought and
paid for.

I think that the rightwing talking points point out the racism and paranoia of the GOP. I have worked in the insurance industry. It is bullcrap. Take out the middleman/woman paper pushers and get people cared for! If employers don't have to pay for healthcare, they will hire people! If people are working, the economy will get moving again! Yay! Let's do the smart thing this time!!!

I thought Tim Carpenter did a good job, dispite the rude lady hosting that interview, with her cocky attitude. Tim should go on Charlie Rose, who will interview with compassion and an open mind, instead of put downs and fear tactics. Sounds like the Bush Administration still in action.

My friends in Canada said people get the care they need, but here my friend who has medical insurance is being denied medical care, and treated as if she is just a person who likes to complain. She has alarming symptoms and has not even been given blood work in Kentucky.

They are cutting off medical benefits for children of lower income parents in California, and the receptionist at my Doctor's does not know how she will get along with no insurance for her child and it being too expensive through her job.

My friend works full time and her employeer does not provide medical insurance. Now she has pre-conditions and is close to 60, so what company with medical insurance is going to hire her with Diabetis and having been hit by a car so back damage, with so many applying for similar jobs who are healthy.

I am for Single Payer Health Care with private ownership. Bring down the Pharmaseutical and Insurance Companies who are keeping people with insurance from getting the proper care they need.

Now, if you loose your job due to illness, and the insurance stops. How is that a good system?

I wish that miserable bitch doing the "interview" had let him speak rather than talking over him and interrupting him all the time with lies and innuendo. The creeps on FOX just yell at each other all the time and have no idea how to actually think or converse or reason in a civilized manner. Ugh!! Let's have single payer universal health care for everyone EXCEPT anyone who watches FOX news - they can go it alone with their expensive doctors and money grubbing insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies, or just die if those guys fail them (which they often do), for all I care. If a tourist in the UK is in an accident, they get free health care - not even a citizen and they are taken care of for free - I have experienced that. This is what health care should be - for everyone - automatically - not just the super rich - not quizzing someone who is brought to the hospital at death's door, or nearly in a coma, about credit cards - and then refusing to treat them if they can't pay a fortune. We are so screwed in this country with our paranoia about socialism. Go travel around the world a bit and see how much better it is in MOST OTHER CIVILIZED countries. We are SO low on the totem pole it isn't funny, and we are a lot less healthy and die a lot sooner than most everyone else - and PAY a fortune for that.

What a pity: Fox News gave Tim over 6 minutes to try to get their viewers interested in single-payer, and he failed dismally to rise to that challenge.

Sure he said a lot of things that *we* can appreciate, but nothing that Fox viewers were likely to respond to. Why couldn't he have emphasized that about 1/3 of every dollar directed toward the U.S. health care system never actually gets there but instead is absorbed in insurance company profit and overhead and in the overheads providers experience in dealing with that complex and obstructive system? Even Fox viewers aren't likely to be all that fond of the idea that such a large percentage of *their* money is being wasted that way.

Why couldn't he have made it clear that we're not talking about decreasing money paid to providers (or about changing the way services are provided at all), just about eliminating unnecessary overhead before that money gets to them? So there's no reason that care quality should decrease because of this change: if, say, Canadians sometimes experience waits for health care, it's because they aren't paying for the level of service that we already pay for and (if that's what we want) will continue to pay for and receive.

Why couldn't he have countered the 'illegal immigrant' red herring by responding that those who need health care still get quite a lot even if they can't pay for it - by visiting emergency rooms and getting care the most expensive way possible. Those unpaid services, of course, then become 'overhead' the cost of which is passed back to those who *can* pay: we'd actually *save* money if we underwrote more sensible (proactive rather than reactive) health care for those people - even illegal immigrants.

Why (as others have mentioned) didn't he state clearly that the kind of system he was talking about was the kind that we already have in Medicare - a system presumably both familiar and comfortable to Fox viewers?

Why didn't he mention the ability of a single-payer system to negotiate better deals with drug companies (or any other provider whose profits exceed competitive levels) to reduce costs? (Well, that may be a bit much to expect Fox viewers to comprehend, but it's still a valid advantage to offer up if there's sufficient time.)

Stating that 22,000,000 Americans die each year due to lack of health coverage was an unfortunate slip of the tongue that they caught him on. But he wasn't prepared to call *them* out when they claimed that doctors opposed a single-payer system (when in fact a majority support it - perhaps they were talking about the relatively conservative AMA contingent, but they're in the minority these days). Sticking to the points mentioned above would have helped keep Fox on the defensive, but he still should have been prepared to take on their talking points as well.

Fox somewhat surprisingly gave Tim ample opportunity to make a good case, had he been sufficiently organized to do so. The strengths that make him a good leader for PDA were obviously not the ones needed to do this job, at least if the job was to be an effective spokesperson for single-payer health care rather than simply to garner publicity for PDA.

Go, Tim, GO!! Nice job!
I think single-payer care as advocated by PDA and their partners is the best - and possibly the only - answer. Insurance Cos. and Big Pharma MUST be bypassed so that all may have time-and cost-effective care.

Go to the website Tim named and get the details...and talk to anyone who will listen!!

I wish someone would make the point that we've added ESRD as a Medicare covered disease...now let's add all the rest!

I know of many people who went to Canada to get help. They stay with friends, pay them and claimed common law marriage and come back. I believe the number of people without health insurance is not accurate, it is much larger. No one has asked me... We never go to doctors even when sick because we have no insurance. I do not know a single person with health insurance. Anything at this point is better than none. I am really tired of suffering. Fox news is ridiculous. The only people who watch that are ignorant racists.

Tim's clearly not an expert on health care, or even on HR676. He really didn't address the substantive issues raised at all. Probably Fox invited him for those reasons. Did he harm the cause by agreeing to speak to Fox's audience? Tough call.

Way to go Tim! I noticed that she finally muted your mike but you got to say a lot and they were impressed at least by the volume and the passion. That's about the best compliments you are likely to get from Fox.

Why didn't he answer the question about having your choice of doctor? The first thing she said was Americans don't want single payer because they don't want the government to choose their doctor. Instead of refuting that immediately, he came on with a barrage of words that was almost impossible to follow, especially when she kept talking through him.

Bravo, Tim! Great job!

Suggestions:

Re "waiting times": Yes, Canadians sometimes experience unacceptable waiting times. Doubling the expenditure per person would clearly fix that. That's what we already pay now, and would continue to pay under Medicare for All. Hence, no waiting time problem.

Re "How can we pay for universal coverage?": We're already paying for it, just not getting it. For every $100 of health care services the health insurance companies pay for, they charge policy holders $150. Supermarkets thrive on markups of 2-3%, Medicare charges 5%, but healthcos have to impose a 50% markup because the system is inherently inefficient. That 50% markup adds up to over $1 billion down the drain every day, enough to extend coverage to everyone.

Re: "Britons and Canadians don't like their healthcare systems". Not true. Why didn't Margaret Thatcher privatise the National Health Plan while she had the mandate to privatise everything in sight? Why did Canadians vote Tommy Douglas, who introduced their universal public healthcare, "The Greatest Canadian of All Time" in 2004?

Carpenter waited until the very last moment to answer the questions with a positive answer. His appearance would have been stronger if he had done this immediately. As a result he sounded defensive. He has no need to sound defensive, even on Fox.

After I gave birth to my last child, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. We had no insurance and I was the only one working. As I was working, with no insurance, we had opted to have our child at home because we could not afford the hospital bills we would incur. The Dr.'s refused to see me because we were having a home birth. (which, by the way, was much better than what goes on in a hospital) I went to social services to see about getting help with our situation, but was told I made too much money (I worked at Wal-mart, so you have an idea of our income for a family of 4). After my diagnosis, I asked about help in taking care of the cancer. Their answer was: "since you would not be disabled for more than 6 weeks due to the surgery needed, we cannot do anything for you." Well, if I did not have the surgery, what do they think would have happened, then?! I was very fortunate to find a Dr. who agreed to do the surgery free of charge. Part of my current job is administering our group health insurance, and I see every year how much it deteriorates and how much it hurts our employees. Most don't even take it because they cannot afford it. We need another option for our people, as the one we have is soooo broken and favors the insurance and drug companies almost to the point of being extortion. I can't tell you how many credit checks I have done on applicants that have an overwhelming amount of collections due to medical bills they cannot pay. This is wrong and needs to be fixed!

I sent this email to the ironically named "America's Newsroom":
Dear Megyn,
The interview with Tim Carpenter was the first time I had ever watched you interview anyone, in fact the first time I ever watched your show. After seeing your style - which in this case was bullying your guest in order to simplify the discussion to the point where facts are misrepresented - I won't watch it ever again.
I had heard that Fox offered really poor, inept reporting but it truly has to be seen to be believed. Once we've solved the health care problem, I hope Congress passes a law where networks have to meet journalism standards in order to sell themselves as news networks.
And if you do take accurate email counts, using the poor, misinformed souls who get their "news" from Fox as a bellwether of public opinion, count this one as a supporter of single payer health care, and a believer in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all who would embrace core American values, whether they be undocumented workers or not.

Great job, Tim.

What a sad, pitiful interview. I have never witnessed such a rude interviewer in my life. And flashing the misinformation cards without Tim's knowledge was priceless. What a sham!! It is scary that sooo many Americans watch this "news" station and take all that they present as the gospel truth.
In reference to Glen's pompous comments, obviously he has great insurance coverage so he can't possibly acknowledge that the system for those who are uninsured is unacceptable. My son recently spent 9 hours in an emergency room waiting to be looked at for a cut that needed stitches. After a 9 hour wait he left in disgust. At this point the tissue had long since started to heal making stitches moot. He received a $500.00 bill even though the only services rendered was the receptionist taking down his name. This is appalling. Also, because he had no health insurance, guess who wound up paying for his services non rendered? The taxpayer. I would love to know the annual figure payed by the US taxpayers for services to the uninsured. I would imagine that it is quite a staggering sum.
I, too, would also love to know who paid for the health care of this "supposed" Canadian. Was it covered by Freecare, a US government funded coverage, or her Canadian healthcare? Unless she is independently wealthy I'm sure someone footed the bill. The question is who?
Sharon

I think Tim did a great job, if you noticed they cut his mic when they wanted to misinform and shout him down. It shows that they are not interested in the facts or in supporting a health care system that reduces cost and provides for all. Immigrants still pay taxes and contribute to our social programs that they are nor entitled to benefit from.

He should have explained the tenets of the program instead of getting into an argument over who supports what & how many Americans want single payer, etc. Any Fuax News junkie who watched that segment will still come away thinking 'socialized medicine' and won't go to any website to check out the details. The 'wait times' BS Ms. Kelly spouted is easily refuted. also, he could have stated flat out, 'Well, we're not advocating a Canadian style plan. We're advocating taking the best parts of Canadian/UK/French plans and mixing those with the best parts of our current US system to come up with the best plan possible.' or, something like that.

Dear Tim,
Thanks for having the nerve to get in front of the unfair and unbalanced FOX. No matter how they try to spin it most people know from their experience that private insurance is NOT the solution, it is the problem. How do you compare the wait time of never into the Canadian comparison - Maybe they should ask the 22,000 who die annually in the USA. Or the many people here who wait years to become eligible for Medicare in order to have their medical conditions treated. I couldn't help but wonder if the interviewer will decline Medicare and Social Security for her parents because they are social programs.

Max Baucus and the health profiteers are turning the health care debate into the healthcare de bait and switch. He says everything is on the table - then says single-payer is not on the table. Maybe we need an independent commission of people who do not derive campaign funds and other revenue from this industry to analyze the merits of single-payer. It would be more beneficial than this rush that reminds me so much of the Bush administration's approach on important matters. This country need a factual comparison of private insurance and single payer's effect in the USA and other countries regarding access to care, health costs and outcomes. We need real FACTS - not the opinion of those who profit. I wrote a poem for the occasion.

Our social safety net is torn,
because in the USA we were born.

The industrialized world has medical care,
but not over here, only over there.

Our medical coverage is poor,
the insurance predator is at the door.

Our nest egg and healthcare are broken,
but Max Baucus and the lobbyists have spoken.

Our government says their help we don’t need,
will they overcome greed when we bleed if we plead?

They say single-payer is off the table,
let's vote them out as soon as we're able.

But the C.E.O.’s will sleep tight tonight,
because they got the TARP and don’t share our plight.

They can’t understand - about all the fuss,
If their security blanket suffocates the rest of us.

Thanks for reminding me why I never watch Fox News. Among my acquaintances, more than 90% want a "single-payer" system. If they have some reservations about government running health care, they are convinced that private insurance companies are driving the cost of hc up and reaping unwarranted profits, whereas most civilized countries don't see health (or health care) as a commodity to be traded on for profit. By all means, let Pres. Obama have his way and give the insurance companies a chance to compete with a parallel public option. The consumer will be the better for the competition. If they win, three cheers for private enterprise! But I suspect the public option will drive the profiteers out of the market. Good riddance, I say.

Thought Tim was great. So articulate, informative and well mannered in the face of extreme and obvious hostility. What can you do when it's Fox News you are debating but put up with the rudeness? Her whole mission was to derail what he was saying by any means necessary...so outrageous to an outlet that is permitted to represent itself as "news". The real issue is whether to take these opportunities when there is not even the semblance of an equal playing field. The tossing the ticking bomb of "illegal aliens" only meant he was making real progress in his delivery.

I lived in Canada for 28 years and strongly endorse single-payer healthcare based on my experience there. We need to keep fighting the mischaracterizations interviewers like this put forth: more than a "handful" of U.S. doctors support single payer - it's something like 59%. Also Canada doesn't have a national system. Healthcare dollars come through the federal government but the systems are provincially administered and differ from province to province, so it's impossible to apply numbers on wait times to the whole country. For all we know the wait times she was reeling off are in Nunavut. Ontario has made substantial progress in reducing wait times recently. Also we don't know any details about the case of the woman with the brain tumor. People don't wait for urgently needed care in Canada, so there may be circumstances related to this case that would help explain her situation. Bottom line is lots of people in the U.S. wait forever for healthcare. No one in Canada goes bankrupt because of medical expenses and no one in Canada needs to hold a chicken BBQ to pay for cancer treatment.

Excellent presentation of the first FACTS exposed on Fox news concerning Healthcare,not socialism. Way to Go Tim !!

Yes, Tim. I totally agree. Single Payor Healthcare is the only way that makes any sense to me. Having worked with a physician in Denmark, I saw first-hand how beautifully this form of healthcare can work. Wait times for specialists and elective surgery were less than HALF of the times we experience here in the USA. Patients loved the system. Doctors loved it. And taxpayers saved huge amounts over the costs we pay for healthcare in this country. I cannot understand why anyone would want to continue with our broken system... anyone except for the healthcare insurance industry which would be eliminated.

Tim isn't going to win any converts that way! Not that you can have in intellectual debate with closed minded paranoid's anyway. We can't have health care reform until we close down the fraud, waste, greed, and abuse by the health insurance racket. We need single payer to put them out of business but let's not forget that the real goal is to create a fair, just, and equitable system of health care that actually improves the health of everyone in our society in a sustainable, affordable, and enduring way. First, we must stop thinking of health care as an individual decision and/or responsibility, when in fact it is a societal responsibility that needs to be built into our culture. We all benefit from each others health and we all suffer from each others illnesses! If we want to call ourselves a civilized society then we must not let the Darwinian principles of "Survival of the fittest" control the evolution of our species. That may happen but we owe it to our sense of civility to try to do better!

Tim was sooooo good! You were right, he was admirably relentless.

Waits are far better than NO care.

The fact is that 57 million legal Americans without health insurance is a drain on the health care system. Those with health care insurance can't get the care they need. When a minor health problem become a major health problem because the il has no insurance who pays ..... you do! The insurance companys have promised three time to lower the cost of health care cost, but in fact raised those costs. It just like the Oil Slick Speculators, it's all pure greed. Greed is like alcoholism, enough is never enough! You can't milk a dead cow!

From reading the comments below, it would seem that Fox is again lying by saying that most viewers don't want single payer. Fair and unbalanced I would say.

The fact is that 57 million legal Americans without health insurance is a drain on the health care system. Those with health care insurance can't get the care they need. When a minor health problem become a major health problem because the il has no insurance who pays ..... you do! The insurance companys have promised three time to lower the cost of health care cost, but in fact raised those costs. It just like the Oil Slick Speculators, it's all pure greed. Greed is like alcoholism, enough is never enough! You can't milk a dead cow!

From reading the comments below, it would seem that Fox is again lying by saying that most viewers don't want single payer. Fair and unbalanced I would say.

Good for Tim Carpenter. These ridiculous arguments coming from mean spirited Right Wing types on Fox "Fair & Balanced" News are a big part of the problem in this country as to why Americans do not have the facts and information necessary to make an informed and rational decision regarding Universal Single-Payer Health Care. Fox News always can find one or two disgruntled people in Canada, but their reporters would never lower themselves to watch Michael Moore's movie SICKO, in which many Canadians and French people are interviewed and tell the opposite story! Mr. Moore also interviews many Americans who moved to these countries and get health care access, when they are not citizens of those countries (like the maligned Mexican immigrant Repugs always bring up). THAT is what Universal Single Payer is all about=EVERYONE HAS EQUAL ACCESS from a SINGLE RISK POOL that causes every person in our country to get treatment when needed at a much, much lower cost than they now have from these greedy profit motivated private insurance companies who deny access at every turn. WAKE UP AMERICA! THIS IS AN EQUAL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUE THAT NEEDS FIXING!

You really have to improve your telecommunication skills! Tim Carpenter's appearance on Fox News was a complete failure, primarily because Tim was not prepared to offer direct and simple answers to the interviewer's questions, which would have been the only possible way of getting his message across to the average viewer of Fox News. This is sound-bite television! In that context, supporters of single-payer health care (or any other issue that Fox News thinks is way off-base) have to be ready to respond to the simplistic sound bites of the corporate propagandists in sound bites of their own, that is, concise statements that directly counter and/or correct whatever loaded questions they are asked.

I am a regular contributor to PDA, and I would like to have my money spent more effectively.

This woman should be proud of how "successful" she is and what a great "career" she has. A pathetic excuse for a human being. Who is this "Canadian" they are trumpeting out? Sounds like some woman from a PR firm hired by the insurance companies. Of course it was important to make sure she had a real Canadian accent. I smell a rat and want to research this further. The point is how long do you have to wait in this country to see your Primary Care doctor. Usually a few weeks and when you do, its usually a quick 2 minutes where he/she writes you a prescription and sends you on your way. You have no choice of doctor under the current system. If it ain't your primary care, good luck trying to see someone else. How long does that take? Usually it doesn't get approved at all. This is the reality of the current system. The fact that the insurance companies and their PR firms are on the attack/defensive means we are having an impact. This is a good thing.

I noticed that the woman from Canada who went to Mayo Clinic didn't say how much her brain surgery cost her. Tim did a great job under very adverse conditions.
I am in favor of single-payer. Lois

I forgot to say that when Kelly commented that Canadians can cross the border and come to the US for health care, what border will Americans have to cross? the answer is "Mexico"--where I live--and where all legal immigrants (which I am) can get good health care for at least 1/4 of the cost in US.

I thought that Tim was as good as he could be under the circumstances.
Trying to speak over that 'wanna be" acting journalist who's name should be "Megym" denoting her android type personna, instead of her trendy spelling of the name Megan, had to be next to impossible especially when you are trying to deliver a real public service message.
Her rude and sarcastic tone throughout the interview was evident and when she tried to characterize Tim's appearance as a "promo" it signaled to me that its 'Fix' news at it again.
Overall I thought Tim's ability to remain focused throughout that sham of an interviw so that he could make his point was nothing short of terrific.

thanks donald

The stats Fox threw out were junk. People in Canada do not wait 12 weeks for an OBGYN appointment. According to a Canadian nurse I had a number of long conversations with, the people coming to the USA for operations are the wealthy who can afford to make the trip. Bottom line is when they have the procedure in the USA, Canadian health care still PAYS for it!
Only those working for insurance companies and others willfully ignorant are against Single Payer.

Tim was good, but he failed to emphasize that single payer only applies to payment and does
not cover providers. Providing care is still private, choice is not limited and care is not rationed.
Ralph Erickson, PDLA

Tim's appearance on the Fox news show was excellent!

That's even considering that the news anchor has an ear piece and up to three monitors with editors feeding talking points (rather lame as it turns out 'illegal immigrants' and dis-satisfied Canadians) while the guest is isolated in another studio, often another town, without such support and often not even a view of the host while being interviewed.

Tim held up very well, while the anchor remained befuddled and continued to ignore and mis-characterize Tim's reasoned answers.

Many in this blog have pointed out that even with our current US healthcare system, there are many who are not only dis-satisfied, but don't have the luxury of dissatisfaction because they have no health care option what so ever.

I have sat in a hospital ER (we got out of the waiting room in about 30 minutes) with my elderly mom for 16 hours (and she was covered by Medicare A & B) so to pretend that our health care is the 'best in the world' is having the 'world view' of an ostrich with it's head buried in the dirt. (And it's butt hanging out.)

Single Payer Universal Health Care for All, privately delivered, publicly funded is not only morally sensible, it is economically sensible when all the costs are truly evaluated. There's plenty of independent studies out there that support this. But not from the political think tanks or the Insurance Company shames who's only interest is in maintaining healthcare-for-profit, and allowing a non-medical clerk determine the procedures and drugs that are permitted (affordable to the insurance companies) based on the bottom-line profit.

Your doctors first question should not need be: "What insurance do you have?" it should be: "What wrong? How can I help?"

Tim should have clarified the issue of choice which is the key criticism that worries people about single payer. Under single payer, individuals can choose their doctor and hospitals. The government only funds medical care, it doesn't provide it. Just like Medicare.
In the current system, insurance companies and HMO restrict the choice of doctors and hospitals, even of types of treatments. In some cares they arbitrarily deny coverage. That's not choice.
That's a powerful point that demolishes the right's silly lies about "choice".

Everyone in the S-P movement should be familiar with talking points and responses to the most common untruths used by the right.

Single payer health care is the only way all Americans will have adequate health care. The worry about illegals is redicuious. They put a lot of money into the system and cost us more now throulgh use of emergency rooms, etc. That is an excuse not a reaseon to hang on to the system now in place.

It upsets me when people like her say that Canadians are waiting an insufferable amount of time for health care when the latest wait times, which are made public in Canada's single-payer system, for non-emergency surgery is now 4 to 3 weeks (1). And when America was compared with 5 other industrialized nations, all with some form of single-payer, they found that Americans, along with Canadians, were more likely to say they waited six days or more for an appointment with a doctor or had trouble getting care on nights and weekends (2). And when taken into account how many of the 48 million Americans without health insurance are not able to go to the hospital I think our average waiting time for care would rise significantly. Even Business Weekly is acknowledging that the constant bashing of the Canadian system isn't founded in fact, and that wait times in America are either waiting as long or longer than the nations with single-payer healthcare (3).

1. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender....
2. http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Publica...
3. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07...

my work friend lived in sanfracisco for many years. he says we dont realize how lucky we are in the uk to have an affordable and decent health care system. it seems america is behind the times.

I strongly support a single-payer health-care system, and understand that the people who don't support such a system represent those (like insurance companies) who believe that they have a lot to lose under such a system.
As for Canadians and Brits, most of those with whom I've talked would never trade their system for ours. No system is perfect, but they are generally happy with theirs. If doctors are plentiful, as in the U.S., there is no reason for the long waits that some describe. And certainly, without such a system, many of our citizens will never be able to afford the health care they need.

I know many Canadians friends who would agree with Tim, who have recently undergone surgery with no delay and were very happy. He needs to challenge that Canadian woman who had to wait 6 months... I don't believe her...she is probably a shill for CPR Rick Scott.

Holy Cow! Fox: "fair and balanced" - you bet. Where do they get these airheads who pretend to be news anchors?

I have relatives in Canada and have traveled Canada from West coast to the
Maritimes. And the Right is wrong about the Candian system.

It would be nice if Fox and its "friends" cared about facts. The Right cares only about profits. Fox and the GOP and the health insurance and
drug company cabals that back both are launching a campaign of hysteria and
propoganda to protect their financial interests. Anyone who thinks Fox, the GOP et al gives a rat's patoot about health care should think again.

The specialist she speaks of are all in the states for the same reason the got into medicine. GREAD! With the last country that can afford quality health care for all (US) joining the rest of the civilized world. All doctors will get the compensation they deserve and, not super wealth with minimal hours.

You GO Tim!!! A barrage of words is the only way to drown out the pre-programmed questions designed to make a guest look stupid. These interviewers are not looking for intelligent discourse, but a way to tear down and humiliate the guest in any way possible.... most of the time cutting off any answer which hints at truth by interrupting, talking over, ignoring the response, etc ...

thanks susan

Wow, now I know why I don't watch Fox so-called News! I think Tim Carpenter did very well at keeping his cool and getting his points across within their usual set-up, in which the reporter frames the issue in an appeal to fear and won't let the guest talk. They even cut off his audio near the end, and then rudely commented, "He's a talker," etc. Obviously there's no way to have a reasoned, intelligent discussion this way, so he was smart to repeatedly let viewers know about websites where they can learn more. Hopefully, the more discerning and open-minded viewers will do so.

thanks Emmie

Why do you have that back stabbing kucinich on the top of this "progressive" site?
Also I am still appalled that Tim had a kerry person come down to Roxbury for the Progressive Convention and give a power point presentation of how we the Progressives would be used and get shafted if kerry won; and try to tell us it was our job to get kerry elected. Senator kerry did not stand-up for the voters of Florida and America in 2000 or the voters in Ohio in 2004, and don't get me started on his spinelessness while bush was occupying the White House. I have no regrets for not supporting him.

Thomas Higgins
2004 Stabbed in the back DNC Kucinich Delegate - Alaska

Single-payer health care reform is off the table. Beyond the fact that it “had a snow balls chance in hell” of becoming a reality in our right-leaning country, the President never once promised this during his lengthy campaign. Right now it is more important than ever to ensure that the insurance and health care industry lobbyists don't succeed in stripping a public option from the President's plan!

While we are busy fighting for single-payer helath care, opponents are stepping up the criticism of the health care plan that is on the table right now! On Sunday, May 31st, Conservatives for Patients Rights will air on NBC a "documentary" full of lies about the President's proposed plan!

Yes, in a perfect world we would have single-payer but if we keep ignoring the battle that is going on right now we will have nothing!

Swift Boating Obama’s public health care option - http://tinyurl.com/kmzm4u

Another Fox interviewer who wants to be listened instead of getting more knowledge of the interviewed. To much ego for me.

Single payer is the only plan that will give complete health care to everyone. All other plans are exclusionary and slanted to provide the best care to those who can pay the most.
I boycott everything that is owned by the fascist Rupert Murdoch. I won't even pick up the free Village Voice.
I don't watch Fox news as I consider it propaganda. Notice how Megyn Kelly was trying to bully Tim Carpenter. He held his own and gets my congratulations- most lose when up against Joseph Goebbels and his children.
The sad fact is is that we live in a fascist empire whose Homeland needs protecting. Wake up people before the transition to a full fledged police state is completed by the fascist ruling class for which FOX news is the mouthpiece. They will keep you nice and safe from everybody and everything except them. You will spend your lives working hard for nothing and will be only too happy to die. Health care will be staying out of the detention camps and not criticizing anything lest you be labelled a "terrorist."
Now go buy something or distract yourself with entertainment which includes the newstainment of the mass media. The truth hurts so don't think about it. Maybe you won't be one of the ones they drag off in the middle of the night.
r c wilson
http://groups.google.com/group/bnooz_2007

There is no room for intelligent dialogue at Faux News. Tim knew this beforehand and simply tried to provide viewers with important references (PNHP and Cal Nurses Assoc.) to further explore the subject with sparked curiousity and intellectual honesty.......And if he aroused the curiousity of even a few in the the Fox News matrix, that's atleast a beginning. He braced himself for the attacks and distortions of a vicious Barbie, and did a decent job of it, considering the hostile and limited set of circumstances. Thank You Tim. It required great heart and nerves of steel to pull this off.

thanks Najma

Najma hey that distortion in the mirror I bet its hideous. Your mother wasn't named Barbie was it. Hey the new plan will cover plastic surgery for your face.

This debate clearly shows whats wrong with our country and where stupidity breeds more stupidity. The Pretty blonde with all boobs and no brains will easily lead the no nothings of our country who want to be led and fed by fear mongering so long as the fear mongerers are white, good looking, and are on FOX news! To debate these people is clearly a waste of time because anyone who watches FOX are usually not swayed by anything they here from people with common sense especially if they are a liberal voice. Unfortunately the only way to get these peoples attention is to put out our own beautiful big boobed bimbos and teach them how to debate those from FOX. Sounds sexist doesn't it?

No brains, no problem the new plan will cove new brains.

Hey hmmmm free boobs too, I'm getting to like the plan even more. Richard I'm glad you like boobs, you must otherwise you wouldn't have notice. oh yea boooooooooooooooooooooooooobssssssssss

thanks SnowBrdr

Who is Snowbrdr are you drunk? AA service no charge. Oh you can't be drunk because they have tax alcohol to the outer reaches of space to pay for the plan, no one can buy alcohol or smokes. How are we going to pay for CHIPS. Ted he's got the answer, my I suggest universal smoke and alcohol for everyone, not were cookin.

Tim - I love the exposure and think you did GREAT. The one point I would make over and over is that length of time, speed or wait, for access to health care is a question of how people in a democracy choose to allocate and prioritize funding. More money, more speed. Less money, less speed. Our choice. We want the best for everyone. Period . B

Does anybody came back the next day as see if someone replied to there posting. The best is going to cost Bruce but if we have a few cracks in the plan all would be good. I'm for fast cheap cracks.

I meant come back

Dear Mr. Carpenter,

While your knowledge of the subject may be excellent, your performance was miserable. People need to understand how the US. healthcare system is failing them. They need to be reminded of all the people falling through the cracks. And that they are not sake with the existing system. That the existing system doesn't necessarily cover them. Get some great horror stories for next time, if there is one. Win their sympathy. THEN you can make your point about how the huge cut in bureaucracy makes universal health care both more effective and more affordable.

Matt H. no horror stories unless psychological services are covered 100%. My babies wont sleep at night but if the plan covers babysitting I'm cool with the horror stories.

I wish you had done a better job explaining how a single payer system would work in the U.S. Most right wingers are not going to go to the PDA website to learn more.

Oh Therese ye of little faith I'm here, I sure hope optimism classes are covered.

After you cut out all the waste and inefficiency from the system and reduce cost were do the next cost containment come from, how do you pay to keep the program going? Were is the personal responsibility for living a healthful life What everyone is missing the United States is a unhealthy and obese country that is where the cost are. I exercise eat right watch my weight never go to a doctor why should I pay for the health care for a obese person just like the guy on the front of your website looks that is an old picture and 70 or 80 pounds. Plus we pay a fortune in medical expenses the last 6 months of our lives. Is Progressive Democrats of America going to decide what medical procedure are going to be done. The United States government has done a great job with Social Security, medicare and medicaid.

Thanks to Tim for being so persistent and PREPARED to get his message out to the people of America who watch Fox News!

thanks Jim and Matthew...onward!

I am a single payer supporter but I also believe that the 22,000 people who may die in the next year because they lack health insurance deserve relief now. Single payer legislation has 77 congressional supporters and is not going to be passed soon. Polls show much higher support for having a choice between private insurance and public insurance than they show for public insurance as the only choice. This is the political moment when a major health care reform could be passed and if we lose it, it could be another 15 years before the moment comes round again. As hard as we've tried to build the single payer movement over the last 15 years, the base is not there to pass it. A Medicare-type public option which private health insurers would have to compete with could be a huge step forward for real health care reform IF the public option is crafted correctly. We only have a few more weeks to influence what the public option will look like. Is it really most useful to have PDA members out denouncing the public health insurance option? Certainly the health care industry and the Republicans are convinced that if the Congress passes legislation with a strong public option, private health insurance can't possibly compete in the long run. Many of us single payer advocates believe enactment of a public option is the best shot we have at getting a single payer system in the future.

Kudos to Tim Carpenter. He did a great job considering the venue. Hopefully a little bit of truth filtered around all the distractions.

I hate to tell you all that are so worried about having to pay for illegal immigrants that we already do. It's the law. Anyone that comes into the ER or a clinic gets treated. If the patient can't or doesn't pay, well, guess who does? Certainly not the private insurance companies. They only like to insure healthy people that have money. It's business you see. They make money by not providing care. I've been a nurse for 30 years and I'm a breast cancer survivor. I can tell you from looking at this system from every angle for a long time - our healthcare system is inadequate in every way. It can be done better. Non-profit single payer is the way to go. Keeping private health insurance is perpetuating the system of haves and have nots. By the way, MediCare is struggling because it's now saddled with a pharmaceutical plan that only benefits the pharmaceutical companies. Plus it only insures people over 65 years old who are more likely to have medical problems and people who are permanently disabled. These are the folks that private insurance won't touch because their medical needs would cut into the profit margin. Eliminate the profit factor, the multiple administrative costs of multiple insurance companies (almost a third of our current healthcare costs) and include more healthy people paying into the system and there would be enough money to provide adequate, timely healthcare for everyone.

Frankly, I think Tim did a lousy job of dealing with this right-wing hack. Every one of her challenges could have been answered in a simple, straightforward way, but instead he allowed her to purvey her propaganda without effective responses.
I could have done a much better job myself - and I'm no "expert."
On the other hand, what are the odds that we are going to change the minds of any Fox news watchers?
By the way, I lived in Great Britain for 3-1/2 years and got excellent care from the National Health Service. Having an appendicitis attack, I had a doctor come to my home to examine me, and was operated on within 24 hours. My wife gave birth in the most humane environment I could imagine, one I could not envision in the US at the time. I can only say I was completely disappointed with the US system when I returned, and over the last few years I found out that all my American physicians felt the same. Socialized medicine is great! (but let's stick with HR676 for now)

Why did the broad keep interrupting?
Yes we need a single payer system, and it would be good for american if fox news was taken off the air.

I am absolutely against any health care reform that depends upon a "trigger" -- a trigger will be its death.

We need some clear goals for any health care reform, and I suggest the following:

1. Universal coverage. Not 98%, not 99%, but universal.

2. And I mean coverage, not merely insurance. So many people are underinsured today in order to keep policies affordable. This is a false affordability, because being underinsured means not covered in many situations.

3. We must make medical bankruptcies obsolete! It must no longer be possible to have "coverage" in the US yet go bankrupt for medical expenses. And, of course, everyone must be covered.

If any proposal fails to achieve the above, or has a big delay or trigger, then send it back! Our message must still be "Yes We Can".

Universal coverage? Yes We Can!

No more underinsured? Yes We Can!

No medical bankruptcies? Yes We Can!

I suggest that, as a first step, Congress should fix the problems with Medicare Part D. Medicare Part D was designed to bankrupt Medicare and to provide a need to buy private coverage. We must have as one of our slogans "No More Medicare Part Ds!"

Don't buy the argument that America can't do this. Yes We Can!

Could we take a cue from how we deal with agricultural overproduction? Since it is clear that we can’t do away with the private health insurance companies, can we pay them some hefty fees NOT to provide health insurance, as long as they leave us alone and we have a good public health funding program? They really don’t care about their clerks and forms and stuff, so as long as the government gives them enough money to pay their executive salaries and some return to shareholders, that should be enough, right? We could then simplify the rest of health care funding with a single-payer system and use the savings to pay the subsidy.

If we can pay corporate farmers not to farm, we certainly can pay insurance companies not to complicate health care.

I always thought that news coverage was supposed to be unbiased. So much for objectivity. The section where Tim's voice was blocked out and where the camera focused soley on Kelly was a bit frightening; it made me think of this broadcast as more worthy of Big Brother than anything else. I never really watched Fox before and so didn't realize how reactionary their spin was: now I think they are truly despicable.

Tim Carpenter was great in spite of the aggressive, negative host. The public is tired of people intimidating others into silence. Fox is way behind the curve in registering public sentiment.

Hooray for Tim!

Linda Furr

I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY ANYONE WOULD APPEAR ON FAUX NEWS AND LEND CREDIBILITY TO A NETWORK DEDICATED TO CONVERTING THE MERELY IGNORANT TO THE TOTALLY STUPID.

CARPENTER'S MIKE WAS TURNED OFF, HE WAS "OVERTALKED", AND VERY LITTLE OF HIS MESSAGE GOT THROUGH. WITH THEIR BIAS AND CONTROL, IT'S MERELY A MATTER OF ALLOWING THE 25% IDIOT CROWD TO PRAISE FAUX NEWS.
IT WAS A WASTE OF TIME.

Try to find and see the report on the Canadian single-payer system presented by Dana Bash on CNN the week of July 6, 2009 - it may have been 7/8/09. It should be responded to, it was shallow, emotional, inaccurate, superficial and silly. To me it clearly exposed CNN editorial policy as pro Republican as opposed to objective as it tries to claim. Best wishes.

The health care debate should be between those who support expansion of Medicare to create universal Single Payer, which is HR-676 and advocates of expansion of the Veterans Health Administration, which would be like the British system. Patents of the VHA have the best health outcomes at the lowest cost of any group in the U.S.A. I believe our best choice would be to expand the VHA to cover everyone. It solves the problems created by fee for service because the health care professionals are salaried, so there is no financial incentive for excessive tests or procedures

The Bumper Sticker talking point: I support single payer. I have Medicare

wtf where is the fox video. fox needs a disclaimer for entertainment only!

It's interesting that the Fox News video you have linked to here that was at this location http://blog.pdamerica.org/2009/05/tim-carpenter...

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.....comes up as having been "removed by the user"

Did anyone else copy this? Evidently the case was made so well that Fox had to censor it, eh?