That’s how Alan Grayson described the Republican stance against health care reform in an interview with Democratic Perspective. Grayson, you may remember is the outspoken former Florida Congressman who famously described the GOP health plan as: 1 – Don’t get sick. 2 – If you get sick, die quickly. Says Grayson, “I have been proven right, but I wish I was wrong.”
Grayson graduated with honors from Harvard in law and public policy. Prior to being elected to Congress, he was the first to sue contractors in Iraq for overcharging the US.
“The US is the only industrialized country without universal health care,” he said.
When the Democratic led Congress tried to reform health insurance, the Republicans fought every step. “Month after month, we heard nothing but potshots against our plan,” Grayson declared. “After President Obama made a speech about health care reform, Republicans waved their plan in the air on the House floor. After they were done, they left the papers. When I picked them up, I discovered they were blank pieces of paper. That’s what led to me describe their plan the way I did.”
“44,000 Americans die every year because they don’t have health care insurance,” he continued. “If you have two people of the same age and condition, the one without insurance is 40 percent more likely to die than the one with insurance. Five times more people die each year than all the soldiers killed in Iraq over 8 years.”
When asked about legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act, Grayson said he’s unsure. “I don’t know what will happen when the health care bill comes before the US Supreme Court. It’s occupied territory these days.”
But Grayson knows that our present insurance-based system needs to change. “Insurance companies take as much money from you as possible and pay as little for your care as possible. The rest is profit.”
“Because of the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies can no longer turn down customers for pre-existing conditions,” he continued. “And young people can be covered under their parents’ insurance until they’re 26. That’s huge because it’s very hard for young people to get coverage. Often, they can’t afford it. And most don’t receive health insurance from their employers.”
As for the future, Grayson says, “I’m really concerned about the next generation. I fear it’s a lost generation drowning in Republican propaganda.”
That’s why Grayson is running for Congress again. If you’re interested in supporting him, his website is www.CongressmanWithGuts.com.
He says his reasons are simple. “I want to see our basic problems solved,” he says. “23 million Americans can’t find jobs. 40 million depend on the government for food through food stamps. And 55 million can’t get health insurance.”