Dr. Susan Rogers: As Second Version of GOP Senate Healthcare Bill Dies, Support for a Single-Payer, Universal System Grows

Award-winning Investigative Journalist Robert Parry (1949-2018)

Award-winning investigative journalist and founder/editor of ConsortiumNews.com, Robert Parry has passed away. His ground-breaking work uncovering Reagan-era dirty wars in Central America and many other illegal and immoral policies conducted by successive administrations and U.S. intelligence agencies, stands as an inspiration to all in journalists working in the public interest.

Robert had been a regular guest on our Between The Lines and Counterpoint radio shows -- and many other progressive outlets across the U.S. over four decades.

His penetrating analysis of U.S. foreign policy and international conflicts will be sorely missed, and not easily replaced. His son Nat Parry writes a tribute to his father: Robert Parry’s Legacy and the Future of Consortiumnews.

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The Resistance Starts Now!

Between The Lines' coverage and resource compilation of the Resistance Movement

"The man who predicted Trump presidential win now says Trump impeachment could happen," AM Joy with Joy Reid, MSNBC, Jan. 21, 2018
"Sketchy Kazakh money finds its way into Trump dealings," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Red flags seen in many Trump real estate deals," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Secret Money: How Trump Made Millions Selling Condos To Unknown Buyers," BuzzFeed, Jan. 12, 2018
"The Scandals of Donald Trump: Presidential Edition," The Atlantic, May 15, 2017
"Here's what we know so far about Team Trump's ties to Russian interests," Washington Post's ongoing compilation
"What Comey Was Investigating, Explained," The Moscow Project, Center for American Progress

"Donald Trump's Financial Ties to Russian Oligarchs and Mobsters Detailed In Explosive New Documentary from the Netherlands," Dutch TV documentary, Alternet.org, May 12, 2017
Ongoing compilation of Trump's creeping authoritarianism," MotherJones.com
Full resource list ...

SPECIAL REPORT: "The Resistance - Women's March 2018 - Hartford, Connecticut" Jan. 20, 2018

Selected speeches from the Women's March in Hartford, Connecticut 2018, recorded and produced by Scott Harris

SPECIAL REPORT: "No Fracking Waste in CT!" Jan. 14, 2018

Jen Siskind Jennifer Siskind, local coordinator for Food and Water Watch, describes the campaign to stop fracking waste in Connecticut, which so far has led to fracking waste bans in 34 towns around the state. Interviewed by Richard Hill on Mic Check, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT

SPECIAL REPORT: "Resistance Round Table: The Unraveling Continues..." Jan. 13, 2018

Lindsay Kanaly The panel discusses Trump's long history of racism and the Republican voter suppression juggernaut confronting Democrats leading up to the 2018 elections. Special guest: Lindsay Kanaly, a lead organizer of the Women's Marches planned for Jan. 20, 2018. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill on Resistance Roundtable, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT.

SPECIAL REPORT: "Capitalism to the ash heap?" Richard Wolff, Jan. 2, 2018

Richard Wolff, Economics professor Richard Wolff declares U.S. capitalism to be beyond repair and suggests the need for a radical alternative. Interviewed by Richard Hill

SPECIAL REPORT: Maryn McKenna, author of "Big Chicken", Dec. 7, 2017

Maryn McKenna, investigative journalist and author of Big Chicken, talks about the widespread use and dangers of antibiotics in commercial poultry, beef and fruit production. Interview by Bill Duesing, Richard Hill and Guy Beardsly on WPKN's Organic Farm Stand.

SPECIAL REPORT: Nina Turner's address, Working Families Party Awards Banquet, Dec. 14, 2017

Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution, talks about the fight ahead for progressives as she receives the Working Families Organization Award for Exceptional Leadership Towards Advancing Progress. The event was held in Meriden, CT. Produced by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Dec. 12, 2017

Working Families Party of CT talks strategy and issues for 2018.
Lindsay Farrell, executive director of the Working Families Party of Connecticut, discusses the state's electoral landscape and lays out the issues and strategies that could lead to progressive victories in 2018. Interviewed by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Dec. 9, 2017

Disturbing developments in the Trump/Republican Agenda
Focus on the tax bill, destruction of our public lands, North Korea and Trump's private CIA. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill. Special guest: Jo Macallero of Rise and Resist.

SPECIAL REPORT: On Tyranny - one year later, Nov. 28, 2017

Professor Timothy Snyder, author of the highly acclaimed resistance manual On Tyranny, discusses his book and offers a fresh assessment of the state of our beleaguered republic. Timothy Snyder, history professor at Yale, is introduced by Stanley Heller, administrator of Promoting Enduring Peace, a Connecticut-based organization that sponsored this event at the United Church Parish House in New Haven on Nov. 28. A brief interview with Snyder conducted by WPKN radio producer, Richard Hill, follows his talk.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Nov. 12, 2017

Lynne Ide, director of program and policy with the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, talks about the current state of health care coverage in Connecticut. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Nov. 11, 2017

Focus on the Republican tax plan, the just-released autopsy on the Democratic Party, and Internet censorship by Google, Facebook and Youtube. Including an interview with Hilary Grant, a lead organizer with Action Together Connecticut, who discusses the local results of the recent election, with hosts Richard Hill, Scott Harris and Ruth Baumgartner WPKN producers

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Two leaders from Redneck Revolt, an anti-racist, anti-capitalist movement, talk about their work organizing with white working class people in Suffolk County, New York. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Bruce Gagnon, coordinator for the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, describes the extent of -- and motives underlying -- the vast US network of military bases around the globe. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resisting U.S. JeJu Island military base in South Korea, Oct. 24, 2017

Joyakol, South Korean peace activist and singer, discusses the crisis on the Korean peninsula and focuses on the resistance to the U.S. huge military base being constructed on Jeju Island. The event was sponsored by the Greater New Haven Peace Council and this audio was recorded by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.
Joyakol discusses Americans' biggest misconceptions about the conflict between North and South Korea and the U.S., Interview by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.

SPECIAL REPORT: John Allen, Out in New Haven

John Allen, founding director of the New Haven Pride Center, Connecticut, talks about his new LGBTQ television show, Out in New Haven, which presents a range of political and cultural issues to the community. Interviewed by Richard Hill on WPKN's Rainy Day Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018.

2017 Gandhi Peace Awards

Promoting Enduring Peace presented its Gandhi Peace Award jointly to renowned consumer advocate Ralph Nader and BDS founder Omar Barghouti on April 23, 2017.

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THANK YOU TO EVERYONE...

who helped make our 25th anniversary with Jeremy Scahill a success!

For those who missed the event, or were there and really wanted to fully absorb its import, here it is in video

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 1 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 2 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Between The Lines on Stitcher

Between The Lines Presentation at the Left Forum 2016

"How Do We Build A Mass Movement to Reverse Runaway Inequality?" with Les Leopold, author of "Runaway Inequality: An Activist's Guide to Economic Justice,"May 22, 2016, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, 860 11th Ave. (Between 58th and 59th), New York City. Between The Lines' Scott Harris and Richard Hill moderated this workshop. Listen to the audio/slideshows and more from this workshop.

Listen to audio of the plenary sessions from the weekend.

JEREMY SCAHILL: Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker "Dirty Wars"

Listen to the full interview (30:33) with Jeremy Scahill, an award-winning investigative journalist with the Nation Magazine, correspondent for Democracy Now! and author of the bestselling book, "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army," about America's outsourcing of its military. In an exclusive interview with Counterpoint's Scott Harris on Sept. 16, 2013, Scahill talks about his latest book, "Dirty Wars, The World is a Battlefield," also made into a documentary film under the same title, and was nominated Dec. 5, 2013 for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Feature category.

Listen to Scott Harris Live on WPKN Radio

Between The Lines' Executive Producer Scott Harris hosts a live, weekly talk show, Counterpoint, from which some of Between The Lines' interviews are excerpted. Listen every Monday evening from 8 to 10 p.m. EDT at www.WPKN.org (Follows the 5-7 minute White Rose Calendar.)

Counterpoint in its entirety is archived after midnight ET Monday nights, and is available for at least a year following broadcast in WPKN Radio's Archives.

You can also listen to full unedited interview segments from Counterpoint, which are generally available some time the day following broadcast.

Subscribe to Counterpoint bulletins via our subscriptions page.

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As GOP Senate Repeal and Replace Bill Dies, Support for Single-Payer, Universal Healthcare System Grows

Posted July 19, 2017

Interview with Susan Rogers, retired Chicago internist and advisor to the group Physicians for a National Health Program, conducted by Scott Harris

Not long after it was unveiled on July 13, the second version of the proposed Senate Republican healthcare bill to repeal and replace Obamacare collapsed. A total of four senators announced their opposition to the legislation, which could only afford to lose two votes among the Republican’s slim 52-seat Senate majority. All of the 46 Democrats and two independents had pledged to vote against the measure.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell then moved to a third attempt to make good on the GOP’s long-running campaign pledge to repeal President Obama’s signature healthcare legislation. Following the lead of President Trump, McConnell said he was going to move to repeal Obamacare very soon, and leave debate over a replacement plan for a future date. But not long after his “Plan C” was announced, three Senate Republicans declared their opposition to that plan, killing the standalone repeal attempt.

In its second version, the Senate repeal and replace plan would have maintained the dramatic cuts to Medicaid, assuring that 15 million Americans would have lost their health insurance by 2026, with millions more losing coverage due to higher premiums without subsidies. An amendment by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz would have allowed insurers to offer cheaper policies with few benefits and discriminate against those with pre-existing conditions. Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with Dr. Susan Rogers, an adviser to the group Physicians for a National Health Program, who assesses the now dead second version of the Senate GOP healthcare bill and reflects on how the current national debate has effected the campaign advocating the adoption of a single- payer, universal healthcare system that would cover all Americans.

DR. SUSAN ROGERS: This bill is, I mean, it's as close to health care reform as an elephant is to a mouse. There is no reform in that bill at all. All it does is it decimates Medicaid in order to subsidize tax benefits to the wealthy. One of the misconceptions about the Affordable Care Act is that that's been the cause for insurance premiums to rise, deductibles to rise, co-payments for care to rise. But all that started way before the Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act did not cause that. It may have perpetuated it, it made it happen a little bit faster.

But this new bill does not any change to how health care is delivered. All it does is provides is it provides a way to cut benefits to provide less coverage to people so that people end up buying an insurance policy that essentially offers them no coverage. There's a lot of benefits that the Affordable Care Act did do, like allowing children to stay on their parents' policy until they were 26. It required some benefits that needed to be included such as maternity care, physical therapy, long-term care, a whole variety of things that they've now taken out so that insurance companies don't have to provide this. So what it does is it just says it's an insurance policy, but it's really not insuring people, because what they've done is to make if affordable, they've deleted the benefits. And then Medicaid, which is a big provider of health care, they've just decimated and the number of people who are now going to be uninsured is phenomenal.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Certainly, the Republican effort to repeal and replace Obamacare has focused a lot a national attention on the question of whether or not health care is a human right. And the Republicans certainly by and large have come down in opposition to the notion that people have a right to get healthcare when they're sick. How has this debate, your view, moved opinion, if at all, in the direction of people around the country now believing that health care is human right as it is in most of the other industrialized nations of the world who have a universal health care system of some kind in place?

DR. SUSAN ROGERS: Yes, well PNHP, Physicians for a National Health Program, clearly believe that health care is a right and like you say, more and more people are believing that, too. But a lot of the country does not, especially the Republicans who are sponsoring this bill. And one of the things that they promote is this argument that the market forces will finally stabilize health costs and will solve this whole healthcare problem and that competition in buying health insurance policies will – the competition itself will help lower cost. But it doesn't do that, because that does nothing to what the market allows things to cost. If we look at what we pay in this country, for example, for a chest x-ray. We pay maybe 10 times as much as other industrialized countries with a single-payer system. Same thing for everything. A cardiac bypass can cost three to four times as here in this country, and it's not any better here than it is elsewhere.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Dr. Rogers, how has all this controversy about Obamacare and now this Republican effort to repeal and replace Obamacare, how has it contributed or not to strengthening support for a single-payer universal health care system of some kind here in this country?

DR. SUSAN ROGERS: Yes, I think over the years, the numbers of people who support single-payer has increased and if you look nationally, it is now the majority of physicians nationally support a single-payer system. And I think there's just a lot of confusion about single-payer is, which really kind of tempers the support that we should be able garner and now the numbers, like I said, the numbers of doctors and nonphysicians who are supporting single-payer has increased.

Find more information on the campaign for single-payer, universal healthcare by visiting Physicians for a National Health Program at pnhp.org; Health Care Now at healthcare-now.org; and Health Care Over Profit at healthoverprofit.org.