Frank Luntz, Cunning Linguist part 2: framing healthcare

Want to spend a few hours barfing this evening?  Head over here (pdf) and have a lookie-loo at Frank Luntz's leaked memo to the GOP on how to frame the healthcare debate in favor of gigantic, obscenely profiting health insurance companies and against the citizens of the USA.   For Pete's sake, even Luntz says the status quo is no longer acceptable, but they pay him the big bucks to come up with language that will screw us all.  Pay special attention, because Luntz is no stranger to Canadian wingnut audiences.   The Civitas Society in particular is quite fond of him.  When you start hearing your politicians talking like this, it's pitchfork and torch time. 

It's no mistake that they've trotted out someone like Canadian healthcare prostitute Shona Holmes to rant and rave and lie about waiting for "life saving" brain surgery.  Time is of the essence to Americans.

3) “Time” is the government healthcare killer. As Mick Jagger once sang, “Time is on Your Side.” Nothing else turns people against the government takeover of healthcare than the realistic expectation that it will result in delayed and potentially even denied treatment, procedures and/or medications. “Waiting to buy a car or even a house won’t kill you. But waiting for the healthcare you need – could. Delayed care is denied care.”

Sorry Luntz, you'd better stick to quoting bands you know something about, like Air Supply.  You might have a chance at getting the lyrics right.  Oh, and also, a lot of the wait times stuff is complete bullshit as those of us in single-payer land know.   Have I mentioned that I had to wait 2 months for a pap test, and then another 2 months when I had to reschedule?  That was in the US.  

Here's another big fat lie from the mind of Luntz (blatant bullshit bolded):

(5) The healthcare denial horror stories from Canada & Co. do resonate, but you have to humanize them. You’ll notice we recommend the phrase “government takeover” rather than “government run” or “government controlled” It’s because too many politician say “we don’t want a government run healthcare system like Canada or Great Britain” without explaining those consequences. There is a better approach. “In countries with government run healthcare, politicians make YOUR healthcare decisions. THEY decide if you’ll get the procedure you need, or if you are disqualified because the treatment is too expensive or because you are too old. We can’t have that in America.”

Funny thing, see, when I was needing an urgent MRI last year, my doctors didn't check in with anyone from the government.   My MLA and MP had nothing to do with it.  I'm pretty sure they don't even know anything about it since they didn't send flowers, the schmucks.  And talk about being disqualified?!?  Are you fucking kidding me?  Tell it to the 20,000 people in California disqualified by Blue Cross alone. 

Here's some of the nifty text boxes from the document "How to Fuck Over Americans for Fun and Profit":

WORDS THAT WORK
If you can’t get the treatment you need, when you need it, there is a
crisis.

If you are denied the ability to choose the doctor or hospital that’s
best for you, then it is a crisis.

If you can’t afford the coverage you need for you and your family,
then you have a crisis.

We need to stop looking at it from a global perspective and restore the
humanity to healthcare. We need to focus more on people and less on
the system.

 

snip

 

WORDS THAT WORK A LOT BETTER
We need to carefully address America’s healthcare challenges. Let’s
find immediate, measurable ways to make it more accessible and
affordable without jeopardizing quality, individual choice, or
personalized care. And let’s protect the doctor-patient relationship

Phase 1. Collect underpants.  Phase 2. ?    Phase 3. Profit.  

 

Here's a scary one.  Allow me to switch the word "Canadian" for "American" and localize the parties.  Remember this.  And  when you finally hear a Canadian politician say these words out in the open you will recognize it for what it is.

WORDS THAT WORK:

THE PERFECT PLATFORM FOR HEALTHCARE REFORM
“As a matter of principle, Conservatives/BC Liberals are firmly committed to providing
genuine access to affordable, quality healthcare for every Canadian.
The time has come to create a balanced, common sense approach that
will guarantee that Canadians can receive the care they deserve and
protect the sacred doctor-patient relationship. We will oppose any
politician-run system that denies you the treatments you need, when
you need them.

Luntz's overall message is to make health care in the US a personal issue, not an economic one.  The truthiness - it's in the gut. His almighty focus groups have decreed that they don't care about money, they're just scared that Nancy Pelosi is going to personally deny their dear mother's heart surgery.   Well guess what?  The Republicans want you to to quit smoking and drinking, stop eating junk food and meat, exercise, and get a colonoscopy, while they eat steak, foie gras, and compare pictures of their mistresses. When they OD on viagra and/or have a heart attack, they'll enjoy gold-plated, taxpayer funded healthcare, suckahs! 

WORDS THAT WORK

We have a system that rewards insurance companies for insuring
people who are not sick and are not going to get sick, and then we
penalize companies that insure people who are sick. Five diseases
account for 75% of all healthcare dollars in this country – five
preventable diseases. Prevention is the key for us if we want to
control healthcare costs. – Senator Tom Coburn

I hope you'll go read the rest of it so when you hear politicians saying "One size does not fit all" in regards to healthcare, know it came straight from the beard of Frank Luntz, paid handsomely to find the words with which to fuck you over.