Subscribe to Dollars & Sense magazine. Recent articles related to the financial crisis. Sit-In for Single Payer THURS OCT 15thA coalition called the Mobilization for Health Care for All will be holding sit-ins THURSDAY, OCT 15th at insurance company offices across the country tomorrow (as part of an ongoing campaign) to press for a single-payer health care system—not this ridiculous give-away to the insurance companies that Congress is contemplating. I signed up to participate—you should too. Hat-tip to Mark Engler, whose brother is one of the organizers, through the Center for the Working Poor. —CSOn September 29th in New York City, the Mobilization for Health Care for All launched a national campaign of "Patients Not Profit" sit-ins at insurance company offices to demand an end to a system that profits by denying people care. We want the real "public option": Medicare for All, a single payer plan that cuts out the profit and puts patients first. Together, through this campaign, we can turn the tide and win the fight for health care for all. To succeed, we need to organize sit-ins in as many cities as possible in the month of October. The campaign began in New York City on September 29th and continues in Chicago on October 8th and in cities across the country on October 15th. After the 15th, we will continue to organize actions in as many cities as possible until we win health care reform that ensures that the insurance companies no longer stand between the American people and the health care that we need. It's time to cut out the profit and put patients first with Medicare for All. Insurance companies are the real death panels in America. They make billions in profit and millions for their CEOs while millions of Americans have no health insurance and over 45,000 die every year because they can't get the care they need. That's more than 120 people every day. These insurance companies deny care to their members and the American people for profit. America deserves better, and that's why we voted for change. But the insurance companies are spending millions to confuse and scare the public to keep us from ending their grip on our health and our money. With teabagger town hall protestors and the right-wing noise machine on their side, they're winning. We can't let that happen. It's time to take the fight to the real villain in the health care debate. When the civil rights movement faced a similar challenge in the struggle to end segregation, nonviolent civil disobedience moved the nation and made reform possible. Just like the lunch counter sit-ins did for the civil rights movement, we have to make it impossible for the media and our country to ignore how outrageous the status quo of private insurance is for the American people. It only takes a small group of people to do a sit-in in your community, but our actions can inspire every American who has been abused by the insurance companies and believes it's time for real reform to fight for it. This campaign of nonviolent civil disobedience will continue until the insurance companies no longer stand between the American people and the health care that is our right. Already, doctors, nurses, patients, and people just like you are signing up to be one of the 1000 ordinary but courageous people who will launch this nonviolent battle to end private insurance abuse and win health care for all. Join us! We can't wait any longer—every day more people die because of the insurance company death panels. Sign up to sit in and join the battle today! Labels: Center for the Working Poor, health care, health care reform, Healthcare NOW, Prosperity Agenda Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Rallies for Single-Payer in 50+ Cities 5/30From Healthcare Now!—important rallies this weekend, in a city near you (visit the website for a long list of cities and events--most are on Saturday):May 30th: National Day of Action Nationwide Rallies for Improved Medicare for All Join thousands of single-payer supporters in a nationwide week of action to support improved Medicare for all (HR 676). Single-payer activists will be gathering all over the country to say, "Healthcare, yes; Insurance companies, no," and to show solidarity with demonstrations at the AHIP (American Health Insurance Plans, a private health insurance lobby) conference in San Diego. If an action isn't already in your city, plan your own day of action! It can be a town hall meeting, demonstration in front of a local insurance company, film showing, vigil, or your own unique idea. Let us know what you'd like to start planning by contacting info@healthcare-now.org. 47 million Americans are uninsured. Private insurance rates are rising faster than inflation and our incomes. By 2025 the cost of private health insurance will exceed our projected income. Click here for more info including a list of cities and events. Labels: health care, Healthcare NOW, HR676, single-payer Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). National Call-In Day for HR 676From Healthcare-NOW!:Give America a Gift: Single-Payer National Healthcare Dear Healthcare-NOW! Supporter, This is your reminder that Monday, December 22nd, is the National Call-In Day to Support Single-Payer Healthcare, HR 676! With your help for just a few minutes, we can get the message through to Congress that we want to remove corporate greed from our healthcare system and provide a truly equitable, guaranteed healthcare program for everyone. Every call counts! Call to guarantee our representatives hear loud and clear from their constituents to get on board with HR 676: single-payer national health care Here's how: 1) Find out if your representative supports HR 676. 2) Fax or call your federal Representative.* If you don't know your congresspersons' district office phone number, please follow these five easy steps: 1. Go to www.VoteSmart.org. 2. Enter your ZIP code in the top left of the page. 3. Click on a congressperson. 4. Click on "Complete Contact Information" under their photo. 5. Their district office phone number and address are under their photo. 3) Ask for the Chief of Staff or Health Care Aide to leave your message and use these scripts to help shape the message of your call. HR676 Co-sponsor call: Hi, my name is ----------------. I am calling to thank Representative ___________________ for his/her support of HR676, John Conyers' National Health Insurance Act. Rep. Conyers plans to reintroduce HR676 shortly after the Congress is back in session in January, but I want to reaffirm my support for HR676, single payer healthcare legislation and ask Rep. ____________________ to do the same by signing on again as a co-sponsor working for true reform of this terrible healthcare system. I say no to Massachusetts style health care, and yes to single payer health care as proposed in HR 676. Single payer gives more freedom of choice and access to quality care for patients and it is the most economical way to make sure we all can access care when we need it. Now is the time to give the gift of healthcare for all to every American. Happy holidays and thank you. If you have any questions about single payer or about me, please call me at __________________. Non-co-sponsors call: Hi, my name is ----------------. I am calling to urge Representative ___________________ to support of HR676, John Conyers' National Health Insurance Act. Rep. Conyers plans to reintroduce HR676 shortly after the Congress is back in session in January, and I want to reaffirm my support for HR676, single payer healthcare legislation and ask Rep. ____________________ to do the same by signing on as a co-sponsor and working for true reform of this terrible healthcare system. I say no to Massachusetts style health care, and yes to single payer health care as proposed in HR 676. Single payer gives more freedom of choice and access to quality care for patients and it is the most economical way to make sure we all can access care when we need it. Now is the time to give the gift of healthcare for all to every American. Happy holidays and thank you. If you have any questions about single payer or about me, please call me at __________________. 4) Contact Senator Kennedy at his in-district office. Phone: 617-565-3170 / Fax: 617-565-3183. Senator Kennedy is proposing health care legislation early next year, and he needs to know that we want it to be single-payer. Message to Senator Kennedy: Hi, my name is ----------------. I am calling to urge Senator Kennedy to make his proposed legislation for health care reform single-payer. The current reform in Massachusetts is leaving thousands uninsured and is far too expensive to be sustained because it leaves profit in our health care system. In the most recent election, local ballot initiatives supporting single payer and opposing individual mandates passed by landslide margins in all ten legislative districts where they appeared. With almost all precincts tallied, roughly 73 percent of 181,000 voters in the ten districts voted YES in support of a single-payer system. Say no to Massachusetts style health care, and yes to single payer health care as proposed in HR 676. Happy holidays and thank you. If you have any questions about single payer or about me, please call me at __________________. Please forward this message widely and let us know how your calls went. Thanks for making single-payer national healthcare a priority this holiday season. In peace and health, National Staff Healthcare-NOW! P.S. Healthcare-NOW! survives on the generosity of our supporters. Please consider making a donation to support national efforts to pass HR 676. *Emails can also be sent in support of HR 676, but calls and faxes are considered to be the most effective way to get the word out to elected officials today. Labels: health care, Healthcare NOW, Physicians for a National Health Program, single-payer Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). |
