Single payer health care

Health Insurance Industry Eats Competition

July 26, 2015 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, www.popularresistance.org Educate! ACA, Health Care, health insurance industry, Single payer health care

By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese. Many have argued, though we have not, that the federal health law, the ACA, is a 'step in the right direction' or a 'step towards single payer.' Our analysis is that the ACA is a step in the wrong direction because it further entrenches and empowers the private health insurance industry. Since its passage in 2010, the ACA has led to greater privatization of our public insurances Medicaid and Medicare and greater consolidation of health insurers and health facilities. As you will read in the article below, we are moving in the direction of a single payer health system, but one in which the single payer (or perhaps there will be a few payers) are the private health insurance industry. In this system, the costs of health care will continue to sky rocket and those who cannot afford care will go without it.

Medicare Is Turning 50! Celebration Flash Mob

July 17, 2015 Nathan Wilkes, www.healthcareforallcolorado.org Organize! Health Care, Medicare for all, Single payer health care, Single-Payer

By Nathan Wilkes of Healthcare for All Colorado. Join Health Care for All Colorado and other supporters in a multi-city Flash Mob as part of a growing list of events across the country celebrating the Golden Anniversary of Medicare! We like it so much, we think it should be Protected, Improved, and Expanded to everyone!!! HCAC is coordinating flash mobs in Denver, Fort Collins, and Pueblo on Thursday, July 30th. Live in another city and want to lead one in your town? Let us know and we'll help you organize it! The "dance" is super easy and you can practice with our custom video.

Subsidies Upheld, But Health Needs Still Unmet

June 25, 2015 Dr. Robert Zarr, www.pnhp.org Organize! ACA, health, Health Care, Health Insurance, Single payer health care

By Dr. Robert Zarr for Physicians for a National Health Program. Washington, DC - Today’s decision by the Supreme Court in King v. Burwell to uphold the Affordable Care Act’s premium subsidies in about three dozen states will spare more than 6 million Americans the health and financial harms associated with the sudden loss of health insurance coverage. For that reason alone the decision must be welcomed: Having health insurance is better than not having coverage, as several research studies have shown. That said, the suffering that many Americans are experiencing today under our current health care arrangements is intolerable, with approximately 35 million people remaining uninsured, a comparable number underinsured, and rapidly growing barriers to medical care in the form of rising premiums, copayments, coinsurance and deductibles, and narrowing networks.

Supreme Court Case Exposes Flaws In Healthcare System

March 4, 2015 Physicians for a National Health Program, www.pnhp.org Educate! health, Health Care, Single payer health care

Regardless of how the court rules, the unfortunate reality is that the ACA won’t be able achieve universal coverage. It won’t make care affordable or protect people from medical bankruptcy. Nor will it be able to control costs. The ACA is fundamentally flawed in these respects because, by design, it perpetuates the central role of the private insurance industry and other corporate and for-profit interests (e.g. Big Pharma) in U.S. health care. In contrast, a single-payer system – an improved Medicare for All – would achieve truly universal care, affordability, and effective cost control. It would be simple to administer, saving approximately $400 billion annually by slashing the administrative bloat in our private-insurance-based system. That money would be redirected to clinical care. Copays and deductibles would be eliminated.

Doctor’s Group Hails Re-Introduction Of ‘Medicare For All’ Bill

February 4, 2015 Physicians for a National Health Program, www.pnhp.org Create! health, Health Care, Single payer health care

A national physicians group today hailed the reintroduction of a federal bill that would upgrade the Medicare program and swiftly expand it to cover the entire population. The “Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act,” H.R. 676, introduced last night by Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., with 44 other House members, would replace today’s welter of private health insurance companies with a single, streamlined public agency that would pay all medical claims, much like Medicare works for seniors today. Proponents say a Medicare-for-all system, also known as a single-payer system, would vastly simplify how the nation pays for care, improve patient health, restore free choice of physician, eliminate copays and deductibles, and yield substantial savings for individuals, families and the national economy.

What Happened To Universal Healthcare In Vermont

January 11, 2015 Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., M.P.H., and David U. Himmelstein, M.D., www.pnhp.org Educate! Healthcare, Single payer health care, Vermont

Gov. Peter Shumlin’s Dec. 17, 2014, announcement that he would not press forward with Vermont’s Green Mountain Care (GMC) reform arose from political calculus rather than fiscal necessity. GMC had veered away from a true single payer design over the past three years, forfeiting some potential cost savings. Yet even the diluted plan on the table before Shumlin’s announcement would probably have lowered total health spending in Vermont, while covering all of the state’s uninsured. It’s a misnomer to label Vermont’s Green Mountain Care plan “single payer.” It was hemmed in by federal restrictions that precluded including 100 percent of Vermonters in one plan, and its designers further compromised on features needed to maximize administrative savings and bargaining clout with drug firms, and improve health planning. But even the watered-down plan that emerged could have covered the uninsured, improved coverage for many who currently face high out-of-pocket costs, and actually reduced total health spending in the state – albeit far less than under a true single payer plan. A true single payer plan would have made covering long-term care affordable, and allowed the elimination of all copayments and deductibles. Vermont’s experience holds important lessons for single payer advocates.

Lessons On The Struggle For Health Care As A Human Right

January 4, 2015 Margaret Flowers, www.popularresistance.org Strategize! health, Health Care, Human Rights, Single payer health care

Many in the US don’t understand that they have human rights, let alone that their rights are being violated. The human rights framework is based on five core principles. Put simply, they are universality, that all people are included; equity, that all are able to participate; transparency, that all have access to information; accountability, that those who make decisions answer to the people; and participation, that all are able to participate in the process. It is the government’s responsibility to guarantee our human rights. Once we have this understanding of our rights, we see the violation of our human rights across a broad sector of issues whether it is the right to housing, education, a job with a living wage, healthcare, clean water and air or other rights. Then we can look more deeply to understand why these rights are being denied and that there are systemic root causes that are the same for all of these issues. All of our struggles face the same obstacles of monstrous industries that are driven by profit through exploitation of people and the planet and that control not only the lawmakers but in most areas, the method by which they are elected.

Shummy’s Surrender: Vermont Governor Goes South On Single Payer

December 19, 2014 Steve Early, www.PopularResistance.org Educate! health insurance industry, Healthcare, Single payer health care, Vermont

On Wednesday, December 17, the governor called a statehouse press conference to make a “major announcement.” That turned out to be good news for single payer foes locally and nationally—and bad news for campaigners to make “health care a human right.” Shumlin declared that “now is not the right time” to proceed with any fundamental overhaul of health care financing and delivery in Vermont. He claimed that the latest cost estimates for what’s known locally as Green Mountain Care (GMC) were higher than the $2 billion originally projected. GMC would create an “enormous” additional tax burden and high “risk of economic shock,” in a period when a “slower recovery from the great recession has tightened our state budget.” The governor has framed his push for Green Mountain Care, quite conservatively, as a boon for business, declaring at a re-election rally in September that “we are moving forward on the nation’s first single payer health care system that contains costs, takes the burden off of employers, and simplifies the system for all Vermonters.” Later that month, he sounded a bit more tentative, telling a radio audience: “If we come up with a financing plan that doesn’t grow jobs, economic opportunity, and make Vermont more prosperous, trust me, we’re not gonna do it.” In the same interview, he declared himself to be “one of the most pro-business, anti-tax governors that you’ve seen in a long time.”

Protesters Tell Vermont Governor: Career Is Toast Over Healthcare

December 18, 2014 Morgan True, www.vtdigger.org Resist! Healthcare, Single payer health care, Vermont

Protesters from across the state descended on Montpelier Thursday to voice their anger with Gov. Peter Shumlin’s decision to drop his pursuit of single payer health care. More than 60 people stood in front of the Statehouse chanting slogans and singing protest songs. “All people, all care, make the rich pay their share,” they shouted, “The system, let’s stop it, our health is not for profit.” Many shared personal stories of struggles to afford health insurance or medical services, highlighting barriers to care such as high deductibles, copayments and other forms of cost sharing. Several burned medical bills they said they would never be able to pay off. Protesters focused their ire on Shumlin. The governor acknowledged the disappointment of his supporters in remarks Wednesday, but said the economics of single payer wouldn’t allow the program to move forward anytime soon. He called it “the biggest disappointment of my public service so far.” But protesters were unappeased Thursday, asserting that Shumlin supported single payer while it was politically advantageous, but turned his back on the interests of the working class when he encountered resistance from business leaders. They marched up to his ceremonial office in the Statehouse to deliver a platter of toast with the message, “Dear Shumlin, your career is toast.”

Governor Unilaterally Denies ‘Single Payer’ Health Care

December 18, 2014 Margaret Flowers, www.popularresistance.org Educate! ACA, health, Health Care, Human Right, Single payer health care

Today, Vermont’s governor, after campaigning for single payer for years, announced that he would not work to pass single-payer legislation in Vermont this year. “Single payer” is shorthand for a reform that will replace the present wasteful and chaotic system of private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid and out-of-pocket cash payments with a single public finance system that will redirect resources in order to guarantee access to all necessary care for everyone, which would include many essentials not covered by any present plan. Governor Peter Shumlin, in his press conference, stated that “now is not the right time” for single payer. I disagree. The time for a single-payer system is now. Our patients in every state urgently need it.

Thousands Protest Privatization Of British Health Service

September 7, 2014 Lin Jenkins, www.theguardian.com Resist! Healthcare, Privatization, Single payer health care, universal healthcare

Thousands of people on Saturday joined a protest against the privatisation of health services to mark the end of a 300-mile march organised by a group of mothers from County Durham. About 30 people took three weeks to walk from South Tyneside toLondon in the footsteps of the Jarrow Crusade of 1936 which highlighted unemployment and poverty during the Great Depression. Organisers said 5,000 people took part in the last leg from Red Lion Square in Holborn to Trafalgar Square, where they were addressed by shadow health secretary Andy Burnham.

Happy 49th Birthday Medicare; Medicare For All On Its 50th!

August 1, 2014 Staff, www.kyhealthcare.org Organize! Healthcare, Human Rights, Single payer health care

Thousands attending a riverside concert on July 30, 2014, saw the message curving across the city skyline. Louisville joined dozens of cities in celebration of our nation's best health program. We must protect Medicare for it has lifted generations of seniors from poverty, made the hospitals of the South integrate because Medicare could not be collected by those who segregated, brought dialysis to all with kidney failure, and shown that this public program works efficiently and saves money. Yet we must improve Medicare for even with it some cannot afford care--it does not cover dental, nor hearing aids, nor nursing homes, co-pays and deductibles are growing, and some drugs are very expensive. And we must expand Medicare so that every person, regardless of age, has health care. By passing HR 676, national single payer health care, we will secure Medicare, save billions, and make health care a human right.

The Struggle For Healthcare Justice

July 6, 2014 Mickey Z., www.worldnewstrust.com Educate! ACA, Health Care, Obamacare, Single payer health care

This is the first time I realized I had a real battle on my hands -- not only to fight to save my own life but also the lives of tens of millions of other Americans who are experiencing the same injustice. We have been made to feel so desperate for health care in this country, because of the actions of Big Insurance, or "the Health Insurance Industry," in collusion with the U.S. government. I mean, we have literally had to watch our children die, when methods and doctors were standing by that could have saved their lives, all because an insurance company decided that it did not want to take the financial loss to pay for our health care. Because that is what our health care needs are to Big Insurance -- a loss to their bottom line, to their profits. And Obamacare puts this industry, by law, between us and our doctors.

The People Are With Us

May 4, 2014 Josh Sager, www.theprogressivecynic.com Educate! Abortion Rights, Climate Change, Democracy, Environment, Finance and the Economy, Immigration, Inequality, LGBTQ, Marijuana, Medicare, Minimum Wage, Single payer health care, Social Security, Taxes, Wars and Militarism, Women's Rights, Worker Rights and Jobs

It is a persistent belief among many in the political and media establishments that the United States is a “center-right nation” which finds progressives to be far too liberal for mainstream positions of power. If you look purely at electoral outcomes, those who assert this appear to have a fairly strong point. The last several decades of federal politics have been dominated by center-right policies and truly left wing politicians have been largely marginalized (ex. Bernie Sanders). Even Clinton and Obama—the last two Democratic presidents who, theoretically, should be leftists—are corporate-friendly moderates who have triangulated during negotiations with Republicans to pass center-right policy compromises (ex. Obama’s Heritage Foundation inspired ACAor the Clinton Defense of Marriage Act compromise). While electoral results support the idea of a center-right USA, looking beyond electoral politics—which involve a mixture of policy choices, party politics, fundraising, and propaganda—and focusing purely upon raw policy preferences, leaves us with an entirely different picture -- the people are progressive and leaning left on almost all critical issues.

Saying ‘Hell No’ To Obamacare

April 23, 2014 Dennis Trainor Jr, www.PopularResistance.org Resistance Report ACA, Affordable Care Act, Conscientious Objector To Obamacare, Dr. Margaret Flowers, Health Insurance, health insurance industry, Healthcare.gov, Margaret Flowers, Obama health insurance, Obamacare, Single payer health care, universal healthcare

Recently, Dr. Margaret Flowers initiated an online petition declaring herself a consciences objector to the Affordable Care Act and asking others to send a message to President Obama that the ACA is a scam. Dr. Margaret Flowers (MFlowers8) is a pediatrician from Baltimore who is an organizer at PopularResistance.org, co-directs ItsOurEconomy.us and co-hosts Clearing the FOG on We Act Radio. She is adviser to the board of Physicians for a National Health Program and is on the steering committee of the Maryland Health Care is a Human Right campaign.

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