Single payer health care

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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