March 2009 – Healthcare-NOW

Single-payer health reform bill introduced in Senate

Would save $400 billion on bureaucracy, enough to cover all 46 million uninsured Americans Challenging head-on the powerful private insurance and pharmaceutical industries, Vermont’s Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced a single-payer health reform bill, the American Health Security Act of 2009, in the U.S. Senate Wednesday. The bill is the first to directly take on the…

Slides on healthcare for all

Here are some informative slides on HR 676 and national, single-payer healthcare. Use it for a meeting or just for informational purposes. Download the Power Point slides here.

Health insurance woes hit workers

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar for the AP— Premiums rising 6 to 8 times faster than wages have American workers – whose taxes pay for massive government health programs – are getting squeezed like no other group by private health insurance premiums that are rising much faster than their wages. While just about all retirees are covered,…

Congressmen will talk about health reform

By Cathleen F. Crowley for timesunion.com— As the nation grapples with improving the health care system and making it more affordable, a contingent of people believe the answer is a single-payer system. But advocates worry that their idea is being sidelined. Representatives of the single-payer movement were initially locked-out of health care summit called by…

Three IATSE Locals in Arizona and New York Endorse HR 676

Three local unions affiliated with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), AFL-CIO, have endorsed HR 676, single payer healthcare legislation introduced by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI). In Phoenix, Bill Hennessy, Business Representative for IATSE Local 336, reports that the local is “sending a letter endorsing this bill (HR 676) to our senators and…

Iowa Demonstrations in the News

Demonstrators met outside, and inside, the Presidential Health Forum in Des Moines, Iowa on March 23. Here is some of the press that single-payer supporters drew that we have so far. Protests at White House healthcare hearing in Iowa Reuters The Villagers are Restless for Real Healthcare Reform TPM Protesters outside and inside White House…

Protesters outside and inside White House health care forum in Iowa

By O.Kay Henderson for Radio Iowa— There were protesters outside and inside this morning’s White House health care forum in Des Moines. About 20 protesters stood on the street outside, waving signs and chanting. A psychiatrist from University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City stood in the middle of the group, wearing his white lab…

Protests at White House healthcare hearing in Iowa

By Kay Henderson for Reuters— DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) – The latest White House regional forum on healthcare drew protests and complaints on Monday along with a promise that government-run insurance was at least on the table for discussion. “Why are we having this shameful event?” said Mona Shaw, a political activist, at the start…

Action Alert: “National Lessons for Health Reform”

The Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care, along with Healthcare-NOW!, is preparing for the third Congressional briefing in Washington, DC titled “National Lessons for Health Reform: An Examination of US Health Insurance.” Thanks to the phone calls, faxes, and emails, the last briefing on Feb. 25 had an unprecedented number of healthcare staffers in the…

Two UFCW Locals Voice Support for HR 676

Two United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) local unions have joined the growing list of labor organizations voicing support for HR 676, single payer healthcare legislation introduced by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI). In South St. Paul, Minnesota, the Executive Board of UFCW Local 789 overwhelmingly endorsed HR 676 on March 10. The 7,000 member local…