Archive for April 2009
Portland IBEW Local Endorses HR 676
The 4,000 member IBEW Local 48 has voted to endorse HR 676, single payer healthcare legislation introduced by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI). Dana Welty, Oregon Nurses Association, and Tom Leedham, IBT Local 206, made a joint presentation on HR 676 to the February membership meeting but the endorsement of HR 676 was tabled until the…
Read MoreBelly Dancers Rally for Universal Health Care
By Scott Hershberger for Your4State.com— MARTINSBURG, WV – It may have looked like a party in Martinsburg: belly dancers and loud, festive music, but the people involved weren’t celebrating. The group is hoping to see “single payer” health insurance in the United States, and they want some support from a local lawmaker. They’re hoping to…
Read MoreTestimony of David U. Himmelstein, M.D. Before the HELP Subcommittee
By David U. Himmelstein from PNHP.org— Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee. My name is David Himmelstein. I am a primary care doctor in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and associate professor of medicine at Harvard. I also serve as national spokesperson for Physicians for a National Health Program. Our 16,000 physician members support nonprofit, single-payer national health…
Read MoreHealthcare Lifeboats
By David U. Himmelstein & Steffie Woolhandler— Massachusetts’s 2006 healthcare reform plan, often cited as a model for the nation, is sailing through choppy waters. Governor Deval Patrick is keeping it afloat by throwing away the lifeboats: public hospitals and clinics. Freighted with tax-funded windfalls that brought private insurers and hospitals on board, the reform…
Read MoreInterview: Robert Kuttner on single-payer health care
By Vermont Public Radio— Two nationally known health care policy thinkers will be in Vermont this week, engaging in a debate over health care organized by the Janus forum at UVM. Yesterday we heard from Arnold Kling of the Cato Institute, who argues that while our current system of health insurance is broken, a universal…
Read MoreAstroturf Lobby Charged With Tricking Old Folks Into Writing Letters To Editors
By Ryan Grim for the Huffington Post— Medicare Advantage plans — publicly funded but privately administered Medicare plans — are regularly accused of tricking the elderly into giving up their Medicare coverage for an Advantage plan that doesn’t suit them. In response, are they now tricking old folks into signing letters to local newspapers, hoping…
Read MoreUSW and CWA Locals Endorse Single-Payer, HR 676
Two more local unions in Oregon have endorsed HR 676, single payer healthcare legislation introduced by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI). In McMinnville, Steelworkers Local 8378 endorsed HR 676 and submitted its resolution to the Marion, Polk and Yamhill Counties Central Labor Council for consideration, reports Joseph Munger, President of the USW Local. In Portland, Communications…
Read MoreTNRtv: The Case for Single-Payer Health Care
From the New Republic— At the 2009 World Health Care Congress, TNR senior editor Jonathan Cohn sat down with Dr. Michael Chen, Vice President and CFO of Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Bureau, to discuss the results of Taiwan’s switch to a universal health care system.
Read MoreAction Alert: Get Single-Payer into Congressional Hearings
House Ways and Means Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) announced that the Committee will hold another hearing in a series on reforming the health insurance market. The hearing will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 22, and will focus on strategies to reform the health insurance market to ensure greater accessibility and affordability.…
Read MoreTop Ten Enemies of Single Payer
By Russell Mokhiber of Single Payer Action— Most people, when they arrive in Washington, D.C., see it for what it is – a cesspool of corruption. Two reasonable reactions to the cesspool. One, run away screaming in fear. Two, stay and fight back and bring to justice those who have corrupted our democracy. Unfortunately, many…
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