New York Assembly Passes Universal Healthcare Bill!

From Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, lead sponsor of the New York Health Act: PRESS RELEASE Assembly Passes Universal Health Care Bill Historic Vote Makes It “Truly Achievable Goal” Says Sponsor On Wednesday, May 27, the New York State Assembly passed the “New York Health Act” universal health care bill (A. 5062/S. 3525) by a vote of…

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150th Central Labor Council Endorses HR676!

From Unions for Single Payer Health Care April 6, 2015 The Chattanooga Area Labor Council endorsed HR 676 at its regular monthly meeting March 23, 2015, reports Gary Watlkins, Council President. HR 676 is the national single payer health care legislation sponsored by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI). The bill currently has 48 co-sponsors including Rep.…

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Don’t Privatize Medicare

From Ida Hellander, Director of Policy and Programs at Physicians for a National Health Program, appearing in Truthout March 26, 2015 The bipartisan “Doc Fix” legislation (H.R. 1470, now H.R. 2) and proposed amendments will undermine traditional Medicare and advance the goal of privatization, according to Dr. Don McCanne in a series of posts to…

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Ebola Preparedness Without a Single-Payer System

Below is testimony from Michael Lighty, Director of Public Policy for National Nurses United, to the California Assembly Health Committee regarding Ebola preparedness in a fragmented healthcare system with cost-barriers to care and declining investment in public health. This is a proud moment for California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, whose members have taken the lead…

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Unable to Meet the Deductible or the Doctor

By Abby Goodnough and Robert Pear for the New York Times: Patricia Wanderlich got insurance through the Affordable Care Act this year, and with good reason: She suffered a brain hemorrhage in 2011, spending weeks in a hospital intensive care unit, and has a second, smaller aneurysm that needs monitoring. But her new plan has…

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Why Americans Are Drowning in Medical Debt

By Olga Khazan for The Atlantic: After his recent herniated-disk surgery, Peter Drier was ready for the $56,000 hospital charge, the $4,300 anesthesiologist bill, and the $133,000 fee for orthopedist. All were either in-network under his insurance or had been previously negotiated. But as Elisabeth Rosenthal recently explained in her great New York Times piece,…

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Wal-Mart to End Health Insurance for Part-Time Employees

By Hiroko Tabuchi for the New York Times: Walmart Stores, the world’s largest retailer and the nation’s largest private employer, said on Tuesday that it would terminate health insurance coverage for about 30,000 part-time workers, joining a string of retailers that have rolled back benefits in response to the Affordable Care Act. Starting on Jan.…

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Surprise In Mass. Primary: 21 Percent For Single-Payer Candidate Berwick

By Carey Goldberg for WBUR’s CommonHealth: Note to politicians: Backing “Medicare for all” is looking less and less like electoral poison. If, deep in your heart, you believe American health care would be better off with a Canadian-style, single-payer system, you might now consider coming out of the closet. (In Democratic primaries in blue states,…

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