Healthcare-NOW

Remote Area Medical Comes to Chicago

Community Activists and Legislator to Speak on Site about Health Care Crisis CHICAGO—Remote Area Medical (RAM) will be in Chicago to serve the under- and uninsured citizens of Cook County and points beyond. Founded in 1985 to serve “desolate areas of the world,” RAM is a non-profit, volunteer group that delivers on-site health care, dental…

Single-payer: Sensible health plan

A Charleston Gazette Editorial – CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Some federal courts are ruling that America’s breakthrough 2010 medical reform is kaput because government cannot force people to pay for health insurance. (Governments force people to buy car insurance. What’s the difference?) If the historic reform eventually is killed, we hope it leads to a better…

Can We Have Health Reform Without an Individual Mandate?

Yes, It’s Called ‘Medicare for All’ By John Nichols for The Nation – The essential vote on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals panel that ruled that the individual-coverage mandate in President Obama’s healthcare reform is unconstitutional did not come from a reactionary Republican appointed by Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush. Rather, it came…

11th Circuit: Health Care Law’s Individual Mandate Is Unconstitutional

From Talking Points Memo – In a split decision, a three-judge panel on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that the health care law’s individual mandate exceeds Congress’ Commerce Clause powers and is therefore unconstitutional. However, unlike the district court ruling preceding this case, the judges found the mandate to be “severable” and…

If U.S. is Serious About Debt, There’s a Single-Payer Solution

An STL Today editorial – If America truly is serious about dealing with its deficit problems, there’s a fairly simple solution. But you’re probably not going to like it: Enact a single-payer health care plan. See, we told you weren’t going to like it. But the fact is that everyone who has studied the deficit…

Physicians group: debt deal threatens health of seniors and disabled

The New York Metro chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), an 18,000-member national organization, denounces the federal debt ceiling deal signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday. “Politicians who say Medicare and Social Security are spared cuts are not being honest,” said Dr. Oliver Fein, Chair of PNHP-NY Metro. “Plans to…

Simplifying US Healthcare Could Save $27.6 Billion a Year

By AFP – Find the study at Health Affairs. US health care spending could be cut by billions a year if doctors spent the same amount of time and money dealing with insurance plans as their Canadian counterparts, according to a new study. Canada has a “single-payer” system for health care financing, under which doctors…

Save lives and money by expanding Medicare to all

By Dr. Quentin Young for Fire Dog Lake – With media attention focused on the debt-ceiling drama in Washington, and with so many Americans rightly preoccupied with the frightening level of joblessness and bleak state of the economy, it might seem strange to urge a national celebration of Medicare’s 46th anniversary this Saturday, July 30.…

Let’s all celebrate Medicare’s birthday

By Lee J. Price for the Gainesville Sun – Republican and Democrats alike are swarming at the opportunity to cut government programs under the guise of “balancing the budget,” and everyone’s eyes are on Social Security and Medicare. The problem is that Social Security hasn’t contributed a dime to the federal deficit. And Medicare runs…

Despite Rightwing Myths, US Health Care Problems Rooted in Private Sector

By Mark Weisbrot for JuneauEmpire.com – A recent report by McKinsey and Company was seized upon by opponents of health care reform to create a new myth: that President Obama’s health insurance reform (the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — PPACA) will cause huge numbers of employers to drop health insurance coverage that…