Single-Payer News
No Time to ‘Wait and See’ on Health Law
By Dr. Quentin Young – Building the Single-Payer Movement Having just gone through a grueling, frequently raucous debate on health reform, capped by the narrowest of votes to pass the Obama administration’s bill, many activists are now tempted to adopt a “wait and see” attitude on how the new law plays out. A few others…
Read MoreHealth care bill does not fix health care system
By Peter Shapiro for fightbacknews.org – Passage of President Obama’s health care reform in late March made for great political theater. Here was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, skillfully maneuvering the bill through Congress after many had given it up for lost. Here was House minority leader and Republican point man John Boehner, reduced to ranting…
Read MoreSending Support for Striking Temple Workers
By Michael Moore – Filmmaker and documentarian Michael Moore sent words of support for the 1,500 striking workers of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professions now on strike at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. The PASNAP members have been on strike since March 31, and Moore’s statement was read at a rally…
Read MoreHealthcare overhaul won’t stop premium increases
The new law doesn’t prevent rate hikes such as Anthem Blue Cross’ double-digit increase last year. ‘It is a very big loophole,’ says Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who is pushing regulatory legislation. By Noam N. Levey for the LA Times – Public outrage over double-digit rate hikes for health insurance may have helped push President Obama’s…
Read MoreChicago Teamsters Local 705 Endorses HR 676
Teamsters Local 705 of Chicago has endorsed HR 676, the national single payer health care legislation introduced by Congressman John Conyers. The local is among the largest representing over 15,000 members who work in the trucking, moving and shipping industries including United Parcel Services (UPS) in the Chicago area. The bill is still on the…
Read MorePushing WellPoint Back to Nonprofit?
By Linda Greene for Counterpunch.org – When it comes to health care reform, single-payer advocate Rob Stone, M.D., says, “We’re still for it, and we’re not done yet.” The need is undeniable. Over 46 million Americans are uninsured, and a recent study reported in the American Journal of Public Health showed that 45,000 die each…
Read MoreHealth Insurance Restructuring: Women’s Status Declines, The Battle Continues
By Ethel Long-Scott – From Oakland, CA to the slums of Cairo, Egypt, to the earthquake torn shores of Haiti, Women are not just more likely to be poor than men, they also tend to need more health care than men. A recent New York Times article attributed that to the demands of pregnancy and…
Read MoreVermont Senate passes health care bill that includes provision for a single payer option
Bill calls for custom-designed health care system MONTPELIER, VT — With an overwhelming 28-2 vote, the Senate today passed the Healthy Vermont bill (S.88). Senator Doug Racine (D-Chittenden) and the Health and Welfare Committee brought the bill to the Senate floor. The bill empowers the Health Care Reform Commission to hire a team of experts…
Read MoreTemple nurses strike over work rule, tuition perk
By Kathy Matheson for Associated Press – PHILADELPHIA — Hundreds of striking Temple University Hospital nurses and other employees rallied Tuesday in an effort to restart contract negotiations stalled over language that workers say would jeopardize patients, limit free speech and take away a crucial college tuition benefit. About 1,000 nurses and 500 professional health…
Read MoreHow Single-Payer Could Have Saved Newburgh, New York
By Billy Wharton for Counterpunch – New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli recently completed an audit of the city of Newburgh, New York. What he discovered set off budgetary alarms –a $6.3 million deficit. “Newburgh’s financial problems are severe,” said DiNapoli. “This is a very serious budget imbalance that could have severe consequences for the…
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