Healthcare-NOW

600,000 Member NYSUT Reaffirms Single Payer Support

From Unions For Single Payer – The New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) has reaffirmed support for single payer health care. The reaffirmation, which was submitted by Retiree Council 12, calls specifically for support for HR 676, Congressman John Conyers’ Expanded and Improved Medicare for All legislation. NYSUT is made up of more than 600,000…

Stopping the TPP is Essential to Work for a Universal Health System

By Margaret Flowers for FlushTheTPP.org – The Obama administration has been negotiating an agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) for the past three years that is now heading into the final stages and could be signed into law as early as October. If it is not stopped, this new agreement has the potential to prohibit…

ObamaCare’s architects reap windfall as Washington lobbyists

By Megan R. Wilson for The Hill – ObamaCare has become big business for an elite network of Washington lobbyists and consultants who helped shape the law from the inside. More than 30 former administration officials, lawmakers and congressional staffers who worked on the healthcare law have set up shop on K Street since 2010.…

Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice Endorses HR 676

From Unions for Single Payer – Mary Shesgreen, a member of the steering committee of Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice, reports that her organization has made a “wholehearted endorsement” of HR 676, Rep. John Conyers’ national single payer health care legislation. Shesgreen said that most of the members of the steering committee have long supported…

Laborers call for a fix to ACA’s “destructive” impact on unions

From Unions for Single Payer – The Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) was one of a handful of unions that did not support the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA or ACA). LIUNA was concerned that the law would have an adverse impact on the multiemployer plans on which…

Let’s Talk About Health Care and I Don’t Mean the ACA

By Deborah Burger, RN and NNU Co-president – Let’s talk about health care. I don’t mean debating the Affordable Care Act. I mean health care, as in: If everyone needs health care, guarantee that everybody gets it. I know, when it comes to health care, it’s easy to get into a debate for or against…

Sen. Reid: Obamacare ‘Absolutely’ A Step Toward A Single-Payer System

By Avik Roy for Forbes – When I speak to conservatives about health care policy, I’m often asked the question: “Do you think that Obamacare is secretly a step toward single-payer health care?” I always explain that, while progressives may want single-payer, I don’t think that Obamacare is deliberately designed to bring about that outcome.…

Lawmakers and Advocates Rally for Expansion of Program to Include Every American

U.S. Rep. John Conyers, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, U.S. Rep Keith Ellison, Others Push for Single-Payer Health Care System From Public Citizen – WASHINGTON, D.C. – To mark the 48th anniversary of Medicare, congressional lawmakers and consumer advocates today called for Medicare to be expanded to provide health insurance to all Americans and highlighted a…

‘Medicare for All’ would cover everyone, save billions in first year

From PNHP – Economist says Canadian-style, single-payer health plan would reap huge savings from reduced paperwork and from negotiated drug prices, enough to pay for quality coverage for all – at less cost to families and businesses Upgrading the nation’s Medicare program and expanding it to cover people of all ages would yield more than…

New York City Labor Council Endorses HR 676

By Kay Tillow, UnionsForSinglePayer.org – The Executive Board of the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, unanimously approved a resolution supporting HR 676, national single payer health care legislation, sponsored by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI). NYC CLC President Vincent Alvarez calls this resolution “Labor’s way of standing up for the health and well-being of…