Action Alert: Congress is Headed in the Wrong Direction

It’s time to tell Congress that it’s headed in the wrong direction – proposing to spend over a trillion more dollars to put band aids on a healthcare system that needs major surgery.

Everyone in the LCGHC national coalition and its network of millions of Americans have worked hard and made huge strides toward advancing single-payer. Hundreds of rallies, town meetings, forums and street theater events — thousands of letters, phone calls and faxes – tens of thousands of email messages – and 13 well-planned and highly visible acts of civil disobedience – all have prevented Congress from ignoring single-payer. We won:

  • A full hearing on the merits of a single-payer system in the House Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions subcommittee, and single payer expert testimony before the Senate HELP;
  • 83 House cosponsors for HR 676;
  • Media breakthroughs (MSNBC, PBS, daily print media) that have brought the truth about single-payer to millions of new people; and
  • Polling data that repeatedly shows that over 60% of the American people support an expanded government role in health care that would guarantee coverage for every American.

But the Administration and Congress have turned away. They have heard and seen, but haven’t paid attention. They are rolling out a shameful basket of reforms that will cost us all a bundle, but:

  • Won’t guarantee access to health care for everyone in the United States.
  • Won’t stop thousands from dying every year because they didn’t get care they needed.
  • Won’t end insurance company denials of needed care, and profiteering from health care.
  • Won’t end medical-related bankruptcy.
  • Won’t contain the skyrocketing costs of health care.

The following Chairs of the five House and Senate Committees responsible for new legislation need to hear from us NOW. In addition, if one of the Congress people representing you sits on one of these Committees, contact them, too.

Call toll free at 1-866-338-1015 or find more info below.

HOUSE
Chairman Charles Rangel – Phone: 202-225-4365 – Fax: 202-225-0816 – email
Chairman Henry Waxman – Phone: 202-225-3976 – Fax: 202-225-4099 – email
Chairman George Miller – Phone: 202-225-2095 – Fax: 202-225-5609 – email

SENATE
Senator Chris Dodd – Phone: 202-224-2823 – Fax: 202-224-1083 – email
Senator Max Baucus – Phone: 800-332-6106 – Fax: 202-224-9412 – email

The asks are two:
(1) That the CBO score and cost out single payer legislation (HR 676; S 703) and compare it to their scoring and costing of the new legislation now coming out of these committees; and
(2) That single payer experts be included in all Committee hearings on health care reform.

Call, write, email now! Make your voice heard for real health care reform. We have the solution to our healthcare crisis.

And don’t forget July 30th. Make your plans now to stand up with your bothers and sisters who support single-payer on July 30th when we celebrate Medicare’s 44th Anniversary in Washington DC! Co-sponsor and pledge to support this important event today! For more information, and to co-sponsor, go here.