Healthcare-NOW

US slips to 49th in life expectancy

By Sahil Kapur for RawStory.com – The United States currently ranks 49th in the world in overall life expectancy, according to a study published in the academic journal Health Affairs, slipping dramatically during the last decade. “As of September 23, 2010, the United States ranked forty-ninth for both male and female life expectancy combined,” concludes…

Rally for Healthcare Sanity

Have you heard? On October 30th, Jon Stewart is organizing a rally in Washington DC to “restore sanity,” while Stephen Colbert is organizing a counter demo to “keep fear alive.” Sounds a little bit like Healthcare-NOW!’s campaign to implement a national universal healthcare system as the only sane answer to our healthcare crisis. Yet, corporate…

Upcoming Deadline for Strategy Conference

Our National Strategy Conference is rapidly approaching on November 13th and 14th in Philadelphia, PA. If you haven’t registered yet, please do soon. The deadline for reserving a hotel room, at a discounted rate, near the conference location is October 27th. That’s next Wednesday. So if you haven’t already, please register for the conference ASAP.…

The Midterm Elections and Medicare For All

By Dr. Quentin Young – As we approach Nov. 2, it’s fair to say that in many ways the distortion of political discourse in our country has never been worse. Extreme right-wing personalities – reincarnated Know-Nothings – are elbowing their way into the nightly airwaves via paid advertisements and Fox News. Billionaires are lavishly funding…

How Health Reform will Lead to Single Payer

There are a lot of opinions about the new law and what that means for single-payer health care. Healthcare-NOW! staff is really interested in hearing your opinions on this new article from Tikkun. By Lauren Reichelt for Tikkun – This week I am in Denver at a different kind of Health Care Reform rally. Community…

What’s Next for Social Security and Medicare

Since the launch of Healthcare-NOW!’s newest campaign, Hands Off Our Medicare, thousands have joined with us to say, “No cuts to our social insurance programs – we must protect, improve, and expand them.” Meanwhile, members of the Deficit Commission have been locking out workers and insulting advocates for the elderly. In response, Healthcare-NOW! has called…

The Obama Health Plan Has Serious Threats to Medicare

By Michael Lyon, SF Gray Panthers – Obama’s Health Plan is fatally flawed because it uses insurance companies to deliver healthcare, but the Health Plan also directly threatens Medicare. People talk about “the healthcare crisis,” but actually there are two healthcare crises. For us, the healthcare crisis is 51 million uninsured, stripping workers’ health plans,…

AP Poll: Many think health overhaul should do more

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR and JENNIFER AGIESTA for Associated Press – WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul has divided the nation, and Republicans believe their call for repeal will help them win elections in November. But the picture’s not that clear cut. A new AP poll finds that Americans who think the law should…

Big health insurers to stop selling new child-only policies

Anthem Blue Cross, Aetna Inc. and others say they will make the move as soon as Thursday when parts of the new healthcare law take effect. They cite potentially huge and unexpected costs for insuring children. By Duke Helfand, Los Angeles Times – Major health insurance companies in California and other states have decided to…

Number of uninsured skyrockets 4.3 million to record 50.7 million in 2009

By PNHP – Official estimates by the Census Bureau showing a dramatic spike of 4.3 million in the number of Americans without health insurance in 2009 – to a record 50.7 million – underscore the urgency of going beyond the Obama administration’s new health law and swiftly implementing a single-payer, improved Medicare-for-all program, according to…