July 30th: Medicare’s 49th Anniversary

July 30, 2014 will mark the 49th anniversary of Medicare, our only publicly financed, universal health plan, which lifted a generation of seniors out of poverty. Each year Healthcare-NOW! coordinates Medicare’s birthday as a national day of action for single payer healthcare. Please email Ben to let us know if you would like to plan…

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BLET-Kentucky State Legislative Board Endorses HR 676

From Unions for Single Payer – Bryan Aldridge, Chairman, reports that the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers-Kentucky State Legislative Board, has endorsed HR 676, national single payer health care legislation introduced by Congressman John Conyers, Jr. The legislation is also known as “Expanded and Improved Medicare for All.” The BLET-Kentucky State Legislative Board represents approximately 900…

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Obamacare’s Empty Victory

By Margaret Flowers, M.D. for The Indypendent – It feels truly Orwellian that progressives are applauding the forced purchase of private health insurance — one of the most hated industries in the United States — while the right is opposing a model that originated from their political leaders. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a…

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Healthcare, Not Health Insurance

From Media Mobilizing Project – Everyone gets sick, but not everyone can access healthcare when they need it. The Affordable Care Act has expanded access, but millions are still left out, and most people with insurance still struggle to afford the care they need. In Pennsylvania and in states across the country, a growing movement…

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Aetna CEO Gets 131% Pay Hike – Take Action!

Aetna’s CEO Mark Bertolini received a 131% pay hike, bringing in $30.7 million: that’s 877 times the $35k that the average worker makes in a year. Tell him that’s not okay. Share this on Facebook Share this on Twitter Dear [[First_Name]]: Fortune 500 health insurers increased compensation for their CEOs 25% in 2013 over 2012!…

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Save the Date: Healthcare-NOW!’s 10th Anniversary Strategy Conference

This year marks our 10th anniversary! Marilyn Clement founded Healthcare-NOW! in 2004 originally under the title “Campaign for a National Health Program NOW.” We are doing something extraordinary for our National Strategy Conference to mark this occasion: we will be hosting a mega single-payer conference jointly with the Labor Campaign for Single-Payer Health Care and…

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Single-Payer System Would Be a Boon to the Economy, Public Citizen Report Says

New System Would Boost Economy, Reduce Costs and Eliminate Unfair Burdens on Companies That Provide Health Insurance Benefits WASHINGTON, D.C. – A publicly funded, universal health care system would aid businesses by engendering a more dynamic economy, taming costs and freeing businesses that provide health insurance of the costs of administering benefits and subsidizing the…

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Forget Obamacare

Vermont wants to bring single payer to America By Sarah Kliff for Vox – Saskatchewan is a vast prairie province in the middle of Canada. It’s home to hockey great Gordie Howe and the world’s first curling museum. But Canadians know it for another reason: it’s the birthplace of the country’s single-payer health-care system. In…

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The Neoliberal Turn in American Health Care

By A.W. Gaffney for Jacobin – The failings of the Affordable Care Act are rooted in a long shift away from the idea of a truly universal health care. Last year’s three-ring Congressional shutdown circus — for many little more than a desperate rearguard action by an isolated rightwing fringe to undo the fait accompli…

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A Pro-Single Payer Doctor’s Concerns About Obamacare

By Adam Gaffney for Salon – As a single-payer advocate who is also a doctor, I was concerned after the Affordable Care Act was passed that it didn’t do enough to combat rising underinsurance. A recent study by the Commonwealth Fund, which used new data to demonstrate that in 2012 some 31.7 million Americans were…

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