Healthcare-NOW

Whacking the Old Folks

By William Greider for the Nation – In setting up his National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, Barack Obama is again playing coy in public, but his intentions are widely understood among Washington insiders. The president intends to offer Social Security as a sacrificial lamb to entice conservative deficit hawks into a grand bipartisan…

In Canada: Public health care as sustainable as we want it to be

Claim that medicare is too costly to maintain is based on economic and political myths By Robert G. Evans, University Killam Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of British Columbia, for thestar.com – “There are stark and unpalatable choices that we face with respect to health care, but there is no magic…

Infection in Our Healthcare System

From the Media Mobilizing Project – Philadelphia’s two major newspapers have been acquired by outside investors. Comcast cable dominates the market, but thousands of our neighbors can’t afford to get online. In an era of dwindling outlets telling the stories of everyday Philadelphians, the Media Mobilizing Project has launched MMPtv, a monthly half-hour newsmagazine knitting…

The Baucus 8 One Year Later (Video)

On May 5, 2009, 8 health advocates stood up to the members of the Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Max Baucus, to expose the exclusion of the health reform favored by the majority of people in America: a single payer/national improved Medicare for All health program. Industry lobbyists were invited to testify before the…

Former President Bush’s brother collapses at Wellpoint meeting

From wishtv.com – INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The WellPoint shareholders meeting in downtown Indianapolis ended much earlier than some disgruntled shareholders would have liked when 71-year-old William H.T. Bush, brother of the first President Bush, collapsed. For the fourth year in a row, in the shadow of WellPoint corporate headquarters in downtown Indianapolis, on the day…

3rd Largest Labor Council in Ohio Endorses HR 676

On April 27, 2010, the Tri-County Regional Labor Council, the third largest labor council in the state of Ohio, endorsed HR 676, national single payer health care legislation sponsored by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI). John Wagner, Executive Secretary Treasurer, stated that the council supports single payer “Because we believe that it’s the real solution to…

Action Alert: End WellPoint’s Greed

On May 18th, Dr. Rob Stone plans to deliver a resolution to WellPoint/Anthem, the largest health insurance company in the US, calling for it to return to its charitable, non-profit roots at their upcoming shareholder meeting in Indianapolis. WellPoint, like all health insurance companies in the nation, is a parasitic middleman that enriches its executives…

After the Reform: Aiming High for Health Justice

By Margaret Flowers, M.D. for Tikkun Magazine – As we sit here on the other side of the recent health reform process, we have an opportunity for reflection. There were many times during the past year and a half when passage of a health bill seemed unlikely. However, in the end, the White House and…

Which Health Care Reform Proposal is Good for Business?

Single Payer is the Surprising Clear Winner By Ivan J. Miller – Download the full report here. A new health care system could improve the bottom line for most businesses, reduce the impact of government related regulation, and free employers from managing employee health care. A redesigned health care system using single payer financing offers…

Patients protest doctor’s dismissal

By Kevin Kelley for Westlife – About 50 protesters demonstrated in front of St. John Medical Center Sunday afternoon to protest the termination of Dr. George Randt’s contract with Cuyahoga Physicians Network. Cuyahoga Physicians Network is a for-profit practice organization owned and managed by the Sisters of Charity Health System. Randt had been seeing patients…