Suggestions for Participants in Obama/Biden Transition Team Health Care Community Discussions

[IndianaGreen]

National Call-In Days for Single Payer

Monday, Dec. 22, and Thursday, Jan. 15, have been designated National Call-In Days to Support Single-Payer Health Care by a broad coalition of civic, labor, religious and professional groups, including Physicians for a National Health Program. Take a few minutes to call your elected officials and urge them to support H.R. 676, the U.S. National Health Insurance Act. More…

National Call-In Days for Single Payer

With your help for just a few minutes, we can get the message through to our elected officials that physicians, nurses and other health professionals, not to mention the congressperson’s constituents and the vast majority of the U.S. public, want single-payer national health insurance, an improved “Medicare for All.”

Make a call over the next few weeks —- especially on Dec. 22 and Jan. 15 —- and tell your representative that you want to see our dysfunctional, fragmented, and wasteful system of financing through private insurers replaced by an efficient and equitable single-payer system.

We want to reach all members of Congress with our message. Current co-sponsors should be thanked for their support and encouraged to get active behind H.R. 676. Non-co-sponsors should be asked to get on board with H.R. 676.

http://www.pnhp.org/news/2008/december/national_callin_day.php

Why Mandate Model Reform Plans Fail (Baucus/Kennedy/Obama)

Dr. David Himmelstein, Washington DC, November 11, 2008

Summary: Universal "mandate model" health reforms like those proposed by Senators Baucus and President-elect Obama have already failed in several states, including Massachusetts. Only single payer national health insurance can cover all the uninsured and control costs"

http://pnhp.org/slideshow/Himmelstein_11112008.ppt

Talking Points: Why the mandate plans won’t work, and why single-payer “Medicare for All” is what we need

http://pnhp.org/change/TalkingPoints.pdf

http://pnhp.org/change/

[Clio the Leo]

1. kick and rec. NT

[annabanana]

2. Kicked, rec'd and put on my CALENDAR!. . .N/T

[Balderdash]

3. I'm on it!

K&R

[IndianaGreen]

4. Kick for the graveyard shift

:kick:

[leftstreet]

5. K&R

Thanks for posting

[yardwork]

6. One good reason to frame this as "Medicare for all"

Medicare has been successfully protected as a program because it applies to everybody, rich or poor, once they reach a certain age or are disabled.

Medicaid is constantly underfunded, but Medicare remains a very popular, protected program. Yes, it could be better - that's not the point. We can make it better.

The point is that Medicare is popular because it applies to everybody - rich, middle income, poor. It's always a mistake to let the government create programs for just certain income brackets. It divides us.

Universal healthcare. The time is now. Medicare is a good frame.

[me b zola]

7. K&R