Rally for "Medicare for All--End Private Insurance" in SF on Thursday, June 16, 9am-11am

PRESS RELEASE
For Release On: Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Contact: Don Bechler
415-810-5826 or dbechler@value.net

SF "Medicare for All--End Private Insurance" Rally Thursday, June 16 at AHIP (America's Health Insurance Plans) Convention

WHAT: A broad coalition of Bay Area and state-wide political single payer advocates will hold a boisterous rally in front of the America's Health Insurance Plans national convention to protect Medicare, and expand it to all in this country as a national universal single payer healthcare system which would take the health insurance industry out of our healthcare system and save hundreds of billions of dollars.

WHEN: Thursday, June 16, 2011, 9:00 am to 11:00 am

WHERE: Just outside Moscone Center West, 800 Howard Street, at the corner of 4th Street, San Francisco, California

WHO:

Speakers:
*Tim Paulson, Executive Director of the San Francisco Labor Council

*Beverly Ng, Senior District Representative for Senator Mark Leno, 3rd District

*Kim Alvarenga, District Director for Tom Ammiano (D-SF), District 13 member of the California Assembly

*Dr. Hank Abrons, President of PNHP, Physicians for a National Health Plan-California

*Karen Smulevitz, CARA, California Association of Retired Americans

*Don Bechler, Chair, Single Payer Now

*Reverend Israel Alvaran, community organizer, UNITE/HERE Local 2

*Greg Brockbank, President, Health Care for All

*DeAnn McEwen, Council of Presidents for the Califonia Nurses Assn. and National Nurses Organizing Committee

*Alice Lindstrom Davis, Coalition of Labor Union Women

*Jean Taylor, Church Women United

*Maria Giulllen, SEIU Local 1021 and SF Labor Council Executive Board member

*Representatives from the Chinese Progressive Association

*And more speaker may be added

Entertainment:

*A Giant Puppet Show (The American Family vs. the Health Insurance Industry) by L.A.'s Labor United for Universal Healthcare

*Raging Grannies & Code Pink Billionaires for Wealthcare

*Faith Petric, San Francisco folk singer

WHY:
*From June 15 to 17, the America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) will be meeting at SF's Moscone Convention Center.

*Speakers at AHIP's convention want to privatize Medicare.
*The rally will explain why a single payer health care system will meet the medical needs of all Americans. *The rally participants are calling for the end of private health insurance. These insurance companies spend 30 cents of each health care dollar on profits and administrative costs while insuring the healthy and avoiding the sick.
*The USA rank 37th in the world on health outcomes, according to WHO (the World Health Organization) If we removed the health insurance industry from our health care system, we could spend the same amount of money we do now, but provide everyone in the country with complete access to healthcare with complete freedom to choose any and all current and future providers.

MEDIA VISUALS: A crowd of rally participants outside on the sidewalk near the AHIP convention holding banners and signs that say: "Medicare for All--End Private Insurance" and many smaller signs that say: "Medicare for All-yes; Health Insurance Companies-no" and a variety of other signs critical of the health insurance industry and supportive of "Medicare for all". There will also be 12 ft tall puppets who will give a Punch-and-Judy interpretation of the fight between insurance companies and we who need healthcare.

For more information, please contact Don Becheler, chair of Single
Payer Now at 415-810-5826 or visit: http://www.singlepayernow.net/
events/rally-for-healthcare/.
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