Single Payer // Current

OK Go Premiere ‘WTF?’ Music Video

OK Go have premiered the music video for their latest single, ‘WTF?’. The track is... more

CarlosG
added this
4 days ago
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0 comments

Prescription Drug Prices Up 9% in 2009

Reform on the way? Seems to be a lot of talk with the corporations in control.

Jenime
added this
5 days ago
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0 comments

Democrat-Led healthcare reform could make things WORSE

WHOO! The Democrats in Congress passed a bill! Healthcare for all! Awesome! Right?... more

asherp
added this
9 days ago
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4 comments

Is the House Healthcare Bill Better or Worse Than Nothing?

Well, the House health reform bill -- known to Republicans as the Government Takeover... more

asherp
added this
14 days ago
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2 comments

Kucinich Opposes Pelosi's HR 3962 Private Insurance Mandate

Take heed republicrats, wealthcare reform is not a liberal or conservative issue. Both... more

bowfinger
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14 days ago
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4 comments

Kucinich's No Vote on Healthcare Explained: HR3962 is Pro-Insurance Industry

Congressman Dennis Kucinich after voting against H.R. 3962 addresses why he voted NO, stating (http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=153995):

"We have been led to believe that we must make our health care choices only within the current structure of a predatory, for-profit insurance system which makes money not providing health care. We cannot fault the insurance companies for being what they are. But we can fault legislation in which the government incentivizes the perpetuation, indeed the strengthening, of the for-profit health insurance industry, the very source of the problem. When health insurance companies deny care or raise premiums, co-pays and deductibles they are simply trying to make a profit. That is our system."

"Clearly, the insurance companies are the problem, not the solution. They are driving up the cost of health care. Because their massive bureaucracy avoids paying bills so effectively, they force hospitals and doctors to hire their own bureaucracy to fight the insurance companies to avoid getting stuck with an unfair share of the bills. The result is that since 1970, the number of physicians has increased by less than 200% while the number of administrators has increased by 3000%. It is no wonder that 31 cents of every health care dollar goes to administrative costs, not toward providing care. Even those with insurance are at risk. The single biggest cause of bankruptcies in the U.S. is health insurance policies that do not cover you when you get sick."

"But instead of working toward the elimination of for-profit insurance, H.R. 3962 would put the government in the role of accelerating the privatization of health care. In H.R. 3962, the government is requiring at least 21 million Americans to buy private health insurance from the very industry that causes costs to be so high, which will result in at least $70 billion in new annual revenue, much of which is coming from taxpayers. This inevitably will lead to even more costs, more subsidies, and higher profits for insurance companies - a bailout under a blue cross."

"By incurring only a new requirement to cover pre-existing conditions, a weakened public option, and a few other important but limited concessions, the health insurance companies are getting quite a deal. The Center for American Progress' blog, Think Progress, states, 'since the President signaled that he is backing away from the public option, health insurance stocks have been on the rise.' Similarly, healthcare stocks rallied when Senator Max Baucus introduced a bill without a public option. Bloomberg reports that Curtis Lane, a prominent health industry investor, predicted a few weeks ago that 'money will start flowing in again' to health insurance stocks after passage of the legislation. Investors.com last month reported that pharmacy benefit managers share prices are hitting all-time highs, with the only industry worry that the Administration would reverse its decision not to negotiate Medicare Part D drug prices, leaving in place a Bush Administration policy."

"During the debate, when the interests of insurance companies would have been effectively challenged, that challenge was turned back. The 'robust public option' which would have offered a modicum of competition to a monopolistic industry was whittled down from an initial potential enrollment of 129 million Americans to 6 million. An amendment which would have protected the rights of states to pursue single-payer health care was stripped from the bill at the request of the Administration. Looking ahead, we cringe at the prospect of even greater favors for insurance companies."

"Recent rises in unemployment indicate a widening separation between the finance economy and the real economy. The finance economy considers the health of Wall Street, rising corporate profits, and banks' hoarding of cash, much of it from taxpayers, as sign of an economic recovery. However in the real economy - in which most Americans live - the recession is not over. Rising unemployment, business failures, bankruptcies and foreclosures are still hammering Main Street."

"This health care bill continues the redistribution of wealth to Wall Street at the expense of America's manufacturing and service economies which suffer from costs other countries do not have to bear, especially the cost of health care. America continues to stand out among all industrialized nations for its privatized health care system. As a result, we are less competitive in steel, automotive, aerospace and shipping while other countries subsidize their exports in these areas through socializing the cost of health care."

"Notwithstanding the fate of H.R. 3962, America will someday come to recognize the broad social and economic benefits of a not-for-profit, single-payer health care system, which is good for the American people and good for America's businesses, with of course the notable exceptions being insurance and pharmaceuticals."

Please know the struggle for real health care reform will continue. Contribute, we can make a difference.

Thank you.
The Re-Elect Congressman Kucinich Committee
http://kucinich.us/hcpetitionCongressman Dennis Kucinich after voting against H.R. 3962 addresses why he voted NO,... more

JonRaymond
added this
15 days ago
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0 comments

Raw Video: Health Care Bill Passes in the House

Congress passes HR3962 as Pelosi reads the vote count. Progressives and other... more

JonRaymond
added this
16 days ago
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1 comment

Dr. Margaret Flowers and Charles Loubert, 81, Stay in Jail for CEO of CareFirst

Baltimore, MD – Two physicians and two supporters were arrested today at a sit-in at... more

JonRaymond
added this
20 days ago
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0 comments

Pelosi 12 Arrested at her San Francisco Office

12 were arrested in San Francisco at Pelosi's office in protest of her promise to keep... more

JonRaymond
added this
20 days ago
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0 comments

Dennis Kucinich: Pro-Corporate Health Care "Reform" is going to make things WORSE

Weird. I just posted a blog on the same issue a few days ago.

asherp
added this
23 days ago
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0 comments

Health Care Reform Movement Grows and Persists

Over 200 people have risked arrest in 20 cities so far, 132 of them jailed. 13 are... more

JonRaymond
added this
23 days ago
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0 comments

Blue Shield Shut Down by Protesters

200 protesters, 40 sit-in activists risking arrest and 30 others who blocked... more

JonRaymond
added this
24 days ago
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0 comments

115 Arrested in 18 Cities this Week

115 arrested in 18 cities this week despite Pelosi's announcement on a public option... more

JonRaymond
added this
24 days ago
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0 comments

Sit-In Protesters Spend the Night at Humana

“We’ll stay here. I guess we’ll just stay overnight. I think this is a life and... more

JonRaymond
added this
24 days ago
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0 comments

CIGNA Kills Girl, Doctor Arrested

Grigor Sarkisyan tells us of his daughter who was denied treatment and died because of... more

JonRaymond
added this
24 days ago
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4 comments

Doctor Remains in Jail for CEO of CareFirst

Dr. Margaret Flowers, seen in the video here, and Charles Loubert, 81, will stay in... more

JonRaymond
added this
25 days ago
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0 comments

Democracy Now Healthcare Roundtable

ELISABETH BENJAMIN: Well, the problem with the $900 billion number is that it actually means that we don’t have enough to subsidize coverage for folks. If we did a robust public option, we’d grab $80 billion. It now seems like that’s off the table. So we need to find the money to have enough subsidies for working people.

Why is that? Well, let’s do the math. So you have a family of three at 300 percent of poverty. They earn $55,000 a year. They spend $15,000 in taxes. They spend $14,000 in, you know, rent. They spend $20,000 on childcare. They spend $7,000 on food. And guess what? They’re already in debt. If you add in healthcare costs, which then they’re—even with the subsidies, they’re really in debt. And if they have a medical catastrophe, even with the caps—which is great that they’re adding, in health reform, caps on your maximum out-of-pocket exposure—you’re going to be in debt at the end of the year. And that’s the problem. They don’t have enough money to actually subsidize people, unless they really drive down insurance costs. The only way you really drive down insurance costs is through a public plan, or the other alternative is not even try to do this complicated thing, building on the current employer-driven structure.

DR. OLIVER FEIN: Right. And what we propose is essentially a Medicare-for-all program, right? Obama had a choice, really. He could have decided to build on what we have, correct. That’s what he said he was doing. But he went down the pathway of subsidizing what I think is a defective product at this point: private health insurance. He could have gone down the pathway of taking Medicare, probably the most popular health insurance program in the United States, and saying we should spread that to all people in the United States.

And if he had done that, we feel that studies show that you wouldn’t have to increase the cost to the middle class. The overall cost to the system actually would be a savings of close to $400 billion per year, mind you. And we’ve got that money, for instance, because we’re spending $1 trillion in Iraq and Afghanistan, OK, per year. So we have the possibility, it seems to me, if we went in the direction of a Medicare-for-all program, to really make this affordable to all people in the United States.

Now, Anthony Weiner from New York—

[more at link]ELISABETH BENJAMIN: Well, the problem with the $900 billion number is that it actually... more

asherp
added this
25 days ago
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0 comments

Doctor arrested at CIGNA Sit-In Protest for Healthcare

Dr. Matt Hendrickson, MD MPH was arrested Thursday 10/28/2009 in Glendale for joining... more

JonRaymond
added this
26 days ago
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1 comment

Glendale 7 Arrested at CIGNA: What's a Life Worth?

They're at it again. Those pesky health care people who think everyone deserves to live a healthy life, or just plain live, for that matter. 122 people die every day for lack of health care and more for denial of care despite paying high premiums. That's the way it is in America. But some people just can't let it go. What is this, some kind of first world democracy where everyone has equal rights to life?

Seven were arrested today at CIGNA headquarters in Glendale CA, including Dr. Matt Hendrickson, MD MPH, as they sat-in on the CIGNA lobby. Police and CIGNA security barricaded the entrance to the lobby and only allowed "registered" press inside, of which there were very few.

Sit-in supporters chanting "Arrest the Real Criminals" and pointing at the CIGNA building, had to watch from afar through the glass doors as police carried protesters away through the building to a loading dock garage. Protesters then walked around to the loading dock where a Glendale Police motorcycle squad promptly followed them and kept them at a s distance from the garage entrance. Then they closed the garage door enough so that the arrests and their loading into the police van could not be witnessed by protesters, the public, or cameras.

I talked to Shelia Dvorak who was there in support of the sit-in protesters and who was arrested on 10/15/09 for a sit-in at Blue Cross in L.A.'s beautiful downtown financial district. She said she's not afraid of being arrested and was not treated badly, and that in fact the police she talked to sympathized with her. She made a video of that sit-in here: http://mobilizeforhealthcare-la.ning.com/video/blue-cross-sit-in-for-medicare The police arrested the sit-in protesters only in response to CIGNA on charges of trespassing.

Another man who was inside with the sit-in protesters came out when police threatened to arrest everyone. He was carrying a sign that read "What's a life worth?", with a picture of his daughter on it. He had full CIGNA coverage for his family when his daughter was denied treatment for a liver problem and died.They're at it again. Those pesky health care people who think everyone deserves to... more

JonRaymond
added this
26 days ago
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1 comment

H.R.676: Medicare for All Act -

Call your congressman or senators and tell them you support this bill and will not... more

ksutherland27
added this
28 days ago
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1 comment

tagged w/ Single Payer

OK Go Premiere ‘WTF?’ Music Video

Prescription Drug Prices Up 9% in 2009

Democrat-Led healthcare reform could make things WORSE

Is the House Healthcare Bill Better or Worse Than Nothing?

Kucinich Opposes Pelosi's HR 3962 Private Insurance Mandate

Kucinich's No Vote on Healthcare Explained: HR3962 is Pro-Insurance Industry

Raw Video: Health Care Bill Passes in the House

Dr. Margaret Flowers and Charles Loubert, 81, Stay in Jail for CEO of CareFirst

Pelosi 12 Arrested at her San Francisco Office

Dennis Kucinich: Pro-Corporate Health Care "Reform" is going to make things WORSE

Health Care Reform Movement Grows and Persists

Blue Shield Shut Down by Protesters

115 Arrested in 18 Cities this Week

Sit-In Protesters Spend the Night at Humana

CIGNA Kills Girl, Doctor Arrested

Doctor Remains in Jail for CEO of CareFirst

Democracy Now Healthcare Roundtable

Doctor arrested at CIGNA Sit-In Protest for Healthcare

Glendale 7 Arrested at CIGNA: What's a Life Worth?

H.R.676: Medicare for All Act -

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