Monday, September 21, 2009

SICK OF BIG INSURANCE RALLY - 9/22/09 at Noon

On September 22, we're joining NJ Citizen Action and the NJ Health Care For America Now (HCAN) Campaign to hold a press conference and rally in front of the corporate offices of Horizon BlueCross BlueShield in Newark. Join us as we participate in this National Day of Action to call out insurance companies in New Jersey and nationwide for denying coverage and raising premiums on the American people, sending a clear message to insurance company CEOs and executives – “Stop Denying Our Care!” It’s time for insurance companies to stand up and give the American people the health care we need – quality, affordable health care for all with the choice of a national public health insurance option.
PLEASE MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!

THIS IS GREAT!!! PLEASE SEND THIS TO YOUR LISTS!!!

Michelle Norton produced this excellent video after attending PDLA's Universal Single Payer Health

Thursday, September 17, 2009

WHAT I DID TODAY TO PUSH FOR A STRONG HEALTH CARE PUBLIC OPTION.

I get tired and discouraged like everyone else. But today after reading the news I was so upset that I told myself : “..this is no time to stop. This is the time to go even bigger.” But what else can we do? What can we do given our limited money and resources?
Well, we have our votes and our voices. I suggest we use what we've got. When it comes to legislative issues, we have an advantage over corporations--they can't vote. We can.
Politicians cannot be elected without votes. We can put the fear of un-election into them if we deny them our votes. We can also put some respect for the public back into their minds if we express our approval or disapproval of their actions.
The opponents of a health care reform will not let up. Do you think they've stopped haranguing the same Congressperson that's supposed to represent you--the majority of Americans in favor of a public option in health insurance reform? Certainly not.
So if they won’t go away, we’ll have to continue to fight them. We can’t let them win. The stakes are too high. They're counting on us to get tired. They figure they can stall us out, and we'll quit. They want us to get discouraged. They're trying to make us give up. They know we're busy and overworked and overextended, with family concerns and obligations. But they also know we are the majority.
Why not act now in whatever small ways to make sure a piece of legislation with a strong public options gets approved?
One never knows what it takes to move these skeptics but even senators in the past have shown the ability to support laws benefiting the American people. Sometimes fate will toss up an unexpected opportunity, and what do we have to loose?
This is what I did today:

I CALLED SEN. REID

Majority Leader Harry Reid will decide which bill to bring to a full Senate vote—the weak Finance bill with little support, or the strong bill passed with unanimous Democratic support by Sen. Ted Kennedy's committee in July.
I called Senate Majority Leader Reid and urged him to make sure the bill that goes to the floor for a vote is the one passed by Sen. Kennedy's committee—with a public health insurance option. The bill passed by Sen. Kennedy's committee, however, won unanimous Democratic support. And with its good public health insurance option, it's similar to House legislation that's received widespread praise among Democrats

Here's where to call:
Majority Leader Harry Reid 202-224-3542

THEN I WROTE AN E-MAIL TO SEN. BAUCUS OF MONTANA

Ironically, the bill that Baucus delayed so long in the hopes of garnering bipartisan support has the least support of any of the five bills out there. The Baucus bill will not provide you and me with good quality, affordable health care. It fails to ask employers to share responsibility and provide health care to their workers. And it does not keep the insurance companies honest because it lacks the choice of a national public health insurance option.It does one thing, however. It gives the insurance industry a monopoly and millions of new, captive customers. The Baucus bill is the insurance company bill. Need proof? After the bill was released, the Congressional Budget Office said that the bill will not provide competition to the insurance companies.The bill works for them, but not for you. It must be fixed. So even though I live in New Jersey I wrote to Sen. Baucus of Montana at:

http://baucus.senate.gov/contact/emailForm.cfm?subj=issue

And here’s what I said:

Dear Senator Baucus, I'm from New Jersey but since your proposed bill on healthcare (which by the way is anything but a landmark) will affect all Americans, I think I should write to you directly anyway. I believe you worked really hard on the health care issue but unfortunately you managed to come up with is the weakest possible bill that nobody likes. Your bill will be totally useless because it does not contain a public option, and possibly it will make matter worst for people who can’t afford health insurance. Without a public option there can not be a real reform. Your bill, if passed, will only be a mandate requiring 30 million uninsured to buy private health insurance (if they don't already have it). If they are broke, they may get a subsidy. If they are not broke, but still can’t afford the stiff rates, they will get a fine if they do not purchase insurance. How is this helping the American people? I lived in Italy for 30 years and I can assure you that the health care system in that country is not a perfect system but it is a fair system. At least people don’t have to worry about going broke because of their poor health. Public health is something that Europeans have been talking for granted for many years. America, the most powerful country in the world, deserves better than your proposed bill without a public option. Besides, you toned down the real reforming options to gain support but this bill is not supported by democrats or republicans. Pay less attention to your campaign contributors in the heath industry and more attention to the needs of all the people you are serving. Americans can contribute to your campaign or your opponent campaign even if they don’t live in your state (see Sen. Wilson), and therefore we can make our voices heard in Montana even from as far away as New Jersey.

I ALSO SENT AN E-MAIL TO EVERY SENATOR OF BOTH PARTIES ASKING THEM TO SUPPORT AN HEALTH CARE BILL ONLY IF IT CONTAINS A STRONG PUBLIC OPTION.

Here’s where you can find how to get in touch with them:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Click where it says Web Form

You’ll have to fill out a form for each senator, but if you write a statement and then copy it, then you can quickly paste it on each of their web form. It helps if you use auto-fill to fill out the form. it took me about 2 1/2 hours to e-mail all the US Senators.

Here’s what I said in my e-mail (with slight variations depending if the senator was a democrat or a republican)

Dear Senator,
We the people of this country have been waiting, watching, and hoping Congress will finally provide a humane way to address the health needs of all of America's citizens.
70%+ of the American people support a public option in health care reform. Today I want to urge you to vote for a health insurance reform bill only if it has a strong public option. A health reform bill without a robust public option will not achieve the health reform this country so desperately needs. I would just like to remind you that when all the hoopla dies down,
WE WHO FAVOR HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM WITH A STRONG PUBLIC OPTION ARE A MAJORITY. The GOP has no other plan. Their only plan is to torpedo much needed health insurance reform, putting politics over the nation’s wellness. Why not heed President Obama’s call to honor Senator Ted Kennedy’s life’s work by voting for health care reform w/a strong public option? I vote in New Jersey but I can send my campaign contributions to all Senators or their opponents. This is a national issue and I intend to make my voice heard, and my campaign contributions count.

We can get tired, we can’t let up, we have to continue to grind away the resistance and inertia and greed and self-interest that stands in our way. Think of all the stories we heard of lives filled with suffering due to untreated illness. Of all the people who got inadequate or no care simply because they couldn't afford it. Who may have been dropped for the most bureaucratic, bottom-line reasons.

President Obama closed his speech with a call for us to act. To take some final, decisive steps to make health care reform a reality. All we have are our voices and the collective will to raise them. So let’s them hear them!

As President Obama said: “ We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it. I still believe we can act even when it's hard. I still believe -- I still believe that we can act when it's hard. I still believe we can replace acrimony with civility, and gridlock with progress. I still believe we can do great things, and that here and now we will meet history's test. "

Come on! Let's do this. Let our voices be heard one more time. Let’s inundate these Senators with letters and faxes and e-mail and phone calls.

And let’s rally together one more time next week on September 22nd in front of the Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Newark to let insurance companies know that we won't let them trying to defeat a strong public health insurance option.
Sign up here:
http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=98634&id=-8727613-zXE1H4x

Rossella Aquila

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

"Big Insurance Makes me Sick" Rallies

Planning "Big Insurance Makes me Sick" Rallies

Date of the event: September 22nd - Time: TBD (should be between 9 am and no later than 3:30 pm to accommodate Media coverage)

The MoveOn.org event planned for September is going to be "Big Insurance Makes me Sick" Rallies

We are looking for people to help us plan this event so please let us know by e-mail if you’d be willing to lend us a hand.

The goal of the Big Insurance: Sick of It Rallies is to highlight the worst abuses of the health insurance industry, thereby putting pressure on congressional targets to support a public health insurance option. The ideal Big Insurance: Sick of It Rally will gain enough media attention that local members of Congress really feel the heat.

The biggest threat to the public health insurance option is private insurance companies, who are spending $1.4 million a day lobbying Congress to block real reform. Insurance companies have made $60 billion over the last eight years alone, and they know that a public health insurance option would force them to compete and drive costs down. Much of the insurance industry's profit comes from denying people coverage--even people who currently have insurance. By shining a bright light on the worst abuses of the insurance industry, we will pressure our targets to stand with their constituents, not the insurance industry lobbyists.
All across the country, MoveOn will organize rallies in front of the offices of health insurance companies that are trying to kill real health insurance reform.
The core of the event is a program of speakers sharing personal stories about how they've been harmed by the health insurance industry and a sizable turnout of members with signs making noise and cheering for the speakers.
We will also build on the success of our "Can't Afford to Wait" photo petition and vigils by asking other participants to make their own "Can't Afford to Wait" signs. And in some places MoveOn will centrally produce large banners to display some of the most compelling "Can't Afford to Wait" images from the photo petition.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

We are looking for at least three and as many as five speakers with compelling personal stories about the abuses of the health insurance industry -- especially experience with the specific health care company we will be targeting, also health care workers talking about their experiences with insurance companies
We also need people to coordinate and supervise many tasks so please let us know if you can help by sending an e-mail to: jc.h.council@gmail.com


Thanks
Rossella Aquila
MoveOn.org Jersey City/Hoboken
Council Coordinator

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

MoveOn & R.E.M. Video: We Can't Afford to Wait



Last week MoveOn asked members to share photos showing how they and their loved ones are suffering under our broken health care system.

The responses simply blew us away. MoveOn showed the photos to recording artists R.E.M., and together they produced this incredibly powerful video.


Watch the video and share it with your friends today.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

JERSEY CITY HEALTH CARE VIGIL 9/2/09



Photos from the JERSEY CITY INDIPENDENT
http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/

More pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/REDHOT269/HealthCareVigil#

WE MADE THE 11 O'CLOCK NEWS!!!!

On Sep.2nd MoveOn.org organized more than 300 "We Can't Afford to Wait" vigils all around the country. Many of our members attended the vigil we held at Hournal Square in Jersey City, NJ. It was a truely remarkable event. It was our biggest event of the year, a scathing indictment of our broken health care system.

WWOR Channel 9, Mike Gilliam,a My9 News Reporter/Anchor and his crew did extensive interviews and filming at our vigil and then aired a very positive piece on the 11 o’clock news. Take a look:

To hear so many stories, see so many candles, stand shoulder to shoulder with so many other people who care so deeply about health care reform was truly moving.
Remember, it was only three or four weeks ago when it seemed a loud few would overpower the calls for reform from the many.
But throughout August, MoveOn members and other health care supporters turned out in droves to more than 700 town halls and meetings with members of Congress. By the end of the month, most public events were dominated by health care supporters, not the opposition.
And last night we shared stories of people bankrupted by medical bills and shut out by pre-existing conditions.

The New York Times wrote, "Under the banner of 'Can't Afford To Wait,' the vigils...put a human face on the need for" health care reform. Many local newspapers and TV stations prominently covered last night MoveOn vigils and last night they made it on to the front page of the Washington Post's website.
Next week, lawmakers will return to D.C. with these vigils fresh in their minds.

And for all who still have doubts about the necessity of a strong PUBLIC OPTION, I just want to quote here something Robert H. LeBow MD wrote at the end of his book "HEALTH CARE MELTDOWN":

"...Tonight ..... I want you to go to a quiet place and think about what would happen to your community if your local fire and police departments were converted to for-profit, fee-for-service industries. Imagine them being financed with a combination of poorly funded public support, depending heavily on fee-for-service reimbursemnet (or bribery) from people who may or may not have funds to afford their service. Think of the chaos, the inequality, the unnecessary loss of life, the injustice, and the potential for abuse. Think about entire neighborhoods of lower income individuals or remote rural areas with no fire or police protection at all, because they are deemed "unprofitables."

Privatization of those services is unconscionable!

Now think about our health care system. Why should medicine be any different?"