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

"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

JERSEY CITY HEALTH CARE VIGIL 9/2/09

View all

Get your own

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?"

Quick update on energy bill timing

From MoveOn e-mail dd 7/9/2009
.........................

Energy and health care are the two biggest issues on Capitol Hill right now, and MoveOn Councils are planning fantastic local actions this month urging their senators to support clean energy jobs and a public health insurance option.

And we just heard some news about the energy fight that we wanted to share. As you may know, we've been expecting a key vote on the big clean energy bill in the Senate Environment and Public Works committee by the end of this month.

Today, Senator Barbara Boxer—the Chairwoman of the key Senate committee now considering the big clean energy bill—announced that her committee won't vote on the bill until after the August recess.1

Actually, this doesn't change much for our summer organizing plans. The bill is still being written and debated now. And grassroots organizing to pressure key senators while the bill is in committee remains our best chance to fix it.

So we're moving ahead with our national day of action on July 23rd. That's when Councils working on health care and energy will hold media events all around the country to spread our message!

To check which actions are planned by our council please go to:
http://www.moveon.org/team/ and sign in

If you haven't joined a council yet you can check planned activities by searching for councils using your zip code

Next steps for MoveOn Councils

Dear MoveOn Council member,
On Monday, we asked MoveOn members whether to move forward with a massive effort to fix the energy bill in the Senate—and a whopping 95% of them said yes! This is consistent with how Council members responded late last week.
Now, we wanted to give a special update about our next steps in the Power Up America campaign—and get your feedback on where we go from here.
Read on for more, then click here to a complete a survey about our next steps:
http://pol.moveon.org/powerup/nextsteps/councilsurvey.html?id=16489-8727613-YfczcQx&t=1
Here's what the landscape looks like in the Senate:
Just like in the House, conservative Democrats are already fighting hard to make sure the big energy bill protects the interests of Big Oil and Coal. In fact, they're pushing to weaken the legislation even more than their colleagues in the House already did.
In the next few weeks, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will take up work on their own version of the bill. Many members of the committee, including Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, are supporters of clean energy—but they'll be under tremendous pressure to preserve the worst provisions of the House bill.
One big thing that's at stake: The version of the bill passed in the House would repeal a key Clean Air Act provision and prevent the EPA from cleaning up global-warming pollution from dirty coal plants. So we'll be asking Chairwoman Boxer and the committee to pass a bill which doesn't have that problem.
Meanwhile, the fight over health care—MoveOn's other big campaign right now—is also heating up in the Senate. And it's a similar story—some conservative Democrats seem to be siding with the health insurance industry and trying to scrap President Obama's proposal for a public health insurance option.
So we face some critical questions: How can Councils be most effective moving into the big Senate fight on energy? And should Councils also begin working on health care?
To plan our next steps, we need to hear from you. (If you responded to our email last week, thank you! And we'd love to hear more from you now.) Click here to take an important survey to guide our next steps on energy and health care:
http://pol.moveon.org/powerup/nextsteps/councilsurvey.html?id=16489-8727613-YfczcQx&t=2
And as always, thanks for all you do.

From MoveOn.org: DON"T LET THEM DERAIL HEALTH CARE REFORM

This is the communication received from MoveOn.org:

Last week Republicans on Capitol Hill held a strategy summit on how to defeat key parts of the president's health care plan.
At one point, Republican pollster Frank Luntz declared, "You're not going to get what you want, but you can kill what they're trying to do."1
Luntz wrote a confidential memo that laid out the Republican strategy:
Pretend to support reform.
Mislead Americans about the heart of Obama'splan, the public health insurance option.
Scare enough people to doom real reform.

Since most people don't know much about the public health care option,these lies could take root if we don't fight back. Can you send this outto all your friends and neighbors?

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OBAMA'S PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE OPTION
The choice of a public health insurance plan is crucial to real healthcare reform. But right now, it's being smeared by conservatives andinsurance-industry front groups. Here's what you really need to know:

1. Choice, choice, choice. If the public health insurance option passes,Americans will be able to choose between their current insurance and ahigh-quality, government-run plan similar to Medicare. If you like yourcurrent care, you can keep it. If you don't--or don't have any--you canget the public insurance plan.2

2. It will be high-quality coverage with a choice of doctors.Government-run plans have a track record of innovating to improve quality,because they're not just focused on short-term profits. And if you choosethe public plan, you'll still get to choose your doctor and hospital.3

3. We'll all save a bunch of money. The public health insurance optionwon't have to spend money on things like CEO bonuses, shareholderdividends, or excessive advertising, so it'll cost a lot less. Plus, theprivate plans will have to lower their rates and provide better value tocompete, so people who keep their current insurance will save, too.4

4. It will always be there for you and your family. A for-profit insurercan close, move out of the area, or just kick you off their insurancerolls. The public health insurance option will always be available toprovide you with the health security you need.5

5. And it's a key part of universal health care. No longer will sickpeople or folks in rural communities, or low-income Americans be forced togo without coverage. The public health insurance plan will be availableand accessible to everyone. And for those struggling to make ends meet,the premiums will be subsidized by the government.6

We all need to speak out to make sure we get real health reform. Please pass this on, then call your senators and ask them to support the choice of a public health insurance plan.

The public health insurance option is a big part of the change we fought so hard for last fall. We didn't let the smears beat Obama then. And we can't let new lies beat us now. Please forward this to everyone you know.

Thanks for all you do.
--Patrick S., Joan, Wes, Laura and the rest of the team

Sources:
1. "Words Designed to Kill Health Care Reform," Huffington Post, May 7,2009http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51414&id=16121-2676425-lENgN.x&t=10
2, 3, 4, 5, 6. "The Case for Public Plan Choice in National HealthReform," Institute for America's Futurehttp://www.moveon.org/r?r=51396&id=16121-2676425-lENgN.x&t=11

POWER POINT PRESENTATION ON CLEAN ENERGY & CLEAN JOBS FOR AN EMERGING ECONOMY

Talking points to call your Congress Representative about the Clean Energy Bill

MoveOn.org - Because Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport

Call on Congress to Pass a Strong Clean Energy Jobs Bill to Jump-Start Job Creation in New Jersey

Congress is currently considering a clean energy jobs bill that has the potential to start us on the path to a new energy economy. But Big Oil and Big Coal are working hard to keep us reliant on dirty energy for decades to come.

We ask you to contact our Senators and Congressman to urge them to lead the nation and serve their constituents by working to strengthen the bill so it creates clean energy jobs here in New Jersey, with more money-saving energy efficiency and more reliance on cleaner, cheaper sources of energy like wind and solar.

It's important to let our elected officials know that we support the WAXMAN-MARKEY ENERGY BILL. If they know that their constituents support it, they'll be more likely to keep fighting for it. Plus, other senators and congressmen who are on the fence will take notice, too.

Here are some points to help you make the call

Talking Points for Clean Energy Jobs

There are real, tangible benefits in craeting a clean energy economy in New Jersey: we'll get new, high-paying jobs that can't be outsourced, a stronger local economy, and savings for local residents. Clean energy is a growth industry that provides better-paying jobs—and more of them—while lowering the cost of utilities for the average household. And every local business will benefit from a stronger economy and lower energy costs that aren't set by big oil and coal companies.

If Congress passes a strong clean energy jobs bill, successful businesses in New Jersey will grow and we will be able to put people back to work. A new energy economy means we'll ramp up manufacturing for solar and wind equipment, get people back to work making homes and buildings more energy efficient, and expand businesses to install clean energy technology at our homes, schools, post offices, and other public buildings.

A strong clean energy jobs bill would mean that these businesses will be able to compete with big oil and coal companies that have gotten rich by getting government tax breaks for decades. A strong clean energy jobs bill will level the playing field and mean that innovative companies can compete in the marketplace against giant oil companies.

We urgently need legislation to move us to a clean energy economy. But the bill that recently passed the Energy & Commerce Committee isn't there yet and it might not be enugh. Big Oil and Coal have weakened the bill as they work to keep our country hooked on old, dirty and expensive energy sources. We urge Congress to strengthen the American Clean Energy and Security bill so it moves us to cheaper, cleaner energy sources like wind and solar, and creates the clean energy jobs we need to jumpstart our economy and invest in America's long-term prosperity.

Listed below are the names, phone numbers and Web sites for New Jersey’s two senators and the three Congressmen who represent different parts of Hudson County. You have to go to their Web sites to e-mail them. If you don’t know who your congressman is, you can go to the Web site of Project Vote Smart -- http://www.votesmart.org/. It’s a fabulous resource.

Senator Frank Lautenberg
Newark Office 973-639-8700 Washington Office 202-224-3224 http://lautenberg.senate.gov/

Senator Robert Menendez
Newark Office 973-645-3030 Washington Office 202-224-4744 http://menendez.senate.gov/

Rep. Albio Sires
Jersey City Office 201-222-2828 Washington Office 202-225-7919 http://www.sires.house.gov/

Rep. Steve Rothman
Jersey City Office 201-798-1366 Washington Office 202-225-5061 http://www.rothman.house.gov/

Rep. Donald Payne
Jersey City Office 201-369-0392 Washington Office 202-225-3436 http://www.house.gov/payne/



For a summary of the current version of the bill please go to:
http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php - scroll to the announcement on May 15th that has the latest info on the Bill, including a Summary or
http://apolloalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/apollo-summary-of-waxman-markey-bill-041009-3.pdf - has a very quick reference summary

CLEAN ENERGY JOBS DAY

MoveOn.org - Because Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport

Political Action Green Initiative Meeting

Jersey City/Hoboken Council


CLEAN ENERGY JOBS DAY

Call on Congress to Pass Strong Clean Energy Jobs Bill to Jump-Start Job Creation in Hudson County

The clean energy jobs bill, called the American Clean Energy and Security Act, is expected to come to a vote in the House of Representatives this summer. If passed, the bill will allow successful businesses in Hudson County to grow and we will be able to put people back to work, reduce electricity and heating costs for local households, and keep America competitive in the global economy.
In order to drive home this point, on:

Thursday, May 28, at 10:00am
Room 104 in the Babbio Center at Stevens Institute of Technology
1 Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken

Small-business leaders and residents of Hudson County will host a meeting with local clean energy companies to talk about their businesses and how investments in a clean economy will have quick economic benefits and create local jobs

A new energy economy means we'll ramp up manufacturing for solar and wind equipment, get people back to work making homes and buildings more energy efficient, and expand businesses to install clean energy technology at our homes, schools, post offices, and other public buildings. Businesses like, 3rd Rock Systems & Technologies, which installs solar panels on large commercial areas (including Stevens Institute) then sells power to companies cheaper than PSE&G, are already based here and are looking to expand their business and workforce.

Please join us and show your support for new jobs and a cleaner world
To sign up for this event go to: http://moveon.org/
click on Upcoming Events (bottom right side), type in your zip code and follow instructions

Light refreshments will be served at 9:30am - Meeting will start promptly at 10:00am

N.B. - The Babbio Center was built with sustainable technologies, a showcase “environmentally conscious” structure

UPDATE ON CLEAN ENERGY DAY - May 6th - CONFERENCE CALL

I just wanted to bring you up to date on what we discussed during the conference call last night.

MaryAnn has contacted a few businesses that we might showcast on May 28th - Clean Energy Day

She is going to collect all their information on a Google doc that we can all share
It seems that there are a few of them very interested.

Also Jacquie Germany is going to do a presentation on her business which is green design for the home (we posted her presentation on google docs for us to take a look at and see if it would work.)

Andy Velwest also contacted a company which does home design and green inspections and he'll get more information on that.

We will probably organize the Clean Energy Day as a big media day but instead of touring green businesses we were thinking of using one green business facility to hold a kind of a mini conference where all the invited clean energy businesses will do a presentation on their business and explain what they are doing, how the new bill would impact them, how they can create jobs and what kind of jobs they would be creating, etc...

We are still debating the pro and con of this format but we should discuss it further.

While we wait for the list of businesses participating to be finalized:

- Tom Rosensweet will start to alert our members and other groups about this event, so that we will try to have several people participate. The goal is 15/20 people. The event is on a working day (Thrusday) in the morning so we are not sure what kind of turn out we will have but we are hoping people will still participate if at all possible. It would be great if you could get veterans, unions and other group working with people that need jobs, to attend this event. It might be a good chance for them to hear about possible future jobs in details.

- Rossella and Bill I will compile a list of Media that we can contact as soon as we have all the deatils about the Clean Energy Day.

We'll have another conference call next Wednesday at 7:00pm to finalize all the details and put the planning into motion, I hope you will have time to participate.

We'll keep you posted if anything else comes up.
If you'd like to participate to the Conference call please send an e-mail to jc.h.council@gmail.com and we'll send you the number to call.

Obama’s Emissions Plan Needs Tweaking, E.U. Climate Chief Says

Obama’s Emissions Plan Needs Tweaking, E.U. Climate Chief Says

Read More:

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/07/obamas-emissions-plan-needs-tweaking-eu-climate-chief-says/#more-8089

Discussion Draft Summary - The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009

Here's the link to the discussion draft of the Clean Energy bill being duscussed in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

The bill is over 400 pages but this is a pretty good summary.

http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_111/20090331/acesa_summary.pdf

Undecided reps on House panel hold key to climate bill

http://www.grist.org/article/2009-05-02-undecided-reps-on-house-panel/

It don't mean a thing if you ain't got those swings

Posted 7:07 AM on 2 May 2009by Kate Sheppard

HEALTHCARE AS A RIGHT, NOT A PRIVILEGE

Extracts from:www.pnhp.org

Memo to Obama by John P. Geyman, M.D., is professor emeritus of family medicine at the University of Washington, and past president of Physicians for a National Health Program. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine.

"........My special concern, however, is for our failing health care system and how it is pricing health care beyond the reach of ordinary Americans. Our system has come to the point where none of the many incremental reforms will work. The business model of insurance has failed, and we need to rebuild the system on a social insurance model.

Let me be direct. Although we have many dedicated health professionals, an abundance of the latest technologies, and many fine hospitals, health care has become just another commodity to be bought and sold in a deregulated market based on ability to pay, not medical need.

As you well know, industry profits handsomely from the status quo, raking in money through insurance, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and so on. Industry has a war chest to defend itself and demonstrates its political power each time any new reform is brought up.

But the situation has become dire. There is no end in sight in controlling health care costs as they soar upwards at three or four times the cost of living and family incomes. We have had three decades of incremental attempts to rein in costs, including managed care and consumer-directed health care. None have worked. We have a solution in plain sight — single-payer National Health Insurance (NHI). Market stakeholders are fighting it fiercely, but it’s the only real reform that has a chance to work.

Most of your advisers will likely caution you that NHI is too radical for Americans to accept, that you need to be more centrist, and that it is not politically feasible. But therein lies your trap. You will be persuaded to add one more incremental attempt to fix things, which will not work, will cost more than ever, will delay real reform, and will add to the pain of so many along the way. Your moment of opportunity will have been lost.

Beyond ideology, these facts support NHI as the treatment of choice in 2009.

• Premiums alone for private health insurance have grown by more than 100 percent since 2000, and are projected to consume all of average household income by 2025, clearly an impossibility way before then.
• According to the Milliman Medical Index, the typical American family of four spent $15,600 on total health care costs in 2008, fully one-quarter of the typical combined family income of $60,000; most consider 10 percent of family income to be the threshold of underinsurance.
• The administrative overhead of private insurers is five to nine times higher than not-for-profit Medicare (average for commercial carriers 19.9 percent, investor-owned Blues 26.5 percent, Medicare 3 percent).
• The inefficiency and bureaucracy of our 1,300 private insurers are not sustainable (e.g., according to the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, there are 17,000 different hea1th plans in Chicago).
• Private insurers offer much less choice than traditional Medicare; there are near-monopolies in 95 percent of HMO/PPO metropolitan markets, enough to trigger anti-trust concerns by the United States Department of Justice.
• Because of costs, about 75 million Americans are either uninsured of underinsured, with large segments of the population forgoing necessary care and having worse health care outcomes; the United States now ranks nineteenth among nineteen industrialized countries in reducing preventable deaths from amenable causes.
• Wall Street is already questioning the future prospects of the private insurance industry; as of November 18, 2008, the average share prices of the top five private insurers were down by between 60 percent and 77 percent, compared to the Standard and Poor’s 42 percent.

I expect that none of this is news to you, but what is neglected by almost all economists, “experts” and pundits is that there is already plenty of money in the system, that we waste about one-third of our health care dollar on our inefficient multi-payer financing system and on unnecessary care, and that NHI will save money, not cost more. NHI is the most fiscally responsible thing we can do now about health care. The Conyers bill in the House (H.R. 676) will be financed by payroll and progressive income taxes that will be less than what individuals and employers now pay. The health insurance industry is being propped up by government subsidies to the employer-based system and to privatized public programs. NHI can save some $350 billion through administrative simplification, while offering coverage for all necessary care, full choice of provider and hospital, and mechanisms for cost containment through bulk purchasing, negotiated fees, and global budgets.

NHI by itself will not solve all of our health care problems, but it will provide a structure (as no incremental approach can) to enable other necessary steps. These include acceptance of health care as a right, transition to a not-for-profit system, reimbursement reform, rebuilding of primary care, evidence-based technology assessment, and quality improvement. None of this will be possible by using reforms that leave an obsolete private insurance industry in place, as is more fully discussed in my recent book “Do Not Resuscitate: Why the Health Insurance Industry is Dying, and How We Must Replace It.”

FDR almost went for NHI in the mid-1930s, but he backed off, mainly due to the AMA’s opposition. Today, the AMA is marginalized with a membership of no more than 30 percent of physicians, and a majority of American physicians now support NHI. Implementing NHI in your presidency can be your FDR-size legacy. It has become an economic, moral, and social imperative. Overnight NHI can bind us together as one society, all of us in the same boat. We can afford it. Yes, we can!"

UPDATE ON 5/2 MEETING and GREEN JOBS CAMPAIGN

• 
  During the meeting on Saturday May 2nd,we came up with a general canvas for what we need to do to organize the Clean Energy Job Day on May 28th.
  On Wed. May 6th at 8:00pm we will have an Organizing Conference Call with all of you who could not attend the meeting and we'll iron out the final details.
  Please join our Organizing Conference Call this Wednesday to help out with this effort. Even if you can't attend the event on May 28th, we would be very grateful if you could help us out by making a few phone calls.
  
  General ideas for the Clean Energy Job Day.
  
  The goal of this event is to pressure congress to strenghten and support the clean energy jobs legislation. This event will take place on May 28th around 10am. We'll showcase at least 3 clean energy businesses. We'll ask the businesses to give our delegation a tour and we'll try to get media coverage for the event.We'll take pictures during the tour.We'll send the pictures and comments to legislators.
  
  
  We need help from our members
  
  · We need somebody to call the businesses and ask them if they are interested in participating and showcasing their business
  · We need somebody to call the media and get them to the event (our media coordinator will help with calls details and a list of media outlets we need to call)
  · We need members to call other community groups, unions, political groups to ask them for their support and if they can send some somebody to join us during the event
  · We need to identify speakers who will explain to the attendees and the media what this action is all about.
  · We need to have at least 15 people attending on May 28th around 10:00am, which is a Thursday and might be a tough day to take off from work
  
  All these calls need to happen within 10 days, but they should not take much time.
  Please join our Organizing Conference Call this Wednesday to help out with this effort.
  
  Even if you can't attend the event yourself we will very grateful if you could help us out by making a few phone calls.
  Details about the conference call to follow.

UPDATE ON 5/2 MEETING and GREEN JOBS CAMPAIGN

During the meeting on Saturday May 2nd,we came up with a general canvas for what we need to do to organize the Clean Energy Job Day on May 28th.



On Wed. May 6th at 8:00pm we will have an Organizing Conference Call with all of you who could not attend the meeting and we'll iron out the final details.


Please join our Organizing Conference Call this Wednesday to help out with this effort. Even if you can't attend the event on May 28th, we would be very grateful if you could help us out by making a few phone calls.

General ideas for the Clean Energy Job Day.

The goal of the Clean Energy job Day is to pressure Congress to strenghten and support the clean energy jobs legislation. This event will take place on May 28th around 10am.

We'll showcase at least 3 clean energy businesses.

We'll ask the businesses to give our delegation a tour and we'll try to get media coverage for the event.We'll take pictures during the tour.We'll send the pictures and comments to legislators.

To organize this event we need member to help us out.

• 
  
  We need somebody to call the businesses and ask them if they are interested in participating and showcasing their business


• 
  
  We need somebody to call the media and get them to the event (our media coordinator will help with calls details and a list of media outlets we need to call)


• 
  
  We need members to call other community groups, unions, political groups to ask them for their support and if they can send some somebody to join us during the event


• 
  
  We need to identify speakers who will explain to the attendees and the media what this action is all about.


• 
  
  We need to have at least 15 people attending on May 28th around 10:00am, which is a Thursday and might be a tough day to take off work for many people
  All these calls need to happen within 10 days, but they should not take much time.
  Please join our Organizing Conference Call this Wednesday to help out with this effort. Even if you can't attend the event yourself we will very grateful if you could help us out by making a few phone calls.
  Details about the conference call to follow.More details and info can be on our blog at http://jerseycity-hoboken-moveon.blogspot.com/
  Thank youRossella AquilaCouncil Coordinator

HEALTHCARE REFORM

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) is a member of the Senate Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on Health Care, which is holding a hearing tomorrow morning, Tuesday, May 5.
Call his office or e-mail him to tell him you want a public option (just like Medicare) as a part of the healthcare reform bill to be passed this year. This option will allow Americans to have a health care option like Medicare. Without this option in the bill, America will be stuck with private insurance plans that are crippling our country.
Tell Sen. Menendez you want a public healthcare insurance option! Please pass this on to friends and family in NJ!
ideas@menendez.senate.gov.
OFFICE LOCATIONS:528 Senate Hart Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20510202.224.4744202.228.2197 fax
One Gateway Center,Suite 1100Newark, New Jersey 07102973.645.3030973.645.0502 fax
208 White Horse Pike, Suite 18Barrington, New Jersey 08007856.757.5353856.546.1526 fax

Clean American Dream

WEBCAST at our Organizing Meeting

Connect to a MoveOn.org national conference call where we'll hear an update on the Power Up America campaign -- including recent successes in our small business organizing drive, and what lies ahead in the next few weeks.

http://s3.moveon.org/audio/webcast.mp3