Your editorial proclaiming the success of the Massachusetts health care reform (“Health reform in Massachusetts,” May 21) is off the mark. The U.S. Census Bureau, the Massachusetts Health Reform Survey and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue find that the number of uninsured has fallen by only about half, to around 5 percent.

PNHP National Coordinator Dr. Quentin Young sent the following letter to Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) earlier today. Representative Paul Ryan 1233 Longworth HOB Washington, D.C. 20515 May 25, 2011 Dear Rep. Paul Ryan, Our organization, Physicians for a National Health Program, is strongly supportive of Medicare, recognizing it as one of the premier legislative achievements [...]

The following remarks were made by Karen Green Stone at the annual shareholders meeting of the giant health insurer WellPoint in Indianapolis on May 17. Green Stone is a member of Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Care Plan, an affiliate of Physicians for a National Health Program. For the past several years she and other members of HCHP have challenged WellPoint’s profit-driven business practices on the floor of the annual meeting, urging shareholders to vote for a resolution demanding the company return to its nonprofit roots. They’ve received significant media coverage for their efforts, and their support for single-payer national health insurance has also been noted. An excerpt from her remarks on Tuesday was published in the Indianapolis Business Journal.

Pippa Abston, MD, PhD, FAAP, a general pediatrician in Huntsville, Alabama who also teaches medical students, has a blog that everyone should read. Dr. Abston has written many reflections, including blogging as she reads every word 2,400+ pages of the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” (33 installments so far!) Dr. Abston has also articulated [...]

I have to believe that all of you enjoyed the presentations that preceded me as much as I did. They were spectacular, because not only are they speaking the truth, but they indicate the coalition that is going to make single-payer health reform happen.

If public opinion polls alone determined political outcomes, we would have single-payer public health insurance already, or at least some “robust public option.” But, unfortunately, some political actors have more influence on policy decisions than others.

The following is a selection of the speeches delivered to a rally of medical and other health-professional students who support single-payer health reform that was held in the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier, Vt., on March 26. Some of the remarks have been shortened for space considerations. A video about the rally, which was attended by [...]

I belong to the Public Employees Federation, AFL-CIO, the union that organizes and represents public employees who perform scientific, professional and technical services for New York. About 56,000 people belong to our union and statewide we perform literally thousands of essential roles. When I was hired at my present position I welcomed the opportunity to [...]

Originally published in the Berkshire Eagle. Writing about the Massachusetts health care reform program in a 2009 issue of the Wall Street Journal, Governor Deval Patrick stated, “Because of our reform, families are less likely to be forced into bankruptcy by medical costs.” Both Governor Patrick and President Obama have used the benchmark of medical [...]

The president supports state innovation in health care, but vigilance is required to ensure state reforms improve health as we continue to call for national reform By Margaret Flowers, M.D. President Obama announced at the National Governors Association on Monday that he supports an amendment to the health law that would allow states some flexibility [...]