The following text contains the written testimony of Dr. Anne Scheetz that she presented to the Illinois House Special Committee on Medicaid Reform on Jan. 3, 2011, in Springfield, Ill. Thank you for allowing me to address your committee on behalf of the Illinois chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program and the Illinois [...]

By Ed Weisbart, M.D. I get overwhelmed when I try to think about the facts that there are over 50 million Americans without healthcare insurance and millions more with grossly inadequate insurance. I’m just as devastated to know that this kills 46,000 of us every year. I personally find it almost impossible to fully grasp [...]

By Thomas Clairmont, M.D. The Granite State Chapter of PNHP had a great meeting in New Castle, N.H., on Dec. 4, and is gearing up for the debate around health care that that is certain to erupt during the presidential primary campaign, which starts here in about a month. (The primary election itself will take [...]

It was clear from the beginning of the health care “reform” charade that the insurance industry, the drug industry and other parts of the corporate medical industrial complex were working to assure that any legislation that passed would add to their financial bottom lines. They largely succeeded in this. The following examples illustrate how well [...]

The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly on November 24 to approve draft legislation that encourages direct-to-consumer “high quality information” from pharmaceutical companies to patients. The measure reaffirmed the European ban on television and radio drug advertisements, and recommended that nations extend the ban to print media. Nevertheless the vote was greeted as a victory by the [...]

The Fate’s Lieutenant Last week the proposal by the co-chairs of the president’s bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform reverberated on down the mass media echo chamber. They called for substantial cuts in Social Security and Medicare benefits, among other things that would undermine our basic standard of living. The media saturation was [...]

By Ida Hellander, M.D. There’s actually some good news for single-payer health reform in the midst of the generally negative midterm election news. The good news: * Peter Shumlin won in Vermont, so the state has a pro-single-payer governor on top of a large grassroots movement. Sen. Patrick Leahy was re-elected to office and is [...]

by Andy Coates Peter Shumlin was elected Governor of Vermont on his plans to close down Entergy’s aging, unsafe Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, to transition to green energy and to increase passenger rail, to reduce prison spending, his strong pro-choice stance, and, of course, single-payer healthcare for every Vermonter. PNHP has already posted the [...]

Critique of the co-chairs’ health care proposals for the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform The projected increases in Medicare spending are of concern to all of us. Although we need to slow the rate of growth in spending, we should do so not only without impairing the program, but by actually enhancing the [...]

By Benjamin Day Massachusetts voters have, for the second straight election, overwhelmingly affirmed their support for single payer health reform by turning in majority ‘Yes’ votes in all fourteen districts where local single payer ballot questions appeared on November 2. The ballots spanned 80 different cities and towns in a state of 351 municipalities, winning [...]