Dear Healthcare-NOW! Supporter:
Today, single-payer supporters from all over the country are celebrating the 44th birthday of one of the nation’s most popular public programs: Medicare.
On this anniversary of Medicare, we are calling for an end to a wasteful private health financing model based on earning profits through the restriction and denial of needed health care.
Take Action
It’s Medicare’s 44th Birthday! Call Congress today!
Tell them we want improved and expanded Medicare for all (national, single-payer healthcare).
Call the Capitol Switchboard at 866-338-1015.
This could be done through the passage of HR 676, “Expanded and Improved Medicare for All,” or S 703, “American Health Security Act.”
We need your help in telling members of Congress that the people want single-payer now.
Please, call your Senators and Representative today.
If you don’t know your Congress Members, or want to email them rather than call, go to www.VoteSmart.org. Otherwise, call the Capitol Switchboard at 866-338-1015.
Make these four requests:
1. If you haven’t, cosponsor single-payer legislation today. (HR 676 for Reps. and S. 703 for Senators)
2. Join Senators Schumer, Harkin, and Sanders in asking the CBO to score single-payer legislation. Past cost-benefit analyses (including from the CBO) reflect the cost neutrality of a single-payer system, and savings of healthcare dollars overall.
3. Vote for single-payer amendments to current legislation going through House and Senate committees. The grassroots movement is closely watching the outcomes of the votes on single-payer amendments. This will be documented and remembered in the midterm elections.
4. Refuse to accept campaign contributions from the healthcare industry and support publicly funded elections. The receipt of healthcare industry dollars is a conflict of interest as you vote on healthcare policy.
We are greatly concerned that the current legislation will not be universal, protect individuals from bankrupting medical bills, or guarantee needed healthcare to people. Even with proposed private insurance reform, the quality of coverage available will vary significantly depending on ability to pay, which is flagrantly discriminatory. Healthcare is not a product, it is a necessity, and all deserve equal access to care. In addition, there are no realistic cost-containment measures.
A single-payer system of publicly-financed and privately-delivered care solves all of these issues and provides true health security. It is the only proposal that is both socially and fiscally responsible.
Thanks for all that you do,
Healthcare-NOW! National Staff