Kay Tillow
All Unions Committee For Single Payer Health Care–HR 676
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — In a wide ranging speech to the annual Netroots Nation Convention, Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer, said, “My preference, and the feeling of many in the labor movement, is that we should have a single payer health care system.” Netroots Nation is the largest annual assembly of progressive bloggers and web journalists.
Trumka’s speech followed an impassioned appeal for single payer by Pennsylvania State Senator Jim Ferlo who presented the Paul Wellstone Award to Congressman Eric Massa (D-NY). Massa is a co-sponsor and one of the most outspoken supporters of HR 676, single payer healthcare legislation introduced by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI).
Trumka will return to Pittsburgh in mid September for the AFL-CIO Convention where he is expected to be elected President. More than fifty resolutions calling for the endorsement of HR 676 have been submitted to the convention.
Trumka’s remarks can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnNolT275Yw
HR 676 would institute a single payer health care system by expanding a greatly improved Medicare system to everyone residing in the U. S.
HR 676 would cover every person for all necessary medical care including prescription drugs, hospital, surgical, outpatient services, primary and preventive care, emergency services, dental, mental health, home health, physical therapy, rehabilitation (including for substance abuse), vision care, hearing services including hearing aids, chiropractic, durable medical equipment, palliative care, and long term care.
HR 676 ends deductibles and co-payments. HR 676 would save hundreds of billions annually by eliminating the high overhead and profits of the private health insurance industry and HMOs.
In the current Congress, HR 676 has 86 co-sponsors in addition to Conyers. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced SB 703, a single payer bill in the Senate.
HR 676 has been endorsed by 556 union organizations in 49 states including 130 Central Labor Councils and Area Labor Federations and 39 state AFL-CIO’s (KY, PA, CT, OH, DE, ND, WA, SC, WY, VT, FL, WI, WV, SD, NC, MO, MN, ME, AR, MD-DC, TX, IA, AZ, TN, OR, GA, OK, KS, CO, IN, AL, CA, AK, MI, MT, NE, NY, NV & MA).