By Donna Smith, American SiCKO
Founder,American Patients United
National Co-Chair,PDA's Healthcare Not Warfare campaign
Communications Specialist, California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee
CHICAGO -- Today is the day to celebrate the 43rd anniversary of the Medicare program in the U.S. And it is the day to rededicate ourselves to the passage of true healthcare reform in America.
Those of us fighting the reform battle see every day the ravages of a system run amok with greed and protected by the power and influence only huge amounts of cash can buy.
Sick Americans are dying needlessly. Sick Americans are going broke needlessly. Sick Americans are losing homes needlessly. These suffering sick Americans are often insured with private policies that promise access to care and financial protections but fail to deliver when illness strikes. But sick Americans covered under Medicare do not face the same brutal trauma. Thank God.
Take action today and call your Congressional representative to tell them you want every American covered -- everybody in and nobody out -- healthcare for all. Call toll free: 1-866-338-1015.
But the times have changed, my friends...
It was a different America in 1965.
You see, we Americans couldn't stand to leave our elderly to die in the streets without medical care and coverage, so we at least covered them. Yes, again thank God, and thank you to a Congress in the 1960s that wasn't yet bought off by health industry influence.
Today, many of our elected officials sit in safe Congressional seats where there is little if any chance they will ever be removed from office. In those situations, voters don't matter nearly as much as other influences, like money and power within Congress. And rest-assured, the people's House has largely forgotten itself as such.
But over the past several months, I have been in 29 states and DC, and I now believe the times are changing -- again. As disgusted as citizens have been with some of the Presidential antics of recent years, they are equally or more disturbed by the lack of true representation in Congress.
This current healthcare mess would not be possible without the Congressional complicity of 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 100 Senators who have failed to act on our behalf.
So, when you make your Medicare celebration and reminder call today, make sure to find out if your Congressional member is working on healthcare at all -- or is he or she just sitting on the benefits you are paying for?
And then, depending on that answer, get busy like our brothers and sisters in Pennsylvania are today (see below) and move the movement forward in your neighborhood, in your city, in your state and in this nation. And let's not let anyone tell us it's not possible -- single payer is not only possible, it is our demand as a civilzed people.
And we simply cannot wait for a presidential action to answer this demand. The people's House must be made accountable. Make a call today.
Statement by Healthcare for All Pennsylvania on the 43rd Birthday of Medicare
Today we celebrate the 43rd birthday of Medicare. When President Johnson signed Medicare into law on July 30, 1965, little did he know that Medicare, a single-payer, publicly financed, privately delivered health care plan for citizens age 65 and older would become the most successful and popular initiative in our nation's history! Medicare has fulfilled the promise of guaranteeing quality health care security for America's seniors.
Today, in Pennsylvania, similar historic legislation, HB 1660/SB 300, which would provide guaranteed, quality, comprehensive, affordable, healthcare for every Pennsylvanian -- from birth to old age -- awaits action by this legislature. Like Medicare, "The Family and Business Health Care Security Act" (HB 1660/SB300) is a single-payer, publicly financed, privately delivered plan.
This Pennsylvania single-payer bill provides comprehensive benefits superior to private insurance benefit packages. It includes medical, dental, vision, mental health, hospitalization, prescription drugs, physical therapy, emergency transport, hospice care, addiction treatment, preventive medicine, and long-term care, and, of course, total freedom of choice of doctors, hospitals and all other medical providers. There are no deductibles, no co-pays, no networks, no caps, and no pre-existing conditions clauses.
Governor Rendell has stated publicly that he would sign the PA single-payer bill if it reaches his desk. No other governor has made a similar pledge. The legislature and our Governor now have a rendezvous with history. They can seize this moment in time and pass single-payer which will serve as a model for other states and the nation. Such moments are a rare opportunity. Just as Pennsylvania led in the formation of our nation in 1776, so too can Pennsylvania lead the nation to guaranteed, quality, comprehensive, civilized health care for all.
Healthcare for All Pennsylvania is a 501(c)3 and 501(c)4, comprised of 6,423 citizens from all over our great Commonwealth, and from all walks of life. More information is available at www.healthcare4allpa.org
American Patients United