There have been a number of diaries by kimw, and most recently by dengre making the case why Florida Congressman John Mica must go. I will often be adding to the many reasons we need John Mica out of power.
This diary isn't about that, or even about all the reasons I decided to run for US Congress myself.
Instead, I want to share with my supporters, and anyone else reading this diary, one issue that's really got me fired up right now. An issue that's been a cornerstone of my campaign all along, and an issue that's about to get some major national attention today: Single-Payer National Health Insurance, also referred to as an improved and expanded Medicare for All health care system.
See how my authenticity in supporting Single-payer National Health Insurance ( HR 676) was clear, long before I decided to run for US Congress.
Today, I will be part of a very special day for Single Payer National Health Care. Rallies in support of Single Payer National Healthcare will be held in about 20 cities across our nation, including a rally just outside my Congressional district in Jacksonville, Florida.
A complete list of cities, locations and times can be found here
Progress Florida sent out this announcement:
What is a Life Worth?
Join the Healthcare-NOW! Coalition this Thursday (June 19th,) in Jacksonville for a protest against greedy health insurance companies and show your support for better health care for all.
To find our more information about this event or to sign-up to participate, follow this link. Then, please forward this email to your friends and family,
http://progressflorida.org/...
On June 19, 2008, Americans across the nation will demonstrate against AHIP -- America's Health Insurance Plans -- the insurance industry corporations who profit from pain. Their annual convention will be met by thousands of protestors in San Francisco. Simultaneous rallies are being held outside insurance companies in cities across the nation, including Jacksonville, in solidarity with the San Francisco demonstrations and in support of H.R. 676, the National Health Insurance Act.
To find our more information about this event or to sign-up to participate, follow this link. Then, please forward this email to your friends and family,
http://progressflorida.org/...
It's individuals like you who will change the debate around our health care system and bring real change. Thank you in advance for adding your voice to this important cause.
Too often we hear misleading and often inaccurate rhetoric about changing our system. For example uninformed critics will ask "Do you really want your medical decisions made by some government bureaucrat in Washington DC ?"
Well, the truth is that with a single-payer NHI, we will have public insurance, but private health care delivery, so that every medical decision will be made privately by the patient and the doctor. But ironically, under the current system, many medical decisions about what’s best, are now being made by some corporate bureaucrat working for a private for-profit insurance company in whose interest it is to make larger profits by denying patient claims.
After Sicko made its debut in Jacksonville last year, I wanted to re-enforce the benefits of a Single-Payer National Insurance system and counter some of the fears being propagated by the insurance lobby. At that time, I wrote a letter to the editor, which was published in the Florida Times Union:
HEALTH CARE
Focus on 'socialized' system
How absurd is it that the richest industrial nation in the world is the only country where our citizens go broke, bankrupt or die because they don't have a single-payer public program?
"Medicare for all" would save more than $350 billion per year by slashing bureaucracy, with enough new money to provide guaranteed comprehensive health benefits for all. (New England Journal of Medicine 2003).
By eliminating the for-profit insurance layer between doctor and patient, doctors can practice medicine the way it was intended to be: based on patient needs rather than financial or administrative concerns.
That's why more and more physicians are joining Physicians for a National Health Plan at www.PNHP.org.
They are joining with patients at www.SickoCure.org to realize a universal health care system in the United States, as this nation is currently the only industrialized nation left without such a basic "medicare for all" system in place for all its citizens.
Are we finally ready to abandon the "America is best" myth in health care and move on to the far superior and less expensive health care systems offered by Canada and the Western European nations? I sure hope so.
We already have "socialized" police and firefighter services protecting our citizens' lives. Providing for a "socialized" health care system is an equal imperative that is long overdue in the United States. Let's work together to make it happen.
FAYE ARMITAGE,
educator,
Jacksonville
http://www.jacksonville.com/...
HR 676, already has 90 co-sponsors in the US House, and at SickoCure.org you will find a list of all US Congressional Candidates, besides myself, who support single payer.
Make sure to check who's running in your district, and get involved to help your Congressional candidate WIN.
Health care costs are risng at triple the rate of inflation. Our current system is unsustainable. Major overhaul is our only option.
Also, do check out one of my own previous Dkos diaries on this issue, and a big thanks to all of you who have already supported my campaign with your donations!
Lets make Single Payer National Health Insurance a reality in America. Your help and continued support is what makes it happen.
www.FayeforCongress.com
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