Health Care For All – NOW – TAKE ACTION
Oct 12, 2007
Sign to Petition Congress to pass Single-Payer HR 676 – National Health Insurance
More ways to Take Action HERE.
See bottom of post to also view very important video produced by OneCareNow to educate people in California about SB 840 – CA Single Payer bill. It goes into detail about how Single Payer works in general starting 4 minutes into the video. This is a MUST SEE FOR EVERYONE because the principles discussed also apply to HR 676 – the national Single Payer bill.
Single-Payer National Health Insurance
by Physicians for a National Health Program
Single-payer national health insurance is a system in which a single public or quasi-public agency organizes health financing, but delivery of care remains largely private.
Currently, the U.S. health care system is outrageously expensive, yet inadequate. Despite spending more than twice as much as the rest of the industrialized nations ($7,129 per capita), the United States performs poorly in comparison on major health indicators such as life expectancy, infant mortality and immunization rates. Moreover, the other advanced nations provide comprehensive coverage to their entire populations, while the U.S. leaves 46 million completely uninsured and millions more inadequately covered.
The reason we spend more and get less than the rest of the world is because we have a patchwork system of for-profit payers. Private insurers necessarily waste health dollars on things that have nothing to do with care: overhead, underwriting, billing, sales and marketing departments as well as huge profits and exorbitant executive pay. Doctors and hospitals must maintain costly administrative staffs to deal with the bureaucracy. Combined, this needless administration consumes one-third (31 percent) of Americans’ health dollars.
Single-payer financing is the only way to recapture this wasted money. The potential savings on paperwork, more than $350 billion per year, are enough to provide comprehensive coverage to everyone without paying any more than we already do.
Under a single-payer system, all Americans would be covered for all medically necessary services, including: doctor, hospital, long-term care, mental health, dental, vision, prescription drug and medical supply costs. Patients would regain free choice of doctor and hospital, and doctors would regain autonomy over patient care.
Physicians would be paid fee-for-service according to a negotiated formulary or receive salary from a hospital or nonprofit HMO / group practice. Hospitals would receive a global budget for operating expenses. Health facilities and expensive equipment purchases would be managed by regional health planning boards.
A single-payer system would be financed by eliminating private insurers and recapturing their administrative waste. Modest new taxes would replace premiums and out-of-pocket payments currently paid by individuals and business. Costs would be controlled through negotiated fees, global budgeting and bulk purchasing.
…
FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. This material is distributed without profit.
***
The Healthcare Solution: California OneCare (R1)
The solution to the healthcare crisis in California is Senate Bill 840 (Kuehl) which would provide comprehensive healthcare coverage for all for life for less. This film explains how it works.
see
Why Kucinich Is The Best Candidate (video; health care)
Clinton, Obama, Edwards on ‘the same page’ on health care reform, ‘the wrong page,’ says Kucinich
Dennis Kucinich discusses his universal healthcare plan (video link)
Dandelion Salad 
The Democratic Party is NOT pushing for single payer healthcare in Amerika.
To vote on this issue one would vote for either Ralph Nader (Independent) or Cynthia McKinney (Green Party).
Spending 10 years in Italy, I came to understand National Health Single Payer Plan. It was great. Any medicines prescribed were totally cost-free with certain life-saving medication at a MINIMAL charge.
There were no long waits at a doctor’s office – no appointments necessary, as opposed to the USA where appointments are imperative and you STILL wait hours. Our system has become abyssmal.
It’s time to change! However, since the pharmaceutical companies in America are strong & resilient. I believe our “Grass Roots System” will only come about by lining up with the closest Party that has more promise to initiate (even if slowly) this single-payer plan and have us all listened to …….and that party may be the Democratic Party which Dennis KUCINICH who, thank God ,STILL BELIEVES. Please vote sensibly!
It is about time that everyone had a health service like that in the UK
Pingback: Civil disobedience for universal healthcare (video) « Dandelion Salad