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| Report from Demo at Rep Rangel’s Office |
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| Written by Administrator | |
| Wednesday, 08 April 2009 20:24 | |
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This week the Private Health Insurance Must Go! Coalition (PHIMG), including member organizations Healthcare-NOW!, and Act Up!, launched the “Not Covered” Campaign with overwhelming success. Putting Bill Maher’s recent words into action, “Health insurance is like a hospital gown, chances are your ass isn’t covered,” bare-bottom protesters wore hospital gowns and dressed as Insurance Executives. The protesters jumped through hoops held by the insurance executives symbolizing the proverbial hoops that doctors, nurses, and patients have to go through in the current corporatized health insurance system. PHIMG, Healthcare-NOW!, Progressive Democrats of America, and Act Up! marched in lock step on Saturday, April 4th with United for Peace and Justice and Bail Out the People through Wall St. to support strengthening the workforce by urging Congress to pass HR676, expanding Medicare into a single-payer system, to provide true universal health care to all. On the following Monday, PHIMG brought the Not Covered Campaign to Congressman Charles Rangel’s office, whose 2008 campaign received three times the amount of campaign contributions from health insurance and pharmaceutical companies as his last run in ‘04, while conveniently not cosponsoring HR 676 for single-payer health care, as he has in the past. The group also had a list of demands including meeting with him, cosponsoring the bill, using his power as the Chair of the Ways and Means Committee to hold single-payer health care hearings, and including single-payer advocates - not just the health insurance corporations in the national health care dialog Obama’s administration is so open to having. Barack Obama also supported single-payer health care before his run for President made his campaign the top recipient of contributions from the health insurance and pharmaceutical industry. The group received confirmation that Rangel does support HR 676, and just hasn’t signed on yet. Advocates and constituents look forward to a long sought meeting with Rangel’s staff next week. The Not Covered Campaign will be in full swing all summer long calling out the Congresspersons that let campaign contributions stand in the way of providing all citizens with single-payer health care - one by one. It’s critical that citizens act now and push Congress to pass HR 676 before inadequate reform maintaining corporate interests over patients passes. Join the fight for single-payer health care now! - Josh Starcher |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 08 April 2009 20:31 ) |
So many of us in Massachusetts are adamantly against what Obama is trying to market which is basically a MA clone with the possible twist of a nebulous public plan.
In MA, many have been forced to pay high penalties b/c they could not afford the "affordable" insurance, subsidized or otherwise. They could not afford the penalties either and remain uninsured. Others have been excused from the penalties because there was no "affordable" plan for their income bracket, and they, too, remain uninsured.
Still others, fearful of the tax penalties which are enforced as income tax evasion (really!!) caved in and purchased products that the state decided they could afford. Some had to make untenable choices, others added the new monthly bill to their already high credit card debt, and far too many cannot afford to use the insurance.
There is nothing equitable in the MA plan. It forces hard-working taxpayers to intentionally lower their incomes in order to be eligible for a less expensive premium or penalty, thus, perpetuating poverty and forcing a higher income-bracket of taxpayers to become poor. This is regressive and oppressive.
Businesses with eleven or more employees are forced to offer health insurance that is "state-approved" or pay a fine of $295 per uninsured employee which is much less than the individual mandate: $210 to $912 per person for 2008 (dependant on income bracket), up to $1,068 for 2009. In 2007, all uninsured lost their personal exemption. MA is a flat-tax state; thus, a back-door tax has been forced on a specific class of people.
Government-subsidized health insurance also contains such caveats as estate recovery and property liens. This means that under an Obama plan, some in America will have a mandated health insurance policy while others will have a mandated collateral loan.
These few items are just the tippy top of the iceberg - talk to MA residents - they'll tell you this is a no-go, is not sustainable, is exploiting a large segment of the targeted population, and the stress of living under such a scheme is unhealthy.
Single-payer is the only plan that will to achieve the goal of covering every citizen in a fiscally responsible manner. It is the only way that each and every one of us will receive equitable, quality, affordable care.
Politicians who receive money directly or indirectly from the medical industrial complex must voluntarily remove themselves from working on a national plan or be forced to resign, and the term Conflict-of- Interest should be explained to them.
Finally, Obama should stop comparing mandated motor vehicle insurance to mandated health insurance. If you cannot afford motor vehicle insurance, you don't drive (in theory). If you can't afford health insurance, do you stop breathing or do you make plans to get out of Dodge?