Washington City Paper Loose Lips

Rally to support 'Medicare for All' planned for Journal Square in Jersey City

Supporters of a national single-payer healthcare system, also known as Medicare for All, will hold a rally in Jersey City's Journal Square at noon Saturday.

While Medicare covers everyone 65 and over, a single-payer system would extend Medicare coverage to everyone.

Burlington Free Press

Sanders, an advocate for a more radical, single-payer solution to the nation’s health care problems, said he will offer an amendment calling for a single-payer system even though he knows it has no chance of passage. A single-payer system is one in which the government is the sole source of financing for health care services.

“It will lose,” he said in an interview. “What I am trying to do, and we have language in the bill to provide the option to states to go forward so they can consider a single-payer system. ... As long as you get the waivers that are necessary to go forward, that’s all I want.”

Videos: This past weekend Medicare for All supporters gathered in St. Louis to discuss our movement

Videos from the national strategy conference for Healthcare-Now!, a sponsoring group of the Mobilization for Health Care for All. Plenty of discussion on strategies to shift the national health care debate toward single-payer universal health care, such as Medicare for All!

Rep. Paul Poirier is single-minded on single-payer

MONTPELIER – Rep. Paul Poirier isn't holding his breath waiting for health care reform to come down from Washington, D.C.

Poirier, a Barre City independent, has spent the last several months talking to people about health care reform and his idea that Vermont could launch its own public option health insurance as a way to reduce costs and insure more people.

Small Business Owners Stand Up To Giant Insurance Lobby

Today, eight small business owners affiliated with the Main Street Alliance showed up at the conference with a simple question for Ignagni: Why is AHIP attempting to maintain the status quo? After sending a letter Friday requesting a meeting, the entrepreneurs were not surprisingly rebuffed. Instead, they appeared outside the conference, where they explained, one-by-one, how the exploding cost of health care premiums was making it difficult to operate profitably.

deadline to register Wednesday

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Do you support a Medicare-for-all approach to health care but don't know how to persuade others it's the right thing to do?

Huntsville pediatrician Pippa Abston and North Alabama Healthcare for All are organizing speaker training on that topic the afternoon of Dec. 6.

Participants must sign up by end of business Wednesday by calling 513-9638 or emailing physicians [at] northalabamahealthcareforall [dot] org.

Who even knew there was a Nothern Alabama Healthcare for All?

Who Will Stand with Kucinich and Massa?

Of the 88 members of the House who say they are for a single payer national health care system, which ones will stand with Kucinich and Massa for single payer and against Obamacare in the upcoming health care end game?

Only a handful will need to come over to defeat Obama’s bailout of the health insurance corporations.

And trigger a national debate on how to replace those hundreds of health insurance corporations with one single payer.

Read the whole post for some interesting insight into labor and Healthcare-NOW!

Braddock UPMC USW may seek injunction

The United Steelworkers Union USW is hoping for a big turnout on Thursday November 19 at the Save Our Community Hospitals Rally in Braddock, PA. The rally will take place at 2:00 PM at Fifth and Braddock Ave.

An eblast to members read, "We need HUNDREDS, No THOUSANDS of people in the streets of Braddock on Thursday, Nov. 19 DEMANDING THAT OUR HOSPITAL STAY OPEN and community hospitals throughout the U.S.A. stay open."

ubetchaiam

For those who argued we should just pass SOMETHING, even if it was a bad bill, because they said we could fix it later, this is what you
get from a strategy of perpetual compromise, a bill that is utterly
beyond redemption. It’s time to throw HR 3962 in the medical waste
bin, and do what should have been done in the first place, build a
new national health care system on what actually DOES work, by
extending the existing economical and efficient Medicare plan to all
ages.

Kip Sullivan at Firedoglake:

Via Avedon Carol, this little item from Caltics:

Now it looks like they're moving to up the Hooverite ante, and two of California's powerful federal politicians are at the center of the debate. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is joining 6 other Senators to demand that Speaker Nancy Pelosi approve a commission to recommend cuts to Medicare and Social Security - or else they'll refuse to vote to increase the US government's debt ceiling: ...

audio by title hoosiers for a commonsense health plan single payer now

Senator Bernie Sanders:

In my view, the real solution to the problem of how to reform health care in this country is a Medicare-for-all, single-payer system. We are going to try to at least give states the option to go forward and move toward a single-payer system. Whether it’s Vermont or somewhere else, if one state pulls it off it will spread around the country.

Excellent news from Single Payer Health Care:

It is with great pride that I pass on the wonderful news that the Lancaster City Council tonight unanimously passed Council Resolution No. 74-2009, urging the PA General Assembly to support the passage of HB1660 and SB400.

Lancaster joins the City Councils of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Wilkes Barre, West Reading and Reading and the Allegheny County Council in moving the state of Pennsylvania one step closer to becoming the first state to pass single-payer legislation. Together, these councils represent over 3 million Pennsylvanians and more than 25% of the population of Pennsylvania.

High Noon in Baltimore at CareFirst Blue Cross-Blue Shield

So far there have been 26 sit-ins in 23 cities across the country. 138 arrests have occurred while over 200 people willingly risked arrests.

At some point this will gain critical mass.

Shackled Howie Hawkins appears in Syracuse City Court

Hawkins was arrested around 1 p.m. Wednesday by Syracuse police outside the office of National Government Services at 400 S. Salina St., which houses the care claims office of Wellpoint Inc., a large health insurer. Hawkins said he was trying to enter the building to deliver a letter to the CEO of Wellpoint Inc. demanding that the CEO’s salary be cut and put into healthcare. ...

Via Avedon Carol, we find that Blue Cross has told regulators one thing and stockholders another. I guess they were too busy dumping stock to get their story straight.

All Eyes Are on Pennsylvania

Name sponsors of the legislation, Senator Jim Ferlo (D) and Representative Kathy Manderino (D) were joined by co-sponsor Representative Bill Kortz (D) in delivering impassioned messages to the rally attendees.

Billed as the keynote speaker, Sen. Ferlo expressed his passion oratorically and physically, pounding the podium for emphasis with such gusto he nearly sent two CS2 cassette recorders flying. He spoke of inclusiveness, advising, “Don’t write anybody off as we build this movement.”

Wondering where I have been? Why I am not posting nearly as often as I used to?
Well, these days I have been talking to the police and following up on my stolen
laptop. Yes, you heard that right. In a dangerous part of town, I turned my
attention away for a moment, and my laptop was stolen right out from under me.
Alas, I did not have the forethought to insure it. It has been a very humiliating
and demoralizing experience.

The recession has devastated my business, so I have no possibility to replace it.
Unless my readers are in a position to assist me. I know these are precarious
times, and you may not be in a position to assist me. I have used Macs for 25
years, and really don't think that I could adjust to a Windows Machine. Replacing

Susie and Atrios have both cried foul on this:

WASHINGTON — Faced with anxiety in financial markets about the huge federal deficit and the potential for it to become an electoral liability for Democrats, the White House and Congressional leaders are weighing options for narrowing the gap, including a bipartisan commission that could force tax increases and spending cuts.

This is disaster capitalism:

step one, pervert the financial system into a kleptocracy, steal everything in sight

step two, use the inevitable crisis as a way of destroying democracy and steal what is left

[So what's the outcome? I've been Googling, checking around, and nada. What's up? -- lambert]

On Monday Pelosi will decide whether or not to restore the Kucinich Amendment as a managers amendment.

If you live in her district you can contact herhouse site.

If you have a YouTube account you can leave a comment at her YouTube Channel.

If you have a blog you can write an open letter to restore the Kucinich amendment and track back to Speaker Blog.

ralphbon, blogging at FireDogLake

According to Tim Carpenter of Progressive Democrats of America, one avenue of appeal remains regarding these efforts:

Democratic House leaders can insert what is called a “Manager’s Amendment” into legislation, even when it is closed to any other amendments. The managers are the majority and minority members who “manage” debate for the bill on each side.

Today, tomorrow, and beyond, we need to call these “managers” and insist that the Kucinich Amendment is restored into the healthcare bill….

The “gang” that holds our future in their hands includes:

* Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Washington, DC, office (202) 225-4965; San Francisco office (415) 556-4862

Letting States Opt-in for Single-Payer

Back in July, the House Committee on Education and Labor did something right, something that could make all the difference in the world to millions of Americans, unless we allow the congressional "leadership" to unceremoniously undo it.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, introduced in the committee an amendment that would effectively allow states to improve on our healthcare system if they choose to, allow them to create state-level single-payer healthcare. There are bills to do this in several state legislatures already. Such a bill has passed and been vetoed in California twice, where a change in governor is imminent.

Kucinich Wins Five Amendments to Health CareReform Bill

The first amendment created an opening for the single payer health care movement by eliminating a federal barrier to stateschoosing to enact single payer health plans. Although the amendment doesnot create a single payer health care system, it removes a major obstacle forany state that wishes to pursue the single payer option. This amendmentbuilds on the momentum of the national movement for single payer health care.

Guess Who's Going To Administer Any Public Option? Insurance Companies.

Via Raw Story, some news that really isn't such a big deal. Third-party administrators are already a cash cow for the insurance industry, but my guess is that this contract will have a lot of built-in cost controls:

Pennsylvania representative asks Ario to probe AHIP, Humana lobbying

The chairman of the Pennsylvania House Insurance Committee has asked the Pennsylvania Insurance Department to investigate health insurance industry lobbying, especially the TV advertisements of America’s Health Insurance Plans, on national health care reform.