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.

National Nurses Movement has a wonderful diary at MyDD about all the single payer bills in the states (but leaves out the legislation in Maryland). Please read about all the good news in California, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, and Washington.

Clearly single payer is a political winner, witness the increasing momentum in an atmosphere where the national media has airbrushed out all discussion of single payer.

The most important thing is to make sure that whatever Obama does, no federal legislation prohibit the states from creating their own single payer systems.

Hearing on single-payer health insurance bill draws about 30

About 30 people attended a hearing Thursday on House Bill 311, which is now awaiting action in the Illinois General Assembly. The hearing was held at the Nelson Hagnauer Granite City Township Hall.

Shattuck in bid unseat Rep. Schmitz

"People aren't getting the coverage they're paying for," Shattuck said. "I don't want to wait for what's going to happen at the federal level, because we don't know when that's going to happen. We're already paying for the people who don't have health care ... when people go to the emergency room because they can't pay their bills."

Rachel Shattuck for State Representative; Illinois 49

League supports universal health care

The League of Women Voters endorse the efforts of Illinois State Rep. Mary Flowers, chief co-sponsor of HB 311, The Health Care for All Illinois Act; U.S. Rep. John Conyors of Michigan, chief sponsor of HR 676, Guaranteed Health Care for All Americans Act; and all other organizations and individuals working to build support through education and advocacy on the health care crisis in the United States, and a practical solution.

Daily Herald Briefs

Want to know the status of the new county jail and sheriff's office? Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez will present an update at the Dundee Township Democratic Party monthly meeting at 7:30 p.m., Thursday at the West Dundee Public Safety Center II at the corner of Sleepy Hollow Road and Route 72. James Rhodes of the Chicago Single-Payer Action Network will also discuss health care for the single-payer. The meeting is open to the public.

Yes We HCAN!

Luis Gutierrez wants to pass HR 676 and impeach Dick Cheney.

Jesse Jackson, Jr. has a long section on health care; but his website is set up in such a way that you can’t link directly to it.

Bobby Rush has an official blog