Your Ass isn't Covered!

Ideas for Change in America - by Jeffrey Muckensturm

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!

Your Ass Isn't Covered! April 6, 2009

HR 676 Week of Action: April 18 - 25 | Single Payer Healthcare: It's The Only Way and It's About Time

AfterDowningStreet.org

HR 676 Week of Action: April 18 - 25
Plan an event or join in one near you!

The healthcare insurance corporations--who have bought access to elected officials through generous campaign contributions--have secured their place at the healthcare reform table. But the majority of Americans and healthcare providers who support single-payer healthcare, along with the 500+ local labor unions, the 40 cities and towns and the Conference of Mayors and other endorsers and activists, have been shut out of the debate.

That why Progressive Democrats of America [PDA] is sponsoring a week of actions promoting HR 676, the single-payer solution! Click here for a listing of our events. If you don’t find one near you, let us know what you plan to do in your community.

Order professionally printed flyers to distribute, for just the cost of shipping!

PDA remains committed to the single-payer solution. The HCAN plan, which many others are buying into, is not a single-payer plan nor will it lead to single-payer healthcare-- just more profits for healthcare corporations and their wealthy CEOs. It’s a government give-away of our hard-earned money. It will leave many Americans uninsured, and it will not contain costs in the same way the single-payer solution will.

Single-payer healthcare is among our founding issues and PDA will continue to push for it inside and outside the beltway. Healthcare corporations exist to make profits for their shareholders, not to provide healthcare; as long as they are part of the equation, real reform will elude us.

(Don't forget to order flyers!)

Tell your member of Congress to co-sponsor HR 676, the one solution that will provide healthcare for all, provide savings and truly reform the healthcare system in the U.S. Click here.

PDA will never say die when it comes to the health and welfare of Americans.

In solidarity,

Tim Carpenter
National Director

Laura Bonham
Deputy Director

Conor Boylan
Field Coordinator

P.S. Get a DVD of An Intimate Conversation with John Nichols to show your neighbors and friends!

Accountability Now

Accountability Now:

"Accountability Now PAC announced its plans today to use primaries to hold incumbents to account for voting with corporate interests instead of their constituents. The new PAC is a grassroots effort devoted to compelling real accountability in Washington by closing the gap between citizens and their elected representatives in Washington, DC."

PDA - Healthcare Not Warfare