Articles of Interest
These articles highlight many of the health care related stories in the news--ranging from single-payer op-eds by PNHP members to reports by newspapers on corporate health care.How Long? - August 27, 2008
Remarks by Dr. Claudia Fegan at Reception at the DNC in Denver, Tuesday, August 26, 2008 for co-sponsors of HR 676
There are 45.7million uninsured people in the United States. There are probably some 50 million people who are underinsured, meaning even though they have health insurance they cannot afford the care they need. While it is true we saw a slight decrease in the number of uninsured last year, this was due to a massive expansion of public programs. Were it not for the fact that 2.7million more people were covered by public programs last year; Medicaid, SCHIP and Medicare we actually would have seen an increase in the number of uninsured. It is so clear that a public national health insurance program is no longer the best option to cover all Americans, it is the only option. The private insurance industry is never going to get us to universal coverage.Health Care: It's time to rock - August 27, 2008
Seattle Post-IntelligencerEditorial Board
The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that the number of people lacking health insurance dropped by more than 1 million in 2007 to nearly 46 million people. This is a headline that looks great until you see that what's declining is private insurance coverage and what's increasing is the number of people eligible for government programs such as Medicaid.Doctor's Orders: Health Coverage for Everyone - August 26, 2008
by Daina Saib | YES! Magazine
You wouldn't know it from the candidates' debates or reports on the major television networks, but a majority of Americans favor a government-run health insurance system similar to Canada's. Those lining up to support single-payer health care include medical professionals, business people, and many Republicans. Dr. Rocky White has been all of those things.Doctor says U.S. needs universal health care - August 15, 2008
By STEVE DOYLE | Huntsville Times
Dr. Wally Retan knows the odds aren't great that Congress will pass a universal health care bill anytime soon. But the chairman of Alabama's "Health Care for Everyone" chapter still dreams of a time when all Americans have comprehensive, low-cost health insurance provided by the federal government.Only national insurance can fix broken system - August 12, 2008
Dr. John Benziger | Letter to the Editor | Kennebec (Maine) Journal
Some claim that uninsured Americans can get the care they need in emergency rooms. But ERs may provide too little, too late for the millions of uninsured with chronic conditions. They need regular medical monitoring and medications to control their illnesses and a whole array of services they cannot afford. Our profit-driven health care system leaves tens of millions vulnerable. Only single-payer national health insurance can fix this broken system and save thousands of lives each year.Vital signs for national health insurance - August 8, 2008
By Lance Dickie | Editorial Columnist | Seattle Times
Searing headlines about local job cuts sharpen interest in universal health-insurance coverage. The topic grabs the attention of those vulnerable families and voters broadly defined as the middle class, the engine of change. Increasingly, the focus is on national single-payer health insurance. Acceptance of the concept is growing, especially among a key constituency: doctors.The Polling Is Quite Clear - August 7, 2008
The American Public Supports Guaranteed Healthcare on the "Medicare for All" or "Single-Payer" Model.
Click here to download the flyer from California Nurses Association / National Nurses Organizing Committee'Single Payer New York' to be founded on Sept. 13 - August 6, 2008
Albany Catholic
On Saturday, Sept. 13, single payer advocates from across New York will meet here to form a new statewide organization. Our aim: to build an unbeatable movement for a single payer public system that would fully fund comprehensive health care, including prescription drugs, for all. We invite all single-payer supporters to join us!Uninsured Americans Carry Large Chronic Disease Burden - August 6, 2008
By John Gever | MedPage Today
Nearly one-third of uninsured Americans under age 65 reported having cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, or some other chronic condition, researchers said.Recovering Rush seeks care for all - August 5, 2008
By Azam Ahmed | Chicago Tribune
U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) declared himself cancer-free on Monday at the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine at the University of Chicago and challenged Barack Obama and John McCain to push for national health care for all Americans.Stephanie Woolhandler shares her views on universal healthcare - August 5, 2008
Harvard Medical Labcast
Stephanie Woolhandler, an associate professor of medicine at the HMS-affiliated Cambridge Health Alliance, investigates disparities and inequalities in healthcare and medicine. In recent years, she has published studies on the relative cost and effectiveness of the Canadian healthcare system. In published editorials and on Capitol Hill, Dr. Woolhandler has argued for full-scale reform of the current system here in the U.S. Last year, she uncovered insurance shortfalls for American military veterans, and her most recent research found unexpected disparities in the way free prescription drug samples are distributed.Many U.S. adults with chronic illness are uninsured - August 5, 2008
By Anne Harding | Reuters
"Primary care doctors know that people who don't have access to health care due to health insurance suffer," Wilper, who is now with the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, told Reuters Health. "We wanted to study that issue and bring public attention to it."One-Third of Uninsured Are Chronically Ill - August 5, 2008
By Amanda Gardner | HealthDay Reporter
One out of every three working-age, uninsured Americans suffers from a chronic illness and isn't getting the medical care they need, a new report shows. Although the study didn't specifically look at the health consequences of lack of insurance and lack of access to medical care, it's reasonable to assume that these factors would lead to various medical complications, said the authors of a study published in the Aug. 5 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.Millions With Chronic Disease Get Little to No Treatment - August 5, 2008
By REED ABELSON | New York Times
Millions of Americans with chronic disease like diabetes or high blood pressure are not getting adequate treatment because they are among the nation's growing ranks of uninsured. That is the central finding of a new study to be published Tuesday in the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine.Keep Medicare as a family - August 5, 2008
By RICHARD PROPP | Albany Times Union
Dear Medicare: Happy birthday! Since I first met you on July 31, 1965, I have been smitten with your looks, your fairness, your support of the elderly without regard to social or economic status, skin color, ethnicity, intellectual IQ, emotional IQ, address, clubs, choice of transportation, hobbies, reading list, or favorite restaurant. You took care of our grandparents, our parents, and now you are taking care of us!Seniors have a special interest in single-payer health care - August 4, 2008
By William Klepack | The Ithaca Journal
In early July, Congress passed a bill to prevent a scheduled cut in Medicare payments to doctors. Although I am pleased with the outcome of this vote, there are several reasons that senior citizens should be concerned about the political maneuvering affecting their care that surrounded this bill and be very interested in single-payer health care.What About Single Payer? - August 1, 2008
By Drs. Edward P. Ehlinger and Susanne L. King | MetroDoctors
An increasing number of health care professionals and policy makers are claiming that a single-payer system is the only rational approach that can actually contain costs, achieve universal coverage, and maintain or improve quality. They argue that only a single-payer approach can address the economic pressure on businesses and the rising costs of health care for individuals and still be able to expand coverage to everyone. However, these statements are guaranteed to bring forth a series of questions about single payer. Here are responses to some of the questions that are frequently raised.Make original Medicare the foundation for health care reform - August 1, 2008
By JOHN GEYMAN and MALINDA MARKOWITZ | Guest Columnist | Seattle Post Intelligencer
Medicare today covers about 43 million American seniors and the disabled, paying about one-half of their health care expenses. Amidst an increasingly unaffordable health care market, Medicare recipients have a solid rock of coverage. The program is administered with an overhead of about 3 percent, less than one-fifth the overhead of competing private programs, while offering defined benefits with free choice of physician and hospital.Can't Get No Health Care Satisfaction - July 31, 2008
by Pat LaMarche | Bangor Daily News
A Fox News anchor said Saturday that if Mick Jagger was from the United States he'd finally qualify for Medicare. She's kidding -- right? The anchor made a pretty lame attempt at highlighting the rock star's advancing age. She did, however, do a good job of pointing out how backward the U.S. health care system is.Julius Richmond, surgeon general under Carter, dies - July 31, 2008
By Bryan Marquard | Globe Staff
In a career that ranged from serving as a flight surgeon in the Army Air Corps during World War II to serving as surgeon general from 1977 to 1981, Dr. Richmond left few areas of medicine untouched.