WE NEED HEALTH CARE -- ALL OF US!

The Campaign for a National Healthcare Program Now!

What would you say to a health care system that provides for primary care physicians, specialists, prescription drugs, mental health care, drug treatment, long term care, and optical and dental care for everybody? That would be the Conyers bill H.R. 676. And it will cost most 95% of us less money than we are now paying. Who would pay more? The answer is easy--the guys who got the big Bush tax breaks.

Come to the 'Health Care Crisis and Election 2004' Conference and Rally of the Uninsured during the time of the Republican National Convention, August 31st/September 1st to hear major labor leaders, faith groups, and health care providers along with Congressman John Conyers, talk about how we can do this. It will be at the CUNY Graduate Center Auditorium, 365 5th Avenue starting at 9:00 A.M. on both of these days. (No admission)

THIS IS THE TIME TO THINK CREATIVELY ABOUT THE FUTURE

What do we do after the election? This conference will challenge the thinking and action of the past, and call for new ways of working together. -- Here's a suggestion: Demonstrate with UFPJ and the Poor People’s Human Rights Campaign on the 29th and 30th and come to the health crisis conference to plan strategy for ending the health care crisis in this country on the 31st and 1st.

EVERYBODY WANTS UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE

Even George Bush and all the politicians in Washington agree that everybody should have health care. The problem is this. Who really wants a universal health care system? The big pharmaceutical corporations and insurance companies fervently desire a universal health care system where the government-- US -- will give THEM more money so they can provide partial benefits to the people who have no health care. What they are proposing is a 'reduced benefit' for the uninsured--even more reduced than that imposed on the rest of us.

They would continue the system we all now endure with all of our co-pays and deductibles, supplemental insurance, non-coverage of many illnesses and conditions, denial of claims, miniscule drug coverage, no dental or optical coverage for most--a continuation of the system that provides billions in profits to their executives and stockholders.

WATCH OUT FOR THESE PROPOSALS!

They want to continue the non-system of hodge-podge insurance costing even more hundreds of billions without providing us the real coverage we need when we need it.

BUT CAN WE GET WHAT WE WANT?

YES, America can provide a good system of health care for all! It doesn’t have to cost any more money than we are now spending. We can do it with the money we now have in the system.

The Campaign for a National Health Program NOW proposes comprehensive health care that will cost less than we are now spending, an American style system that will provide for public funding and private delivery. Full choice of doctors for everybody and an end to the waiting lines for health care here in our own country.

The Campaign for a National Health Program NOW arrived on the scene out of discussions between labor and faith-based organizers and the physicians for a National Health Program along with the appearance of Rep. John Conyer’s (Detroit) incredibly good bill, H.R. 676 supporting a national healthcare system. The Campaign (CNHPnow), is made up of lay-people, Senior Citizens, the people of 'Generation Debt' who have no health care or any hope of ever having a job that will cover health care, and thousands of us who are partially covered, together with doctors who support a real health care system for all.

HEALTH CARE is a major concern of the American people.

According to a recent Kaiser survey, more people are concerned about losing their health care than anything else, including losing their jobs, losing their homes or a terrorist attack. All of us need to read the summary of Conyer’s bill and get to work. Go to the website and sign on to get involved. Sign the petition, send a letter to your member of Congress, send a donation, get registered to vote, become an organizer for health care -- all on our site www.cnhpnow.org.

THIS IS LIKE THE VOTING RIGHTS MOVEMENT

YES! Our country can afford health care for all! And, the good news is we can win this!

It is so much like the time of the Civil Rights Movement. We were told that we were moving too fast and demanding too much, that sooner or later, everybody was going to have voting rights! We didn't believe it, and many of us went to work to try to secure everybody's right to vote.

It was a total disgrace and an outrage that voting rights were denied. We haven't totally won that battle yet, but we have come a long way toward at least guaranteeing that right, in Congressional passage of The Voting Rights Act. But nothing is static. We have to roll back the new ways the voting rights act is being attacked.

We can do the same thing with health care. It is a sin and a scandal that we do not have it. We are number 37 in the world in terms of our health care delivery according to the World Health Organization. We can win it, and we can win it soon! We are already spending enough money to do it, but the money is going into 'huge bureaucratic administration and humongous profits.'

WHERE IS THE MONEY TO DO THIS?

We are spending twice as much per capita as any other country in the world. Yet we are still not covering 44 million and barely covering another 40 or 50 million people. 'We are sick and tired of being sick and tired,' said Ms. Fannie Lou Hamer at the Democratic Convention in 1964.

50 years later, we are still sick and we are still tired of it!

Think about all the deductibles and co-pays and contributions and the parts of your health care that are now denied! Think about $1.7 trillion now being wasted on insurance and pharmaceutical drug profits and administration -- mainly to deny our claims.

Think about one payer 'a single payer system' rather than 1600 insurance companies that we and our doctors have to deal with. Think about the other 1600 number and what it would take to get a set of legislators and a president who would support this program.

Can we win this? YES!

ARE WE DELUDED THAT CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT WILL JUMP BEHIND THIS CAMPAIGN?

We are not deluded! We don’t believe they will eagerly sign onto such a sensible proposition -- not while we are suggesting that privatization and continued massive profits must be removed from the health care system.

Many of our members of Congress receive unbelievable amounts of money from the health care industry.

We are talking about moving this system into a publicly funded, privately delivered system providing full choice of doctors and eliminating the denials of health care and the long waiting lines we are now experiencing in our system.

The only way our public servants will support us is when we build and sustain a huge grass roots movement. That is what the Campaign for a National Health Program is trying to do. Please join us. Send a contribution to CNHPnow and put some time into organizing. Go to our website www.cnhpnow.org and sign in or call us at 800-453-1305 or 212-475- 8305

Our motto is: 'EVERYBODY IN; NOBODY OUT!' Come join us.

--Marilyn Clement CNHPnow.org The Campaign For A National Healthcare Program Now! Formerly Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights and The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Visit us @ Email us @ info@cnhpnow.org.



» Find more of the online edition.