| WASHINGTON
- August 26 - Greens called the recent
publication of two articles in major medical journals
on the need for single-payer national health insurance
an enormous advance in the movement for universal
health care. The articles appeared in the New England
Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and the Journal of the
American Medical Association (JAMA) in August.
"Since the mid 90s, 40 to 45 million Americans have
lacked health coverage, and millions more have
suffered inadequate coverage," said John Battista,
M.D., of the Green Party of Connecticut, president of
the Connecticut Coalition For Universal Health Care. "The U.S. ranks only 37th in the world in quality of
health care. Republicans and most Democrats have
offered minimal reform schemes that leave HMOs,
insurance firms, the pharmaceutical industry, and
other corporate lobbies in control of our medical
treatment, prescriptions, referrals, etc. HMOs and
insurance firms impose extra expenses in the form of administrative overhead to guarantee their profits.
They make money by excluding high-risk people from
coverage and by limiting the care received by those
with coverage."
"National health insurance -- also called
single-payer, Medicare for All, and Just Health Care
-- eliminates this inefficient and wasteful middle
entity, and transfers ownership of health coverage to
the public," Dr. Battista added. "That's why Greens
support it, while Democrats and Republicans have been compromised by their allegiance to HMO and insurance lobbies. National health insurance would save most Americans, especially middle and low income people, a lot of money, and would save the U.S. up to $200 billion. It would ensure care for all, regardless of ability to pay, age, or prior medical condition, and would cover long term care and prescriptions."
Greens in numerous states, from Maine to California,
have worked to pass statewide plans based on a
single-payer model similar to the Canada's national
health care system. The platform of the Green Party
of the United States endorses single-payer coverage.
Many Greens are urging passage of a House bill for
single-payer introduced by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.)
on February 4, titled "The United States National
Health Insurance Act" (HR 676).
"The articles in NEJM and JAMA add professional muscle
to the popular movement for genuine universal health
care," said Jason Crane, Green candidate for the City
Council of Rochester, New York. "After the
endorsement of national health insurance by 8,000
physicians, including two former surgeon generals, the corporate lobbies and apologists can no longer argue that doctors don't support it. What we need now are people in Congress and in state legislatures who are willing to stand up to the lobbyists -- Greens and others who refuse corporate contributions, and perhaps get into public office with the help of 'clean elections' funding that's available in some states."
MORE INFORMATION
The Green Party of the United States
Physicians for a National Health Program
"The Cost to the Nation, the States and the District
of Columbia, with State-Specific Estimates of
Potential Savings"
By David U. Himmelstein, M.D., Steffie Woolhandler,
M.D., M.P.H. and Sidney M. Wolfe, M.D.
New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 349:768-775,
August 21, 2003, Number 8
"Proposal of the Physicians' Working Group for
Single-Payer National Health Insurance" (Abstract)
The Physicians' Working Group for Single-Payer
National Health Insurance, JAMA 2003 290: 798-805
The United States National Health Insurance Act (HR
676) ("Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Bill")
(Executive Summary)Introduced by Cong. John Conyers, 108th Congress,
February 4, 2003
###
|
