WASHINGTON - May 27 - As the Obama administration calls for health reform to be done this year, Progressive Democrats of America and other groups and people in support of improved Medicare for all, a single-payer national health system, will take to the streets in nearly fifty cities around May 30.  Town hall meetings, protests at insurance companies, rallies in state capitols, and vigils in memory of the 22,000 people who die each year because they lack health insurance will be taking place across the country. 

PDA supports HR 676 by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) which would create an expanded Medicare-type system to cover all Americans. The removal of for-profit insurers from providing basic health care would create enough savings, an estimated $400 billion a year, to fund health care to all. 

"The injustice in our healthcare system must end, and Congress must act now for real healthcare reform," said PDA Executive Director Tim Carpenter. "The current healthcare system in the U.S. is doing serious damage to the physical and financial health of millions of Americans. The solution is not to subsidize an expansion of the current dysfunctional system. That will just lead to more back-breaking bills and more letters of denial. If Congress is serious about health reform, they will support HR 676, the single-payer solution."

A 2008 study shows 59 percent of U.S. physicians now favor government legislation to establish national health insurance.  This alongside a recent CBS Poll showing 59% of Americans in favor of government-provided national health insurance reflects the growing support for single-payer healthcare.  Supporters are angered as leading advocates supporting this solution are left out of the national debate on health reform. 

Earlier this month, a total of 13 people, physicians, nurses and activists, were arrested for standing up in the Senate Finance Committee roundtable on health and demanding single-payer be considered.  There have been 41 witnesses in the Senate Finance Committee discussions on health reform, without one single-payer advocate.

"It is notable that healthcare providers--doctors and nurses--are willing to risk arrest in their pursuit to best serve their patients' needs," said PDA Deputy Director Laura Bonham. "Health care is the civil rights issue of this decade."

"The single-payer solution meets President Obama's three core principles," said Carpenter. "It would reduce costs, guarantee choice, and ensure all Americans have quality, affordable health care; it provides far more in savings than any other option being considered."

Members of PDA, Healthcare-NOW!, the California Nurses Association, Physicians for a National Health Program, and others are mobilizing for the day of action under the umbrella of the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care.

HR 676, the National Health Care Act, currently has 78 Congressional cosponsors in the 111th Congress.

Progressive Democrats of America is one of the nation's fastest-growing grassroots political organizations; it has active chapters in 45 states. PDA is dedicated to reviving the progressive tradition of the Democratic Party through grassroots organizing and working with elected Democrats to advance peace, justice and social, economic and environmental responsibility. More information is available at: http://.pdamerica.org.