Pennsylvania Next Stop for Improved-Medicare-for-All Advocates

The regional and national leadership
of Progressive Democrats of America will be in Pennsylvania this week
for a series of events to support a state improved-Medicare-for-all,
single-payer healthcare system.

"The Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act, which recently became law, will not
solve the healthcare crisis in this country," said Tim Carpenter, PDA
national director. "The Medicare system proves beyond a shadow of a
doubt that government can do some things much better than the private
sector," Carpenter explained. "Healthcare corporations exist only to
deliver profits for their stockholders--they do not actually provide
healthcare."

PDA national
Field Coordinator Conor Boylan will be join Carpenter for meetings and
events in the Keystone state April 8-10. Topics of discussion will
include organizing support for HB1660/SB400
Pennsylvania's single-payer healthcare bill.

"We're
looking forward to seeing colleagues and old friends, meeting new
friends, and together advancing the cause of state
improved-Medicare-for-all single-payer," said Boylan.

The trip will
start with a "Meet and Greet" in Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. on
Thursday, April 8, at the Healthcare4AllPA office at 2101 Murray Ave.
Carpenter and Boylan will be joined by Dr. Mary-Pat Donegan,
Healthcare4AllPA's legislative director, for a discussion of state
improved-Medicare-for-all, single-payer healthcare and PDA's Brown Bag Lunch Vigil campaign.

On Friday,
April 9, Carpenter and Boylan will be in McConnellsburg for "The Progressive Summit of Central PA" beginning at 6
p.m. in the community room of Community State Bank at 415 Fulton Drive.
The event will also feature Chuck Pennacchio, executive director of Healthcare4AllPA.

Then, on
Saturday, April 10, all eyes will be on the Central Baptist Church in
Wayne for a daylong conference on "Building the Progressive Base to Win." The day will
begin at 8 a.m. with a discussion of Medicare-for-all, single-payer
plans led by Pennacchio; Carpenter and Boylan will present a national
PDA overview and state PDA leaders from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and
other states in the regions will report. At 11 a.m., Boylan and Donna
Smith, co-chair of PDA's Healthcare NOT Warfare campaign, will lead a
panel on Healthcare NOT Warfare that will also include Katie
Robbins of Healthcare NOW!, Rev. Robert Moore of the Coalition for Peace
Action, Peter Lems of the American Friends Service Committee, and Kathy
Black of U.S. Labor Against the War. A 1 p.m. panel on state
Medicare-for-all plans will include Pennachio, Smith, Walter Tsou of
Healthare4AllPA, Ben Day of Mass Care, Dr. Alan Kenwood of PNHP New
Jersey and Kurt Bateman of SPAN Ohio.

"We and the
other groups represented will be sharing their successes and future
plans," said Carpenter. "It will be an energizing experience for us all
on the road to realizing improved-Medicare-for-all, single-payer
healthcare in Pennsylvania and the region."