Investors with a Conscience Should Divest from Health Insurance Companies
I was the doctor on duty one night in August when the ambulance rushed a man into our Midwestern hospital ER. As I walked into the room, the scene was right out of TV. A nurse was trying to start an IV. Someone was running an EKG. A student had just put oxygen in the patient’s nose. The room seemed crowded. The paramedics were sweating and slightly out of breath.
But my attention was on a pale, thin, fifty-five-year-old man sitting bolt upright on a gurney, clutching his chest and straining to breathe. Cold sweat dripped off his nose. I asked a couple of quick questions as I leaned him forward to listen to his lungs. Someone handed me his EKG showing an acute heart attack.
I slipped out of the room for a second to get the cardiologist on the phone. He would be right in, along with the rest of his team. But it was a Thursday night, late, and they were coming in from home. It would be at least twenty minutes until high-tech medicine could work its wonders, until the cardiologist could thread a thin plastic catheter into the patient’s heart and put in a stent to open his blockage.
From the Star Ledger –
As Congress continued debt ceiling debates — the results of which could chop entitlement programs like Medicare — a group of New Jersey seniors and health care advocates gathered to celebrate the program’s 46th anniversary.
“We have an economy in crisis, but that crisis was created by Wall Street and greedy corporations,” said Ray Stever, president of the New Jersey One Plan, which co-sponsored the birthday party and rally. “Seniors should not have to sacrifice their coverage to save the debt. Our message is simple: hands off Medicare and Social Security.”
About 50 people, mostly senior citizens, gathered at the New Community Center on Orange Street in Newark to rally against cuts to the program and to push for a universal, single-payer system. Balloons and a large cake were set up near the speaker’s podium in celebration of the Medicare bill, which President Johnson signed into law on July 30, 1965.
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Vineland,N.J./ North Italy Hall – On the evening of June 6, 2011 the Vineland Letter Carriers of Branch 534 of the National Association of Letter Carriers by a majority vote chose to affiliate with N.J. One Plan, One Nation.
Brother Ray Stever made a passionate, moving presentation outlining why Organized Labor should take a leading role in the expansion of Medicare for all of our people. I can attest to the greed of the “for profit” health care industry since my sister has to order her life sustaining meds from Canada or face the prospect of the “poor house.” This sort of predatory behavior must end, because it diminishes us as human beings. And considering the political climate in NJ the sooner we take Health Care “off the collective bargaining table,” the better.
As a Union man, I was proud that my local chose to follow the path of our National Union by supporting Universal Single Heath Care for all and I encourage all my Sisters and Brothers to do likewise and join us at NJ One Plan, One Nation.
In Unity,
Rich Raimonde
Secretary, Vineland NALC 534/AFL-CIO.
New Jersey Must Follow Vermont’s Lead
In 1777, the Commonwealth of Vermont became the first sovereign state in the world to abolish slavery. On May 26, 2011, Vermont became the first state in the U.S. to commit itself to establishing a truly universal single-payer healthcare plan. Thus, Vermont could lead the rest of the United States to do what all of the other major industrialized countries have already done: establish a not-for-profit, single-payer national program to provide healthcare for all of us. Single-payer movements have already made important progress in California and Pennsylvania. The New Jersey One Plan One Nation coalition is leading the campaign in New Jersey. Read more…
On or about March 18, 2011, the Executive Council of the Green Party of New Jersey voted unanimously to endorse NJ One Plan One Nation Coalition. The GPNJ will seek membership in NJ OPON Coalition, and designate a liaison.
“This is great news. The Green Party has always worked to make sure the planet and the environment stayed healthy, said NJOPON President Ray Stever. “Now they will help us in supporting and educating the citizens of how Medicare for All will keep them Healthy.”
On March 10, 2011, the Borough of Fort Lee, NJ endorsed a resolution supporting single-payer healthcare as proposed by HR 676, the “Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act.” Fort Lee’s endorsement is one of over 70 state and local governments that have already passed similar resolutions supporting HR 676.
If passed through Congress, HR 676 will create a single-payer healthcare system administered by private entities and funded by the government. The legislation will provide access to health insurance for all Americans.
You can download the Fort Lee resolution here (.pdf).
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Bill Moyers Journal on Single-Payer
On May 22nd, Bill Moyers Journal interviewed Donna Smith, of California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, Dr. Sidney Wolfe, of Public Citizen, and Physicians for a National Health Program’s Dr. David Himmelstein.
See Donna Smith’s interview here.
See the interview with Dr. Sidney Wolfe and Dr. David Himmelstein here.
