Panel Discussion on Vermon'ts Passing of Single Payer

Julie Sokolow of Healthy Artists is organizing a panel discussion on the struggle for single payer in Vermont which passed it's plan in 2011. Details are below.   The Fight for Universal Healthcare: Lessons from Vermont Join us for a Panel Discussion with the Vermont Workers’ Center and Put People First! PA! The Big Idea Bookstore 4812 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15224 6:30 – 8:00 PM Free and open to the public In 2011, the state of Vermont passed the nation's first true universal healthcare law, Act 48. The Green Mountain Care Board established by Act 48 has a mandate to create a statewide single-payer system by 2017. In the meantime, it is leading the nation with the most progressive implementation of Obamacare of any state, ensuring that the "exchange" is publicly run and equitable. Join us for a panel discussion with Jonathan Kissam of the Vermont Workers' Center and Mitch Troutman of Put People First! PA! Jonathan will discuss the Healthcare Is a Human Rights Campaign that led to the healthcare bill, and the subsequent Put People First campaign that has brought people together across movements to win real victories. Mitch will talk about a similar Healthcare Is a Human Right campaign to be launched in PA, and how Pittsburghers can get involved! Jonathan Kissam is a long-time rank and file activist with the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), and currently a member of UE Local 203. He has served on the UE General Executive Board and on the Coordinating Committee of the Vermont Workers’ Center, where he helped launch the Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign in 2008. Mitch Troutman is a staff field organizer for Put People First! PA. Born and raised in Central PA, his background is in manual labor as well as community and workplace organizing. The Vermont Workers' Center is a statewide grassroots organization building one movement for people and the planet. Our current campaigns include Healthcare Is a Human Right, the People's Budget, and Put People First. Put People First! PA is an organization for people who are struggling to meet the basics and believe we need a voice. We’re fighting for our human rights, county by county, all across PA. We’re urban and rural, multi-racial, and politically independent. We’re people like you. Until we unite, we don’t have the power to change things. Join us! Put People First! PA is starting a statewide, grassroots effort to make Healthcare a Human Right. Inspired by Vermont's success, we're building a movement to get universal, affordable healthcare for all PA residents. Everybody in, nobody out! **Related Posts** Vermont Green Mountain Plan Video   If Vermont Won't Have Single Payer What Will it Have? STOP Obamacare in Pennsylvania: Where We Agree with Them   Aaron Carroll's Analysis of Single Payer and Wait Times