Healthcare is a Human Right Concert, June 7

State board member Mike Stout (pictured below) and the Human Union Band will be holding a Health Care is a Human Right concert on June 7. The press release is below with a preview of their new song.

PRESS RELEASE: Legendary Rock Concert for Social Justice in
Pittsburgh!
Mike Stout & The Human Union in Concert to
debut song “Health Care is a Human Right” (previewed below)
and shine a light on the single-payer movement
8:30pm on June 7th 2014 @ First Unitarian
Church of Pittsburgh
605 Morewood Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
$15/ticket

______________________________________________________________________
"In the Woody Guthrie tradition, his songs reflect contemporary issues without resorting
to journalism. They're more like partisan op-ed columns that grab political opponents by
the throat and don't let go." - John Hayes, Pittsburgh Post Gazette
______________________________________________________________________
On Saturday, June 7th, 2014, the legendary rock band, Mike Stout and the Human
Union, will perform a politically-charged show at the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh.
Known for drawing large crowds to Pittsburgh venues such as Club Cafe and Frick Fine
Arts, he also tours internationally to festival-sized audiences. On the evening of June
7th, he’ll debut a special song to his hometown crowd entitled, “Health Care is a
Human Right.”
The song is perhaps the world’s first single-payer universal health care anthem and
appropriately, all proceeds of the show go to Health Care 4 All PA – a nonprofit devoted
to achieving a single-payer health care system in PA. The group has been recognized
nationally for their promotion of a PA single-payer system in places such as Huffington
Post and The New York Times.
Stout’s June 7th concert will also premiere a brand new music video for the featured
song at the start of the show. Other songs performed will include social justice anthems
around anti-fracking, jobs, and peace.
______________________________________________________________________
For advanced tickets, reservations, or inquiries, contact Mike Stout at:
(412) 461-5650 or mikestout619@comcast.net

**Update**

You can see Mike Stout and the Human Union Band performing a tribute to the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1913.

 

Health Care for All PA in Healthcare Finance News

Healthcare for All PA outgoing president, David Steil, has been profiled in Healthcare Finance News by by Tammy Worth on the state of the movement.  It can be read at the link below.

The single payer movement expands

Will Ferrell and Larry the Cable Guy's take on the Affordable Care Act and Single Payer

Not This Will Ferrell

Healthcare for All PA board member Will Ferrell (not the star of Anchoman 2) has shared the great clip above of NBCs medical analyst Dr. Nancy Snyderman endorsing single payer. I had to share with you all.  Will Ferrell has also had an Op/Ed posted in the Delaware County Times  on Dec 13 seen at the bottom.

Below is comedian Larry the Cable Guy telling Sean Hannity his opinion of the Affordable Care Act.  Unlike other rantings and ravings on Fox News, this is actually funny.

SINGLE-PAYER, MEDICAL INSURANCE, and the CORBETT PLAN

Recently, Governor Corbett unveiled a Medicaid expansion plan called Healthy Pennsylvania.  Few would disagree with the Governor’s objectives of increasing access, improving quality and making healthcare affordable for all Pennsylvanians. 

Medicaid is a healthcare program funded by both the state and the federal government that provides direct care to individuals with limited income.  The fastest growing population group in this category are seniors whose income falls within the threshold of income limits for Medicaid. In effect Medicaid supplements Medicare which is for all people over the age of 65. Medicaid has income limits, while Medicare does not.  Most of the Medicaid supplement is used for long term care facilities.

Under the Affordable HealthCare Act, states may expand the eligibility for Medicaid, with the Federal Government picking up much of the cost. This expansion is optional for the states, although many states have already agreed to sign on.

Note, it is important to distinguish between health insurance and healthcare. Healthcare programs such as Medicaid and Medicare pay directly the doctors and hospitals that provide healthcare services to people.

With health insurance, people pay premiums to private insurance companies, who then pay the doctors and hospitals for healthcare services provided to those paying the premiums. Under Governor Corbett’s plan federal Medicaid funds would be used to buy health insurance for eligible participants, rather than providing direct healthcare.

HealthCare 4 All PA (HC4APA) believes this is a poor use of money that only increases the cost and limits the funding pool available to pay for actual healthcare.  The reasoning is simple-health insurance has administrative costs in excess of 15%, meaning that 15 cents of every dollar does not go to pay for healthcare. Contrast this with Medicare and Medicaid where administrative costs are about 3%.

Therefore, under the Governor’s plan to turn Medicaid healthcare into an insurance program, more money will be spent and fewer people will be treated due to this disparity in administrative costs. HC4APA also believes that decisions about your healthcare should be made by you and your doctor, not by an insurance company whose primary motivation is to receive more money in premiums than they must pay out to doctors and hospitals. 

HC4APA does agree with the Governor that the best healthcare delivery solutions are developed at the state and local government levels. States have often been called the laboratories of the nation. Following this ideal, HC4APA has developed a Single-Payer healthcare delivery system. Single-Payer simply means that Pennsylvania would develop a healthcare delivery system modeled after Medicare, meaning doctors and hospitals would be paid directly for healthcare services provided to each of us.

The system would be funded by taxes paid by all businesses and by all individuals.  It is clear, however that such taxes would be significantly lower than individuals and businesses are already paying in insurance premiums, deductibles and co-pays for healthcare. We can be confident of this because HC4APA contracted and paid for an Economic Impact Study (EIS) performed by several leading healthcare economists. This study demonstrated that Pennsylvania’s healthcare costs could be reduced by some $17 billion each year under a single- payer plan.

Currently, the costs of healthcare are very high and growing well ahead of the rate of inflation. If we, collectively, do not address these costs, the healthcare system will become unsustainable in its present configuration. A single-payer plan attacks those costs.

In addition, many other forms of business and personal insurance include healthcare cost components. These include vehicle and homeowners insurance and for businesses, workers compensation and liability insurance.  The costs of these insurance policies would also decline when the state implements single-payer.

The bottom line is that a single-payer healthcare plan costs less and fosters free and open market competition.  Single-payer moves the marketplace competition from the insurance company to the medical providers who will have to compete directly for your healthcare needs.

We encourage you to visit www.healthcare4allpa.org to learn more about the single-payer plan and to read the EIS that will document the value of the plan. Then become an activist by networking with family and friends, asking them to support the bill by calling their Legislators and ask them to vote for Senate Bill 400 and House Bill 1660. This will only happen if we the people want it to happen. We have the power.

William Ferrell

Board Member HC4APA  

**Related Posts**

New Op Ed from State President Dave Steil

Tom Tangretti Posts a Letter to the Editor in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Single Payer

Dave Steil on Kate Loving Shenk's Radio Show

Dominick Buscemi has a Great Post on Single Payer in Allentown

MEDICAID, MEDICAL INSURANCE, HEALTH CARE and the CORBETT PLAN Op Ed by President Dave Steil

Outgoing Healthcare for All PA president Dave Steil has written an Op/Ed for several paper which has been published in the Bucks County Times.  

Recently, Governor Corbett unveiled a Medicaid expansion plan called Healthy Pennsylvania.  Few would disagree with the Governor’s objectives of increasing access, improving quality and making healthcare affordable for all Pennsylvanians.  Medicaid is a healthcare program funded by both the state and the federal government that provides direct care to individuals with limited income.  The fastest growing population group in this category are seniors whose income falls within the threshold of income limits for Medicaid. In effect Medicaid supplements Medicare which is for all people over the age of 65. Medicaid has income limits, while Medicare does not.  Most of the Medicaid supplements used for long term care facilities.Under the Affordable HealthCare Act, often called Obamacare, states may expand the eligibility for Medicaid, with the Federal Government picking up much of the cost. This expansion is optional for the states, although many states have already agreed to sign on. Note, it is important to distinguish between health insurance and healthcare. They are not the same. Healthcare programs such as Medicaid and Medicare pay directly the doctors and hospitals that provide healthcare services to people. With health insurance, people pay premiums to private insurance companies, who then pay the doctors and hospitals for healthcare services provided to those paying the premiums. Under Governor Corbett’s plan federal Medicaid funds would be used to buy health insurance for eligible participants, rather than providing direct healthcare. HealthCare 4 All PA (HC4APA) believes this is a poor use of money that only increases the cost and limits the funding pool available to pay for actual healthcare.  The reasoning is simple-health insurance has administrative costs in excess of 15%, meaning that 15 cents of every dollar does not go to pay for healthcare. Contrast this with Medicare and Medicaid where administrative costs are about 3%. Therefore, under the Governor’s plan to turn Medicaid healthcare into an insurance program, more money will be spent and fewer people will be treated due to this disparity in administrative costs. HC4APA also believes that decisions about your healthcare should be made by you and your doctor.

**Related Post**

Dave Steil on Kate Loving Shenk's Radio Show

Dominick Buscemi has a Great Post on Single Payer in Allentown

Allentown Single payer advocate Dominick Buscemi (no relation to Steve, I think.  No photo available.)  Has written a great OP-ED on the Allentown Morning Call which can be read below.

Dominick Buscemi: Pa. can adopt single-payer health care system

I found myself agreeing with something John Brinson said in his recent Your View about Obamacare (a scary thought for a progressive liberal who sees President Obama as a moderate Republican); we both think Obamacare is too complicated, expensive and inadequate. End of agreement.

Obamacare is just a variation of the current fiasco, a multipayer health insurance system. The payers are private insurance companies. Each company offers a multitude of plans, each with varying levels of deductibles, co-payments and coverage. Now imagine trying to navigate this maze with your parents.

This privatized multipayer system puts profits first, denies claims to maintain profit margins and is responsible for more than 60 percent of Pennsylvania personal bankruptcies. The average physician spends $84,000 to interact with private insurance companies annually. Obamacare is a gift to greedy insurance executives.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 12.1 percent (1.2 million) of Pennsylvanians were uninsured in 2010, up from 11.7 percent in 2009 and 10.6 percent in 2008. This is a grossly inefficient system. Obamacare will still leave about 30 million Americans uninsured.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/opinion/mc-single-payer-health-insurance-buscemi-yv-20130819,0,5533781.story#ixzz2cZE0HJlm
Follow us: @mcall on Twitter | mcall.lv on Facebook

Now, here's where Mr. Brinson and I will most likely disagree. A provision in Obamacare lets states in 2017 opt out if they can provide equal or better coverage for their residents.

This means that Pennsylvania can have a single-payer system — one insurance plan that has one payer to cover all Pennsylvania taxpayers. This plan would be funded by a flat rate of 3 percent of income for individuals and 10 percent of payroll for businesses, and it would place you and your doctor in charge of your family's health care. Everyone contributes, everyone benefits. Simple. It would be public-private hybrid with the insurance function provided by the state government, and the medical care would be privately delivered by a doctor or hospital of your choice.

A single-payer system would provide comprehensive coverage: medical, dental, eye care, physical therapy, mental health, hospice, addiction, long-term care, wellness, prescriptions and emergency transport. Everyone would be covered; you choose your doctor, and you won't need a lawyer to interpret your plan.

A recent study — available at http://www.healthcare4allpa.org/economic-impact-study — shows that a single-payer plan would also save the state more than $17 billion annually. Every school district and municipality would save under this plan. Since all care is covered, there would be no medical-caused bankruptcies.

A single-payer system would be an incentive for business to move to Pennsylvania by making our state competitive with other industrialized nations whose businesses have the advantage of not having to budget for ever-changing health costs.

Workers' compensation premiums would also be eliminated because everyone is fully covered for any medical emergency and treatment. Our homeowners and automobile liability coverage would be cheaper, too, because medical costs would be taken out of the insurance cost calculation.

How do we get this type of health coverage? The wheels are already in motion. On March 19, Sen. Jim Ferlo, a Democrat from western Pennsylvania, announced the re-introduction of Senate Bill 400, which would create the Pennsylvania Health Care Plan, which I've outlined here.

As stated in Sen. Ferlo's press release: "Logic alone won't win the day. Only when we have enough people demanding a single-payer plan will we break the stranglehold that profit-first insurance companies use to prevent true reform."

At the Health Care for All PA website, there is information and a calculator to let you estimate you annual health care cost with a single payer. Check it out, and if you agree, contact your representatives and urge them to support the Pennsylvania Health Care Plan.

Dominick Buscemi, who lives in Lower Mount Bethel Township, is the organizer for the Lehigh Valley Health Care Reform Meetup Group and a member of Health Care for All PA.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/opinion/mc-single-payer-health-insurance-buscemi-yv-20130819,0,5533781.story#ixzz2cZEAfyxG
Follow us: @mcall on Twitter | mcall.lv on Facebook

**Related Posts**

New Op Ed from State President Dave Steil

Tom Tangretti Posts a Letter to the Editor in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Single Payer

Dave Steil on Kate Loving Shenk's Radio Show

New State Website is UP!!

The statewide organization for Healthcare for All PA has a new website with lots of accessible information on single payer, especially with links to the full economic impact study.  It can be viewed at the link below

http://www.healthcare4allpa.org/

New Op Ed from State President Dave Steil

Health Care for All PA President Dave Steil has written an OpED in the Bucks County Times that can be read here.

Affordable alternative

Better care at a lower cost

Health care, its delivery, quality, coverage and cost is the most perplexing and challenging issue facing the business community today. There is nothing more important to a business in the management of its operations than knowing the cost of each component of those operations.

When it comes to health care protection for employees, however, those costs are difficult to understand and to control, especially for small business owners who wear many hats and must deal with day to day challenges while still finding time to ensure that the long term plan is also in place. As a small business owner, my struggle to find a balance between those responsibilities is ever present.

Since World War II health care has principally fallen upon the shoulders of business. That means that it was discretionary for business owners to provide or not provide health care to employees. Frequently, that meant a hard working individual had to depend on the employer’s health care plan being a major beneficial component of the business cost and competitive structure. When the plan failed to be beneficial, the employer was free to drop employee health care. As costs rose and competitive conditions changed, many business owners did just that. Often it was imperative for the business to remain viable.

With the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, businesses are, for the first time, required to provide health care to their employees. Businesses smaller than 50 employees are exempt but their individual employees must now buy insurance to cover themselves and their families.The total impact of these changes to the health care system is not yet known to business owners, but are much feared.

More and more business owners are asking the question, why is health care still our responsibility? Why do we continue to perpetuate a seventy year old system that is costly and leaves many hard working people without health protection of any kind? Business owners know their products and services. They are not schooled in health care administration. But, if we accept that question then we must ask, if not business, then who?

There are in reality only two answers to that question. Either every person must provide for his or her own health care protection or it must become a core function of government, just as is education. In fact government already provides close to 50 percent of all health care, through Medicare, Medicaid, Military (including VA) and government employees.

Many will reject this option without ever looking at the facts. That is regrettable and intellectually dishonest. In fact, now there is now solid data to support the concept of a State of Pennsylvania managed health care system that would cover all Pennsylvania citizens for most health care related needs.

An economic impact study (EIS) just released by Health Care 4 All PA, a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation, clearly demonstrates that health care can be provided to all citizens at much lower cost than is already being paid by business and individuals. Known as the Pennsylvania Health Care Plan (PHCP), administered by the state, it would provide comprehensive health protection by removing the significant costs associated with insurance based and directed coverage. The cost of the plan would be paid for by personal income and payroll taxes, but at a lower rate than is already being paid for health services.

For businesses there are many added benefits directly reducing the costs of doing business:

• Lower direct costs than the cost of the insurance based system Reduced Workers Compensation costs 
• Reduced cost of general liability insurance 
• Elimination of costs to administer the insurance plan by the business 
• Equal ability to compete for employees in the job market 
• Increased ability to compete in the international marketplace 
• Elimination of legacy costs for providing retiree health care 
• Less confrontational collective bargaining 
• Clear and identifiable costs for budgeting purposes 

Legislation to adopt the PHCP presents an historic opportunity to overcome the complexities and uncertainty of the Affordable Care Act and to put Pennsylvania in the forefront of advanced and enlightened health care. Nothing else that we could accomplish would create a business climate as economically attractive as the PHCP.

This is not just a health care management plan, but a major job creation engine. If the business community rally’s behind this proposal it will happen, because we, collectively, carry a powerful voice.

David Steil, Lower Makefield, is a small business owner and a former member of the state House of Representatives.

**Related Posts**

Tom Tangretti Posts a Letter to the Editor in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Single Payer

Dave Steil on Kate Loving Shenk's Radio Show

New YouTube video on Health Care for All PA

Rebecca Pruveadenti of Erie has written many articles, letters to the editor, and made many media appearances to advocate for single payer health care in Pennsylvania.  Here is her latest youtube video.

**Related Posts**

Rebecca Pruveadenti's Letter Published in the Erie Times

Cindy Purvis and Rebecca Pruveadenti's Interview on Erie Radio.

PodCamp 7 Presentation on Social Media for Non Profits

Tom Tangretti Posts a Letter to the Editor in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Single Payer

Tom Tangretti served Westmoreland County in the PA House for 20 years from 1989-2008.  Yesterday he published a letter to the editor in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette titled:

Obamacare is helpful, but single-payer would be better

The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, has restricted insurance companies' ability to deny coverage due to limits and pre-existing conditions and will cover hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who do not have coverage now. It does many other worthwhile things that changed the way the health/insurance industry operates. But one of the most important and little known is that it gives states the right to request a waiver, beginning in 2017, to replace Obamacare with a system that can be proved to be more efficient and more cost-effective.

 HealthCare4All Pa. is an organization whose purpose is to advance a single-payer plan. In a study commissioned by this organization, economist Gerald Friedman of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, demonstrates, in a well-researched work using significant data analysis, that a single-payer plan is a real option for states to fix a very broken system for administering health care and takes the Affordable Care Act to the next level.

Any individual, medical provider, small or large business, municipality or school board, not to mention the state, has to seriously consider a single-payer option because it immediately eliminates most if not all administrative costs, health care as part of any negotiations and unfair competition with foreign entities and removes all health care legacy costs for retirees in both the public or private sectors, at savings of $17 billion, or 22.6 percent less than what the 2012 Pennsylvania health care costs were. I would challenge anyone who reads this to take a look at the healthcare4allpa.org website. You'll discover that not only is it possible, but more important, one would see the imperative that we must pursue a single-payer plan because it's the only option that is sustainable.

TOM TANGRETTI
Greensburg

**Related Posts**

Dave Steil on Kate Loving Shenk's Radio Show

 

State Health Care for All PA President Dave Steil appeared on Kate Loving-Shenk's Blog Talk Radio show to discuss the release of the Economic Impact Study.  The program can be heard here.

**Related Posts**

Cindy Purvis and Rebecca Pruveadenti's Interview on Erie Radio

 

Ed Grystar on the Other Possibilities Network

 

Lessons from HBO's 'Weight of the Nation' 

Chuck Pennachio to be on WCAN Radio

 

Reminder: for forwarding and posting: Chuck on national radio show to discuss "Life After the Affordable Care Act: Politics, Money, and What You Can Do" to achieve comprehensive, universal healthcare.

Tune in, call in, brainstorm! 

JULY 19TH

8:30 PM EASTERN TIME

www.wcanradio.com

My guest will be Chuck Pennacchio, Executive Director of Health Care 4 All PA.   Chuck and I will discuss the Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act, the history of health care reform in the US and why we are struggling so hard with this issue as well as the political realities that make the campaign harder.  

To listen, go to http://www.wcanradio.com/ and click on the microphone to listen.  You do need Windows Media Player. 

Join the discussion by calling 1-800-921-2204 or e-mail questions and comments to wcanradio@yahoo.com.

Please let your constituencies know about the show.

Thanks,

Debbie Silverstein

Rebecca Pruveadenti's Letter Published in the Erie Times

 

This Letter was published in the Erie Times on July 15th Single-payer still best system.  It was written by Rebecca Prudevanti of the NW Healthcare for All PA Chapter.

The Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) was upheld by the Supreme Court and many on the left are unhappy with the ACA and President Obama. This law helps keep an unsustainable, for-profit, health insurance industry in place and calls it health care. It does nothing to control spiraling costs and will spur this country's next financial crisis because it is growing three times faster than the U. S. economy.

The current system is responsible for causing medical bankruptcies -- 50 percent of all U.S. bankruptcies. The health insurance industry acts as a toll booth between you and your health care. When you get sick and begin to use your insurance, you must stop, ask permission, pay to get through. Sound like a privilege or extortion? Single-payer supporters are incensed that a sensible, single-payer solution to heath care in this country is viewed as evil, yet denying health care to a human being is the right thing to do.

Currently, the U.S. has Medicare, a single-payer plan for people over 65; Medicaid, a single payer plan for people under the poverty level; the VA Health System, true "socialized" medicine yet essentially a single-payer plan for veterans and their families; and the for-profit health insurance industry system for whoever can afford it. The most expensive and least effective for "we, the people" is the for-profit model. For-profit means profit at all costs, ignoring all moral imperatives regarding the sanctity of life because it lowers the corporate profit ratio.

The absence of equal access to health care is directly linked to an unhealthy, uneducated populace. A single-payer system where everybody pays in and gets equal access to health care is the sensible solution.

Rebecca Pruveadenti president, HealthCare4All PA, NW Chapter

Chuck Pennacchio One Payer State Report

Statement from Executive Director Chuck Pennacchio on the One Payer State Meeting

Filmmaker and citizen activist Michael Moore (SiCKO, Bowling for Columbine, Roger and Me, Capitalism: A Love Story) graced Philadelphia last Saturday for a five-year reunion of SiCKO's release, the third-highest grossing documentary ever that revealed the tragedy of under-insurance in the United States. Also assembled were seven of the film's health insurance industry victims (including our own Donna Smith), and two industry whistle-blowers who continue to expose the medical-industrial-complex's profit-first methods of maximum money-making.

In addition to the emotional sagas of PREVENTABLE suffering that continue to this day - 9/11 rescue worker with oxygen tank, parentless teen, widowed spouse, morphing cancers, running battles with insurance companies, medical bankruptcies - Wendell Potter (author of "Deadly Spin") shared his crisis-of-conscience journey to 'industry whistle-blower,' beginning with his former company, CIGNA, assigning him, stealthily, to sneak-preview "SiCKO" in Sacramento and plan the public relations attacks on the movie.

Michael Moore then used story, movie-making insights, and outrage over right-wing bullying and Obama-enabling to illustrate, on the one hand, SiCKO's educational and motivational benefit and, on the other hand, the watered-down Affordable Care Act that the Supreme Court validated last week. At the same time, Michael (and Wendell) chastised single payer activists inclined to look past the significance of corporatist Chief Justice Roberts siding with the Court's more liberal members, and permitting ACA's implementation (minus the force of withholding Medicaid funding for states that refuse to accept ACA minimal health standards).

During a pre-event reception at Healthcare-NOW's William Way Center auditorium, the 300-person public event at Plays and Players Theater (sans air-conditioning on a sticky night!) near Rittenhouse Square, and the day following at our 22-member, 'One Payer States' all-day conference, speaker after speaker, discussant after discussant, emphasized the opportunity presented by ACA's continuing implementation. We need to celebrate (Moore), exploit (Michael Lighty, CA Nurses), understand our challenges, challengers, and potential allies (Brigitte Marti, Dr Carol Ritter, Mark Dudzic, Pennacchio), strategize (Potter), and organize (Francesca Lo Basso, Smith).

Specifically, our best opportunity for translating ACA passage and SCOTUS ruling into universal healthcare is embedded in the national legislation itself. That is, ACA contains provisions for state-based healthcare innovation and funding waivers (can you say "Single Payer six times straight"...six times?), already endorsed by President Obama, embraced by numerous Republicans at all levels of government, and led by Independent Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) and Democratic Representative Jim McDermott (WA) in the United States Congress.

So now it's on us, to build on the week's and weekend's successes, energy, inspiration, and more, to turn ACA into state-based Improved Medicare for All as the next step to achieving true, universal single payer healthcare for each and every person in America. Every body in, no body out.

Onward to the Proven Single Payer Solution.

Chuck Pennacchio, PhD

Executive Director

Healthcare4AllPa.org

Co-Founder, One Payer States Network

Healthcare 4 All PA Response: Supreme Court Ruling on PPACA and Implications for the Single Payer Solution

This is the official Healthcare for All PA response from Executive Director Chuck Pennacchio to the Supreme Courts decision on Thursday.

 

Dear Friends of the Proven Single Payer Solution:

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled this morning, by a narrow 5-4 decision, that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is largely constitutional.  Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts found the insurance purchase mandate permissible, but only if re-conceived of as a "tax" and, therefore, consistent with Congress' regulatory powers under the Commerce Clause.  The remainder of the national health insurance bill was also found to be constitutional, with the notable exception of the law's punishing effects of withholding funds from states that refuse to accept PPACA's new Medicaid eligibility standards.

Now that the Supreme Court is permitting the implementation of PPACA, what does the ruling mean for potential recipients, costs, access, quality, providers, jobs, economy, and sustainability?  And what will it mean for the proven Single Payer Solution that effectively addresses and resolves the aforementioned issues and steers clear of any current of future constitutional challenges?

Given the six-year implementation of the Massachusetts Model, the PPACA-related answers to the above questions are mixed - but, regrettably, mostly negative.  Yes, perhaps 2% percent of Americans - those aged 19 to 26 (2.6 M), those with pre-existing conditions (70 K), those who are indigent and uninsured (3 to 4 M) - will appreciate increased access to healthcare providers and services.  That is PPACA's best news - and one cannot understate or undervalue the importance of expanding healthcare to Americans previously shut out of the system altogether.  On the other hand, a significant chunk of the 2% targeted beneficiaries intended for inclusion in expanded healthcare will not get what they need because of the shrinking pool of primary care physicians, community hospital closures, unaffordable premiums/co-pays/deductibles, across-the-board cuts in healthcare spending, and systemic "gaming" and "cherry-picking" by a profit-centered health insurance industry.

Now for the predictable bad news - based on PPACA's legislative forerunner, the Massachusetts Model.  Initial Massachusetts successes in increasing those with health insurance paperwork and those with actual access to healthcare have given way, in the last four years, to alarming rises in the uninsured, the under-insured, taxes, premiums, co-pays, deductibles, hospital closures, physician flight, and overall healthcare outcomes  (http://tinyurl.com/723stts).  The Massachusetts legislature is now cutting, not increasing, services, as economic and budgetary restraints bring political calls for austerity.  Profit-first, health insurance-centered healthcare is proving to be unsustainable in a state that is disproportionately wealthier and more liberal than most.  If PPACA modeling can't work in Massachusetts, how can we expect it to work in the partisan puzzle palace known as Washington, D.C.?

Now for the good news: advancing the Proven Single Payer Solution. PPACA is simply unsustainable - financially, economically, morally, politically, and logically.  Simply put, PPACA over-promises and under-delivers.  It increases the power and profits of the profit-first, healthcare denying health insurance industry, while leaving patients, providers, taxpayers, municipal governments, businesses, labor unions, and more, at the mercy of the predatory medical-industrial-complex.  Politicians enable, corporate insurance profits, citizens suffer.

Only the Proven Single Payer Solution solves the system.  And, irony of ironies, PPACA provides state-based waivers and instruments to implement state-based single payer!  As healthcare-related costs continue to escalate out of control (to perhaps 25% of GDP in 2025), healthcare access diminishes, medical bankruptcies and preventable medical tragedies increase, and more, the system will collapse on itself.  Who knows where the tipping point is?  But we all know that the evidence and morality point to the American answer: Single Payer, aka, Expanded and Improved Medicare for All.  That is, publicly-funded, privately-delivered, guaranteed, quality, comprehensive, doc-and-nurse-retaining, cost-cutting, job-generating, healthcare for all.  Single Payer.  Centrist.  Sensible. Solution.

Today is a day to build on.  Our struggle continues.  We will win.  Healthcare for all!

Yours in solidarity,

Chuck Pennacchio

Executive Director

Healthcare for All Pennsylvania 
cpennacchio@gmail.com

Bob Mason's Letter to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Healthcare for All Pa vice President Bob Mason had a Letter to the editor posted in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Friday, June 15 in response to an article linked to in the repost below. 

As you advocated in the editorial "Dropping the Baby:  DPW is Wrong to Cut Newborns' Hospital Care"  (June 8), valuing life should include adequate funding for newborns' hospital
care under Medicaid, which pays for almost half of all births in
Pennsylvania.  Even at a time of austerity, some sacrifices are just
too great.

Absent financial support for obstetrical services, hard pressed rural
hospitals might be forced to eliminate them, further decreasing the
availability of medical care for pregnant women in many counties
in the Commonwealth. This gap should also be viewed in the context of
the United States' ranking 31st in infant mortality.

Fortunately, there is a humane and affordable solution.  Pennsylvania
has a single payer plan, the Family and Business Health Security Act (SB 400/HB 1660),
which builds on the advances of the federal Affordable Care Act and
would fund comprehensive health care for all Pennsylvanians through
publicly financed, privately delivered services.  It would save
billions of dollars for taxpayers, businesses, and government through
a significant reduction in the overhead of the current health
insurance industry ( as much as 30%).  The plan also
includes mechanisms to address the gap in health care in
Pennsylvania's rural areas.

Let's welcome the newest Pennsylvanians with the care all human beings
should receive.  (More information is available at
www.healthcare4allpa.org.)

--
Bob Mason
Vice President
Health Care 4 All PA

**Related Post**

Theresa Chalich's Letter to the Editor on Single Payer 

 

Since August, 88,000 Pennsylvania children have lost Medicaid benefits - Philly.com

 

The Pennsylvania Medicaid Budgetary Squeeze

PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR IDENTIFIED BY EIS TEAM

We are excited to report that we are close to
finalizing the selection of an organization that will conduct an
Economic Impact Study.  We hope to be able to announce the specifics
within the next few weeks.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR EIS

Scott Tyson to be in IUP Panel

Scott Tyson (in video), President of the Education Fund of Healthcare 4 All PA, will speak at an Indiana County Social Change panel this Saturday at IUP accompanied by boardmember Bob Mason.  Details are below.  This is PUSH's 50th post.

INDIANA COUNTY (13.7% uninsured)
CENTER FOR
COMMUNITY GROWTH
Building Change in Indiana County:
Saturday, April 28, 2012
IUP: Keith Hall Room 130
10 AM - 4 PM
Join us for a day of discussion, networking, skills building, and envisioning together what it takes to build positive social change in Indiana County and the region.
Discussion topics will include:
*Environmental justice
*Poverty and race
*Voting rights
*Universal Healthcare
*LGBT Equality
*Disability Access
Confirmed organizations: the Coalition for a Healthy County, IC-CAP, Northwest Human Services, Health Care for All PA, IUP Commission on LGBT, IUP Hawkrock, PFLAG, Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania, and the IndianaVIE.
Email theindianacenter@gmail.com for questions, or find us on Facebook.
Sponsored by the Indiana County Center for Community Growth, the Center for Appalachian Studies, and the
Three Rivers Community Foundation.

Health Care 4 All PA Pres Dave Steil on WCAN

Last Thursday, Feb 16, Healthcare 4 All PA (PUSH is their SW PA local affiliate) President Dave Steil was on WCAN radio. His interview will be rebroadcast tomorrow Feb 21, 10:30 PM ET. The show is internet based and can be heard all over the country, even internationally, so just go to www.wcanradio.com and click on "Listen here." You do need Windows Media Player in order to listen in.