Conyers, Leahy Introduce Bill To End Health Insurers' Anti-Trust Exemption

John Conyers and some allies on the House Judiciary Committee have come up with a fabulous way to get the insurance industry in line - by threatening to remove their anti-trust exemption.

They want free market, let's give them some free market and see how they like it.

Making Health Care Happen (Health Care Organizing Kickoff)

Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), author of HR 676: The U.S. National Healthcare Act, will be the featured speaker at "Making Healthcare Happen," a community forum on health care reform occurring Saturday, May 30 at Indiana University Southeast in the Hoosier Room, Grantline Road, New Albany. The forum will begin at 8:30 a.m. and admission is free to the public.

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Day of Action in New Albany, IN
Making Healthcare Happen

With Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), Claudia M. Fegan, MD (former PNHP president), and Rob Stone (Co-founder of Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan).

When: Saturday, May 30th, 8:30 am to 12:30 pm
Where: Indiana University Southeast, Hoosier Room, 4201 Grant Line Rd, New Albany, IN.
Contact: Kay Tillow
Sponsor: Kentuckians for Single Payer Health Care, Presbyterian Church USA, Physicians for a National Health Program-KY

More information: www.kyhealthcare.org or www.hchp.info

Cong. John Conyers to Speak in Albany on Sunday March 29th on Single Payer Health Care for All

Albany, NY- Congressman John Conyers will be in Albany for a Congressional Town Hall Meeting on Sunday, March 29th from 2-4:30 pm at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 262 State Street in Albany (1/2 block west of State Capitol)

Economist, Healthcare Activists Also on Tap; John Nichols of Nation Magazine Will Moderate

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - March 10 - Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), author of HR 676 The U.S. National Healthcare Act, will be the featured speaker at "Turning Hope Into Action," a community forum on healthcare and the economy on Friday, March 20 at the Northampton High School auditorium, 320 Elm St. The forum will begin at 7:30 p.m. and admission is free to the public.

Urge Your Rep. to Attend Mass. Health Reform Forum

National Lessons from State Health Reform: The Massachusetts Case Study
February 25, 2009, 2pm-4pm, 2226 Rayburn House Office Building, Capitol Hill, Washington, DC.

In the last two decades over a half dozen state-based health reforms have attempted to provide universal health care coverage, and failed. It's clear that new engineering will be needed in the months ahead as the nation looks to rebuild our economy and our healthcare system.

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HEALTHCARE FOR ALL TOWN HALL MEETING WITH REPRESENTATIVE JOHN CONYERS, JR. (D MI)

Saturday, March 7, 1 PM – 3 PM
Penn Newman Center
3720 Chestnut St.
(Enter from Sansom St.)
All are welcome, don’t stay away if you can’t pay! Donations appreciated to defray expenses.

Join Representative Conyers, author of
The United States National Health Care Act, HR 676(“Expanded & Improved Medicare for ALL”)
and other speakers

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Letter from John Conyers:

Earlier this month I raised concerns about the trial balloon floated for Surgeon General, Dr. Sanjay Gupta .

The doctor is a health commentator for CNN who dispenses medical advice with a breezy style appropriately suited to the brief two-minute segments of television.

While he has earned praise for his television persona, there are undeniable drawbacks that would limit his effectiveness as an advocate for the comprehensive health care reform this country urgently needs.

We need a Surgeon General serious about health care reform.

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Via SarahLee, and over at dKos:

First:

Listen to the Thom Hartmann Show on today. During the first hour, Thom will talk with Senator Bernie Sanders, who was a cosponsor of H.R. 676 when he was in the House. During the second and third hours, Thom will talk about how we can get single payer through Congress. And he'll ask everyone to do two things on Friday:

Call Congressman James Clyburn and ask him to whip his colleagues for H.R. 676: (202) 225-3315.

Call your own Congress Member and ask them to cosponsor and promote H.R. 676: (202) 224-3121.

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According to GovTrack, the newly reintroduced HR 676 has but 30 cosponsors, so either GovTrack has not picked up all current cosponsors, or some have not had a chance to put their name on it again, or we have lost some support.

Please glance over the list of supporters and see if any of them are your Representative. Please thank them for their support if you have not already done so. It is very important to reward our supporters and demonstrate that supporting HR 676 is a political winner.

A Rep. John Conyers press release:

H.R. 676 is featured in February Issue of Harper’s Magazine

For Immediate Release
Contact: Karen Morgan
313-961-5670

Luke Mitchell of Harper’s Magazine Mentions H.R. 676 in February Issue

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(x-posted from drinking liberally in new milford even though part of this was already pointed out here...)

When the Big Pharma pushers try to sell it to you:

Conceding that it has long been viewed as Republican-dominated, the industry's lobbying arm plans to spend tens of millions of dollars on an advertising blitz promoting Obama-style health coverage for every American. The first spot -- sponsored by the drug lobby, consumer and labor groups, and health providers -- will be unveiled today.

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Greetings everyone.

This is Donna Smith of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee. I am on the staff for CNA/NNOC that is based in Washington, DC. We are busy here welcoming the new Congress and pushing support for single payer healthcare reform and John Conyers' bill HR676.

We are also one of the founding members of the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care along with Health Care-Now, Physicians for a National Health Program, the Progressive Democrats of America and many other labor, faith and political activist groups.

It's an exciting time in Washington, but by no means the time to rest easy because we have a new President and a new Congress. In fact, now is the time to push harder and more directly.

Universal Single-Payer Health Back On

John Conyers has not given up! In fact, he has stepped up his efforts to pass a single payer universal health care bill. He writes today:

“I have exciting news to share with you– H.R. 676, my bill for universal, single-payer health care, has a new home on the web!

www.johnconyers.com/healthcare

Progressive Democrats of America's "Healthcare, Not Warfare" tour

Single-payer folks still determined

Conyers spoke to me that evening about how he thinks a national health care plan is inevitable - because every other plan has led the country into dead ends. Click here to listen to the interview.

Quentin D. Young

On our favorite subject, health care reform, there are some gains in terms of popular support for single payer national health insurance, but it cannot be denied that the presidential debates have never seriously evaluated true reform-Medicare for all, single payer.

Happily the congressional scene is somewhat better. As we speak, 91 members of congress (all democrats so far) have indicated their support for HB 676, Representative Conyers bill which would bring the blessings of Medicare for all and, even more important, bring health care on a solid basis to our entire nation.

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The time has come for universal health care

The only realistic solution to our growing health care crisis is HR 676, sponsored by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., which extends Medicare coverage to every American.

Over time, this bill, if enacted into law, would actually lower health care costs by at least 50 percent while insuring every American has health care when they need it.

This is essentially the way health care is done in every other country in the world except the United States.

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Democrats' platform shift on health care

Yet, at the national Platform Drafting Committee meeting in Cleveland at the start of August, the official reception was a bit frosty. When I arrived there early one morning and renewed a longstanding request for a minute or two to make a verbal presentation on behalf of the statement for guaranteed health care, the party's national platform director informed me candidly: "It's not going to happen."

But grassroots organizing continued.

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Health care reform panel supports universal health care

Conyers is sponsoring H.R. 676, the United States National Health Insurance Act. He first introduced the bill in 2003. It would create a government-funded, single payer system that would cover everyone. The program also would eliminate the private health insurance system.

While some 90 representatives are co-sponsoring the bill, none are Republicans and none are senators, he said.

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Democrats convene here and reach a consensus on the party's platform

U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Michigan, joined state Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, in a news conference calling on the platform drafters to endorse universal, single-payer health care coverage.

The platform that will be submitted in Denver calls for the goal of universal coverage -- "a commitment that every American man, woman and child be guaranteed to have affordable, comprehensive health care" -- but falls short of the single-payer concept in which all Americans would be enrolled in a Medicare like system.

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REAL STEPS TOWARD SINGLE PAYER: HR676 CHAMPION MOVES THE CAUSE TO DENVER

A question for Krugman, Matthew Yglesias, d-day, Ezra Klein; what makes you a better judge of practical politics than John Conyers and the 90 cosponsors of HR 676?

Dear Michael Moore and John Conyers:

By now you have heard of Health Care for America Now. Clearly the effect of this group is to blunt the drive for single payer. As the most visible leaders in the single payer movement we need you to come up with a counter strategy.

The problem with health insurance

Representative John Conyers has a bill in the House of Representatives to expand the Medicare system to provide affordable, quality coverage for all Americans. H.R. 676 has 86 cosponsors in the House, and has already been endorsed by 30 state labor federations, 94 Central Labor Councils, and 348 union locals and other labor organizations in 48 states.