Vigil for Peace on Earth at Beaver Courthouse Saturday 12/26 at 1:00pm
Posted by randyshannon on December 23, 2009
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Physicians: Senate Healthcare Bill ‘would bring more harm than good’
Posted by randyshannon on December 22, 2009
Oliver Fein, M.D.
Legislation ‘would bring more harm than good,’ group says
For Immediate Release
Dec. 22, 2009
Contact:
David Himmelstein, M.D.
Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., M.P.H.
Oliver Fein, M.D.
Mark Almberg, PNHP, (312) 782-6006, mark@pnhp.org
A national organization of 17,000 physicians who favor a single-payer health care system called on the U.S. Senate today to defeat the health care legislation presently before it and to immediately consider the adoption of an expanded and improved Medicare-for-All program.
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National Nurses Union: 10 Reasons to Kill the Healthcare Bill
Posted by randyshannon on December 22, 2009
Karen Higgins, R.N.
The 150,000 member National Nurses United, the nation’s largest union and professional organization of registered nurses in the U.S., today criticized the healthcare bill now advancing in the U.S. Senate saying it is deeply flawed and grants too much power to the giant insurers.
“It is tragic to see the promise from Washington this year for genuine, comprehensive reform ground down to a seriously flawed bill that could actually exacerbate the healthcare crisis and financial insecurity for American families, and that cedes far too much additional power to the tyranny of a callous insurance industry,” said NNU co-president Karen Higgins, RN.
NNU Co-president Deborah Burger, RN challenged arguments of legislation proponents that the bill should still be passed because of expanded coverage, new regulations on insurers, and the hope that it will be improved in the House-Senate conference committee or future years.
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PDA and Cong. John Conyers: Senate Healthcare Bill must be altered
Posted by randyshannon on December 22, 2009
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| Representative Conyers Reminds the Senate that They Work for the People
The Senate voted to end debate on their healthcare legislation to move the process toward reconciling the Senate’s and House’s healthcare bills. Rep. John Conyers issued a statement in response to the Senate’s vote. Key portions of his statement follow: Last night’s vote in the Senate should be applauded for what it was: an affirmative statement by that body that comprehensive health care reform legislation should not be held captive any longer by a select few. . [However, w]ithout material changes, this legislation will be reform in name only. . I supported the House bill because it included serious provisions aimed at helping individuals who currently cannot afford to purchase health care by providing subsidies and expanding Medicaid to 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. The Senate bill passed last night does not ensure this same level of affordability .. Similarly, I supported the House bill because I believe that it is immoral to continue to allow the private health insurance industry to operate without any real checks on its ability to charge unaffordable premiums and deny needed care. That is why I believe competition, as provided through a national Medicare-like public health insurance option and the repeal of the industry’s antitrust exemption, is a necessary component of true reform. . [T]he excise tax levied on certain “Cadillac” employer-based health care plans in the Senate legislation must be altered. For years, many workers chose to forgo wage increases in exchange for helping their employers offer comprehensive health care plans. . I strongly support the House’s approach to financing health care: an excise tax on the incomes of extremely wealthy Americans. I look forward to working with the Senate and House Leadership to ensure that the final health care bill address[es] these core principles of affordability, competition, and progressive financing. . Representative Conyers has again shown that his priorities lie with the American people. In solidarity, Tim Carpenter, National Director
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It is Unconstitutional for Congress to Compel a Citizen to Buy a Commodity
Posted by randyshannon on December 21, 2009
The Individual Mandate: An Unconstitutional Exercise of Congressional Power
By Sheldon H. Laskin
It is generally agreed, by both proponents and opponents of the Administration’s health reform bill, that the lynchpin of the legislation is the individual mandate requiring uninsured Americans to obtain health insurance, or pay a penalty on their tax return for failing to do so. Without the mandate, even the Administration’s wildly exaggerated cost savings estimates simply cannot work. The whole plan is predicated on enlarging the risk pool by bringing in younger, healthier people who currently lack the means or the incentive – or both – to purchase health insurance.
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Unions Urge Passage of Senate Healthcare Bill – Look to House-Senate Conference for Improvement
Posted by randyshannon on December 19, 2009
For Immediate Release Contact: Jacki Schechner (HCAN) 202-454-6196
December 17, 2009 Tiffany Ricci (AFSCME) 202-429-1145
Lori Lodes (SEIU) 202-730-7680
HEALTH REFORM SUPPORTERS RALLY NATIONWIDE TO SAY FINISH THE JOB AND FINISH IT RIGHT
Nearly 50 events in 31 states remind Congress if the insurance companies win, we lose
Washington, DC – Health care reform supporters from SEIU, AFSCME, Change that Works, AFL-CIO, and other Health Care for America Now (HCAN) partners held nearly 50 different rallies and events in more than 30 states today to tell Congress it’s time to make sure health care reform gets done and gets done right. As the holidays approach and the Senate gets closer to passing health care legislation, families and businesses across the country can no longer wait for good health care they can afford. Pro-reform advocates and organizers are calling on their elected officials to help see the process through and make essential improvements so everyone can celebrate health care reform in the New Year.
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Sign Petition to Sen. Sanders to Stand Firm against Senate Healthcare Monstrosity
Posted by randyshannon on December 18, 2009
Sen. Bernie Sanders
The latest Senate health care bill has no public option. No expansion of Medicare. And it does too little to guarantee that uninsured Americans will actually be able afford the coverage they’ll be required to purchase.
But it’s not too late to fix the bill. And as Joe Lieberman has shown, just one senator willing to stand in the way can force legislation to be changed dramatically.
Senator Bernie Sanders has already made clear that he’s opposed to the legislation in its current form. I just signed a petition urging him and other progressives to block it until it’s fixed. Will you join me?
http://pol.moveon.org/block/?r_by=18359-1490051-aKHPbBx&rc=comment_mailto
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Senate Bill Allows Insurance Companies to sell insurance across state lines without meeting state regulations
Posted by randyshannon on December 18, 2009
They Are Called “Nationwide Plans,” And They Do Gut State RegulationsBy: Jon Walker Friday December 18, 2009 11:51 am |
The Senate bill would allow for things called “nationwide plans.” These plans would be based in one state, and could sell in any other state, while ignoring those other state’s regulations. To quote the bill section 1333:
(b) Authority for Nationwide Plans-
(1) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in paragraph (2), if an issuer (including a group of health insurance issuers affiliated either by common ownership and control or by the common use of a nationally licensed service mark) of a qualified health plan in the individual or small group market meets the requirements of this subsection (in this subsection a `nationwide qualified health plan’)–
(A) the issuer of the plan may offer the nationwide qualified health plan in the individual or small group market in more than 1 State; and
(B) with respect to State laws mandating benefit coverage by a health plan, only the State laws of the State in which such plan is written or issued shall apply to the nationwide qualified health plan.
It clearly says right there in the bill that Aetna could set up shop in Indiana and sell insurance in New York that only meets Indiana’s lower standards. This could produce a race to the bottom. The worst part is that it is an “opt-out” and not an “opt-in” program. States would not be able to act in time to prevent their regulations from effectively being gutted by “nationwide plans.” Nationwide plans nullify state laws regulating what kinds of health insurance must be sold in their state.
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Keith Olbermann Special Comment on Senate Health Care Monstrosity
Posted by randyshannon on December 18, 2009
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Aliquippa Hospital Workers Still Have Not Been Paid
Posted by randyshannon on December 18, 2009
The following article was posted as a comment to an earlier post about the closing of Commonwealth Medical Center in Aliquippa. It deserves to be at the top of our page. – Randy Shannon
Hi this is Erin Bradovich the dedicated former employee of Commonwealth Medical Center Inc. and I just want to say Merry Christmas to all the other former Employees of CMC that I considered my extended family and miss so much.
There still is no resolution to this scandalous, indecency brought upon us by the greedy former executives of CMC. Even today which is December 18, 2009 I know for a fact that not one single dedicated employee who was let go from that hospital where we all worked so hard to keep open and available to serve the needs of the public, even now 1 year later, still have not received our paychecks that we worked so diligently for. Just ask my family, my mom, my sisters and my neighbors who had to sit with my 3 young daughters while I faithfully worked sometimes mandatory 12-16 hour shifts in the end how much I loved my job.
I really don’t mean to sound regretful, because I really loved my job, and my work there changed my life, but while I was hard at work like all the other faithful employees striving to serve the community of Aliquippa and their medical needs, my children were at friends and relatives homes while mommy was out EARNING a living and had I known that there was going to be no compensation for the time that I / WE devoted to the employers who have deceived us all, then I would gratefully had been home spending Quality time with my girls, making memories especially at Christmas Time.
Long story short then: CMC you not only robbed me and all of your other former employees of our earned paychecks but you have stolen away precious time i could have shared with my children. How can you sleep at night. Here’s your opportunity to make it right – better late than never huh- all I want THIS Christmas is the paycheck I earned LAST Christmas.
Oh and my New Year’s Resolution is never give up the fight for justice — Slavery was abolished in 1865. My fellow citizens of AMERICA, and to my extended family of former co-workers and friends Stay Strong in these tough economic times I miss you all. Merry Christmas to you, Erin Bradovich and her Family
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