Dear Congressman Altmire,
I write to urge your support for the Weiner Single-Payer Amendment to HR 3200, which will receive a floor vote in September.
The Weiner amendment would replace Division A of HR 3200 with the text of HR 676, the “U.S. National Health Care Act,” sponsored by Rep. John Conyers. This would effectively transform HR 3200 into single-payer legislation.
Single-payer is a superior reform to HR 3200 in many ways:
* Single payer would provide universal and comprehensive coverage for all medically necessary services. Unamended, HR 3200 would leave millions uninsured or with skimpy coverage.
* Single payer allows patients free choice of doctor and hospital. Under HR 3200, insurance companies would continue to deny care and restrict access to services.
* Single payer pays for itself by eliminating $400 billion in insurance company administrative waste and redirecting it to care. HR 3200 requires $1 trillion in new revenue in the next decade.
* Single payer establishes proven and effective cost-containing mechanisms to ensure that benefits are sustainable over the long run. HR 3200 lacks effective cost controls.
The Weiner amendment presents an historic opportunity for Members to register their support for single-payer national health insurance as the best way to solve the U.S. healthcare crisis. It additionally will provide a vote that Members can stand by when approached by constituents.
While we recognize the political imperative to pass healthcare reform, it is important to remember that the purpose of reform is to ease the burden for all Americans. Only single-payer healthcare meets that goal—both medically and economically. The Weiner Amendment deserves your vote.
Beaver County Blue: Voice of the 17th CD of Progressive Democrats of America 
I certainly agree that we need universal health-care for all, but should be done so as a ‘public option’…
Lets face it, with all the lies and scare tactics being tossed about by the anti-American right-wing, the last thing we would want to do is to feed that fire with what would easily be called a government take over of insurance… I can see the fake outrage now over at Fox-Noise already.
I got an email from Progressive Democrats of America that mentioned Congressman Kucinich is now dead set against HR3200 because it capitulates way to much power to the corporate for-profit insurance giants who are responsible for our current health care crisis because HR3200 was reworded to say that private health-care insurance would be mandatory (like car insurance)… and that gives way more power than those evil entities deserve!
Short of each of those amendments and the removal of the specific part that makes insurance mandatory… I would be dead set against HR3200 at this time!