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Doctors, Seniors Unite Behind House Health Care Bill |
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| Members of CWA 3122 in Florida spread the word about the need for health care reform. | |
In a massive show of support for health care reform, the nation’s largest organization for doctors, the American Medical Association (AMA), today urged the House to pass the bill it begins debate on today, H.R. 3962, Affordable Health Care for America Act.
The AMA’s historical backing for health care reform follows this morning’s endorsement of the House bill by the largest U.S. advocacy group for seniors, the 40-million member AARP. As we noted yesterday, the bill has many provisions that will immediately benefit to seniors.
The American Cancer Society Action Network also is throwing its support behind the bill, calling it “an exceptional opportunity” to improve our health care system.
These groups are joining a broad coalition, from businesses to civil rights organizations, groups for youth and for seniors, unions, medical professionals and faith groups, all asking Congress to pass this critical bill that will expand health care coverage, cut costs and put patients first. This support is critical, as the closer we get to real reform, the harder the insurance companies and their lobbyists and front groups will fight to block it through scare tactics and falsehoods.
Want to get involved? Click here to call Congress.
Here’s more news from the battle for health care reform:
- At the Huffington Post, Art Levine looks at what the union movement is doing to fight against a new tax on middle-class families’ health benefits.
- In the Washington Post, columnist E.J. Dionne explores the need for health care reform to provide immediate, palpable assistance to families.
- Also writing in the Washington Post, Harold Meyerson explains why the House bill is a stronger, fairer bill than what we’ve seen from the Senate, calling it better policy and better politics.
- At the New Republic, Anthony Wright of Health Access California talks about why we need to include employer responsibility in health care reform—and why we need real reform to protect the millions who now have employer-based health coverage.
- Here’s more confirmation from economic experts that having a public health insurance option saves money.
- Finally, health care experts are weighing in on the “reform proposal” released by Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), and it’s not pretty. Ezra Klein calls it “a major embarrassment,” Jonathan Cohn says it’s “even worse than you’re hearing” and health advocacy group Families USA calls it “destructive” and based on “discredited ideas.” The short version? It saves less money than H.R. 3962 and gives insurance companies even more power than they already have—plus, the Congressional Budget Office found that while we currently have 17 percent of people uninsured, after 10 years of the Boehner plan, our country would have…17 percent of people uninsured.
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This bill is prue trash!! Of course AARP and the AMA like it because they are in the pockets of the health insurance industry. Single payer is the only answer. What is wrong with the AFL-CIO in the fact that they are not following what was endorsed at their recent convention “Medicare for All” aka single payer?
Retired Nurse, I know how you feel. Calling for a “yes” vote on the Weiner Medicare for All (HR 676) Amendment, the national AFL-CIO and eight unions have placed a full page advertisement in Thursday’s “Roll Call,” a Capital Hill newspaper.
But the problem is Rep. Weiner caved and pulled HR676 as an amendment for the House bill, so Medicare for All is dead. With the help of HCAN, which the AFL-CIO was in bed with, single payer was killed and laid out to dry. It was HCAN’s intention from their inception to defeat single payer. So those of you who attended a “health care” rally sponsored by HCAN, it was pouring gas on the single payer bonfire. Let’s see what the final “reform” product is, get your rubber boots, there will be alot of water on this final bill. Then we can blame HCAN and their bed buddies the AFL-CIO for this.
As a supporter of HR 676, I received an e-mail from Reps. Kucinich and Conyers yesterday explaining that they did NOT want their bill to be brought to a vote before the Pelosi’s Bill.
They felt (probably rightly) that a flat loss on 676 before the reform bill would be a dead-end killer for 676.
This way, it will rise again.