Healthcare-NOW! Newsletter - July 2013

H E A L T H C A R E - N O W !
Healthcare-NOW! - 215-732-2131 - info@healthcare-now.org - 1315 Spruce St., Philadelphia, PA 19107 - www.Healthcare-Now.org! 1
Everybody In
Health
Care
for
All
Colorado,
under
the
leadership

of
Executive
Director
Donna
Smith,
has
received

the
green
light
on
wording
for
a
constitutional

amendment
ballot
initiative.
The
referendum
question,
which
would
appear
on

the
ballot
in
November
of
2014,
would
require
the

state
legislature
to
enact
a
single
public
insurance

plan
that
would
guarantee
access
to
healthcare

for
every
resident
of
Colorado.
The
ballot
question
reads:
"Shall
there
be
an

amendment
to
the
Colorado
constitution

concerning
the
provision
of
one
public
health

insurance
program
to
allow
all
Colorado
residents

access
to
a
single
standard
of
healthcare
as
a

matter
of
human
right
and
public
good,
and,
in

connection
therewith,
requiring
the
General

Assembly
to
enact
legislation
creating
a
public

health
insurance
plan,
requiring
the
Colorado

department
of
revenue
to
collect
a
premium
not

to
exceed
9%
of
an
individual’s
income
to
fund
the

plan,
and
prohibiting
the
control
or
administration

of
premiums
by
a
for-‐profit,
nonpublic
entity
or

corporation?"
HCA
Colorado
activists
now
face
the
organizing

challenge
of
collecting
86,000
valid
signatures
to

put
the
question
on
the
ballot
-‐
which
will
require

collecting
100,000
or
more
to
ensure
a
safe

margin
of
error.
The
campaign
has
already

brought
out
misinformation
and
smears
from

single-‐payer
opponents,
such
as
Linda
Gorman,

healthcare
analyst
for
the
libertarian

Independence
Institute,
who
told
the
Denver
Post

in
March
that
single-‐payer
systems
"are

unbelievably
expensive
for
what
you
get...
They

eliminate
treatment
and
physician
choice,
make

everyone
wait
for
care,
degrade
the

infrastructure
needed
to
diagnose
and
cure

disease,
and
result
in
widespread
denial
of
care
to

those
who
are
seriously
ill"...
all
of
which
are

demonstrably
false
statements.
The
signature
drive
will
comprise
a
massive
public

education
and
organizing
campaign
among

Coloradans,
placing
Colorado
among
the

forefront
of
states
organizing
for
state
single-‐
payer
health
reform.
Donna
Smith,
Director
of

HCA
Colorado,
told
the
Denver
Post
in
March
that

“[t]his
is
an
education
process
for
us,
to
find
the

depth
of
the
progressive
community
in
Colorado.”

To
learn
more,
visit
Health
Care
for
All
Colorado's

website
at
www.HealthCareForAllColorado.org.
Healthcare-NOW!’s Quarterly Newsletter on the Single-Payer Healthcare Justice Movement
2013 National Strategy
Conference
Healthcare-‐NOW!’s
National
Strategy
Conference

will
be
on
October
5th
and
6th
in
Nashville,
TN!
Join

activists
from
around
the
country
to
plan
our

strategy
for
2014.
Register
at
Healthcare-‐Now.org.
Medicare’s 48th Anniversary -
July 30th
Join
us
in
telling
Congress:
"Expand
Medicare
to

everyone
in
the
US!"
Actions
are
happening
all
over

the
country
to
celebrate.
Email
Congress
and
find
an

action
near
you
at
Healthcare-‐Now.org.
www.Healthcare-Now.org! Issue No. 2 - Summer 2013
HCAC's
Donna
Smith
(right)
with
her
state

Senator
Mark
Scheffel
(center).
Colorado
Activists
Pursue
Single-‐Payer
Ballot
Initiative

86,000
Signatures
Needed
Employer Mandate Delayed
Employers
that
don't
provide
health
insurance
for

their
workers
won’t
face
penalties
until
2015,
a
one-‐
year
delay
to
the
Obamacare
component.
"Giving
big

business
a
year
longer
than
individual
citizens
on

insurance
mandates
shows
this
administration's

continued
willingness
to
favor
corporate
interests
over

those
of
the
average
citizen,"
says
Donna
Smith.

Actor
Michael
Milligan
has
been
touring
the
country
with
his
new
one-‐man

play
called
Mercy
Killers.
Michael
plays
Joe-‐-‐who
loves
apple
pie,
Rush

Limbaugh,
the
4th
of
July,
and
his
wife,
Jane.
He
is
blue-‐collar,
corn-‐fed,

made
in
the
USA
and
proud,
but
when
his
uninsured
wife
is
diagnosed
with

cancer,
his
patriotic
feelings
and
passion
for
the
ethos
of
life,
liberty
and
the

pursuit
of
happiness
are
turned
upside
down.
We
asked
Michael
about
Mercy
Killers,
his
motivation
for
creating
the
play,

and
it’s
reception
so
far.
Find
out
more
at
MercyKillersThePlay.com.
Without
giving
away
too
much,
what
is
the
Mercy
Killers
play
about?
It's
difficult
as
a
writer
to
sum
up
what
it's
about.
On
one
level
the
play
is

about
our
healthcare
system,
but
on
another
level

it's
about
our
value
system,
or
I
should
say
value

“systems.”
The
tragedy
is
that
we
have

contradictory
value
systems
and
they
don't
work

together.
It's
easy
for
activists
to
think
about
the

healthcare
system
as
a
question
of
right
and

wrong,
but
what
I
explore
in
the
play
is
how
the

value
system
which
is
antagonistic
to
universal

healthcare
has
its
own
kind
of
logic
and
actually,
in

my
opinion,
comes
from
a
noble,
if
misguided,

place.
It
is
easy
for
us
to
not
take
the
opposition
at
their

word,
but
I
think
this
is
a
mistake.
Sure,
there
are

the
insurance
companies
and
the
drug
companies,

and
other
insidious
actors,
but
their
are
also
people

who
genuinely
believe
in
“self
reliance,”
“personal

responsibility,”
and
the
“free
enterprise”
system.
I
believe
in
our
activism

that
it
is
a
mistake
to
disregard
these
people's
point
of
view.

My
play
is
about
an
auto
mechanic
who
is
giving
testimony
to
the
police

about
his
wife
who
was
terminally
ill.
There
is
some
suspicion
that
he
may

have
helped
her
to
die.
This
situation
basically
gives
“Joe”
the
chance
to

describe
what
happened,
how
they
lost
their
insurance,
their
house,
etc.
A

twist
in
the
story
is
that
Joe
is
something
of
a
libertarian
with
sympathies

towards
the
Tea
Party.
So,
as
he
is
telling
his
story
he
is
confronted
by
the

contradictions
in
his
world
view.
But
even
as
those
contradictions
are

revealed,
it
is
clear
Joe
is
a
very
decent
man
who
loved
his
wife
and
his
work.
And
in
the
classic
sense
that
is
what
makes
the
play
a
tragedy
in
my
opinion.

In
the
old
Greek
sense,
a
tragic
character
is
one
who
is
noble,
but
who
has
a

tragic
flaw.
That
is
the
tragedy
of
Joe
and
perhaps
America
as
well.
Self

reliance,
liberty,
personal
responsibility,
these
are
noble
things,
but
taken
to

the
extreme,
they
have
within
them
a
tragic
flaw.

Why
did
you
decide
to
write
Mercy
Killers?
Artists
as
a
group
are
marginalized
by
the
healthcare
system.
If
you
work
in

the
arts
you
or
someone
you
love
will
inevitably
face
a
medical
emergency

without
health
insurance.
It
is
already
a
very
hard,
meager
life
where
you
are

scrambling
to
pay
rent,
any
kind
of
healthcare
costs
can
put
you
right
over

the
edge.
I
was
in
a
relationship
for
several
years
with
another
artist
who
did
not
have

insurance,
and
when
she
did
the
insurance
did
not
provide
the
care
she

needed
to
treat
her
chronic
illness.
It
put
horrible
strain
on
our
relationship

and
on
our
finances.
I
had
another
friend,
a
classmate
from
Juilliard
who
had

some
troubles
and
ended
up
living
on
the
street
for
over
a
year
in
D.C.
He

came
to
see
me
in
a
show.
I
ran
into
him
at
the
stage
door
and
he
had
all
of

his
belongings
in
a
little
sack.
I
took
him
in
and
spent
the
next
month
trying

to
find
him
housing
and
get
him
the
medical
care
he
needed-‐-‐he
had
a
very

frightening
looking
lump
on
his
arm
and
had
slipped
a
disk
in
his
back.
He

also
was
on
some
medication,
but
clearly
the
supervision
of
his
condition

was
very
lax.
This
is
someone
whom
as
a
society
we
sent
to
the
most
elite

performing
arts
conservatory
in
the
world,
he
has
performed
at
some
of
the

most
prestigious
theaters
in
the
country,
but
when
he
had
some
problems,

we
as
a
society
just
send
him
out
to
die
in
the
street
like
a
dog.
So
those
things
bother
me
very
much.
These
things
coincided
with
my

involvement
in
some
Occupy
Wall
Street
demonstrations,
and
sitting
in
jail

with
some
other
protesters,
just
regular,
decent
folks,
made
me
realize
that

my
situation
wasn't
unique.
Other
people
are
going
through
the
same

struggles.
And
that's
another
part
of
this
tragedy.

When
a
medical
emergency
strikes
you
or
a
loved
one,
you
become
so

consumed
by
trying
to
figure
out
how
to
deal
with

it,
how
to
stay
afloat,
that
the
idea
of
actually

joining
with
other
people
and
addressing
the

problem
collectively
doesn't
even
occur
as
a

possibility.
So,
there
is
a
great
silence.
There
is
a

great,
untold
history
of
great
struggles
with
the

healthcare
system.
It
is
untold
because
people
are

overwhelmed,
or
they
feel
ashamed,
or
the
grief
is

too
great,
or
they
just
want
to
suck
it
up,
or
they

want
to
project
a
positive
attitude.

So
last
Spring,
I
was
without
insurance
for
the
first

time
in
my
professional
life
and
I
happened
to
pass

kidney
stones.
I
didn't
know
what
was
going
on,
I

thought
I
was
dying,
but
I
didn't
want
to
go
to
the

emergency
room
because
I
felt
like
I
couldn't
afford

it.
That
was
the
straw
that
broke
the
camel’s
back.

You've
been
taking
Mercy
Killers
on
the
road,
doing
performances
around

the
country
and
soon
internationally.
What
has
struck
you
most
about

your
audiences'
reactions
to
the
play?
I
did
a
lot
of
research
for
the
play,
read
a
lot
of
books,
interviewed
people,

vetted
the
play
with
some
doctors.
I
wanted
to
make
sure
the
details
were

accurate
and
I
wasn't
just
doing
some
muckraking.

However,
I
was
nervous
at
first
that
the
play
was
too
overwrought,
the

tragedy
involving
too
many
misfortunes.
Unfortunately,
from
the
talkbacks

I've
done
the
situation
described
in
Mercy
Killers
is
all
too
familiar.
I

remember
getting
picked
up
by
one
host
in
south
eastern
Ohio
who
said
in
a

very
dead
pan
manner
that
my
coming
to
her
town
was
very
timely
because

old
“Mr.
So-‐and-‐So”
had
just
walked
out
into
the
woods
and
shot
himself

after
his
cancer
diagnosis
because
he
didn't
want
to
bankrupt
his
family.

Another
interesting
thing
is
that
conservative
audience
members
agree
with

the
message
of
the
play,
that
Joe's
situation
is
sad
and
wrong.
They
just
have

a
different
understanding
of
how
to
deal
with
it.
And
this
is
an
important

lesson.
For
example,
at
one
talk
back,
things
got
a
little
tense
between
two

of
the
panel
leaders
and
a
couple
in
the
audience
who
described
themselves

as
being
on
the
“extreme
right
wing.”
Now
remember
that
when
I
tell
you

later
what
the
wife
in
this
couple
said
to
me.
My
panelists
were
Deb,
a

former
teacher
and
union
leader
from
Cleveland
and
Kurt
a
lifelong

autoworker
and
proud
union
member.
They
presented
on
single
payer.
Now

the
conservative
couple
in
the
audience
just
came
right
out
and
said
that
the

government
can
not
be
in
charge
of
anything,
the
government
is
ineffective,

inefficient
and
will
botch
up
everything.
Ironically,
the
husband
was
a
career

military
man
with
some
experience
in
the
defense
industry.
However,
after

the
show
all
of
these
people
went
out
to
dinner
together.
The
wife
of
this

“extreme
right
wing”
couple
confided
in
me
that
they
weren't
insensitive
to

the
situation
in
the
play,
they
just
had
a
different
idea
how
to
handle
it.
I

asked
for
what
she
would
recommend.
She
suggested
that
all
insurance

Mercy
Killers
Humanizes
American
Healthcare
System
Michael
Milligan
Performing
Mercy
Killers.

companies
and
hospitals
should
be
not-‐for-‐profit
and
that
their
should
be
a

salary
cap
of
around
$250,000
for
CEO's
and
administrators.
She
said
that

there
are
very
capable
people
who
would
love
to
run
them
as
a
public

service.
So
this
was
a
very
important
lesson.
This
person
who
described
herself
as

“extreme
right
wing”
offered
a
policy
proposal
that
was
far
to
the
left
of

anything
in
the
Affordable
Care
Act.
I'm
pretty
sure

that
our
state
single
payer
bills
don't
even
come

close
to
salary
restrictions
for
CEO's
and

administrators
as
this
“extreme
right
wing”
lady's

suggestion.
My
point
being,
we
have
to
give
up
the
rigidity
of

our
language,
of
our
positions.
Oftentimes
the

people
who
think
they
oppose
us
don't.
They
just

get
hung
up
on
our
language
because
it
triggers

deep,
entrenched
ideological
defenses.

Oftentimes,
if
we
just
have
conversations
with

people

without
all
the
boilerplate,
we
discover

shared
values
and
common
grounds.

In
partnering
with
the
single-‐payer
healthcare
movement
to
host

showings
of
Mercy
Killers,
are
there
any
lessons
you've
learned
about

how
advocates
for
social
justice
and
artists
can
better
collaborate?
We
need
our
own
art.
Art
that
we
own.
Everything
is
mediated
by
corporate

interests,
or
sponsors,
or
managers,
etc.
who
decide
what
is
going
to
appeal

to
the
masses
or
to
somebody's
bottom
line.
We
should
divest
our

entertainment
dollars
from
these
enterprises
and
consume
the
kind
of
art

that
resonates
with
our
own
values.
Basically,
art
as
it's
produced
now
is
very

expensive.
And
because
it
is
expensive,
it
sets
a
very
narrow
spectrum
on

what
it
can
be
about.

What
I
believe
is
that
art
is
the
freest
thing
in
the
world.
All
I
need
is
a
room,

some
chairs,
and
an
audience.
That's
it.
But
if
I
go
the
traditional
route,
I've

got
to
submit
the
play
to
the
literary
manager
of
some
theater
who
will
run
it

by
the
managing
director.
These
theaters
are
mostly
supported
through

corporate
sponsorship
and
subscriber
bases.

Unfortunately,
subscriber
bases
tend
to
be
of
a

certain
demographic.
The
bottom
line
is
that
a
play

with
some
political
teeth,
like
Mercy
Killers,
is
not

going
to
be
performed
on
the
McGuire
Proscenium

Stage.
That's
the
actual
name
of
a
theater
at
one
of

our
finest
institutions-‐-‐named
for
the
former
head

of
United
Health
who
defrauded
the
people
of

Minnesota
of
billions
of
dollars.
So,
we
need
our
own
art.
What
I've
been
doing
is

partnering
with
organizations
around
the
country.

Basically,
they've
helped
me
with
travel
expenses,

they
find
a
venue
(hopefully
a
free
one!),
and
they
gather
an
audience.
I
have

performed
the
show
for
free
and
then
I
just
pass
the
hat
around
afterwards-‐-‐
if
people
like
the
show,
they
can
drop
a
couple
bucks
in
the
hat.
Alternatively,

I
have
performed
the
piece
for
a
small
fee
and
let
the
organization
use
the

performance
as
a
fundraiser.
I'm
still
working
out
the
best
model
for
this.
In

order
to
organize
a
performance
I
have
to
make
myself
available
months
in

advance,
which
means
that
I
clear
my
schedule
and
make
myself
unavailable

for
paying
gigs.
That's
why
I
pass
the
hat
afterwards,
because
I
want
my
art

to
be
my
livelihood!
Otherwise
I'll
be
performing
in
another
production
of

Midsummer
Night's
Dream
for
the
next
40
years
and
MY
plays
won't
have

their
life!
On
May
23,
2013
single-‐payer
activists
in
North

Carolina
launched
a
new
organization,
"Health

Care
Justice,"
an
affiliate
of
Physicians
for
a

National
Health
Program,
at
a
well-‐attended

event
in
Charlotte.
Keynote
speaker
Dr.
Gerald

Friedman,
professor

of
economics
at
the

University
of

Massachusetts
at
Amherst,
showed
the
crowd

how
North
Carolina
and
our
nation
could
save

billions
of
dollars
by
adopting
a
single-‐payer

program
to
finance
the
costs
of
healthcare
while

covering
all
Americans.
If
adopted,
Friedman
said,

North
Carolina
alone
would
save
$18.7
billion,
a

state
which
has
experienced
a
400
percent

increase
in
healthcare
costs
since
1990.
The
launch
received
positive
press
coverage
from

the
Charlotte
Business

Journal,
in
an
article
that

quoted
Friedman
extensively

and
explained
the
case
for

single-‐payer
reform
to
readers,
and
inspired
Jack

Bernard,
a
retired
healthcare
executive,
former

Jasper
County,
Ga.
commission
chairman,
and

former
chairman
of
the
Jasper
County
Republican

Party,
to
write
an
op-‐ed
in
the
Charlotte
Observer

supporting
a
single-‐payer
healthcare
system.
"

After
spending
25
years
in
the
healthcare
field,"

he
wrote,
"I
have
become
skeptical
of
many
of

Washington’s
reform
efforts,
especially
by
my

party,
the
GOP...
Surely,
at
a
time
when
wage

earners
are
being
faced
with
ever
increasing

premiums
and
higher
deductibles,
we
should
at

least
consider
Medicare
for
all
or
a
similar
single

payer
system.
The
real
question
is
whether
either

party
is
willing
to
stand
up
to
the
drug
and

insurance
lobbies
and
do
what
is
best
for

America."
North
Carolina
“Healthcare
Justice”
Launched
Former
Congressman
Anthony
Weiner
is
currently

leading
the
polls
in
the
race
for
Mayor
of
New
York

City,
and
has
offered
a
plan
to
turn
NYC
into
a

"single-‐payer
laboratory"
for
the
country,
by

creating
a
public
insurance
plan
for
the
City's

300,000
municipal
employees,
300,000
retirees,

and
500,000
undocumented
immigrants
who
are

excluded
from
the
Affordable
Care
Act.
Weiner
has
offered
the
plan
as
a
way
of

controlling
the
City's
rising
healthcare
costs
by

removing
for-‐profit
insurers
as
middlemen
for

covering
municipal
employees
and
retirees.
The
details
of
the
proposal
remain
unclear
and

Weiner
has
suggested
creating
a
Task
Force
to

develop
all
of
the
details.
Single-‐payer
advocates

have
pointed
out,
however,
that
the
Weiner

initiative
is
not
an
actual
single-‐payer
plan,

despite
embodying
aspects
of
single-‐payer

system
such
as
replacing
private
insurance
plans.

"Single-‐payer
really
means
there's
just
one
payer

left
in
the
healthcare
system,"
explained
PNHP

co-‐founder
David
Himmelstein
to
Capital
New

York.
"You
can't
really
do
that
as
the
mayor
of

New
York,
because
Medicare
would
still
exist
and

private
employers,
private
plans
would
still
exist,

so
there
would
still
be
multiple
payers."
The
plan
also
includes
a
controversial
measure

that
would
shift
10
percent
of
premium
costs
onto

NYC
municipal
employees,
and
up
to
25
percent

of
premium
costs
onto
employees
who
smoke.

The
cost-‐shifting
component
is
bound
to
receive
a

mixed
reception
from
single-‐payer
supporters,

who
advocate
for
a
cost-‐efficient
single-‐payer

system
in
order
to
delink
health
insurance
from

workers'
employment
status
and
to
relieve

working
families
from
unaffordable
healthcare

costs.
Anthony
Weiner’s
“Single-‐Payer”
Plan
for
New
York
City
Estimated
$18.7
Billion
in
Savings

Healthcare-‐NOW!

Launches
National

Internship
Program
This
Spring,
Healthcare-‐NOW!
launched
a

national
internship
program
enabling
students

and
activists
from
around
the
country,
under
the

supervision
of
HCN
Director
of
Organizing

Benjamin
Day,
to
work
in
collaboration
with
local

single
payer
affiliate
organizations.
HCN's
two
Spring
interns
were
Karim
Sariahmed,

a
senior
in
Biology
at
Swarthmore
College
in

Pennsylvania;
and
Thomas
Vo,
a
Masters
student

at
the
Columbia
University
Mailman
School
of

Public
Health
pursuing
a
certificate
in
Health

Policy
and
Practice.
Karim
and
Thomas
focused
on

developing
the
“Single-‐Payer
Activist
Guide
to
the

Affordable
Care
Act,”
which
will
be
released
in

August.
HCN's
summer
interns
will
be
Michael
Broder,
a

senior
in
Health
and
Societies
at
the
University
of

Pennsylvania;
Samira
Islam,
a
Masters
in
Public

Health
student
at
Drexel
University
in

Pennsylvania;
Leeyah
Rassu,
a
recent
graduate
in

Sociology
and
the
Study
of
Women,
Gender,
and

Sexuality
at
Rice
University
in
Texas;
and
Rebecca

Suval,
a
Licensed
Vocational
Nurse
and
Masters

Student
in
Health
Administration
at
California

State
University,
based
out
of
San
Francisco.
Healthcare-‐NOW!
internships
involve
a
mix
of

research
and
organizing
experiences,
working

with
HCN's
national
office
and
local
affiliate

single-‐payer
organizations.
Interested
students

and
activists
should
email
expressing
their

interest,
along
with
a
resume
if
possible,
to

Benjamin
Day
at
ben@healthcare-‐now.org.
Board
of
Directors
Welcomes

New
Members
Healthcare-‐NOW!’s
Board
of
Directors
met
in

Philadelphia
on
June
22
to
approve
our
budget,

work
plan,
and
changes
to
the
by-‐laws.
The
Board

added
Vanessa
Beck
(HCN
activist
and
former

Organizing
Director),
Walter
Tsou
(PNHP),
and

Cindy
Young
(NNU)
to
fill
vacancies.
RNs
United
for
the
Protection
of

Healthcare
Nurses
across
America
created
a
Human
Chain

against
the
Chained
CPI
(changing
the
way
the

COLA
is

calculated),
and

against

increases
in

Medicare

premiums,
rate

reductions
for

Medicare
and

Medicaid
providers,
and
raising
the
age
for

Medicare
and
Social
Security.
Find
out
more
at

NationalNursesUnited.org.
Affiliate
Updates
Unions
for
Single
Payer
Health
Care
continues
to

add
labor
endorsements
for
HR
676
including
the

Idaho
AFL-‐CIO,
Kentucky
IBEW
Local
369,
United

Steelworkers
Local
155,
the
New
Hampshire
AFL-‐
CIO,
and
the
Rhode
Island
AFL-‐CIO
since
March.

Find
out
more
at
UnionsForSinglePayer.org.
Health
Care
for
All
Oregon
won
a
major
victory

on
July
6
when
the
Oregon
Senate
followed
the

House
in
passing
HB
3260,
which
instructs
the

Oregon
Health
Authority
to
compare
a
single-‐
payer
healthcare
system
for
the
state
with
three

other
financing
options,
including
a
public
option.

Find
out
more
at
HCAO.org.
The
Illinois
Single
Payer
Coalition
continues
to

impress
with
dozens
of
events
and
outreach
for

single-‐payer
healthcare.
They
regularly
show

movies,
including
The
Waiting
Room
and
The

Healthcare
Movie.
Find
our
more
at

ILSinglePayer.org.
Healthcare-‐NOW!
Maryland
hosted
a
dinner
with

PNHP
President
Dr.
Andrew
Coates
in
support
of

their
Healthcare
is
a
Human
Right
Campaign.
Find

out
more
at
MDSinglePayer.org.
Health
Care
for
All
Minnesota
hosted
a
tour
of

Mercy
Killers.
Find
out
more
at
HCAMN.org.
Your
state
update
not
included
here?
Email
us
at

jeff@healthcare-‐now.org!
Healthcare-‐NOW!
NYC
Collects

10,000
Signatures
for
NY
Health
By
Healthcare-‐NOW!
New
York
City
-‐

Over
200
single-‐payer
advocates
from
across
the

state
came
together
in
the
state
capitol
of
Albany

in
May
with
one
clear
message
for
their
elected

representatives
-‐-‐
that
healthcare
is
a
human
right

and
should
be
treated
as
such
by
passing
the
New

York
Health
bill.
An
extra
special
thanks
to
all
of
those
who

participated
in
the
100×100
Campaign
and
put
in

long
hours
petitioning
on
hot
summer
days
at

parks
and
events
all
across
the
City.
Thanks
to

your
efforts
we

were
able
to

collect
our
goal

of
10,000

signatures
in

support
of
NY

State’s

universal,

single-‐payer

healthcare
bill

and,
as

promised,

deliver
those

petitions
to

Governor

Cuomo.
The
result?
We
now
have
enough
co-‐sponsors
for

the
New
York
Health
bill
to
pass
in
the
Assembly!

Find
out
more
information
at
HCN-‐NYC.org.
At
the
Left
Forum
The
annual
Left
Forum
in
New
York
City
brought

together
a
number
of
panels
on
organizing
for

healthcare
justice:
past,
present,
and
future.

Single-‐payer
activists
led
panels
on
"The
Political

Economy
of
US
Healthcare,”
“the
Medical

Industrial
Complex
and
the
Affordable
Care
Act,"

and
"Organizing
for
Health
Care
Justice
in
the
Age

of
Austerity
and
the
Affordable
Care
Act."
Don’t
See
Your
Rep.
On
This
List

of
HR
676
Cosponsors?

Call
Them!
866-‐220-‐0044
Reps
Christensen
[VI],
Chu
[CA-‐27],
Clarke
[NY-‐9],

Clay
[MO-‐1],
Cohen
[TN-‐9],
Cummings
[MD-‐7],

Doyle
[PA-‐14],
Edwards
[MD-‐4],
Ellison
[MN-‐5],

Rep
Engel
[NY-‐16],
Farr
[CA-‐20],
Green
[TX-‐9],

Grijalva
[AZ-‐3],
Gutierrez
[IL-‐4],
Holt
[NJ-‐12],

Honda
[CA-‐17],
Huffman
[CA-‐2],
Johnson
[TX-‐30],

Johnson
[GA-‐4],
Lee
[CA-‐13],
Lewis
[GA-‐5],

Lofgren
[CA-‐19],
McDermott
[WA-‐7],
McGovern

[MA-‐2],
Miller
[CA-‐11],
Moore
[WI-‐4],
Nadler

[NY-‐10],
Nolan
[MN-‐8],
Norton
[DC],
Pingree

[ME-‐1],
Pocan
[WI-‐2],
Rangel
[NY-‐13],
Roybal-‐
Allard
[CA-‐40],
Rush
[IL-‐1],
Schakowsky
[IL-‐9],

Scott
[VA-‐3],
Takano
[CA-‐41],
Welch
[VT],
Wilson

[FL-‐24],
and
Yarmuth
[KY-‐3].
Karim
Sariahmed
and
Thomas
Vo
Director
of
Organizing
Benjamin
Day
[far
right]

presents
at
the
Left
Forum.

Healthcare-NOW! Newsletter - July 2013

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