Dennis Kucinich; Exciting Single Payer Healthcare Update

Dennis Kucinich; Exciting Single Payer Healthcare Update

by Dennis Kucinich
July 17, 2009 at 20:39:20

Dear Friends,

With your support, your phone calls, your emails, we won a major legislative victory today for a state single payer health care option in the House of Representatives in Washington, DC. The House Education and Labor Committee approved the Kucinich Amendment by a vote of 27-19, with 14 Democrats and 13 Republicans voting yes.

The amendment propels the growing single payer health care movement at the state level. There are at least ten states which have active single payer efforts in their legislatures. They are California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington. The amendment mandates a single payer state will receive the right to waive the application of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which has in the past been used to nullify efforts to expand state or local government health care.

Under the Kucinich Amendment a state's application for a waiver from ERISA is granted automatically if the state has signed into law a single payer plan. With the amendment, for the first time, the state single payer health care option is shielded from an ERISA-based legal attack. Now that the underlying bill has been passed, as amended, by the full committee, we must make sure that Congress knows that we want the provision kept in the bill at final passage!


The state single payer option was one of five major amendments which I obtained support to get included in HR3200. One amendment brings into standard coverage for the first time complementary and alternative medicine, (integrative medicine). Another amendment drives down the cost of prescription drugs by ending pharmaceutical industry's sharp practices manipulating physician prescribing habits. An amendment stops the insurance industry from increasing premiums at the time when people are not permitted to change health plans; and finally an amendment imposing a requirement on insurance companies that they disclose the cost of advertising, marketing and executive compensation expenses (which generally divert money from patient care).

Please make sure you post this message on your social networking site, ask all your friends to get involved and encourage everyone you know to sign up at www.Kucinich.us so we can build full momentum behind this movement for real health care.

Let's do this!

Dennis
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Dennus-Kucinich-Exciting-by-Dennis-Kucinich-090717-293.html

Baucus hasn't done it, Obama hasn't done it, Reid hasn't done it, Pelosi hasn't done it.

Kucinich justs know how to get things done, I guess.

and achieve for Americans?

read my post, and then I will be happy to answer any questions you have that are based on what I wrote.


If your intention is to move the goal posts, go somewhere else.

Kucinich isn't interested in appeasing the industry lobbyists and kissing their asses.

He simply tells it like it is with a very forceful, loud tone that commands respect, never apologizes for it, and never backs down. That's how you get shit done not by kissing ass and playing footsie with the other side.

there`s no way i`d ever trust the politicians in the state of illinois with this.

Though I don't share your concerns.

both look out for their vested interests not the people who pay their wages.

If you think that Washington DC is controlled by big money you should check out your own state. When you get down to city level it is the worst of all.

no cost savings in subsidizing private insurance companies.

I'm not sure why our states are so corrupt and the Canadian Provence's provide everyone with high quality affordable health care but i think it may have something to do with the water here.

for our health care.

He was a politician, but I believe he got Canada's health care system after he he
finished his term.