Hi Everybody,

July 6th:
Cookout/UHCAN-MN mtg: Monday, 6:30PM, at Joel's house, 3500 35th Avs 
S., Longfellow neighborhood, Mpls 55406. (directions:Take Lake street 
to 35th ave and go south to 35th street. Or take Hiawatha (hwy55) to 
35th street and go east to 35th ave.) I will supply a grill, 
hamburger and hot dog buns, ice tea, utensils,plates. Bring potluck 
food/ drink item, something to grill. If rain, it's indoors. If cool we can do a campfire, music.

Below are minimum criteria for a real "public option" various MN reform groups have put together that we can consider signing off on for a Letter to MN's members of congress:

 

(1)The program should be open to all Americans (not just individuals, the self-employed, small employers, and large employers) immediately (not years after the program begins); including all Medicaid and SCHIP enrollees;

(2)The program must have a large pool of enrollees on the day it begins operations,

(3)The program should be authorized to use Medicare’s reimbursement rates for providers and to negotiate with drug manufacturers;

(4)Both the public program and insurance companies should be required to cover a comprehensive set of benefits;

(5)Enrollees in the public program should receive subsidies that make the purchase of insurance from the public program affordable for all Americans.

6) Free choice of practitioners

7)Federal government to take appropriate measures to protect any plan against adverse selection

July 8th:
UHCAN-MN News Conference, wed, 10:30 am, Schneider Drug (on 3400 
University ave SE,mpls, 55414 across from KSTP TV and near I 280, ). the theme based on our discussions is: 1. the crucial need for a single- payer health care system 2. OUR criteria for a "public Medicare option" (one that will emerge into SP) and 3. the need for a state single-payer option. Speakers so far include:Congressman Keith Ellison (his staff) Mike Cavlan, Joel Clemmer (MN Health Plan bill for SP), Tom Sengupta (pharmacist, small business owner), and Bernie Hess (UFCW labor union). Open to endorsing organizations which gets your organization on the press release etc, and entitles you to send a speaker to it.

    If you want to speak at the news conference on wed, esp looking for a practitioner, let me know ?

_I