Bernie Sanders, along with co-signers Roland Burris and Sherrod Brown, introduced SA 2837 as an amendment to the federal health reform bill being considered, HR 3590.
SA 2837 introduces language to replace the text of the existing bill with a single-payer proposal. Sander's had introduced a single-payer bill in the Senate earlier this year--S 703--that didn't move forward. The 2837 amendment is very similar.
One twist on this single-payer proposal that differs from HR 676--It creates single-payer nationally, but it will be administered by individual states, not the federal government. This is different in terms of federal SP bills, but it is the most common way single-payer is handled in other nations. Example: In Canada, each Province administers its own single-payer system, and those systems have to meet requirements put forth by the federal government, and the federal government funds some of each Province's system. In Canada and most other places it's really a case of "Medicaid-for-All" in the way US Medicaid is divided between states and the federal government playing funding and policymaking roles. I've always thought that that's how SP would be administered in the US once adopted.
Supposedly Sanders is introducing another Amendment that will grant states the authority to fully regulate health care coverage and financing in the states. Currently, states face barriers that don't allow them to regulate Medicare, self-insured employer plans, federal employee plans and more at all, and limited ability to regulate Medicaid--the federal government ultimately decides what states can do with Medicaid programs. If passed, this will help the SP movement. Currently states cannot put into operation a single-payer system without federal approval on multiple fronts re: Medicare, Medicaid, etc.
I don't see this second amendment having been submitted yet, so there's some confusion as to what it actually will contain.
I've posted recently about a bill that Sanders drafted in summer that would've have granted states the authority to regulate Medicare, Medicaid, self-insured plans, federal employee plans, etc.only for a single-payer system in the state He never introduced that bill.
Earlier in the year Sanders introduced a somewhat similar bill that would allow states to regulate those plans above as a pilot program available to 5 applicant states, with the requirement that at least one be a single-payer system.
I don't know if his second amendment would let states try just single-payer, as in the draft bill I've written about and attached earlier, or other new system types as well.
In all good news with SA 2837, and supposedly more good news coming with the second amendment in whatever final form it takes.
I thought people might be interested in seeing the two videos I took today. Many of the signs said "healthcare not warfare." I was moved by the longer video of a woman speaking about how we should be spending our tax money on domestic issues such as schools, healthcare, and jobs.
From: ksprung@... To: sa-discuss@googlegroups.com Subject: Videos From Today's Anti-War Rally Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 17:40:51 -0600
My comment is: We are already experiencing job losses in this
recession - with no real help in sight - i.e. no commitment to
re-establishing the basic industries that were outsourced overseas (out
of sight and out of reach of labor and environmental protections) so
there is more pressure to make the system fairer. When you look at
the money that is spent in employment in the current system - the
biggest salaries go to the people whose job it is to maximize
profitability: the pay scale is immensely top heavy with huge bucks
going to people at the CEO/ VP level and diminishing returns as you go
down. Toward the lower end you find huge numbers of people who have as
a significant part of their every day work not providing healthcare but
rather executing policies and practices which actively limit health
care access to people who are too poor or too intimidated to fight back.
David, at some point we crossed over a threshold between "practical
politics" and "power politics". Arguments for practicality around bad
jobs is not a place where people wish to go for moral and psychological
reasons. The radical right would love to have us all be one another's
jailers and repo-men and adversaries in petty court battles and private
militias for the ultra wealthy - and having a job where your tenure
depends on how many needy people you can deny coverage for is not what
anybody wants in the long or medium run. So why should you or I put
forward or accept an argument against a change in the system based on
the idea that the current status quo provides for jobs - but jobs which
require adopting an attitude that treats others as sub-human!?
I don't think we will get where we want to go if we assume that
people just want jobs. People want good jobs that give their lives
meaning and that actually serve to better society - not to reduce it to
a moral level of dog-eat-dog. And one of the most significant reason
that people take jobs that they hate - is because in the current system
it is the only way that they can get an assurance of any kind of health
care coverage (no matter how limited and inadequate.) The current
system is a classic Catch-22. If we argue that strongly we will gain
more allies for our cause than if we succumb to hopelessness and apathy.
-in Love and Peace,
-Demi Miller
"One of the common failings among honorable people is
a failure to appreciate how thoroughly dishonorable some
other people can be, and how dangerous it is to trust them."
-Thomas Sowell (1930- ) Writer and economist
"There is more to life than increasing its speed."
-Gandhi
"We know how to transform this world to reduce our impact on nature by several fold,
how to provide meaningful, dignified living-wage jobs for all who seek them,
and how to feed, clothe, and house every person on earth.
What we don't know is how to remove those in power, those whose ignorance of biology
is matched only by their indifference to human suffering. This is a political issue. It is not an ecological problem."
- Paul Hawken, from a speech at the Bioneers conference in Oct. 2002
"Whenever the people are well-informed,
They can be trusted with their own Government."
-Thomas Jefferson, 1789
"If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution."
-Emma Goldman
"I decided to accept as true, my own thinking."
-Georgia O'Keefe "Fire does not burn from the top down - it burns from the bottom up!"
-Jesse Jackson
David Moseman wrote:
Joel, et al.
There is one fundamental problem with Health Care Reform. It is
true that Americans would be healthier if they had a system similar to
Canada or Brittan, there would be less jobs in the healthcare sector.
Most of what is spent for healthcare goes directly to paychecks. So if
the US spent less than ten percent, instead of the sixteen percent it
does, the difference would be less paychecks or jobs. Those job losses
would not be in providers, since the US has the same per portion of
doctors, nurses etc as other countries. the job losses would come from
the coders, etc that are necessary in our current payment system.
Tue, surgeons and some other overpaid doctors have now broken
ranks with the AMA. they now oppose the Senate bill.
Because too many people would have there lives changed
significantly, I don't see any real change occurring in the US HC
system. If we started from scratch Since payer Is clearly the bees,
but getting there from here is not possible, because of job losses and
other economic displacement.
Subject: [uhcan-mn] Latest Unemployment rate and health
care
Brief comment on the latest unemployment data and how it relates to
health care:
Altho 11,000 jobs were shed in the U.S. in Nov., 100,000 new jobs are
required nationally just to keep
pace with pop'n growth and maintain the current employment
rate, which the Mpls Strib article below omitted.(so the U.S.
unemployment rate is at 10%, seasonally adjusted, and about 17% if
include the underemployed and those who stopped looking; but the
unemployment rate excludes farmers, and people in institutions like
jails and the military)
Note that every 1% increase in the unemployment rate
correlates with a .6% increase in the HC uninsured rate.
Also, the Ed and Health services sector gained by 40,000 jobs
and this is typical, and the reason
some say health care is recession-proof. Yet this is not the case, as we know from the 100s of jobs lost in hospitals
all over the Twin Cities, not just HCMC Cty
hospital, and major job losses by drug companies. The jobs gained in HC are mostly
administrative (billers, coders, reimbursement analysts, etc) while the number of practitioner jobs either stays
flat or decreases, and is highly maldistributed geographically and by
high-tech specialist v. primary care.The
$2.5 trillion spent on HC in 2009 is one sixth of the U.S.
economy, and its jobs ripple thru most sectors of the economy.
This is why an excellent 2009 study by the institute for
Health and Socio-Economic Policy, entitled, "Single-Payer/ Medicare
for All, An Economic Stimulus Plan for the Nation", found that
Single-Payer would solve both the health care crisis, AND create
3 million jobs. So as in the Great Depression era, where the
U.S. welfare state was created, both the health care AND the economic
This Article from StarTribune. com has been sent
to you by joelAlbers. *Please note, the sender's identity has not been
verified.
The full Article, with any associated images and links can be viewed here.
Jobless rate drops to 10 percent in Nov.;
employers shed 11,000 jobs, fewest since Dec. 2007
CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A surprising drop in the unemployment rate
and far fewer job losses last month cheered investors Friday and raised
hopes for a sustained economic recovery.
The rate unexpectedly fell to 10 percent, from 10.2
percent in October, as employers cut the fewest number of jobs since
the recession began. The government also said 159,000 fewer jobs were
lost in September and October than first reported.
If part-time workers who want full time jobs and
laid-off workers who have given up looking for jobs are included, the
so-called underemployment rate also fell, to 17.2 percent from 17.5
percent in October.
The better-than- expected figures provided a rare dose
of good news for a labor market that's lost 7.2 million jobs in two
years. The unemployment rate hadn't fallen since July. Still, the
respite may be temporary.
Job creation is expected to remain far too weak in
coming months to absorb the 15.4 million unemployed people who are
seeking work — and the 11.5 million others who are underemployed. As
more people begin seeking work, the jobless rate is likely to resume
rising.
Minnesota state economist Tom Stinson noted that "one
observation does not a trend make. But this is good news. It's one of
these things where if you look at the surface it looks good. And as you
look at the details, it looks even better."
The fact that average hours worked increased from 33
hours a week -- the lowest level in U.S. history -- to 33.2 hours
equates to a gain of roughly 100,000 jobs nationwide, he said. In
addition, temporary hires grew by 50,000 nationally and overall job
losses were a modest 11,000 for the month.
"All these things make the [economic] picture a lot more
pleasant. I think it will carry over" into Minnesota, Stinson said.
Despite tepid holiday hiring, "We hope to see is something around zero
job losses for Minnesota in November. … if we were tracking [with] the
national number."
The report offered evidence of how hard it remains to
find a job: The number of people unemployed for at least six months
rose last month to 5.9 million. And the average length of unemployment
has risen to more than 28 weeks, the longest on records dating to 1948.
Even counting last month's decline, the unemployment
rate has more than doubled since the recession began in December 2007,
when it stood at 4.9 percent. And the underemployment rate has jumped
to 17.2 percent from 8.7 percent.
"We will need very substantial job growth to get
unemployment lower, especially when the labor force ... starts growing
again," said Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy
Institute, a liberal think tank.
Still, economists and investors drew hope from the Labor
Department report. It said the economy shed 11,000 jobs last month — a
sharp improvement from October's revised total of 111,000. And it was
much better than the 130,000 Wall Street economists had expected.
The average work week also rose to 33.2 hours, from a
record low of 33 hours, along with average earnings. Economists expect
employers will increase hours for their current workers before hiring
new ones.
"We've still got a long way to go, but the good news in
this report provides important positive momentum," said Carl
Riccadonna, senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank.
President Barack Obama, speaking in Allentown, Pa.,
applauded the drop in job losses and put finishing touches on a
proposal he'll unveil next week to try to stimulate business hiring.
He will endorse sending new money to state and local
governments to stem their layoffs and expanding a program that gives
people cash incentives to fix up homes with energy-saving materials, a
senior administration official said.
Obama will also endorse new tax breaks for small
businesses that hire workers, said the official, who spoke on condition
of anonymity because the package, and Obama's speech, are still being
crafted.
The stock market initially jumped in response to the
jobs report, before paring its gains later in the day. In early
afternoon, the Dow Jones industrial average was up about 19 points.
Broader stock averages rose slightly.
The increase in hours worked means employees are earning
more income, Riccadonna said, which could help boost consumer spending
and enable Americans to pay down more debt.
Average weekly earnings jumped $4.08 to $622.17, the
report said.
Temporary help services added 52,000 jobs, the fourth
straight increase. That's also positive news, because companies are
likely to hire temporary workers before adding permanent ones. Total
employment usually starts to increase between three and six months
after temporary employment, Riccadonna said.
The economy has now lost jobs for 23 straight months.
But the small decline in November indicates the nation could begin
generating jobs soon. Many economists think it will happen in the first
quarter of next year.
David Rosenberg, chief economist for Canadian wealth
management firm Gluskin Sheff, said the 7 point difference between the
jobless rate and underemployment rate is almost double the usual gap.
That's an indication of how many more people are likely to be looking
for work in coming months.
Another worrisome sign: The National Federation of
Independent Business said Thursday that a monthly survey of its small
business members showed that more companies plan to reduce employment
in the next three months than plan to add jobs.
And a survey by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray &
Christmas Thursday found a sharp drop in the number of companies
planning to hire workers in November, compared with the previous month.
The services sector gained 58,000 jobs last month, while
manufacturing and construction shed 68,000 positions. Education and
health services added 40,000 jobs, and government employment rose 7,000.
The unemployment rate fell because the number of jobless
Americans dropped by 325,000 to 15.4 million. The jobless rate is
calculated from a survey of households. The number of jobs lost or
gained, by contrast, is calculated from a separate survey of business
and government establishments. The two surveys can sometimes vary.
The unemployment rate also dropped because fewer people
are looking for work. The size of the labor force, which includes the
employed and those actively searching for jobs, has fallen by 1.2
million in the past six months. That indicates more of the unemployed
are giving up on looking for work.
The participation rate, or the percentage of the
population employed or looking for work, fell to 65 percent, the lowest
since the recession began. Once laid-off people stop hunting for jobs,
they are no longer counted in the unemployment rate.
Even as layoffs are easing, the slow pace of hiring is
causing headaches for political leaders. The employment report comes a
day after President Barack Obama hosted a "jobs summit" at the White
House, where he told economists, business executives and union leaders
that he is "open to every demonstrably good idea" to create jobs.
Democrats in Congress are considering legislation that
would extend jobless benefits for those who have run out and help the
unemployed pay for health care coverage. Those measures could cost up
to $100 billion.
___
Staff writer Dee DePass contributed to this report.
Susan, the issue you're pointing to--if I u nderstand correctly--is different than the one Blanche raised
Blanche is talking about travelling to another state and getting care while temporarily there--I think that's what she meant. I read into your comment the issue of people moving to Minnesota (or a single-payer state).
There's no problem with people coming to get care in MN, say, if we go single-payer, and getting care here but not moving here. The single-payer only applies to Minnesotans. People from other states will still be billed as they are today--to their insurer and themselves, or their state. They then pay the provider here (or the State of MN depending on how it's structured exactly here).
The current single-payer bill here spells that out. It also spells residency requirements to qualify for coverage by the single-payer state agency.
Whether people would move here and how to deal with that is more complicated to explain, so I'll leave it at that.
You have put your finger right on a hot-button issue. This is a hundred pound gorilla of an issue, the elephant in the room. Antis at the state level will push this one really hard, that MN will be swamped by people coming here to use our health care system.
If the federal government passes health care reform and if it passes with an amendment that allows states to enact single payer systems, there will have to be firewalls that addreess this issue built into any state legislation in order to get single payer passed at the state level.
--- On Fri, 12/4/09, Blanche Hall <blanche.hall@gmail.com> wrote:
From: Blanche Hall <blanche.hall@gmail.com> Subject: [uhcan-mn] Sanders' amendment To: "uhcan-mn" <uhcan-mn@yahoogroups.com> Date: Friday, December 4, 2009, 12:51 PM
I have a question on the Sanders' amendment, wondering if anyone out there can answer it?
If states administer a federally funded program can you go to a state in which you do not reside for your medical treatment or to see a doctor?
There is one fundamental problem with Health Care Reform. It is true that Americans would be healthier if they had a system similar to Canada or Brittan, there would be less jobs in the healthcare sector. Most of what is spent for healthcare goes directly to paychecks. So if the US spent less than ten percent, instead of the sixteen percent it does, the difference would be less paychecks or jobs. Those job losses would not be in providers, since the US has the same per portion of doctors, nurses etc as other countries. the job losses would come from the coders, etc that are necessary in our current payment system.
Tue, surgeons and some other overpaid doctors have now broken ranks with the AMA. they now oppose the Senate bill.
Because too many people would have there lives changed significantly, I don't see any real change occurring in the US HC system. If we started from scratch Since payer Is clearly the bees, but getting there from here is not possible, because of job losses and other economic displacement.
Subject: [uhcan-mn] Latest Unemployment rate and health care
Brief comment on the latest unemployment data and how it relates to health care:
Altho 11,000 jobs were shed in the U.S. in Nov., 100,000 new jobs are required nationally just to keep
pace with pop'n growth and maintain the current employment rate, which the Mpls Strib article below omitted.(so the U.S. unemployment rate is at 10%, seasonally adjusted, and about 17% if include the underemployed and those who stopped looking; but the unemployment rate excludes farmers, and people in institutions like jails and the military)
Note that every 1% increase in the unemployment rate correlates with a .6% increase in the HC uninsured rate.
Also, the Ed and Health services sector gained by 40,000 jobs and this is typical, and the reason
some say health care is recession-proof. Yet this is not the case, as we know from the 100s of jobs lost in hospitals
all over the Twin Cities, not just HCMC Cty hospital, and major job losses by drug companies. The jobs gained in HC are mostly
administrative (billers, coders, reimbursement analysts, etc) while the number of practitioner jobs either stays
flat or decreases, and is highly maldistributed geographically and by high-tech specialist v. primary care.The
$2.5 trillion spent on HC in 2009 is one sixth of the U.S. economy, and its jobs ripple thru most sectors of the economy.
This is why an excellent 2009 study by the institute for Health and Socio-Economic Policy, entitled, "Single-Payer/Medicare
for All, An Economic Stimulus Plan for the Nation", found that Single-Payer would solve both the health care crisis, AND create
3 million jobs. So as in the Great Depression era, where the U.S. welfare state was created, both the health care AND the economic
This Article from StarTribune.com has been sent to you by joelAlbers. *Please note, the sender's identity has not been verified.
The full Article, with any associated images and links can be viewed here.
Jobless rate drops to 10 percent in Nov.; employers shed 11,000 jobs, fewest since Dec. 2007 CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A surprising drop in the unemployment rate and far fewer job losses last month cheered investors Friday and raised hopes for a sustained economic recovery.
The rate unexpectedly fell to 10 percent, from 10.2 percent in October, as employers cut the fewest number of jobs since the recession began. The government also said 159,000 fewer jobs were lost in September and October than first reported.
If part-time workers who want full time jobs and laid-off workers who have given up looking for jobs are included, the so-called underemployment rate also fell, to 17.2 percent from 17.5 percent in October.
The better-than-expected figures provided a rare dose of good news for a labor market that's lost 7.2 million jobs in two years. The unemployment rate hadn't fallen since July. Still, the respite may be temporary.
Job creation is expected to remain far too weak in coming months to absorb the 15.4 million unemployed people who are seeking work — and the 11.5 million others who are underemployed. As more people begin seeking work, the jobless rate is likely to resume rising.
Minnesota state economist Tom Stinson noted that "one observation does not a trend make. But this is good news. It's one of these things where if you look at the surface it looks good. And as you look at the details, it looks even better."
The fact that average hours worked increased from 33 hours a week -- the lowest level in U.S. history -- to 33.2 hours equates to a gain of roughly 100,000 jobs nationwide, he said. In addition, temporary hires grew by 50,000 nationally and overall job losses were a modest 11,000 for the month.
"All these things make the [economic] picture a lot more pleasant. I think it will carry over" into Minnesota, Stinson said. Despite tepid holiday hiring, "We hope to see is something around zero job losses for Minnesota in November. … if we were tracking [with] the national number."
The report offered evidence of how hard it remains to find a job: The number of people unemployed for at least six months rose last month to 5.9 million. And the average length of unemployment has risen to more than 28 weeks, the longest on records dating to 1948.
Even counting last month's decline, the unemployment rate has more than doubled since the recession began in December 2007, when it stood at 4.9 percent. And the underemployment rate has jumped to 17.2 percent from 8.7 percent.
"We will need very substantial job growth to get unemployment lower, especially when the labor force ... starts growing again," said Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank.
Still, economists and investors drew hope from the Labor Department report. It said the economy shed 11,000 jobs last month — a sharp improvement from October's revised total of 111,000. And it was much better than the 130,000 Wall Street economists had expected.
The average work week also rose to 33.2 hours, from a record low of 33 hours, along with average earnings. Economists expect employers will increase hours for their current workers before hiring new ones.
"We've still got a long way to go, but the good news in this report provides important positive momentum," said Carl Riccadonna, senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank.
President Barack Obama, speaking in Allentown, Pa., applauded the drop in job losses and put finishing touches on a proposal he'll unveil next week to try to stimulate business hiring.
He will endorse sending new money to state and local governments to stem their layoffs and expanding a program that gives people cash incentives to fix up homes with energy-saving materials, a senior administration official said.
Obama will also endorse new tax breaks for small businesses that hire workers, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the package, and Obama's speech, are still being crafted.
The stock market initially jumped in response to the jobs report, before paring its gains later in the day. In early afternoon, the Dow Jones industrial average was up about 19 points. Broader stock averages rose slightly.
The increase in hours worked means employees are earning more income, Riccadonna said, which could help boost consumer spending and enable Americans to pay down more debt.
Average weekly earnings jumped $4.08 to $622.17, the report said.
Temporary help services added 52,000 jobs, the fourth straight increase. That's also positive news, because companies are likely to hire temporary workers before adding permanent ones. Total employment usually starts to increase between three and six months after temporary employment, Riccadonna said.
The economy has now lost jobs for 23 straight months. But the small decline in November indicates the nation could begin generating jobs soon. Many economists think it will happen in the first quarter of next year.
David Rosenberg, chief economist for Canadian wealth management firm Gluskin Sheff, said the 7 point difference between the jobless rate and underemployment rate is almost double the usual gap. That's an indication of how many more people are likely to be looking for work in coming months.
Another worrisome sign: The National Federation of Independent Business said Thursday that a monthly survey of its small business members showed that more companies plan to reduce employment in the next three months than plan to add jobs.
And a survey by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Thursday found a sharp drop in the number of companies planning to hire workers in November, compared with the previous month.
The services sector gained 58,000 jobs last month, while manufacturing and construction shed 68,000 positions. Education and health services added 40,000 jobs, and government employment rose 7,000.
The unemployment rate fell because the number of jobless Americans dropped by 325,000 to 15.4 million. The jobless rate is calculated from a survey of households. The number of jobs lost or gained, by contrast, is calculated from a separate survey of business and government establishments. The two surveys can sometimes vary.
The unemployment rate also dropped because fewer people are looking for work. The size of the labor force, which includes the employed and those actively searching for jobs, has fallen by 1.2 million in the past six months. That indicates more of the unemployed are giving up on looking for work.
The participation rate, or the percentage of the population employed or looking for work, fell to 65 percent, the lowest since the recession began. Once laid-off people stop hunting for jobs, they are no longer counted in the unemployment rate.
Even as layoffs are easing, the slow pace of hiring is causing headaches for political leaders. The employment report comes a day after President Barack Obama hosted a "jobs summit" at the White House, where he told economists, business executives and union leaders that he is "open to every demonstrably good idea" to create jobs.
Democrats in Congress are considering legislation that would extend jobless benefits for those who have run out and help the unemployed pay for health care coverage. Those measures could cost up to $100 billion.
___
Staff writer Dee DePass contributed to this report.
Prominent Dartmouth trained economist "John" Williams of Shadowstats has developed a method for calculating the unemployment and other rates through adjusting for government machinations over the years by analyzing period BLS, etc. memos regarding the effect of the machinations. The BLS tried to put him out of business but after an exchange of testy letters the BLS desisted not wanting to risk wider exposure of their machinations. Even prominent Republicans such as Ronald Reagan's former Assistant Treasury Secretary and economist Paul Craig Roberts and Richard Nixon's former Chief Strategist Kevin Phillips cite Williams, even during Republican Presidencies. Williams current unemployment rate of 21.8% rates 4th all-time since 1923. Only last months 22.1%, 1932's 23.6% and 1933's 24.9% rank higher since 1923.
If wage, hour, benefit, etc. freezes and reductions were calculated an additional "partial" unemployment rate would include at least 75% of the workforce. If the CPI was calculated accurately the number would be higher still, since there are many ways to reduce pay. Most egregious in the "partial" unemployment category are business' which slash hours to the bare bone 1 week and then give their workers just enough hours the following week to insure the workers don't qualify for unemployment compensation.
Shadowstats web address: http://www.shadowstats.com/
Have a wonderful day.
Art
-------------- Original message from Joel Albers <joel@...>: --------------
Brief comment on the latest unemployment data and how it relates to health care:
Altho 11,000 jobs were shed in the U.S. in Nov., 100,000 new jobs are required nationally just to keep
pace with pop'n growth and maintain the current employment rate, which the Mpls Strib article below omitted.(so the U.S. unemployment rate is at 10%, seasonally adjusted, and about 17% if include the underemployed and those who stopped looking; but the unemployment rate excludes farmers, and people in institutions like jails and the military)
Note that every 1% increase in the unemployment rate correlates with a .6% increase in the HC uninsured rate.
Also, the Ed and Health services sector gained by 40,000 jobs and this is typical, and the reason
some say health care is recession-proof. Yet this is not the case, as we know from the 100s of jobs lost in hospitals
all over the Twin Cities, not just HCMC Cty hospital, and major job losses by drug companies. The jobs gained in HC are mostly
administrative (billers, coders, reimbursement analysts, etc) while the number of practitioner jobs either stays
flat or decreases, and is highly maldistributed geographically and by high-tech specialist v. primary care.The
$2.5 trillion spent on HC in 2009 is one sixth of the U.S. economy, and its jobs ripple thru most sectors of the economy.
This is why an excellent 2009 study by the institute for Health and Socio-Economic Policy, entitled, "Single-Payer/Medicare
for All, An Economic Stimulus Plan for the Nation", found that Single-Payer would solve both the health care crisis, AND create
3 million jobs. So as in the Great Depression era, where the U.S. welfare state was created, both the health care AND the economic
This Article from StarTribune.com has been sent to you by joelAlbers. *Please note, the sender's identity has not been verified.
The full Article, with any associated images and links can be viewed here.
Jobless rate drops to 10 percent in Nov.; employers shed 11,000 jobs, fewest since Dec. 2007 CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A surprising drop in the unemployment rate and far fewer job losses last month cheered investors Friday and raised hopes for a sustained economic recovery.
The rate unexpectedly fell to 10 percent, from 10.2 percent in October, as employers cut the fewest number of jobs since the recession began. The government also said 159,000 fewer jobs were lost in September and October than first reported.
If part-time workers who want full time jobs and laid-off workers who have given up looking for jobs are included, the so-called underemployment rate also fell, to 17.2 percent from 17.5 percent in October.
The better-than-expected figures provided a rare dose of good news for a labor market that's lost 7.2 million jobs in two years. The unemployment rate hadn't fallen since July. Still, the respite may be temporary.
Job creation is expected to remain far too weak in coming months to absorb the 15.4 million unemployed people who are seeking work — and the 11.5 million others who are underemployed. As more people begin seeking work, the jobless rate is likely to resume rising.
Minnesota state economist Tom Stinson noted that "one observation does not a trend make. But this is good news. It's one of these things where if you look at the surface it looks good. And as you look at the details, it looks even better."
The fact that average hours worked increased from 33 hours a week -- the lowest level in U.S. history -- to 33.2 hours equates to a gain of roughly 100,000 jobs nationwide, he said. In addition, temporary hires grew by 50,000 nationally and overall job losses were a modest 11,000 for the month.
"All these things make the [economic] picture a lot more pleasant. I think it will carry over" into Minnesota, Stinson said. Despite tepid holiday hiring, "We hope to see is something around zero job losses for Minnesota in November. … if we were tracking [with] the national number."
The report offered evidence of how hard it remains to find a job: The number of people unemployed for at least six months rose last month to 5.9 million. And the average length of unemployment has risen to more than 28 weeks, the longest on records dating to 1948.
Even counting last month's decline, the unemployment rate has more than doubled since the recession began in December 2007, when it stood at 4.9 percent. And the underemployment rate has jumped to 17.2 percent from 8.7 percent.
"We will need very substantial job growth to get unemployment lower, especially when the labor force ... starts growing again," said Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank.
Still, economists and investors drew hope from the Labor Department report. It said the economy shed 11,000 jobs last month — a sharp improvement from October's revised total of 111,000. And it was much better than the 130,000 Wall Street economists had expected.
The average work week also rose to 33.2 hours, from a record low of 33 hours, along with average earnings. Economists expect employers will increase hours for their current workers before hiring new ones.
"We've still got a long way to go, but the good news in this report provides important positive momentum," said Carl Riccadonna, senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank.
President Barack Obama, speaking in Allentown, Pa., applauded the drop in job losses and put finishing touches on a proposal he'll unveil next week to try to stimulate business hiring.
He will endorse sending new money to state and local governments to stem their layoffs and expanding a program that gives people cash incentives to fix up homes with energy-saving materials, a senior administration official said.
Obama will also endorse new tax breaks for small businesses that hire workers, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the package, and Obama's speech, are still being crafted.
The stock market initially jumped in response to the jobs report, before paring its gains later in the day. In early afternoon, the Dow Jones industrial average was up about 19 points. Broader stock averages rose slightly.
The increase in hours worked means employees are earning more income, Riccadonna said, which could help boost consumer spending and enable Americans to pay down more debt.
Average weekly earnings jumped $4.08 to $622.17, the report said.
Temporary help services added 52,000 jobs, the fourth straight increase. That's also positive news, because companies are likely to hire temporary workers before adding permanent ones. Total employment usually starts to increase between three and six months after temporary employment, Riccadonna said.
The economy has now lost jobs for 23 straight months. But the small decline in November indicates the nation could begin generating jobs soon. Many economists think it will happen in the first quarter of next year.
David Rosenberg, chief economist for Canadian wealth management firm Gluskin Sheff, said the 7 point difference between the jobless rate and underemployment rate is almost double the usual gap. That's an indication of how many more people are likely to be looking for work in coming months.
Another worrisome sign: The National Federation of Independent Business said Thursday that a monthly survey of its small business members showed that more companies plan to reduce employment in the next three months than plan to add jobs.
And a survey by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Thursday found a sharp drop in the number of companies planning to hire workers in November, compared with the previous month.
The services sector gained 58,000 jobs last month, while manufacturing and construction shed 68,000 positions. Education and health services added 40,000 jobs, and government employment rose 7,000.
The unemployment rate fell because the number of jobless Americans dropped by 325,000 to 15.4 million. The jobless rate is calculated from a survey of households. The number of jobs lost or gained, by contrast, is calculated from a separate survey of business and government establishments. The two surveys can sometimes vary.
The unemployment rate also dropped because fewer people are looking for work. The size of the labor force, which includes the employed and those actively searching for jobs, has fallen by 1.2 million in the past six months. That indicates more of the unemployed are giving up on looking for work.
The participation rate, or the percentage of the population employed or looking for work, fell to 65 percent, the lowest since the recession began. Once laid-off people stop hunting for jobs, they are no longer counted in the unemployment rate.
Even as layoffs are easing, the slow pace of hiring is causing headaches for political leaders. The employment report comes a day after President Barack Obama hosted a "jobs summit" at the White House, where he told economists, business executives and union leaders that he is "open to every demonstrably good idea" to create jobs.
Democrats in Congress are considering legislation that would extend jobless benefits for those who have run out and help the unemployed pay for health care coverage. Those measures could cost up to $100 billion.
___
Staff writer Dee DePass contributed to this report.
Brief comment on the latest unemployment data and how it relates to health care:
Altho 11,000 jobs were shed in the U.S. in Nov., 100,000 new jobs are required nationally just to keep
pace with pop'n growth and maintain the current employment rate, which the Mpls Strib article below omitted.(so the U.S. unemployment rate is at 10%, seasonally adjusted, and about 17% if include the underemployed and those who stopped looking; but the unemployment rate excludes farmers, and people in institutions like jails and the military)
Note that every 1% increase in the unemployment rate correlates with a .6% increase in the HC uninsured rate.
Also, the Ed and Health services sector gained by 40,000 jobs and this is typical, and the reason
some say health care is recession-proof. Yet this is not the case, as we know from the 100s of jobs lost in hospitals
all over the Twin Cities, not just HCMC Cty hospital, and major job losses by drug companies. The jobs gained in HC are mostly
administrative (billers, coders, reimbursement analysts, etc) while the number of practitioner jobs either stays
flat or decreases, and is highly maldistributed geographically and by high-tech specialist v. primary care.The
$2.5 trillion spent on HC in 2009 is one sixth of the U.S. economy, and its jobs ripple thru most sectors of the economy.
This is why an excellent 2009 study by the institute for Health and Socio-Economic Policy, entitled, "Single-Payer/Medicare
for All, An Economic Stimulus Plan for the Nation", found that Single-Payer would solve both the health care crisis, AND create
3 million jobs. So as in the Great Depression era, where the U.S. welfare state was created, both the health care AND the economic
This Article from StarTribune.com has been sent to you by joelAlbers. *Please note, the sender's identity has not been verified.
The full Article, with any associated images and links can be viewed here.
Jobless rate drops to 10 percent in Nov.; employers shed 11,000 jobs, fewest since Dec. 2007 CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A surprising drop in the unemployment rate and far fewer job losses last month cheered investors Friday and raised hopes for a sustained economic recovery.
The rate unexpectedly fell to 10 percent, from 10.2 percent in October, as employers cut the fewest number of jobs since the recession began. The government also said 159,000 fewer jobs were lost in September and October than first reported.
If part-time workers who want full time jobs and laid-off workers who have given up looking for jobs are included, the so-called underemployment rate also fell, to 17.2 percent from 17.5 percent in October.
The better-than-expected figures provided a rare dose of good news for a labor market that's lost 7.2 million jobs in two years. The unemployment rate hadn't fallen since July. Still, the respite may be temporary.
Job creation is expected to remain far too weak in coming months to absorb the 15.4 million unemployed people who are seeking work — and the 11.5 million others who are underemployed. As more people begin seeking work, the jobless rate is likely to resume rising.
Minnesota state economist Tom Stinson noted that "one observation does not a trend make. But this is good news. It's one of these things where if you look at the surface it looks good. And as you look at the details, it looks even better."
The fact that average hours worked increased from 33 hours a week -- the lowest level in U.S. history -- to 33.2 hours equates to a gain of roughly 100,000 jobs nationwide, he said. In addition, temporary hires grew by 50,000 nationally and overall job losses were a modest 11,000 for the month.
"All these things make the [economic] picture a lot more pleasant. I think it will carry over" into Minnesota, Stinson said. Despite tepid holiday hiring, "We hope to see is something around zero job losses for Minnesota in November. … if we were tracking [with] the national number."
The report offered evidence of how hard it remains to find a job: The number of people unemployed for at least six months rose last month to 5.9 million. And the average length of unemployment has risen to more than 28 weeks, the longest on records dating to 1948.
Even counting last month's decline, the unemployment rate has more than doubled since the recession began in December 2007, when it stood at 4.9 percent. And the underemployment rate has jumped to 17.2 percent from 8.7 percent.
"We will need very substantial job growth to get unemployment lower, especially when the labor force ... starts growing again," said Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank.
Still, economists and investors drew hope from the Labor Department report. It said the economy shed 11,000 jobs last month — a sharp improvement from October's revised total of 111,000. And it was much better than the 130,000 Wall Street economists had expected.
The average work week also rose to 33.2 hours, from a record low of 33 hours, along with average earnings. Economists expect employers will increase hours for their current workers before hiring new ones.
"We've still got a long way to go, but the good news in this report provides important positive momentum," said Carl Riccadonna, senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank.
President Barack Obama, speaking in Allentown, Pa., applauded the drop in job losses and put finishing touches on a proposal he'll unveil next week to try to stimulate business hiring.
He will endorse sending new money to state and local governments to stem their layoffs and expanding a program that gives people cash incentives to fix up homes with energy-saving materials, a senior administration official said.
Obama will also endorse new tax breaks for small businesses that hire workers, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the package, and Obama's speech, are still being crafted.
The stock market initially jumped in response to the jobs report, before paring its gains later in the day. In early afternoon, the Dow Jones industrial average was up about 19 points. Broader stock averages rose slightly.
The increase in hours worked means employees are earning more income, Riccadonna said, which could help boost consumer spending and enable Americans to pay down more debt.
Average weekly earnings jumped $4.08 to $622.17, the report said.
Temporary help services added 52,000 jobs, the fourth straight increase. That's also positive news, because companies are likely to hire temporary workers before adding permanent ones. Total employment usually starts to increase between three and six months after temporary employment, Riccadonna said.
The economy has now lost jobs for 23 straight months. But the small decline in November indicates the nation could begin generating jobs soon. Many economists think it will happen in the first quarter of next year.
David Rosenberg, chief economist for Canadian wealth management firm Gluskin Sheff, said the 7 point difference between the jobless rate and underemployment rate is almost double the usual gap. That's an indication of how many more people are likely to be looking for work in coming months.
Another worrisome sign: The National Federation of Independent Business said Thursday that a monthly survey of its small business members showed that more companies plan to reduce employment in the next three months than plan to add jobs.
And a survey by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Thursday found a sharp drop in the number of companies planning to hire workers in November, compared with the previous month.
The services sector gained 58,000 jobs last month, while manufacturing and construction shed 68,000 positions. Education and health services added 40,000 jobs, and government employment rose 7,000.
The unemployment rate fell because the number of jobless Americans dropped by 325,000 to 15.4 million. The jobless rate is calculated from a survey of households. The number of jobs lost or gained, by contrast, is calculated from a separate survey of business and government establishments. The two surveys can sometimes vary.
The unemployment rate also dropped because fewer people are looking for work. The size of the labor force, which includes the employed and those actively searching for jobs, has fallen by 1.2 million in the past six months. That indicates more of the unemployed are giving up on looking for work.
The participation rate, or the percentage of the population employed or looking for work, fell to 65 percent, the lowest since the recession began. Once laid-off people stop hunting for jobs, they are no longer counted in the unemployment rate.
Even as layoffs are easing, the slow pace of hiring is causing headaches for political leaders. The employment report comes a day after President Barack Obama hosted a "jobs summit" at the White House, where he told economists, business executives and union leaders that he is "open to every demonstrably good idea" to create jobs.
Democrats in Congress are considering legislation that would extend jobless benefits for those who have run out and help the unemployed pay for health care coverage. Those measures could cost up to $100 billion.
___
Staff writer Dee DePass contributed to this report.
Blanche,
To answer your (good) question "If states administer a federally funded
program can you go to a state in which you do not reside for your medical
treatment or to see a doctor?"
Yes. These types of bills--incl. the MN single-payer bill et al.--let people
get care in other states (other nations in some bills) paid by the state.
Providers elsewhere would just bill the State the person is from, which
plays the role of insurer/payer as far as the provider is concerned, just as
if they were billing HealthPartners here.
Below is a message I sent in but never appeared here that explains more the
Sanders bill. I've also attached the Sanders bill itself--this is the one I
referred to, not his new single-payer amendment proposal for the current
Senate health bill. He's not pursuing the Bill we're talking about here and
that's attached.
John Schwarz
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Schwarz" <john@...>
To: <uhcan-mn@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, November 16, 2009 10:55 PM
Subject: Re: [uhcan-mn] Kucinich, Sanders, single-payer amendments
> Amy and all,
>
> I've attached the Sanders bill that would empower states to establish
> their
> own single-payer system. It received far less attention than Kucinich's
> for
> 2 reasons in my view:
> --Kucinich's bill passed a sub-committee in the House, so it showed up on
> the media radar. Plus it received a number of Republican votes, making it
> even more noteworthy.
> --The House is more liberal/progressive than the Senate, so Kucinich's
> bill
> had a better chance to advance, whereas in the less liberal/progressive
> Senate, Sander's bill was much less viable. It was essentially DOA.
> Sanders
> recently proposed another amendment that has received some attention but
> it
> is different from the one here, which is from August.
>
> Pasted below is the essential outline of what Sander's bill will do to
> grant
> state's authority to set up their own single-payer system. In contrast,
> Kucinich's bill only addresses # (1), the ERISA waiver issue. Sanders
> covers
> almost the entire universe of existing federal barriers to Minnesota or
> other states implementing a single-payer system on their own. That's what
> we
> need, not just Kucinich and self-insured employer plans.
>
> I've written more about these issues this past year--can be found on front
> page of my site at www.unitedhealthsystem.org, and can send or attach
> those
> for anyone who's interested.
>
> From Sanders' bills:
> Subtitle D—State Single Payer Health Care Systems
> ...
> SEC. 3121. STATE AUTHORITY.
> (e) WAIVER OF ERISA PREEMPTION AND WAIVERS
> TO POOL FUNDS.—As part of an implementation grant under this section and
> subject to the benefit maintenance requirements applicable under section
> 3124(b), a State may request (and the Secretary shall grant) the following
> waivers of requirements and provisions to the extent necessary to carry
> out
> the State plan under section 3124:
> (1) ERISA
> (2) MEDICARE
> (3) MEDICAID
> (4) CHIP
> (5) FEHBP
> (6) USE OF OTHER FUNDS
> (7) OTHER LAWS
>
> John Schwarz
You have put your finger right on a hot-button issue. This is a hundred pound gorilla of an issue, the elephant in the room. Antis at the state level will push this one really hard, that MN will be swamped by people coming here to use our health care system.
If the federal government passes health care reform and if it passes with an amendment that allows states to enact single payer systems, there will have to be firewalls that addreess this issue built into any state legislation in order to get single payer passed at the state level.
--- On Fri, 12/4/09, Blanche Hall <blanche.hall@...> wrote:
From: Blanche Hall <blanche.hall@...> Subject: [uhcan-mn] Sanders' amendment To: "uhcan-mn" <uhcan-mn@yahoogroups.com> Date: Friday, December 4, 2009, 12:51 PM
I have a question on the Sanders' amendment, wondering if anyone out there can answer it?
If states administer a federally funded program can you go to a state in which you do not reside for your medical treatment or to see a doctor?
I have a question on the Sanders' amendment, wondering if anyone out
there can answer it?
If states administer a federally funded program can you go to a state
in which you do not reside for your medical treatment or to see a
doctor?
Thanks
Blanche
I apologize the attachment wasnt there. The Cuba U.S. Health Care panel was last night, great discussion.
However, UHCAN-MN is planning a "how-to" hands-on workshop on Art and Protest with paint, brushes, banners,
and asking people to bring materials, messaging ideas. We're planning this at our mtg mon evening Walker Church,
7pm,Dec 7. Pls attend if possible and we can f/u on your ideas for a banner, messaging.
thanks,
joel
On Dec 4, 2009, at 1:01 AM, b b wrote:
no attachment...no clue when this is/was
To: practitionersunitedmn@yahoogroups.com From: joel@uhcan-mn.org Date: Thu, 3 Dec 2009 12:19:09 -0600 Subject: [PractitionersUnitedMN] Invite to film and panel discussion
This is just a formal note of the movie and Panel Discussion on "Healthcare & Public Option: Cuba and the US Health debate". The success behind Cuba's Universal Healthcare system and why Congress should follow suit. A lively discussion.
The date and venue are as noted on the Subject line. (The address is 321 19th Ave. S, Mpls, behind Midwest Mountaineering parking on Riverside with meters). The flyer is attached to this email.
Greg Klave Mn Cuba Cmte. 763-228-2899 cell 612-721-8440 office gregklave@msn.com
This is just a formal note of the movie and Panel Discussion on "Healthcare & Public Option: Cuba and the US Health debate". The success behind Cuba's Universal Healthcare system and why Congress should follow suit. A lively discussion.
The date and venue are as noted on the Subject line. (The address is 321 19th Ave. S, Mpls, behind Midwest Mountaineering parking on Riverside with meters). The flyer is attached to this email.
Greg Klave Mn Cuba Cmte. 763-228-2899 cell 612-721-8440 office gregklave@...
Hi Everyone,
-We had the UHCAN-MN retreat last fri/sat w/ 15 attending, ok for
late notice and already scheduled.
It was a ton of work organizing it, and if we do another one, at this
beautiful place, we're going to need
a lot more participation in coordinating it. Pulling these together
does not happen magically. In addition
to the 9 hrs of mtgs we had (1 1/2 of which i had personally w/
Roseangellica to specifically determine
her role in food service only). Note that i had to f/u on all the
things that people said they would do but
didnt. So 150 phone calls, photocopying, coordinating food,
coordinating the place, shlepping a ton of
food later, we had a really good Retreat. so i hope folks can
appreciate that in the form of a thank you once in awhile.
-Big thanks to David Sundeen for creating and donating 24 "single-
payer" t-shirts which we can use as a fundraiser.
-BUILDING the NETWORK:
What we decided at the Retreat was that several of us- David, Mike,
Kari, Joel, Greg, Dorothy, Sarah, and
a few others will all do outreach to faith, indy business, labor,
community groups, practitioner etc to form a loose,
decentralized single-payer NETWORK. This simply means an organization
(via a contact person), agrees to:
1. endorse single-payer at any level (state, federal etc) and single-
payer actions (demos, press conferences, written position statements,
etc)
2.endorse any single-payer publicly issued statements: press
releases, flyers, other written statements to media, the public,
legislature
3.forward any actions (see #1 above) to an organizations distribution
lists to potentially turn out people to actions.
If you are reading this and are a contact person of an organization
that would like to be on board let me know. Or if you know of any
groups of
whom might want to become part of this NETWORK or more info, pls
contact that group, and let me know.
We decided that a script for calling groups would facilitate this
outreach. If you need more info than the 3 criteria above, in the form
of a script, let me know. The uhcan-mn.org website has info on
defining single-payer. I will be putting a brief 1 paragraph script
together
based on the above points.
-ART AND PROTEST:
We had a great discussion on this. Kari obtained a lot of paint
brushes, paint, sheets, along with UHCAN-MN's existing banner
materials/placards
for painting on. Thanks for that. at the Retreat we didnt have enough
time to paint banners, but Roger has suggested we could do this at
his house,
and show us the how-to. Roger suggested a sat from 1-4pm or other
time ?
-MEDIA CAMPAIGN (CHANGING THE MEDIA LANDSCAPE):
Great discussion, brainstorming on this too. To putt all the great
suggestions together, we would ideally need to form a MEDIA NETWORK
for skills-sharing
on this incl: videographers, photographers, graphic designers,
writers etc.
-Next UHCAN-MN mtg is monday Dec 7, 7pm, Walker Church, 3104 16th ave
s,mpls (near lake street and bloomington avenues).
Before You Carve that Turkey: All In for Bernie
Sanders
by Donna Smith
Those millions of us who support a Medicare for All,
single-payer, reform for the healthcare crisis in this nation have some
work to
do over the next few days. Senators are on their way to their home
states
for the one-week Thanksgiving recess - and they need a little up close
and personal constituent attention before dinnertime on Thursday.
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is a stalwart supporter of
doing the right thing for his state, our healthcare system and this
nation
- and he has said repeatedly that moving toward a just and economically
sound system is possible through Medicare for All, single-payer. In
the
purest sense of giving patients control over their own healthcare,
single-payer
gives us all control over our choice of providers - and it gives our
healthcare professionals the freedom they need to advise us on the
basis of
health rather than payment source.
So, even though the current Senate bill is not what we want
- Senator Sanders will offer an amendment that would be a substitute
for
that bill and is mirrored on S. 703, The American Health Security Act.
We need to make it clear before our Senators are immersed in
their own holiday events and then in traveling back to Washington, DC,
that we want them to support Senator Sanders' amendment.
Call today, call tomorrow and keep calling until the home
offices of the Senators close for the holidays - and many will stay
open
until Wednesday at noon. Tell the staff you want to talk turkey about
the
Senate effort.
Time is drawing short for our Senators to hear from
us. Debate will begin on November 30 on the current Senate bill.
Senator Sanders needs support. He has already told us that he does not
expect a win on his amendment. But we are all laying groundwork for
this
nation to move in the right direction before long - we know that the
current bills do not "bend the cost curve" enough and we know they
certainly do not bend the death or bankruptcy curve nearly enough to
make the
bills what this nation needs.
Additionally, we want the legislation to contain language
that will allow states that opt in to a single-payer system to be able
to do so
with the appropriate waivers from federal legal provisions which might
otherwise present obstacles to doing so.
So, the ask of our Senators - each and every one,
liberal, centrist or conservative - is two-fold and urgent:
1.
Vote with and for Sanders' S. 703 substitute
amendment; and
2.
Support state single-payer enabling language in the
final bill.
Calls to DC won't be effective this week. We can
all return to that effort next week. Thanksgiving week calls must go
to
your Senators' offices in your state. Look them up here, using your
zip code: http://www.votesmart.org/
Tell friends, neighbors and relatives. This year, talk
a little turkey about healthcare. Ask folks how thankful they would be
to
have healthcare as a basic human right for their neighbors and for
themselves. And then help them look up their Senators' contact
information and tell them how easy it really is to call and log your
concerns
and your expectations for an affirmative vote for the Sanders'
amendment.
Oh, and don't forget to thank one another for caring
enough to join in the struggle. It matters. Everybody in,
nobody out. Thank you all for believing that together we can change
this,
because we can.
Thanks, Kari. You sure know how to record and spread the news. I think I might go to some overpass above a freeway, tomorrow, and display banners - DOWN WITH HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES! and SINGLE PAYER MED CARE FOR ALL! Let me know if you are interested and if so, when you could do it. Roger
Subject: [uhcan-mn] Videos From Health Care Rally (Sept.)
Hi All,
Below I have additional links to video I took from the Obama Rally in September. I thought that with the health care bill being debated in the senate, it would help give some inspiration to keep fighting on for single-payer. Videos are a lot of fun!!
Below I have additional links to video I took from the Obama Rally in September. I thought that with the health care bill being debated in the senate, it would help give some inspiration to keep fighting on for single-payer. Videos are a lot of fun!!
THIS SHOULD BE AS IMPORTANT TO DEMOCRATS AS IT IS TO REPUBLICANS. AND YOU ARE SIGNING ON THE CONGRESSMAN'S WEBSITE -- NOT SOME RANDOM LIST -- NOTHING TO PASS ON INTO LIMBO
PLEASE PASS THIS FAR AND WIDE, THIS WILL BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT
Please read and act, only takes a minute!
On Tuesday, the Senate health committee voted 12-11 in favor of a two-page amendment courtesy of Republican Tom Coburn that would
require all Members and their staffs to enroll in any new government-run health plan. It took me less than a minute to sign up to require our congressmen and senators to drink at the same trough! Three cheers for Congressman John Fleming of Louisiana !
Congressman John Fleming ( Louisiana physician) has proposed an amendment that would require congressmen and senators to take the same healthcare plan they force on us (under proposed legislation they are curiously exempt).
Please urge as many people as you can to do the same!
If Congress forces this on the American people, the Congressmen should have to accept the same level of health care for themselves and their families. To do otherwise is the height of hypocrisy!
Please pass this on!!
No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.425 / Virus Database: 270.14.73/2513 - Release Date: 11/19/09 07:51:00
An Event about Single Payer Health Care
Michael Cavlan RN will be the featured speaker at an event this Saturday, November 21st at 5:00 pm at Mayday Books. In addition to Michael Cavlan’s appearance, the Michael Moore movie entitled: “Sicko” will also be screened free of charge.
If you have not had the opportunity to see this film and hear Michael Cavlan speak, you are in for a real treat. We hope that you will support this event by virtue of your attendance and invite others who may not be educated on the Single Payer Health Care reform idea to attend along with you. This is a crucial time in our nation and many people support this reform for our country. Find out how you can be helpful to push forth this cause with our elected officials. For more information about the event, please contact the Bookstore at: MAYDAY BOOKS
301 CEDAR AVENUE SOUTH
MINNEAPOLIS, MN
612-333-4719
For the record, Jack Nelson Pallmeyer is being officially, respectfully and publicly
"The Public Option: Healthcare Reform - Cuba and the US" on Thursday, December 3 at 6:00pm.
"Should be a fascinating new look at the PUBLIC OPTION in Health Care...how it works in Cuba...how it should work in the USA".
A 45 min. showing of the award winning film SALUD about Cuba's medical system followed by a panel discussion by Health Care Reform Advocates: -Dr. Elizabeth Frost (Physicians for a National Health Program) -Joel Albers - UHCAN -John Schwartz - Director, United Health Systems -Prof. August Nimtz, Univeristy of Minnesota
Thursday, December 3 at 6:00pm Where: University of Minnesota, Carlson Bldg Room 1-147 321 19th Avenue South Minneapolis
From a non Astro-Turf organization on healthcare.
For those who have eyes to see and ears to hear.
Michael Cavlan RN
Dear Healthcare-NOW! Supporter:
On Saturday, November 7, 2009, the House passed H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health
Care for America Act, to much celebration by the Democratic party.
Healthcare-NOW!'s view, however, is that the House bill is a gift to the
insurance industry at the further expense of the people of this nation.
The bill's advocates claim it will cover an additional 36 million people,
subsidize the cost of insurance for families up to 400% above the poverty level,
increase Medicaid coverage to 150% above the poverty level, close the Medicare
donut hole by 2019, place a surcharge on individuals making more than $500,000
and couples making more than $1,000,000, will end rescissions and pre-existing
conditions.
What the Democrats fail to mention is the bill leaves millions of people
uninsured, allows medical bankruptcies to persist, criminalizes and fines the
uninsured, increases the number of underinsured, does nothing to contain the sky
rocketing costs, blocks women from their reproductive rights, transfers massive
public funds to private insurance companies strengthening their control over
care, protects pharmaceutical companies' superprofits at patient expense, fails
to reclaim the 31% of waste in our system, expands Medicaid without regard to
the state budget crises, discriminates based on immigration status and age, and
sets up several levels of care covering less for those without the ability to
pay. Those who have coverage will increasingly find care unaffordable and will
go without. The whole system will inevitably fail from being fiscally
unsustainable.
So is the House bill better than nothing?
"I don't think so," writes Marcia Angell, M.D., former editor of the New England
Journal of Medicine. "It simply throws more money into a dysfunctional and
unsustainable system, with only a few improvements at the edges, and it augments
the central role of the investor-owned insurance industry. The danger is that as
costs continue to rise and coverage becomes less comprehensive, people will
conclude that we've tried health reform and it didn't work. But the real problem
will be that we didn't really try it. I would rather see us do nothing now, and
have a better chance of trying again later and then doing it right."
Given that the bill does nothing to contain or reduce rising costs or end the
private health insurance industry's dominance, we hoped that the Progressive
Caucus would stand strong. But they did not. All but two of H.R. 676's
cosponsors voted for H.R. 3962 -- Rep. Eric Massa [D-NY] and Rep. Kucinich
[D-OH].
Rep. Massa stated, "At the highest level, this bill will enshrine in law the
monopolistic powers of the private health insurance industry, period. There's
really no other way to look at it."
Despite telling single-payer advocates that Congressman Weiner's single-payer
amendment could not go to vote because it would open the floodgates for
regressive amendments on abortion and immigrant access, the Democratic
leadership allowed votes on both. Prior to the vote on H.R. 3962, the Stupak
Amendment passed that will prevent women receiving tax subsidies from using
their own money to purchase private insurance that covers abortion and in many
cases will prevent low-income women from accessing abortion entirely.
"The House of Representatives has dealt the worst blow to women's fundamental
right to self-determination in order to buy a few votes for reform of the
profit-driven health insurance industry," writes Terry O'Neill, President of
National Organization for Women. "We must protect the rights we fought for in
Roe v. Wade. We cannot and will not support a health care bill that strips
millions of women of their existing access to abortion."
Healthcare-NOW! fought to win a fair and open debate on healthcare reform
including the merits of a single-payer system. This has not yet happened, but
the advocacy for this system has greatly impacted the debate in meaningful ways.
We need to continue to build the grassroots movement for single-payer,
not-for-profit, national healthcare. We look forward to much brain-storming at
our upcoming national strategy conference in St. Louis this weekend, and the
opportunity to move forward with renewed energy, creative ideas, and resolve.
Meanwhile, we have the opportunity NOW to continue to support the Sanders'
Single-Payer Amendment to be introduced in the U.S. Senate, Congressman
Kucinich's efforts to get the state single-payer amendment back in when the
House and Senate bills are reconciled, and the efforts of the Mobilization for
Health Care for All.
Thanks for all that you do,
Healthcare-NOW! National Staff
P.S. We need your support. Please donate today.
Healthcare-NOW! survives on the generosity of our supporters. Please consider
making a donation to support our efforts to pass HR 676 using our secure server.
- Follow us on -
> this seems correct in its major conclusions...
>
>
>
> > Date: Sun, 11 Oct 2009 08:14:23 -0800
> > From: activist.thepen@...
> > Subject: [157888] Delightful New "Medicare For All" Video And Fax
> Action Page, "I'm A Democrat, And I'm A Republican"
> > To: jclayfuller@...
> >
> >
> > A couple weeks ago the Democratic Senate Committee put out a video
> > called "I'm A Democrat, And I'm A Republican" (itself a play on the
> > cultural icon Mac ads), begging us for more campaign contributions
> > based on the premise that even 60 votes in their caucus is not enough
> > to pass a decent bill. So we decided to produce a series of our own
> > issue advocacy satire videos, to propagate the truth that NEITHER the
> > Democrats NOR the Republicans want real health care reform. And you
> > can watch the first one on this page.
> >
> > Medicare For All Fax Action Page:
> > http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum1020.php
> >
> > And from the same action you can also send a fax (for no charge) to
> > all your members of Congress (or special new advocacy capability)
> > calling for the passage of Medicare for All, instead of the
> > ridiculous sell out to medical corporation special interests that
> > barely squeaked out of the House over the weekend, and only at the
> > additional price of a total betrayal of a woman's right to choose.
> >
> > For this special fax action there is a prepared petition text which
> > you can read on the page above, calling on Congress to get serious
> > about doing something the American people all want, and pass to
> > economical and efficient Medicare for all. But you can still add any
> > personal comments of your own you like.
> >
> > And if you are represented by any member of the Congressional
> > so-called Progressive Caucus, you might tell them how profoundly
> > ASHAMED of them you are, given that outside of the courageous
> > exceptions of Dennis Kucinich and Eric Massa not one of others voted
> > against this terrible, awful bill (HR 3962). Remember back in June
> > they all signed a letter that they would only support a bill with a
> > "robust" public option. Instead they all voted for a total corporate
> > insurance take over of our national health care system, and they were
> > so anxious to sell out any principle they ever claimed to have, that
> > they threw a woman's right to choose under the bus along the way.
> >
> > Please take careful note we said a CORPORATE take over of health
> > care. Because the only thing more dishonest that the Democrats
> > claiming there is some kind of meaningful public option in the bill
> > are the Republicans braying that it is a government take over. It is
> > not "socialized" medicine as the "one smear fits all" demagogues on
> > the right shout, but instead capitalist medicine, with the most
> > feeble possible public plan they thought they could pass off to the
> > American people.
> >
> > And of course, nobody expects the Senate to turn it into something
> > better. Instead, it will be a monumental struggle now to even derail
> > the horrible anti-choice provision, which dictates that after a woman
> > is forced to buy one of the official overpriced insurance exchange
> > plans, even if she paid for it with 100% of her own money, that
> > provider cannot cover the expense of an abortion.
> >
> > For those who argued we should just pass SOMETHING, even if it was a
> > bad bill, because they said we could fix it later, this is what you
> > get from a strategy of perpetual compromise, a bill that is utterly
> > beyond redemption. It's time to throw HR 3962 in the medical waste
> > bin, and do what should have been done in the first place, build a
> > new national health care system on what actually DOES work, by
> > extending the existing economical and efficient Medicare plan to all
> > ages.
> >
> > Medicare For All Fax Action Page:
> > http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum1020.php
> >
> > So please check out the entertaining new video on the action page
> > above. And send the link to every one you know. And bookmark the page
> > above to check back, because we will be posting a new installment of
> > the "I'm A Democrat, And I'm A Republican" Medicare for All video
> > action series at least once a week.
> >
> > And if you want one of the new single payer health care caps, with
> > the "economical and efficient" counter-branding language, you can
> > request one from the return page after you submit the fax action
> > page. Or you can use this form.
> >
> > Single Payer Health Care Caps: http://www.peaceteam.net/all_gifts.php
> >
> > We just got in the new shipment from embroiderer, so if you had
> > already requested one in the last week or so, you will have yours in
> > just a couple more days by first class mail.
> >
> > And here is the one click Facebook page for this same fax action.
> >
> > Single Payer Amendments Action:
> > http://apps.facebook.com/fb_voices/action.php?qnum=pnum1020
> >
> > And the Twitter reply to send, to send this message to all your
> > members of Congress that way, is
> >
> > @cxs #p1020
> >
> > Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed
> > to be ours, and forward this alert as widely as possible.
> >
> > If you would like to get alerts like these, you can do so at
> > http://www.peaceteam.net/in.htm
> >
> > Or if you want to cease receiving our messages, just use the function
> > at http://www.peaceteam.net/out.htm
> >
> > usalone352b:157888
> >
-----Original Message----- From: uhcan-mn@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:uhcan-mn@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of greenpartymike Sent: Monday, November 09, 2009
5:06 PM To: uhcan-mn@yahoogroups.com;
uhcan-mn@yahoogroups.com Subject: [uhcan-mn] Senator
Leibermann Saves Single Payer
.
Talk About Ironies. From Counterpunch.
Michael Cavlan RN
Why Progressives Should Back a
Filibuster of the Health Care Bill
Can
Lieberman Save Single Payer?
By JOHN A. MURPHY
"Cowardice asks the question ‘is it safe’?
Expediency asks the question ‘is it politic’? Vanity asks the question ‘is it
popular’? But conscience asks the question ‘is it right’? And there comes a
time when we must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor
popular, but we must take it because our conscience tells us that it is
right."
-Martin Luther King
On
Saturday, November 8 the Democrat Congress gave us a corporate driven
healthcare bill which amounts to nothing more than a de facto bailout of the
healthcare insurance companies. The carnival conducted by the Democrats,
masquerading as a debate around healthcare, demonstrates conclusively how
craven are Barack Obama and the Congressional Democrats.
We have witnessed cynicism in other administrations but the Obama
administration has as raised cynicism to a veritable science. Imagine promising
the poor and desperate people of this country healthcare reform and passing
legislation which will not only hurt the working class but strengthen the very
forces which oppose real reform – the healthcare insurance companies!
The darling of the Democrats, Alan Grayson, voted in lockstep with most of the
other so-called progressive Democrats to destroy any possibility for meaningful
healthcare reform for the next 40 years. How easily the Democrat rank and file
is impressed. Grayson only had to bad mouth the Republicans, something which
should be part of the job description of any elected Democrat. For doing the
bare minimum he is hailed as a hero. So far removed from real heroism have the
Democrats traveled. So ineffective and slimy have the Congressional Democrats
become in sucking up to their corporate pay masters so they can keep doing more
harm to the American people, that they are praiseworthy simply for criticizing
the opposition. Imagine! The Democrat rank and file is impressed by a Democrat
Congressman who criticizes the Republicans but votes for a healthcare bill that
will spread misery on national level! Only Dennis Kucinich remained steadfast
in his opposition to a corporate welfare bill masquerading as a health care
reform bill. Perhaps Kucinich does more harm than good by remaining in such a
party. By remaining a Democrat he legitimizes the actions he opposes and keeps
millions of well intended people from forming a truly progressive opposition
party believing the myth that the Democrat Party can be changed form
within.
All of the Congressional Democrats and even the successor to George Bush
himself recognize that universal single-payer health care (Medicare For All) is
the only meaningful solution to the health care crisis in America. But these
Democrats have decided that keeping their jobs is much more important than
saving the lives of 45,000 Americans. By passing this most cynical piece of
legislation they have put their thumbs in the eyes of the American people while
the silk tongued oratory of the successor to George Bush will praise this bill
even as he delights in the idea of how many people will live in misery.
Obama is so ignominious that even in this miserable mockery of health care
reform he will deny benefits to the slave population in the United States as
well as to women who need abortions. Obama continues to refer to the slave
population created by the heinous William Clinton as "illegal
immigrants". We have 13 million slaves; they are not illegal immigrants.
They are economic refugees created by trade agreements like NAFTA which allowed
companies like Archer Daniels Midland and ConAgra to ship billions and billions
of tons of cheap corn into Mexico destroying the Mexican family farm. We are
not talking about dirt poor farmers but farmers who employed 10-15 people. Having
lost their farms, they wandered into the streets of Mexico City looking for
jobs in those corporations that moved to Mexico thanks to the beneficence of
that ever hated sperm stain, the successor to Ronald Reagan, who murdered a
million innocent Iraqi men, women and children with bombs and sanctions.
When the US corporations closed up their plants in Mexico and moved off to
China and Bangladesh where they could pay people $.50 an hour and $.35 an hour
these former farm owners had the option of watching their families starve in
the streets of Mexico or live as slaves in cardboard boxes in the underpasses
of the United States. They have now become a new slave population, paying taxes
and Social Security using phony identifications but denied even what would be
considered hospitality anywhere else in the world – health care! Only the
proslavery Democrats treat human beings in this way. Just as William, the
stain, Clinton destroyed the women's movement with his "Welfare Reform
Act" which threw tens of thousands of single mothers into the streets and
forced tens of thousands of others into the slavery of Wal-Mart like jobs, so
also will Barry The Bomber’s healthcare reform continue pummeling the already
staggering working-class American.
Here we have a health care bill which will not only drive up insurance costs
but will not even permit the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical
companies, thereby driving up pharmaceutical costs as well! The Congressional
Budget Office (CBO) estimates that only 2% of Americans will be able to
participate in this plan while 33% of Americans will remain either uninsured or
underinsured. The bill even was stripped of the Kucinich amendment which would
have permitted states to develop their own single-payer options. Americans will
now be forced to buy health care plans from private insurance corporations.
Forced!
Even a little arithmetic indicates what a horror show this nasty piece of
legislation creates. Imagine a family at roughly 300% of poverty -- around
$55,000 a year. It will cost them in the neighborhood of $15,000 in taxes,
$14,000 in mortgage or rent; close to $20,000 on childcare and they'll need
around $7,000 for food. That puts them in debt already! Now they will be forced
to buy health care -- forced! Under penalty of law! Even with government
subsidies they will still be in debt! (There is not enough money in the bill to
subsidize all the people who will need it). Now imagine a medical catastrophe.
Even if caps are eliminated this family will be deeper in debt as the insurance
companies increase their profits!
But wait! It gets better – worse if you please. The Congressional Budget Office
also explained that one of the other reasons why so few people would be able to
buy into this plan is that it "would typically have premiums that are
somewhat higher than the average premiums for the private plans." Yes, you
read that correctly: "premiums that are somewhat higher".
What about those people who don't get coverage through their jobs or who have
their health insurance dropped at work because there will now be an incentive
to dump benefits? History already provides us the answer to that question. Most
of the adults who tried to buy insurance on the open market never bought a plan
because they could not afford it or they could not find a plan that met their
needs. Now the prices will be higher! What a choice: buy insurance coverage or
pay a penalty of hundreds or even thousands of dollars per family if they
decide to forgo insurance.
LIEBERMAN TO THE RESCUE
The Senate version of health care reform is even more draconian than the House
version but the real hero of this tragedy, Joe Lieberman, promises to join a
Republican filibuster! The independent senator from Connecticut, hated by
liberal Democrats may yet save us! The senator told "Fox News Sunday"
today that Democrats can certainly count him in the "no" column if
they keep in a government-backed insurance plan. "If the public option is
in there as a matter of conscience, I will not allow this bill to come to a
final vote," signaling as he has before that he would back a Republican
filibuster -- which Democrats need 60 votes to break.
While it is never morally acceptable to do something wrong even for a good
reason (the ends never justify the means), it is always morally acceptable to
do something right even for the wrong reasons! Lincoln, for example, did not
free the slaves because it was the morally correct thing to do. He did it for
political reasons but nevertheless he did do it and it was the right thing to
do. We may not like Joe Lieberman and Max Baucus but ironically we may be in
their debt if they join the filibuster to block this anti-working class,
corporate welfare legislation. We should be castigating Conyers and Grayson
because of their vote in the House while we may have to heave sigh of
thanksgiving for people like Lieberman and Baucus if they are successful in
preventing this very dangerous piece of legislation.
John Murphy was
the independent candidate for House of Representatives in the 16th Congressional
District of Pennsylvania in 2006 and 2008. He is one of the founding members of
the Pennsylvanian Ballot Access Coalition , working to change ballot access
laws in Pennsylvania. He can be reached at:johnamurphy@comcast.net.
We are all inspired by the current groundswell of single-payer health caremobilizingamid intense nationaldebate . In the lastfew weeks alone,over 150 activists, including a number of physicians and nurses, have been arrested doing sit-ins atcompanies like UnitedHealth (Medica), WellPoint, Aetna, Cigna and Humana, and at offices of key legislators, according to Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP).
This time of heightened public awareness affords activists the opportunity to both mobilize AND Base-BUILD the single-payer movement. Four recent meetings,“Unity Building”and“ Health Care Reform based on the American Nurses Association’s Vision for HC Reform”(Feb. 2007, Feb 2008, and July and Oct2009) mostlyconvenedat the MN Nurses Association haveattempted just that. To furtherbuildthe capacityof this movement, we are invitinga diversity of groups to attenda single-payer network- buildingretreat to brainstorm specifically on what can be accomplished in common, while maintainingindividual group autonomy toform a loose, decentralized network of groups. We believe that unless the traditional single-payer progressive basein Minnesota can be reconstituted, it will be very difficultto achieveour goals.
In order to create space to make this possible,UHCAN-MN has reservedHospitalityPlace , a handicap accessiblehouse on a lake near the woods in Circle Pines (20 minutes north of the Twin Cities) that accommodates such meetings (see attachment for facilities, directions).The meeting has been set for Saturday November 21 from 9:00AM to 6:00PM with sign-in /coffee/rolls at8:30 AM (apologize for the late notice).In addition to the meeting portion, we would like to offer workshopson such topics as non-violent direct action, legislative strategies,participatory democraticdecision-making through spokecouncils, and some time for relaxation,meditation, hiking etc. Folks are invited to stay from 6PM to 11PM for music , conversation , fun, food. We are particularly interested in encouragingbrainstorming, and good group processes. A lunch will be provided. Please feel free to redistribute this proposalwidely to labor union, practitioner group, citizen action, faith, peace,student, senior, dis-ability,medical condition assoc., mental health,Immigrant, women’s, GLBT, people of color, and social service groups,non-profit, cooperatives,independent business, arts.
Please RSVP to joel@...to attendif your organization:
Dorothy Allen, Joel Albers, Joe Brothers, Dori Ullman, Mike Cavlan, Beth Shapiro, Brad Porath,
UniversalHealth Care Action Network-Mn is a grassroots health care reform resource/research center and action network, empowering communities to create fundamental health care system change.