Medicare 44th Birthday and future activism

San Diego Single Payer Health Care Coalition:

Let me congratulate all of you on your courage and persistence in the health care struggle. Yesterday's event was powerful and positive -- and kudos to Anita Simons and to San Diego Single Payer Health Care coalition and Progressive Democrats and DFA supporters.

I loved the location in City Heights, music, attendees, and spontaneous march with kids and septuganarians, and chants.

Davis office visit issues: no, we don't always get the results we want in lobbying, and it can be immensely frustrating to feel that messages fall on deaf ears.

Let me reiterate some positives, and suggest further strategies that incorporates carrots as well as sticks, to add to the menu of activism.

Carrots

Let's give full public credit to great actions by courageous legislators.

This means MAKE A PHONE CALL AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE SUPPORT for Medicare for All as SB 840 and now SB 810 at the State level, and HR 676 at Federal Level-- I'm making it easy for you:

1) Sen Christine Kehoe, supports a single-payer plan for CA Phone: (619) 645-3133 (sample message "thanks Senator Kehoe for being at fore-front of health care reform. This is a VERY important issue for my commmunity")

2) nd Assemblymember Saldana supports a single-play for CA: (619) 645-3090

3) Former District 3 councilmember Toni Atkins, (now running for the AD-76 seat which Ms Saldana will have to relinquish due to term limits,) appears to be ready to be just as bold on the healthcare front, although she has not yet taken a stand on SB 810, email Atkins campaign at toni@atkinsforassembly.com attn: Toni

4) Congressman Bob Filner co-sponsored HR 676 -- (619) 422-5963

5) Congresswoman Davis statement: You did read, I hope, the Rep Davis position in her stated comments appears to hint at open door to a Kucinich-amendment stance of allowing states to 'design' their own healthcare systems (does that mean 'implement' as well?) -- follow up on that!

'Sticks' you have already hinted at in your discussions

As good grassroots lobbyists, make your 'stick' one that does not close the door, inadvertently, on your Congressperson coming around to your position -- whether they are Democrat or Republican. You must show, no matter how pissed off you are, that YOUR door is open and YOUR proposal makes smart sense.

You are creative people and will employ creative tactics!

Mike, Progressive Democrats Chair

BAD NEWS FOR SENIORS AND FOLKS IN THEIR EARLY 60's:

Know this: Medicare itself may begin to fail in the next decade, or sooner, unless a single-payer reform of the WHOLE system is done. (The US cannot borrow more to make up medicare costs, due to Iraq/Afghan costs, TARP bailouts, and just physics of healthcare cost curves.)

This is why the PUBLIC OPTION (as currently debated) is a purely window-dressing push. Public option will NOT save Medicare.

Costs are going through the roof, population is aging, and creating a 'ghetto' of public option which covers the sick, poor, and old will bankrupt Medicare in a big hurry, as Paul Garver said, while non-expensive patients will be harnessed by the private sector to squeeze profits out of.

Thus the current Health Care Bill pending in the House, HR 3200 should NOT be considered with attitude 'we need to make a health care deal, snappy, that makes the President look good, and pass HR 3200 as-is without any structural change, so Obama can get re-elected in 2012 and Democrats can cheer a victory ' ---

Message is more like this: WE NEED A TRUE STRUCTURAL OVERHAUL BEFORE THE TITANIC OF COST INCREASES HITS THE ICEBERG. Only a single-payer reform can do this. Anything short of that will be failure, on an unacceptable level.

Need back up for that? Read on.....


Two pieces by Drs Himmelstein & Woolhandler:

http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0525-06.htm

technical but important:
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/170/12/1814