( - promoted by Dean Barker)
Affordable, quality health care for all - not just a privileged few -- may be the most important civil rights issue of our day.
On Election night, President Obama reminded the nation that his victory was not the change we seek - only the opportunity to make that change. Right now, we have another chance to make historic progress, and a formidable challenge ahead of us.
This summer, we have a real shot at making substantive progress on comprehensive health care reform. President Obama has made health care reform one of his top priorities, and our Democratic majority in Congress is favorable to passing legislation to guarantee every American access to affordable, quality health care when they need it.
But opposition to meaningful change - backed by big-money special interest groups with a reputation for ruthlessness - is mounting. Anyone hoping to see a more caring and equitable society in this lifetime cannot afford to wait this one out and expect the right thing to happen. |
| You've heard the gruesome facts: The United States spends more on health care than any other country in the world, yet 46 million Americans are uninsured and millions more are underinsured. In 2007, more than 4 in 10 working-age adults said they postponed or avoided filling a prescription or seeking needed medical care because they could not afford it. Disparities in health insurance coverage, health care access and outcomes, and life expectancy - between the wealthy and working poor, whites and non-whites, men and women - are pronounced and unconscionable. In the entire U.S. population, a significant percentage of men, women, and children do not have access to the health care they need to grow well, learn well, work well, and have a decent quality of life. Whether insured or uninsured, millions of U.S. families are struggling with rising health care costs and medical debt.
There's work to be done on multiple fronts to ensure that all Americans have truly equal opportunities to thrive. But health care reform that works for everyone - not just private insurance companies and a privileged few - may be the most important civil rights issue of our day.
Congressional leaders will make key decisions on major provisions of a health care reform package before the end of July. That means the next eight weeks offer a critical window of opportunity to for strategic grassroots action.
The big battle will be over the creation of a public health insurance plan, and the battleground will be the U.S. Senate. The public plan option will, 1) create a federally-funded, publicly-administered health insurance program to provide standard coverage to those who cannot afford private insurance and/or do not have employer-based coverage, and anyone else who chooses to enroll; 2) establish a baseline standard of care delivery, and create healthy competition for private insurers to meet or exceed the level of cost savings and scope of care available through the non-profit public plan; 3) expand patient choice by offering a new option for comprehensive coverage that includes preventative, primary, and long-term care, and allow patients to keep or choose their own doctor. People who like the private plan they have now will be able to keep it.
President Obama recently strengthened his position on the inclusion of a public plan option, stating he believes that
Americans should have the choice of a public health insurance option operating alongside private plans. This will give them a better range of choices, make the health care market more competitive, and keep insurance companies honest.
The U.S. House of Representatives is poised to pass legislation including a public plan option, and NH representatives Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes are likely to support it. Senator Judd Gregg has co-sponsored a bill that seeks to control costs and mandate universal coverage by regulating the private insurance market and requiring individuals and employers to pay into the private, for-profit health insurance system. Senator Jeanne Shaheen recently signed a resolution with 28 other U.S. Senators endorsing the inclusion of a public plan choice.
Since February 2009, our home-grown citizen action network, Seacoast for Change, has collaborated with organizers from SEIU's Change That Works/NH for Health Care campaign to engage members of the Seacoast community in the national push for real health care reform. On June 6, Organizing for America - the DNC's post-election coordinated action center - launched a nationwide effort to re-mobilize former Campaign for Change volunteers and build public support for President Obama's health care reform priorities.
If you want health care reform that works for working families and everyone else, the time to act is now. Both NH for Health Care/Change That Works and OFA are organizing house meetings across New Hampshire. Hosting a health care house meeting is easy, and it's one of the most effective things you can do to get the word out and set the stage for a successful citizen action campaign. To organize a Change That Works house meeting, contact state director David Stylianou (603.227.0883). To host an Organizing for America health care meeting, contact OFA's NH Field Director, Tim Arsenault (603.455.3747), or visit www.barackobama.com for more information and to find local events.
If you support the public plan choice - and if you care about reducing health care costs, improving health care delivery and outcomes, and ensuring that everyone has access to affordable, quality health care, it's likely that you do - please send a hand written card or note to Senator Shaheen this week to let her know you stand behind her decision to support the public health insurance plan option. Mail your thank you note to one of Senator Shaheen's NH offices for timely reading.
On June 25, New Hampshire will send a delegation of activists to Washington DC for a national day of action for health care reform. Group transportation is being coordinated by several NH organizations, including the NH Citizen's Action Alliance as part of the NH Health Care for America Now campaign.
If you can't host a house meeting or participate in the DC day of action, there are plenty of other opportunities to make a meaningful difference. Contact any of the organizers mentioned above to get involved. If you'd like more information about the Seacoast for Change Grassroots Network and what we're doing to build capacity for strategic grassroots organizing in the Seacoast community, please contact me.
Judy Stadtman
Organizer, Seacoast for Change Grassroots Network
Portsmouth NH
603.479.7217 | seacoastforchange@gmail.com |
