{"id":1933,"date":"2008-09-01T23:58:19","date_gmt":"2008-09-02T04:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.marcstier.com\/wordpress\/?p=1933"},"modified":"2011-07-23T22:05:43","modified_gmt":"2011-07-23T22:05:43","slug":"health-care-for-america-now-which-side-are-you-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marcstier.com\/blog2\/?p=1933","title":{"rendered":"Health Care For America Now! Which side are you on?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Hope, Change, and  Health Care<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Whatever their party and whatever their preference between one  candidate and another,  most Americans have been supporting change in  this election year. And they have been embracing hope for the future,  hope that our government can once again address our deepest problems  with innovative solutions that serve us all.<\/p>\n<p>We know, however, that real change won\u2019t occur just by electing a new  President and Congress. Powerful forces stand in the way of the change  we need. A new President and Congress will need a movement of people  committed to real change in order to overcome that opposition.<\/p>\n<p>So, I\u2019m asking you to join, a new movement for one of the changes we  need, <a title=\"Health Care  For America NOW!\" href=\"http:\/\/healthcareforamericanow.org\/\">Health Care For America Now<\/a> (HCAN)!<br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\n<!--more-->The Critical Importance of the Health Care Issue<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Americans want an economy that creates opportunities and sustainable  prosperity for everyone, not just for a few.<\/p>\n<p>That means we have to deal with the environmental and energy problems  that not only hinder economic growth but make it impossible for our  growth to be sustainable. And it means with have to deal with the health  care problems that not only hinder economic growth but make it  impossible for our growth to be equitable.<\/p>\n<p>The problems created by the failure of the private health insurance  industry are well known:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Health insurance premiums, co-pays, and deductibles are rising at  rates that far exceed rates of inflation and wage growth. They are a  major financial burden on the middle class. Many employers and  individuals have been forced to drop insurance. And businesses cannot  compete in a world market when their health care costs are so high.<\/li>\n<li>Insurance companies are restricting coverage and denying care. Even  people who have insurance find out that they can\u2019t get the best care  and, in far too many cases, any care at all.<\/li>\n<li>Too many people are uninsured. And that hurts us all. Health care  costs go up for everyone when people who are uninsured or underinsured  receive late, expensive treatments in a hospital that would have been  unnecessary if they had received early, inexpensive care in a doctor\u2019s  office. Over ten per cent of our premium costs go to provide health care  for the uninsured.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Two Paths To The Future in Health Care <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We know that change is inevitable in health care because it is  happening now. But we have to choose between two possible paths to the  future.<\/p>\n<p><em>The path we are now on has been set by the private insurance  industry.<\/em> It leads to a future in which we are left on our own to  deal with the insurance industry. There will be no controls on insurance  company premiums or profits, no guarantees on the benefits we receive,  and no limits on how much drug companies can charge for prescriptions.  Insurance companies will be free to deny us coverage or charge  exorbitant rates if we have had some health problems in the past.<\/p>\n<p>If we go in this direction, soon many of us will only be able to  afford high deductible, high premium insurance plans with limited  coverage. Government will offer nothing but tax deductions for health  insurance that subsidize insurers while being of little value to most  Americans. And all of us who get health insurance from our employers  will have to pay taxes on it.<\/p>\n<p><em>The future proposed by HCAN is different. <\/em>We seek a  guarantee of quality, affordable health care for all. Americans will  have a choice between the health insurance they have now, another  private insurance program or a new, public health insurance program. All  plans will offer comprehensive benefits and a choice of doctors and  hospitals.  All will charge premiums according to the ability to pay.<\/p>\n<p>If we go in this direction, new rules for insurance companies will  require that they make money the old fashioned way, by insuring more  people, not by denying coverage and care. And the public health  insurance program will be open to all. It will control costs by drawing  on the administrative efficiencies and buying power created by large  insurance programs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Our Question<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>HCAN is a movement that will incessantly ask citizens and politicians  to answer one question, \u201cWhich side are you on?\u201d Do you want a future  that serves the insurance companies or a future that benefits the  citizens of this country? We will<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Show Americans how the health insurance industry has been  undermining our health care.<\/li>\n<li>Build a grassroots movement of health care activists.<\/li>\n<li>Secure the commitment of the members of the next Congress to our  principles of reform now.<\/li>\n<li>Make this election is about the choice between the two directions in  health care reform<\/li>\n<li>Use events, house parties, email and the internet as well as paid  advertising to get our message out.<\/li>\n<li>Spend over $40 million dollars to build this movement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Which Side Are You On?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So now is the time for you to answer this question. If you are on our  side:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Call your member of Congress and ask them \u201cwhich side are you on?\u201d  You can use our <a title=\"online  tool\" href=\"http:\/\/tools.advomatic.com\/8\/hcn\">online tool<\/a> to do this or you can call toll free at  1-888-436-8427 to be connected to your member of Congress.<\/li>\n<li>Sign on to our <a title=\"petition\" href=\"http:\/\/healthcareforamericanow.org\/page\/s\/which\">petition<\/a> to the new President and Congress.<\/li>\n<li>Volunteer for HCAN Pennsylvania at <a title=\"http:\/\/healthcareforamericanow.org\/page\/s\/PAvol\" href=\"http:\/\/healthcareforamericanow.org\/page\/s\/PAvol\">http:\/\/healthcareforamericanow.org\/page\/s\/PAvol<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So join HCAN today. And click <a title=\"here\" href=\"http:\/\/tools.advomatic.com\/8\/hcn\">here<\/a> to find  out which side your member of Congress is on.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Contact us<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Feel free to contact me with questions, comments, or suggestions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who HCAN is<\/strong><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Health Care For America NOW (HCAN) is  co-chaired nationally by SEIU and AFSCME. There are over 150  organizations that have signed on with us nationally. You can see the  whole list at <a title=\"http:\/\/healthcareforamericanow.org\/site\/content\/who_we_are\/\" href=\"http:\/\/healthcareforamericanow.org\/site\/content\/who_we_are\/\">http:\/\/healthcareforamericanow.org\/site\/content\/who_we_are\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Our Pennnsylvania organization is staffed by me and Gregg Potter, who  is the head of the AFL-CIO CLC in the Lehigh Valley and by Ali Kronley,  Ian Phillips, and MaryEllen Hayden of Acorn; Jeff Garis and Richard  McVay of Penn Action and Antoinette Kraus of PUP. Our coalition   andincludes the AFL-CIO, UFCW Local 1776, the Communications Workers of  America, Mon Valley Unemployed Committee, Community cCtion Assocation of  PA, Keystone Pogress, the Jewish Labor Committee, Philadelphia Jobs  with Justice and Philly for Change with other groups joining every day.<\/p>\n<p>We have offices in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Erie. You can reach  us by email at <a href=\"mailto:info@hcanpa.org\">info@hcanpa.org<\/a>.  Starting on Tuesday all of our our offices will be reachable toll free  at (800) 764-1832.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hope, Change, and Health Care Whatever their party and whatever their preference between one candidate and another, most Americans have been supporting change in this election year. And they have been embracing hope for the future, hope that our government can once again address our deepest problems with innovative solutions that serve us all. We know, however, that real change won\u2019t occur just by electing a new President and Congress. Powerful forces stand in the way of the change we need. A new President and Congress will need a movement of people committed to real change in order to overcome that opposition. So, I\u2019m asking you to join, a new movement for one of the changes we need, Health Care For America Now (HCAN)! <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/marcstier.com\/blog2\/?p=1933\">Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-care"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p35YuU-vb","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcstier.com\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcstier.com\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcstier.com\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcstier.com\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcstier.com\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1933"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/marcstier.com\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5916,"href":"https:\/\/marcstier.com\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1933\/revisions\/5916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcstier.com\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcstier.com\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcstier.com\/blog2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}