April 8 National Day of Action for Health Care Planned for First Day of Congressional Recess
Excerpt:
[font size="4"font color="#404040"]Energized by the defeat of the American Health Care Act, constituents will rally in 43 cities to demand Improved Medicare for All[/font]
On Saturday, April 8, participants in 43 cities—from New Hampshire to Hawaii—will hold marches, rallies, congressional office visits and “die-ins,” highlighting the urgent need for a national health program.
The April 8 Day of Action was sparked by a renewed interest across the political spectrum in a single-payer, universal health program. Participants will ask their representatives to sign on to H.R. 676, the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act. Researchers estimate that replacing the Affordable Care Act with a streamlined, publicly financed single-payer health system like H.R. 676 would yield about $500 billion annually in administrative savings, enough to provide immediate coverage to the 26 million Americans who are currently uninsured, saving nearly 21,000 lives in year one. The savings would also be sufficient to eliminate all copays and deductibles for those already insured. H.R. 676 currently has 90 co-sponsors, 21 of which signed on in the last two weeks. In addition, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) has announced plans to introduce a single-payer health bill in the U.S. Senate.
The April 8 National Day of Action is coordinated by the Campaign for Guaranteed Healthcare, which includes Healthcare-NOW, Physicians for a National Health Program, Students for a National Health Program, National Nurses United, Progressive Democrats of America, Labor Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare, Our Revolution, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (Teamsters), American Student Medical Association (AMSA) and White Coats for Black Lives.
Detailed information and local contacts for each of the 43 participating cities can be found here:
https://campaignforguaranteedhealthcare.org/april-8-actions-for-improved-medicare-for-all/
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/04/06/april-8-national-day-action-health-care-planned-first-day-congressional-recess
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The Campaign is asking local activists and organizations to organize rallies or speak outs at medical institutions, to draw attention to the local impacts that the GOP’s American Health Care Act (ACHA) will have, and to call for single-payer as the only moral and sustainable “replacement” plan.
April 8th will come at a crucial moment as it’s also the first day of a two-week “April recess” when Members of Congress return to their districts and will have to face constituents at town halls, on conference calls, office visits, etc. and should provide a great hook for the press.
An example of an action: in Boston, a coalition of single payer groups (Mass-Care, PNHP, and others) are planning an event outside of a hospital that serves as a safety net institution in the state (treating a high percentage of Medicaid and uninsured patients). We’ll have both providers and patients speak out about the impact the AHCA would have at that hospital and others, and talk about how single-payer would allow us to control costs while caring for all patients.
