Is there an organized effort out there for public option healthcare? HELP.

[RBInMaine]

I have ben calling congress members, but what ORGANIZED effort is out there LOBBYING LIKE HELL for what the overwhelming majority of Americans (even a full 50% of registered R's) say they want: real healthcare reform with a public insurance option. ?? Can anyone direct me? (Also, I urge all of you to call your congress members and others who are not your own as well.)

[lindisfarne]

1. Go to Howard Dean's website. n/t

[annabanana]

2. also:

http://www.pnhp.org/

Physicians for a National Health Program

[slipslidingaway]

5. They are not in favor of the public option, since 1987 their mission

has been to advocate for a single-payer system.


http://www.pnhp.org/facts/singlepayer_faq.php#public-option-right-direction


"Would a “public plan option” at least be a step in the right direction?

Answers contributed by PNHP Board members Dr. Andy Coates and Dr. Don McCanne
Answer by Dr. Andy Coates

I am not convinced that it is fair to call the “public plan option” (aka Jacob Hacker’s proposal) “a move in the right direction.”

In the best case scenario this proposal would, I believe, accelerate the trend toward two-tiered care in our country. But we should recognize first that MoveOn and its friends are suggesting scenarios, not backing a specific proposal..."

[slipslidingaway]

3. Howard Dean and MoveOn....

what the public option is, how much it will cost and how it will be financed is still to be determined.

That's why I'm sticking with single-payer for now.

[madfloridian]

4. There's an event tomorrow in DC and in other states. DC is Dean, Edie Falco

http://healthcare09.org/site/content/events_schedule

Here's the schedule.

http://healthcare09.org/site/content/events_schedule

Directions to June 24 Events and Map to June 24th Locations.

June 25th

9:00am-10:30 am

Lobby Training for Community/Union Member Lobbyists

11:00am

Buses arrive and crowd starts to assemble for Rally

11:30am-12:30pm

Rally

Actress Edie Falco, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), HCAN Campaign Manager Richard Kirsch, CWA President Larry Cohen, AFSCME President Jerry McEntee, SEIU Secretary Treasurer Anna Burger, Governor Howard Dean, Congressman Becerra (D-CA), National Physicians Alliance President-Elect Valerie Arkoosh and other leading Members of Congress and Senators are expected to speak.

1:00pm-4:00pm

Lobby Visits & Town Hall Meetings

Here is more:

http://healthcare09.org/

[RBInMaine]

9. THANKS! This was very helpful.

[slipslidingaway]

6. Would a “public plan option” at least be a step in the right direction?

Public option gives you the choice of insurance plans, a single-payer system gives you the choice of doctors.

:hi:

http://www.pnhp.org/facts/singlepayer_faq.php#public-option-right-direction

"The option to purchase a public plan within a market of private health insurance plans would merely provide one more player in our inefficient, dysfunctional, fragmented, multi-payer system of financing health care, that is if the public option even survives the political process. It would leave in place the deficiencies that have resulted in very high costs with the poorest health care value of all nations (i.e., overpriced mediocrity in health care).

Those who believe that the people of this nation would have the wisdom to drop their private plans and join the government program are ignoring history. When Congress authorized private plans to compete with our existing public program, Medicare, many enrollees did just the opposite. One-fifth have left the traditional Medicare program and joined the private plans.

So why should we care? Why shouldn’t they have the right to choose private plans if they want them? We know that those private plans are wasting money, both in their own costs and the administrative burden they place on the delivery system, but what all too many don’t realize is that we are all paying for that waste because of the inherent structural deficiencies in our financing system. Plus we are being deprived of the reforms needed in our health care delivery system that our own single payer monopsony would bring us.

Single payer activists, don’t give up. As President Obama said in his press conference this week, “persistence!?"

[hwmnbn]

7. Firedoglake has an organized and targeted strategy...

to keep track of "progressive caucus" members. They are trying to get at least 40 to solidly commit to the public plan no exceptions. With that number it prevents any bill without a public plan from passing. It's like a fail-safe, red line in the sand.

you can read about it here...

http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/06/24/lets-whip-it-citizen-whips-for-a-public-option/




and you can join the effort, call and fill out the form here...

http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/publicoption

[madfloridian]

8. This site has a petition and a complete list of where congress stands.

http://standwithdrdean.com/

Plus great articles at the blog by a favorite DailyKos poster nyceve.