If You Want Single-Payer, Act Now

The prognosis for meaningful health care reform in the United States in 2009 is not good, but there is a glimmer of hope. Congress and the President have invited the Health Insurance Industry to the table, but have excluded single-payer advocates from discussion on legislation.

Now we have to show Congress where the American people stand.
Call Senators Cantwell and Murray, and Rep Larsen, and tell them you want a Single-Payer solution.
Toll free number for any Congress member: 1-866-338-1015

 The Whatcom Democrats Platform calls for “a national single-payer health care plan with privately-delivered services that cover all medically-necessary services.” One way to create a single-payer system would be to extend Medicare to all citizens. The financial advantage of a single-payer system is that it eliminates the costs of the health insurance bureaucracy and profits, which currently amount to 30% of health care costs. These savings would be put to covering the 100 million uninsured or underinsured in the U.S. today. 

President Obama and many in Congress are promoting a “public option,” which would leave the current health insurance system in place, and simply add a public choice, such as Medicare or Medicaid, available to anyone. Even if the health insurance industry goes along with the “public option,” it will be so that the taxpayers pay for all the expensive customers, while they keep the healthy, profitable customers.

But the people are taking to the streets to show Congress and the President that they want real reform. The Whatcom Democrats joined United for National Health Care in the Ski-to-Sea Parade in Bellingham to promote single-payer, pictured above. On May 30, large demonstrations calling for at least a federal public option and even single payer where held in 50 cities across the country. An estimated 3,500 marched in Seattle, with a heavy presence of single payer supporters, who even shouted Patty Murray down at the end of her speech—calling for Single Payer.

Now we have to show Congress where the American people stand.
Call Senators Cantwell and Murray, and Rep Larsen, and tell them you want a Single-Payer solution.
Toll free number for any Congress member: 1-866-338-1015