{news} Fw: Single Payer Action Alert - Calls Needed

[Justine McCabe]

Physicians for a National Health ProgramCT Greens,

Please follow directives below from PNHP in pushing CT congresspersons to support single payer national health insurance, which CTGP and GPUS support.
Thanks, 
Justine 


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Physicians for a National Health Program 
To: justinemccabe at earthlink.net 
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2009 3:28 PM
Subject: Single Payer Action Alert - Calls Needed


 March 23, 2009

      Dear PNHP Colleagues, 

      We need your help to keep single-payer national health insurance "on the table" in Washington. One of us (Dr. Robert Zarr) is a pediatrician in a community health center and chair of PNHP's D.C. chapter, and the other (Danielle Alexander) is a PNHP fellow on Capitol Hill this year. 

      With your help, we recently succeeded in getting PNHP President Dr. Oliver Fein invited to Obama's White House summit on health reform.  PNHP has also been invited to participate in a second health reform meeting at the White House this Wednesday, March 25.  But we need to keep up the pressure. 



        1.. Please invite your member of Congress (sample script below) and their staff to attend an April 1 forum in D.C. hosted by PNHP and our single-payer alliance, the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care. 


        2.. We also encourage you to visit your congressperson during his or her in-district spring work period, April 6-17, urging him or her to support H.R. 676, the U.S. National Health Care Act, sponsored by Rep. John Conyers Jr.

      Background:

      Part of our drive to get Congress to support single payer is our involvement in a series of congressional briefings or forums on Capitol Hill organized by the Leadership Conference on Guaranteed Health Care. The last forum of this type (which was on the Massachusetts plan) drew a standing-room-only crowd. We need your help to make sure this forum is also a success.

      The next forum, titled "National Lessons for Health Reform: An Examination of U.S. Health Insurance," will be held on Wednesday, April 1, from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m., at 2226 Rayburn House Office Building. Witnesses will include the following PNHPers:


        a.. Dr. Louis Balizet, oncologist, Pueblo, Colo.

        b.. Leonard Rodberg, Ph.D., Metro New York PNHP, professor and chair of urban studies, Queens College

        c.. Dr. David L. Rabin, professor of community medicine, Georgetown University Medical Center

      The panel will address topics highly relevant to the debate over national health reform, such as:


        a.. How well does U.S. health insurance work for doctors, nurses, and their patients? 
        b.. What problems do those with insurance have in accessing care?

        c.. Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan: is it a model for national reform?

      Act today:


        1.. Call the Capitol Switchboard (202-224-3121) and ask to be connected with the scheduler or chief of staff of your U.S. representative. Here's a suggested script: 
      "Hello, my name is Dr. ________. I am a constituent calling on behalf of Physicians for a National Health Program. I'm calling to invite congressman/woman ______ to attend an important health care reform forum in Washington on Wednesday, April 1, called "National Lessons for Health Reform: U.S. Health Insurance Examined." The April 1 forum, which starts at 2 p.m., will be held at 2226 Rayburn House Office Building. It will examine various health insurance mechanisms that will be increasingly debated as national models for health reform. I hope the congressman/woman and his/her staff will attend."


        2.. Call the district office of your U.S. representative and ask for the scheduler, indicating you would like to meet with the congressman/woman during the spring work period to talk about H.R. 676, the U.S. National Health Care Act. To look up your representative's phone number, visit www.house.gov and enter in your zip code. Over 60 members of the House are currently co-sponsors; we need many more.


      Thank you for your continued advocacy for single payer!

      Incidentally, following a recent meeting between PNHP leaders and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the latter announced he will soon introduce a single-payer bill on the Senate side. 

      As your PNHP representatives "inside the beltway" we encourage you to call on us for help contacting or following-up on visits with member of Congress.  Please contact us at Danielle at pnhp.org.

      Sincerely,


            
            Robert Zarr, MD                           
            Chair, D.C. Chapter
            National Board of Directors, PNHP   
           Danielle Alexander
            D.C. Fellow 


      P.S.  There are many useful materials (slides, fact sheets, op-eds, and more) at www.pnhp.org/change.  The new password for the slides is fein.

     


Physicians for a National Health Program
29 E Madison Suite 602, Chicago, IL 60602
Phone (312) 782-6006 | Fax: (312) 782-6007
www.pnhp.org | info at pnhp.org
© PNHP 2009

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