Free Single Payer Health Care - Ideas for Change in America

What do you think is the most effective way to turn this idea into real policy? Add your suggestions here for how you think we should run an advocacy campaign to advance the idea – including the overall strategy, messaging, targets, and tactics.

Approach this from the standpoint that people reading this forum already agree with you on the importance of the issue, and are asking "What can we do to help make this a reality?"

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Under the single payer system, people like myself would fall through the cracks. Chronic Lyme Disease is not always treatable with traditional medicine. I have to go to a Naturopathic Doctor for my health care. All of these expenses come out of my pocket and this year alone I paid 2,000$ and only recieved 200$ back from the insurance company. Licensed Naturopathic Doctors and others in Homeopathic Medicine should be included in those services which the new system would pay for. I used traditional medicine for 4 months and it did not help me. The only reason why I have access to new cutting edge homeopathic medications is because I am a part of a research group. There are too many others out there like me with chronic illness that needs all possible solutions are at finger tips. Please do not let others like me keep falling through the cracks.

Suggested by angele rice on 01/22/2009 @ 11:53AM PT
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Rixar13
I good start would be to legislate more control over insurance companies, better yet - Get Rid of Them.
Single payer Health Care System for example France and UK.
The Veterans Administration has a wonderful and they take good care of me.
Perhaps a system modeled after the VA system would help all Americans.

Suggested by Rixar13 McGinnis on 01/21/2009 @ 07:15AM PT
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Make the reason for the US to switch to a single payer health care system an economic issue. Obama's number 1 priority is the economy! Big businesses that provide health care for their employees, like the auto companies, can not compete with foreign manufacturers mostly because of the health inusrance cost overhead. More than half of all bankruptcies are from medical bills, and of those, 75% had full coverage health insurance when they got ill. We spend twice as much per capita on health care and yet have 47 million folks with no health insurance and we rank 38th by the World Health Organization. Our current for-profit health care distribution system is directly related to a significant number of foreclosures and reduced economic spending by individuals drowning under medical debt. HR 676 would benefit our economy more than any other type of stimulus package. Check out this web page: http://www.calnurses.org/media-center/press-releases/2009/january/first-of-its-kind-study-medicare-for-all-single-payer-reform-would-be-major-stimulus-for-economy-with-2-6-million-new-jobs-317-billion-in-business-revenue-100-billion-in-wages.html

Suggested by Gerard Lefevre on 01/20/2009 @ 11:24PM PT
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I think the health care system should be focused on government versus individual and his health needs. The government will provide coverage to low income families, single mothers, people with disabilities and all others that could be elegibles. Employers can still provide health care at low or no cost to the employee through a tax credit to the employer or as an income health credit to the employee . These kind of health coverage should be very basic aimed at ordinary diseases or regular check ups, visits through the ER and pregnancy or any other non expensive treatment. This will lower the cost to employers or employee. In the event a person needs to stay in the hospital or a treatment for a long time or for life the government should pay for the costs. Government should find the most accurate way to pay for health care in a way to limit health cost to rise.

Suggested by arsenio cue on 01/20/2009 @ 08:03PM PT
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Health care should be socialized and come out of each paycheck just like social security so that no one who works is without health care, and it should still be provided free for anyone who is not employed. Most people who work already have a health insurance deduction taken out of their paycheck anyway, so it wouldn't affect most people much financially, but the sum of everyone's combined contributions could be used to provide healthcare for every American no matter what their circumstances, rather than each person paying for their own individual personal health care. There is no such thing as free; socialized is the next closest thing. A lot of people are afraid of making anything socialized, but ask yourself one question. How much do I trust the company I work for that just laid off half of my fellow workers and tries to pay me as little as possible while expecting as much out of me as possible to handle my health care? And yet another question. How much do I trust a corporation (and that's just what it is; don't kid yourself) that specializes in health insurance to protect me when I need their help knowing that the goal of a corporation is to bring in as much money as possible and let go of as little money as possible? Those who fear socialized health care should ask those questions to themselves.

Suggested by J A on 01/20/2009 @ 07:16PM PT
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i know many many people that need health care and dont see a doctor because they just cant afford it, i am one of those people

Suggested by Sunny Ball on 01/20/2009 @ 02:28PM PT
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Here is a suggestion that I would consider drastic, should result in some comments, hopefully, but would get single payer health care (HR 676) to the top of the agenda in a dramatic way:

On July 1st? everyone stop buying health inusrance from the appoximate 1,300 private insurance companies. If you get health insurance through your employer, refuse the coverage and make sure the premium is no longer deducted from your pay check. Let's swell the uninsured from 47 million to 147 million or more within days. Mail all hospital and doctor bills incurred after July 1st? to Congress and tell them according to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights http://www.righttohealthcare.org/Docs/DocumentsA.htm#DeclarHR , which the United States signed in 1948, it is our inalienable right as a member of the human family that the government pay your family's medical bill(s). Include the above web site link and tell them it is time to endorse and pass HR 676. The United States Declaration of Human Rights, established largely on US instigation, states that everyone has the right to medical care, adequate to the preservation of their own and their family's well-being. Article 25: Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

Please check out this web page http://www.righttohealthcare.org/Docs/DocumentsA.htm#DeclarHR Only seven paragraphs to read and then ponder how we allowed our government to not live up to the obligations that we required from other nations that wanted to be represented in the world body.

Can't wait to read the comments on this suggestion :)

Suggested by Gerard Lefevre on 01/20/2009 @ 01:31PM PT
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I like the idea of paying for this by an equal percent for 2 reasons that both come from my life teaching math:

1. Percents ARE fair... they effect everyone equally. Does the $1,000 that a person who makes $35,000 effect them more than $1,000 effects someone who makes $1000000? Of course, but the $1000000 payer is paying 30 times as much...$30,000. When you start forcing the wealthy to pay more of a percentage, it starts to seem punitive...as if they've done something wrong by being wealthy.

2. As a I teacher I spend a lot of time trying to motivate students and determine what they value...you don't value something that you don't have a stake in. If someone gets something for nothing - they will abuse it and take it for granted. If everyone pays in their fair share, it creates a respect for the system and reduces feelings of animosity.

Suggested by Jake Roehl on 01/20/2009 @ 08:48AM PT
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Fortunately there is a bill ready and waiting that will do what the public already wants. We need to support it, Congress needs to pass it and President Obama needs to sign it. Here is Rep. John Conyers’ description of his bill. HR 676 is a bill to create a single-payer, publicly-financed, privately-delivered universal health care program that would cover all Americans without charging co-pays or deductibles. It guarantees access to the highest quality and most affordable health care services regardless of employment, ability to pay or pre-existing health conditions.

It will cut the 31% of health care money that now goes to administrative costs to around 3 or 4%, freeing the rest of the money for direct health care.

Suggested by Wren Osborn on 01/20/2009 @ 06:40AM PT
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A single payer system is the only one that makes any sense, but why have a cap? Perhaps reduce the percentage from 3% to 2% above an income of, say, $200,000, then to 1% above, say, $1,000,000.

Suggested by Carol Scher on 01/19/2009 @ 09:09PM PT
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