Believe this, folks. There are those out there, especially on the right, who are the declared enemy when it comes to our advocacy issue, Single Payer Universal Health Care. In one example, a member had written to the political representatives regarding the aspect of universal health care, and specifically the HR-676 legislation from Conyers and Kucinich of the US House of Representatives. One wrote back and from the member’s comment was full of the proverbial bull feces regarding the aspect of HR-676. In essence this lying congress critter indicated that the costs of HR-676 would be astronomical and would create such a drain on the people in higher taxes, that is would not be feasible.

Strange, in every single industrialized nation, except for two, there is a comprehensive single payer universal health care system in place, and they all cost their governments and the people, less than half what ours costs us. Plus, and this is a real “gotcha” the citizens of these countries actually live longer, healthier lives than we do. Oh yeah, by the way, that other country without a sp-uhc program? South Africa!!!! Don’t that just make your heart swell with pride that the United States and South Africa are the only two developed countries in the world that still treats its citizens as so much cattle with regard to health care?

We have been working on contacting other organizations with similar beliefs in the idea of Single Payer Universal Health Care and believe that the implementation of HR-676 would be a great start. Among these organizations are the http://www.pnhp.org Physicians for a National Health Program an organization of doctors who strongly support the idea of a SP-UHC program.

There is also the California Nurses Association and their support for this program, their web site is at: http://www.calnurses.org/

These are but two of the health care professional organizations, now couple that with the plethora of other groups and it becomes readily apparrent that this type of legislation is needed now. The new Congresss could do a lot worse than please a huge majority of the people by passing this legislation into law.

But we must be constantly vigilant because there are any number of congressmen, lobbists and the major health care industry players themselves who would not balk at all sorts of dirty tricks to savage the idea of a single payer universal health care program for this country.

Admitedly most of these enemy congresscritters are on the right side of the aisle and the Republican party has never made a secret of their preference for private business over the best interests of their constituents. However, don’t be surprised to find that opposition can come from the most unsuspected places. The beauty of all that, is that these opposition “enemy combatants” are in the extreme minority. They are loud, they are vociferous but they are in the minority. Some 75% of United States Citizens state that the time has come for health care for all, and that health care should come from a single payment source, the public sector. The private sector, in the opinion of these majoity folks, has had it’s chance and they blew it big time, through their greed, their insensitivity and their totally uncaring attitude for their very customers, you and me.

The idea behind the HR-676 is to combine the Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP and VA programs into a comprehensive plan for health care delivery. Click on the HR-676 link to see the actual bill, it’s not that long, just 27 pages. Short by legislation standards.

This new approach will take these programs, expand the coverage and establish a health care plan for every single American and the program will be expanded to cover all medically necessary implements as well.

The Senior Citizens Consortium has been an avid supporter and advocate for the Single Payer Universal Health Care program for virtually all of our existance. We fully and unequivocably support Congressman Kucinich and Congressman Conyers in their efforts to bring the HR-676 legislation to the floor of the house for a vote.

We would, as an organization, encourage everyone to seriously consider joining with us in developing and acting upon a March of Washington for Health Care. It is never too late, and you are never too old or too young to get involved in advocacy issues such as this one.

My challenge to any and all who happen to read this blog post,,, contact your senator and congressional representative. ASK them directly, what their position is relative to the HR-676 legislation and the very idea of Single Payer Universal Health Care for all Americans and legal residents!

You may be pleasantly surprised, or you may be very unpleasantly surprised depending on the idological bent of your representatives.

Also, go to the President’s web site for citizen’s input and give him your opinion on SP-UHC and the HR-676 legislation. The web site is: http://www.change.gov. There is also a new section there called the Presidents Briefing Book. Go to that and leave your recommendation, opinion or comments. Let’s take advantage of the fact that this administration is at least willing to read what we have to say.

In my next blog entry, I will put up a listing of links to papers and other documents that we have accrued regarding this important topic.

Congressman Dennis Kucinich, representing Ohio’s 10th District has been on the forefront of Single Payer Universal Health Care for over 5 years. Here is an article from his on web site speaking to health care. Pay close attention to the myth/fact section, it is very enlightening.

Universal Health Care
“Health care is an essential safeguard of human life and dignity and there is an obligation for society to ensure that every person be able to realize this right.” – Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Chicago Archdiocese

Our health care system is broken, and HR 676, the Conyers-Kucinich bill, is the only comprehensive solution to the problem. It is also the system endorsed by more than 14,000 physicians from Physicians for a National Health Program. Nearly 46 million Americans have no health care and over 40 million more have only minimal coverage. In 2005 some 41% of moderate and middle income Americans went without health care for part of the year. Even more shocking is that 53% of those earning less than $20,000 went without insurance for all of 2005. In fact, the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine estimates that 18,000 Americans die each year because they have no health insurance.

The American health system is quite sick. Pulitzer Prize journalists Donald Barlett and James Steele, in their stunning analysis of the health care industry, Critical Condition (2006 Broadway Books), insist that “… U.S. health care is second-rate at the start of the twenty-first century and destined to get a lot worse and much more expensive.”

Considering the following facts from Tom Daschle’s article for the Center for American Progress: “Paying More but Getting Less: Myths and the Global Case for U.S. Health Reform”:

Americans are The Healthiest People in the World.
FACT: Citizens of 34 nations live longer than Americans.

The U.S. is the Best Place to Get Sick.
FACT: The World Health Organization ranked the U.S. 37th in the world for health system performance. Countries like Australia and the United Kingdom rank above the U.S. Americans have lower odds of surviving colorectal cancer and childhood leukemia than Canadians who do have national health care. Americans also experience greater problems in coordination of care than the previously mentioned countries and New Zealand.

Covering All Americans Will Lead to Rationing.
FACT: Same-day access to primary-care physicians in the U.S. (33%) is far less available than in the United Kingdom (41%), Australia (54%) and New Zealand (60%). Per capita spending for health care averaged $2,696 in countries without waiting lists and $5,267 in the U.S.

Global Competitiveness is Hampered in Comprehensive System.
FACT: “Health care costs are not just a burden and barrier to care for individuals; they are taking a heavy toll on American businesses.” The strain on employers in 2005 was staggering. “The average total premiums for an employer-based family plan was $9,979 in 2005 …” Most of our competitors in the world markets finance their systems outside corporate taxes and employer mandates. Without Medicare for Everyone, the U.S. will continue to hemorrhage jobs.

We Cannot Afford to Cover All Americans.
FACT: We already spend enough to have universal health care. “The truth is, we cannot afford to not reform the health system.” We spend about 50% more than the next most expensive nation and nearly twice per person what the Canadians do. On May 1, 2006 Paul Krugman explained in Death by Insurance how incredibly wasteful the current system is. The doctor he referenced has two full-time staff members for billing, and two secretaries spend half their time collecting insurance information on the 301 different private plans they deal with. This type of waste is easily 20%. Also consider that 98% of Medicare funds are spent on medical care.

IMPORTANT: The hackneyed — and inaccurate — mantra of Republicans when universal health care is introduced is to blame trial lawyers and malpractice cases for our lack of national health care. In fact, 0.46% of our total health spending is spent on awards, legal costs, and underwriting costs — about the same as Canada and the United Kingdom and about the same amount we spend on dog and cat food each year. While “defensive medicine” may drive up the price, it hardly accounts for our stunning health care costs. The belief that citizens should give up their right to fair legal redress for legally proven medical mistakes in exchange for lower health care costs rings as true as the promise that if we must give up our civil rights to be safe from terrorists.

Even those with coverage too often pay exorbitant rates. The current profit-driven system, dominated by private insurance firms and their bureaucracies, has failed.

We must establish streamlined national health insurance, “Enhanced Medicare for Everyone.” It would be publicly financed health care, privately delivered, and will put patients and doctors back in control of the system. Coverage will be more complete than private insurance plans; encourage prevention; and include prescription drugs, dental care, mental health care, and alternative and complementary medicine.

Perhaps the clearest and most eloquent explanation of the Conyers-Kucinich National Health Insurance Bill was given on February 4, 2003, in Washington, D.C. by Dr. Marcia Angell in introducing H. R. 676. Backed by over 14,000 doctors, this is the future of American medicine.

“We are here today to introduce a national health insurance program. Such a program is no longer optional; it’s necessary.

“Americans have the most expensive health care system in the world. We spend about twice as much per person as other developed nations, and that gap is growing. That’s not because we are sicker or more demanding (Canadians, for example, see their doctors more often and spend more time in the hospital). And it’s not because we get better results. By the usual measures of health (life expectancy, infant mortality, immunization rates), we do worse than most other developed countries. Furthermore, we are the only developed nation that does not provide comprehensive health care to all its citizens. Some 42 million Americans are uninsured (nearly 46 million today — updated figure) — disproportionately the sick, the poor, and minorities — and most of the rest of us are underinsured. In sum, our health care system is outrageously expensive, yet inadequate. Why? The only plausible explanation is that there’s something about our system — about the way we finance and deliver health care — that’s enormously inefficient. The failures of the system were partly masked during the economic boom of the 1990′s, but now they stand starkly exposed. There is no question that with the deepening recession and rising unemployment, in the words of John Breaux, ‘The system is collapsing around us.’

“The underlying problem is that we treat health care like a market commodity instead of a social service. Health care is targeted not to medical need, but to the ability to pay. Markets are good for many things, but they are not a good way to distribute health care. To understand what’s happening, let’s look at how the health care market works … ”

“Mainstream” writers like Ph. D. economist and columnist for the New York Times Paul Krugman now agree with those doctors and Dennis that “covering everyone under Medicare would actually be significantly cheaper than our current system.” They all recognize that we already spend enough to provide national health care to all but lack the political courage to make the tough decisions that doctors, nurses and medical professionals must run our health care system, – not “for profit” insurance companies who make money by denying health care.

It is time to recognize that all the civilized countries have a solution that we must adapt to this country. American businesses can no longer be competitive shouldering the entire cost of health care. Health care is a right that all Americans deserve.