Join White Coats at the White House Gate Thursday 3/5

[Mike Hersh]

Reminder: TONIGHT! MCPA, DFMC, PDA, Meetup Meeting

The Maryland session is in full swing. We're involved with several bills and lobby efforts on the state and national level, including universal healthcare. We'll also discuss the upcoming County Council Special Election, coalition efforts, and much more! This is an important meeting to discuss and plan 2009 efforts. We're discussing special events, forming a steering committee, visits to and with legislators, etc.

Time: Wednesday, March 4 from 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Location: Saigonese Restaurant (Wheaton, MD)
11232 Grandview Avenue
Wheaton, MD 20902

Directions: Short walk from the Wheaton Metro Stop (red line) Public Parking in the big lot across the street. Grandview Ave. is very close to Georgia Ave. University Blvd. and Viers Mill Rd. A few miles outside the Beltway--nearest exits Ga. Ave. and Conn. Ave.

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White Coats To Crowd the White House Gate Thursday

March 5, 12pm -1pm The White House Lafayette Park, Washington, DC

Doctors criticize exclusion of single-payer advocates from summit

President Obama is holding a Healthcare Summit on Thursday, March 5th.  Over 120 are expected to be in attendance, including representatives from Americas Health Insurance Plans, the largest group of private health insurance lobbyists. 

 

“It appears that despite the fact that a majority of Americans and American physicians support a single payer -- an improved Medicare for All -- as the best solution to our nation’s health care crisis, they will have no voice at this Thursday’s summit,” said Dr. Quentin Young, national coordinator of Physicians for a National Health Program.

Single payer - which would create a health care system based on public financing of privately delivered care much like that seen in other industrialized nations - is the health reform with support from 60% of the American public (Gallup Poll, 2007)) and the majority of American physicians (Annals of Internal Medicine, 2008). Single payer would usher improved health and affordable health care to all Americans.  

Single payer national health care is the only model proven to lead us out of a seemingly perpetual health care crisis. “In years past, President Obama endorsed single payer as the best solution to the crisis,” Young said. “Today it appears that this option will not even get a hearing at the summit. We believe this exclusion compromises, profoundly, the possibility of a popular, effective solution to our No. 1 domestic problem. This is a colossal blunder.”

PNHP and other members of the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care, the National Single Payer Alliance, will demonstrate on Thursday, March 5th from noon to 1:00 pm at Lafayette Square in front of the White House. If you are a health care provider bring your white coat.

Please join us. For more information contact Danielle Alexander, (202) 662-0614, dani...@pnhp.org

[Mike Hersh]

Breaking news: PNHP’s Dr. Fein invited to White House summit --
Demonstration Postponed

Dear PNHP colleagues,

We have very good news.

We just received word from the White House that Dr. Oliver Fein,
president of Physicians for a National Health Program, has been invited
to participate in tomorrow’s White House summit on health care.

Given this development, we are canceling the demonstration outside the
White House that was planned for tomorrow.

While it remains true that the number of single-payer supporters in the
summit will be relatively few in number, we feel we have won an
important victory and that demonstrative activity at this moment is
unnecessary.

Please continue to urge your members of Congress and President Obama to
support single-payer national health insurance, the only fundamental
solution to our health care crisis. Your calls and emails contributed to
this victory, there are more to come.

Cordially,

Quentin Young, M.D.

National Coordinator