Honor Martin Luther King Jr. Today: Work for Justice in Health Care

Written by: Mike Hersh on Apr 4, 2007 10:28 AM EDT

On April 4, 2007, the anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, please join PDA and Healthcare NOW! in honoring his life and legacy by calling your Congressional representative to sign on to the only national plan to end this injustice - H.R. 676, the “National Health Insurance Act/Expanded and Improved Medicare for All.”

Sponsored by Rep. John Conyers (MI) and Rep. Denis Kucinich (OH), H.R. 676 will provide comprehensive universal coverage through a single-payer system of privately-delivered, publicly-financed healthcare - giving all Americans better healthcare at less cost. It will cover all medical expenses – doctors, nurses, hospitals, dental, optical, mental health services, prescription drugs and long-term care.

Under non-bureaucratic single-payer, our society saves close to $300 billion a year in healthcare costs – by eliminating private insurers and their wasteful bureaucracies, advertising, commissions, profiteering and multi-million dollar CEO salaries.

If your member of Congress has already signed on as a co-sponsor, please take this opportunity to thank him or her for responding to the demand of the American people. See a current list of co-sponsors: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR00676:@@@P

Voters in the 2006 election told pollsters that healthcare is their top domestic priority. Most Americans want a government supported national healthcare system. In recent months, the AFL-CIO has endorsed Medicare for All, as has the Congressional Progressive Caucus. HR 676 has also recently been endorsed by the National Education Association (NEA), the National Organization for Women, the NAACP, ACT UP – and in resolutions passed by the Kentucky and New Hampshire state legislatures and the Washington State Democratic Party. Click here for a full list of endorsers: http://www.healthcare-now.org/endorse676.php

While we are consumed with ending the Iraq occupation and bringing our troops home, we must address the crisis of healthcare, which affects both veterans and civilians. Nearly 47 million Americans, more than 15 percent of our population, now go without health insurance, up 6.8 million since 2000. Over 18,000 people in the U.S. die each year due to lack of access to medical treatment.

You can make history today by turning the crisis in healthcare toward a genuine solution. In the 1930s, we won Social Security. In the ‘60s, we won Medicare for seniors! Now we must fight and win Expanded/Improved Medicare for All!

Call-in Day April 4, 2007 - Take Action! Please call 1-866-338-1015 and ask your Congressional representative to co-sponsor H.R. 676!

Click here to to find your representative: http://www.congressmerge.com/

To Join the PDA Issue Organizing Team working on Healthcare for All, contact Diane@pdamerica.org.

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