~ We are organizing for
healthcare justice
~
Healthcare
is a basic human right which all human beings are entitled to,
regardless of income
and ability to pay. Yet here in the world's
wealthiest nation, in a country which claims to be a
beacon of human
rights for the rest of the world, the reality is that access to this
fundamental
human right is based on our ability to
pay. As
a result, millions upon millions of us are denied
our
human right to healthcare when we can't
afford to pay the price. This includes those who
are 'insured' and
those who are not (according to American
Patients for Universal Health
Care, since the beginning of the Iraq War
2003, 282,600 U.S.
patients have died as a result
of insurance denials).
We
say ENOUGH! We are calling for Universal Single Payer Health
care - a
healthcare system that includes EVERYONE, covers ALL of our
healthcare needs,
& that takes both the profit and the
profiteers OUT of our healthcare. For good. Because
we shouldn't have to pay a premium for justice. What
do you say? Will you join us?
Reform Group Wants Better Healthcare Plans, WCHS, Channel 6 -- 8/7/08
AUGUSTA (NEWS CENTER) -- A national health insurance reform group is
slamming Maine's biggest health insurance company, saying Anthem Blue
Cross Clue Shield is making exorbitant profits at the expense of Maine
people. It's part of an effort to force politicians in Washington to
dramatically change the country's health insurance system. The
group calls itself Health Care for America Now,and they were marching
on the Augusta office of Anthem Blue Cross to publicize their claim
that private, for-profit insurance companies are the real problem. READ MORE....
Can’t get no health care satisfaction, Bangor Daily News, Op-ed by Pat Lamarche -- 7/30/08
A Fox News anchor said Saturday that if Mick Jagger was from the United
States he’d finally qualify for Medicare. She’s kidding
— right? The anchor made a pretty lame attempt at highlighting
the rock star’s advancing age. She did, however, do a good job of
pointing out how backward the U.S. health care system is. See, Mick
Jagger’s from the United Kingdom and he’s had universal
government medical benefits since he was five. That’s because 60
years ago the United Kingdom instituted their National Health Service. READ MORE....
"Of all the forms of inequality,
injustice in healthcare is the most shocking & inhumane."
--Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The
stories we shared and witnessed at this Healthcare Truth Commission
were nothing short of incredible....Thanks to those brave individuals
who dared enough to stand
up and
speak their truth, those of us who dared enough to listen learned exactly why
this injustice must end.....By the end of the evening there
was not a heart among us left untouched, nor a soul left unstirred. READ MORE... THANK
YOU to everyone who made this event possible!
~
Healthcare Justice Survey ~
As
part of
our healthcare justice organizing efforts,
POWER is documenting violations of our
human right to healthcare. If
you've
ever had problems accessing affordable, quality healthcare
when you
needed it, please take a moment to fill out our Healthcare
Justice Survey & TELL
YOUR HEALTH CARE
STORY: online
survey | printable
survey: Word | printable
survey: PDF
Healthcare Truth Commission!
Tuesday June 10th, 6:00-8:30 PM
Community Public Access, 516 Congress St, Portland, ME
We testified about & witnessed violations to our human
right to healthcare.
This was truly an incredible & inspiring event. Stay tuned for
photos & video! more
about
this
event | watch POWER's new video: "Healthcare
Crisis"
Public
Forum for Healthcare Justice!
Tuesday
December 11th, 6:30-8:00 PM,
At Portland's Community Public Access, 516 Congress Street, in
Portland, Maine; What is
Universal Single Payer Healthcare? Why do we need it?
Why don't we have
it? How are we going to get it? more
about this event....
| watch it on google video | public
access tv schedule
Demonstration
for Healthcare Justice!
Tuesday Nov. 27th, 4:00PM, Monument Sq, Portland, ME; What do we
want? EVERYBODY IN!
Universal Single Payer Healthcare for ALL! THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO RALLIED WITH US FOR
OUR
HUMAN RIGHT TO HEALTHCARE: GUARANTEED, UNIVERSAL, SINGLE PAYER! more
about this event.... | photos
| watch
it on google video
Photos
courtesy of POWER
member Jenn Barton.SEE MORE PHOTOS!
Thanks again everyone!
World Health Day Demonstration!
Tuesday Nov. 27th, 4:00PM, Monument Sq, Portland, ME; What do we
want? EVERYBODY IN!
Universal Single Payer Healthcare for ALL! THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO RALLIED WITH US FOR
OUR
HUMAN RIGHT TO HEALTHCARE: GUARANTEED, UNIVERSAL, SINGLE PAYER! photos | watch
it on youtube
COMING SOON:
Video of POWER's Healthcare Truth Commission (6/10/08)
Healthcare
Crisis
POWER's Healthcare Crisis
video Larger
screen | Watch movie on YouTube | Visit
POWER's
YouTube channel | ( TOP
)
Short video piece exposing the US healthcare
crisis & calling
for people to speak out
and tell their stories of struggling to get the
healthcare they need.
Video was produced
by POWER's Video Committee & includes the
song Healthcare
Justice!,
written &
performed by Colette Washington; please
visit www.GuaranteedHealthcare.org.
POWER's
Public
Forum
on Healthcare Justice
Now
airing on Channels 2
& 4 in Greater Portland: schedule of
air times is available on
the Community
Television Network website: http://ctn4maine.org/
or by calling the station at 775-2900. Portland's Public Access Channel
4 is
available to cable TV subscribers living in any of the 16
municipalities of Greater Portland (ME), while Channel 2 is available
to cable TV subscribers in the
city
Portland, Maine.
POWER's Public
Forum on Healthcare Justice( TOP
)
Watch it on Google Video!
POWER's
Demonstration
for Healthcare Justice
( TOP
)
Taking a look at
healthcare in Canada, Germany, & Taiwan with Mary O'Brien, MD
of Physicians for a
National Health Program,
Katharina Janus, visiting Professor at Columbia's Mailman School of
Public Health, Michael S. Chen, Vice President & CFO of
Taiwan's
Bureau of National Health Insurance, & Adrian
Campbell Montgomery from the film SiCKO.
Adrian's been a patient in both the U.S. & Canadian Health
Systems, and she can tell you there's quite a difference. Click here to watch video!
Individuals and
organizations are invited to sign on to the Health
Coverage for Maine Petition &help
send a strong
message to lawmakers & the big national beverage
companies
that taking away health coverage from Maine's children &
hard-working adults is not what Maine is all about.
Oppose the Beverage Petition that puts 18,000 Maine
children, families,
and small businesses at risk of losing their health
coverage while another
40,000 could see their premiums become
unaffordable;
Support reasonable solutions to the health care
crisis, like a few extra
pennies on beer, wine, and soda;
Object to the big national beverage companies
spending hundreds of
thousands of dollars hiring an out-of-state
signature-gathering firm while
putting health insurance for Maine kids
and hard-working adults in
extreme jeopardy;
Believe health coverage is essential because when
kids get preventative care
to make them healthier, and when businesses
can count on healthy employees,
Maine's economy will be in a position
to thrive;
Know that the best way to reduce health costs and
make sure the health
system works for everyone is to get all Maine
children and adults covered
by health insurance;
Want Maine to build on its success in reducing the
number of uninsured
citizens and continue to find creative ways to get
more people covered by
health insurance;
Join together to say, "no thanks" to the veto of
health coverage for Maine.
Click here to
sign the Health Coverage for Maine Petition now!
Learn more: www.healthcoverageformaine.org
Whereas: We spend over
$2 trillion for healthcare in the US, yet millions are
still not
covered or receiving the care they need;
Whereas:
Whereas the healthcare coverage in the United States is ranked
#37
in
the world by the World Health Organization and yet we spend almost
twice
as much as any other country, enough to cover everybody with
excellent
comprehensive healthcare;
Whereas: A bill has
been
proposed in Congress, HR-676, non-profit Medicare
for All, that
outlines a national health care program that will provide guaranteed
affordable health care and prescription drugs to everyone in the
country;
Whereas: Over 12,000
doctors have signed on in favor of this plan, including
two former U.S.
Surgeons General;
Whereas: Under this
proposed plan, we can pay for a comprehensive national
health care
program with the same money we are now spending and cover every
single
person in the United States;
And Whereas: The bill
provides money for retraining those whose jobs as
administrators in the
insurance industry would be lost as a result of this shift;
Be it
Resolved That: We call on our members of Congress to
pass HR 676,
non-profit Medicare for All, so our people and our nation
can have the excellent
health care system we deserve. Health care is a
human right, and we call on our
members of Congress to recognize that
right.
SIGN
THE PETITION!!! | For more info please visit:www.healthcare-now.org
Reform Group Wants Better Healthcare Plans, WCHS, Channel 6 -- 8/7/08
AUGUSTA (NEWS CENTER) -- A national health insurance reform group is
slamming Maine's biggest health insurance company, saying Anthem Blue
Cross Clue Shield is making exorbitant profits at the expense of Maine
people. It's part of an effort to force politicians in Washington to
dramatically change the country's health insurance system. The
group calls itself Health Care for America Now,and they were marching
on the Augusta office of Anthem Blue Cross to publicize their claim
that private, for-profit insurance companies are the real problem. READ MORE....
Can’t get no health care satisfaction, Bangor Daily News, Op-ed by Pat Lamarche -- 7/30/08
A Fox News anchor said Saturday that if Mick Jagger was from the United
States he’d finally qualify for Medicare. She’s kidding
— right? The anchor made a pretty lame attempt at highlighting
the rock star’s advancing age. She did, however, do a good job of
pointing out how backward the U.S. health care system is. See, Mick
Jagger’s from the United Kingdom and he’s had universal
government medical benefits since he was five. That’s because 60
years ago the United Kingdom instituted their National Health Service. READ MORE....
Groups
join in campaign for affordable health care,
Portland Press Herald --7/9/08
Advocates line the steps of the State House to call on politicians to
pass health-care legislation.
By MATTHEW STONE, Blethen Maine News Service July 9, 2008
AUGUSTA—Calling it the first order of business for a new
president and
Congress, speakers from a collective of advocacy groups launched a
campaign on the State House steps Tuesday morning urging politicians in
Augusta and Washington to take action on health care. READ MORE....
A
coalition of healthcare activists brought the so-called "Health Care
for America Now" campaign to the State House today. It was an effort to
make affordable healthcare for all a major issue in this year's
congressional elections. The campaign is encouraging lawmakers to come
up with some new options for consumers. They include private coverage,
government-administered health insurance or some different approach for
guaranteeing access to health care for all Americans. READ MORE....
U.S. Conference of Mayors Backs Single-Payer
National Health Insurance--6/23/08
From Physicians for a National Health Program, For
immediate release -- June 23, 2008
The
U.S. Conference of Mayors, meeting in Miami, adopted a resolution this
morning in support of single-payer national health insurance. The
assembly, in unanimous vote, backed a resolution calling for the
enactment of the “United States National Health Insurance
Act,” H.R.
676. READ MORE....
Cities for Single Payer - What US
Mayors Already Know,
Healthcare Now! --6/23/08
Posted by Nancy Lewis FNP on June 24, 2008 - 10:10am
The
U.S. Conference of Mayors has just endorsed HR 676, "Medicare For All"
as the best antidote to the health care crisis facing U.S.
cities
across the country. At their annual meeting, 8 mayors,
started the
ball rolling toward a full endorsement and have now joined San
Francisco Mayor, Gavin Newsom, with their support for truly universal
health care. READ MORE....
NEW! Healthcare-NOW! bookmark available!
This a simple handout packed
with information about the US Health Care Crisis and the Single Payer
Solution. For a limited time, you can receive 10 /*free*/ bookmarks by
request. Additional bookmarks can be purchased at $0.15/each. Order
from Healthcare-NOW! at 800-453-1305
Please visit www.healthcare-now.org for other great resources & information.
SOME
FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS
Q:
Do I have to answer all the questions in
order to take the healthcare survey? --No. Answer as
many or as few questions as you like. Of course, the more you answer,
the more helpful it is for us.
Q:
Can I take the healthcare survey anonymously? --Yes.
Giving contact info is entirely
optional, and any contact information you do provide will be
kept confidential. .
Q:
Are there other ways to take the healthcare survey? --Yes.
A print
version of the survey is available: You can either download it
from our website as a Word
document, or you can contact
POWER with your mailing address and we'll send you a copy of
the survey by mail. An email-able version of the survey is also
available by contacting POWER.
Q:
Do I have to be poor or low-income in order to take
the healthcare survey? --No. Anyone may take the survey
regardless of their economic situation.
Q:
What are economic human rights? --Economic
human rights include our rights to food, housing, healthcare,
living wage jobs,
education, and income for those who need it. These rights are outlined
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: for more info click here
or visit
our human
rights page.
Q:
What are some examples of economic human
rights violations? --For example: problems getting
healthcare when you
needed it; struggling to pay your rent or mortgage; working
jobs that don't pay enough to make ends meet; skipping prescriptions
because they were too expensive; taking on student loans you later
can't afford to pay... These are just some of the many examples
of economic human rights violations that millions of us are
experiencing all across the nation.
Q:
How can I help distribute this information to other people?--One
way you can help is by printing out the healthcare survey out
&
making
copies to distribute. To download the printable version of the survey: Healthcare_Survey
--Word format | Healthcare_Survey
--PDF format Or contact
POWER with your
address & we'll send or deliver copies of the
healthcare survey, plus any other materials you'd like to distribute.
THANK YOU!
Conditions
of poverty
represent violations of our economic human rights. As part of the
struggle to end poverty, we're working to document these violations
wherever they occur.
The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a landmark
international treaty signed by the United States in 1948. It
clearly states that economic
human rights are guaranteed to all human
beings.
Economic Human Rights are specified in Articles 23, 25,
& 26
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as outlined below. Or
read the full
text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
More info is also available on our human
rights page.
Article
23:
The right to LIVING
WAGE JOBS,
to safe working conditions, and to form and join unions.
Everyone
has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and
favourable conditions of
work and to protection
against unemployment.
Everyone, without any
discrimination, has the
right to equal pay for equal work.
Everyone who works has the right to
just and
favourable
remuneration ensuring for
him/herself and
his/her family an
existence worthy of human dignity,
and supplemented, if
necessary, by other
means of social
protection.
Everyone has the right to form and
to join
trade unions for the protection of
his/her interests.
Article
25:
The right to well-being of a
person and their family, including: HOUSING,
HEALTHCARE,
& FOOD,
CHILDCARE, & SECURITY for all those who are unemployed, unable
to work, or working at home raising
children, or caring for other family members.
Everyone has the right to a standard of
living
adequate for the
health and well-being of
him/herself and of
his or her
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 or her control.
Motherhood and childhood are
entitled to special
care and
assistance. All children,
whether born in or out
of wedlock, shall
enjoy the same social protection.
Article
26:
The right
to EDUCATION,
including higher education & training.
Everyone has the right to education.
Education shall be
free, at
least in the elementary and
fundamental stages.
Elementary
education
shall be compulsory. Technical
and professional
education shall be made generally available and
higher education
shall be equally accessible to
all on the basis of merit.
Education shall be directed to the full
development
of the human personality and
to
the strengthening of
respect for human
rights and fundamental
freedoms. It shall
promote understanding,
tolerance and
friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and
shall further the activities of the United
Nations for the maintenance of
peace.
Parents have a prior right to choose the
kind
of
education that shall be given to their children.