Summary chart of the new healthcare reform bill / two articles
Summary of the new House bill on healthcare reform (written by the House)
Article from Truthout — It says healthcare reform doesn’t go far enough … we’ve given in too much to the powerful insurance companies. Some 12 million people will still not be covered. The premiums for the Public Option will be higher than private insurance, since utilization might not be monitored as closely and it will attract a less healthy pool of participants.
Article from Paul Krugman of the NY Times -- he is hopeful that the legislation, though not perfect, is passed in the House. He thinks the current “undecided centrists” will influence the outcome. The biggest problem is the misinformation machine.
Madison Street Festival Report Oct. 3, 2009
We had a great response yesterday from people at the Madison Street Festival! We gave out all of our wristbands and most bandaids and our printed materials. In addition, 64 new people signed up for our email list.
As we spoke with people … many had never heard of the “Medicare for All” idea … and wondered where it has been this whole debate. Of course, it’s been suppressed by Congresspeople at the bidding of their insurance/drug/medical campaign donors. That’s why we have to continue informing more people and encouraging them to join our efforts — and then, together, we can press Congress to listen to us, for a change.
Big thanks go to our wonderful team of volunteers:
Pippa Abston — wristbands
Aleta Appling — booth volunteer
David Barry — booth volunteer
Lameka Carter — booth volunteer
Gloria Guay — booth volunteer
Jennifer Humiston — booth volunteer
Stephanie Monahon — volunteer scheduling
Robyn Moore — booth volunteer
Doug Roth — booth volunteer and copies of materials
Anis Salib — copies of materials
Margaret Stephens — bandaids with our logo
Stef Watson — webmaster and booth volunteer
Linda Woodcock — booth volunteer and booth supplies
Gordon Woodcock — booth volunteer and booth supplies
We salute you all for taking time out of your busy Saturday to spread the word about “Medicare for All”!
Thank you,
Linda
Here are photos from the festival.
Yahoo page
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NorthAlabamaHealthcareForAll/photos/album/2129857296/pic/list
Facebook page
Healthcare Reform UAH Event – Sept. 30, 2009
Hi all,
Great crowd tonight! We were happy to see almost 90 people come out for Dr. Pippa Abston’s talk on Universal Single Payer (Medicare for All) on the UAHuntsville campus.
She is a fantastic presenter and handled the questions with ease — even those from the 10 or so people in the audience who are against all reforms. We were glad to have a very civil audience.
We had a good mix of people attending this event … including quite a few students! (Thanks to the efforts of Tommy Watts, president of the UAHuntsville College Democrats group which hosted the event.)
All four TV stations came out (19, 31, 48 and 54) plus the Huntsville Times. I’ll post their coverage when it’s available… unless someone beats me to it. 
[The Huntsville Times article is below]
Here are links to event photos on our Yahoo page and our Facebook page.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NorthAlabamaHealthcareForAll/photos/album/412201952/pic/list
http://www.facebook.com/NorthAlabamaHealthcareForAll
We thank Dr. Abston for her continued commitment to spreading the word about Medicare for All and bringing affordable, quality healthcare to all Americans!
Linda
Healthcare Rally September 26, 2009
We had about 20-25 people at today’s “Healthcare Not Warfare” rally in Huntsville … and I’m sure the steady drizzle kept many others away.
I posted photos on Yahoo here
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NorthAlabamaHealthcareForAll/photos/album/1958635078/pic/list
And, posted them on Facebook here
The Huntsville Times and WLRH both sent reporters to cover us. Keep an eye/ear out for their reports.
We thank everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to join us this wet morning. That was dedication!
Linda
Health Care Reform: Can We Have Universal Coverage,
Quality Care and Controlled Costs? – Aug. 25, 2009
Below is media coverage on last night’s healthcare forum in Huntsville from Channel 48/WAFF and the Huntsville Times. Channel 19/WHNT hasn’t posted their video to the website … I’ll send that when available.
Special thanks go to Sherry Walker who brought the signs “Respect” and “Healthcare Reform: Discussion not Disruption.” These signs were featured in both media pieces.
It was fun watching the 10 PM newscast segments on my television last night … I saw friends in those who I didn’t know came … I guess that will happen with almost 300 people in the room!
I was also pleasantly surprised to see about 20 local doctors stand up when asked to by our accomplished moderator.
If you attended the event, please share your thoughts … what new information you learned, what stood out for you about what our distinguished panelists and/or moderator had to say, or other general comments about the event.
Thank you, everyone!
Linda
‘A ray of hope’ for reform amid the sound and fury
Different kind of healthcare forum held in Huntsville
Healthcare: The next generation – June 27, 2009
I wanted to let everyone know that the healthcare reform event on Saturday drew 51 people! That’s not bad for a very hot and sunny Saturday afternoon. As you know, we co-sponsored this event with Organizing for America and Health Careers Opportunity Program at AL A&M University.
Big thanks go to these folks from our HCEA e-mail list group for their part in the event:
+ Razi Hassan, PhD — for having his students help sponsor and volunteer at this event; making the room arrangements; and handling event publicity on campus.
+ Anis Salib, PhD — for giving a short talk on the healthcare reform scene in Washington, DC as it is today.
+ Pippa Abston, MD — for giving a short talk on the Alabama numbers … uninsured, underinsured and about the monopoly that Blue Cross/Blue Shield has in our state. (Many of us were surprised they have 83%!)
+ Jennifer Humiston — for helping with handouts, participant sign-ins, and posting flyers before the event.
Channel 48/WAAF -TV came out and taped a segment for their 5 PM news on Saturday. Maybe some of you caught that?
If not, here’s the link http://www.waff.com/global/story.asp?s=10607969
Linda