Why a National Healthcare System Will Save Our Cities

baltindyThis article was published in the Baltimore Indy Reader.

The U.S. and its cities are in the midst of a healthcare crisis caused by a broken system that values profit over quality, affordable care.

Cities faced with rapidly increasing employee health insurance premiums, including Baltimore, are cutting back on much needed services to balance their budgets.

City residents aren’t better off. Increasingly, people are going without insurance, while they put off care or rely on extremely expensive emergency rooms for preventable issues.

National, single-payer healthcare is needed now, more than ever, to free cities and families from the private health insurance industry that has profited from devastating levels of inequality in care and quality of life. It would reduce healthcare costs by removing profit and reducing wasteful spending on insurance paperwork that take up 30 percent of current costs ($230 billion nationally). Continue reading “Why a National Healthcare System Will Save Our Cities”

Philadelphia City Council Votes to Support Single-Payer Healthcare

I, along with folks from PASNAP and Health Care for All–Philadelphia, organized to get this resolution passed. This is our press release.

Today, groups representing doctors, nurses, healthcare advocates and labor unions are applauding the Philadelphia City Council for passing a resolution in support of national, single payer health care (HR 676) and two state single payer bills.

The resolution, sponsored by Councilman Greenlee and Councilwoman Tasco, makes Philadelphia the 28th city and 46th local government to pass a resolution in favor of HR 676, the National Health Insurance Act, sponsored by John Conyers (D-Mich.). The resolution also calls for the enactment of the two single-payer state bills, SB 300 and HB 1660. Continue reading “Philadelphia City Council Votes to Support Single-Payer Healthcare”