Q: What do legislators fear more than losing their deep-pocketed contributors?

A: Losing their seat in the next election.

That point was made clear by a few Pennsylvania legislators recently. While this may not be an earth-shattering revelation to you, let’s be clear about the meaning behind it. You, the voter, hold the power over elected officials if you choose to exercise it.

Our legislators want us ( not just Ron and Rosie, but all of you) to lead the charge for the PA single-payer Family and Business Health Care Security Act, SB300/HB1660. ( This is not the inferior Rendell proposal.) Let them know, in droves, that you demand that they become co-sponsors of this legislation in their respective chambers. Pick up the phone and call their offices. Then bask in the glow of the power you’ve wielded. It’s crunch time. This call to action needs YOU - EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU! We’ll soon tell you how to send The Perfect Valentine.

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If We Pass It, He Will Sign

Though he is not leading the fight for this legislation, at a Progressives 4 PA Health Care Forum on April 4, 2007, Gov. Rendell said, “A single-payer system would serve America well. Would I like to see a single-payer system? Would I sign a single-payer bill if it got through the legislature? Absolutely… Legislators will stand up to lobbyists if they believe the public is angry enough. But you have to let them know that this is important. And that you’re angry enough.”

Just in case you’re new to this column and are not familiar with this groundbreaking legislation, see our To Your Health column, “Imagine”, in the October, 2007, issue of CommonSense2. Also, visit www.HealthCare4AllPA.org to learn more.

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In a nutshell, here’s what to love about SB300/HB1660

***Every PA resident is covered by a single group plan administered by the state.

***Patients choose their own doctors and hospitals.

***There are NO premiums, NO deductibles, NO co-pays, NO lifetime caps, NO denial of care, and NO exclusions for pre-existing conditions.

***It includes medical, dental, vision, hospital, prescription drugs, mental health, physical therapy, emergency transport, hospice, addiction treatment, preventive and long-term care.

***It drastically reduces administrative costs from about 30% to below 5%.

***Doctors and hospitals remain private businesses.

***Considerable advantages for businesses include reducing health insurance costs by at least 50%, cutting Workers’ Compensation costs in half, stopping high annual increases in health insurance premiums, ensuring that costs are predictable, eliminating the need to negotiate with insurance companies, and making PA businesses more competitive. Employers would no longer have to supply health insurance. Instead, they would contribute 10% of payroll into a state fund. Individuals would pay 3% of income. All medical bills would be paid out of this fund.

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HEALTH CARE CONFERENCE

For those of you who did not attend a recent statewide single-payer health care conference, and that’s probably most of you, we offer a brief synopsis. Health Care for All PA and Progressives 4 PA sponsored the three hour PA Single-payer Health Care Conference. The event, held at the Lancaster Host Resort and Conference Center on January 12, attracted more than 200 people.

Chuck Pennacchio, Ph.D., Executive Director of Health Care for All PA, delivered the opening remarks. Pennacchio’s dynamic, motivational introduction focused the audience on the issue of true health care reform. He stressed the urgency of passing the Family and Business Health Care Security Act, SB300/HB1660.

Walter Tsou, M.D., M.P.H., was the keynote speaker. Dr. Tsou was appointed Health Commissioner of Philadelphia in April, 2000. He has extensive experience in public health and serves on the Executive Board of the American Public Health Association and the National Board of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP). Currently, Dr. Tsou teaches health care policy at several universities in Pennsylvania, and he is the go-to person for Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), author of single-payer based HR676 (The National Health Insurance Bill). Conyers endorsed our PA Family and Business Health Care Security Act, SB300/HB1660, in April, 2007, as the “single best means to achieving a national solution to our health care crisis.”

Dr. Tsou delivered the keynote address, “The Single-Payer Solution: The Real Way to Universal Health Care for All Pennsylvanians”. Visually enhanced by a power point presentation and laced with humor, Dr. Tsou’s address stressed that our health care system is in critical condition and that the only way to provide universal health care is with a single-payer system of care, publicly-funded and privately-provided (Doctors and hospitals, etc. remain private.) Given Dr. Tsou’s impressive credentials, his message carries enormous weight.

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The Panels

The keynote address was followed by three separate panels promoting the single-payer solution from three different constituencies: a business panel, a health care provider panel, and a legislator panel.

The business panel moderator was Dr. Scott Tyson, a Pittsburgh-based pediatrician, board member of Health Care for All PA, and himself a business owner.

Charlie Chrystle, CEO of Mission Research and board member of Health Care for All PA, spoke of the positive effects of SB300/HB1660 on businesses. His small business (20 employees) would save at least $50,000 annually with a single-payer system which would also provide better coverage, he explained.

Allan Jacobs, President of Isaac’s Restaurants (700 employees), lamented the annual task of choosing a health insurance carrier. Jacobs expressed dismay over having to limit choice of physicians and prescription drugs in order to be able to afford to cover employees who work at least 25 hours per week. “I’m the man,” he said reluctantly. Clearly, Jacobs does not want to be the man. He wants a single-payer system, SB300/HB1660, so his employees are free to choose their doctors and, with their doctors, decide on their course of treatment.

The most passionate oratory in the business segment came from Mike Stout, President of Steel Valley Printers (7 employees). Mike is also a performer with the rock band, Mike Stout and the Human Union. That could explain his commanding stage presence and captivating style. He certainly rocked the room, calling for passage of SB300/HB1660 and referring to successful single-payer health care systems encountered while touring Europe with his band. Stout admonished the audience to figuratively “kick the asses” of legislators who won’t support this legislation.

The health care provider panel was moderated by educator, journalist, and activist Linda Hunt Beckman who shared her own personal story of our broken health care system.

Dr. Bill Davidson, a cardiologist from Lebanon, PA is President of the Good Samaritan Medical Staff and a member of Physicians for a National Health Program. Dr. Davidson presented strong arguments for single-payer health care reform. His subtle wit was in evidence throughout the presentation as when, with graphic precision, he alluded to a Medical Industrial Complex controlling health care in the United States.

Gale Thomason is Executive Director of the Water Street Clinic which provides free medical and dental care to more than 2,000 uninsured homeless residents of Lancaster, PA. She spoke from the perspective of a health care provider who sees firsthand what effect our current broken system has on the less fortunate. Thomason indicated that she would be happy to be put out of business by SB300/HB1660.

Nurse Kate Loving Shenk is the author of three books dealing with health care reform, distributed globally via the internet. The soft-spoken nurse made a heartfelt plea for passage of SB300/HB1660.

The legislator panel was moderated by Bob Mason, a clinical social worker for 30 years. For the past 15 years he has been employed by a very successful psychological services practice that still can’t afford to provide health care coverage to its employees.

Representative Kathy Manderino of Philadelphia, prime sponsor of HB 1660, described the thorough, comprehensive coverage in the plan as taking care of our health needs “top to bottom and inside out.” She cautioned that this radical reform is a political challenge that will become reality only when the citizens (That’s YOU!) lead the drive to get their state legislators on the single-payer bandwagon. This sentiment echoed one expressed by Sen. Mike O’Pake, a co-sponsor of SB300, in a meeting with Chuck Pennacchio and the two of us a few days earlier.

Representative Barbara McIlvane Smith of Chester, first co-sponsor of HB1660, had a more visceral message relating to personal experience with our current health care system. This first term legislator (Her very narrow victory gave the Democrats a slim majority in the PA House.) had the courage to resist the pressure of the Rendell administration and to throw her support enthusiastically behind HB1660.

State Senate candidate Cindy Purvis of Erie, a member of the board of Health Care for All PA, with humor and clarity, explained the tax savings inherent in SB300/HB1660. Costs to provide health care coverage for employees of the state of Pennsylvania, PA counties, local municipalities, and school districts would drop drastically. The savings would be huge, Purvis emphasized. Cindy Purvis will bring the knowledge and spirit to make things happen in the PA Senate.

Questions, comments, and lively dialogue followed each segment of the conference.

Attendees left the gathering armed with information and a plan of action.

And speaking of a plan of action, have you done your part? Contact your PA state legislators (You can find your state legislator at HealthCare4AllPA.org) and ask them to co-sponsor SB300 (in the PA Senate) and HB1660 (in the PA House). Consider it The Perfect Valentine to your loved ones in PA. Remember, it’s crunch time. If we pass it, he will sign.

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