Guaranteed Healthcare

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.  From New York, Florida to California, the growing list of cities with the problems of the un-insured and under-insured,  is placing a heavy burden on their public health hospitals and clinics.  HR 676 is the answer to keeping our public health system alive and well. 

A friend at" Physicians for National Health Plan", Dr. Steve, is reporting that the non-partisan, Annual Conference of U.S. Mayors", has added more cities around the country that have endorsed HR 676, by John Conyers.  From Florida to New York and back to California, 8 more mayors have signed on to "Medicare for All" as the best solution to their city's budget woes when it comes to financing healthcare.

June 19th sent  a strong message to the annual gathering of the insurance corporations that it will no longer be business as usual when it comes to merely expanding more insurance to patients reeling from high deductibles, co-pays, drug prices, delays and denials.  A nation-wide campaign has started to convince more and more cities across the nation that this is not only the right way to go but the best way when it comes to reforming health care and improving quality of the care patients receive.

As Quentin Young, MD says at PNHP "Everybody In, Nobody out".  It's time to send a message to our elected leaders and future ones.  This is a movement that won't go away with empty promises of more universal health insurance for all.  We've already had that system and all we got was sky-rocketing premiums along with delays and denials of life-saving care. You can ask the Campbell family and the Sarkisiyans what they think of that system when they spoke passionately for HR 676 on thursday.

As Alice Paul, militant Quaker Suffergette said in the early 20th century, "When you put your hand to the plough, you have got to finish the row".  If we can pass the 19th amendment to our constitution granting women the right to vote, then we can pass HR 676 granting all the right to see a doctor, nurse and get the kind of care I know most Americans would be proud of.  We nurses at CNA/NNOC will keep our hand on the plough until we finish the row we started with HR 676. It's not only the right and moral thing to do but the best .

Nancy Lewis RN FNP