October 2008 Archives

We need you to come to the rally at the Constitution Center this Thurs. Oct. 16 at 4:30 - to show that we want comprehensive health care reform now. We can't afford to wait any longer.

 

What: Rally for Health Care for America Now with Members of Congress

Rep. Chaka Fattah
Rep. Bob Brady
Rep. Allison Schwartz

When: Thurs., Oct. 16, Come at 4:30pm, the event will start at 5:00

Where: The Constitution Center

Can you volunteer at the event? We need some help greeting people and handing out signs. If you can come by at 4:00 please sign up to volunteer here.

It's time for a change. We need quality, affordable health care that we can count on. Come to the rally and show your support for our Members of Congress who are willing to stand up for a guarantee of quality, affordable health care for all.

Penn Action will be at the Health Care for America Now table at Outfest tomorrow between 2pm and 4pm.   Stop by and join the fight for meaningul, progressive health care reform in 2009.   The HCAN campaign is about building energy now so that when the new president and Congress are in office, they will not be able to ignore the pressure to provide guaranteed, affordable health care for all.  These are HCAN's principles:

Our government’s responsibility is to guarantee quality affordable health care for everyone in America and it must play a central role in regulating, financing, and providing health coverage by establishing:

• A truly inclusive and accessible health care system in which no one is left out.
  
  
• A choice of a private insurance plan, including keeping the insurance you have if you like it, or a public insurance plan without a private insurer middleman that guarantees affordable coverage.
  
  
• A standard for health benefits that covers what people need to keep healthy and to be treated when they are ill.  Health care benefits should cover all necessary care including preventative services and treatment needed by those with serious and chronic diseases and conditions.
  
  
• Health care coverage with out-of-pocket costs including premiums, co-pays and deductibles that are based on a family’s ability to pay for health care and without limits on payments for covered services.
  
  
• Equity in health care access, treatment, research and resources to people and communities of color, resulting in the elimination of racial disparities in health outcomes and real improvement in health and life expectancy for all.
  
  
• Health coverage through the largest possible pools in order to achieve affordable, quality coverage for the entire population and to share risk fairly.
  
  
• A watchdog role on all plans, to assure that risk is fairly spread among all health care payers and that insurers do not turn people away, raise rates or drop coverage based on a person’s health history or wrongly delay or deny care.
  
  
• A choice of doctors, health providers and public and private plans, without gaps in coverage or access and a delivery system that meets the needs of at-risk populations.
  
  
• Affordable and predictable health costs to businesses and employers. To the extent that employers contribute to the cost of health coverage, those payments should be related to employee wages rather than on a per-employee basis.
  
  
• Effective cost controls that promote quality, lower administrative costs and long term financial sustainability, including: standard claims forms, secure electronic medical records, using the public’s purchasing power to instill greater reliance on evidence-based protocols and lower drug and device prices, better management and treatment of chronic diseases and a public role in deciding where money is invested in health care