Michael Moore's movie SICKO demonstrates the failure of the private insurance system to deliver affordable health care. Mr. Moore concludes that a non-profit single payer universal health care system is the best answer.  NJ Media Corps urges everyone to see this movie and write their Congressional Representative to support H.R. 676 (United States National Healthcare Insurance Act)

Actions:

1. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspapers, expressing support for HR 676 (United States National Healthcare Insurance Act):
   
   To contact national media outlets, use the Congress.org form:
   
   http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/
   
   To contact New Jersey newspapers, use our Action Center:
   
   http://www.usmediacorps.org/nj/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=40

2.  Please encourage your representative in Congress to co-sponsor HR 676:
   
   http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/issues/alert/?alertid=9420616&type=CO

3.  Visit NJ Citizen Action's Health Care page for more actions you can take  
   
   http://www.njcitizenaction.org/hc.html

4. See Michael Moore's movie SICKO.

Good luck and hope to see you in print!

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NJ Media Corps

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NJ Media Corps

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Talking Points: 

• Affordable health care is a growing crisis. Health care costs have been hyper-inflating and causing a major drain on certain pension plans. Single-payer universal health care is the most logical solution to this crisis.
  
• Single-payer universal health care will allow every American to benefit from the efficiency of the Medicare system.
  
• Single-payer universal health care will NOT socialize our health care system, but it will make health coverage affordable to all Americans.
  
• Currently, over 45 million people don't have health insurance. This number will grow as long as Americans depend on employers for health care.
  
• Small business of less than 200 employees generally can't afford to give their employees health care. Also, many people are temporary workers who aren't eligible for benefits.
  
• HR 676 would extend the Medicare system to all Americans. Medicare is an efficient government program that has worked successfully. The overhead costs of running Medicare are approximately 1-2% - compared with 10% or more for privately run health plans.
  
• Under single-payer universal health care, every individual will receive necessary medical coverage, regardless of age, health, employment, or socio-economic status.
  
• No new money will be required to implement single-payer universal health care; in fact, it will cost American citizens less money than we are now spending for health care. The cost of managing single-payer universal health care would be tiny, as it is with Medicare (about 2%), and we would no longer pay insurance companies high premiums (13-30%) to manage the money.
  
• MYTH: single-payer universal health care is unaffordable; FACT: the General Accounting Office estimates that a universal single-payer system would save the United States $34 billion in insurance overhead and $33 billion in hospital and physician administrative costs in the short run.
  
• MYTH:There will be rationing with SPUHC. FACT: We experience rationing now, because under the current system, many people wait until it's too late and use the emergency room for health care.

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Articles:

Americans think the U.S. health care system is in need of major repairs, according to a CBS News/New York Times poll:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/01/opinion/polls/main2528357.shtml

Re-introduction of Rep. John Conyers' HR 676 The United States National Healthcare Insurance Act -- enhanced Medicare for All:

http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/webreturn/?url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.676:

California's health care initiative: How's it working in the Bay State?

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-dustup1mar01,0,2606586.story?coll=la-opinion-center

Kentucky Shows the Way: Endorses National Health Insurance

http://www.pdamerica.org/articles/news/2007-02-13-07-49-57-news.php

Will Healthcare Timidity Trip Up Hillary Clinton?

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Important Links and Research:

America's Achilles Heel: Job-Based Health Coverage and the Uninsured
A Century Foundation Guide to the Issues
http://www.tcf.org/Publications/healthcare/haase_achilles.pdf

The Democratic Party: A Healthcare System that Works for Everyone
http://www.democrats.org/a/national/affordable_health_care/

Healthcare-NOW
Health Is On The Way
http://www.healthcare-now.org/

Physicians for a National Health Program
http://www.pnhp.org/

Quality Healthcare for All
NJ Citizen Action's health care campaign
http://www.njcitizenaction.org/hc.html

Single-Payer FAQ By Physicians for a National Health Program
http://www.pnhp.org/facts/singlepayer_faq.php

Single Payer Universal Health Insurance
(From National Health Care for the Homeless Council)
http://www.nhchc.org/singlepayer.html

State Single-Payer Universal Health Care Efforts
Citizen-led efforts to institute state-level universal health care programs
http://www.newrules.org/equity/statesinglepayer.html

Why do you support John Edwards’ plan for universal health care?
Tell your story about why it's important to guarantee quality health care for every American. http://johnedwards.com/action/letters-to-the-editor/health-care/

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