Health Care For America Now

AHIP's astroturf campaign, the "Campaign for An American Solution" (http://www.americanhealthsolution.org) is going on a full "listening tour" across the country, purportedly to solicit input from Americans on how to fix health care. The only problem? AHIP doesn't actually want to fix health care. They want less regulation and more "corporate citizenship." They will work against a public health plan. In short, they are part of the problem, not the solution.

But they are sneaky. Their website and documents outlining their "solution" are filled with nice sounding claims saying they want to "lower costs" and "cover everyone." We hope to have a full examination of their plan posted here shortly. Even their tag line sounds familiar. (Affordable, high-quality health care for every American…where have I heard that one before…oh, that's right, it's just like our slogan!)

Health Care for America Now will be following AHIP around the country, making sure America knows exactly what they stand for, just like we did in Columbus, OH on Tuesday. Not surprisingly, AHIP hasn't published their schedule of events, only cities they are planning on visiting. But no matter. Health Care for America Now is building a real grassroots campaign, and we'll be at AHIP events telling people the truth.

As soon as we have information on where these events will be taking place, we'll let you know. In the meantime, sign up for our campaign and we'll let you know when we will be mobilizing in your town.

Columbus Dispatch: With reform seemingly inevitable, the health-insurance industry launched a national campaign yesterday to craft a solution to soaring health-care costs and coverage rates.

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MSNBC: Family health insurance premiums for Ohio’s workers rose 8.4 times more quickly than workers’ paychecks between 2000 and 2006.

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For those who are interested, I've put together a full transcript of the video we released yesterday when we crashed AHIP's launch party in Columbus, OH:

Ed Keener, board president of the Interfaith Alliance and board president of Interfaith Sanctuary Homeless Services, has written an article in support of Health Care for America Now in the Idaho Statesman. Here's an excerpt:

Quality, affordable health care for all, especially vulnerable ones, should be a pledge Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, spiritualists and believers in a higher power can embrace, endorse and work for. We who are campaigning for affordable health care for all ask, "Which side are you on, people of faith and goodwill? Which side are you on, large and small businesses in the Treasure Valley? Which side are you on, everyday working folk? Which side are you on, health care professionals? Which side are you on, health insurance industry? Which side are you on, state and local legislators, Mr. Governor, and community movers and shakers?"

I couldn't agree more. Health care is at its core a moral issue.

When our founding fathers drafted the Declaration of Independence, they laid out the moral foundation of our nation. Their wording, codifying an inalienable right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" was deliberate. Life was placed first, above the other immovable rights, as life is the most basic right we have. Without access to quality, affordable health care, the right to life becomes meaningless.

Health care is a moral issue, and health care is a right. It was codified by our founding fathers at the birth of our nation. The right to life doesn't depend on how much you can pay, whether your job provides decent benefits, or whether you have pre-existing conditions. The right to life is inalienable. It is available to all. It is at the center of our nation's moral code, and as Ed Keener points out, the center of religious faith as well.

Health care is a fundamental right, and a fundamental value.

Slate.com: A sharper picture of where the battle lines are drawn is starting to emerge

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In Columbus, OH today, over 200 people who support Health Care for America Now marched against the insurance industry's front group, AHIP, and their astroturf "Campaign for an American Solution."

Kim, an organizer and SEIU member, was able to ask a devastating question to Karen Ignagni, AHIP's CEO. Karen's answer was lukewarm at best, filled with the lies and half-truths so common coming from the insurance industry.

Health Care for America Now has fact-checked Karen's answer. (Hat tip to Mark Kovac for the audio.) Take a look:

Thanks to Progress Ohio for providing the photos for this event:

View all the photos on Flickr

This morning, Representative Pete Stark (D-CA) released this statement in response to America's Health Insurance Plans (an industry front group) campaign launch that Health Care for America Now will be crashing this morning:

"America's Health Insurance Plans' new 'Campaign for an American Solution' rings as true as the tobacco industry's efforts to end smoking. There is nothing grassroots about it. It is designed, financed, and coordinated through their Washington trade association with the singular goal of protecting their profits.

"I hope it is true that these companies intend to be a positive force in health reform efforts, but I tend to be cautious when the fox starts drawing up plans for a new henhouse."

We couldn't agree more. AHIP will try, against all the facts, to convince us that we are happy and well served by the private insurance industry. The reality is, we're not. Health industry profits continue to go up, while our benefits go down and our costs rise to debilitating levels. We need a solution. We need a public insurance plan, without the waste and excesses of the private insurance industry, to truly provide the affordable, comprehensive coverage we all desperately need.

AHIP's campaign may be one of the first industry astroturf campaigns to get off the ground, but it won't be the last. Health Care for America Now will be there fighting them every step of the way.

Stay tuned for pictures and video from our party crashing later this afternoon!

Who are they kidding with their new campaign?

Last February, a poll by Lake Research Partners for HealthCare for America Now found 78% of voters believe that health insurance companies "put profits before people." It turns out that a few months later the CEO of WellPoint, the nation's biggest health insurance company, said yes, that's true! In April, WellPoint CEO Angela Braly told investors, "We will not sacrifice profitability for membership." In other words, we won't sell health coverage to more people if it means we will lose money.

We doubt that's what WellPoint will tell the uninsured Ohio residents that they and the health insurance industry lobbying group are gathering tomorrow (Tuesday July 22nd) in Columbus Ohio. That's when AHIP (America's Health Insurance Plans) is holding the kick-off for the health insurance industry's campaign to protect their profits in health care reform.