Health Care For America Now

This post has been updated with videos and a photo from Friday's event.

Here is a great video of the event from the Other 98%.

This is a video of the march: Occupy the Kochs - Guerrilla Drive-In

From Velvet Revolution: Koch Brothers Guerrilla Drive-In Protest at Wash Convention Center

This photo was taken by Common Cause. You can view more of their photos from the event here.

Thanks for Making the Occupy the Koch Brothers Guerrilla Drive-In a Huge Success!

Thank you to the 1,000 people who turned out Friday night, November 4, 2011, for the "Occupy the Kochs Guerrilla Drive-In" at the Washington Convention Center. Health Care for America Now and the advocacy group The Other 98% led the protest of the billionaire Kochs Brothers' front group, Americans for Prosperity, which hosted a gala dinner that night as part of a two-day conference featuring speeches by GOP presidential candidates Herman Cain and Mitt Romney.

Numerous progressive organizations teamed up with HCAN and the Other 98% to protest the Koch Brothers' corruption of the American political system at the unusual outdoor film festival. Americans for Prosperity, which spends millions advancing its extremist right-wing political agenda with the financial support of billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch and their companies, held the "Defend the American Dream" event to celebrate efforts to protect the richest people and corporations from paying their fair share in taxes and to eliminate important programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

Protesters gathered at the Guerrilla Drive-In to enjoy popcorn, good food and political satire videos highlighting the Kochs' efforts to destroy the American Dream, shrink the middle class, increase America's growing income inequality, preserve tax breaks for special interests like Big Oil and strip workers of their rights. They sang satirical songs and marched around the massive Convention Center complex.

The protest showed that Americans are not going to accept a corporate takeover of our country. The event we started drew hundreds of Occupy DC and Occupy K Street people who joined in with our action. Later, those activists staged actions of their own around the hall.

"The Kochs and their front groups are trying to steal our democracy to make the 1% even richer," said HCAN Executive Director Ethan Rome. "They and their cronies have purchased the Republican Party to destroy America's middle class, including taking away health care and stripping workers of the right to bargain for a better life. Across the country people are raising their voices in protest because they're fed up with a system stacked in favor of the richest 1%."

"The Koch brothers are not just the 1% — they are the .00001%," said John Sellers, co-founder of The Other 98%, which co-produced the Drive-In with HCAN. "They are the poster children for the hostile corporate takeover of our democracy, and it's about time they heard from the rest of us."

Occupy the Kochs comes as progressives across the country have been speaking out to put Americans back to work, tax the 1% and pressure the Super Committee not to make a bad deal for the 99%. For more than a month, Americans of all ages and backgrounds have been on the streets expressing their rejection of corporate money in politics at Occupy events and other movement protests across the U.S., and Occupy the Kochs demonstrates that the momentum for change is building.

Here are the progressive groups that joined up with HCAN and the Other 98% to stage the Guerrilla Drive-In: Campaign for America's Future, Campaign for Community Change, Common Cause, Justice Through Music, Oil Change International, Public Campaign, Public Citizen, Rebuild the Dream, Tar Sands Action, True Majority, USAction, and Velvet Revolution.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 358, a dangerous anti-women's health bill that undermines access to care.  It is no surprise that House Republicans would rather play politics with women's health than focus on jobs and the economy.

Call your Member of Congress today toll free - (877) 264-HCAN (4226) and tell them to vote NO on H.R. 358.

Here is the letter HCAN signed along with over 50 other organizations vehemently opposing this bill.

Below are some important facts from National Women's Law Center on this issue. You can download the full fact sheet here.

H.R. 358, authored by Representative Joe Pitts (R-PA), threatens women's ability to purchase health insurance that includes abortion coverage and creates dangerous new rules that will harm women's health-and even risk women's lives.

• H.R. 358 would virtually prohibit health plans in the new health insurance exchanges from covering abortion services, even though most health insurance covers it today.
• The bill exempts hospitals from treating women in need of emergency abortion care, even if they will die without it.
• H.R. 358 allows states to exempt health insurance plans from complying with any obligation under the new health law if it offends the insurer's "conscience." For example, an insurer could refuse to cover contraception, the HPV vaccine or any other service.

Here are some messages and talking points from Planned Parenthood on H.R. 358:

• This legislation represents yet another attempt by some Republican leaders to force consideration of policies that would drastically erode women's health and reduce access to basic health care services and information.
• This bill would take comprehensive health coverage away from women, eliminate existing legal protections for women who need an abortion to save their lives, expand current refusal laws that undermine women's health, and create loopholes that states and insurance companies could exploit to undermine the requirement that insurance companies provide birth control with no co-pays.
• Most devastating, the bill eliminates protections for patients seeking care in emergency circumstances and would allow a hospital to deny lifesaving abortion care to a woman, even if a doctor deems it necessary.
• Any politician who votes for this bill is literally putting politics before women's health.
• This is the latest example that Republican leaders prioritize putting politics before women's health, and just can't keep their eyes on the ball when it comes to jobs and the economy.

Below are great reports from HCAN State Partners' anti-repeal events that took place January 18th and 19th leading up to the vote in congress.  HCAN's state partners never fail to impress.  These activities are generating a buzz and making headlines all over the place.  Thanks to everyone for organizing these events on short notice and despite inconvenience and delay.  Clips from events that took place in the following states are included below: Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

CONNECTICUT

Below is a photo from our event in Connecticut organized by HCAN Partner Connecticut Citizen Action Group (CCAG)

FLORIDA

Orlando–Report from HCAN Partner Organize Now

Orlando event targeting Webster had nearly 30 people in attendance from Organize Now, AFSCME, FLARA, FL Chain, JWJ, OFA and more. Fox 35 and Channel 13 both attended the event in front of the local Chamber of Commerce. Speakers included 2 folks who had benefited from health care reform and organizational speakers. At the end of the press conference everyone started calling Webster's office. His office was clearly concerned about the immediate calls and asked folks why they were all calling at once-was it on tv or an email or radio. Calls continued throughout the day.

Tampa-Report from HCAN Partner FCAN

Event coverage here: The Ledger: Residents Ask Ross to Support Health Care

MAINE

Report from HCAN Partner Maine People's Alliance

We had a good turnout in the snow to rally in support of the Affordable Care Act. The “Rally to Save Healthcare” asked our new Governor and Attorney General to stop wasting our time and money by signing on to repeal our care, thanking  Representatives Pingree and Michaud for their support of the ACA, and asking our state legislature to work towards implementation that will cover the most Maine people possible.

Watch video here: Rally to Save health Care

Media Coverage so far:

Maine Health Reform Supporters Rally Against Repeal

Non-profits rally in favor of health care law

AP: Maine rally held to support nat'l health care law

MICHIGAN

Report from Michigan Citizen Action

Around 40 people prayed outside of Congressman Upton's office.  10 personal letters delivered to Ed Sackely, District Director.  Because of new security, letters and people met with Ed one-by-one.  Kalamazoo Gazette article in the link below.  Linda did WMUK interview from 7:33 - 7:40.

Watch video from the event here

Health-care reform supporters hold vigil outside U.S. Rep. Fred Upton's office on eve of House vote

MINNESOTA

Report from HCAN Partner Take Action Minnesota

Our MOC letter attached and we placed the following Op-Ed in the press today, by TakeAction board member. Thank you Liz Doyle

MinnPost- Republicans have it backwards on the jobs effect of health-care reform

NEVADA

Report from HCAN Partner PLAN

The Heckuva Deal Donut Hole bake sale went well. Several volunteers from PLAN, Americans United, and our coalition partners spoke to over 150 senior citizens at the Flamingo Senior Center in Joe Heck’s district (pic attached). Not one senior wanted to buy back their donut hole for $250 but we did give away 6 dozen donut holes along with handouts on ACA repeal targeted to seniors. We also logged 42 calls to Heck’s office made through the cell phones we brought to the event.

Additionally, we sent out action alerts statewide as did several of our coalition partners (Americans United, ProgressNow, and the SEIU) and will continue phone banking and mobilizations today.

The press was only radio phoned-in interview and mention on noon hour news (waiting for clips to become available), with a couple of outlets interested in doing a follow up story after the vote happens.

NORTH DAKOTA

Report from HCAN Partner NDPeople.org

State Capitol news conference challenging new Rep. Rick Berg on the repeal of ACA yesterday. Speakers did great! Media were the two TV stations (NBC and CBS) and North Dakota Public Radio. The reporter, from Forum Communications which has four daily papers and a bunch of TV stations, asked for the news release.

OHIO

Report from HCAN Partner Progress Ohio

Marianne Steger, from AFSCME Ohio Council 8 speaks to Steve Cheek, Staff Assistant, for Congressman Steve Stivers in the lobby of his district office.

Ohio Health Care Coalition Deliver Petitions To Ohio Congressional District Offices

ProgressOhio Community Blog:

By Denise Gastesi on January 19, 2011 9:49

Ohio Consumers Ask Congressmen Stivers To Side With Hard-Working Families, Not Big Insurance Companies

Tuesday, a delegation of leaders from various groups which are part of an Ohio Coalition of Health Care For America Now (HCAN), and constituents which led the national fight to pass the Affordable Care Act (ACA), delivered petitions to Congressman Stivers district office in Columbus to discuss his position on repealing the new law, which protects consumers from the worst insurance company abuses.

A Health Care Reform Repeal Bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would eliminate provisions of the new law that are already benefiting consumers in the 15th Congressional District, effectively taking away no-cost preventive care for 77,000 seniors in Medicare, and 65,500 young adults would lose their insurance coverage through their parents' health plans sometimes just after they finish school and as they are looking for a job.

With the Health Care Repeal bill expected to be voted on in Congress this week, simular events are being held in Ohio at other congressional district offices. Constituents delivered petitions to Speaker Boehner's office in West Chester Tuesday and groups are organizing constuents to meet at Fountain Square today to deliver petitions to Rep. Steve Chabot's Office in Cincinnati today.

Online petitions were also sent to Rep. Renacci's office in the 16th Congressional District as well as to Rep. Johnson in OH-8.

OCHC Statehouse Press Conference 1-19-2011

Some of the stories in the press conference below, came from the ProgressOhio e-mail that was sent out asking for health care stories.

OREGON

Report from HCAN Partner Oregon Action

We had a great action today in Medford, OR.  We had 40 folks at the Medford Library for a press/ community education rally.  Speaker included leaders from SEIU, Rev Bill McDonald from the faith community and Oregon Action and 3 stories from people effected by repeal.  There were 3 tv stations ( KOBI, KTVL and KDRV).  Additionally we had a story in the Mail Tribune announcing the event yesterday Jan 18.  There we two pre stories on KOBI which included a wonderful 5 minute interview with Michelle Glass, young Oregon Action leader. Everyone signed a letter to Rep Greg Walden and we announced our next HCAN meeting for Feb 22.

We had a lot of spirit and willingness to continue to be an organized force for health care progress.

PENNSYLVANIA

From HCAN partners PUP, Action United and Penn Action

Coverage from Tuesday's PA Events:

Post Gazette: Vote expected today on health care repeal

The Tribune-Democrat: Critz, Shuster split on health care

Public News Service: PA Mom Testifies about Healthcare Reform in D.C. Today

Lebanon Event

Here is the report from the event in Lebanon. We had about 20 people attend. We had Jake Long regional co director from the Harrisburg Labor Council Speak, Rev Dan Donomoyer and Bobbie Warshaw a Medicaid recipient talked about the benefits she received. There was also TV there and we are still looking for the link.

Lebanon Daily News - Ralliers: No to health care repeal

Scranton, PA Event

Lackawanna County Courthouse, Scranton PA

In addition to these events, Penn Action recruited Stacie Ritter, a woman with twins who have a pre-existing condition, to come to DC and be part of Speaker Pelosi's hearing to highlight people impacted by ACA repeal.  Stacie got great coverage all over the country including the story below.

Public News Service-PA

January 18, 2011

PA Mom Testifies about Healthcare Reform in D.C. Today

LANCASTER, Penn. - A Pennsylvania woman whose family was driven to bankruptcy after her twin four-year-old daughters were diagnosed with leukemia, is testifying on Capitol Hill today (Tuesday). Staci Ritter says thw girls' medical treatment has been very costly, and the bills piled up when an insurance company refused to pay for some of it.

As the U.S. House of Representatives gears up to vote on whether to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act, Ritter's message to lawmakers is that needs to remain intact – to protect families like hers, who are dealing with catastrophic illnesses.

"I'm afraid that if they repeal the mandate, that will enable insurers to be able to deny children – like mine, who have pre-existing conditions – health care."

Ritter says the family's situation became more serious after her husband's company signed on with a new insurance carrier, and problems emerged with their daughters' coverage.

"My children are expensive. Anybody with a pre-existing condition is a liability, they'll openly admit it – so, what do we do to protect these people?"

Ritter says she's fearful of a repeal of health care reform, not just because of the impact it could have on her daughters today.

"Each time they pick away at it, they take away something that's protecting my children and their future; protecting them from discrimination, protecting them from being able to afford insurance to begin with."

She will testify before the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, part of the House Democratic Caucus. Her story turns out better than some, but Ritter says that's only because she went after the insurance company publicly and was able to come to a settlement. Recently, several lawmakers who favor repealing the Affordable Care Act, including new House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), released a report entitled "ObamaCare: Budget Busting, Job-Killing Health Care Law."

TENNESSEE

Report Back from Tennessee Citizen Action

State Capitol Rally To Fight Repeal Of Health Care Reform (WTVF News channel 5)

Middle Tenn. voices heard on health care repeal (WKRN News 2)

Tennessee Report: TNCA Urges Abandonment of Federal Health Care Law Repeal & Resistance Efforts

Tennessee Report: Reform v. Repeal; Mary & Co v. Mae & Co

Memphis Commercial Appeal: Tennessee health care reform backers cite benefits - Urge lawmakers to leave federal plan alone

WASHINGTON

Report from WA MSA

Coverage of Main Street Alliance members in the Vancouver Columbian yesterday.

Health care debate regains center stage - Herrera Beutler supports GOP repeal push

By Howard Buck Columbian Staff Reporter

Originally published January 18, 2011 at 4:23 p.m., updated January 18, 2011 at 7:25 p.m.

Photo by Steven Lane

WEST VIRGINIA

Report from West Virginia Citizen Action Group

WVCAG and partners held a 2PM press conference at the state capitol ahead of the vote to repeal ACA. Press covering the event were: TV 13 (CBS); WV News Service (radio); Charleston Gazette & Daily Mail (print)

Speakers were:

Gary Zuckett, WV Citizen Action Group
Perry Bryant, WV for Affordable Health Care
WV Senator Dr. Ron Stollings, Chair HHR Committee
WV Senator Dr. Dan Foster, member HHR Committee
Renate Pore, WV Center On Budget & Policy

WISCONSIN

Report from HCAN Partner Citizen Action of Wisconsin

Press from "No Repeal" action at Rep. Paul Ryan's office, 1/18:

WDJT TV 58 (CBS) Milwaukee (January 18, 2011) Wisconsin Joins Health Care Reform Fight

WISN TV 12 (ABC) Milwaukee (January 18, 2011) Interview with Brian Rothgery on repeal action at Paul Ryan's office (no link available)

WTMJ TV 4 (NBC) Milwaukee (January 18, 2011) Health Care Rally Outside Rep. Ryan's Office

Wisconsin Radio Network (January 18,  2011) Rallying against repeal

WRJN Radio 1400 AM Racine (January 18, 2011) 4:05 PM news break (podcast)

Racine Journal-Times (January 18, 2011) Protest outside Paul Ryan's office

Photos from Racine Journal Times picked up by AP:

Atlanta Journal Constitution (January 18, 2011) Congress tones down the rhetoric after shootings

Deseret News (Salt Lake City) (January 18, 2011) Congress tones down the rhetoric after shootings

The Republic (Columbus, IN) (January 18, 2011) Congress tones down the rhetoric after shootings

Christian Science Monitor (January 18,  2011) Health-care reform: How Democrats plan to crash House GOP's repeal party

Arizona Daily Star (January 18, 2011) Bid to repeal health law goes on, but with civil tone

News Times (Danbury, CT) (January 18, 2011)

MySanAntonio.com (January 18, 2011) Congress tones down the rhetoric after shootings

WASHINGTON, DC

Rally & Visibility Outside the Capitol yesterday.

Stacie Ritter's story was told in about 60 television markets across the country yesterday thanks mostly to NBC affiliates that picked up a Washington report on the event.

Stacie and her daughters are shown above testifying that repeal would mean her daughters would be at risk of losing their health coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Several stations ran the story more than once.

Here's the bottom line: an enormous amount is at stake in Tuesday's election in Massachusetts to fill Senator Ted Kennedy's seat. So much is at stake that every Democrat — and every independent who wants fundamental change in Washington — has to vote, no matter how hard it is to get to the polls, no matter how inconvenient, no matter how disappointed you are with the pace of change in Washington.

Not only that. If you don't live in Massachusetts, get on the phone, call every friend you have in Massachusetts and tell them to stop what they're doing and go vote. Tell them that what they do will have a dramatic impact on you and your life no matter where you live in America — that if they care about you at all, they have to go vote to defeat Republican Scott Brown and elect Democrat Martha Coakley.

Just think how outrageous it would be if an election to replace the nation's most ardent champion of health care for all, stopped health care reform. That's exactly what Republican Scott Brown has said he will do — be the 41st vote to stop health insurance reform dead in its tracks.

Read more…

Senate, what on earth is up with the Free-Rider provision in the health care bill?

In the spirit of an encouraging friend offering constructive criticism on decisions that could lead to potentially harmful and unintended consequences (like the time in college when my roommate wanted to sink her life-savings into an industrial dump truck on eBay), we think it is about time to sit down, put the kettle on, and have a heart-to-heart.

In a nutshell, the Free-Rider provision states that employers who don’t offer good coverage pay a fine if their workers qualify for subsidies to buy coverage in the insurance exchange.

Read more…

I don’t deserve health care that meets my needs.
I shouldn’t demand fairness in my health care coverage.
I can’t do anything about it anyway.

That’s what the health insurance profiteers want you to think.

They aren’t thinking about the mother who is struggling to find insurance because she had a Caesarean section. Not the woman who survived domestic violence and now must face rejection by an insurance company for having a so-called “pre-existing condition.” Not the woman who pays more than a man for the same health coverage, even when maternity care isn’t covered.

Being a woman is NOT a pre-existing condition.

Read more…

This is the moment when Senators Max Baucus and Majority Leader Harry Reid (and President Obama) should make history by producing a Senate health reform bill that

• makes health insurance truly affordable for all Americans,
• creates a strong public option to give private insurers real competition,
• and doesn't destroy Democratic re-election hopes by taxing hard-won middle class health benefits.

Last week the Senate Finance Committee became the last of five Congressional committees to pass a health reform bill - this one by far the weakest of all the bills.  Almost immediately a small group of Senators - Majority Leader Harry Reid, Finance Chair Max Baucus, and acting HELP Committee Chair Chris Dodd - huddled with a White House team led by Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to begin the mysterious process by which the more progressive HELP committee bill will be melded with the product of Baucus's mostly fruitless negotiation with Senate Republicans, only one of whom, Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, deigned to vote for the final Finance bill.

Reid and even Baucus say they personally support a public option, but they repeatedly point to the so-called "moderates" in their own party whose support is necessary to get to the 60 vote majority needed to pass a health reform bill in the Senate.  With a smart legislative strategy, the 60 Democratic votes (which, with Snowe would total 61) could be called upon just to overcome a Republic filibuster, clearing the way for a 50 vote majority to pass a strong health reform bill — while letting more conservative Democrats vote against it.  [More on this anti-filibuster unity strategy in columns to come.]

Read more…

At a press conference today, House Republican Leader John Boehner talked about the importance of helping small businesses create jobs to get the economy going again (see his “leader alert” here). Nice thought.

There’s just one problem: health care is one of the top issues small businesses need addressed so we can do our part for economic recovery – and Boehner is standing square in the way of real health reform. His political grandstanding against health care reform is, simply put, bad for small business.

Every day, small businesses are being forced to drop health coverage, lay off employees or shut their doors for good because of rising health care costs. Without reform, small business health care costs will more than double over the next ten years – we’ll pay close to $2.4 trillion in health care costs between now and 2018. That’s money small businesses could be using to create the jobs to jumpstart the economy.

Read more…

Besides the US Chamber of Commerce, anyone out there feeling at all bad about the US House Energy & Commerce Committee asking large national health insurers about their finances? Certainly not I, especially after what we learned about the Wall Street bail out and big institutions that received billions in federal bailouts who in turn were handing out bonuses and continuing with other corporate spending that certainly raised the eyebrows – and ire- of the American public. Various health reform proposals will no doubt have a financial impact on the insurance industry (ie: by imposing a requirement that all people obtain health insurance and providing subsidies for those who can’t afford it). Representatives Waxman and Stupack have it right: before health reform creates a “bonanza” for the health insurers, let’s at least understand their current spending and business practices. It seems fair to me to ask the health insurers about their profits, salaries and bonuses for employees earning over $500k, how much they’re spending on retreats, etc.

Read more…

This morning ten women members of Congress held a news conference on "how the Democrats' health care legisaltion [sic] will hurt women and affect their day-to-day lives."

The participants were Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA); Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN); Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL); Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN); Rep. Mary Fallin (R-OK); Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC); Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX); Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS); Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY); Rep. Candice Miller, (R-MI); Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL); and Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH).

While NWLC wasn’t invited to attend the press conference, I was interested to get my hands on some of their press statements – after all, NWLC is all about women getting the health care they need. From our perspective, the status quo is untenable: overall, 18 percent of women are uninsured. As we’ve pointed out on this blog many times before, even women who are lucky enough to have health insurance are still more likely than men to have health coverage that has too many gaps, from large deductibles and co-pays to life-time limits, and the exclusion of needed services (like maternity, for example) altogether. Women are also more likely than men to face challenges paying for their medical bills – making them more likely to skip necessary medical care. And then there’s gender rating – the insurance industry practice of charging women more than men for the exact same coverage.

Read more…