Gray Panthers

Gray Panthers remain single payer advocates

Gray Panthers remain single payer advocates. We believe that health care is a right, not a privilege. Universal single payer health care would not only ensure that all people had a decent level of health care but would also contain run-away health care costs.

In this last health care "reform" fight, Gray Panthers supported a robust public option that would have competed against insurance companies that would have been made available to ALL people requesting the option - everybody in and no one left out. What we got in the passage of H.R. 3962 - Affordable Health Care for America Act - was an increase in the number of people being insured under private insurance companies and only an option for a minority to be covered under the public option - Hardly robust and not supported by the Gray Panthers. Also, the inclusion of Rep. Bart Stupak's [D-MI] restrictive abortion amendment in the bill goes against our support for reproductive choice and needs to be removed from any bill passed by Congress.

Despite continuous efforts and support, single payer health care was again taken of the table with the withdrawal of Rep. Anthony Weiner's single-payer amendment. However, we remain encouraged by Sen. Bernie Sanders' [D-VT] single payer bill S.703 currently being revised to reflect components of H.R. 676 -Medicare for All. Additionally, we support Rep.

Dennis Kucinich's [D-OH] possible decision to reinsert his amendment that will allow states to implement single-payer systems into the bill during the conference committee between the House and Senate.

As the health care reform battle moves to the next phase in the legislation process, you have our commitment that Gray Panthers will continue to fight for a single payer health care system that benefits the people, not the insurance and drug companies.

< Prev		Next >