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And we're live! Today's @RulesDemocrats hearing on @RepJayapal's #MedicareForAll Act has been a long time coming. Follow the hearings on @cspan and stay with PNHP for further #SinglePayer insights on this historic day. cs.pn/2V29qQS
Committee chair @RepMcGovern opens the proceedings by thanking @RepJayapal for her commitment and dedication to #MedicareForAll. To learn more about H.R. 1384, the *only* #SinglePayer bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, visit pnhp.org/HouseBill.
"No one should have to fight a health insurance company while they're fighting for their lives," says @RepMcGovern, referencing the powerful story, and all-too-common struggle, of #SinglePayer champion @AdyBarkan.
Ranking member @TomColeOK04 notes that #MedicareForAll "requires coverage of comprehensive reproductive care," including abortion. He thinks that's a bad thing. We think it's absolutely essential.
Organizer and health justice advocate @AdyBarkan: "The ugly truth is this: Health care is not treated as a human right in the United States of America. This is outrageous, and it is past time we change it." #MediareForAll
"GoFundMe is a terrible substitute for smart Congressional action." -- @AdyBarkan
Some pundits say we should "go slow" on health care reform, but @AdyBarkan counters, “I needed #MedicareForAll yesterday. Millions more need it today. The time to pass #MedicareForAll is now.”
Any reform that maintains a role for private health insurance cannot achieve health justice, says @AdyBarkan. “The fundamental truth is that too many corporations make too much money off our illnesses.”
Economist Charles Blahous is offering his significantly flawed analysis of the cost of #MedicareForAll. PNHP co-founders Drs. @swoolhandler & Himmelstein responded to his 2018 @mercatus study here, calling it "Ideology Masquerading as Health Economics": bit.ly/2WhJc9Q
Prescription drugs would be cheap if we didn't grant patent monopolies to #BigPharma, says @DeanBaker13 of @ceprdc. To read PNHP's proposal on pharmaceutical reform, visit pnhp.org/pharma.
#SinglePayer skeptic @gracemarietweet of @galeninstitute wonders what impact #MedicareForAll would have on patient choice. Well...it *would* eliminate the choice of junk insurance and do away with narrow provider networks. We suspect patients would rejoice.
"Improving coverage for everyone will ultimately require federal legislation," says @SaraCollins_ of @commonwealthfnd. That federal legislation should be #SinglePayer #MedicareForAll, not tweaks that would maintain a role for profit-hungry private health insurers.
“While the ACA was a step in the right direction...it did not go far enough,” says Dr. Doris Browne, immediate past-president of @NationalMedAssn. “We must develop a comprehensive agenda around health equity.”
Lack of coverage, high cost-sharing, provider bias, lack of investment in safety net hospitals, and social determinants of health are all barriers to health equity for patients of color, says Dr. Doris Browne.
PNHP national board member Dr. Susan Rogers weighs in on worsening racial health disparities, and why #SinglePayer would be an important tool to help achieve health equity.
Emergency room physician and PNHP member Dr. Farzon Nahvi laments that, in the wealthiest country in the world, “seeking medical care involves weighing one’s health against one’s wallet.”
Dr. Farzon Nahvi advocates #SinglePayer #MedicareForAll so he never again has to see patients leaving his emergency department, against medical advice, for fear that they can't afford treatment.
Dr. Henry Kahn: "When my mayor, my senators, my congressperson, my very poorest neighbors, my wife, my grandchild, and I are all on the same universal, tax-supported #MedicareForAll plan, it will be a good plan."
How do health insurance companies make billions in profits? @AdyBarkan says, from personal experience, “they deny, delay, and wait for patients to give up. As a result, patients get sick, get sicker, and die.”
Patients with advanced disease "require much more care that is much more costly," says Dr. Doris Browne. She and Dr. Farzon Nahvi say low-cost preventive care makes clinical sense *and* economic sense.
"I feel like I'm practicing medicine with one hand tied behind my back" says Dr. Farzon Nahvi, who worries about patients either refusng necesssary medical care or being consigned to years of medical debt due to outrageous cost-sharing. #SinglePayer #MedicareForAll
As @gracemarietweet of @galeninstitute sings the praises of employer-based health coverage, Dr. George Bohmfalk of @HCJusticeNC (also a small business owner) explains why #MedicareForAll would be a lifeline for businesses and workers alike. cc: @BizHealthPol
Ranking member @TomColeOK04 suggests that #MedicareForAll would put rural hospitals out of business. But rural hospitals are closing RIGHT NOW (more than 100 this decade). #SinglePayer would provide stable global budgets and allocate resources to providers based on medical need.
“There is no reason to tie health care to employment," says @AdyBarkan. "It just exacerbates the negative impact of job loss. And frankly it’s a huge burden on employers.”
Can we transition to #SinglePayer in two years? Dr. Farzon Nahvi says, “from a physician perspective, we were ready for this not in two years, but two years ago.” We need #MedicareForAll NOW.
Dr. Doris Browne reminds us that doctors and medical professionals caring for patients of color are often reimbursed at lower rates (Medicaid or uncompensated care). Even transitioning to current Medicare rates would not cause safety net providers to close their doors.
How much administrative waste can we cut from U.S. health care? Consider the experience of medical student Kelsey Noble, who sees "whole floors, even entire buildings, devoted to people on the phone all day long with managed care organizations." cc: @snahp_national
Since #SinglePayer skeptics insist on talking about Vermont, here is PNHP's assessment of what happened. In short, we found that the state abandoning its single-payer efforts "arose from political calculus rather than fiscal necessity." bit.ly/2Y2WLuj
PNHP national coordinator Dr. @one4singlepayer: "Why does the richest nation on earth sacrifice the lives of its own people? Who could possibly benefit from such an inhumane system? Private insurers."
#SinglePayer skeptic @RepRobWoodall suggests #MedicareForAll would take private coverage away from “people who feel well-served.” No. #MedicareForAll would *improve* coverage for ALL Americans by guaranteeing comprehensive coverage and eliminating cost-sharing.
Dr. Jessica Schorr Saxe reminds us that "an effective health care plan needs to be truly comprehensive." #MedicareForAll would cover services that private plans do not (and with no cost-sharing or resrictive provider networks).
Dr. Farzon Nahvi on the significant clinical advantages of public coverage: “I’ve never had a patient leave @VeteransHealth, against medical advice, because they were worried about the cost of their treatment.”
As committee chair @RepMcGovern talks about the hassles associated with private health insurance, Dr. David Mair weighs in, saying, "I support #SinglePayer because I want to reduce the wasteful, unnecessary bureaucracy in our current, for-profit health care system."
"Life is hard enough," says @RepRaskin, "for government to be confounding the misfortunes of life with the injustice of denying people health care when they get sick." #SinglePayer #MedicareForAll
"Most small businesses hate [shopping for and administering health benefits], because they're not in the health care business." -- @RepRaskin
As the discussion turns to health systems in other countries, Canadian-trained physician Dr. Anna Stratis notes, "Here in the U.S., I can't even understand my own health insurance plan, so I know the system is rigged to confuse and deny people."
"Just expanding the Affordable Care Act wouldn't cut it" says Dr. Farzon Nahvi, citing *privately insured* patients who avoided care because of cost. #SinglePayer #MedicareForAll would benefit every American.
Texas Rep. @michaelcburgess laments "missed opportunities" for Republicans to contribute to the ACA (despite its origins as a Heritage Foundation proposal). Of course, we welcome Republican co-sponsors of the #MedicareForAll Act (H.R. 1384). Come aboard!
NYC medical student @amfeuerbach: "When we start medical school, we take an oath to do no harm. But far too often we do just that by presenting our patients with an impossible choice: go without needed care or go bankrupt trying to afford it." #MedicareForAll cc: @snahp_national
Dr. Mary Jo Groves: "We can't just say that we'll believe research that tells us how to manage illness in an individual and ignore the research that tells us the best ways to manage illness in large populations [like] #SinglePayer #MedicareForAll."
#SinglePayer skeptic @gracemarietweet of @galeninstitute says "we mustn't ignore what we see in other countries." Absolutely! Our peer nations, like Canada, have significantly better health outcomes (including longer life expectancy) and significantly lower costs. #MedicareForAll
"We are rationing care [in the U.S.] by leaving people uninsured" says @SaraCollins_ of @commonwealthfnd, pushing back against critics who say #SinglePayer leads to long wait times.
Don't believe the scare tactics! If #SinglePayer works so poorly in Canada, then why do Canadians with cystic fibrosis outlive Americans by a decade? (And why is Canadian Medicare so popular?) bit.ly/2Y0tgt1
“There are lots of hidden costs in employer-based coverage” says @SaraCollins_ of @commonwealthfnd. She cites wage concessions and premiums paid by employers. Most Americans would save money under #MedicareForAll.
Economist @DeanBaker13 of @ceprdc cites an economic analysis of #MedicareForAll by Robert Pollin and his colleagues at @PERIatUMass. It's a thorough and rigorous study, and well worth a read. bit.ly/2XX2eT4
Health activist @AdyBarkan correctly notes that only #SinglePayer would generate the administrative savings required to extend quality coverage to all Americans. Half-measures like a Medicare buy-in aren't going to cut it.
Break time! We'll return when @RulesDemocrats reconvenes its historic #MedicareForAll hearing. In the meantime, please view our physician and medical student member testimonials at pnhp.org/ShadowTestimon….
