Nick Gainer on Single-Payer Health Coverage Lobby Day
Hello, my name is Nick Gainer. I'm a member of Champaign County Health Care Consumers. Tuesday, March 24th is a single-payer health coverage lobby day in Springfield. We invite you to join our downstate delegation traveling to the capitol to support House Bill 311 - the "Health Care for All Illinois Act". Participants can attend a press conference, provide testimony to the House Health Committee hearing, and attend a reception at the governor's mansion with Governor Quinn.
Thousands of people are losing their jobs and health insurance everyday, suffer from medical problems and can't afford the treatment, or are overwhelmed by medical debt and forced into bankruptcy. For too long, private insurance companies have decided who can receive healthcare, and now we find ourselves in the middle of a healthcare access crisis. While the private insurance lobbyists in Washington drown out the voices of the majority of the public who are demanding a state-sponsored health insurance, Illinois has the opportunity to listen to its people and support healthcare reform for everyone.
Similar to Medicare, HB 311 would create a single-payer healthcare system that would ensure no Illinois resident would go uninsured. The coverage would include doctor, hospital, long-term, mental health, dental and vision care, prescription drugs and medical supplies. There would be no more premiums, co-payments or deductibles - practices created by private insurance companies which inhibit access to care and unfairly burden low-income people. Under a single-payer system, the government pays for healthcare delivered in the private sector. Doctors remain in private practice and the government does not own or manage medical practices or hospitals. The program would pay for itself by eliminating wasteful private insurance profits and administration, such as paperwork and billing, which currently account for 24% of every healthcare dollar.
Join us in Springfield on March 24th! Go to www.heathcareconsumers.org for more information on how to take action and to RSVP. That's www.healthcareconsumers.org. Transportation will be provided.