HealthCareForAmericaNow

We can’t afford to wait for real health care reform anymore. It’s time for our leaders to stop putting the interests of big insurance first, and to do what is right for their constituents. Come help us tell big insurance and Congress that America demands health care reform NOW!

New York City

One Penn Plaza
in front of Fuse
SE Corner of 32ns St. and 7th Ave.
New York, NY 10001
Tuesday, September 22nd – 12:00 pm

Buffalo

Layfayette Square (Buffalo, NY)
Layfayette Square and Main St.
Buffalo, NY 14203
Tuesday, September 22nd – 12:00 to 1:00 pm
Click here to RSVP

Albany

Outside GHI Corporate Offices
80 Wolf Road (near Sand Creek Road)
Albany, NY 12205
Tuesday, September 22nd – 4:00 pm

Long Island

225 Broadhollow Road (Route 110)
Just north of the Long Island Expressway (meeting on the East side of the road)
Melville, NY
Tuesday, September 22nd – 11:00 am

Binghamton

Broome County Courthouse
Binghamton, NY
Tuesday, September 22nd – 12:00 pm

Rapid Response Team – Weekly Calls to Congress

Today, Senate Finance Chair Max Baucus of Montana released his long-awaited plan for health care reform, and it simply doesn’t meet our standards for reform.  It vastly reduces the number of people that would be subsidized for their health care, leaving all too many New Yorkers out, subsidizing people at only 300% of the federal poverty level (about $32,000 for a family of one; $55,000 for a family of 3).  We doubt that is adequate for families in Montana, but it certainly isn’t adequate in states like New York, with much higher costs of for health care and other necessities! And Sen. Baucus refuses to include a public health insurance option, which is vital to keeping private health insurance companies honest and keeping their high premiums down.

As Richard Kirsch, former Executive Director of Citizen Action and now National Campaign Manager of HCAN put it, “The Baucus bill is a gift to the insurance industry that fails to meet the most basic promise of health care reform: a guarantee that Americans will have good health care that they can afford. The Baucus bill would give a government-subsidized monopoly to the private insurance industry to sell their most profitable plans – high-deductible insurance – without having to face competition from a public health insurer.”

Please have everyone on your list call Senator Schumer today at 1-877-264-4226 with this message:

I’d like to call Senator Schumer to thank him for his support for health care reform with a strong public option.  We’d also like Senator Schumer to please tell Senator Baucus that New York, as a high-cost state, needs subsidies for coverable up to 400% of poverty at a minimum, and a strong public health insurance option.

In a state with extremely high costs for health insurance and other necessities, it is vital for New York’s working families for the final bill passed by Congress to provide subsidies for purchasing health insurance up to 400% of poverty at a minimum. We must also have a public health insurance option as an alternative to private health insurance to ensure accountability, affordability and choice. It is therefore critical that Senator Schumer continue to be a champion for a strong public health insurance option and for strong affordability standards in the final legislation passed by Congress.

Please have everyone on your list call Senator Schumer today at 1-877-264-4226 with the message above.

Also posted at http://citizenactionny.org

On the evening of Thursday, August 20th, over 70 interested community members gathered at the Ryan-Chelsea Community Health Center to discuss and learn about the current health care reform proposals in Congress at a teach-in sponsored by Health Care for America Now and it’s New York City coalition.

Next week we’ll be posting the slide show presentations used at this event, and similar events across the state. Also, check back here on Thursday evening to watch a live stream of the event in Buffalo.

Here are some photos of the event:

Click “Read More” to see the statements from the speakers at the event:

test in the news

A Teach-in for HCAN Activists and Allies

Topics to be discussed:

• What do the bills in Congress actually say?
• How will real people actually benefit from these bills?
• What are the politics surrounding reform now?
• What do we need to do?
• What do we need to say?

Events across New York. Click here to find the event near you.

Originally posted to http://citizenactionny.org

Health care reform needs to happen this year. But, significant changes in our society don’t happen easily – and they don’t happen without action from the grassroots (that’s you!).

So, here’s a list of 10 things you can do right now to help move health care reform forward.

1. Contact your Member of Congress. The first and easiest thing you can do to help pass health care reform is to send a message to your Member of Congress. Tell them to pass H.R. 3200, the House health care reform bill. Click here to see who your Member of Congress is.
2. Contact your Senators. Next, send a message to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand. Thank them for their support of a strong public health coverage option.
3. Make a contribution to Citizen Action of New York. Fighting the corporate special interests and lobbyists who oppose reform isn’t cheap. We’re stronger on the ground, and we also have truth on our side. But we need the money to make sure our message gets out. Click here to chip in now.
4. Read The 10 Dumbest Arguments Against Health Care Reform by the America Prospect. Understanding why folks are opposed to health care reform is a great first step in being able to convince people why it’s so important. Click here to read the article.
5. Write a letter to the editor. Folks need to understand why health care reform is so important. You can tell them why. Getting your message printed in a newspaper helps get our message out, influence politicians and decision-makers, and energizes those who already support reform. Write a letter to your local paper now.
6. Find an event near you and RSVP. Our friends at Health Care for America Now are keeping track of events nationwide. Click here to locate an event near you, and click here to see events listed on our website.
7. Tweet the Truth 4 Health Care Reform #truth4healthcare. Every day we’ll tweet a tidbit of information about health care reform that some folks might not know. Your job is to re-tweet it, or make it your Facebook status. You can find it by following us on Twitter, becoming our fan on Facebook, or by looking underneath the cute little birdie in the right sidebar of this website —->.
8. Spread the Word. The best (and cheapest) way to advertise is by word of mouth. After all, you can convince your friends to support health care reform better than we can. Tell your friends to visit our website – http://citizenactionny.org – and sign up. They’ll get action alerts and notices about events in their area.
9. Become a Citizen Action First Responder. Our rapid response team is our greatest asset to fight the wealthy, right-wing corporate interests who are trying to protect company profits. As a First Responder we’ll email or call you with an urgent action – usually placing a call to one of your elected representatives. Click here to join now.
10. Share this post with your friends on Facebook. Getting more people involved is the key to our success. Making it easy for them to get involved is the best way to ensure our numbers are grow. Spread this post far and wide…

Citizen Action of New York/Health Care for America Now organizer in Buffalo, Diana Cihak, was interviewed tonight on Neil Cavuto’s show on the Fox Business Channel.

Diana disagreed with Neil’s prediction that the public option is dead. She made the case that an overwhelming majority of Americans support a public option and support H.R. 3200. In fact, an analysis of polls about the public option shows a range of 62%-83% of approval of the public option.

We’re going to win health care reform – we’re going to win health care that is affordable, with comprehensive coverage.

Today, Health Care for America Now coalition organizations in New York released a new report called Health Insurance Coverage in New York Keeps Shrinking as Premiums, Family Costs Continue Climbing.

As the report was released, HCAN-NY called on New York members of Congress to support H.R. 3200 – the House health care reform bill – and its included affordability measures, including the income tax surcharge on families earning over $350,000.

The report below shows that families across New York and the United States are struggling under the heavy weight of rising health care costs. And, according to another report released today, Three Proposals to Pay for Health Care Reform without Hurting Struggling Families in New York (pdf), The income tax surcharge proposed in H.R. 3200 (which would affect only 1.8% of New Yorkers) would address concerns about affordability while preventing tax increases on middle-income New Yorkers, and avoiding taxing their health care benefits. The provision would raise $543 billion to fund quality, affordable health care for all with a high-quality public health care option.

Click here to download the report. (PDF)

It’s crunch time. If we don’t pressure Congress to report health care bills out of committee by the August 3 recess, our opponents will use the delay to try to kill reform. To counter that, we need 1,000 more people across the Capital District to endorse the president’s plan.

1,000?! How do we do that?! Simple: 40 people get 25 signers. Just 40 people across the Capital District. Can we do it? Yes, we can. Do it for someone you care about, who suffered because they couldn’t get proper health care.

(Though this event was designed for one New York region, it’s easy to adapt to wherever you live.)

Here’s how it works: By registering for the event here…
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpfh2c
…you agree to get 25 signers any way you like by July 31 (8/2 at the latest). You can walk around your neighborhood or town/city center, or attend a local event. (Bring a friend for moral support.) You can talk to people at work, church, a club meeting, or party. Contact friends and relatives.

Anyone who has done this knows how easy it is. You don’t need to convince anyone, because the majority supports the president’s plan. Just ask people, “Would you support the president’s health care reform plan by signing your name?” Some will, some won’t. Thank everyone and move on.

Here are some upcoming events that draw good crowds:
ALBANY
Weekdays (12 to 1): lunch crowds on State, Pearl, and Broadway, and in the park behind the Capitol.
7/29 (10 to 2): Farmers Market, Empire State Plaza.
8/1 (12 to 7): African American Family Day, Empire State Plaza.
SARATOGA
7/27, 28 & 29: SPAC
7/29 and after (1:00): Saratoga races
7/31 to 8/2: Hats Off to Saratoga Festival
SCHENECTADY
7/26 & 8/2 (7:00): Music Haven Concert Series, Central Park
7/27 to 8/1 (matinee & evening): Proctors Theater
7/30 (12 to 1:30): Jazz on Jay Street
SCOTIA
7/29 & 30, 8/1 & 2: Freedom Park Concerts
TROY
7/31 (evening): Troy Night Out
7/31 (5 to 11:30): Rockin on the River
8/1: Troy Farmers Market (on premises with permission or nearby)
ELSEWHERE
There may also be events out in Schoharie, down in Hudson, over in Chatham, and elsewhere. You folks know the local events. And let’s not forget the crowds at Woodstock, Lake George, and Tanglewood. It’s all good.

Just look at all these opportunities! 1,000 signers, piece of cake! Let’s go, Capital District, we can do this! Yes, we can!