WASHINGTON, D.C. --- A group of the nation's most prominent physicians and
progressive leaders of Congress will hold a press conference briefing Tuesday,
February 4, 11am, 2226 Rayburn House Office Building, to unveil a new bill,
The United States National Health Insurance Act, a single-payer national
health program. The legislation proposes an effective mechanism for controlling
skyrocketing health costs while covering all 42 million uninsured Americans.
The bill also restores free choice of physician to patients and provides
comprehensive prescription drug coverage to seniors, as well as younger people.
"Good news," says Dr. Quentin Young, convener of the physician panel. "There
is now a way to exit the nightmare of a collapsing health system. We no longer
have to put up with the outrageous costs that keep millions of Americans
from receiving medical care and needed medications. Nor will tens of thousands
of families have to declare bankruptcy over medical bills. Universal national
health insurance (single payer) takes the resources we have in place and
deals with them in an intelligent manner, excluding the tragic hemorrhage
of resources into non-health entities."
Dr. Marcia Angell, former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of
Medicine*, is the spokesperson for the Physicians Working Group on Single-Payer
National Health Insurance, an ad-hoc collaboration of the nation's top
physicians. Dr. Angell will present the proposal at the briefing.
Other members of the group include Dr. Gerald Thomson and Dr. Christine Cassel,
former Presidents of the American College of Physicians, the second largest
medical association in the country; Dr. Rodney Hood and Dr. Gary Dennis,
former Presidents of the National Medical Association; Dr. Elinor Christiansen,
immediate Past-President of the American Medical Women's Association; and
Dr. Ron Anderson, CEO of Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas. (*Affiliations
for identification only. A full list of Working Group members is at the end
of this release).
Representative John Conyers, Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus and ranking
minority Member of the House Judiciary Committee will introduce The United
States National Health Insurance Act on February 4. A long time advocate
of national health insurance, Rep. Conyers closely collaborated with the
Physicians Working Group on the bill.
Additionally, nearly 4,000 individual physicians have endorsed the physicians'
proposal including two former Surgeons General (Dr. David Satcher and Dr.
Julius Richmond); a Nobel Laureate (Dr. Bernard Lown); the highly respected
authors of major textbooks of surgery and family practice (Dr. William Silen
and Dr. Robert Rakel, respectively); and a leading organizer of emergency
services in NYC on 9/11(Dr. Lewis Goldfrank, Chairman of Emergency Medicine
at New York University).
Also joining the physicians and Congressmen to endorse the National Health
Insurance Act will be Dr. Maya Rockeymoore, Urban League Director of Health
Policy; Dean Baker, Co-Director, Center for Economic and Policy Research;
and Hillary Shelton, a spokesperson for Julian Bond, Chairman of the NAACP.
Original Congressional co-sponsors of the NHI bill at press time are: Luis
Guitierrez (IL), Jim McDermott (WA); Bobby Scott (VA); Donna Christensen
(Virgin Islands); Barbara Lee (CA); Danny Davis (IL); Major Owens (NY); Jesse
Jackson Jr.(IL); Maurice Hinchey (NY); Donald Payne (NJ); Elijah Cummings
(MD); Carolyn Kilpatrick (MI); Alcee Hastings (FL); Chaka Fattah (PA); Ed
Towns (NY); John Lewis (GA); BennieThompson (MS); Eleanor Holmes-Norton (delegate
for DC), and Lou Grijalva (AZ) (listing in formation).
National Health Insurance Act Press Conference
February 4, 2003 11am
2226 Rayburn House Office Building, Judiciary Committee Room
*Physician Working Group Members
Marcia Angell, MD, Spokesperson (Past Editor New England Journal of
Medicine)
Quentin Young, MD, Convener (National Coordinator PNHP, Former President
American Public Health Association)
Joel Alpert, MD (Former President American Academy of
Pediatrics)
Ron Anderson, MD (President and CEO, Parkland Health &Hospital
System)
Peter Beilenson, MD, MPH (Commissioner, Department of Health,
Baltimore)
Christine Cassell, MD (Former President American College of Physicians,
Dean, Oregon University School of Medicine)
Elinor Christiansen, MD (Past President American Medical Women's
Association)
Olveen Carrasquillo, MD, MPH (Asst Prof of Medicine Columbia School
of Medicine, Adv Comm Member Natl Hispanic Medical Assn).
Gary Dennis, MD (Former President National Medical
Association)
David Himmelstein, MD (Assc Prof of Medicine Harvard Medical School,
Co-Founder, Physicians for a National Health Program)
Rodney Hood, MD (Past President of the National Medical
Association which represents African-American physicians)
Edith Rasell, MD, PhD (Minister for Labor Relations in Commun and
Econ. Devel. for the United Church of Christ)
Helen Rodriguez-Trias, MD (Past President American Public Health
Association - recently deceased)
Sindhu Srinivas, MD (Past President American Medical Student
Assn.)
Gerald Thomson, MD (Former President American College of
Physicians)
Walter Tsou, MD, MPH (Former Commissioner of Health,
Philadelphia)
Steffie Woolhandler, MD, MPH (Associate Professor of Medicine Harvard
Medical School)
Executive Summary
of The United States National Health Insurance Act
Full text of The
United States National Health Insurance Act
Recorded telecast of the press conference on kaisernetwork.org
HealthCast:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/calendar/calendar.cfm?show=4
and click on the calendar under Feb. 4, "Physicians for a National Health
Program -
National Health Insurance Bill (DC)"
PNHP press
release
The Coalition for a National Health Program is being launched to bring together
all those who support the kind of national health plan embodied in the US
National Health Insurance Act. Bookmark this site and return to it soon:
http://www.cnhp.us/
Be sure to contact your representatives:
U.S. Senate
US Representatives
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