Nurse Healers by Kate Loving Shenk

Why Pennsylvania Is Ground Zero For Passage Of Single Payer

Chuck Pennacchio                                            

I just got off the phone with Chuck Pennacchio, who is our tireless facilitator here

in Pennsylvania to spearhead the passage of Single Payer legislation. Perhaps

we will be the first State in the Union to pass Single Payer, otherwise known as

HB 1660/SB 300.

Several questions were raised during the course of our call.

1) Why is Washington not the right venue for Single Payer Passage?

We can see the "why not" right now as our President confronts Washington 

Insiders to settle on an Economic Stimulus Package. He was not getting

anywhere so he took his pleas on the road to present the stimulus plan to the 

American people.

Washington Insiders are stuck. Getting Single Payer passed in Washington is frankly,

a joke.

2) We must depend on grassroots power to get Single Payer enacted State by State.

3) John Conyers, Jr, United States Congressman, who orchestrates HR 676, the United

States National Healthcare Act, is now putting his energy into state sponsored Single Payer

Bills. We know this because he will be coming to Pennsylvania, then to Massachusetts 

and then Ohio, to help these states with their Single Payer initiatives.

4) We need look no further than the lessons of United States History.

Major reform has always occurred historically first in the states.

For instance, consumer rights, women's right to vote, minimum wage laws, child labor laws

and Civil Rights all were initiated first on the state level.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal started on the state level, as well, when he gave the crucial

"Economic Bill Of Rights" speech at the end of World War II.

Additionally, at the end of WW II, when England, France and Germany formulated Guaranteed

Healthcare For All, the United States was also on the verge of doing the same thing, with

Harry Truman's visionary leadership. But the conservative control in Washington at the time

opted for employee based health insurance coverage.

Guaranteed Universal Healthcare became a corporate For Profit entity from that point on.

5) The United States Constitution provides for division of power. This is spelled  out in the idea of 

Federalism, which is used to describe a system of government in which sovereignty is

constitutionally divided between national and state governments.

James Madison, America's fourth President, had a vision that each state represented a laboratory

where new ideas are tried out and propelled onto the national stage.

Let us also keep in mind that the Canadian Healthcare System began first in Saskatchewan, 1962,

and then went national a year later.

Why Pennsylvania?

1) Pennsylvania's Governor, Ed Rendell, has repeatedly said he will sign the bill, if the people

can get it on his desk. Governors elsewhere have not given similar support.

2) Health Insurance and Pharmaceutical Companies spend huge amounts on advertising to influence

against the Single Payer alternative. However, because Pennsylvania is a non-referendum state, higher

legislative entities have the final say as to whether a bill is passed, or not and theoretically, are not influenced

by propaganda designed to sway the minds of the people.

3) The Quinnipaic Survey poll taken in May 2008, said that 68% of Pennsylvanians supported 

Single Payer legislation.  Apparently, the propaganda discussed in item #2 is having little effect in the 

mind's of most Pennsylvanians.

This poll was completed before the economic downturn. It is safe to say that with so many people out

of work and without health insurance, this number is well over 70%. 

This, my friends, is considered a consensus, hands down.

Furthermore, Pennsylvania polling percentages for Single Payer are higher and more favorable

than any other state in the union.

4) Republicans are coming aboard in support of HB 1660/SB 300. Republicans elsewhere have 

not given similar support.

For instance, Tom Murt, State House Representative in Montgomery County, and an Iraq War Veteran,

strongly supports the bill.

Twenty- One other House Republicans signed on in support of the Economic Impact Study, which is

a prerequisite for these bills passing in the Commonwealth.

5) Healthcare For All PA has 8,000 members from all walks of life; nurses, doctors, medical and nursing

students, teachers, farmers, labor and business leaders,  Chamber of Commerce, League Of Women Voters, 

Council Of Churches,  AFL-CIO, as well a Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Greens, who allsupport the bills.

Pennsylvania is at the epicenter for passage of HB 1660/SB 300 for reasons that form a groundswell

of bipartisan, economic, moral and democratic (with a small d) gathering of energy.

We are excited to be apart of this energy.

Once we pass it, every other state will follow.

Thanks to Chuck Pennacchio for an excellent history lesson, and for providing the facts in this article!!

Kate Loving Shenk

-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Kate Loving Shenk is a writer, healer, musician and the creator
of the e-book called "Transform Your Nursing Career and Discover
Your Calling and Destiny." The book is designed to stimulate
nurses to love their work and to prevent on-the-job-burnout.
Click here to find out how to order the e-book:
http://www.katelovingshenk.com/blog
http://www.katelovingshenk.com/nursingcareertransformation
Check out Kate's Blog: http://nursehealers.typepad.com
And the Lens: http://www.squidoo.com/katelovingshenk
http://www.squidoo.com/thinkriches
http://doganddolphin.ning.com
http://nursehealers.typepad.com/dog_lovers_unite
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How To Use Social Media To Get The Word Out About Single Payer!

I am In The Purple Vest, Twittering Away At Our Local Organizational Meeting To Pass HB 1660/ SH 300!!

There are many social networking platforms.

My Space was perhaps one of the first and was considered something only kids
liked to use but now many adults like and use My Space, too.

Where I work in health care, if a crime is committed by a juvenile, Law Enforcement
will investigate the My Space page of the suspect and often can make an arrest based on
what they find there.

Face Book is considered an adult social networking site and many people use it to
post pictures and share them with family and friends.

The other two social networking sites I use, and there are many more, are Twitter
and Squidoo. Squidoo was founded by Seth Godin whose most recent enlightened
business book is called "Tribes."

In my humble opinion, Face Book alone does not get the word out about Single Payer.

As an example, I love Dustin Moore's Face Book page on Single Payer, but he could use
Twitter and Squidoo to maximize his efforts there.

Let us use Dustin's Face Book page about Single Payer as an example as to how he
could get word out to more people.

First allow me to explain Twitter and Squidoo.

Twitter is a network of millions, many of whom are business builders, many of whom have
to pay high Health Insurance Premiums for themselves, family and employees.

Some of them are so wealthy they don't care how much they have to pay.

But many are not.

Twitter is a blogging platform where you can only use 140 characters to get your message out.
You must be concise in your wording, which is also excellent writing practice!

Squidoo is a social networking community where you build what is called a "lens," a focused
page about anything you are passionate about.

Recently I did a page on Donna Smith, Sandra Strauss, and Chuck Pennacchio-one page each-
about what they have to say about Single Payer.

Twitter, Face Book and Squidoo all interface together, with Twitter being the pivotal platform.

Whatever I do on Twitter feeds into Face Book, if I set it up that way.

What ever I do on Squidoo feeds directly into Face Book and Twitter, if I direct it to.

So let us return to Dustin's excellent Single Payer Face Book page.

Let's say he had 1-2,000 Twitter followers. Anytime he updated his Face Book page, he could do a
post on Twitter about that, then redirect the Twitter message back to his main Face Book page.

These interface applications are excellent ways to communicate about our message and get
passage of HB 1660 on board much faster.

You can look at Twitter as a Community Journalism Tool.

Those of you with Blackberrys or iPhones can communicate about what goes on when you are at a
meeting for Single Payer. You can take a picture of people at the meeting and immediately post this
on Face Book and Twitter.

You can post an insight  or piece of news directly to Twitter and immediately reach thousands of
people, because if others find what you have said to be noteworthy, they will "re-tweet" your message
to all of their followers.

Thus the beauty of viral news making is created.

When ever there is an earthquake or some other natural disaster, a person at the scene will twitter
their first hand account, and the news goes out to Twitterland before Cnn or MSNBC can access it.

When the plane went down on the Hudson a few weeks ago, a person saw it go down from his office window.
He immediately Twittered his friend over at the Aviation Rescue Office, and rumor has it that
this is why rescue workers were on the scene so fast.

One rescue worker twittered on her way to the downed plane.

Her message read: "On way 2 downed plane in Hudson 2 see if there R any survivors."

This is how we all knew before the major news agencies even got word, although now CNN and MSNBC
are on Twitter, too.

So these are powerful tools, folks.

Let us use them to pass HB 1660 here in Pennsylvania.

Thank you.

Kate Loving Shenk

-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Kate Loving Shenk is a writer, healer, musician and the creator
of the e-book called "Transform Your Nursing Career and Discover
Your Calling and Destiny." The book is designed to stimulate
nurses to love their work and to prevent on-the-job-burnout.
Click here to find out how to order the e-book:
http://www.katelovingshenk.com/blog
http://www.katelovingshenk.com/nursingcareertransformation
Check out Kate's Blog: http://nursehealers.typepad.com
And the Lens: http://www.squidoo.com/katelovingshenk
http://www.squidoo.com/thinkriches
http://doganddolphin.ning.com
http://nursehealers.typepad.com/dog_lovers_unite
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Kate Loving Shenk Nursing Career Transformation Sign Up HERE For Your *FREE* Newsletter For Nurses And Healers Your e-mail address is safe with me--see privacy notice on my website!

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Single Payer Gains New Ground In The Battle For Healthcare Reform In Pennsylvania

Chuck Pennacchio, Executive Director Of Health Care For All Pa

Our grassroots organizing campaign to get an economic impact study to pass HB 1660,

a Single Payer, guaranteed healthcare program for all Pennsylvanians, also called "Family 

and Business Healthcare Security Act" has reached higher ground as three separate events 

converge that bode extremely well for the eventual passage of the bill.

Here is a summery of these three events:

 

1) Independence Blue Cross of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh based Highmark Blue Shield were poised to merge

and take over health insurance coverage here in Pennsylvania.

But both companies withdrew the merger for reasons that had to do with the fact that the merger would

reduce competition for the health care dollar plus an unwillingness on the part of both companies to 

give up the "Blue Cross-Blue Shield" brand each company spend seventy years developing.

Bottom line, the merger was not going to be approved very likely because of activist opposition by groups such 

as Healthcare for All Pa.

The merger got lost in the squabble over all of these details.

Single Payer activists are confident that the failure of this merger will dramatically boost the prospects

that the Pennsylvania State legislature will pass HB 1660/SB 300, Universal Healthcare, the "Family and Business 

Healthcare Security Act" that Governor Rendell repeatedly said he will sign.

Executive Director of Healthcare For All Pennsylvania, Chuck Pennacchio, responded to the January 22, 2009

news by saying," The dramatic defeat of the previously "untouchable" health insurance giants signals a power

shift in Harrisburg that nobody saw coming.

,

Added Pennacchio, "Healthcare for All Pennsylvania's 8,000 members have spent much of the last year fighting 

this monopoly merger, while advocating for the  proven Single Payer Solution--both on the basis of economics,

human decency and simple common sense. Today we are victorious in blocking the expansion of an industry

that causes the loss of 31 cents out of every healthcare dollar: an industry that profits off our suffering, and puts

95% of us at risk for medical bankruptcy should we experience a medical catastrophe. Having achieved the first 

of our two goals, we are now poised to enact the law called "Family and Business Healthcare Security Act."

The "Family and Business Healthcare Security Act " will establish a healthcare policy in the Commonwealth

of Pennsylvania by the following terms: publicly-funded, privately provided, guaranteed, comprehensive,

quality, affordable healthcare for all temporary and legal Pennsylvanian  citizens, plus migrant farm workers and 

out of state students.

Every body In. Nobody out.

 

2) Philadelphia City Council unanimously voted to support HB 1660 and SB 300.

Passage of HB 1660/SB 300 would give the City of Philadelphia a estimated $500 million surplus, more than 

enough to cover Mayor Nutter's projected budget shortfall of 2 billion dollars over the next 5 years, 

Additionally, HB 1660/SB 300 would guarantee access to comprehensive health care at much less cost than what average

families are now paying, generate thousands of new healthcare delivery jobs, save an average business that provides healthcare,

an estimated 25%-60% on health care costs a year, reduce property tax, (in theory) cut auto-insurance rates, (in theory) reduce worker's 

compensation costs, retain existing businesses and encourage the development of new businesses, and reverse 

the physician and nursing shortages facing cities and rural areas all across the State.

 

3) Healthcare For All Pennsylvania  are now organizing a state wide blitz to pass HB 1660/SB 300 legislation.

Eighteen local and regional organizers met last weekend at the Council of Churches Building in Harrisburg for training 

on how to pass theHB 1660 and SB 300.

We learned proven organizing stradegies and tactics at the meeting for enacting Pennsylvania's "Family and Business 

Healthcare Security Act."

Pennsylvania Senate Bill 300 and House Bill 1660 will soon be reintroduced in the legislature and enjoy

unique political advantages, placing the legislation on the inside track among universal healthcare proposals

across the nation.

Pennacchio said at the meeting, " Pennsylvania led the charge that established the nation's independence

from British tyranny in the eighteenth century. Today we declare our independence from profit-centured health

insurance company tyrants who systematically highjack health care decisions and funding to maximize profits,

perks, and CEO salaries."

Workshops included education, organization, media and social media outreach, internal and external 

communication and fund raising.

Unique public advantages include: promised signature by Governor Rendell upon passage of the bill;  funding 

authority contained within the legislation itself; bi-partisan co-sponsorship of the bill; overwhelming bi-partison

support for an economic impact study on HB 1660/ SB 300; public opinion support of legislative goals (68%,

5/1/08, Quinnipaic Survey of Pa).

Thanks to Chuck Pennacchio for providing me the information to write this article! And thanks to Chuck for his

never-ending persistence in achieving healthcare to all Pennsylvania citizens.

Thanks also to all members of Healthcare For All Pa, and a special thanks to Jerry Policoff, who with Chuck, 

pioneers this crucial and important work.

Kate Loving Shenk

-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Kate Loving Shenk is a writer, healer, musician and the creator
of the e-book called "Transform Your Nursing Career and Discover
Your Calling and Destiny." The book is designed to stimulate
nurses to love their work and to prevent on-the-job-burnout.
Click here to find out how to order the e-book:
http://www.katelovingshenk.com/blog
http://www.katelovingshenk.com/nursingcareertransformation
Check out Kate's Blog: http://nursehealers.typepad.com
And the Lens: http://www.squidoo.com/katelovingshenk
http://www.squidoo.com/thinkriches
http://doganddolphin.ning.com
http://nursehealers.typepad.com/dog_lovers_unite
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Kate Loving Shenk Nursing Career Transformation Sign Up HERE For Your *FREE* Newsletter For Nurses And Healers Your e-mail address is safe with me--see privacy notice on my website!

http://www.katelovingshenk.com/nursingcareertransformation/simplenewslettersignup.html

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