2009/01/03

Single Payer New York
http://www.singlepayernewyork.org

Dear Single Payer Health Care Supporters:

Please join us at Albany Medical College, 43 New Scotland Ave., Albany, on Sunday, January 11th at 10:30 a.m. for a critical meeting of Single Payer New York, the statewide coalition established this September to coordinate efforts in NY to win single payer health care for all at the federal and state level.

Our national government has begun to turn its full attention to changing our health system. Our efforts now are critical. The Obama administration plans to unveil its universal health care proposal shortly after the inauguration. So far there have been calls for "incremental" expansion, especially programs for children, as well as some form of private health insurance mandate. As we have seen in Massachusetts this proposal represents change, but it is not meaningful reform, not a proposal that will improve the health of the nation.

We know that the only solution that can provide quality health care to all Americans is one that eliminates private health insurance. We will continue to win support for Cong. John Conyers' bill HR 676, a single payer program of national health insurance. With 93 co-sponsors, single payer is the universal health care proposal with by far the most support in Congress. At our January meeting we will identify key steps that single payer advocates will take in the next few months to pass a national single payer bill.

We will also discuss what is happening here in New York State. If the NY Senate Democrats keep majority status in January, we have the very real possibility of passing a New York state single payer bill this year. Presumably, Governor Paterson, a long time sponsor of single payer when he was a Senator, would sign in.

The morning will be an opportunity to receive updates from both the federal and state level on single payer. We have been reaching out to a number of elected officials to share their perspectives with us. We will then spend some time formalizing the organizational structure for Single Payer New York, including membership criteria and governing structure.

In the afternoon we will break out into workgroups around federal legislation, state legislation, labor, media/education and fundraising to develop short-term, concrete work plans. We need your input, your energy and your creativity. Please attend!

If you are coming to this conference please RSVP to singlepayernewyork@gmail.com

The agenda for the day is:
10:30 - 12:00 p.m.
Federal and State Level Issues

12:00 - 12:30 p.m.
Governance: Presentation and Discussion

12:30 - 1:15 p.m. Lunch provided

1:15 - 2:45 p.m.
Break-out Sessions: Labor, Media/Education, Federal Legislation,
State Legislation, Fund Raising, and Governance committees

2:45 - 3:15 p.m.
Reconvene: Reporting out and Next Steps

Parking in the Blue Lot. Campus map:
http://www.amc.edu/patient/locations/documents/ParkingMap.pdf

Directions:
http://www.amc.edu/Patient/locations/index.html
Tabling space for literature will be available.

Please RSVP to singlepayernewyork@gmail.com

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