Healthcare For the People and By the People
by Anne Marie Cummings

The House of Representatives passed a health care bill (H.R. 3962) a week ago with a tight vote of 220-215. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democrats called it a victory. Many healthcare reform advocates across the country did not. Fortunately, for those disappointed with H.R. 3962, turning this bill into a law remains uncertain and buys them time to raise their voices during this serious debate.

From left to right: Karen Nezelek with Rebecca Elgie at a Potlucks and Politics group meeting that convenes every Thursday evening from 6:30 to 8 p.m. above Autumn Leaves Bookstore on The Commons. Currently the group is working on state-wide senior action, holding discussions about H.R. 3962, and reviewing healthcare videos. All are welcome. The founders of Potlucks and Politics are Stephanie Dvorak (Sheila Dvorak’s sister) and Stephanie Agurkis. For more information: https://groups.google.com/group/potluck-and-politics?pli=1.
From left to right: Karen Nezelek with Rebecca Elgie at a Potlucks and Politics group meeting that convenes every Thursday evening from 6:30 to 8 p.m. above Autumn Leaves Bookstore on The Commons. Currently the group is working on state-wide senior action, holding discussions about H.R. 3962, and reviewing healthcare videos. All are welcome. The founders of Potlucks and Politics are Stephanie Dvorak (Sheila Dvorak’s sister) and Stephanie Agurkis. For more information: https://groups.google.com/group/potluck-and-politics?pli=1.
 

“We will not rest until every person who needs health care in America gets it! And the way to get that health care for everyone is Medicare for All!” These words were shouted by the coordinator of a protest on September 29, following the arrest of 17 people who sat on the floor of the interior lobby of the Aetna offices in New York City protesting Ronald A. Williams, the CEO of Aetna, who, this year, activists have stated, made 24 million dollars while people are dying because they can’t receive the treatments they need.

Rebecca Elgie, a resident of Ithaca, is the Co-Chair of Single Payer New York, and a board member of a national healthcare organization called Healthcare-Now. Elgie stated that Single Payer New York recommends a "no" vote on H.R. 3962. “We don’t consider this a victory. Instead of eliminating or even curtailing the extremely negative role played by private and for-profit health insurance, the bill does the opposite. Federal taxpayer funds will subsidize insurance companies, not health care.”

Democratic Congress member from Ohio, Dennis Kucinich, in favor of individual states adopting a single-payer, Medicare-type health plan, explained why he voted “no” on H.R. 3962. “Because the single biggest cause of bankruptcies in the U.S. is health insurance policies that do not cover you when you get sick…This health care bill continues the redistribution of wealth to Wall Street at the expense of America's manufacturing and service economies which suffer from costs other countries do not have to bear, especially the cost of health care.”

Up until last week, Single Payer New York was fighting for a bill that is no longer under consideration in the House of Representatives (H.R. 676). H.R. 676 would create a publicly-financed, privately-delivered healthcare system by improving the already-existing Medicare program and expanding it to cover all U.S. residents and all residents living in U.S. territories.

But for Elgie, and many others who have their fingers on the pulse of this issue, there is a ray of hope for keeping the single payer option alive. “Senator Bernie Sanders has said he will propose his single payer bill, S. 703, as an amendment to the final Senate bill when it comes up for a vote, probably in the next month,” said Elgie, a retired school teacher, now 68 years old, who has for the previous six years made our current healthcare debate her full-time volunteer job.

A few weeks ago, Elgie and a group of 30 individuals rallied on behalf of health care for all. They tried to gain access to the offices of Lisa Brubaker, Executive Vice President of MVP Health Care, so they could hand her a letter and have a face-to-face meeting. When they were denied entry four of them, including Elgie, sat at the coffee shop inside the MVP Health Care building. Ten Rochester police and six security guards asked them to leave. Seeing that the group was going to stay and finish their coffee, Rochester police arrested them and held them in custody for four hours.

“I’m a responsible citizen; I vote; I’ve worked hard all my life, and I pay my taxes,” Elgie said, “but I feel so strongly about this issue that I’m willing to be arrested so there’s more coverage.” Gary Hughes, Director of Public and Community Relations of MVP Health Care, stated that MVP Health Care supports universal coverage in any health reform bill signed into law. “Those who can’t afford to pay should be eligible for government-subsidized coverage,” said Hughes, “and the best way to bring about this reform is to expand private health insurance options and existing government-sponsored programs to achieve universal coverage.”

Elgie responded, “Universal coverage doesn’t mean universal care. If you have high deductibles and high premiums many people can’t use their insurance and that means it’s not universal care.” Elgie added that the for-profit system is not appropriate for health care. “Police, postal services, and fire protection are all provided by the government. I feel health care should be a human right, a social service not dependant on for-profits.”

Adding its support to the national movement addressing the serious healthcare crisis in the U.S. is a new healthcare campaign formed this September called Mobilization for Healthcare for All (MHCA), a non-violent, civil disobedience campaign launched by several national organizations targeting the private health insurance industry. With the support of national health care organizations, including Single Payer New York, MHCA has been pursuing a campaign of nonviolent sit-ins at insurance company offices across the country.

Over 200 people have risked arrest in 20 cities in the MHCA campaign. These protesters are demanding that insurance companies immediately grant approval for treatment of all their policy-holders with life-threatening conditions. One hundred-and-thirty-two have been to jail, and thirteen remain in jail right now. On October 15, 27-year-old Sheila Dvorak, born in Ithaca, now a Los Angeles resident, helped MHCA organize a protest outside Blue Cross health insurance office in LA. Said Dvorak, “One hundred people were there and twelve were arrested, including me. I was there because Blue Cross in California nickel and dimed me at times when I needed my health care.”

Alongside a passionate Dvorak was 31-year-old Sam Pullen, one of the founders of MHCA, who told the story of how his mother, similar to the story of President Obama’s mother, went to the hospital 13 years ago with cancer and was denied coverage for a lifesaving bone marrow transplant by Blue Cross. “We are here today to say that Blue Cross is telling a lie! They don’t deny people because it’s experimental! They deny people because it’s too expensive for them!”

Last week, Dvorak, and a number of individuals in support of MHCA, expanded their campaign to include staging sit-ins at senators’ offices in Washington D.C. demanding that these senators stop taking money from insurance companies and lobbyists. “Obama needs to fight for us and deliver the change he promised,” said Dvorak. “We fought to get him elected and the time for rhetoric has passed. Our fight against the insurance companies and those who take money from them will continue no matter what happens in Washington D.C.”

Tompkins Weekly, Healthcare for the People and By the People, by Anne Marie Cummings, November 19, 2009.