March 17th, 7:00pm - PNHPWW Monthly Meeting
PNHPWW Facebook
PNHPWW YouTube
Click to
Join the Photo Petition
Let your Representatives and Friends know you believe Health Care is a Human Right!
Request a packet to join in
State Organizations
advocating for
Health Care
is a Human Right
...
-Health Care is a Human Right - Washington
-Vermont Workers Center
-Health Care for All Oregon
-Maine People's Alliance
-Whole Washington
Organizations advocating for single payer, Expanded and Improved Medicare for All in Western Washington
-Health Care for All -WA
-United for Single Payer
-Progressive Democrats of America
-Health Care is a Human Right - WA
-United for National HealthCare - Bellingham
-Socialist Alternative
-Washington Community Action Network
-Backbone Campaign
-Whole Washington
Coalition Partners
Health Care is a Human Right -
Washington
Get Activist's Toolkit
Washington Against Nuclear Weapons
Information
Dr. Gerald Friedman's economic analysis of how a state single plan would affect our state
Right click to download Hi-Resolution copy
New WHST PowerPoint
Download
It's Time to Add
Your Voice
Since 1987 Physicians for a National Health Program has advocated for reform in the U.S. health care system. A large part of our work involves educating health professionals, and others, about the benefits of a single-payer system - including fewer administrative costs and providing comprehensive health insurance for all residents of the United States
PNHP Western Washington is Changing its name to PNHP Washington
Our PNHP Western Washington Board has decided to change our name to PNHP Washington to reflect the fact that we have lots of PNHP members from around the state, many of whom have tuned in to recent monthly meetings. Also, the new medical school in Spokane will have a SNaHP chapter. With the ability to livestream our meetings, after pandemic restrictions, we can choose to have them in different locations around the state. Everyone can participate
It may takes some time to make the changes in our links so we'll try to keep all functional for a while.
Future Events
Feb 28, 12noon - White Coats 4 Black Lives webinar "Anti-Racism and the Development of a Single Payer Health Care System" - info & register here
March 2nd, 5pm - PNHP webinar - Drs Abdul El-Sayed & Micah Johnson discuss their new book "Medicare for All: A Citizens Guide" - Join here (passcode 835306); phone - 253 215 8782
March 6th, 5pm - WA Physicians for Social Responsibility Health Justice Gala (online)
PNHPWA is a sponsor. Free tickets here
March 15-19th - 5:30pm - 7:30pm PST- Washington-Marshall Islands Nuclear Remembrance Week (co-sponsored by WPSR) - streamed live from the Marshall Islands - Info & free reservation here
April 19-23 - PNHP Leadership Training -keynote prsentation by Dr. Linda Rae Murray - more details soon
April 23-24 - SNaHP Summit - keynote presentation by Dr. Victoria Dooley - more details soon
PNHPWW February 17th Monthly Meeting
via Zoom
Conversations Across Differences
Robert Reich (video)
In this meeting we "participated" in a lecture by the legendary Robert Reich who talked about how to communicate effectively and convincingly with audiences that might not share the same views and values. This topic is especially appropriate at this point in time in 2021 as we advocate for Improved Medicare for All and need to bring new people into the conversation. The video is about 80 minutes but broken into segments where the 20 attendees discussed what they just heard and how it relates to our organizing for Improved Medicare for All.
You can watch the meeting here
At the end are useful slides of "Key Takeaways" (below) and "10 Tips to De-Escalate a Conversation" from the Crisis Prevention Institute (thanks to John Kearney)
Healthcare Now has made several videos of the plenary session and workshops from its excellent Jan 18-24
Medicare for All 2021 Strategy Conference available:
Pramila Jayapal: Victories and Challenges Ahead for the M4A Bill - here
Panel: Where We Go from Here: Lessions for the Movement - here
COVID-19 Pandemic: Opportunities for Medicare for All - here
False Promise of the Public Option - here
Medicare for All and the Future of Labor - here
Implicit Bias, Health Inequities, and Medicare for All - here
Medicare for All and Racial Justice - here
Single Payer 101 + Biden's Plans - here
Shaping the Fight in a New Organizing Landscape - here
Notes on Developing Leadership - here
Past Events
Jan 27th - PNHPWA Monthly Meeting via Zoom, 7PM - PNHPWW Strategy for 2021 - watch it here
Feb 2nd - Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action - Webinar on how Medicare Advantage sabotages traditional Medicare - Speakers - Wendell Potter, Mark Dudzik, Diane Archer - watch it here
PNHPWW December 16th Meeting
Health Care Work Group on Universal Health Care
Recommendations to the WA Legislature
Health Care is a Human Right - WA - Priorties for 2021
General Discussion
In this meeting we reviewed the WA Health Care Work Group for Universal Care report to the legislature. Its charge was to look at options on how to provide health insurance for every resident in the state. PNHPWW President Sherry Weinberg, a Work Group member, reported on the current draft. The final report is to be submitted by the end of the year.
We also reviewed what happened in the Health Care is a Human Right - WA General Meeting on Dec 15th that looked at what policies to support in the 2021 WA Legislative session. There was unanimous support for the policy priority recommendations from the 30 sponsoring organizations attending, though three had abstentions on specific policies & two organizations didn't attend. You can watch the meeting here
PNHPWW November 18th Monthly Meeting
Review of 2020 PNHP Virtual Annual Meeting
And - What's Ahead in 2021
This meeting was a review of what happened in the virtual PNHP 2020 Annual Meeting on November 13th, 14th and the PNHP Board meeting on Nov 15th.
The PNHP meetings focused on what we can expect in the way of meaningful health care reform under the administration of President Biden and what should be PNHP's strategy and tactics to move forward in 2021. Keynote address was given by Dr. Rhea Boyd, pediatrician, public health advocate, and scholar - You can watch a video of Dr Boyd's presentation here In our PNHPWW virtual meeting we showed video snippets from the Saturday panel and focused our discussion on should single payer advocates also support some incremental legislation?; should we work on both state and national single payer legislation?; and should PNHP continue its focus on organizing and educating health care professionals but, also, broaden its advocacy to work in coalition with other social justice organizations that work on social determinates of health?
You can watch a video of the PNHPWW meeting here
PNHPWW October 21st Monthly Meeting
Holding the US Accountable Internationally
for Abusing the Human Right to Health
Martha Schmidt, LL.M., J.D.
This was a very informative meeting. Our speaker was Martha Schmidt, a member of the National Lawyers Guild. She is a retired equal employment lawyer, professor and labor organizer, who has been focusing on the US international human rights record. Her activism and scholarship involves both domestic and foreign/military policy, including US use of illegal Unilateral Coercive Measures (economic sanctions).
She described the process the National Lawyers Guild is involved in to ensure that when the United Nations Human Rights Council reviews the US's record on human rights during its Universal Periodic Review on November 9th it will review the NLG report, she wrote, as well as reports from over 350 other US civil society organizations, detailing how the US falls far short of its commitments to the human right to health care. The UNHRC's report will be posted here soon.
You can watch a video of the meeting here
You can read the National Lawyers Guild Report to the UN Human Rights Council here
You can download Marti's PowerPoint slideshow here
The Saving Lives Campaign
Cuba and the COVID-19 Pandemic
We had a wonderful September meeting focused on the "Saving Lives Campaign in Collaboration with Cuba" and Cuba's response to the pandemic within Cuba and with its Henry Reeve Brigades internationally. Speakers were Cindy Domingo and ELAM medical student Sol Bocklie.
You can view a video of the meeting here
Kevin Zeese: Rest in Power
Kevin Zeese, longtime powerful advocate for improved Medicare forAll and all the other social justice issues passed away peacefully in his sleep a few days ago. Kevin, along with his partner Margaret Flowers, founded Popular Resistance, an invaluable source of information for social justice advocates. They participated in a PNHPWW's Annual Public Meeting and some Monthly Meetings. Kevin will be sorely missed, but we will always have his example. Kevin's sons and Margaret held an online vigil for him on Sept. 19th. You can watch a video of this very moving tribute to Kevin here. and YouTube.com/PopularResistanceO
The Kevin Zeese Emerging Activist Fund has been set up to to sponsor young s and keep Kevin's legacy growing. You can donate to the fund using a credit card (one time or monthly) or by check. All donations are tax-deductible. 
Historical Perspective on Pandemics
Hugh Foy recently gave a wonderful presentation to King County EMTs "Pandemics Then and Now
There is growing recognition that racism is a public health crisis. A key step in this development happened on June 6, when 7,000 health care workers marched from Harborview Hospital to Seattle City Hall in support of people of color, to declare racism a public health emergency, and to demand an end to police brutality against people of color. Following this, King and Pierce counties joined governments across the country in recognizing racism as a public health crisis and taking steps towards racial equity. Similar resolutions have been introduced in the US Congress and adopted by the American Public Health Association, the American Medical Association, and the American Psychiatric Association.
John Geyman's latest book and pamphlet |
|
—Ralph Nader, activist, founder of Public Citizen, and |
 |
 |
Order Common Sense Here
John appeared on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour on July 1st, 2020 to discuss his latest book: |
"The horrific multiple costs, cruel denials of benefits, and huge entrenched commercial crimes driving the health care industry is described in this motivating, accurate report by Dr. John Geyman. This book points citizens towards Congressional action.
PNHPWW July 15th Monthly Meeting
Black Health Matters
North Carolina Medicare for All Coalition
We screened a very informative and moving webinar produced by the North Carolina Medicare for All Coalition. Speakers talked about their personal experiences with the structural racism of our health care system and called for action to achieve Medicare for All. Dr. Susan Rogers, MD, President-Elect of PNHP was a featured speaker.After the presentations, we had some time to discuss what we'd seen.
You can watch the video here
PNHPWW June 7th Monthly Meeting
Residency Unions:
Medical Residents Join the Labor Movement
Brenna Stroup
Executive Director, UW Housestaff Association
Brenna Stroup, Executive Director of the University of Washington Housestaff Association (UWHA) gave a very informative presentation that included UWHA's history, UW resident benefits in comparison with other residency and fellow programs, advantages for residents in joining a union, and the recent efforts to successfully come to an agreement on a new contract with UW. A Q&A session followed the presentation.
You can watch the video here - https://youtu.be/62_fvc1l78g
PNHP Statement on Police Violence and Racism as Public Health Emergencies
Info about and how you can support Black Lives Matter - Seattle-King County
PNHP Web Site - Link for latest Coronavirus information
PNHP has a comprehensive web page about the pandemic. Click here to see the latest info.
Health Care is a Human Right General Meeting
June 9th
We heard from US Rep. Pramila Jayapal; Colin Goldfinch, Senior Health Policy Advisor to US Senator Patty Murray; and State Senator Joe Nguyen. They discussed the dual health care and economic crisis and the way forward for the US and Washington State.
You can watch the video here
Watch most PNHPWW Previous Monthly Meetings
PNHPWW YouTube Channel
Valuable New Resources!!!
PNHP Kitchen Table Campaign - https://pnhp.org/kitchen-table-campaign/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=46d56500-b445-424a-9bd8-1678887f3116 - During each of the first six months of 2020, PNHP will focus on a specific, concrete “kitchen table” issue that requires fundamental reform (like single payer), not minor tweaks (like a public option), and how Improved Medicare for All would fix them. Offered are toolkits with lots of resources: January - "Surprise Billling"; February - "Racial Health Inequities"; March - "Rural Health"; April/May - "Pandemics and Public Health Emergencies"; June - "The Opiod and Addiction Crisis."
Medicare for All Facts - https://medicareforallfacts.org - Collated by Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese of Health Over Profit - Most of what you need to know at your fingertips and continuously updated. Keep these links on your desktop.
For the latest news on health reform legislation - check PNHP articles of interest and opinion - or research a topic by clicking on the Google Custom Search image below:
For the latest news on health reform legislation - check PNHP articles of interest and opinion - or research a topic by clicking on the Google Custom Search image below:
Updated PNHP Slides for 2019
 |
Drs. Steffie Woolhandler and David Himmelstein presented the annual update on their extremely valuable set of health care reform slides at the recent PNHP Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.
You can view and/or download all the slides here (scroll down the page)
Recent Opinion on the Public Option:
Nation Magazine features an essay by Steffie Woolhandler and David Himmelstein - "The "public option" on health care is a Poison Pill" - that lays out the facts and reasoning why the public option and the other "Medicare for some" plans that do not eliminate private insurance, as espoused by many of the presidential candidates, will delay us from getting where we need to be = health justice for all.
The "Pathway to Universal Health Care" resolution is funded. It directs the WA Health Care Authority to convene a work group on establishing a universal health care system in WA, funded with $500,000 from the general fund to contract with one or more consultants to do an actuarial and financial analysis of state universal system options. The work group must consist of a broad range of stakeholders with expertise in health care financing and delivery system - including consumers, patients and the general public, patient advocates and community health advocates.... Read Health Care for All - WA's commentary
NoHLA WA Legislative Wrap Up - There were many improvements made to health care this legislative session for Washingtonians. Please check out the Northwest Health Law Advocates (NoHLA) Legislative Wrap Up to learn more about other important bills.
Medicaid Cuts in Washington State? One major setback - cuts may be coming to Washington state Medicaid patients. "The Legislature assumed Medicaid "program integrity" savings of over $350,000,000 starting in January 2020 that seem to be unachievable without making program cuts of some kind. NoHLA, HCFA-WA and many other stakeholders have expressed great concern about this highly unrealistic assumption."
How We Win - National Improved Medicare for All
Health over Profits for Everyone (HOPE) describes an in-depth strategy analysis on how the single payer movement can win National Improved Medicare for All (NIMA).
PDF; Word.docx
HOPE recently sent a letter to Rep. Jayapal regarding the need for transparency in updating HR 676 before it is introduced in February.
Some Important Recent Articles
Medicare for All legislation in the House - HR 676 ("updated" version to be introduced in the 2019 Congress), Senate - S 1804, and "Faux Single Payer legislation." and what would be essential for a state single payer plan::
1. HR 676 vs. S1804 - Analysis and Recommendations
2. Table of side-by-side Comparison
of Medicare for All Public Plan Proposals
3. Aligning House And Senate Single-Payer Bills - Removing Medicare's Profiteering Incentives Is Key
4. Essential Elements of State Single Payer
5. Section by Section draft of Updated Medicare for All - Jayapal bill
6. Saving Lives Campaign Letter
Dr. Geyman's books:
Common Sense: US Health Care at a Crossroads in the 2018 Congress (pamphlet_
Crisis in US Health Care: Corporate Power vs. Tho Common Good looks at how, over the last 60 years, our health care system got to be where it is now - how it changed from a system devoted to patient care to one devoted to maximizing revenues.
The Human Face of Obamacare - Promises vs. Reality and What Comes Next shows the human face of the ACA as the stories of real patients and their families best illustrate continuing problems of our health care system. It also shows how many of the promises made by the Obama administration have not been kept.
How Obamacare is Unsustainable - Why we need a Single-Payer Solution for All Americans documents where the ACA fails and the fix we need.
Health Care Wars - How Market Ideology and Corporate Power Are Killing Amercians examines how our market-based system benefits the 1% at the grave expense and suffering of the 99%.
"Breaking Point - How the Primary Care Crisis Endangers the Lives of Americans" documents the crisis in primary care in the US and what we must do about it.
John's Web Site
Other News:Still working to make our PNHPWW social media more useful. Please submit/share important info, articles, events to/on our Facebook site - https://www.facebook.com/pnhpww PNHPWW YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx_TkWg9tFnCKGnO9F-iEeQ - Single payer coalitions: 1) HOPE - Health Over Profit for Everyone – http://healthoverprofit.org; Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HealthOverProfit.org/; Twitter - https://twitter.com/H_O_P4E
Suggested Reading : “Health Reform in the Trump Era: A Big Step Back, But Possibilities for Bigger Steps Forward” – Woolhandler and Himmelstein , Nov 16, 2016. "Fix It: Healthcare at the Tipping Point" This powerful documentary that takes a look at how our health care system is damaging our economy, suffocating our businesses, discouraging physicians, and negatively impacting on the nation's health while remaining unaffordable for a third of US residents. Film producer Richard Master, founder and owner of MCS industries, produced the film. He faces relentless annual cost increases to provide health insurance for his employees. "Fix It" is a result of his journey to find a solution to the dysfunctional US healthcare system. You can watch the full movie for free here Recent Literature of Note
Physicians Proposal ReleasedThe updated Physicans Proposal was released May 5th via the American Journal of Public Health. Several PNHP leaders were involved in the writing. More than 2,200 physicians have endorsed it so far, including 111 in Washington State. You can download the PNHP press release here The full text is available here and PNHP has released a Summary and Fact Sheet.
For the latest news on health reform legislation - check PNHP articles of interest and opinion - or research a topic by clicking on the Google Custom Search image below:
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
For invaluable daily current health care reform information and analysis read PNHP Senior Staff Policy Analyst Don McCanne's
Email: pnhp.westernwashington@comcast.net