[GPCA Updates] GP RELEASE Greens urge GAO, Congressional Budget Office studies on Single-Payer health care

Thu Jun 18 16:20:32 PDT 2009

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GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, June 18, 2009

Greens call for new GAO, Congressional Budget Office studies on
Single-Payer health care

• Past federal studies on Single-Payer show it will provide
universal care while cutting costs, say Greens, who seek a
nationally aired debate on the merits of Single-Payer

• Green Party Speakers Bureau: Green leaders available to speak on
health care reform http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-health-care.php

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders and health care activists
called for new federal studies on the economic feasability and
impact of a Single-Payer (Medicare For All, HR 676) national health
care program.  The study should cover overall and ongoing costs and
savings, not just government spending.

Greens cited past studies from the General Accounting Office (GAO)
and the Congressional Budget Office in the 1990s showing that
Single-Payer would reduce the cost of health care while covering
every American.  The Green Party will make health care reform and
the demand for Single-Payer a major focus of the party's 2009 Annual
National Meeting in Durham, North Carolina, July 23-26
(http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=222).

According to a 1991 GAO report, "If the US were to shift to a system
of universal coverage and a single payer, as in Canada, the savings
in administrative costs [10 percent of health spending] would be
more than enough to offset the expense of universal coverage."
("Canadian Health Insurance: Lessons for the United States,"
http://archive.gao.gov/d20t9/144039.pdf).  More reports are archived
at pnhp.org
(http://www.pnhp.org/facts/single_payer_system_cost.php?page=all).

"The overall savings we'd gain from Single-Payer will boost the
ailing economy and will cut bankruptcies by nearly two thirds," said
Jody Grage, treasurer of the Green Party of the United States, who
noted a recent Harvard study showing that "Medical problems
contributed to nearly two-thirds (62.1 percent) of all bankruptcies
in 2007" (Physicians for a National Health Program press release,
June 4, 2009,
http://www.pnhp.org/news/2009/june/illness_medical_bil.php).

"The 'public health care option' supported by Sen. Kennedy and many
other Democrats will leave the private insurance industry intact and
lead to increased health care spending, especially if mandates lead
to big taxpayer-funded subsidies for insurance and HMO companies and
the high overhead they add to health care spending.  We challenge
Congress and President Obama to consult the GAO and Congressional
Budget Office on the costs and benefits of Single-Payer," said Ms.
Grage.

The Green Party has challenged Sen. Max Baucus and other
Single-Payer opponents to hold a public debate, broadcast
nationally, with Single-Payer advocates
(http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=221).  Sen. Baucus has
received more campaign money from the health insurance and
pharmaceutical industries over the last four years than any other
Democrat in Congress -- $413,000 since 2005, with only Republicans
John McCain and Mitch McConnell receiving more (http://www.Consumer
Watchdog.org).

Greens said that such a debate is urgently necessary because of the
lies and distortions about Single-Payer and health care reform
coming from the Wall Street Journal
(http://mediamatters.org/blog/200906160005), Conservatives for
Patients' Rights, and other opponents of health care reform.  See
also "Debunking Canadian Health Care Myths" by Rhonda Hackett, The
Denver Post, June 7 (http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_12523427).

"Apologists for profit-making insurance companies are dishonestly
trying to paint Single-Payer as expensive and radical.  In fact,
Single-Payer is more fiscally conservative, because it'll eliminate
the high overhead of private insurance.  Secondly, Single-Payer
allows full choice of physician, which will restore the American
tradition of family doctors who get to know their patients' health
care needs.  Instead of an insurance company or HMO bureaucracy
restricting treatment and referrals, Single-Payer will bring back
the days when patients and physicians made decisions about medical
care," said Justine McCabe, Connecticut Green, clinical
psychologist, and co-author of statewide Single-Payer bill,
1999-2000 (http://www.gp.org/speakers/detail.php?ID=35).

"And finally, under a Single-Payer plan, no one will suffer
financial ruin because of medical expenses," said Dr. McCabe.

"Unfortunately, President Obama and congressional leaders insist
that we all spend more money on health care, with taxes on
health-care benefits, to pay for 'reform' that would still leave
tens of millions uninsured and underinsured.  At the same time, they
don't want Americans to hear about the benefits of Single-Payer --
even though they admit it would save money, cover everyone, and give
us the right to choose our doctors," said Angel Torres, co-chair of
the Maricopa Greens (http://maricopagreens.org), which held a
Single-Payer rally in front of the office of Arizona Rep. Harry
Mitchell on May 30 to persuade him to sign on as a co-sponsor of HR 676.

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
• Tally of Green election victories
http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/election-results.html
• Green candidate news
http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/candidate-news.php
• Green candidate database for 2008 and other campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Green Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-elections

2009 Annual National Meeting of the Green Party, Durham, NC, July
23-26 http://www.gp.org/2009-ANM
• Media credentialing page http://www.gp.org/forms/media

Audio clip: Lynne Williams, Green candidate for Governor of Maine,
speaks at a May 30 rally for National Health Care at the State House
in Augusta, introduced by Pat LaMarche, 2004 Green nominee for Vice
President
http://www.asmainegoes.com/content/audio-maine-green-party-gubernatorial-candidate-lynne-williams

"Health Professionals Tell Congress They Want Single-Payer"
By Jeff Muskus, The Huffington Post, June 10, 2009
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/10/health-professionals-tell_n_213873.html

Green Pages, Vol. 13, No. 1
The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United
States
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

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