Universal Health Care as the Civil Rights Struggle of the 21st Century

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The Fight for Universal Health Care is the Civil
Rights Struggle of the 21st Century
Physicians for a National Health Program 29 E
Madison Suite 602, Chicago, IL 60602 Phone (312)
782-6006 Fax [phone] email
info_at_pnhp.org www.pnhp.org
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47 MillionUninsured
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Age-adjusted death rates (per 100,000 population)
for Whites and minority/white ratios for the 10
leading causes of death, Unites States 1996
aTaken from the National Center for Health
Statistics. bAmI, American
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What is the price we pay for not having
Universal Health Care?18,314 Adult Deaths
Annually Due to Uninsurance

• Age Group
• 25-34
• 35-44
• 45-54
• 55-64
• Total
• Source Care Without Coverage. Institute of
  Medicine 2002

• Deaths
• 1,930
• 3,431
• 4,734
• 8,219
• 18,314

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Stephen Colbert on the Bush Health Plan
Its so simple. Most people who cant afford
health insurance are also too poor to owe taxes.
But if you give them a deduction from the taxes
they dont owe, they can use the money theyre
not getting back to buy the health care they
cant afford.
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The Healthcare Americans Get

• 1/3 are uninsured or underinsured
• HMOs deny care to millions more with expensive
  illnesses
• Death rates higher than other wealthy nations
• Costs double Canada's, Germany's, or Sweden's -
  and rising faster
• Executives and investors making billions
• Destruction of the doctor/patient relationship

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Physician Proposal in JAMA, August 13, 2003
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The Physicians Proposal

• Access to comprehensive health care is
• a human right. It is the responsibility of
  society through its government to ensure this
  right.
• 2. The right to choose and change ones physician
  is fundamental to patient autonomy.
• 3. Pursuit of corporate profit and personal
  fortune have no place in care giving.
• In a democracy the public should set health
  policies and budgets. Personal medical decisions
  must be made by patients
• with their caregivers, not by corporate or
  government bureaucrats.

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Isnt that socialized Medicine?
Health care system
Delivery
Funding
Private
Public
Private
Public
For-profit
Not-for-profit
For-profit
Not-for-profit
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CCBHS One of largest Cancer Care Providers in
Illinois
Number of case
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5 Year Survival of Stroger Hospital United
States Stage II Cancers Diagnosed in 1998 and
1999
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Cardiology Doing More with Less
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Neonatology - Survival
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The Healthcare Americans Want

• Guaranteed access
• Free choice of doctor
• High quality
• Affordability
• Trust and respect

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What would a NHP Look Like?

• Everyone receives a health care card assuring
  payment for all needed care
• Complete free choice of doctor and hospital
• Doctors and hospitals remain independent and
  non-profit, negotiate fees and budget with NHP
• Local planning boards allocate expensive
  technology
• Progressive taxes go to health care trust fund
• Public agency processes and pays bills

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Natl Health Insurance IS the Civil Rights Issue
of the 21st C.

• Someday we will look back in the same way we
  ask ourselves about slavery and the denial of a
  womans right to vote, and ask how could we have
  done that to 47million Americans??

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The Future of US Health Care

• On the first day of the sit-ins in Nashville,
  Tennessee, eight young college students found
  themselves propelled into the leadership of the
  civil rights movement and America entered a
  period of dramatic change. The courage and vision
  of these young people changed history.
• --David Halberstam

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