IDAHO HEALTH CARE FOR ALL
(Local chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program)
Summer Newsletter 2009
Hello to all new members, existing members, physicians, and non-physician supporters,
Health care reform is hot right now so it is time to get involved.
It has been a busy few months and is becoming more so. Dr. Robert Vestal and I began serving as co-chairman of IHCFA in January 2009. We appreciate the hard work and service of the immediate past chair, Dr. Mike Foutz who did a great job of keeping this group growing and relevant and who leaves behind a cadre of volunteers prepared to continue with his work. We wish Mike well and hope to see him at the occasional meeting or political rally.
The grass roots health care rally at Boise City Hall on 5/30/09 received some public attention and a report on BSU radio the following day. George Prentice from BSU radio was at the rally, took some pictures, and interviewed one of our Steering Committee members, Dr. Lou Schlickman. Thanks to all who participated and helped to organize it. There is another rally for universal health care planned for 7/25/09 at 12 noon at Boise City Hall.
The national attention on Single Payer due to civil disobedience in Washington D.C. has been helpful. On May 5th and 12th, the Senate Finance Committee’s healthcare roundtable discussions chaired by Senator Max Baucus were repeatedly disrupted by advocates protesting the exclusion of Single Payer from the discussion. Eight people were arrested at the first roundtable on May 5th and five more on May 12th at the second meeting, many of whom were members of PNHP. These individuals were considering plea bargaining or going to trial to get more publicity with the tag line, Congressional Disruption vs. Congressional Corruption. Subsequently, Sen. Baucus had an unofficial meeting with PNHP members but claimed it was too late to allow them a seat at his roundtable in the Senate Finance Committee. He has agreed to drop the charges against the arrested protestors. Since that time, however, Single Payer advocates have presented at the U.S. House of Representatives HELP committee (Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions) on June 10th, and on the following day at the Senate’s HELP Committee chaired by Sen. Kennedy. The national office is currently pushing to meet with the White House and PNHP National is collecting signatures for a petition to present to President Obama. Perhaps Senator Baucus’ recent decision to delay the drafting sessions for the health care bill reflects that he is reconsidering his position on this point. The Montana chapter of PNHP held a rally/demonstration at the July 4th parade in which Senator Baucus participated. We should all contact him just to be sure he knows how we feel. Go to the following url to contact him: http://baucus.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
On 5/27/09, the Statesman published an Op-Ed written by Dr. Schlickman. Some of the on-line responses have been favorable and a few misinformed but it did stir the pot a bit. If you would like to read the text yourself, go to the following website: http://www.idahostatesman.com/readersopinion/story/782755.html
On June 25, Dr. Robert Vestal was a guest on the Idaho Public Television program Dialogue. He did an effective job of presenting the problems with our current health care system, discussing the economic imperatives for change, and Single Payer as the best plan to achieve universal coverage at the lowest cost. If you would like more details or would like to view the video, follow the following link:
http://idahoptv.org/dialogue/diaShowPage.cfm?versionID=180387
The last membership meeting on 3/24/09 was a big success. We were proud to sponsor a visit from Dr. Joseph Jarvis, a Republican politician from Utah who presented a strong case for Single Payer with cold, hard economic facts. Some of you may also have seen his lecture at Grand Rounds that week at St. Luke’s and Mercy hospitals. We have copies of the lecture on DVD for anyone interested. We are also very proud and excited to report that he will be coming back for a lecture at the City Club of Boise on 8/4/09 with his transportation costs paid for by IHCFA.
AMA/IMA News: On June 23 the Ada County Medical Society hosted a lecture by Joseph M. Heyman, MD, current Chair of the Board of Trustees and immediate past president of the AMA. He reports that the AMA is committed to universal access. One of the primary principles of the AMA positions on health care reform is to maintain choice for the patient and the physician. The AMA appears to be primarily supporting the use of tax incentives to achieve this goal. I asked him about the public option and Single Payer during the Q&A session. With regard to the public plan, he said the AMA would be supportive, of course, depending on the details. When asked why the AMA would not put Single Payer on the table for negotiation despite a recently published article the in Journal of General Internal Medicine that 41% of physicians nationally supported it, he pointed out that Single Payer advocate are not currently in leadership positions at the AMA. It is obvious that we have lots of work to do within the profession as well as in the public sphere. Anyone who can pursue leadership positions within the IMA, attend the summer IMA meeting, or spend some time talking with our current IMA/AMA leadership are encouraged to do so.
Membership and website issues:
Our webmaster, Mike Garris has been updating our website over the last month. Please check it out if you have not visited lately. You will find articles, past newsletters, an event calendar, national PNHP communications, contact information, and links to your legislators. He is also looking into a secure on-line method of paying membership dues and taking financial donations.
Please remember to pay your annual membership dues of $25. If you can spare an additional donation, we will put it to good use. Remember that IHCFA is a non-profit organization with a mission to educate the public on health policy so your contributions are tax deductible. Our local chapter runs on 100% volunteer time and energy. Your contributions help to defray mailing and printing costs, and the occasional special event like paying for Dr. Jarvis’ travel expenses to Boise for his City Club presentation. Thank you for anything you can spare.
We of course are going in a digital direction. The reliance on USPS is expensive and cumbersome. Future communications will rely on email more and less so on USPS. Please help us update your contact information so we can reach you electronically. You can do this by using our website, telephone, U.S. Post, or personal communication. Be assured that your contact information is confidential, and will only be used for IHCFA business. We are also exploring Facebook and Twitter as communication vehicles but they are not yet ready for prime time.
PNHP National: Check out the PNHP National website listed below for more national news, updates, and links.
Upcoming Events:
7/23/09 - Membership Meeting: 7 pm, Idaho Education Association Building 621 N. 6th St on the corner of 6th and Franklin. The goals of the meeting are to set goals for the next year, discuss local initiatives, collaborations, membership issues, volunteer opportunities, legislative issues, and planning for our August educational forum discussion.
7/25/09 - Rally for Universal Health Care: 12 noon at Boise City Hall.
8/4/09 - City Club of Boise with presenter Dr. Jarvis: 11:45 am in Ballroom at the Grove Hotel. Adjust your schedule and buy a ticket to attend if possible (http://www.cityclubofboise.org)
August: An Educational Forum on health policy reform is planned. The date, time, location and speakers have not all been confirmed but stay tuned for further announcement. We plan to have experts in each area to present and discuss the public option, tax-incentive options, the public utility model, and single payer in a panel format with Q & A. Physicians, legislators and the public are invited. Please try to attend if you can.
Respectfully,
E. Gregory Thompson, M.D.
Co-chair IHCFA
Idaho Health Care for All
Local Chapter of PNHP
http://idahohealthcareforall.org/
P.O. Box 44214
Boise, ID 83711-4214
Phone 208-853-3087
Physicians for a National Health Program
29 E Madison Suite 602, Chicago, IL 60602
Phone (312) 782-6006 | Fax: (312) 782-6007
www.pnhp.org | info@pnhp.org