FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February
3, 2003, 11:00 a.m.
CONTACTS:
Kimberly Soenen, PNHP
312.782.6006
kimberlysoenen@pnhp.org
Joel Segal, Office of Rep. John Conyers
202-225-5126
joel.segal@mail.house.gov
Physicians Propose
Solution to Rising Health Care Costs and Uninsured
Introduce National
Health Insurance Bill (HR676) in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- A group of the nation's most prominent
physicians and progressive leaders of Congress will hold a
press conference briefing Tuesday, February 4, 11am, 2226
Rayburn House Office Building, to unveil a new bill, The
United States National Health Insurance Act (HR676), a
single-payer national health program. The legislation proposes
an effective mechanism for controlling skyrocketing health
costs while covering all 42 million uninsured Americans. The
bill also restores free choice of physician to patients and
provides comprehensive prescription drug coverage to seniors,
as well as younger people.
"Good news," says Dr. Quentin Young, convener of the
physician panel. "There is now a way to exit the
nightmare of a collapsing health system. We no longer have to
put up with the outrageous costs that keep millions of
Americans from receiving medical care and needed medications.
Nor will tens of thousands of families have to declare
bankruptcy over medical bills. Universal national health
insurance (single payer) takes the resources we have in place
and deals with them in an intelligent manner, excluding the
tragic hemorrhage of resources into non-health entities."
Dr. Marcia Angell, former editor-in-chief of the New England
Journal of Medicine*, is the spokesperson for the Physicians
Working Group on Single-Payer National Health Insurance, an
ad-hoc collaboration of the nation's top physicians. Dr.
Angell will present the proposal at the briefing.
Other members of the group include Dr. Gerald Thomson and Dr.
Christine Cassel, former Presidents of the American College of
Physicians, the second largest medical association in the
country; Dr. Rodney Hood and Dr. Gary Dennis, former
Presidents of the National Medical Association; Dr. Elinor
Christiansen, immediate Past-President of the American Medical
Women's Association; and Dr. Ron Anderson, CEO of Parkland
Hospital in Dallas, Texas. (*Affiliations for identification
only. A full list of Working Group members is at the end of
this release).
Representative John Conyers, Dean of the Congressional Black
Caucus and ranking minority Member of the House Judiciary
Committee will introduce The United States National Health
Insurance Act on February 4. A long time advocate of national
health insurance, Rep. Conyers closely collaborated with the
Physicians Working Group on the bill.
Additionally, nearly 4,000 individual physicians have endorsed
the physicians' proposal including two former Surgeons General
(Dr. David Satcher and Dr. Julius Richmond); a Nobel Laureate
(Dr. Bernard Lown); the highly respected authors of major
textbooks of surgery and family practice (Dr. William Silen
and Dr. Robert Rakel, respectively); and a leading organizer
of emergency services in NYC on 9/11(Dr. Lewis Goldfrank,
Chairman of Emergency Medicine at New York University).
Also joining the physicians and Congressmen to endorse the
National Health Insurance Act will be Dr. Maya Rockeymoore,
Urban League Director of Health Policy; Dean Baker,
Co-Director, Center for Economic and Policy Research; and
Hillary Shelton, a spokesperson for Julian Bond, Chairman of
the NAACP.
Original Congressional co-sponsors of the NHI bill at press
time are: Dennis Kucinich (OH), Luis Guitierrez (IL), Jim
McDermott (WA); Bobby Scott (VA); Donna Christensen (Virgin
Islands); Barbara Lee (CA); Danny Davis (IL); Major Owens
(NY); Jesse Jackson Jr.(IL); Maurice Hinchey (NY); Donald
Payne (NJ); Elijah Cummings (MD); Carolyn Kilpatrick (MI);
Alcee Hastings (FL); Chaka Fattah (PA); Ed Towns (NY); John
Lewis (GA); BennieThompson (MS); Eleanor Holmes-Norton
(delegate for DC), and Raul Grijalva (AZ) (listing in
formation).
National Health Insurance Act Press Conference
February 4, 2003 11am
2226 Rayburn House Office Building, Judiciary Committee Room
*Physician Working Group Members
Marcia Angell, MD
Spokesperson
Past Editor
New England Journal of Medicine
Quentin Young, MD
Convener
National Coordinator PNHP
Former President American Public Health Association
Joel Alpert, MD
Former President
American Academy of Pediatrics
Ron Anderson, MD
President and CEO
Parkland Health &Hospital System
Peter Beilenson, MD, MPH
Commissioner
Department of Health, Baltimore
Christine Cassell, MD
Former President
American College of Physicians
Dean, Oregon University School of Medicine
Elinor Christiansen, MD
Past President
American Medical Women's
Association
Olveen Carrasquillo, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Columbia School of Medicine
Advisory Committee Member
National Hispanic Medical Assn.
Gary Dennis, MD
Former President
National Medical Association
David Himmelstein, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Co-Founder, Physicians for a National Health Program
Rodney Hood, MD
Past President of the National Medical Association which
represents
African-American physicians
Edith Rasell, MD, PhD
Minister for Labor Relations in Community and Economic
Development for
the United Church of Christ
Helen Rodriguez-Trias, MD
Past President
American Public Health Association
(recently deceased)
Sindhu Srinivas, MD
Past President
American Medical Student Assn.
Gerald Thomson, MD
Former President
American College of Physicians
Walter Tsou, MD, MPH
Former Commissioner of Health,
Philadelphia
Steffie Woolhandler, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
# # #
Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) is a research
and education organization with more than 10,000 members
representing every state and specialty. PNHP was founded in
1987 and has physician spokespeople across the country. For
contact information, call the national headquarters in Chicago
at
(312) 782-6006. Visit us online at pnhp.org.
*The Working Group
members hold a number of distinguished positions, which are
not limited to those listed above. The members' positions and
affiliations listed here are provided for identification
purposes only.
Editor's note: An
interview room will be available immediately following the
press conference.
Contact:
Kimberly Soenen
PNHP Media Relations
tel:312-782-6006
fax:312-782-6007
mobile:312-946-0938
kimberlysoenen@pnhp.org
www.pnhp.org
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