Fwd: Exciting Healthcare Update

[Guest guest]

I thought this was good news, especially the part about:

> One amendment brings into standard coverage for the first time

> complementary and alternative medicine, (integrative medicine).

I love this guy. He ROCKS!

-------- Forwarded Message --------

From: Dennis Kucinich <reply@...>

Reply-reply@...

Subject: Exciting Healthcare Update

Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:06:43 -0400 (EDT)

Dennis Kucinich - www.Kucinich.us

Exciting Healthcare Update

Dear Friends,

With your support, your phone calls, your emails, we won a major

legislative victory today for a state single payer health care option in

the House of Representatives in Washington, DC. The House Education and

Labor Committee approved the Kucinich Amendment by a vote of 27-19, with

14 Democrats and 13 Republicans voting yes.

The amendment propels the growing single payer health care movement at

the state level. There are at least ten states which have active single

payer efforts in their legislatures. They are California, Colorado,

Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania

and Washington. The amendment mandates a single payer state will receive

the right to waive the application of the Employee Retirement Income

Security Act (ERISA), which has in the past been used to nullify efforts

to expand state or local government health care.

Under the Kucinich Amendment a state's application for a waiver from

ERISA is granted automatically if the state has signed into law a single

payer plan. With the amendment, for the first time, the state single

payer health care option is shielded from an ERISA-based legal attack.

Now that the underlying bill has been passed, as amended, by the full

committee, we must make sure that Congress knows that we want the

provision kept in the bill at final passage!

The state single payer option was one of five major amendments which I

obtained support to get included in HR3200. One amendment brings into

standard coverage for the first time complementary and alternative

medicine, (integrative medicine). Another amendment drives down the cost

of prescription drugs by ending pharmaceutical industry's sharp

practices manipulating physician prescribing habits. An amendment stops

the insurance industry from increasing premiums at the time when people

are not permitted to change health plans; and finally an amendment

imposing a requirement on insurance companies that they disclose the

cost of advertising, marketing and executive compensation expenses

(which generally divert money from patient care).

Please make sure you post this message on your social networking site,

ask all your friends to get involved and encourage everyone you know to

sign up at www.Kucinich.us so we can build full momentum behind this

movement for real health care.

Let's do this!

Dennis

Paid for by the Re-Elect Congressman Kucinich Committee

PO Box 110475 | Cleveland | OH | 44111 | 216-252-9000

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