PNHP's Fein Delights Ohio Single-payer Supporters
By Michael Carano
PDA OH State Coordinator
April 28, 2009, Columbus, OH
On April 25, 2009, over one hundred and twenty-five Ohio healthcare advocates converged at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in the State’s capital for the Sixth Annual Single-Payer Action Network of Ohio conference (SPAN Ohio). SPAN Ohio is a single-payer coalition working to enact “The Health Care For All Ohioans Act” in the Ohio legislature and, should that fail, through a petition initiative to put the single-payer bill on the Ohio ballot.
The conference attendees, a mix of new and long-time activists, came to elect officers for the coming year, to participate in workshops, and to hear an address by one of the leading, long-time proponents of a national single-payer healthcare plan, keynote speaker Oliver Fein, M.D., president of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP).
The purpose of the annual conference is to bring together supporters of healthcare for all—unions, healthcare providers, faith groups, community groups, women’s organizations, businesses and others—to discuss how best to build the campaign to win publicly-funded, privately-provided, not-for-profit universal healthcare guaranteeing coverage for all Ohioans. The conference also serves as the time when SPAN democratically elects its board, regional coordinators, and constituency leadership.
Dr. Fein eloquently laid out how agents for change must work to move single-payer health care forward in the new political environment brought about by the election of Barack Obama. As recently reported in the national press, Dr. Fein, along with Congressman John Conyers, author of the single-payer resolution in Congress, both received invitations to the White House for the Stakeholders Conference convened by the president only hours before the meeting in Washington was to take place. Dr. Fein said their late inclusion in the D.C. meeting was made possible by the efforts of the grassroots, groups like the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care. With a smile on his face, he also stated that the threat of direct action by PNHP doctors had some small effect. It seems the Obama Administration did not like the idea of having doctors in white coats picketing outside the White House for the initial kickoff of his healthcare campaign.
In his explanation of what is being discussed and considered by the powers that be in Washington, Fein pointed out the deficiencies of the much-touted “public plan.” Dr. Fein
explained that 10-15% of public employees cannot afford the coverage. It is a menu of premium-based rather than income-based private insurance plans. An office clerk pays the same as a senator—one more example as to why single-payer healthcare is the answer.
Dr. Fein also noted the contingent of members of Progressive Democrats of America activists in the crowd, commending them for their work in the Leadership Conference and their focused effort on the part of single-payer healthcare. He suggested that the movement must begin to engage in direct actions to raise the pressure on Congress to the next level to ensure healthcare reform results in a single-payer plan—sooner rather than later. Dr. Fein encouraged those in attendance to lobby their members of Congress to gain support for HR 676.
Dr. Fein’s activism dates back to his college days while attending medical school in Cleveland, Ohio. He was an organizer of the Cleveland Community Project (CCP), one of the more successful endeavors of Students for Democratic Society’s Economic Research and Action Project. (Coincidentally, SPAN Ohio’s own Bob Smiddie, a social justice activist from Athens, Ohio, was also involved in the community theater component of the CCP at the time of Dr. Fein’s leadership.)
Attendees swelled the breakout sessions, which focused on ways to move true health care reform forward. John Ross, a Toledo, Ohio physician and a founding member of SPAN, spoke to those interested in learning more about the Health Care for All Ohioans Act in a session heavily attended by those relatively new to the cause. Dr. Fein’s breakout session centered on the methods his group has used in PNHP chapter-building efforts in New York. Nuts and bolts organizing tools, which will be useful in promoting SPAN’s efforts in the coming year, were presented. Mary Nichols-Rhodes, Summit County SPAN member and PDA Ohio’s Congressional District Organizer, held a workshop on lobbying at both the state and federal levels. All the workshops produced enthusiastic interactions and discussions by fuly engaged participants.
Deb Silverstein, founder of the Portage County SPAN chapter and an activist from the Steering Committee of Portage County’s PDA chapter, the Portage Democratic Coalition, was elected SPAN’s Region 6 Coordinator. Her thirteen-county area includes the major cities of Akron, Canton, and Youngstown.
Kurt Bateman, retired UAW worker and an effective organizer for the recent Sick Days Ohio campaign, was elected as SPAN Coordinator of Region 5, the Columbus and surrounding areas. Kurt is also part of PDA’s lobby efforts in the Columbus region.
Members of labor, healthcare workers, faith-based organizers, and community groups met after lunch in groups to discuss expanding their reach to other members of their constituency groups so that the single-payer movement will continue to strengthen and grow.
Single-payer is not off the table, regardless of Senator Baucus’s insistence that it is. Judging from the energy of those present in the Columbus Ramada that day, those seeking the best option for health care reform—HR 676—will not cease their work until a system is established that finds everyone in, and nobody out—nobody except the blood-sucking healthcare corporations, the main impediment to real reform.
Progressive Democrats of America continues to work for a single-payer system on both the national (HR676) and state levels. If you are interested in joining the movement, please contact pdaohio@gmail.com.