Health Care for All Pennsylvania
2101 Murray Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
http://healthcare4allpa.org
Medical students from Penn State, Penn, and Temple will convene a press conference on the State Capitol steps, Monday, May 3, 2010 to rally their support behind the Family and Business Healthcare Security Act (SB 400/HB 1660), a cost-saving, job-generating, outcomes-based bill that would provide comprehensive health care for all Pennsylvanians through a single risk-pool mechanism - a publicly-funded, privately-delivered healthcare system.
Health care for all would be paid for by a fair-share 3% personal tax that replaces the current average costs of 8% for premiums, co-pays, and deductibles. Businesses would pay a fair-share tax of 10% on payroll, as compared to a current average of 22% on businesses for premiums, co-pays, and deductibles. Moreover, additional cost savings accrue with 90% streamlined administrative overhead, bulk-purchasing of prescription drugs, reduced "defensive" medicine procedures, and anticipated cuts in property taxes, auto insurance premiums, workers compensation, and more.
Aside from meeting family, business, and all citizens' health care needs, including mental, dental, preventive and primary care, SB 400 and HB 1660 would provide two years of severance pay and job retraining for individuals who become unemployed because of changes to the system. The careful transition of some 65,000 displaced insurance workers will complement the predicted growth of 140,000 new health delivery jobs.
As future physicians, we recognize the need for a sustainable plan that puts the health of all Pennsylvanians first, while expanding jobs, business opportunities, and the ability for providers and patients to address medical needs on the basis of clinical evidence and evaluation. With a public option absent from the most recent federal healthcare bill, it is upon the states to take the role of providing high-quality, affordable coverage for all their residents.
We will be asking our senators and representatives, as a matter of economic and moral urgency, to pass Senate Resolution 267 in order to authorize an economic impact study on SB 400 and HB 1660. SR 267 has broad bipartisan support from 34 of our 50 state senators and is a critical first step to establishing the economic logic of this bill - a cure for that which ails our broken healthcare system and those who suffer economically, physically, and mentally.
