GP RELEASE Green Party urges Supremes to strike down Obamacare mandates, sees a chance for Medicare For All‏

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Monday, March 5, 2012

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614,
mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org


The Green Party urges the Supreme Court to strike down the Affordable
Care Act's health insurance mandates, sees a chance for Medicare For
All

• Green Party Speakers Bureau: Green leaders available to speak on
health care http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-health-care.php


WASHINGTON, DC -- Candidates and leaders of the Green Party of the
United States expressed hope that the Supreme Court will strike down
the 'individual mandate' section of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) when
the court issues a ruling on its constitutionality in late March.

Greens, who support single-payer national health care (Medicare For
All), have called the passage of the ACA in 2010 a defeat for
meaningful health care reform.

"A Supreme Court decision gutting the ACA's individual insurance
mandate can bring us closer to real universal health care, because we
already know that Social Security and Medicare are constitutional.
Medicare For All is based on the same model as these successful
programs," said Mayor David Doonan (Green) of Greenwich, New York.

Green Party members participated in protests and civil disobedience in
2009 when Democratic Party leaders held health care reform roundtables
that included industry representatives and excluded single-payer
advocates, particularly when Senate Financial Committee chair Max
Baucus (D-Mont.) declared single-payer "off the table" and President
Obama negotiated away the public option in backroom meetings with
lobbyists (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/miles-mogulescu/ny-times-reporter-confirm_b_500999.html).

"America needs real universal health care, not a direct public subsidy
in the form of a health insurance mandate to sustain the private
insurance industry," said Barry Hermanson, Green candidate for
Congress in California's 12th District (San Francisco)
(http://www.barryhermanson.org). "President Obama and Democrats in
Congress could have introduced a Medicare For All bill, which would
cover every American and drastically reduce medical costs by removing
insurance companies from control over our health care. Instead they
acted in the interests of insurance and other corporate lobbies. Even
with the mandate, the ACA leaves 23 million Americans without coverage
and many millions more with inadequate health care."

Greens strongly oppose proposals by Republicans to make Medicare a
voucher program, which would privatize and dismantle Medicare. Greens
also criticize Democrats for offering cuts to benefits and physician
reimbursements as a compromise for higher taxes on the extremely
wealthy.

"Democrats continue to defend the ACA, including mandates, because
they want a political victory for President Obama in this election
year. In the Green Party, we consider health care for every American
and relief for people facing financial ruin over medical costs more
important. Democrats pilfered the mandate idea from Republicans who
introduced it in the 1990s, even though Republicans now oppose it,"
said Carol Brouillet, Green candidate for California's 18th District
(http://www.carol4congress.org).

"Health insurance mandates cannot be compared to the requirement that
every car owner purchase car insurance. Driving a car is a privilege
for people with drivers' licenses. Health care is not a privilege.
It's a necessity for the basic right of Americans to stay alive, to be
able to enjoy life and make a living," said Ms. Brouillet.

Medicare For All would cover every American regardless of employment,
ability to pay, age, or prior medical condition and which would
provide everyone with high-quality low-cost medical treatment and full
choice of health-care provider. Decisions about medical treatment
would be made by physicians and patients instead of insurance
bureaucrats.

Medicare For All would boost the US economy by abolishing the
financial burden on businesses to provide health care benefits for
employees. Americans would pay for Medicare For All in the same way we
pay for Social Security, but we would pay far less because the high
cost of private insurance (for executive salaries and bonuses, profit
margins, and other overhead) would be eliminated. Private insurance
pads health costs up to 30% in administrative overhead, compared to 3%
for Medicare. The profit motive is an incentive for insurance
companies to restrict or deny needed medical treatment.

Green Party leaders sharply criticized Democratic and Republican
legislators in California who defeated the recent statewide
single-payer bill.

"California is a sterling example of the huge Titanic Parties playing
games with our health. When Republican Schwarzenegger was governor,
the Democratic legislature passed single payer twice, knowing it would
be vetoed. When Democrat Jerry Brown was elected, it was predicted
that the legislature would not pass the bill, and sure enough, they
have not. Jerry Brown refused to take a stand on Medicare for All, and
the Democratic legislature is leaving him alone. They’re also leaving
us alone, with terrible health care," said Laura Wells, 2010 Green
candidate for Governor of California (http://www.LauraWells.org).

The Green Party speaks for a majority of Americans on health care
reform: 64% of Americans believe that government should provide a
national health insurance program for all Americans, even if this
would require higher taxes, according to a 2007 CNN poll
(http://www.pnhp.org/news/2007/may/new_polls_on_univers.php).

"Americans already recognize that everyone deserves the right of
personal health and safety. That's why we have public police and fire
departments, without requiring insurance for the services they
provide. We recognize that people have a right not to spend their
final years in destitution. That's why we have Social Security. The
demand for national health care is based on the same principle. It's
time to recognize health care as a human right, instead of a cash cow
for corporate middle-men and major shareholders," said Natale "Lino"
Stracuzzi, DC Statehood Green Party candidate for the District of
Columbia's nonvoting seat in the US House
(https://www.facebook.com/groups/stracuzziforcongress).

See also:

"Fifty Medical Doctors for Single Payer Urge Supreme Court to Strike
Down Individual Mandate"
Single Payer Action, Feb. 14, 2012
http://www.singlepayeraction.org/blog/?p=3178

"Seeking Coverage For All"
By John R. Battista and Justine McCabe (Connecticut Green Party),
Hartford Courant, October 31 2006
http://www.pnhp.org/news/2006/november/seeking-coverage-for-all

"Hijacked -- Stolen health care reform V: Overall assessment of the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA)"
By John Geyman MD, July 22, 2010, Physicians for a National Health Program
http://pnhp.org/blog/2010/07/22/hijacked-stolen-health-care-reform-v-overall-assessment-of-the-patient-protection-and-affordable-care-act-of-2010-ppaca/

"Obama's Health Care Bill Is Enough to Make You Sick"
By Chris Hedges, Truthdig, July 11,2010
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/obamas_health_care_bill_is_enough_to_make_you_sick_20100712/

Insurance industry contributions to political campaigns in recent elections
The Center for Responsive Politics
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=F09


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