The Massachusetts Campaign for Health Care Justice will have non-binding, single payer questions on the ballot in fourteen representative districts this November! The language of the ballot question is below, with materials for canvassing and list of the fourteen districts. To get involved, email Mass-Care today!

Single Payer Ballot Question Language:

“Shall the representative from this district be instructed to support legislation that would establish health care as a human right regardless of age, state of health or employment status, by creating a single payer health insurance system like Medicare that is comprehensive, cost effective, and publicly provided to all residents of Massachusetts?“

Signature Collection Materials for Volunteers

• Single Payer FAQ
• Flyer: What you can do to help!
• Flyer: Our Massachusetts Health Care System is not Working

Districts with Single Payer Ballot Questions:

TIME: Saturday, April 17, 2010 from 2PM to 5PM
PLACE: Ryles Jazz Club, 212 Hampshire St, Cambridge, MA 02139
TICKETS: $35 standard admission, $10 for students - please donate what you can!

Click here for a purchase form to take out an ad in our Program Book!

Join Mass-Care and the Universal Health Care Education Fund on April 17 for:

• Keynote speaker Donna Smith! Donna was featured in Michael Moore’s film ‘SiCKO’ after she and her husband were forced to sell their home and move in with their daughter due to medical debt - they were insured at the time. Since then, Donna has become one of the nation’s leading organizers for single-payer health reform and works for the California Nurses Association, leading their efforts to pass Medicare-for-All legislation in Congress out of their Washington, D.C. offices.
• Honoring the work of Arky Markham, a stellar single-payer activist from the Franklin Hampshire region, as well as Massachusetts Jobs with Justice, one of Mass-Care’s most important allies on health care advocacy.
• The Joseph Lillyman Jazz Band.

Our annual fundraising gala for Mass-Care and the Universal Health Care Education Fund is coming up on April 17, from 2 to 5PM at the Ryles Jazz Club in Cambridge! It has been a frustrating year in health care reform, with efforts to advance even moderate reform faltering on the national stage. However, Mass-Care and UHCEF have been effective in educating and pressuring the Massachusetts Congressional delegation to fight for truly fundamental reform, and we are turning to the next round of state-level reform for better opportunities to win single payer legislation, which can set an example for the nation.

Mass-Care and UHCEF recently helped to launch the Massachusetts Campaign for Health Care Justice, which will be a pro-active campaign to rejuvenate the single payer movement in the state and build a solidarity network between communities struggling under the current health care system. We need to continue advocating for our communities when health reform is initiated from above, but we can’t afford to be reactive in our politics, and need to build movements shaping the next round of health reform from the grassroots.

We need your help to do this! This will be the second full year of recession for our non-profit. Mass-Care does not accept money from the health care industry, and we rely almost exclusively on support from individuals and member organizations. Please support Mass-Care’s efforts by placing an ad in our annual event program booklet, by listing your name as a supporter, or joining us at this event!

Last week Mass-Care joined over 100 activists, unions, legislators, and community organizations at a spirited organizing meeting in downtown Boston to launch a Massachusetts Campaign for Health Care Justice. Given the faltering efforts at national health reform, the campaign will attempt to organize a renewed push for Medicare-for-All legislation particularly at the state level, while building a mobilization network capable of supporting workers, patients, and communities struggling to maintain access to health care. The web-site for the new campaign, which includes its mission statement, campaign proposal, calendar of meetings and events, and endorsement form for organizations who want to get involved, is here:

http://masscare.org/massachusetts-campaign-for-health-care-justice/

For Immediate Release

October 6, 2009

Contact: Mark Gallagher, 781-396-2900

http://markey.house.gov

Markey To Host Health Care Reform Town Hall Meeting This Monday

Medford, MA – U.S. Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Malden), a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, today announced that he will host a health care reform town hall meeting this Monday evening in Arlington.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee is one of three committees with jurisdiction over health care policy. In the coming weeks, the House will consider landmark health care reform legislation.

“We are embarking on an historic debate on a long-overdue effort to reform our nation’s health care system,” said Markey. “It is important for me to present the case for this vital legislation to my constituents and listen to their thoughts and concerns as the House is preparing to vote.”

WHO:            Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Malden)

WHAT:          Health Care Reform Town Hall

WHEN:          6:30 p.m. EST, Monday, October 12, 2009

WHERE:         Arlington Town Hall, 730 Massachusetts Avenue

Representative John Tierney has scheduled two upcoming town hall meetings in the North Shore, which will focus on health reform. Representative Tierney has been one of the champions on the House of single payer reform and a strong public option. If you live in his district, please attend these forums to support Rep Tierney, as across the country these town hall meetings have been extremely important expressions of public opinion, and have been hotly contested. Your vocal presence WILL make a difference.

Here are details on the North Shore meetings:

Saturday, October 10th, 10 am - 11:30 am, doors open at 9:30 am
Salem State, Main Stage Auditorium (seats 750 people)

Monday, October 12th, 7 pm - 8:30 pm, doors at 6:30 pm
North Shore Community College, DANVERS campus, Berry Building (seats 200 people)

Last night President Obama delivered a powerful speech on health reform to a joint session of Congress. The President was able to articulate the reasons so many of us put our time, our passion, and our heart into changing this health care system, which needlessly harms so many. We share the President’s vision, but we write to you with real concern about the road-map laid out in the President’s speech, as all too often in the United States our policy has proven inadequate to meet our ambitions.  Below: the good and the bad in President Obama’s address. (more…)

Representative Barney Frank, who has been a strong supporter of single payer reform and an active member of the Progressive Caucus in Congress, is holding a second town hall meeting in Wellesley this Saturday, September 12, 2PM at Mass Bay Community College. If you are from Rep Frank’s district or know someone who is, please attend this town hall meeting and thank the Representative for continuing to support single payer reform, and advancing the movement to make health care a right this Congressional session. Also, please ask Rep Frank if he will support the Weiner amendment, which would replace the current bill in the House with the single payer bill, and if he will support the Kucinich amendment, which would allow states like Massachusetts to experiment with single payer reform and receive necessary federal waivers.

(more…)

Labor Day comes every year, but the opportunity to cure our country’s ailing health care system comes once in a lifetime!

Join with more than 2,000 expected allies from across the state in a march and rally to show our support for real health care reform. Come out to help send our elected officials back to work in Washington D.C. with a message from the people of Massachusetts: we want health care that puts people before profits, and we want it now!

Monday, September 7th

11:00 A.M.

Rally at Boston Common

(near the Gazebo)

There are a couple of weeks left in the August recess, which is when Congress is out-of-session, and our Representatives and Senators return to their districts to speak with constituents. As you have probably heard by now, this has been an opportunity for groups trying to defeat health care reform to mobilize residents around town hall meetings, and to raise unfounded fears about government playing a role in our health care system. Mass-Care participated in an extremely effective counter-mobilization outside Congressman Tierney’s office in Peabody, where a large coalition of labor, community, health care, and faith organizations turned out 150 people to support Rep Tierney’s work backing single payer and a strong public option. (more…)

Ask Whole Foods to Support

Real Health Care Reform!!

Whole Foods Chief Executive John Mackey has declared that health-care is not a basic human right, and the privilege of being healthy is only for people who can afford it.

Join us this Friday August 21^st as we inform Whole Foods customers about the company’s efforts to stall real reform, and let Chief Executive John Mackey know that we will fight for everyone to have quality, affordable health care.

Friday August 21^st

Framingham

12pm - 2pm

Whole Foods

575 Worcester Rd

Cambridge

4:30pm – 5:30pm

Whole Foods

115 Prospect Street, Central Square

For more information, contact:

Framingham: Jim Carvalho, UFCW 1445

781.727.9036, jim_carvalho@yahoo.com

Cambridge: Jake Williams, Mass Jobs With Justice

860.281.9792, jake@massjwj.net