Starting a New Movement: People Not Profits
It all started in mid-September with a few committed organizers who saw the national conversation on health care reform was blind to the big picture: the core problem in today’s health delivery system is that health decisions are being made for profits. Treatment options are limited by types of coverage individuals carry vs. the treatment they need. Private companies are making the life and death decisions around patient care that should be in the hands of doctors. “People Not Profits” became the lead message for a new campaign called the Mobilization for Health Care for All.
A little over a month later, the Mobilization for Health Care for All has taken off through the support of Americans who have experienced the pain of having a medical decision dictated by a bean-counting bureaucrat. Hundreds of patients have gone to private insurance agency offices to demand that all life-saving doctor-recommended treatments be approved. When they are not, a group of brave volunteers engage in civil disobedience, sitting down in the office until forcibly removed.
This tactic garners attention and offers a dramatic action for people who want to get involved. The news media has published dozens of stories in papers across the country and reached millions on TV news viewers. The Mobilization for Health Care for All Facebook page has 2,300 fans, 878 people have volunteered to risk arrest at private health insurance offices, and 78 Americans have been arrested since the beginning of the movement. On 10/15, the mobilization had nine actions across the country. On 10/28, there are 20 actions. All of this growth is due to individuals’ contributions and determination to put the spotlight on greed.
Doctors and nurses have joined the campaign because their hands are tied by private health insurance companies that limit payments for life-saving treatment. Can you imagine what it would feel like to be a doctor and know you could save your patient’s life only to be told by an insurance company that it’s not cost-effective to treat the patient? “This is a moral issue, and I’m outraged at the thought that 45,000 people die every year due to the lack of quality health care,” said Ken Weinberg, MD, who stated he will be risking arrest at a health insurance office in New York City in the coming weeks. “What kind of country are we when we are not providing health care to everyone we can?”
Everyone of us has a family member or friend who is denied the care they need. At the same time that I started my PR firm, my best friend started a graphic design business. When her COBRA ran out, she started shopping for health insurance and couldn’t find any due to her “pre-existing condition,” which is diabetes. Her dreams of self-employment were put on hold. But my friend is lucky, in a way, because she found a job with benefits that covered her. What if she had not found a good job? We all know someone who is out in the cold without health insurance, and the U.S. system slams the door on them.
This campaign will continue until our country puts an end to corporate health insurance, which currently places a higher value on profits than on the health of our nation. Join the campaign here: http://mobilizeforhealthcare.org.
