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Healthcare

Medicare for All?

What is Improved and Expanded Medicare for All? Why Do We Need It? YOU ARE INVITED TO A FORUM

No on Proposition 1 Say Homeless and Health Care Advocates

Prop 1 Would gut local mental health services and further criminalize the unhoused. The following is an excerpt from a voting guide prepared by Kris Rehl, a writer and organizer with LA Street Care, and was lightly edited for length.

‘Drop Charges Against Woman Who Suffered Miscarriage,’ Say Ohio Doctors

Brittany Watts, 33, was charged with a felony in Ohio after police searched her toilet after she suffered a miscarriage. Doctors are pushing the prosecutor to drop charges.

‘Healthcare in this Country is a Business,’ says Fired Kaiser Nurse

Fired nurse tells story of Kaiser's poor patient care, driven by the profit motive.

Most Texas Border Counties Lack Adequate Medical Services & Staff

Twenty nine poor Texas border counties are designated medically underserved. Residents lack access to primary care services, sites, or providers to meet their medical needs. There is an effort to change that.

More Than 18,000 Mississippi Children Kicked Off Medicaid

The pandemic paused redeterminations for Medicaid in March 2020. All states were to resume the eligibility process on April 1. Since then, the State of Mississippi dropped 18,710 children from Medicaid; more are likely to come.

900,000 Texans Have Lost Medicaid, Others Struggle for Food Benefits

Almost 900,000 Texans lost Medicaid since April and a backlog of applications may delay families’ access to SNAP food benefits.

Retired Union Leaders Defend NYC Bill to Protect Medicare

New York City municipal retirees are fighting attempts to strip them of their traditional Medicare benefits and push them into a privatized Medicare Advantage plan — a struggle that mirrors similar battles being fought by retirees in cities across the country against the privatization of traditional Medicare.

Medicaid Purge Called ‘Most Concentrated Health Insurance Loss’ in US History

Six million people have been stripped of Medicaid coverage in the last several months, creating what one healthcare activist and researcher described as "the largest concentration of health insurance loss in American history." It’s happening in both red and blue states.

The American Health Care System in Crisis

Every year, from 30,000 to 60,000 Americans die from lack of healthcare. Affordability is the main reason. Insurance is no guarantee of protection. People avoid seeing a doctor for fear of another bill they can’t afford. Others ration medication to save money. The author discusses a solution: Medicare for All.

Big Pharma Wants You to Magically Lose Weight with Ozempic:  Its Newest Cash Cow

Ozempic is for long-term use. After some significant weight loss occurs in about two years, financial assistance will be exhausted, regular insurance won’t cover it due to its cost, and then what? Novo Nordisk, producer of Ozempic, made a gross profit of $22.244B for the 12 months ending March 31, 2023.

Mental Health Matters

In July, advocate Curtis Harris testified before the Chicago Health and Human Relations Committee about the mental health services he needs. He speaks about his lived experience of mental illness on the autism spectrum.

The CARE Court: A Primer

A court-appointed conservator would make financial and health care decisions and control a patient’s medication and treatment. Where is the housing promised by Gov. Newsom when he announced his CARE Court plan?

“We are Dying:” Houston Workers Protest New Law Removing Water Requirements

Protesters at a news conference, many speaking Spanish, called Texas HB 2127 the “law that kills” and that it will leave lawn crews, construction workers and others who labor outdoors at the mercy of their employers. "Believe me, we are dying . . . when they take away our water and our [break] time,” said one worker.

Here’s How I Feel About Masking in 2023.

The author is a disabled writer who has a lot to say about disability justice and other things. She says that when others around her don’t wear a mask, they are effectively telling her: Your life is not worth this small inconvenience. I do not care about you. I do not care about other vulnerable people.

$20 Billion Scam at the Heart of Medicare Advantage

The federal government spent $20.5 billion overpaying private insurers for Medicare Advantage last year, and endangering the overall financial stability of Medicare.

Fentanyl: The Latest Opium of the Masses

Fentanyl is the number one killer of 18- to 45-year-olds in this country. Solving the narcotics crisis means not only treatment and prevention, but ensuring all basic needs are met and treating everyone as a valuable, contributing member of society. This is a group effort and where we should put our money and effort.

Texas Politicians Threaten Women’s Lives, Women Sue State in Fight for Reproductive Rights

In a groundbreaking case, Texas law is now being challenged by five women who claim an abortion ban put them at risk of death.

Declaring the Pandemic Over Will Hurt Families

As emergency measures enacted in 2020 are allowed to expire, millions who had gained access to Medicaid are about to lose it. Millions are also losing access to enhanced food stamp benefits.

Hundreds of Howard Brown Health Workers on Strike in Chicago

Day one of three-day strike at Chicago's Howard Brown Health after 60 workers are laid off in cost-cutting measures or union busting?

‘We Need Medicare for All’ says Bernie Sanders

Nearly 40% of people in the U.S. said they or a family member delayed medical care last year due to the prohibitively high cost of treatment under the nation's for-profit healthcare model. We need Medicare for All says Sen Bernie Sanders.

Madrid: Hundreds of Thousands March to Defend Spain’s Healthcare

Following a massive healthcare protest in Madrid in mid-November, primary-level physicians in will strike against the deterioration of health care on November 21. Health workers are fighting problems burdening primary care services and work overload.

Community Occupies Hospital Lot for 11 Days to Stop Luxury Housing Development 

Chicago Uptown community holds 11-day protest for affordable housing—and for no more the luxury high-rises.

Treatment Not Trauma: Reopen the Clinics

Find out why Chicago, a city of over three million people, has only five public mental health clinics.

We are homeless but not helpless!

The message must be delivered loudly to the Biden/Harris Administration that disabled people are in jeopardy due to leftover Trump policies and must be addressed.

Activists in Chicago Want Ambetter to Do Better

VICTORY!!! Organizing WORKS! After Erin got a $999 bill for blood work from her insurance provider, she worked with other activists to confront the company, Ambetter, and get the bill reduced to $30. But the fight against a for-profit healthcare system is far from over.

Kids Born Near Fracking Sites Develop Leukemia

In a major health concern, a new study indicates that kids born near fracking sites are 2-3 Times More Likely to Develop Leukemia. Fracking threatens every person on the planet, directly or indirectly. It should banned entirely.

People with Disabilities Shunned, Driven into Poverty. Medicare For All May Help?

Millions of people in the US, including many people with disabilities, would be lifted out of poverty by the passage of Medicare for All.

Roe vs Wade: ‘We won’t go back’

Women, men and huge numbers of youth are in the streets across the country in uncompromising fight for women’s rights and for government to act in the people’s interests. After centuries of oppression and fighting for equal rights, women are letting the powerful know: “We won’t go back.”

Mixed Results in the Spring Primaries

The right wing poured tens of millions of dollars into TV ads attacking progressive candidates and causes. There were also victories won at the ballot box by the movement for justice.

Covid-19 network demands Gov. Pritzker Issue Emergency Order to Stop All Pharmacy Closings

People in the Pilsen community in Chicago protest the closing of the local CVS pharmacy. CVS stores are especially sparse in black, brown, and less affluent neighborhoods.

People with Disabilities Shunned, Driven into Poverty. Medicare For All May Help?

Millions of people in the US, including many people with disabilities, would be lifted out of poverty by the passage of Medicare for All.

Water Warriors from Around the State Join Flint 8th Year Commemoration of water Crisis

Excerpts from water warriors, speaking at the Flint 8th Year Commemoration of water Crisis.

Homeless Demand harm reduction, not incarceration!

End game – to incarcerate the unhoused who have experienced the violence of being stigmatized for mental health and substance use, both of which are results of state-inflicted violence on poor communities of color.

Rebuild the Chicago Public Health System with the Public

Joy Bunton, a public health activist, shares her testimony from a rally held by The People’s Response Network to COVID on April 24, 2022, at a COVID vaccination in Chicago’s Little Village.

Back on Campus: Teaching in Downtown LA.

LOS ANGELES, CA — I consider myself lucky to be able to wake up everyday, and to be responsible for this type of work. ...

Benton Harbor Water

It appears that the powerful and well-heeled forces of corporate America are once again targeting the Reverend Edward Pinkney, president of the grassroots Benton Harbor Community Water Council, for the “crime” of standing up for the poor, the elderly, and the children by providing people with safe drinking water.

Medicare for all

The road to reach the better world of our imagination may be long. And there are many obstacles in our way. But our north star is clear. It is time for America to guarantee comprehensive, affordable health care to all. The best way to do that is By enacting Medicare for All.

Memorial for Al

Al was a wonderful friend and comrade who devoted his life to the fight for a society that respects and provides for the rights and well-being of the common working-class people, here and globally.

Democratic California Legislature Couldn’t Pass Guaranteed Health Care for All

A bill to guarantee equal universal health care for all Californians regardless of income, em-ployment, or immigration status, by eliminating profiteering in the health care industry did not pass despite tremendous popular support. The fight continues.

Follow the children Chicago teachers, students, parents battle mayor over COVID

Mass struggles by parents, educators, and students for safe schools took center stage in a global fight to stop the pandemic. In Chicago, schools are overcrowded, poorly ventilated, dirty; some even without soap. Students are walking out in protest around the globe.

We Cannot Live with COVID Anymore: It’s the People’s Mission

CHICAGO, IL — We don’t have to live like this. We don’t have to die like this. We don’t have to fear going to...

Return to School: Catch COVID-19!

The system proclaims: “Everybody back to school. Do not let your child fall behind. The schools are safe.” The Wrong Direction CHICAGO, IL — During this...

Community hospital: Not just a parking lot

A private equity firm wants to build a luxury high-rise building in a low-income community's hospital parking lot, leaving fear that he hospital will be closed.

Chicago Mental Health Clinics Crushed under Corporate Heel

A political will has been there a long time: the will to reward private industry with public money meant for public resources, in this case the ...

Illinois illegally ignores needs of people for Human Services

The Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) cannot serve ...

Coal miner speaks about the fight to save miner’s healthcare

By Chuck Nelson, interviewed by Sandy Reid  People’s Tribune: Chuck, what is going on with the miner’s benefits? Chuck Nelson: Back in 1946, Truman said if...

Standing up to the attack on our lives and the planet

  In a recent townhall meeting with a member of Congress in Arkansas, thousands of people turned out to demand that the government do something...

Medicaid still in crosshairs: the best defense is a united offense!

The legislative defeat of the American Health Care Act unleashes the path to a real solution for guaranteed healthcare for all. Defense of Medicaid remains ...

Two women suffering from mental illness are murdered by police

Renee Davis, a pregnant 23 year-old mother of 3 small children 2, 3, and 5 years old, who suffered from depression, was shot dead by police in her home on ...

The struggle to protect Appalachians from poisonous water and air pollution

“We are losing about 4,000 people a year from the impact of mountain top removal coal mining. My daughter, who is only 22, has lost four friends to cancer. Her best friend ...

The struggle to protect Appalachians from poisonous water and air pollution

“We are losing about 4,000 people a year from the impact of mountain top removal coal mining. My daughter, who is only 22, has lost four friends to cancer. Her best friend died ...

Pandemic in Chicago: mental illness

Stigma 101: the mark of disgrace that sets a person apart. To comprehend what this looks like to an observer, picture a middle-aged woman shabbily clad who laughs ...

Mothers, women of Flint ‘Die’ in at city’s water plant

On May 16, arriving in a packed van, a group of women protesters stage a die in upon the steps of the Flint Water plant. The Flint water crisis has generated an ...

They’re not helping me,’ says man with high lead levels

My name is Aaron Stinson for all you that don’t know me or may have not seen me. I have the highest lead level recorded in Genesee County. I was tested February 7 ...

Healthcare and Democracy: A Political Public Health Emergency

“As registered nurses, we are compelled to advocate for all our patients, whether at the bedside or in our neighborhoods and communities. To that end ...

Public Healthcare is “waste” in the eyes of the super rich

Underneath the growing division of society into the super rich and the super poor is an ideology that goes by a lot of names—“lean” or “agile” to name two. That ...

Pandemic in Chicago: mental illness

N’Dana Carter from Chicago’s Mental Health Movement organized a Body Bag protest at Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office on February, 17, 2016, to raise ...

Flint in forefront of battle for health care for everyone

  America’s inability to provide good health care for all is most clearly visible when we have a health catastrophe such as exists today in...

Cooperative spirit key to ending homelessness

Despite massive rollout efforts, Covered California (ACA and Medicaid Expansion), have not yet proved the long-term healthcare solution for the ...

In The Bulls Eye of Health Insurance Pain!

In front of the mammoth Blue Cross and Blue Shield headquarters in downtown Chicago chants of, “Hey Hey! Ho Ho!—Blue Cross/Blue Shield has Got to ...

Psychiatric care and Illinois budget impasse

All of us value health, but not all of us have to think about it every day. In this article I argue that the recent Illinois state budget impasse is/was deeply ...

Water Justice Journey

The march came out of the International Gathering on Water and Housing held in Detroit in May. It began in Detroit where tens of thousands ...

West Virginia fighters speak out at water conference

“My stepfather, father, grandfather and uncles all worked in the coal industry,” said Paula. “My grandfather was in the industry 45 years and ...

Emergency Manager law enables corporate takeover of Michigan’s water

In 2001, the notorious right-wing think tank, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, devoted their quarterly magazine “Michigan Privatization ...

Access to water is a human right

Michigan Welfare Rights Organization and the Peoples Water Board have fought tooth and nail over these last 16 months, in every way possible ...

Nationalize healthcare for all

You have to be rich to get good healthcare in America. One in three Americans say they have trouble paying medical bills. Even the relatively ...

Water struggles: Assault on poor galvanizes response

As State Chairperson of the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, I am reminded that in the State Capitol in Lansing stands a bronze statue of ...

International Social Movements Gathering on Water and Affordable Housing, Detroit, MI

“In 2012 the city stopped sending out water bills. Now residents are getting water bills for thousands of dollars. The bills are attached to your property ...

Coalition for clean water: Flint is not in the clear

The struggle for safe, affordable water in Flint, MI is accelerating as local grassroots groupings form a coalition seeking relief from the ...

Saving rural hospitals is key to Health Care for All

Rural hospitals everywhere are fighting for their existence. Fifty have closed since 2010, affecting the jobs, health, and lives of over 800,000 ...

Michigan’s energy future at a crossroads

Just after the fourth anniversary of the ongoing nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima on March 11, here in Michigan we stand at a pivotal ...

Healthcare and civility spiral out of control

As Detroit continues to be one of the "poster child" cities of corporate America’s exercise of total control, each day presents another challenge to basic rights. Democracy in Michigan was ...

The Dream Fifty Years Later: Fiftieth Anniversary of Detroit’s Civil Rights March

“Almost one hundred and one years ago, on September the 22nd, 1862, to be exact, a great and noble American, Abraham Lincoln, signed an executive order, which was to take effect ...

Rally at Coachella City Hall Urges Governor not to Delay Medical Expansion

On April 11, advocates, health professionals, and community members came out in support of immediately expanding California's health care access under the Affordable Care Act ...

Medicaid for profit: the new normal in Michigan

The ability to provide care for the poor has met the reality of the market place. The Medicaid HMO plans are the sole providers for care in Michigan. The guidelines for patients to qualify for Federal Medicaid fee for service payments are arbitrary and extremely difficult to figure out. Some of the Medicaid plans are designed to create ...

Lack of Healthcare Spreads

By Al Gladyck, Clinton Township, MI  United Auto Worker VEBAs are a symptom of the disease The disease is the spreading lack of healthcare for tens...

Poverty and the Profit Motive

 Disparity is all around us, pocketed by great bunkers of wealth. Fortified swimming pools and Rolls Royces share the same intersections as shopping cart...

Health Care — Why are we still denied this basic right?

 DETROIT, MI – Health care is a basic necessity of life and survival. In the USA, 100 million people suffer from a chronic lack...

I’m not going out without a good hard Fight

 OAKLAND, CA—In May 2012, The U.S. Courts of Women on Poverty, Western Region, held the first United States’ court in Oakland, California. Since then,...