NYS Nurses Association

Nurses’ Toolkit for Healthcare Reform

Introduction | Coalitions and Partners | Action Opportunities

Breaking News

3:45 PM, Friday, Nov 6 - NYSNA has learned that Representative Weiner pulled his single-payer amendment and therefore, there will be no vote on Medicare for All. Under the circumstances, we ask that members refrain from any further calls to Congress regarding this issue.

NYSNA thanks you for your continued support of this important initiative, and will provide additional information on this development as soon as details are available.

House to vote on single-payer amendment

New York U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner's single-payer amendment will be allowed a full debate and vote on the floor of the House, perhaps as early as Friday, Nov. 6. The amendment would call for the elimination of the for-profit health insurance companies from the healthcare system and replace them with a publicly funded, privately delivered, single-payer system that guarantees comprehensive health care for everyone in the United States.

Please contact your Congressmember and urge him or her to support this important amendment to the House healthcare reform bill.

Nursing provisions in House reform bill

Last week, the House of Representatives introduced the final version of its health care reform bill – H.R. 3962, the "Affordable Health Care for America Act." While the media focused predominately on the "public option," the bill also includes many provisions that affect the nursing profession. ANA staff has highlighted the nursing provisions within HR 3962 and categorized them by Nursing Workforce Funding, Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, and Quality. The House is expected to vote on the bill in a rare Saturday session on Nov. 7. Please visit rnaction.org/healthcare for the latest information!

Introduction

This toolkit is designed to assist nurses in educating themselves and others about healthcare reform in general and the single-payer proposal in particular.

More items will be added to the toolkit as they become available, so be sure to return for updates and new action opportunities. We’re glad to get your feedback on this feature. Please e-mail us your comments today.

Brochure: “The New York State Nurses Association Supports a National Healthcare Plan”
Slide Show: “Healing Our Broken Healthcare System” (Microsoft PowerPoint format; please note: large file size may cause extended download time.)
Talking Points: “New York Nurses for a National Single-Payer Plan”
Testimony Before State Legislature
Text of HR676
Text of New York Health Plus bill
Online course for nurses on Universal Health Care ($12.50, 1.35 CH)
Coalitions and partners in healthcare reform
Action Opportunities (rallies, forums, etc.)
Write your Congressmember!

Additional Information/Resources

American Nurses Association (ANA) Health Care Reform Resources
The U.S. Health and Human Services Office of Health Reform has just released a report on the cost of health care in each state. Here's what it says about New York.
Confused about the multitude of healthcare reform proposals? Kaiser Family Foundation is providing side-by-side comparisons of the various proposals, including a feature that allows you to compare by topic. The chart includes the U.S. National Health Care Act (H.R. 676) and the American Health Security Act of 2009 (S. 703), both single-payer plans. the side-by-side comparison of healthcare reform proposals has been updated to include HR3200, the bill voted out of the House Ways and Means Committee. A summary of the Medicare changes proposed in HR3200 is also available.
Report casts exclusion of Single Payer option as a question of democracy/human rights - At a critical moment for United States healthcare reform, the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI) has published an in-depth assessment of single payer proposals, finding that single payer plans go further towards meeting key human rights standards than market-based plans. MORE

Documents in .pdf format; Adobe Acrobat Reader required.