No one should be without health care. We are the only modern industrial country without a national health plan covering everyone. We need to join the rest of the modern world and guarantee health care for every resident of this country.
No one should be without health care. We are the only modern industrial country without a national health plan covering everyone. We need to join the rest of the modern world and guarantee health care for every resident of this country.
We Need a "Single Payer" Health Care Plan
- Government financing - no insurance companies and their private profits.
- No co-payments or deductibles.
- Free choice of health care providers (doctors, hospitals, etc.).
- Public accountability with democratically set policies and priorities.
- Medical decisions made by patients and their health care providers.
- Increase funding for medical research.
- Job training for the current health insurance workers.
Why a "Single Payer" Health Care Plan is the Best Plan
- Everyone would have health care insurance.
- Workers health care would not depend upon their job - or a family member's job.
- Doctors would not be constantly scrutinized by insurance company accountants.
- Less overhead expenses. Medicare overhead is 3% while private insurance runs 15-25%
- It could save approximately $150 billion on paperwork alone, according to Physicians for a National Health Plan.
- Currently over 25% of our health care money goes to marketing, billing, reviews, etc.
- Most businesses would save money (those paying for employee health care insurance).
- Massive savings would easily cover expected increased health care usage.
- It is not socialized medicine, it is socialized financing of health care.
Medications and Drugs - No private profit on our essential drugs
- Price controls on all essential medications.
- Full public funding, ownership, and control of all drug research, patents and manufacturing.
- Greatly increased funding for drug research, especially so-called "orphan" drugs.
Other Medical Issues
- More funding and attention on disease prevention and general public health measures.
- More attention to preventing epidemics of communicable diseases like AIDS.
- More research into non-standard practices.
The Health Care Plank of the Peace and Freedom Party
Health Care
We believe that access to quality medical and dental care is a basic human right. We stand for a democratically-controlled, publicly-funded health care system. We support health practices that emphasize education, prevention and nutrition and minimize dependence on drugs, surgery and radiation.
We demand:
- A Single-Payer health plan.
- Free immunization programs.
- No private patents on drugs developed through publicly-funded research.
- Price controls on drugs and medical technology.
- Safe pre-natal care, including women's choice of birth alternatives.
- More medical facilities to provide services and education in low-income neighborhoods and rural areas.
- More substance abuse treatment and needle-exchange programs.
- More research into diseases and disorders caused by man-made substances.
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