Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan is a group of Indiana
citizens who support a publicly financed, privately delivered
(single payer) universal health plan at the state and national
level. HCHP is working to educate the public and the legislature
about the benefits of a single payer plan. We are seeking
individuals and groups who have an interest in helping achieve
this goal.
The U.S. spends twice as much as other industrialized nations
on health care, yet it ranks only 39 among nations in terms of
health outcomes and we have 46 million without health coverage
and millions more with inadequate coverage.
Private insurance bureaucracy and paperwork consume 31 percent
of every health care dollar. Streamlining payment though a single
nonprofit payer would save more than $350 billion per year
nationally, enough to provide comprehensive, high-quality
coverage for all Americans.
HCHP is a state affiliate of Physicians for a National Health
Program and supports its goal of national single-payer health
insurance. PNHP
Mission Statement
Address why, not how, of health costs by Jonathan D. Walker
Politicians and special interest groups are always trying to control the debate over health care. But there is one undeniable fact: we are paying more for health care than we ever have before.
People offer lots of explanations for this: malpractice, fraud, private insurance, obesity. All these problems contribute to the rising cost of health care. However, the primary reason is that there has been so much money sloshing around our health care system, and so many fragmented, for-profit entities getting that money, that prices keep climbing at a higher rate than almost anything else in the economy. Read the full editorial . . . .Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne
Affordable health care is necessity and public good for all Americans
By Edith Kenna - Edith Kenna is a resident of Fort Wayne.
Why did Rep. Marlin Stutzman schedule his health care forum on a Monday from 3 to 5 p.m.? Is he trying to avoid people who work for a living? Is he just talking to the corporate-level big shots of hospitals, insurance and pharmaceutical companies? I think he may be trying to avoid the folks most affected by the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) - the American citizen. Read the full editorial
Paul Krugman, Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University is a columnist for the New York Times. He won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2008.
ACTION NEEDED!
To the Indiana Congressional Delegation, Representatives and Senators:
We the undersigned residents of Indiana petition the Congress of the United States to oppose Representative Ryan and the House Budget Committee who have proposed ending Medicare as we know it and replacing it with a voucher program, a huge taxpayer subsidy to the private insurance industry. The proposal includes ending any Federal role in overseeing the Medicaid program, freeing states to balance their budgets by cutting medical care to the disabled and poor. Healthcare costs are a serious problem, but cutting Medicare and Medicaid won't help.
Instead, we need to take the corporate greed and waste out of our healthcare system, and make healthcare a human right by extending Medicare to everyone, Improved and Expanded Medicare for All.
A MUST VIEW - 30 seconds with Ernestine: Blind? Read the fine print! (Lily Tomlin as Ernestine)
Comment: We have been saturated with commentary since the passage and signing of the trillion dollar Private Insurance Industry Stimulus legislation. Lily Tomlin provides us with a much needed break as she reminds us, in her own incomparable style, of the industry that Congress and the President have so richly rewarded.
Check out the Huffington Post article and click to "Become a Fan". Please give this a read and if you are so moved, post a comment and/or send the link on to anyone you know who might be interested.
Group Says It's Fed Up With Greed
POSTED: 12:07 pm EDT April 7, 2010
UPDATED: 7:36 pm EDT April 7, 2010
INDIANAPOLIS --They admit it's a tall task, but a handful of WellPoint shareholders held a news conference on Wednesday to push the company to return to nonprofit status.
Dr. Rob Stone, an emergency room doctor in southern Indiana and a backer of Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Care Plan, said that as shareholders, they are fed up with rate hikes and the company's profits.
Read the full article.
"The Antidote to Despair is Action"
Pushing WellPoint Back to Nonprofit?
By LINDA GREENE
When it comes to health care reform, single-payer advocate Rob Stone, M.D., says, "We're still for it, and we're not done yet."
The need is undeniable. Over 46 million Americans are uninsured, and a recent study reported in the American Journal of Public Health showed that 45,000 die each year because they lack health insurance. Tens of millions are underinsured, able to afford coverage only with policies with gigantic deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses.
Read the full article.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A group of angry shareholders have launched a campaign against Indianapolis-based WellPoint. The small coalition of groups gathered Wednesday. They say WellPoint's "lust for profits" is the problem and they want the company to go "non-profit."
But the underlying issue for the group is more reform. Specifically, they feel the health care reforms just signed into law don't go far enough.
Read the full article.
Indiana Busines Journal - April 6, 2010
Shareholder group wants WellPoint to become not-for-profit
April 6, 2010
Saying WellPoint Inc. has failed to live up to its commitment to provide "the best healthcare value" for customers, three shareholders of the Indianapolis-based health insurance giant want it to convert to a not-for-profit organization.
They have proposed that the company study the feasibility of such a conversion. The proposal will be voted on at WellPoint's annual meeting of shareholders in Indianapolis on May 18.
The proposal was disclosed Friday in WellPoint's proxy statement. The three shareholders-Rob and Karen Stone of Bloomington and Julia Vaughn of Indianapolis-will stage a press conference about the proposal Wednesday morning in front of WellPoint's Monument Circle headquarters.
Read the full article
OpEd by Dr. Rob Stone
Sent to the The Herald-Times, Bloomington, IN
Mr. Obama, "A Better Approach"
"If anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know." In his State of the Union address Wednesday night, the President admitted that his plan for healthcare reform has run into trouble. Read the full Op Ed
We have the opportunity of a lifetime right now to achieve
universal health care in the United States. While the economic
recession is making things worse for everyone, it is also making
it clearer that solving our health care problem is a crucial part
of economic recovery. Right now is the time to speak up. Our
elected leaders need to hear from us. We can be a part of the
change we want to see happen!
HCHP BLOG
For more information, links, and the opportunity to share your
ideas, please visit the HCHP Blog.
The link to stay connected with the Health Care Crisis and
Reform initiatives!
Mission: Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health
Plan is a group of Indiana citizens who support a publicly
financed, privately delivered (single payer) universal health
plan at the state and national level. HCHP is working to educate
the public and the legislature about the benefits of a single
payer plan. We are seeking individuals and groups who have an
interest in helping achieve this goal.
Protect, Improve and Expand Medicare Petition. 
