The Coalition Details

Mission Statement:

We are coalition of organizations, businesses and individuals who campaign for everyone to have access to the same, high quality, affordable health care.

In More Detail:

The care we all advocate is government funded and privately delivered, like Medicare today.  It would cover all medically necessary care, inpatient, outpatient, preventive and emergency care, prescription drugs, palliative, long-term and mental health care, and vision, hearing, dental, podiatry and chiropractic care.  It would cover everyone, from birth till death, regardless of employment status.  It would have no copayments or deductibles.  Everyone would have unrestricted choice of doctor and hospital.  

Our proposal is modeled on the original proposal of Physicians for a National Health Program which called for a system that would be universal; have proven cost controls such as global budgeting, simplified administration and negotiation for physician fees and bulk purchasing of drugs and medical devices; and would create a framework for a health system so that we can address the many other areas that need to be addressed such as having enough providers, getting resources more evenly distributed and looking at how we deliver care and improve the health of populations.  

We acknowledge that a state-level health care system will not be able to achieve the economies of scale that a national system would.  We also acknowledge that Medicare-like health care reform adopted in one state would be an important step to a national system of improved Medicare for Everyone.  Thus, we support both national initiatives for reform like HR 676 and state level "single payer" reforms, in this state and in other states.

Functions:

• The coalition will work to influence national, state and local governments to make the same, high-quality, affordable health care accessible to everyone.  It is a single-issue coalition, though it will work for both national and state-level solutions to health care problems.  At the state level, it is dedicated to development of legislation uniquely suited to the needs of Alabama.
• Under IRS regulations, it may advocate positions or issues, but it may not support or oppose political candidates..
• The coalition may join with other like-minded organizations to promote its cause.
• The coalition may publicize the names of its members when it believes that doing so is useful, in accord with its privacy policy (see below); however:
• It will not reveal the names of those members who have told us they do not wish their names made public.

Other names:

• Government-funded health care for everyone is also sometimes called “Medicare for All” or the “Single Payer” proposal.  Rep. John Conyers’ bill, HR 676, has put the proposal in the form of legislation for the House of Representatives to consider.   Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced similar legislation in the Senate during the Affordable Care Act debate.

Membership:

• Membership is open to any municipality, organization, business or individual that supports the coalition’s cause. 
• Members may resign from membership at any time by an email addressed to info@healthcareforeveryone-alabama.org.
• Membership is not limited to Alabama organizations, businesses or people.
• Members are free to identify themselves as members or representatives of the coalition when, and only when, their speech or actions are consistent with the objectives of the coalition. 

Service to its members:

• The coalition will undertake to provide an Internet newsletter, available by free subscription, intended to keep its subscribers aware of events in health care reform that don't usually make mainstream new sources.  The newsletter will include upcoming events and campaigns, summaries of news articles and excerpts of blogs related to health care reform. 
• The coalition plans to organize one-day quarterly meetings once each quarter, rotating from one part of the state to the next, with morning sessions devoted to issues, afternoon sessions devoted to strategy and tactics.  The purpose of the meetings is both to keep members aware of current happenings and to provide for education of new activists.
• The coalition will not burden its members with unsolicited e-mail

Economics:

• There will be no dues and no financial obligations imposed on member organizations or individuals. 
• The coalition is a 501-C(4) organization as the term is understood by the IRS.  It is authorized to try to influence legislation. The coalition is tax exempt but contributions to it aren’t.  
• The coalition is the alter ego of the Alabama Chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program.  PNHP has an educational function, but as a 501-C-3 organization, it is prohibited from substantial activity seeking to influence legislation.  Tax deductible contributions can be made to PNHP for the benefit of this Alabama Chapter through the "Donate" page of this web site.  

Amplified:

• There are multiple proposals for improving health care access that do not include government funding, or do not cover everyone, or do not cover all necessary medical care.  The coalition is not wedded to a single path toward achieving its objective.  It sees no problem if a member endorses a more limited objective so long as the member also advocates the coalition’s objective of making the same government funded high quality health care accessible to everyone.  In turn, Health Care for Everyone – Alabama may support other organizations whose missions are steppingstones toward the objective we endorse. 

Privacy Policy:

• We do not share any information you’ve given us with unaffiliated groups without your explicit permission.
• For petitions, letters to the editor, and surveys you've signed or completed, we treat your name, city, state, and comments as public information. We will not make your street address or email address or phone number publicly available, but we may transmit them to members of the Legislature, the Governor, members of the Congress or to the President as part of a petition.
• We do not share our email list with anyone.