 | This article needs to be updated.(December 2021) |
| Formation | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 1534 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02120 |
| Website | healthcare-now.org |
Healthcare-NOW! is a non-profit grassroots coalition in support of the single-payer health care movement for the United States. [1] Healthcare-NOW!'s stated goal is to implement the Medicare for All Act. [2] [3] [4]
Healthcare-NOW! was founded in 2004, originally under the name of the Campaign for a National Health Program NOW (CNHP NOW). The first meeting of the coalition was the Campaign for a National Health Program NOW Conference: "Health Care Crisis and Election of 2004." On August 31 and September 1, 2004, the conference was held as well as a rally during the Republican Convention. [5] [6]
All of Healthcare-NOW funding is from individuals, unions and grassroots organizations. [7]
Healthcare-NOW! uses various community organizing methods. Strategies and ideas are developed through annual national strategy meetings with volunteer organizers and health care activists around the country, including Rep. John Conyers. [8] In 2007, Healthcare-NOW launched traveling Road Shows promoting single payer reform, as well as co-sponsored an Annual Health Care Justice Vigil held each September in Washington D.C. [9] Other techniques include Sicko House Parties [10] and Truth Hearings. [11] [12] On June 19, 2008, Healthcare-NOW! joined efforts with other organizations, including the California Nurses Association, to initiate the National Day of Protest Against Health Insurance Companies. This National Day of Protest took place in 18 cities nationwide in support of a single payer system. [13] It was a campaign mainly about public health care not private.
Healthcare-NOW is composed of 36 board members, in addition to the board of directors. The National Coordinator was Marilyn Clement.
Board member co-chairs [14]
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Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare, in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system. Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from private organizations or may own and employ healthcare resources and personnel. "Single-payer" describes the mechanism by which healthcare is paid for by a single public authority, not a private authority, nor a mix of both.
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The proposed America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 was an unsuccessful bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 14, 2009. The bill was introduced during the first session of the 111th Congress as part of an effort of the Democratic Party leadership to enact health care reform. The bill was not approved by the House, but was superseded by a similar bill, the proposed Affordable Health Care for America Act, which was passed by the House in November 2009, by a margin of 220-215 votes but later abandoned.
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