Monday, December 22: National Call-in Day for HR 676, Single Payer Healthcare

Please join Healthcare-NOW! and the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Healthcare – National Single Payer Coalition Steering Committee on the first of two national call-in days to urge Congress to support HR676. The first national call-in day is Monday, December 22, and the coalition asks that you call your members of Congress at their district offices. The second will be on Thursday, January 15, and will be a Washington call-in--mark your calendar!

The coalition is also asking callers to contact Sen. Edward Kennedy's office on the 22nd. According to a letter he sent in response to a request to support HR 676, he stated "In recent weeks I have been working on legislation that will have bipartisan support and guarantee quality, affordable health care for all Americans and their families." We need to let him know that the only way to achieve this is by implementing single-payer national health care for all. Kennedy's in-district office can be contacted at Phone: 617-565-3170 / Fax: 617-565-3183. See the "read more" link below for a phone script.

Please take this opportunity to join with people across the nation and urge your members of congress to support single payer healthcare. In this economic crisis we need to be able to count on equality of care regardless of income or job situation. Healthcare is a right, not a privilege. If your Representative is already a sponsor of HR 676, thank him or her. A list of sponsors, the text of the bill, and bill history link here.

Click on "read more" for tips and scripts for participants and make the call on Monday, December 22.

Tips for Single-Payer Activists participating in this effort:
We want to reach ALL members of Congress with our message. Current cosponsors should be thanked for their support and encouraged to get active behind HR 676. Non-cosponsors should be asked to get on board with HR 676 asap. Keeping calls brief and to the point is best and not only makes your members more willing to make calls but also makes logging the issue and sending a clear message to Congressional members much more efficient.

You may also wish to give your members contact information for one of your group’s “experts” on HR676, just in case the Congressional office wants more information. Or you may certainly give them Rep. Conyers’ contact information or Healthcare-NOW!'s information.

Please do keep track of your outreach efforts – especially reactions to the calls that your members may note. All of this information is critical as we track the support in Congress for HR 676. Please report back about the Call-In day to Healthcare-NOW! at info@healthcare-now.org.

Healthcare-NOW! will be sending an email to remind everyone of the call-in day on Monday, December 22nd. This email should be forwarded widely.

How to contact your representative: You can find your representatives contact information at www.votesmart.org. We recommend calling and/or faxing on this day to get your message through. If possible, request to speak to the Chief of Staff or Health Care Aid, rather than leaving the message with whomever answers the phone.

Draft scripts (activists should tweak the call scripts as appropriate for their individual groups):

HR676 Co-sponsor call: Hi, my name is _________. I am calling to thank Representative ______________ for his/her support of HR676, John Conyers’ National Health Insurance Act. Rep. Conyers plans to reintroduce HR676 shortly after the Congress is back in session in January, but I want to reaffirm my support for HR676, single payer healthcare legislation and ask Rep. _______________ to do the same by signing on again as a co-sponsor working for true reform of this terrible healthcare system. I say no to Massachusetts style health care, and yes to single payer health care as proposed in HR 676. Single payer gives more freedom of choice and access to quality care for patients and it is the most economical way to make sure we all can access care when we need it. Now is the time to give the gift of healthcare for all to every American. Happy holidays and thank you. If you have any questions about single payer or about me, please call me at __________________.

Non-co-sponsors call: Hi, my name is _______________. I am calling to urge Representative ___________________ to support of HR676, John Conyers’ National Health Insurance Act. Rep. Conyers plans to reintroduce HR676 shortly after the Congress is back in session in January, and I want to reaffirm my support for HR676, single payer healthcare legislation and ask Rep. ____________________ to do the same by signing on as a co-sponsor and working for true reform of this terrible healthcare system. I say no to Massachusetts style health care, and yes to single payer health care as proposed in HR 676. Single payer gives more freedom of choice and access to quality care for patients and it is the most economical way to make sure we all can access care when we need it. Now is the time to give the gift of healthcare for all to every American. Happy holidays and thank you. If you have any questions about single payer or about me, please call me at __________________.

Message to Senator Kennedy: Hi, my name is ______________. I am calling to urge Senator Kennedy to make his proposed legislation for health care reform single-payer. The current reform in Massachusetts is leaving thousands uninsured and is far too expensive to be sustained because it leaves profit in the middle of our health care system. In the most recent election, local ballot initiatives supporting single payer and opposing individual mandates passed by landslide margins in all ten legislative districts where they appeared. With almost all precincts tallied, roughly 73 percent of 181,000 voters in the ten districts voted YES in support of a single-payer system. Say no to Massachusetts style health care, and yes to single payer health care as proposed in HR 676. Happy holidays and thank you. If you have any questions about single payer or about me, please call me at __________________.