HR 676, "Expanded and Improved Medicare for All" reintroduced

If your Rep was a sponsor of HR 676, the "Expanded and Improved Medicare for All" bill, it has been reintroduced by Rep. John Conyers. Twenty-eight members of Congress have already signed on--has your's? According to Healthcare-NOW, the bill had 85 cosponsors in the 111th Congress, and has the support of over 17,000 doctors, nurses, organized labor, and many activists across the country.

With new and incumbent reps distancing themselves from last year's health care reform package, is there a chance for headway on this bill? Conyers, in a statement, was optimistic: "To his credit, President Obama stated in his 2011 State of the Union Address that he is open to making changes to the law, so that it can be improved and strengthened. This presents a unique opportunity for supporters of improved Medicare For All to come together and work in a constructive way towards transitioning our for-profit and costly health care system to a high-quality, simple, and cost-effective improved Medicare For All program."

Conyers cited Americans' frustration with the cost of health care and health insurance, and their mistrust of private, for-profit insurers, and noted that that single payer is being seriously considered in some states, most notably Vermont and California.

You can download a .pdf of the bill here. You can download a summary from this page on the Healthcare-Now site.