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Get Your Hot News of Single Payer Reform Here!

PNHP Talks Single-Payer Health Reform on The Colbert Report, Tuesday, July 21, at 11:30 pm EDT. Watch Dr. Aaron Carroll and Colbert tear it up! Worth staying up for this one! Or see it again on TV July 22, or online at Comedy Central starting July 22. Details . . .

Bill Moyers on Single Payer – A full hour in the wake of the Baucus Senate hearings. more . . .

"What's In His Wallet?" asks MSNBC -- Report: US Sen. Baucus received $183,000 from health industry and over $229,000 from drug companies

SB 810 Delay – due to budget frenzy, 810 likely ‘on suspense’ to Jan. 2010. more . . .

Write Endorsement Letters for Universal Health Care -
Single Payer Plan

CAHPSA Sample Endorsement Letter Guidance

For BOTH SB 810 and HR 676, the time is NOW to write both your individual and organizational endorsement letters.

  1. For California SB 810, it will go to Senate Floor in June 2009. The margin is razor-thin at this point: It is down to ONE vote!  This is not a done deal!

  2. For the US Congressional bill, HR 676 (and its companion bill in the US Senate, S 703): Any and all hope for change in the Obama-era will happen this summer. It’s do-or-die!  Or get arrested trying! (See the ‘Baucus 8’ arrests in US Senate, May 5th, 2009.)

To keep yourself updated, sign up for SB 810 legislative updates from the California Senate.

Download our letter-writing instructions for both California SB 810 and US Congress HR 676 and Senate S 703.

The following is the same instruction as contained in the downloadable document.

Go to the type of letter you want to write:

Image: Action Letter to CA Senator Support SB 810 by Individual - Link to Letter Guidance Image: Action Letter to CA Senator Support SB 810 by Organization - Link to Letter Guidance Image: Action Letter to US Senator & Congressperson, Support HR 676 & S 703_245wX200ht_shadow

Individual SB 810 Endorsement Letter Instructions

There are TWO key components to Individual Endorsement letters:

  1. YOUR letter must stand out in the eyes of the Staffer who is reading it.   
    • Write a specific letter – one uniquely between YOU and your particular Legislator
    • Thus, a different letter to your Assemblymember and Senator. 
    • Message will be the same (per next item). What’s different is the ‘hook’ --
      • Take 2 or 3 minutes to research the Member (start with his/her Bio on website);
      • Use 2 or 3 “connections” that you have with that person, and incorporate those into your letter.

  2. OUR collection of letters must develop/deliver a consistent message:
    • Put yourself in the mind of that Staff person, who has 7 seconds to summarize to his/her Boss, “Health Professional students are supporting SB 810 because….”

    • Our message:  “We’re tomorrow’s healthcare providers, who want publicly-funded, privately delivered healthcare reform TODAY!”   Additional/optional themes:

    • CARE – SB 810 will allow us to finally treat ALL patients based upon clinical condition, not the CARD or CASH they carry in their wallet.

    • CHOICE – Patients will have choice of provider & clinic/hospital.  This is real choice – and will promote real quality improvement: If patients don’t like us, they go somewhere else!  And we’re ready for that.

    • FINANCIAL: $$ -- SB 810 will pay us fairly for the professional services we will provide! 

Where & What to MAIL

MAIL Signed Original of EACH letter to your respective California Senator / Assemblymember. 

Send a COPY of BOTH LETTERS to TWO PLACES:

Include at the bottom of both letters:  cc Senator Mark Leno, Author SB 810

  1. Address and MAIL to Senator Mark Leno
    Capitol Building, Room 4061, Sacramento, CA 95814
      Attention:  Sara Rogers

  2. Send a COPY to CaPA office – 2344  6th Street, Berkeley, 94710

Sample Individual SB 810 Endorsement Letter

DATE

Senator Alan Lowenthal
State Capitol, Room 2032
Sacramento, CA  95814

Re: Strong support for SB 810 (Leno), California Universal Health Care Act

Dear Senator Lowenthal,

[Describe yourself and your connection to health care: For example:
I am about to begin my final year of medical school at the University of California, Irvine, and have just moved to the lovely city of Long Beach, so I am very happy to have you as my Senator.]

I want to thank you for your previous and current co-authorship of SB 810.

From what I know about you, we share 3 areas of common ground:

  • I’m a future Family Physician and will match into a residency next year, ideally in California.
  • Go Beach!  I completed my MPH degree at CSLB last year.
  • Strong support for SB 810, the ethically and fiscally responsible method of structuring a universal health financing system for California.

I belong to the California Health Professional Student Alliance (CA HPSA) for Universal Healthcare (www.CaHPSA.org), the group that organized a legislative visit to your office in January that featured students in short, white coats.  Our proud motto is, “We’re tomorrow’s healthcare providers, and we want single-payer -- TODAY.”  Why?

  • It allows us, as providers, to finally treat each person based on clinical presentation, versus the cash or card (insurance) they carry in their wallet (aka a “wallet biopsy”);
    • Additionally, it means we can actually practice medicine, versus paperwork and billing forms to the 6000+ insurance plans in California alone;
  • Especially as a primary care doc, I believe I will be fairly PAID;
  • As a person and patient, it’s what I want – predictably affordable, comprehensive coverage that is lifelong & continuous.

I have TWO specific requests, related to increasing your level of support of SB 810:

  • Please include SB 810 information on your website (atleast a link to Senator Leno’s web site)
    • Ultimately, in planning for that day when a Governor SIGNS the Bill, our real challenge is to educate the public, so it will be inured against whatever claptrap the private health insurance industry creates in likely the largest negative ad campaign in history
  • Please initiate/author a Resolution calling on President Obama and Congress to establish a single-payer health system national single-payer (as Maine just did in May 2009!)

Thank you very much for this consideration.  A group of health professional students would be happy to meet with you or your health staff person to discuss these ideas further!

Sincerely, 

[Your Name]
INCLUDE YOUR VOTING address – i.e. the one that determines your Legislator]

cc: Senator Leno, author SB 810

Organizational SB 810 Endorsement Letter Guidance

Where and What to MAIL

Write ONE letter – on Letterhead of your Organization. 

Use your logo and contact address if you have no "Letterhead."

ALL it needs to say is “We’re X organization in strong support of SB 810.” 
While the letter is logged and kept, the result is just your organization’s name added to the ongoing list of Endorsements – one that Sara Rogers (legislative aide to Senator Leno) wants to grow to several thousand!

Send a Signed Original of ORGANIZATION ENDORSEMENT LETTER to TWO PLACES:

  1. Address and MAIL to Senator Mark Leno
    Capitol Building, Room 4061, Sacramento, CA 95814
      Attention:  Sara Rogers

  2. Send a COPY to CaPA office – 2344  6th Street, Berkeley, 94710
    Include at the bottom of the CaPA letter:  cc Senator Mark Leno, Author, SB 810

Sample Organizational SB 810 Endorsement Letter

YOUR ORGANIZATION'S LETTERHEAD
(Or create one with your organization name, address, contacts)

DATE

Senator Mark Leno
Author, SB 810
Room 4061
Sacramento, CA  95814

Re: Strong support for SB 810 (Leno), the California Universal Health Care Act.
 
Dear Senator Leno,
 
[List your organization name] writes in strong support of SB 810 (Leno). 

[Describe your organization – how BIG; how many people and its connection to THIS issue.  1 to 2 sentences ]

[Describe WHY your organization supports SB 810.   Cite mission statement, etc.]
Include LD09 theme:  “We’re the FUTURE of healthcare, and we’re for SB 810.”

Sign [Name and Title, of President, Director or head of Organization]
Your organization's address and other contact information

Thank you for your vital support for passage of California Senate Bill SB 810 !



US Congress and US Senate - Universal Healthcare Bills

HR 676 (& S 703) Endorsement Letter Guidance

Here is ALL the info you ever wanted to know specific to HR 676

Where & What to FAX – Please note the differences from SB 810:
KEY difference is FAX – don’t mail to US Congress or Senate!! 
Why? US Congress Mailroom screening procedures have resulted in 1 month delays for letters.  

  1. USE the easy Legislator Lookup via new “SinglePayerCentral” at website: http://singlepayercentral.com/

  2. WRITE the letter to YOUR US Congressperson (and YOUR US Senator for S 703.

  3. FAX your letter to the Congressperson's and US Senator's FAX given in the "Lookup" site.

CC: Include at bottom of letter:  cc Representative John Conyers, Sponsor, HR 676

Send a SIGNED COPY of your letter that you FAXED to YOUR Member of Congress, to THREE MORE PLACES:

  1. CaPA – email/fax/mail - Roberto@pnhp.org or FAX: Attention: Roberto at

  2. PNHP – email to Dave@pnhp.org (Does not need to be signed)

  3. Rep John Conyers: A signed letter to be Faxed or emailed: 

Thank you for your vital support for passage of US Congressional Bill HR 676 and Senate Bill S703 !