PNHP-NY Metro

Protest Pfizer on February 29

2012-02-24T13:04:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow: Protest Pfizer and ALEC

Wednesday, February 29th

Pfizer's Midtown headquarters (42nd & 2nd Ave)

Assemble at 42nd St. & 1st Ave at 10 AM

On Wednesday, February 29, Occupy Wall Street and Healthcare for the 99% will join in a national day of action to protest corporate corruption and toraise awareness about the dangerous political activities of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and its member corporations, such as Bank of America and Pfizer. At 10:00 a.m. we will hold a rally at Pfizer's Midtown headquarters to highlight their destructive role in these activities.

Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drug company, sits on the board of ALEC, which foists corporate-friendly legislation on state and federal legislatures, increasing private leverage over the political system.

Wednesday morning at 10:00 a.m. meet at East 42nd St. and 1st Avenue (the Robert Moses Playground), from which we will head one block over to Pfizer's Midtown headquarters (at 2nd Avenue) to help expose this alliance. Click here to go to the Events page for more details.

WEAR YOUR WHITE COATSand CONTACT sam@pnhpnymetro.org tovolunteer for medical support!

PNHP Forum on Tuesday, Feb. 21st

2012-02-17T14:54:00.001-05:00

Separate and Unequal:

Medical Apartheid in New York City

Tuesday, February 21, 7:30 PM

Beth Israel’s Phillips Ambulatory Care Center

10 Union Square East (btw 14^th & 15^th St.) 2^nd Floor Auditorium

Charmaine Ruddock, MS

Project Director, Bronx Health REACH

Shena Elrington, JD

Health Justice Program, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest

In 2008, the Bronx Health REACH Coalition filed a civil rights complaint with the New York State Office of the Attorney General alleging that three academic medical centers in New York City discriminated on the basis of payer status and race. The complaint charges that two standards of care are offered—a clinic system for the publicly insured and uninsured, and a facultypractice system for those with private insurance.

Join us for an examination of the institutional policies and practices that contribute to and exacerbate racial disparities in health care in New York City.

Click here to read more about the case.

FREE AND OPEN TO ALL

PNHP @ Occupy Town Squares:

2012-02-08T14:05:00.009-05:00

Join us on Saturday, February 11th at West Park Presbyterian Church (86th St. and Amsterdam) at 3:00 p.m. for a Health Care Teach-in!

Click here for video from the last Speak-out

Occupy Town Squares will convene on Saturday, Feb. 11th, at West Park Presbyterian Church on the Upper West Side (86th St. and Amsterdam) for an afternoon of teach-ins, activities, and group discussions. The event lasts from 1 - 7 p.m. We urge you to attend the Health care teach-in: "What is the path to universal health care in New York State?" at 3:00 p.m.

Click the caption for video from the last Speak-out organized by members of PNHP and Health Care for the 99% at Washington Square Park on Sunday, January 29th.

See the In the News section of this blog for more updates on recent PNHP member activity.

2012-01-26T11:52:00.002-05:00

Join Us on Sunday, January 29, 2012

Healthcare for the 99% Speak Out &Teach In

@ 1PM, by the north end of Washington Sq Park (by the Arch)
(For more information, read below.)

10/15/11 -- Occupy Wall Street (OWS) and OWS Party -- Doctors and other health professionals rallying & marching for Universal Health care and to show solidarity with the OWS movement @ Washington Square Park

This Sunday, Occupy Wall Street organizes the first of a series of "Occupy Town Square" events--mobile, daytime occupations in public spaces around the city. These events aim to "recreate the essence of the Zuccotti Park Occupation." There will be info tables, teach-ins, trainings, and political discussions.

Healthcare for the 99% will be an active part of Occupy Town Square with the return of our popular speak-out/teach-in!

2011-11-23T12:22:00.001-05:00

PNHP-NY Metro Supports
Occupy Wall Street (OWS)

Health Professionals, be a part of the mobile medical team that visits Occupiers (now staying at local churches) and lend your time and clinical skills to support the movement.

Check out our Volunteer @ OWS registration form!

Thank you to the 99 doctors, nurses, and students who enthusiastically answered our call to help keep occupiers healthy in Zuccotti Park and to spread the message ofhealth care for all.

(click video images below to watch)

PNHP-NY Metro has been actively working to support the movement that defends human needs against corporate greed. Collaborating with the National Physicians Alliance, Healthcare-NOW! NYC and other groups, we are working under the name "Healthcare for the 99%" (formerly "Doctors for the 99%.")

99 doctors, nurses, and students give flu shots to the 99%

on November 13 @ Zuccotti Park

Our story was picked up by local news stations in dozens of cities: Pittsburgh, Madison, San Antonio, Louisville, Oklahoma City, Spokane, West Palm Beach ... the list goes on. An updated press round-up will be available on our blog shortly. Please enjoy these two videos until then.

To get the most updated alerts via text directly from OWS:

Text '@occupyalert' to 23559.

To join the Healthcare for the 99% listserve, click here.

IN THE NEWS
Check out all the media coverage we've been generating for our OWS solidarity work toward health care for all in our Media Section.

(Read it below.)

Doctors Support Occupy Wall Street Because

Wall Street Is Occupying Health Care

We support Occupy Wall Street because the private health insurance industry exemplifies the OWS movement’s central tenet: its unchecked corporate greed tramples human need.
We support OWS because economic and social inequalities make our patients sick.

We support OWS because we reject a system that forces us to treat patients differently based on the types of insurance they have and what kinds of treatments they can “afford.”

We support OWS because we believe in evidence, and evidence shows us that profit-driven health care raises costs and lowers quality. It’s unhealthy for the 99%; only CEOs and stockholders benefit.

We support OWS because our political leaders, held hostage by corporate money, reject evidence-based health policies such as a single payer reform that would save both lives and money.

We support OWS because the health care economy – like the overall economy – has more than sufficient resources to take care of 100%, but the resources are siphoned off by profit-driven corporations in the interest of the 1%.

We support OWS because we took the oath to do no harm, and our corrupt political and economic systems are doing all of us harm.

We support OWS because we are hopeful that we can change our society.

Join us.

2011-11-22T11:06:00.001-05:00

FORUM TONIGHT!

NOVEMBER 22 @ 7:30PM

Healthcare for the 99%:

Health professionals' solidarity work with

Occupy Wall Street

Are you one of the 99 nurses, students and doctors who provided flu shots in Zuccotti Park last Sunday? Have you been volunteering at the medical tent and organizing speak-outs? Have you been visiting the park and looking for ways to get more involved, or wondering why so many health professionals are energized and mobilized to support this movement?

Come to this forum to share your experiences and ideas. Join a spirited discussion about the role of health professionals in the OWS movement and implications for the fight for a universal, equitable healthcare system. Leading the conversation:

Matt Anderson, MD, MSc; Social Medicine Portal

Steve Auerbach, MD, MPH, FAAP; PNHP-NY Metro

Bill Jordan, MD; National Physicians Alliance-NY

Mary O’Brien, MD, PNHP-NY Metro

Katie Robbins, Healthcare-NOW! NYC

Sepideh Sedgh, DO, Committee of Interns and Residents

Asiya Tschannerl, MD, MPH, MScRepresentative from National Nurses United

Tuesday, November 22, 7:30 PM

Beth Israel’s Phillips Ambulatory Care Center

10 Union Square East (btw 14^th & 15^th St.) 2^nd Floor Lecture Hall

FREE AND OPEN TO ALL

PNHP-NY Metro Supports
Occupy Wall Street (OWS)

Thank you to the 99 doctors, nurses, and students who enthusiastically answered our call to help keep occupiers healthy in Zuccotti Park and to spread the message ofhealth care for all.

(click video images below to watch)

99 doctors, nurses, and students give flu shots to the 99%

on November 13 @ Zuccotti Park

Things are happening quickly. Check back in for updates.

To get the most updated alerts via text directly from OWS:

Text '@occupyalert' to 23559.

To join the Healthcare for the 99% listserve, click here.

IN THE NEWS
Check out all the media coverage we've been generating for our OWS solidarity work toward health care for all in our Media Section.

GET INVOLVED!

To get involved with advocacy:

Join the Healthcare for the 99% Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/232031503518810/
Check out the Healthcare for the 99% blog: http://owshealthcare.wordpress.com/
Follow on Twitter @Healthcarefor99
Get further involved in organizing by joining a googlegroups listserv. Send an email to: owshealthcare@googlegroups.com (multiple emails a day)

Doctors support Occupy Wall Street because we want ourpatients to be healthy.

We support OWS because the private health insurance industryexemplifies the central complaint of the OWS movement: unchecked corporategreed threatens human needs.

We support OWS because economic and social inequalities makeour patients sick.

We support OWS because we’re tired of being ashamed when wehave to treat our patients differently based on the types of insurance theyhave and what kinds of treatments they can “afford.”

We support OWS because we believe in facts and evidence, andfacts and evidence show us that a profit-driven health insurance industry isunhealthy for everyone except for CEOs and stockholders of those companies.

We support OWS because most of our legislators, held hostageby corporate money, consistently refuse to pass health policies that save livesand money, like single payer legislations.

We support OWS because the health care economy—like theoverall economy—has more than sufficient resources to take care of everyone,but everyone is not taken care of due to the unfair siphoning of resources byprofit-driven corporations.

We support OWS because we took the oath to do no harm, andour corrupt political and economic systems are doing all of us harm.

We support OWS because we are hopeful that we can change oursociety.

Joinus.

2011-11-16T10:21:00.000-05:00

PNHP-NY Metro Supports
Occupy Wall Street (OWS)

Thank you to the 99 doctors, nurses, and students who enthusiastically answered our call to help keep occupiers healthy in Zuccotti Park and to spread the message ofhealth care for all.

(click video images below to watch)

99 doctors, nurses, and students give flu shots to the 99%

on November 13 @ Zuccotti Park

WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW

Join fellow supporters of Healthcare for the 99% to be a part of November 17: Mass Direct Action across 5 boroughs in NYC
and in other cities.

For all locations and details:

http://occupywallst.org/action/november-17th/

7 AM: Shut Down Wall Street
1 PM: Join the activists fighting to save St Vincent's Hospital:

Time : 1 - 1:30 pm
Event : Speak-Out and Die-In
Place : Corner of 11th Street and 7th Avenue South
(in front of the old Emergency Room)
March : Marching to Union Square Park to join the OccupyWallStreet action at 3pm

3 PM: City Wide Speak Outs + Occupy the Subway
5 PM: Rally at Foley Square - Meet up with Healthcare for the 99% at 125 Worth Street

(in front of the former NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene). Wear your white coats, scrubs, bring signs! Then join the huge demonstration at Foley Square.

Things are happening quickly. Check back in for updates.

To get the most updated alerts via text directly from OWS:

Text '@occupyalert' to 23559.

To join the Healthcare for the 99% listserve, click here.

IN THE NEWS
Check out all the media coverage we've been generating for our OWS solidarity work toward health care for all:

OCTOBER 26 MARCH

Countdown withKeith Olberman, Oct 26, 2011

Dr. Steve Auerbach of PNHP on the Wall Street/health link

Click here to see

more press coverage

of our October 26th March

OCTOBER 23 SPEAK-OUT

NY 1, Oct 23, 2011

Occupy Wall Street Protesters Rally For Health Care Reform

Click here to see
more press coverage
of our October 23rd Speak-out

GET INVOLVED!

To get involved with advocacy:

Join the Healthcare for the 99% Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/232031503518810/
Check out the Healthcare for the 99% blog: http://owshealthcare.wordpress.com/
Follow on Twitter @Healthcarefor99
Get further involved in organizing by joining a googlegroups listserv. Send an email to: owshealthcare@googlegroups.com (multiple emails a day)

Doctors support Occupy Wall Street because we want ourpatients to be healthy.

We support OWS because the private health insurance industryexemplifies the central complaint of the OWS movement: unchecked corporategreed threatens human needs.

We support OWS because economic and social inequalities makeour patients sick.

We support OWS because we’re tired of being ashamed when wehave to treat our patients differently based on the types of insurance theyhave and what kinds of treatments they can “afford.”

We support OWS because most of our legislators, held hostageby corporate money, consistently refuse to pass health policies that save livesand money, like single payer legislations.

We support OWS because we took the oath to do no harm, andour corrupt political and economic systems are doing all of us harm.

We support OWS because we are hopeful that we can change oursociety.

Joinus.

2011-10-20T18:46:00.001-04:00

PNHP-NY Metro Supports
Occupy Wall Street (OWS)

Be one of the 99 doctors, nurses, and students

giving flu shots to the 99%!

(read below)

Be one of the 99 doctors, nurses, and students

giving flu shots to the 99%!

When: this Sunday, Nov 13

What: 1-2 PM Speak-out

2-4 PM Flu shot clinic

Where: Zuccotti Park (Broadway & Cedar)

meet at the "Big Red Sticks" sculpture

How: Click here for a 30-second registration. Registration is not mandatory but will greatly help us plan.

*While we need 99 health professionals for the event, not all need to be actually administering flu shots. Please come regardless and indicate your preference while registering.

* please wear your white coats or scrubs!

IN THE NEWS
Check out the media coverage we've been generating for our OWS solidarity work toward health care for all:

OCTOBER 26 MARCH

Countdown withKeith Olberman, Oct 26, 2011

Dr. Steve Auerbach of PNHP on the Wall Street/health link

Click here to see

more press coverage

of our October 26th March

OCTOBER 23 SPEAK-OUT

NY 1, Oct 23, 2011

Occupy Wall Street Protesters Rally For Health Care Reform

Click here to see
more press coverage
of our October 23rd Speak-out

GET INVOLVED!

To get involved with advocacy:

Join the Healthcare for the 99% Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/232031503518810/
Check out the Healthcare for the 99% blog: http://owshealthcare.wordpress.com/
Come to regular Sunday & Wednesday meetings at 5:30 @ the Atrium at 60 Wall St.
Follow on Twitter @Healthcarefor99
Get further involved in organizing by joining a googlegroups listserv. Send an email to: owshealthcare@googlegroups.com (multiple emails a day)

To volunteer for on-site health care delivery:

Email organizing@pnhpnymetro.org to join a volunteer team delivering health care at Zuccotti Park. (We'll have an online sign-up system soon.)

Doctors support Occupy Wall Street because we want ourpatients to be healthy.

We support OWS because the private health insurance industryexemplifies the central complaint of the OWS movement: unchecked corporategreed threatens human needs.

We support OWS because economic and social inequalities makeour patients sick.

We support OWS because we’re tired of being ashamed when wehave to treat our patients differently based on the types of insurance theyhave and what kinds of treatments they can “afford.”

We support OWS because most of our legislators, held hostageby corporate money, consistently refuse to pass health policies that save livesand money, like single payer legislations.

We support OWS because we took the oath to do no harm, andour corrupt political and economic systems are doing all of us harm.

We support OWS because we are hopeful that we can change oursociety.

Joinus.

2011-10-18T01:45:00.000-04:00

Saturday, October 15, 2011
Health Professionals Speak Out and March in Support of Occupy Wall Street (OWS)

10/15/11 -- Occupy Wall Street (OWS) and OWS Party -- Doctors and other health professionals rallying & marching for Universal Health care and to show solidarity with the OWS movement.

Wednesday, June 22nd @12PM: March!

2011-06-21T13:05:00.001-04:00

March with Nurses to
Demand Medicare for All!

With the erosion of living standards for many, and new attacks almost daily from Wall Street-funded politicians, all Americans need a new contract, a binding relationship for their security, for their families, and for future generations.

NNU represents 175,000 nurses across the country, and is ready to bring a new deal to Washington DC: the Main Street Contract.
They support Medicare for all to make healthcare a human right, they oppose cuts to Social Security, and they are calling for higher quality of life for everyone in the United States. Is it any wonder that nurses are the most trusted profession in the nation?

Find out more about the march on Wall Street and the Main Street Contract here.

Thursday, June 16th @6PM: Celebrate Dr. Oli Fein

2011-05-25T13:29:00.000-04:00

A Special Celebration honoring
Oliver Fein, MD
Chair, Physicians for a National Health Program
New York Metro Chapter
Associate Dean for Affiliations
Weill Cornell Medical College

Please join us in celebrating Oli's remarkable achievements as a clinician, educator, and advocate for health equity. Wine, Sushi & Hors d'ourvres will be served.

Weill Cornell Medical Center

New York Presbyterian Hospital

525 East 68th Street

between York Ave. & East River

Whitney, Room 117

Suggested contribution levels:
$100 Friend
$175 Supporter
$250 Benefactor

RSVP
212.485.6235
organizing@pnhpnymetro.org

Tuesday, May 24th @7:30PM: FORUM

2011-05-24T10:54:00.000-04:00

Canadian Health System

Visiting an Alternate Universe....
PNHP sees Canadian Health Care in Action! Follows Annual General Membership Meeting.

At the annual membership meeting, we will elect our 2011 Board of Directors and briefly discuss priorities for the coming year. Immediately following the Board election is a report-back on our Toronto trip to examine the Canadian health care system. Get all your tough questions answered!

Beth Israel Medical Center • Phillips Ambulatory Care Center10 Union Square East (between 14th and 15th Streets)
Second Floor Auditorium

Monday, May 23rd: Single Payer Lobby Day!

2011-05-20T15:41:00.000-04:00

Lobby Day was a grand success!

In light of advances in Vermont and California, advocates and lawmakers are seeing a surge of interest in instituting a state single-payer system in New York. Our recent intensified advocacy and dialogue with Chair of the Assembly Health Committee, Richard N. Gottfried (D-Manhattan) are paying off. To coincide with our lobby visits, he rushed to re-introduce his single-payer bill on Friday, May 20th, 2011. This development made our visit even more fresh and powerful.

State Senators Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan) and Tom Duane (D-Manhattan) have agreed to be the lead sponsors of the senate companion bill, after members of PNHP-NY Metro and Healthcare-NOW! NYC lobbied him.

Gottfried's single-payer bill has passed the Assembly before and we can do it again while building support in the State Senate. We need your help NOW to get your legislators on board so these bills (A7860 / S5425) can be re-introduced before the legislative session ends on June 20! And don't forget state legislators often end up in Washington, DC, including President Obama and Senator Chuck Schumer!

Thursday, May 19th @7PM: The New Health Law vs. Single Payer

2011-05-19T09:29:00.000-04:00

A presentation by Oliver Fein, MD
Chair, Physicians for a National Health Program-NY Metro
Associate Dean, Weill Cornell Medical College

Will the new law control costs? Will it cover everyone? Will it allow you to focus on the doctor-patient relationship, instead of fighting insurance companies to cover needed care? In contrast, how would a single-payer, publicly funded, privately delivered system address these crucial questions? Click here to view the presentation.

Brooklyn Hospital Center
121 DeKalb Ave., 3rd Fl. Auditorium

Wednesday, May 18th @7:30 PM: Insiders Share Stories on Vermont's Campaign for Universal Health Care

2011-05-18T09:24:00.000-04:00

Hear the inspiring story of the Healthcare is a Human Right Campaign’s grassroots effort to make Vermont the first state in the country to pass a universal healthcare system. More information here.

All Souls' Unitarian Church

Lexington Avenue & 80th St.

Saturday, April 30th: Speakers' & Lobby Training

2011-04-30T10:44:00.000-04:00

You're at a podium, in front of colleagues at the hospital. Or having dinner with your in-laws. Or meeting with your senator. You have a few minutes to explain why we need a single-payer health system.

Not so easy. We know.

Learn key messages for a changing political climate.

Build your communication skills.

Defend Medicare for All as Congressman Paul Ryan and his allies push for Medicare for None.

Weill Cornell Medical College

1300 York Ave @ 69th, Rm A126

Tuesday, April 26th @7:30PM: FORUM

2011-04-26T10:37:00.000-04:00

The Good Doctors

Medical Activists Fighting for Health Justice from the Civil Rights Movement to Today

John Dittmer, PhD

Author of The Good Doctors

Professor Emeritus of History, DePauw University

Winner of the Bancroft Prize, the McLemore Prize

The Medical Committee for Human Rights (MCHR) was organized in 1964 to provide support and care for activists organizing black voters in Mississippi. Galvanized by the glaring inequality they saw, the MCHR eventually expanded to tackling issues ranging from poverty to the war in Vietnam.

Beth Israel Medical Center • Phillips Ambulatory Care Center
10 Union Square East (between 14th and 15th Streets)
Second Floor Auditorium

Saturday March 26th: Student Rally for Single Payer in Vermont

2011-03-26T09:51:00.000-04:00

Medical, nursing, and public health students from around the country organized a rally to support universal, single-payer health care in Vermont.

The March 26, 2011 event was led by student members of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) and co-sponsored by the American Medical Student Association (AMSA).

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Tuesday, March 22nd @7:30 PM: FORUM

2011-03-22T16:43:00.000-04:00

The Spectrum of Concierge Care in the U.S.
Scientific, Ethical, and Policy Issues

Martin Donohoe, MD, FACP
Adjunct Associate Professor, Portland State University
Board Member, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility
Founder, Public Health and Social Justice

Concierge care—also known as luxury care, boutique medicine, or retainer practice—is a growing phenomenon in the U.S. In exchange for higher fees, patients are promised shorter waiting times, lower patient-physician ratios, and sometimes gourmet meals and valet parking. How does this trend impact public health and the movement toward an equitable health system?

Beth Israel Medical Center • Phillips Ambulatory Care Center
10 Union Square East (between 14th and 15th Streets)
Second Floor Auditorium

Tuesday, February 22nd @7:30PM: FORUM

2011-02-22T16:43:00.000-05:00

Toward Single-Payer Health Care Reform in Vermont

Leonard Rodberg, PhD
Chair, Department of Urban Studies, Queens College, City University of New York
on William Hsiao's Groundbreaking Report on Reform Options for Vermont

Carl Berdahl
Medical student, Yale School of Medicine
on Medical Student Organizing

Virginia Hood, MD
Professor of Medicine, University of Vermont
President-elect, American College of Physicians

In 2010, the Vermont state legislature passed a bill mandating universal health care. The bill required a study of three reform options. Dr. William Hsiao, the Harvard economist who designed Taiwan's single-payer system, was chosen to conduct the study. Vermont's new governor Peter Shumlin ran on a single-payer platform and is intent on moving forward in consultation with Dr. Hsiao. Will Vermont lead the country to single-payer?

Beth Israel Medical Center • Phillips Ambulatory Care Center
10 Union Square East (between 14th and 15th Streets)
Second Floor Auditorium

Monday, January 10th @7:30PM: FORUM

2011-01-10T16:52:00.000-05:00

A Special Evening with Wendell Potter
Author of Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans

Wendell Potter is the former head of corporate communications for CIGNA. Since leaving in 2008, he has become the most prominent whistleblower of the private health insurance industry, speaking out against its deadly, profit-driven practices. He has testified repeatedly before Congress and has appeared in highprofile interviews on Bill Moyers Journal, Democracy NOW!, and many others. Potter is the senior fellow on health care at the Center for Media and Democracy.

Murphy Institute • CUNY
25 W. 43rd St., 18th fl.