Our best chance of getting a single-payer universal health care system is now. The top 10 reasons to support
H.R. 676 are provided here.

Everybody In, Nobody Out. Universal means access to health care for everyone, period.

Portability. If you are unemployed, or lose or change jobs, your health coverage stays
with you.

Uniform Benefits. No Cadillac plans for the wealthy and Pinto plans for everyone else,
with high deductibles, limited services, caps on payments for care, and no protection
in the event of a catastrophe. One level of comprehensive care for everyone, regardless
of the size of your wallet.

Prevention. By removing financial roadblocks, a universal health system encourages
preventive care that lowers an individual's ultimate cost and pain and suffering
when problems are neglected and societal cost in the over-utilization of emergency
rooms or the spread of communicable diseases.

Choice. Most private insurance restricts your choice of providers and hospitals.
Under the U.S. National Health Insurance Act, patients have a choice, and the provider
is assured a fair payment.

No Interference with Care. Caregivers and patients regain their autonomy to decide
what's best for a patient's health, not what's dictated by the billing department.
No denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions or cancellation of policies for
"unreported" minor health problems.

Reducing Waste. One third of every private health insurance dollar goes for paperwork
and profits, compared to about 3% under Medicare, the federal government's universal
system for senior citizen healthcare.

Cost Savings. A guaranteed health care system can produce the cost savings needed to
cover everyone, largely by using existing resources without the waste. Taiwan, shifting
from a U.S. private health care model, adopted a similar system in 1995, boosting health
coverage from 57% to 97% with little increase in overall health care spending.

Common Sense Budgeting. The public system sets fair reimbursements applied equally to all
providers, private and public, while assuring that appropriate health care is delivered,
and uses its
clout to negotiate volume discounts for prescription drugs and medical
equipment.

Public Oversight. The public sets the policies and administers the system, not high
priced CEOs meeting in private and making decisions based on their company's stock
performance needs.