• Seattle P-I article posted October 25, 2005 -- Health Care: Send a message.

• Seattle Times article posted September 7, 2005 -- Ballot in Seattle to contain statement on health.

• At Seattle Times -- Health Care and Costs Web page.

• AxisOfLogic.org article posted June 4, 2004 -- Market-Driven Health Care and Social Control.

• L.A. Times article posted May 31, 2004 -- Ignoring Healthcare Crisis Would Be Political Malpractice.

• At WebMd.com, posted May 26, 2004 -- Bush and Kerry Pitch Health Care Plans -- Each Candidate Says He'll Do The Most To Cut Health Care Costs.

• At TheTriangle.org, posted May 21, 2004 --Universal health care gives chance for equal society.

• National Union of Public and General Employees Web site, article posted May 18, 2004 -- The U.S. should consider Canada's health care model.

• Seattle P-I article posted May 17, 2004 -- Health care tension on the job.

• At TheTriangle.org, posted May 14, 2004 --Concept of universal health care relic from Communism.

• CNN.com article posted May 4, 2004 -- Best medicine in the U.S.? Maybe not.

• MSNBC.com article posted October 21, 2003 -- Big companies employ the uninsured -- 32% of non-covered employees work for large firms — study.

• Psychiatric News article posted October 3, 2003 -- Controversial Health System Overhaul Returns to National Agenda.

• Psychiatric News article posted October 3, 2003 -- Canadian System Built on Sharing Costs, Power.

• Psychiatric News article posted October 3, 2003 -- Canada's Single-Payer Plan Solves Some Access Issues.

• Psychiatric News article posted October 3, 2003 -- Members of Congress React.

• Seattle Times article posted August 13, 2003 -- Thousands of doctors back U.S. health coverage for all.

• Seattle Times letters to the editor posted August 17, 2003 -- Letters to the Editor in Response to above U.S. Health Coverage for All Article.

• Seattle P-I article posted June 14, 2003 -- Should every American have the right to medical care?.
  • At the Seattle P-I, Horsey's June 14, 2003, Saturday Spin Cartoon -- What do I do Doc?

• The Health Affairs Journal, although a little expensive, does have a large amount of free information, discussions, and reports. It is worth checking out!

• Check the Covering The Uninsured Web site to get the latest information and links to resources.

• Check Families USA and their Uninsured Page.

• The Washington State Campaign for Health Care for All continues to work hard for universal health care coverage in Washington State. The links directly below are to small Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files of the most recent newsletters from Health Care for All Washington.
  • January/February 2003 Newsletter.
    
  • Fall 2002 Newsletter.
    
  • Spring 2002 Newsletter.
    
  • Fall 2001 Newsletter.

• The Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) Web site contains several pages of position papers and recent news releases.
  • Recent PNHP News Release -- December 4, 2002: Senator Steven Tolman and Representative Frank Hynes Sign on as LEAD SPONSORS FOR Massachusetts Single Payer Legislation.

• The Universal Health Care Action Network was formed in 1992 to bring together diverse groups and activists to work for comprehensive health care. Go to the Universal Health Care Action Network (UHCAN) Web site to get linked to national single-payer organizing efforts and state information.

• Check the University of Washington's Health Policy Analysis Program Web site for many links to reports and articles on health care policy in Washington State.

• Washington Citizen Action is Washington's largest grassroots public interest group. Their Web page has several links to Medicaid waiver reports and Medicaid issues.

• The Northwest Federation of Community Organizations (NWFCO) is a regional organization comprised of four well-established statewide citizen action organizations – Idaho Community Action Network (ICAN), Montana People's Action (MPA), Oregon Action (OA), and Washington Citizen Action (WCA).

• The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is dedicated to improving the health and health care of all Americans.

• The Access Project is a program to help communities protect and/or improve access to care for uninsured and other underserved populations.

• State Coverage Initiatives is a program to help states plan and develop insurance market reforms, Medicaid reforms, and other significant health care financing and delivery changes.

• Health Care Financing and Organization is a multi-faceted program that supports policy analysis, research, evaluation, demonstration projects and conferences, and disseminates findings through a series of research translation and communications activities.

In my opinion, the two most concise and clear-cut articles that tell the truth about financing universal health insurance are the following (small Adobe Acrobat files):

• Paying for National Health Insurance And Not Getting It, dated August 2002. It is provided here courtesy of Project HOPE, and is written by Steffie Woolhandler, M.D. and David Himmelstein, M.D. who are founders of Physicians for a National Health Program.

• Common Ground - Why tax-financed universal health insurance is the progressive and conservative solution for health care market failure. This was the featured article for November 2002 at the Web site for Physicians for National Health Insurance.

Haven't heard of the "high-risk pool"? In Dr. Sterling's opinion, the term "high-risk pool" is very misleading. When people who score 283 on an extensive health questionnaire are lumped in with people who can score as high as 2,000 points or more, the term "high-risk pool" is much too broad to be representative of "high" risk.

The fact is that the current high-risk pool scoring includes mild risk, moderate risk, and high risk. The bar has been set so low for so-called "high risk" that the whole classification procedure smacks of a process highly-biased to allow insurance companies to maximize profits at the expense of consumers. Dr. Sterling sees such a biased classification process as a form of corporate welfare. It is Dr. Sterling's hope that a coalition called "Fair Play in Health Assessment" will target this practice of "cherry picking" and push for a fair classification system that includes mild risk, moderate risk and high risk pools having different and appropriate coverage premiums.

Some links to articles that spotlight the controversy:

• Money Central at MSN.com article -- Prozac may be hazardous to your health insurance.

• Seattle Times article posted July 11, 2003 -- More in state to flunk health-screening test.

• Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

• Options in the Individual Market.

• Washington State Health Care Coverage Options.

• Basic Health in Washington State.

• Check the Web site for Real Change News, a Seattle bi-weekly newspaper sold on the streets of Seattle by vendors who may be homeless or low-income. The Real Change Mission is to "organize, educate, and build alliances to create solutions to homelessness and poverty. We exist to provide a voice to poor people in our community."

• Find out about First Things First, a coalition devoted to a more humane Seattle.

• Read the Real Change article posted September 19, 2002 -- The Doctor is OUT! -- Medicaid Deserts the Poor.

• Check the Real Change Activism Page to find out how to help or contribute.

- Best wishes, Ron Sterling M.D. (Seattle, Washington, USA)