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“We will get single-payer healthcare sooner or later, hopefully sooner,” said Rep. John Conyers to a full house in the Northhampton High School Auditorium Friday, March 19.
Moderator John Nichols, the Washington correspondent for The Nation, began the program by describing Conyers' long career and introduced him as the only candidate to ever receive an endorsement from Martin Luther King. Conyers discussed the healthcare reform battle that lies ahead and why HR 676, the National Healthcare Act or the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act, is the best solution for Americans.
Nichols went on to question the other panelists. Economist and UMass/Amherst professor Robert Pollin addressed the economic impact of our current healthcare system compared to a single-payer system. Dr. Jackie Wolf described the much-touted Massachusetts Plan and its failure to perform the functions it was designed to do: provide universal coverage for all and contain costs. The Massachusetts Plan is a favored model for national reform. PDA Healthcare NOT Warfare Co-chair Donna Smith, who testified to Congress on the impacts of our current failed system, described that experience and her current work as an advocate for HR 676 on Capitol Hill.
The audience showed its appreciation and support with multiple standing ovations sprinkled throughout the program. Congressman John Olver (D-01, MA) attended the event, as did Northampton Mayor Claire Higgins. The evening began with a reception for the guest speakers in the school library.
On Thursday, March 19, John Nichols spoke at a small gathering of PDA activists at the home of Northampton residents David and Wendy Newton. Nichols, who possesses an encyclopedic memory of politics and progressive organizing in the U.S., spoke about the Obama administration and offered suggestions to the activists for moving progressive policies forward.
Following the gathering, Nichols and members of the PDA leadership moved to the La Veracruzana Mexican restaurant for a planning session. The event was sponsored by PDA with the help and support of PDA Western Mass chapter members.
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