The national campaign to win in 2009, the passage of the Obama/HCAN plan for guaranteed, quality, affordable health care for all “ I am proud to join HCAN’s.

The national campaign to win in 2009, the passage of the Obama/HCAN plan for guaranteed, quality,

affordable health care for all“ I am proud to join HCAN’s efforts to tackle the tough challenges we face in reforming our nation’s health care system.”-President Barack Obama, 10/6/2008

Who is Health Care for America Now?• HCAN is a national grassroots campaign of over 700 organizations representing 30

million people dedicated to winning quality, affordable health care for all.• Our principles call for a uniquely American solution that guarantees a choice of

public or private insurance plans, guaranteed, comprehensive benefits and affordable costs for individuals and businesses.

• HCAN and our principles are supported by President Obama and more than 180 Senators and Members of Congress.

• HCAN is the only health care campaign that is working toward passing President Obama’s solution in 2009.

“My hope is, over the course of the year, I’m going to be able to work with Congress to move forward a bill that gets us on track to every single person in America being able to get affordable, decent health care coverage.”

- President Barack Obama, 02/10/2009

“Today, we’ve got a message for our elected officials. If you put profits ahead of patients, get out of the way.” - Gerald McEntee, International President, AFSCME

7/8/2008

Our Steering Committee• SEIU – Co-Chair• USAction – Co-Chair• Children’s Defense Fund A.C.• Campaign for Community Change• MoveOn.org• Americans United for Change• ACORN• NAACP• United Food and Commercial Workers

• AFSCME – Co-Chair• Center for American Progress• AFL-CIO• Campaign for America’s Future• National Council of La Raza• National Education Association• National Women’s Law Center• Working America• Communications Workers of America

The Opportunity

• There is a rare opportunity to pass major health reform legislation in 2009 – before the start of the mid-term campaign

• President Obama made it a priority and he has the political capital to make it happen

• Leaders with control of Congress want to deliver

• The economic crisis has propelled health care into a leading “bread and butter” issue.

“It is clear that the time has come – right now – to solve this problem.” - President Barack Obama, 10/4/2008

The Moral and Economic Imperative

• 45 million people without insurance – and growing• 20 million people under-insured • Rapidly increasing health care costs are straining families, business and

government and making U.S. companies less competitive in the global marketplace

“…health care is the biggest component of our economy and when it’s broken, that affects everything.”-President Barack Obama, 2/10/09

“Of all the forms of inequality, health care injustice is the most shocking and inhumane.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Past is Prologue• History shows that there is a window of opportunity this year while public interest and political

capital is high that will shut next year• Insurance opposition will attempt to define health reform and turn the public will against

change– In 1993 the Insurance industry spent up to $300M on TV ads including “Harry and Louise”

which defined the Clinton plan first– In 1993 the Insurance industry mounted strong grassroots campaigns in the districts of

swing legislators– The Clinton administration mounted no media or grassroots campaign– In 2008, the Insurance industry formed AHIP to block the Obama/HCAN Plan

• Political opposition will use health reform to gain seats in 2010 and 2012– In 1993 Newt Gingrich blocked Congressional action on health reform to discredit

President Clinton and to win control of the House.– In the 1994 mid-term elections, Republicans picked up 52 seats and won control of the

House for the first time in 50 years– In 2009, the opposition attempted to block the stimulus for gains in 2010

“We’ve killed health care reform…Now we’ve got to make sure our fingerprints are not on it.” Senator Bob Packwood (R-OR), attributed in the New York Times 9/18/1994

The Political Imperative• By 2010, the Insurance and Political Opposition to the Obama/HCAN plan will have dampened public

enthusiasm• Insurance Opposition has formed AHIP (America’s Health Insurance Plan) to co-opt reform language and

mount a “reform” campaign – They have virtually unlimited resources to mount a media and grassroots campaign that will sound like

reform but will keep the status quo• Political Opposition is already beginning to beat the drums against the Obama/HCAN plan

– Karl Rove fear-mongered in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that by endorsing health care reform, Obama had already broken his campaign promise not to run to the “extremes with government-run health care.” (WSJ 11/28/08)

– Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) said in a Washington Times op-ed that health care reform would “nationalize health care”, “limit freedom” and “put bureaucrats in charge of health care decision-making.”

– Rush Limbaugh called the Obama/HCAN health care IT plan “the national socialization of medicine” and said that “your medical treatments will be tracked electronically by a federal system.” Rush Limbaugh show, 2/10/09

“The government may force us to pick from a few health care plans designed by government bureaucrats. Having choices we don’t like is like no choice at all. They choose. We lose.” –“Harry & Louise” ad, 1994

A Winning CampaignPresident Obama has declared that 2009 is the year of health care reform. HCAN began the

campaign in 2008:• HCAN has built strategic and unprecedented unity around the idea that we need

guaranteed, affordable, quality health coverage for all• HCAN has built an army of activists around the nation to build the public will for health

reform, now• HCAN has developed a 360-degree Communications Plan to fill the American air space,

including news, opinion, blogs, and paid advertising on the web, TV and print and began implementing that strategy in 2008

• HCAN has identified a clear opponent - the insurance industry – and began attacking them for putting profits before people

• HCAN has educated Members of Congress about the Obama/HCAN plan and already has over 183 Senators and Members signed on that support our principles

• HCAN has defined our solution as guaranteed, affordable, quality health coverage for all, that combines the choice of private insurance (including keeping your existing plan) or a public health insurance plan.

“We need you to be a part of this huge movement to stand up against the drug companies, the insurance companies and win this in 2009. That’s what Health Care for America Now is built for.” Richard Kirsch, Campaign Manager, Health Care for America Now

Our Successes:Since our July, 2008 launch:

• Built a coalition of over 700 organizations representing 30 million members• Developed grassroots campaigns in 42 states • Built an email list of over 52,000 members and developed partnership with

Moveon.org• Launched election 2008 television ads in 6 House districts and the

presidential to make health care a defining issue of the campaign• Raised over $17M in six months from labor, foundations and individual

donors• Educated Senators and Members of Congress and signed on over 175 to

support our principles

“As a cancer survivor, I speak about health care with knowledge gleaned from the sharp end of a chemotherapy needle. Organizations like Health Care for America Now are at the forefront of a grassroots movement that is saying, ‘yes, we do own the vote, and yes we can change this country.' The economy we're in will mandate the necessity of taking bold steps, and I am willing to be very aggressive in making health care a part of the solution.” Representative Eric Massa (D-NY)

What’s Next:

“-- there are some people who are making the argument that, well, you can’t do anything about health care because the economy comes first. They don’t understand that health care is the biggest component of our economy and, when it’s broken, that affects everything.”- President Barack Obama, 2/10/2009