January 17, 2020 Dear single-payer advocate, Our Kitchen Table Campaign is off to a great start. We hope you’ve been using this month’s toolkit to spread the message that single payer is the only solution to the scourge of surprise medical bills. Here are some examples of how PNHP members have used the Surprise Billing Toolkit this month: - Podcast: Dr. Mark Krasnoff talks about single payer as the answer to surprise billing on the “Medicare for All Explained” podcast, January 15
- Op-ed: “Protecting Americans from surprise medical costs” by Ed Weisbart, M.D., St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 8
- Op-ed: “Insurance networks have to go” by Valerie Domenici, Ph.D., The Sentinel (Pennsylvania), January 8
- Letter to the Editor: “Medicare for All plan would cover all Americans and is a way forward” by Kathleen Fagan, M.D., M.P.H., TCPalm (Florida), January 8
- Letter to the Editor: “The answer to surprise medical billing is Medicare for All” by Johnathon Ross, M.D., M.P.H., Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 15
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Letter to the Editor: “This is why I prescribe Medicare for All” by Joan A. MacEachen, M.D., M.P.H., The Journal (Colorado), January 16 | |
Some of you have asked for additional suggestions on how to use the Kitchen Table Tools in your chapters, communities, and institutions. Here’s a few ideas to get you started. Individuals: - Share Kitchen Table videos, memes and handouts on your social media accounts.
- Write a letter or op-ed to a local news outlet or local medical society.
- Print and mail a “Surprise Bill” to your member of Congress.
- Call your favorite talk radio show and use one of our sample scripts talk about how Medicare for All will solve surprise billing
Chapter leaders: - Discuss each month’s Kitchen Table topic at your regular chapter meeting and email materials to your members and local allies.
- Ask to speak about surprise medical bills at meetings of local community groups, such as Democratic clubs, DSA, Rotary Clubs, church groups, etc. Bring plenty of handouts! You could also ask allied groups to send our materials to their email lists or to post on social media.
- Organize a public presentation or discussion group on surprise billing and Medicare for All at your local library. Be sure to use the short video and slideshow, and bring plenty of handouts.
- Schedule a meeting with your local, state, and federal legislators to discuss the issue of surprise billing; ask them to support Medicare for All as the solution.
- Host a surprise billing letter-writing party: Invite colleagues, friends, and neighbors to meet at your kitchen table to send “surprise bills” to your representatives.
We want to hear from you! If you need assistance with events, actions, or organizing ideas, contact organizer@pnhp.org. For help with messaging materials like letters and op-eds, contact clare@pnhp.org. If you would like to provide expertise or help develop materials for future Kitchen Table issues, please contact PNHP Strategy Committee co-coordinator Dr. Susan Rogers at rgrsssn@gmail.com. Working together, we can show the nation that Medicare for All is the only solution to the scourge of surprise medical bills. Sincerely, PNHP Organizing and Communications Team | |
P.S. Here’s the rest of the Kitchen Table Campaign schedule: - February: Racial health inequities
- March: Rural health
- April: Prescription drug prices
- May: Maternal and reproductive health
- June: The opioid and addiction crisis
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