Green Party of Maricopa County (GPMC)
P.O. Box 60173, Phoenix, AZ 85082 * (602) 417-0213 * http://maricopagreens.org
July 30, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact: Erik Andersen, Green Party of Maricopa County (GPMC) Media Spokesperson,
(623) 399-5490; egand112@yahoo.com
Angel Torres, GPMC co-chair, (623) 202-3747; mcgp@maricopagreens.org
Green Party of Maricopa County (GPMC) to celebrate Medicare’s 45th Birthday--Asks Congress to Not Cut Medicare, But Improve It and Expand It to All
When: Saturday, July 31, 2010 from 1:30pm to 3:30pm
Where: Phoenix Public Library (Harmon Branch—meeting room), 1325 S. 5th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85003
Phoenix, AZ—Since 1965, Medicare has become a national treasure by providing coverage to 45 million people 65 and older and people with disabilities. It maintains low administration costs, allowing more money to go directly to health care and not bloated administration or advertising.
Linda Macias, retiree and Green Party candidate for State Representative states, “For decades Medicare’s critics have warned of impending doom for the program, but it always gets repaired. Here’s our suggested fix: eliminate the massive waste and expense caused by the private-for-profit insurance companies. Put the savings into Medicare—protect it, improve it, and expand it to all from birth to death!”
With the formation of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (aka the Deficit Commission), supporters of Medicare-for-All (single-payer health care) are protesting the potential cuts to Medicare and Social Security expected to be recommended in December 2010.
“It is unacceptable to bulldoze cuts, expand privatization, or raise the eligibility age to our most critical social programs after months of closed-door discussions,” adds GPMC co-chair Angel Torres. “We demand that President Obama and the US Congress get behind common sense solutions to cutting the nation’s deficit like cutting military spending, taxing the wealthy, and implementing a single-payer health care system. Cutting Social Security and Medicare will only send more people into poverty.”
GPMC is part of Healthcare-NOW, a national coalition of groups working for single-payer national health insurance legislation (H.R. 676). Medicare-for-All would eliminate insurance companies, and replace them with a publicly administered health insurance program. This event is part of a national day of action where groups across the country are celebrating Medicare’s birthday—and telling Congress to keep their hands OFF Medicare, and expand it to all. For more information, visit http://www.healthcare-now.org.
The mission of the Green Party of Maricopa County (GPMC) is to build and sustain an alternative, progressive political party. The Four Pillars of the Green Party are Grassroots Democracy, Social Justice, Ecological Wisdom, and Non-violence.
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