Themes

Here are the suggested monthly themes and some concepts for each theme. It is more likely that your spot will be chosen as a 365 Ad of the Day if it is consistent with the theme of the month, but it is not a requirement. We’ll feature a really good spot on any aspect of single payer universal health care.

Month #1 – March, 2010 – Introduction to the Campaign

The ads in the first month  will be produced by California OneCare and feature celebrities, politicians, and health care activists.

Month #2 – April, 2010 – Health Care Victim Stories

I was denied care

I lost my job and my health care

I had to delay care

I can’t afford my medications

I can’t afford the surgery I need

I can’t get the therapy I need

I had to have an amputation

I suffered a medical accident

My child died

We went bankrupt

I had to become destitute

We can’t afford chemotherapy

We had to pull the plug

I was sent home too soon

My baby was born too early

I had to treat myself

There is no place to put Mom

They lost my medical records

My procedure was not authorized

I’m going to die soon

My child needs a heart valve

I need a transplant

I need physical therapy

I had to choose: food or medications

I need dental work

They sent me home to die

I had to wait 5 months to see a doctor

I almost died in the emergency room

Chronic conditions are excluded

I can’t quit my job

I can’t stay married

We have to stay married

I can’t start a new business

Month #3 – May, 2010 – Why Single Payer?

Health care is a human right

SP puts patients first

SP will save money for families, businesses, and government

Other countries with SP spend less

Other countries with SP have better health outcomes

SP will maximize the risk pool

SP stresses preventive care which saves money & lives

Premiums will cost less with SP

You may choose any doctor or hospital you wish with SP

SP is the only way to control costs

SB 810 will control fraud

Electronic record keeping will save money & improve care

SP will put doctors where they are needed

SP will put hospitals where they are needed

Doctors will be fairly compensated

No middle men to skim off $

No deductibles or co-pays

No exclusions for preexisting conditions

Your coverage can’t be cancelled

The coverage is comprehensive

SP covers dental care

SP covers prescriptions

SP covers mental health care

SP covers drug abuse treatment

SP covers hospice care

Incentives will promote quality care

SP will promote free market competition among providers

Most doctors will do better financially under SP

A SP system will be accountable to patients not shareholders

Treatment formularies will improve the quality of care

SP is accountable to taxpayers

There is an appeal system with SP

SP will control Workman’s Comp costs

SP is good for business

Taiwan successfully switched to SP fifteen years ago

Month #4 – June, 2010 – How Does Single Payer Work?

SB 810 creates the California Health Insurance Agency (CHIA)

CHIA collects all of the premiums as progressive taxes

Premiums will be lower than you are paying now

Providers bill CHIA & get paid

CHIA issues  a OneCare card

Your card entitles you to:

Services by Hospitals and Health Facilities

Services by Physicians

Services by Licensed Healthcare Professionals

Diagnostic imaging

Laboratory services

Prescription drugs

Dentistry

Vision care

Mental health care

Preventive care

Rehabilitative care

Prosthetics

Eyeglasses

Hearing aids

Immunizations

Blood products

Podiatry

Dialysis

Home health care

Emergency care

Chiropractics

Acupuncture

Adult day care

Health education

Up to 100 days in a skilled nursing facility after hospitalization

Emergency or necessary transportation

Language interpretation

Hospice care

No deductibles or co-pays

No exclusions for preexisting conditions

You may choose any doctor you wish

You and your doctor together manage your care

No pre-authorizations are required

After referral, you choose any specialist

Medicare is not necessary

Medicare funds go to CHIA

Electronic medical records follow you

Keep your coverage regardless of job

Everyone is covered for life

You’re covered when you travel

Inspector General prevents fraud

Drs. incentivized to practice in underserved areas

Use any hospital, lab, clinic, or other provider

Dr.’s fees are negotiated to be fair

Your coverage cannot be cancelled

A physician will be in charge of quality

CHIA will be accountable to taxpayers

Incentives for preventive care

Incentives to improve quality of care

All family members are covered always for everything

A policy board protects stakeholders

Month #5 – July, 2010 – What’s Wrong with Private Insurance?

Fiduciary responsibility to shareholders not patients

Incentives are to limit care

Few incentive to control healthcare costs

They take 30% off the top

They profit from illness & suffering

They provide nothing in the way of care

They do not operate in a ‘free’ market

Health care is not a commodity

They only want to insure healthy people

There are few incentives for prevention

“Cherry-picking” will lead to a “death spiral”

Adverse selections means taxpayers pay for the sickest

Preexisting conditions are excluded

They require co-pays & deductibles

Your choice of doctors is limited

Treatments must be pre-authorized

Poorly trained clerks decide on care

They practice rescission

They delay, confuse and deny

Paperwork is an expensive nightmare

Doctors must fight to get paid

They add 25% to provider overhead

Premiums rising faster than inflation

They require extensive regulation

Executives get rich while people suffer

They don’t care about patients

They make money by denying care

They are bankrupting hospitals

They are bankrupting families

They create incentives for overtreatment

They cause medical mistakes

No cooperation for electronic records

Health savings accounts are good for you

Month #6 – August, 2010 – What You Can Do

Give a OneCare Card to everyone you see

Write a letter of endorsement

Show the video to everybody you know

Write a letter to the Governor to sign the bill

Get your organization to endorse the bill

Hand out flyers

Call your legislator

Write letters to the editor

Attend a demonstration

Organize a march

Get your city council to endorse the bill

Get your union to endorse the bill

Donate money – lots of it

Healthy Majority Campaign activities (in each key district)

Raise money for ads

Attend a rally

Make an ad for the 365 Campaign

Recruit one new supporter every day

Hold a house party

Have a street party

Picket an insurance company

Make a sign or poster

Make a freeway sign

Get your county government to endorse the bill

Tell your legislator how you will vote

Join Health Care for All–California

Form or join a OneCare Team

Become a speaker

Tell your doctor to support SP

Tell your dentist to support SP

Stage a street theater event

Visit somebody in the hospital and recruit them

Month #7 – September, 2010 – What You Can Tell The Governor So He’ll Sign SB 810

Be a hero

Don’t be a sellout

Do the right thing

Think about people for a change

Listen to Maria

You’ll get sick, too, one day

Remember Austria?

Strong men care about people

Be your own man

Private insurance is thievery

Health care is a third of the state budget

Don’t you want to save money?

You’ll go down in history

You’ll get elected for anything you want

It’s what the people want

It’s what labor wants

It’s what doctors and nurses want

There’s no future without it

Incremental changes will surely fail

How can you be so cruel to children?

What about people in rural areas?

You’ll still be able to get plastic surgery

You’re going to cause Republicans to lose

It will create jobs

It will stimulate the economy

It’s not socialized medicine

It will be a boon to commerce

It will improve public health

What would your mother do?

People are dying

We’ll be back!

Month #8 – October, 2010 – Why Single Payer is Good for Business and Government

Reduced absenteeism

Increased productivity

Healthier workforce

Predictable healthcare expenses

More competitive overseas

Decreased HR expenses

Improved employee morale

Level playing field for recruitment

Fewer disgruntled employees

No surprise increases in healthcare costs

More entrepreneurs & innovation

Easier labor negotiations

Lower workman’s comp costs

Substance abuse treatment available

Healthcare accountability

Less incentive to invade privacy

More openness and honesty

Protects most important resource – people

Relieves local governments of healthcare burden

Predictable benefits costs

Saves money over private insurance

Saves money for the state

Improves commerce overall

Relieves public malaise and distrust

More money for other things like infrastructure & environment

Accountability in government

The Inspector General will reduce fraud

There is a grievance & appeal process

Public health would improve

Regulation and oversight simplified

Market forces at work for providers

Month #9 – November, 2010 – Myths About Single Payer

SP is socialized medicine

Canadian healthcare is worse

There’s rationing in Canada

Canadian Doctors are leaving Canada

Canadians come to the U.S. for treatment

U.S. has the best healthcare in the world

Doctors don’t want single payer

SP would mean long waits

SP would mean lower quality care

SP would cost more

The system would be overrun

Illegal immigrants would flock to CA

People from other states would move to CA

Doctors would leave CA

There would be healthcare rationing

Health insurance workers would be unemployed

People would be excluded

We would lose our Medicare

I would have to pay for indolent people

All that coverage would cost too much

People would rip off the system

The government can’t do anything right

I wouldn’t be able to stay with my Dr.

I wouldn’t be able to stay with Kaiser

There won’t be enough Doctors

There won’t be enough nurses

Doctors will leave the profession

It will be like getting care at the DMV

European countries are going broke because of health care costs

It’s not the “American Way”

Unions would not support it

Business is against it

Nobody wants this kind of system

It’s not politically feasible

Pharmcos would stop doing research

Month #10 – December, 2010 – Why Single Payer is Good for Health Care Providers

Dr’s get paid for everything on time

Pre-authorizations are not required

A return to practicing medicine instead of paper pushing

Electronic records always available

Emphasis on quality care

Emphasis on preventive care

More resources for treatment

Incentives for more & better nursing care

Resources to train more doctors & nurses

Dr. incentives to go to underserved areas

Hospitals won’t go broke

Relieves pressure on emergency rooms

Simplify pharmacy administration

Reduce medical mistakes

Capital funds to build hospitals

Fair and equitable compensation

Free to choose capitation if desired

Reduced overhead means increased profits

Free market system among providers

Treatment formularies based on facts

Fair and reasonable compensation

Regular, periodic review of compensation

Emphasis on patient care first

Resources allocated fairly

All treatment options available

Funds allocated for research

No second guessing by insurers

Adequate facilities available to all

Post-op treatment available

Chronic care is covered

No need to negotiate with different plans

Adequate nursing staff

Accountability in the system

Month #11 – January, 2011 – Why Single Payer is Inevitable: We Will Win!

Legislators need votes more than they need money

We are only 3 votes short in each house of the legislature

City governments are behind us

Labor unions are behind us

2/3 of the voters are already behind us

A majority of doctors want it

A vast majority of nurses want it

The LWV wants it

We have the power–people power

Insurance companies don’t care about you

Insurance companies commit fraud

Pharmaceuticals radically overcharge

Insurers cause too many medical mistakes

You can’t outsource health care

There would be more jobs

It would stimulate the economy

Insurers are making money on our suffering

Executives are getting rich from your pain

Insurers deny care when you really need it

Insurance company employees get bonuses for rescissions

There is no need for insurance company middlemen

There’s enough money without insurance companies

Retired Americans want SP

Medical students want SP

Hospitals are closing

Emergency rooms are closing

Patients are being diverted from ERs

People can’t afford meds for kids

Legislators work for us, not them

We will override a veto of the SP bill

SP is what people want

Only SP has a constituency among the people—insurers don’t

Month #12 – February, 2011 – What It Will Be Like When We Have California OneCare

We all get a OneCare card

My OneCare card works anywhere

I didn’t have to get a pre-authorization

I got my medications with my card

I chose my own doctor

We didn’t have to wait at the ER

My child got all her shots

I can start my new business

I got treatment for substance abuse

We got hospice care for Dad

I was able to recuperate after surgery

I got help losing weight

I was able to get a root canal

I had my regular check-up and I’m fine!

They admitted me right away

The surgery I got saved my life

They have a new way to treat cancer

The nurses were wonderful!

My lab results were available immediately

My doctor arranged an MRI right away

I’ve got my son’s asthma under control

I lost my job–but not my coverage

I can tell them where they can put this job

I can marry the man I love!

They had a translator at the Dr.’s office

My medical record was available in another hospital immediately

They paid my doctor right away

I didn’t handle one single piece of paper

The acupuncture relieved my pain

I don’t have to worry about Mom anymore

They cured me and it was free!