Single Payer Health Care and the Green Party

Green Party logo
Originally uploaded by paraplegicpanda

Our country has the most expensive health care system in the world, yet we were ranked 37th by the World Health Organization in 2000.

The Green Party advocates for health care as a right for all, and we support a Single-Payer system as the most efficient and effective way to get there. We are the only political party to do so. A Single-Payer system would eliminate the for-profit insurance companies, lower the cost of health care in the United States by as much as one third, and would remove the financial burden on businesses suffering from the recent economic meltdown - replacing employee-based health care benefits.

But Single-Payer has been barred from the public debate because of the influence of insurance, HMO's, and pharmaceutical lobbies through campaign contributions, 'astroturf' (false grassroots) operations, and dishonest advertising.

The health care reform debate demonstrates why America desperately needs an independent noncorporate party. Democratic and Republican politicians are swimming in campaign donations from the insurance industry, receiving over $46 million in insurance money in 2008. There is no Single-Payer voice at the table.