| What is Single-Payer? Single-payer means that one fund, administered by a non-profit government agency accountable to the public would make payment for all medical services. The 1500 private health insurance companies that currently do this work would no longer be involved as middle men. Medicare is an example of a single-payer plan. For an entertaining overview of single-payer, take a look at this animation created for the general public by Stanford University Medical Student Graham Walker.
What is SPAN-Ohio? The Single-Payer Action Network Ohio (SPAN Ohio) is a statewide network of organizations and individuals in Ohio seeking fundamental health care reform in our state and country so that every resident is guaranteed full and comprehensive coverage. This includes the full range of medical services, hospitalization, prescriptions, vision care, dental care, mental health care, home care, long-term care, and care for all injuries and illnesses.
We advocate the establishment of a public fund that would pay all health care bills without co-payments or deductibles. Funding would come from the savings realized by eliminating the administrative waste and profits of the 1,500 private insurance companies and HMOs and from additional mechanisms deemed necessary to ensure that the public fund has the necessary financial resources, with adequate reserves. The plan we call for is known as a single-payer universal health care system. |
