Medicare for All Calculator

Information

The Medicare for All Calculator is a free, online, user-friendly tool based on a proposed financing plan for H.R. 676, the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All bill in Congress. With this calculator,mfacalc.com, anyone can enter information anonymously about the number of people in the household with health insurance, their current income, a typical year’s health insurance premium and out of pocket health costs. Once this information is entered the calculator will determine the savings (in most cases) that HR 676 would provide if enacted.

H.R. 676 would expand Medicare to cover all Americans, regardless of age, income or disability. It eliminates ALL individual healthcare costs, premiums, co-pays and deductibles. It adds comprehensive healthcare coverage, including dental, vision, mental health, long-term care, prescription drugs and other benefits.

We are indebted to Kris Hardy, owner of Albuquerque Software for his role in developing the Medicare for All Calculator. And to Health Action New Mexico for their sponsorship.

A group of concerned citizens, many who are former healthcare providers and associates, have formed the Medicare for All Speakers Bureau. We have created a 30 minute Power Point presentation which compares single-payer health system myths vs facts, gives the pertinent points of the bill and a picture of the financial analysis done by Gerald Friedman, PhD., Economics Professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, on how to pay for this bill if enacted, “Funding HR 676”, published in 2013.

If your group would like to schedule a presentation email  mc4allnm@gmail.com for more information.

Legislative Action Alerts

Information, Legislation

NM Legislative Action Alerts for 2019 from PDA Central New Mexico Chapter

Stay actively engaged with justice- and progressive-oriented legislation during the 2019 NM Legislative Session

The 2019 legislative session will soon be upon us, and we are getting ready for action!

Once again, PDA will be sending ACTION ALERTs on progressive legislation that is scheduled to be heard and debated in committees of the New Mexico Legislature.

These alerts will tell you how to contact your legislator and what to say when you do.

  • Each alert provides basic information about the legislation.
  • A quick link to open an email to each legislator on the committee that is considering the bill.
  • The legislator’s telephone number so you can call with your message.

Be a Citizen Activist and receive these easy-to-follow alerts. Sign up by:  emailing Paul Stokes at stokescorrales@mac.com with the subject “Add me to your action alert email list”. Please include your name in the body of the email.

REMINDER: Legislative session dates:

  • Legislation may be pre-filed  – December 17, 2018
  • Session begins – January 15, 2019
  • Deadline for introduction of legislation – February 14, 2019
  • Session ends – March 16, 2019

Together, we can make the changes that bring justice and well-being for all New Mexicans.

PDACNM Newsletter December 10, 2018 – Nobel Peace Prize Nominee David Swanson

Events, Meetings, News

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PDA Challenges Racism in Our CNM Chapter

In accord with our national PDA statements about racism and recognizing the pervasiveness of systemic racism in all our institutions, the Central New Mexico chapter is committed to confronting racism and bias, and changing our group culture.

Why do we need to explore whiteness, bias and racism for our current progressive political work?

  • “Our future depends on creating a multiracial progressive movement that will fight for racial and economic justice together-and we are ready.”  – Heather McGhee, President of Dēmos.
  • “And if a class-conscious multi-racial party attuned to anti-sexist, anti-homophobic and anti-militaristic issues and grounded in ecological commitments can reconfigure our citizenship, maybe our decaying democracy has a chance. ” – Cornel West

To move forward with this work, this year we:

  • Invited an anti-racist facilitator to work with our Planning Committee
  • Conducted three Exploring Whiteness training sessions
  • Created an overall plan for doing our anti-racist work
  • Incorporated a “Calling-In” strategy for our planning meetings where we notice microaggression and racist language and provide feedback so that the white people on the Planning Committee can learn more inclusive communication
  • Currently, we are preparing a statement of our organizational commitment to ending racism.

Understanding Microaggressions can be an important place for white people to start exploring anti-racist work. Build the skill of noticing the language you use and what language you tolerate around you.

What are Microaggressions? “Brief everyday slights, indignities, put-downs, or invalidations that people of color experience in their everyday interactions with well-intentioned and well-meaning people who are unaware that they are delivering a put-down or invalidation.” Dr. Derald Wing Sue

What are some examples of Microaggressions? This concept is beautifully and painfully represented by students from Fordham University and the real things people say/do to them all the time, from 2013: https://www.buzzfeed.com/hnigatu/racial-microagressions-you-hear-on-a-daily-basis?bfsource=relatedauto

I want to learn more – a great video about microaggressions by Dr. Derald Wing Sue.
View youtube video here.

Read the rest of the article in the Newsletter.

PDACNM Newsletter November 28, 2018 – Make Peace

Events, Information, Meetings, News

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Dignity Kits for Asylum Seekers

Thank all you PDACNM supporters for contributing  Dignity Kits for asylum seekers. Here is Deborah Marez-Baca beside a rented van stuffed to capacity with hundreds of Dignity Kits donated by many friends of PDACNM.  Deb and husband Larry drove to El Paso over the Thanksgiving weekend and delivered the kits to those in need at the border.  We will be making more deliveries in the future of whatever items the agencies think are necessary to help these courageous and desperate migrants seeking safety.

 

Webinar: The Impact of the 2018 Elections: Looking Ahead

Meetings

November 26: Webinar: The Impact of the 2018 Elections: Looking Ahead (Socialist Education Project and Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism (CCDS))

The Impact of the 2018 Elections: Looking Ahead
Webinar of the CCDS Socialist Education Project
Nov. 26, 8:30 -10:30 Eastern time, 7:30-9:30 Central time.

The Democratic Party regained control of the US House of Representatives and numerous state and local offices but lost ground in the US Senate.  There was a huge voter turnout, and a record number of women won office including younger women of color and open socialists.  Is the progressive voice now stronger within the Democratic Party?  What is the future direction of the Party and how can the Left and the people’s movements have influence?  How does all of this shape up for the Trump resistance and the opening dynamics for the 2020 presidential election?

A special two-hour edition will examine these and other questions resulting from the historic 2018 elections. There will be presentations and reports, followed by discussion.

Speakers:

  • Steve Cobble — co-founder of Progressive Democrats of America and associate fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies, Washington DC.
  • Donna Dewitt — president emeritus of AFL-CIO of South Carolina, and activist in women’s issues and single payer health care
  • Kathy Sykes — Representative in Mississippi House of Representatives, longtime civil and immigrant rights activist of Jackson NAACP
  • CCDS members from around the country, and other invited Left and socialist speakers.

Topic: The Impact of the 2018 Elections: Looking Ahead
Time: Nov 26, 2018 8:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/146935180

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PDACNM Newsletter November 12, 2018

Events, Meetings, News

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Time to Act! Oppose the Presidential Proclamation
on Asylum Seekers

Last Friday, President Trump signed a Presidential Proclamation banning entry into the U.S. between designated ports of entry, denying people their full right to seek asylum in the United States along the southern border. The Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security have issued a new joint rule ensuring that migrants subject to the Proclamation are ineligible for asylum in the U.S.

It is not a crime to seek asylum at a border, port of entry, or other location within the U.S. The right to petition for asylum is firmly established in both the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act and international law as a critical means of protection. JRS/USA continues to oppose any effort to limit entry into the U.S. and requests for asylum based on place of origin, religion, or vulnerability.

As an organization working with asylum seekers, refugees, and others who have been forcibly displaced in over 50 countries around the world, JRS witnesses first-hand the risks that individuals and families take as they flee their homes in search of peace. JRS Mexico is currently responding to the needs of the migrant caravan by providing legal services, emergency food assistance and psychosocial support for those who have suffered trauma.

To protect the rights of asylum seekers and continue the American tradition of providing due process to all, it is crucial that we take action. Please take a moment today to send a letter to the Administration and your policymakers urging them to oppose this Presidential Proclamation and advocate for the rights of asylum seekers and refugees.

Thank you for taking action.
Executive Director
Jesuit Refugee Service/USA