Linda Farley passed away Tuesday, June 9, 2009, at the age of 80. Linda, along with her Husband Gene, have been advocates for single payer health care in America. She was, and her spirit remains, a driving force in health care reform. SWWAP was fortunate to have the Farley's present a health care forum on health care reform, as well as screenings of two health care related documentaries.

Linda was, and her spirit will remain, a driving force in health care reform. She worked tirelessly, not only at her profession as a health care provider, but as a advocate for a better health delivery system for all.

John Nicols of The Capital Times wrote of Linda (full text at http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/454264)

Farley positively glowed when she was campaigning for single-payer health care. She helped build Physicians for a National Health Program, an activist group that has more than 16,000 physician members. "It's my passion," she would say.

Farley once said that "I'd like to be remembered as a good family doctor who really cared for people."

But she always added that "really caring" required doctors to do more than just give shots and write prescriptions. "We have to be active," she said. "We have to take our experience, our knowledge, and use it to shape a better health care system."

Linda's voice in matters of peace, health and social justice will be missed.

Memorials for Linda can be made to the Coalition for Wisconsin Health, at Social Justice Building, 1202 Williamson Street, Madison, WI 53703 .

RESOURCES & WEBSITES RELATING TO NATIONAL HEALTH CARE

OUT IN FRONT -
John Conyers, US House of Representatives - http://conyers.house.gov/
Senator Bernie Sanders - http://sanders.senate.gov/

Coalition for Wisconsin Health - www.wisconsinhealth.org
Physicians for a National Health Program - http://www.pnhp.org/
Physicians for Social Responsibility - http://www.psr.org/
ABC for Health - http://www.safetyweb.org/
Families USA - http://www.familiesusa.org/
Kaiser Family Foundation - http://www.kff.org/
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) - http://www.seiu150.org
National Union of Public & General Employees (Canada) - http://www.nupge.ca/
Everybody-In-Nobody Out (EINO) - http://www.EverybodyInNobodyOut.org/
Gray Panthers - http://www.graypanthers.org/
Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice - http://www.wnpj.org/
The Madison Institute (TMI) - http://www.themadisoninstitute.org/
American Medical Students Association - http://www.amsa.org/

Canada Health Care Issues
Keep Medicare Public (Canada) - http://www.keepmedicarepublic.ca/
National Union of Public & General Employees (Canada) - http://www.nupge.ca/

MORE Health Reform LINKS? - CONTACT SWWAP.ORG

LEGISLATIVE SITES (Write and Call Often on Issues of Health)
CONTACT PAGE FOR MT. HOREB AREA REPRESENTATIVES

The Wisconsin Legislature - http://www.legis.state.wi.us
U.S. Senate - http://www.senate.gov
Write your US Representative - http://www.house.gov/writerep

BOOKS WITH GOOD INFORMATION ABOUT OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM:

THE HEALTH CARE MESS: How we got into it and what it will take to get us out –
By Julius B. Richmond, MD; Rashi Fein, PhD

CRITICAL CONDITION: How Health Care in America Became Big Business & Bad Medicine
By Donald L. Barlett& James B. Steele

FALLING THROUGH THE SAFETY NET: Americans Without Health Insurance
by Dr. John Geyman,

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE DRUG COMPANIES –
by Marcia Angell

WHEN LOOKING AT HEALTH CARE “SYSTEMS” IN WISCONSIN AND NATIONALLY

What would health care coverage for everyone mean for:

Business and job creation in Wisconsin, particularly if it were not financed on the backs of business.
Wisconsin residents and families – no resident of Wisconsin without high quality health care coverage.
Doctors, other providers and hospitals: All needed services paid for, administrative costs and paper work reduced, and no cost shifting required. No such thing as a non-paying patient.
Tax payers, particularly property tax payers and school boards if all Wisconsin residents were covered?

Wisconsin has the resources for excellent medical/health care: Well educated and trained providers distributed through out the state; a well educated population and excellent educational institutions to prepare the many different types of providers now needed to provide high quality health care; outstanding researchers and research capabilities, excellent hospitals, nursing home and other extended care resources and the money needed to run and maintain the whole health care enterprise.

Wisconsin can develop the infrastructure needed to make the most effective use of these resources. Neither it nor the nation has ever done this. We must decide the major goal of a health care system - Is it to assure investor profit or to assure appropriate, high quality health/medical care for everyone? The overall system of health care has not been looked at with the understanding that its primary business is to assure all people have access to high quality affordable care and that providers of services are adequately reimbursed for those services. This has resulted in a highly fragmented, expensive, bureaucratic, administratively top heavy and rationed system that is unaffordable for an increasing number of individuals, families, businesses, school districts and governments; that leaves over 45 million people without coverage and is responsible, in part, for 45% of all personal bankruptcies.

Free Market Competition and Privatization - What do these mean for health care? Is it freedom for employers and/or individuals to competitively choose a low cost, health care insurer? Is it freedom to provide only those services one can afford, regardless of need? Does it mean the system responds only to money rather than to need? Does it mean placing investor profit above the health care needs of people? Does it mean “unprofitable” patients should be ignored or made the responsibility of the government? Why is it not the freedom of all individuals to choose their health care providers and hospital?

100% of the funding for health care comes from people, regardless of the system used to finance it. We all pay in the form of: direct and indirect taxes, tax subsidies, business expenses, premiums, co-pays, deductibles and other out of pocket expenses - We are already collecting and spending the needed money, but in a very inefficient, complicated, administratively top heavy, expensive and haphazard way.

Coalition for Wisconsin Health (CWH) - www.wisconsinhealth.org
Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) - www.pnhp.org