Pharma giant Novartis is putting profits over people – help put an end to their corporate greed!
When: Wednesday, February 22nd at 4:30pm Where: 250 Mass Ave, Novartis Research & Development Center in Cambridge Why: Novartis is suing the Indian government over a patent on its cancer drug, Gleevec.
India is currently “the pharmacy of the developing world” but if Novartis wins this case, in the future they will be able to secure patents much more easily. This will effectively delay generic production, resulting in exorbitant prices for medications that patients in low and middle income countries cannot afford.
Indian activists are calling for coordinated, global action to protect “the pharmacy of the poor” on February 22nd – the day before the annual Novartis shareholders meeting in Switzerland.
Join us as we stand in solidarity with protests around the world – because Novartis is putting profits before people.
Want to come? Contact Margie (margie@studentglobalaidscampaign.org) Want to help with press? Contact Darshali (davyas@college.harvard.edu) Want to learn more? Contact Prof. Brook Baker (b.baker@neu.edu) and check out this and this
Health Justice Boston, Occupy Harvard, and Occupy Boston activists present certificate and congratulations to Karen Ignani for maintaining profits for the few at the expense of health for all!
Health Justice Boston, Occupy Harvard, and Occupy Boston activists present certificate and congratulations to Karen Ignani for maintaining profits for the few at the expense of health for all!
If you were anywhere near Harvard Business School last Saturday you might have seen a 12-foot tall puppet dancing to accordion music while a merry band of “Congresspeople” and “health insurance executives” swilled champagne, showered each other in cash and sang round after round of “For She’s A Jolly Good Fellow.” If you weren’t near HBS, you missed a fantastic party. Here’s what happened:
Karen Ignagni, CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans, was greeted by this band of Occupy Harvard and Occupy Boston at the 9th Annual Healthcare Conference at HBS, where she was the keynote speaker. The merry band feted the insurance industry’s lobbyist-in-chief with an impromptu gala, honoring Ms. Ignagni with an award for “Excellence in the Business of Denying People Medical Care.” The revelers welcomed conference goers with cheers of “A-HIP-Hooray” and explained why Ms. Ignagni had been chosen for this ignominious award.
The award read: “Be it hereby known that Karen Ignagni has successfully upheld the interests of private insurance in the face of efforts to reduce the costs of administrative waste and to insure all Americans, preserving company rights to profit before the public’s right to health.”
Copies of this certificate were handed out to conference attendees. A larger version was presented to Ignani, who declined her award.
Nearby, a comatose patient lay under a sign declaring “45,000 deaths per year due to lack of insurance”, citing a well-publicized study by Harvard Medical School.
The 12-foot tall puppet was allowed to pay to register for the conference but barred from entering any of the conference buildings; poignantly illustrating that corporate medicine will gladly take the money of those not invited to the table. Unperturbed, the outdoor gala-goers still had plenty to say. “We want to thank AHIP and the insurance industry for making us all filthy rich,” said one protester dressed as Max Baucus, the senior US senator from Montana.
More seriously, another protestor noted that, “the target here is not just the insurance industry, but the wholesale corruption of our government by corporate interests.” He told conference-goers, “when the health care industry spends half a billion dollars each year lobbying Congress, it’s difficult to achieve meaningful health reform that prioritizes the health of the public.”
It’s fitting that Ignagni was the keynote speaker at a conference titled “The Future of Healthcare: Innovative Business Models.” The current business model in healthcare legislation goes something like this: Large corporations spend hundreds of millions of dollars on lobbyists and contribute millions more directly to politicians on both sides of the aisle. Politicians then allow private health insurers to profit tremendously from a system that provides neither adequate coverage nor adequate care and has failed utterly to contain costs.
AHIP’s success in this model is exemplary. Health insurance and drug companies donated $26.2 million to the 111th Congress. Politicians receiving the largest campaign contributions from health insurers were Barack Obama, John McCain, John Kerry, Max Baucus, Eric Cantor and John Boehner. After a vigorous ($86 million) campaign against health reform, health insurers not only defeated the public option but also got a bill that will compel all Americans to purchase private insurance. Critics may call AHIP two-faced, but we believe that its goals are clear: promoting the profitability of the health insurance industry.
Since Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act) passed into law, health insurers have seen record profits, raising premiums well above inflation. Last year the profits from the five largest insurers, UnitedHealth, WellPoint, Aetna, Humana and Cigna totaled $12.6 billion. That’s enough money to increase the number of low-income children receiving healthcare by 6.45 million. As working families and employers struggle to pay rising premiums, insurance CEOs rake in salaries of $10-20 million a year, which is 300 to 600 times greater than the median personal income in the U.S.
Obamacare will expand coverage to many of the over 40 million Americans without health insurance. Still, health insurance often fails to provide adequate coverage. Twenty-five million Americans are underinsured. In 2007, medical bills contributed to 62% of all personal bankruptcies. And 69% of those experiencing medical bankruptcy actually had health insurance at the time they got sick or injured—just not enough.
For health care, the US pays more and gets less on key outcomes, such as health status (life expectancy) and financial risk protection (not being bankrupted by out-of-pocket medical expenses). The U.S. spends $7,500 per person on healthcare each year, twice as much as other rich nations spend, including Japan ($2,700), Spain ($2,900), Sweden ($3,500) and France ($3,700). And yet U.S. life expectancy is 78.2 years, while Japan’s is 83.0, Spain’s is 81.8, Sweden’s is 81.4 and France’s is 81.0.
Happily, there are plans that could truly reform our health system. One promising fix for our health system is to consolidate to single-payer insurance, a system in which a single public or quasi-public agency organizes health financing, but delivery of care remains largely private. With one payer, the US could save enough on administrative costs (more than $350 billion annually) to cover all of the uninsured. Patients would regain free choice of doctor and hospital, and doctors would regain autonomy over patient care.
Of course, there’s nothing that private health insurers and their lobbyists will fight harder against. After all, although a single-payer healthcare system would save American lives, it would hurt the profitability of the health insurance industry. The industry will continue to fight so that the champagne will keep flowing, the money will keep showering down, and the accordion will keep playing.
Jacob Bor is an ScD candidate in Global Health & Population at the Harvard School of Public Health. Heather Lanthorn is an ScD candidate in Global Health & Population at the Harvard School of Public Health. John Quattroch is an ScD candidate in Global Health & Population at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Thursday, there is a court hearing which will determine whether OB will be able to stay in Dewey Square. There are many speculations about what might happen, but no one really knows. Both sides will likely appeal, so tomorrow is not the end of the legal battle. OB is planning to stay in Dewey Square.
In the chance of a possible eviction/raid like those seen in other cities, OB is organizing an EVICTION SUPPORT NETWORK to help if people are evicted. You can either sign up online here or you can sign up to get a “text alert” by doing the following:
Text “OccupyBoston” to 443322 (standard TXT & messaging rates apply)
You should receive a confirmation text within two minutes. Add this number to your contacts list.
A number of Verizon users have reported not receiving a confirmation text. If you are one of those people, please text your number to (617) 340-9905 and you will be manually added to the network
DECEMBER 3rd, UNITY event
This day of action is all about you. Have a great idea for something you’ve always wanted to? Maybe you want to canvas in your favorite hangout, and engage the public regarding the issues you’re passionate about. Maybe you want to organize a march, play with your band, or do a poetry reading. Maybe you want to do the funky chicken in a crazy flash mob in the middle of the Pru.
You get the point. Here is a schedule for the day:
10am-1pm: Do whatever you want – we need your creativity and brilliance! Think of an awesome idea, or join an existing action and make it better.
1pm-4pm: Rally at Copley Square. We’ll have speakers and musicians, artwork and group discussion. We’ll have people from all over Boston, so it’ll be a time to celebrate our diversity and learn more about all the different people who make up the 99%.
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*OCCUPY MOVEMENT TO HOLD CITYWIDE DAY OF ACTION IN BOSTON*
The Occupy Boston Movement is holding a city wide day of action this Saturday December 3, 2011. The day will begin at 10:00am with neighborhood specific actions to engage the diverse populations of our city. These actions include, but are not limited to, a demonstration against the practices of the Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) Department at the JFK Federal Building on New Sudbury Street, a speak out on Climate Justice outside of the Park Street train station, and the dissemination of literature on the shortcomings of our health care system at Coolidge Corner in Brookline.
Following the actions, participants will converge at Copley Square at 1:00pm for a general “speak out” featuring the voices of the 99%. The purpose of the day is to offer opportunities for meaningful actions to address economic injustice and to bring the community together to celebrate our strength and unity.
WHAT: Occupy Movement Day of Action and speak out of the 99%
WHEN: Saturday, December 3, 2011, 10:00am
WHERE: 10:00am-1:00pm – Neighborhood specific locations (for detailed location information, please visit http://www.occupyboston.org/unity)
1:00pm- Copley Square
You are the 99%. Join us.
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Occupy Boston started in Dewey Square on September 30, 2011. It was directly inspired by, and we stand in solidarity with, our brothers and sisters at Occupy Wall Street in New York City. The continued occupation of Dewey Square—located outside of South Station in the heart of Boston’s Financial District—is one of more than 120 Occupy encampments in cities across the nation and is a symbol for people everywhere who support real and lasting change. While these different occupations share many goals and attitudes, they each operate independently, and there is no national organization that can speak for all occupations. For more information visit http://www.occupyboston.org/
After 30 years of the AIDS pandemic, over 30 million people have died, and well over 30 million people are living with HIV.
Just this year, scientists concluded that AIDS treatment reduces new infections by 96% – giving us hope, for the first time, for the end of the pandemic.
We are 30 years into the AIDS epidemic and we have, finally, just, learned that we can actually, truly end the AIDS pandemic in about 30 years IF our leaders continue to provide funding for treatment, prevention and services.
Join us on World AIDS Day for an hour of commemoration, reflection, and hope – for the end of the pandemic within our lifetimes.
Funding for AIDS is on the chopping block in the current political negotiations. But we need more funding, not less. In the US alone, there are already 6000 people on waiting lists for AIDS drugs. Abroad the numbers are more staggering– over 60% of people living with HIV lack access to medicines they need.
The more of us there are, the more impact our voices will have in showing our support of continued and expanded funding for AIDS treatment, care and prevention programs in the US and throughout the world. As we gather together on December 1st, we hope to deliver the message to our Senators that cuts in AIDS funding cost lives and unnecessarily prolong the end of AIDS. This vigil will start at Senator Kerry’s office building and walk a few blocks to Senator Brown’s office. In addition to the vigil and short march, the program will include music and speakers. Check back for more details in the weeks to come!
Visit www.studentglobalaidscampaign.org for more information on current global AIDS issues. Visit www.nastad.org for more information on the current AIDS Drug Assistance waiting list crisis.
Please contact any of the following representatives for more information:
Natalie Lowell at lowelln@simmons.edu
Katrina Ciraldo at 786 325 5049 or kciraldo@bu.edu
Brought to you by:
BU Student National Medical Association
Harvard Student National Medical Association
Harvard Global Health and AIDS Coalition
Health Justice Boston
Student Global AIDS Campaign
Acknowledgement: flyer adapted from original design by Columbia University chapter of Student Global AIDS Campaign
The Health Justice Day of Action at Occupy Boston yesterday was a total success! Morning health services provided flu shots, blood pressure and diabetes screening, health referrals, and mental health support to Occupiers. Other Health Justice work group members provided teaching about hypothermia and trench foot, key areas of concern given the impending cold winter months.
We followed this rally with a short walk to Senator John Kerry’s House, who is a member of the deficit reduction Super Committee which has a proposed $400 billion dollars in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. After leaving him a lump of coal for his Christmas stocking, and a rousing closing rally, we left the Grinch’s house to enjoy the rest of the sunny, autumn Saturday. See below for our action fact sheet and photos!
Contact:
Whitney Rudin, WRudin@gmail.com, 770-310-8481
Matthew Malek, mateo.malek@gmail.com, 585-698-6077
Health Justice Day of Service culminates in march on State House
Saturday, Nov. 12, Dewey Square, Boston, MA - Hundreds of Boston area residents and health advocates will gather with physicians, nurses, social workers and students for a Health Justice Day of Action. Participants will gather at Dewey Square starting at 9:30AM to provide medical services, including flu shots and free health screenings, in collaboration with local health workers. At noon there will be a speak out followed by a 1PM March and Rally on the State House to raise awareness about the health impact of unemployment, housing foreclosures, and Medicare and Medicaid cuts.
“We want 100% health care for the 99%!” said Matthew Malek, a family medicine practitioner. “Insurance for all doesn’t guarantee health for all. It’s time to take the profit out of healthcare.”
With the rising cost of health care in the Commonwealth and as the Congressional Super Committee threatens to cut millions of dollars in life-saving programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, organizers will call for guaranteed health care for all US residents. Among Massachusetts residents, 1 in 5 (1.3 million) have Medicaid and while Wall Street was bailed out, millions of dollars in funding to essential health and mental health programs have been cut and millions more are on the chopping block. Organizers warn that saving pennies up front will only lead to increased costs down the road. Already, emergency room visits have increased as more and more people have lost access to basic primary care and mental health services. Who will foot the bill? The 99%, organizers say.
“Inequality makes us sick,” said Jacob Bor a Harvard School of Public Health graduate student. “We’re in the worst recession since the Great Depression and our government only seems to care about the health of Wall Street.”
Currently 25 million Americans un- or under employed. Job loss is a life-threatening event, which is associated with 50-100 percent increase in mortality rates. That’s as bad as or worse than having a heart attack or being diagnosed with cancer.
“Congress tells us we must choose between funding for Medicaid or public health, environmental protection or anti-poverty programs. These are false choices. We must raise more revenue for these important health programs by getting the economy going through direct stimulus and increasing taxes on the 1%,” added Bor.
The event is sponsored by the newly formed Health Justice working group of Occupy Boston, a group of Boston area physicians, nurses, social workers, students, public health advocates, and community members, which stands up for health care as a human right and sees this right being denied to millions of Americans due to lack of access to affordable and appropriate care. For more information, please visit our website at www.healthjusticeboston.org or email us at healthjusticebostonWG@gmail.com.
