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What is "Rescue Health Care Day"?
Every once in a while, a special event affords millions of Americans the opportunity to simultaneously register both their concerns and their demands for change.  The Civil Rights marches of the 1950s and 1960s, the Teach-Ins during the Vietnam War, Hands Across America, and Earth Day brought awareness and change.
         All across the United States, citizens are finding the managed health care system cumbersome, restrictive, often harmful, and occasionally deadly.  Many well-trained, ethical, caring clinicians are demoralized under a system that too often prevents them from doing quality work or from referring patients to specialists.  Many now believe that because of managed care's basic principles and structure, regulation will not be enough to make it a pro-quality, pro-consumer system and we need to explore alternatives to managed care. Americans never voted to allow corporations interested in protecting executive income and corporate profit to choose clinicians and treatments for them and their families.
         On Rescue Health Care Day, as in other special national events, Americans can join hands to proclaim their vote of "No Confidence" in corporate health care and to participate in a national dialogue on alternative systems of health insurance so that we will soon be able to replace managed care with something better.

Why we are contacting individuals and groups with different points of view:
There are many ways we could configure our health care insurance system, and most Americans, including many of us who have been fighting against the managed care industry, are familiar with only a few of the available ideas. We need to make crucial decisions about designing new systems such as deciding on core values, how to contain costs while allowing consumers the "three fundamental freedoms" of choice, privacy, and control over health care decisions, etc.  It behooves us all to be well-informed of the many ideas and mechanisms that have been devised and proposed or implemented around the nation and the world before we actually begin to build a new system.

What do we want you or your organization to do?
Please read through the enclosed materials and consider supporting and/or participating in Rescue Health Care Day.  If you are a member or an official of an organization, agency, or business, please bring this information to the attention of your organization's Board as soon as possible and ask them to consider and vote on how they might participate, as listed on the enclosed Response Form.  If you are not a member of the Board of a potentially interested organization, please contact someone active in that organization and ask them to bring the materials to their Board for consideration.  Also, please distribute these materials widely.

   Please use the enclosed Response Form to let us know how you as an individual or how your organization can support and/or participate in Rescue Health Care Day.

Karen Shore, Ph.D., President 
National Coalition of Mental Health Professionals and Consumers, Inc.
P. O. Box 438, Commack, NY 11725
Phone:  1-888-SAY-NO-MC or 516-424-5232
E-Mail:  NCMHPC@AOL.COM
Website:  http://www.NoManagedCare.org

Rescue Health Care Day Information

Purpose and General Description
Every once in a while a special event affords millions of Americans the opportunity to simultaneously register both their concerns and their demands for change.  The Civil Rights marches of the 1950s and 1960s, the Teach-Ins during the Vietnam War, Hands Across America, and Earth Day brought awareness and change.
       On Rescue Health Care Day, Americans will have the opportunity to stand together to proclaim their vote of "No Confidence" in corporate managed health care and to support and learn from a national dialogue on alternative systems of health insurance so that we can soon replace managed care with something better.  A true  dialogue that will educate our citizens best will include all ideas, from liberal to conservative and in-between.
       Participation is wanted by consumer organizations, medicine, surgery, nursing, mental health, chiropractic, dentistry, physical therapy, alternative medicine, pharmacy, law, educational institutions, think tanks, economists, federal and state legislators, policy makers, and other caring Americans.

All Americans are invited to attend, organize, and/or participate in:

1. Day of Teach-Ins: April 1, 2000)
   Teach-Ins during the 1960's and 1970's effectively informed the public about Civil Rights and the Vietnam War.  Any group can organize a Teach-In and use it to promote their own ideas for a better health care system or to provide a forum for a variety of ideas.  There will be no centralized control over the Teach-Ins.  At Noon, all those in attendance at each Teach-In will observe the Minute of Silence (see below).

2. Hour of Protest
   Any person or organization can arrange for a designated location in their community for an Hour of Protest between 11:30 am and 12:30 pm on Rescue Health Care Day.  At the designated location, attendees can peacefully express their desire to see managed care replaced by a pro-patient, pro-quality system.  At Noon, all those gathered at designated Hour of Protest locations will also observe the Minute of Silence.

3. Minute of Silence
   People all across America, whether at a Teach-in, a designated Hour of Protest location, or wherever they are (at work, in school, shopping, home, etc.), will stop what they are doing for one minute, beginning at 12 Noon on Rescue Health Care Day, and observe a Minute of Silence to mark the death of quality care and the deaths of and harm done to patients at the hands of managed care.  They can stand in silence wherever they are, or they may wish to go outside or to a central lobby where they will be seen.  The idea for this comes from the Hands Across America event for awareness of World Hunger that took place several years ago.

Yes, we can change the country.
    "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, its the only thing that ever has." (Margaret Mead)
    "As long as the world shall last there will be wrongs, and if no man objected and no man rebelled, those wrongs would last forever."  (Clarence Darrow)
    "Let us not be content to wait and see what will happen, but give us the determination to make the right things happen."  (Peter Marshall, Senate Chaplain, 1948)

We Can Replace Managed Care
    For the sake of our children, our elderly, and everyone, we must end the failed experiment of managed care (HMOs, etc) and replace it with a pro-patient, pro-quality system.

Date:  April 1, 2000

All Americans Concerned about Quality Health Care are invited to Join in the Nationwide Vote of "No Confidence" in Managed Care and the National Dialogue on Alternatives to Managed Care

Why April 1st???
Because April 1st is April Fool's Day and many Americans feel they have been fooled by the promises of the managed care industry.

Participate at any level in the Nationwide:

1. Day of Teach-Ins................Saturday, April 1, 2000

2. Hour of Protest..........11:30 am - 12:30 pm

3. Minute of Silence..........12:00 Noon
   
   

Demand a system that values compassion, quality, and the consumer's right to the "Three Fundamental Health Care Freedoms"...Choice, Privacy, and Control over Health Care Decisions.

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RESPONSE FORM RESCUE HEALTH CARE DAY

Please let us know about your level(s) of participation in Rescue Health Care Day and fax or mail this form to us as soon as possible.  You can make this day successful and help change America.

Fax or mail to:
National Coalition of Mental Health Professionals and Consumers, Inc.
P. O. Box 438, Commack, New York 11725
Phone:  1-888-SAY-NO-MC or 516-424-5232
E-Mail:  NCMHPC@AOL.COM
Website:  http://www.NoManagedCare.org

PLEASE PRINT:
                        Name of supporting or participating individual or organization:

___________________________________________________________________________

Contact person:_______________________________________________________________

Name  ______________________________________________________________________

Phone ______________________________   Fax____________________________________

Address _____________________________________________________________________

City    _______________________________   State________   Zip______________________

Please check as many as apply:

____  Yes, you can use my/our organization's name as a "Supporter" of Rescue Health Care Day (RHCD) in any mailings, statements, or advertisements promoting awareness of and participation in Rescue Health Care Day.  Being listed as a "Supporter" means only that I/we support the idea of a vote of "No Confidence" in managed care and the need for a national dialogue on alternatives to managed care.  Being a "Supporter" of RHCD does not imply support for or affiliation with the National Coalition of Mental Health Professionals and Consumers or any other individual or organization supporting or participating in RHCD.
____ Yes, you can use my/our organization's name as a "Participant" in RHCD in any mailings, statements, or advertisements to promote awareness of and participation in Rescue Health Care Day.  Being listed as a "Participant" means only that I/we will help organize the event and/or participate in it as a speaker or through some other function.  Being a "Participant" in RHCD does not imply support for or affiliation with the National Coalition of Mental Health Professionals and Consumers or any other individual or organization supporting or participating in RHCD.                                                               ____ Yes, our organization would like to consider being a "Co-Sponsor" of RHCD.   Co-Sponsors will actively work until April, 2000 to sign on individuals and/or organizations; obtain media coverage, promote RHCD, contribute financially to RHCD, etc.   Co-Sponsors support an inclusive dialogue on alternatives and agree to seek out any organization with an interest in health care regardless of political perspective.   Co-Sponsors will be listed on all literature as such and will be available to contact organizations for inquiries.  Please contact us to discuss Co-Sponsorship.

____ I/ We would like to be invited to speak at a Teach-In; are available as speakers.
____ I / We will organize or help organize a Teach-in.
____ I/ We will organize or help to organize a community location for the Hour of Protest. 
____ I/ We will provide information to our organization's chapters so that our chapters can organize Teach-Ins, Hour
        of Protest location, and/or disseminate flyers. 
____ I / We will volunteer to help with phone calls, disseminating fliers, etc.
____ I/ We have written comments and suggestions on back or separate page.
____ I / We am making a financial contribution to help make Rescue Health Care Day a success:
         Amount:  $__________  

Check one:  
Check enclosed ___
Check will be mailed ___
Credit Card ___

For credit card users: 
Name on credit card:  (Please print)
_________________________________________________________
Circle one: AMEX VISA MASTERCARD
Card # __________________________ 
Expiration date (mo/yr): __________

Signature____________________________________-

Your contribution may be deductible as a business expense.
 Contributions are not deductible as a non-profit charity.

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