On Friday December 6, Representative John Conyers (Michigan) came to New York City to build a support for HR 676, his bill to establish a single payer health system in the United States (See WestView News, June 2013). The first meeting of the day was with representatives of the New York City Central Labor Council and the Progressive Democrats of America political club. This was followed by a two-hour meeting with the executive committee of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), NY Metro Chapter, during which tactics to build support for his bill were discussed. One proposal, by this writer, was to offer a buy-out, similar to corporate buy-outs, and so lessen insurance company opposition. Finally, Rep. Conyers is planning to have similar meetings throughout the country with progressive labor and political groups to build support.
