In an era when all Americans favor universal health care, (even a majority of Republicans) why don't we have it already? I asked four progressive Congress Members from the New York area, who were not endorsers of John Conyers' "Medicare For All" bill, HR 676, what were their views of that universal single payer plan. I asked Joe Crowley, John Hall, Nita Lowey and Nydia Velazquez.

While I got some information about the views on all four, the answers of only three are below. John Hall (Northern Westchester, Putnam, Duchess, Rockland & Orange), perhaps wisely, decided he wanted to post his health insurance views directly. (You may have noticed he's signed on as a new blogger on the lower right hand side of the page).

SiCKO, the Michael Moore documentary on health care and health insurance opens Friday to a chorus of articles, publicity, and policy debates. Shamelessly building Harvy Weinstein's movie promotion, I called the offices of four fairly progressive New York Congress Members: Joe Crowely, John Hall, Nita Lowey and Nydia Velazquez. None of them are co-sponsors of HR 676 -- the bill introduced by Rep. John Conyers. (For a description of the bill click here, for a list of current co-sponsors click here "Why doesn't the Congress Member support HR 676?" I've received answers which I plan to post tomorrow. In the meanwhile, check out these SiCKO assessments from The Nation and from Truthdig. Then, go see SiCKO and call your Congress Member in the morning. Or, more immediately, click here to sign onto the AFL-CIO campaign to improve health care.

Last night, at Judson Memorial Church, I went to a party thrown by Progressive Source Communications

You may think universal single-payer health insurance is an item whose time has finally come. Opening nationally next weekend, Michael Moore’s SiCKO, the documentary about our outrageous, expensive, irrational anarchic crazy-quilt patch work of health insurance has been the subject of substantial discussion and buzz everywhere. 43.6 Million Americans have no health insurance at all. Perhaps as many as 100 million more have insurance so porous that any illness will clean them out completely. Corporations and public employers which provide health coverage are being drained of cash by the costs of coverage.

Kevin Stack’s NY Times story features a photo of Moore with Congressional supporters of HR 676, the Medicare for all, universal single payer bill. (Where is your Congress Member? Mine, Nydia Velazquez, whom I like, refuses to favor single payer for no reason I understand.)

John Lavelle did not die in vain. A few hours before his death, while at Wednesday’s Council candidate Manny Inamorato's Beekman Pub fundraiser, I learned Lavelle donated his organs with one of his kidneys saving the recipient’s life.

Unless prohibited by religious belief or medical condition, it’s a no brainer to donate organs postmortem. The former Staten Island political boss and legislator positively impacted people, even in death. We all can do likewise by joining organ donor lists.

My favorite organ donor story is that of JJ Greenberg, the son of the former US Holocaust Memorial chair. He died after being hit by a car while bicycling in Israel. His organs saved six people including a Palestinian in need of a liver.