 September 24, 2021 Dear single-payer supporter, Thanks to everyone who attended last night’s webinar on Direct Contracting Entities (DCEs), featuring Rep. Katie Porter, PNHP board member Dr. Ed Weisbart, journalist and scholar Trudy Lieberman, and David Lipschutz from the Center for Medicare Advocacy. If you missed it, I encourage you to watch the recording HERE. In short, the DCE program was quietly launched last year by the Trump Administration as yet another scheme to privatize Medicare. Under this model, CMS could auto-assign more than 30 million beneficiaries who have chosen Traditional Medicare into largely investor-owned Direct Contracting Entities (“DCEs”) without the beneficiaries’ understanding or consent. Like Medicare Advantage, the DCE program poses an existential threat to Traditional Medicare, as well as a future public and nonprofit Medicare-for-All program. I believe that we can stop the DCE program, but we must act quickly. Starting today, we are launching a petition demanding that HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra immediately halt the DCE program that was started under the Trump Administration, and protect Medicare as a public good for future generations. While the petition is open to all, we have a specific goal of one thousand physician signatures before the end of October. Sign & share the petition If everyone who signs their name also collects ten additional signatures, we can reach our goal very quickly. I know that the commercialization of Medicare — and DCEs in particular — are complex topics. Be sure to explore and share these resources as you talk with your colleagues and neighbors: DCE one-page fact sheet Dr. Ana Malinow’s interview on the Thom Hartmann show (12 minutes) Dr. Ed Weisbart’s slide set: DCEs — Handing Traditional Medicare to Wall Street Webinar: Direct Contracting Entities — Handing Traditional Medicare to Wall Street Template for letter to elected officials Traditional Medicare is in the crosshairs. Let’s sound the alarm about DCEs and demand the Biden Administration keep Medicare a public good for generations to come. In solidarity,  Susan Rogers, M.D. President |
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