Insurance-reform group taking signatures

NILES -- Single Payer Action Network volunteers will be in the main concourse of the Eastwood Mall from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. today, Saturday and Sunday gathering signatures aimed at bringing the Health Care For All Ohioans Act to a vote in the Ohio Legislature.
The network is working to achieve reform of the health insurance system so that every resident is guaranteed full and comprehensive coverage from birth to death.
Single-payer health care means that one fund, administered by a nonprofit government agency accountable to the public, would make payment for all medical services. Medicare is an example of a single-payer plan, said Leonard Grbinick of the Mahoning Valley Chapter of Health Care For All Ohioans.
Funding would come from the savings realized by eliminating the administrative waste and profits of the 1,500 private insurance companies and HMOs in Ohio and from additional mechanisms deemed necessary to ensure that the public fund has the necessary financial resources, with adequate reserves, Grbinick said.