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June 16, 2004For More Information Contact:
Alice Meaker (aka Iona Bigga Yacht)
Director of Field Operations
917.406.3945/845.687.2058
iona@billionairesforbush.com
Pam Perd
Director of Public Relations
917.769.6060
Pam.Perd@billionairesforbush.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Billionaires on Healthcare: “First, do no harm…to our Bottom Line.”
Nationwide Day of Action Set for June 19th, 2004
New York, NY, June 16, 2004 — On June 19, Billionaires for Bush (B4B), activists for the upper, upper class, will gather at local bridges in cities nationwide in a call to Widen the Healthcare Gap.
"We're defending our pharmaceutical profits from attacks by Unions and other public health mongers, who are shamelessly pandering to the special interests of ordinary Americans,” said Iona Bigga Yacht, Director of Field Operations for Billionaires for Bush.
Also on June 19th, thousands of SEIU (Service Employees International Union) members will be staging bridge walks across the country from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Golden Gate Bridge to "bridge" the healthcare gap. Billionaires for Bush members will show up in their best formal attire to counter protest. "Whatever happened to 'an apple a day'?" asked Meg A. Bucks, Billionaires for Bush member. “Affordable healthcare for everyone will be hazardous to our bottom line.”
44 million Americans are without healthcare coverage, and those who are insured face skyrocketing premiums. The average American family is paying $2700 more in premiums than they were four years ago which translates into more profits for insurance companies. The Billionaires want to protect those profits at all costs, and are counting on President Bush for his continued support. “Keeping our profits healthy will require some sacrifice,” said Carl I. Lavarice, Chair of the B4B Atlanta chapter. “Though, not on our part, of course.”
Americans in uniform will be sacrificing on the healthcare front as well. The President has already closed several veterans' hospitals. His 2005 budget will double the cost of veterans' prescription drug co-payments, and falls $2.6 billion short in veteran's healthcare funding.
“That's $2.6 billion more for our tax cuts!” exclaimed Luce Cash from Philadelphia.
“The President understands that the public good has no place in public policy,” stated Robin Eublind, co-chair of the NYC B4B chapter.
George Bush's plan prohibits Medicare from negotiating with drug companies for lower prices on behalf of taxpayers.
Eublind continued, “Under President Bush, HMOs and drug makers charge whatever they want and the public – excluding us - has no choice but to pay. Where else are people going to buy their medicines? The Bahamas?"
The Billionaires recognize that not everyone shares their priorities.
"Uninsured Americans are starting to organize against our bottom line,” cautioned Moira Formee of Iowa City.
Some Billionaires worry that President Bush could be called upon to answer for what is commonly perceived as his administration’s giveaways to drug manufacturers. But others are not concerned.
"The President stands by us and our profits, and we're standing by him,” confirmed San Franciscan Billionaire Cash S. Power.
To the millions of Americans who lack access to affordable healthcare, Phil T. Rich, Billionaires for Bush Co-Chair had this advice: “Walk it off.”
To find out about Billionaire health care actions around the country, from Orlando, FL to Portland, OR, visit http://billionairesforbush.com/healthcaregap.php
About Billionaires for Bush
Billionaires for Bush is a do-it-yourself street theater and media campaign that uses humor to flush out the truth about the Bush administration's disastrous economic policies. Billionaires for Bush is organized as an independent 527 organization, with headquarters in NYC and 38 chapters nationwide. For more information, please visit www.BillionairesforBush.com.
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