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F. Health Care

The Green Party's principle aim is the introduction of Universal Single-Payer Health Care for everyone living in the United States. While in pursuit of that public obligation, we support expanded preventive health care by public health care clinics and support for both traditional medical/surgical care and alternative medicine.

1. Single-payer health care will include the following services:
   1. A publicly funded health care insurance program, administered at the state and local levels.
   2. Lifetime benefits for everyone, including: dental, vision, mental health care, hospice, long_term care, substance abuse treatment and medication coverage.
   3. Freedom to choose the type of health care provider, with a wide range of health care choices.
   4. Decision_making in the hands of health providers and their patients.
   5. Participation of all licensed and/or certified health providers, subject to standards of practice in their field.
   6. Portable health plan benefits.
   7. Primary and preventive care as priorities, including education about diet, nutrition and exercise.
   8. Fair and full reimbursement to providers for their services.

2. Preventive Care.

   70% to 80% of illness in America is due to negligence, overwork, lack of free time and lack of physical exercise and lack of healthy food. We support a huge change in life style in society at large, and at the workplace. The present mode puts quality living and healthy living out of reach for all but wealthy people. Health care insurance premiums are too high for most people and Medicare, serving over 40 million Americans, covers fewer and fewer health needs each year. Consequently, care for illness or disease is delayed until it reaches a critical stage and the expense of treatment doubles or triples.

   We support:

   1. Expand the teaching of public health and preventive treatment in medical schools.
   2. Prohibiting snack food and sweets in all public schools.
   3. Serving organic food and a proper balance of vegetables, fruits and meat in public school meals.
   4. Requiring school nutritionists to plan a healthy, protein diet to be served in the school.
   5. Inclusion of a nutrition and health course coupled with sex education taught in every high school

3. Health Programs and Medical Treatment
   1. We support the availability of holistic health approaches and, the use of complementary and alternative therapies such as herbal medicines, homeopathy and acupuncture.
   2. We oppose the arrest, harassment or prosecution of anyone involved in any aspect of the production, cultivation, transportation, distribution or consumption of medicinal marijuana. We also oppose the harassment, prosecution or revocation of license of any health_care provider who gives a recommendation or prescription for medicinal marijuana.
   3. We support informed consent laws to protect consumers of the impact of types of treatment and including different treatments prescribed. ed attention to family medicine as opposed to increased medical specialization,
   4. We unequivocally support a woman's right to reproductive choice, no matter her marital status or age, and that contraception and safe, legal abortion procedures be available on demand and be included in all health insurance coverage in the U.S., as well as free of charge in any state where a woman falls below the poverty level. [See section A.1. Women's Rights in this chapter]
   5. Increase medical research and alternative therapies actively to combat diseases and eliminate their causes, especially cancer and HIV/AIDS and other bloodborn diseases such as Hepatitis C.
   6. Expand and enlarge public health services for special needs: the mentally ill, the handicapped, and those who are terminally ill.
   7. Establishment of a National Health Trust Fund that would channel all current Federal payments for health care programs directly into the Fund, in addition to employees' health premium payments.

4. AIDS / HIV
   1. We support a comprehensive campaign against AIDS and HIV, and other bloodborne diseases such as Hepatitis C. International agencies, especially the United Nations must install medical care and protection programs in all countries suffering from the AIDS epidemic. All prescription drugs and medicines for AIDS victims must be generically available and subsidized by the governments where they are dispersed.
   2. Give equal access to all affected, including prisoners, to AIDS education, drug treatment, condoms, microbicides and other medications.
   3. Provide housing and treatment for homeless and poor people with AIDS/HIV.
   4. Lift the Federal ban on needle exchanges and support needle exchange programs and others that help drug addicts.
   5. No mandatory screening for AIDS/HIV; anonymous screening must be available.
   6. Lift the ban prohibiting HIV positive people from entering the U.S. as visitors or as immigrants.