Gray Panthers - Health Care

Health Care

Group members Dave Brown and Joao Cunha pointed to the Gray Panthers as instrumental in the effort to popularize health care reform over the past twenty years. Their goal was "to create and fund a single-payer, nonprofit and universal health care system". They also encouraged a "health consciousness" system as opposed to the current "disease orientation" with its focus on preventative care.

The organization filed several suits targeting pharmaceutical companies whom they alleged to have blocked competition over generic drug production and a class action law suit against Bristol-Myers Squibb, a pharmaceutical manufacturer, for alleged damages the company inflicted by delaying competition for BuSpar, a brand name anti-anxiety drug. The suit was the first of its kind to seek damages for the unlawful blocking of generic competition by a drug company.

The Gray Panthers also sued to change Medicare regulations. The case, Gray Panthers v. Schweiker, occurred in 1980. The group alleged that the way older patients were notified that their Medicare reimbursements were denied was an unconstitutional violation of their due process rights, arguing that the notification was laden with jargon and thus difficult to understand. While they lost the initial court case, they were successful on appeal.

The group launched "Stop Patient Abuse Now" (SPAN) in 2001. It represented over 125 national, state, and local organizations representing patient rights.

The Gray Panthers also supported other healthcare issues including the legalization of medical marijuana, a patient's bill of rights, and barriers to stem cell research to be lifted.

The Gray Panthers took a stand on the arms race during the 1970s and 80s. They asserted that the issue was closely related to health. Recently, they fought the possibility of war with Iran, encouraging its members to contact their legislators in regards to the issue.