tagged w/ Universal Healthcare
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Yep- STILL not done with this saga! Now, I wrote before about the LARGE bill for a small benign tumor under the skin. It was outpatient surgery and it was really over in a short amount of time.
My point then was the large cost and that while I have insurance that covered most of the hospital bill but none of the doctor visit bills, I wondered about those that have no insurance.Yep- STILL not done with this saga! Now, I wrote before about the LARGE bill for a... more
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Just makes you want to scream.
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May 5, 2011 — In a 94 to 49 vote today, the state House in Vermont sealed the deal on a bill to eventually create a publicly financed universal healthcare system that some supporters dub "single payer."
With the state Senate already having given its approval last week, the bill will now go to Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, who is eager to sign it into law.
Today's action completes the second round of voting for the bill. Both chambers of the Vermont legislature had approved earlier versions, but a House–Senate conference committee had to iron out minor differences and send the bill back for additional votes.
The legislation establishes a state health insurance exchange — mandated by the new healthcare reform law called the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — through which individuals and small businesses can purchase coverage. The bill envisions this exchange becoming a publicly financed health plan called Green Mountain Care that is available to all Vermont residents. Proponents of Green Mountain Care have touted it as a single-payer system, but the bill allows individuals covered under the state plan to buy supplemental policies from private insurers. In addition, individuals can keep the insurance coverage they already have.
For these and other reasons, a group called Physicians for a National Health Program contends that the Vermont bill falls short of a true single-payer model. Although Governor Shumlin disagrees with that assessment, lawmakers removed the expression "single-payer system" from the bill and replaced it with "universal and unified health system."
Under the ACA, states can obtain waivers to opt out of federal healthcare reform requirements and enact equivalent statewide reforms similar to the kind underway in Vermont beginning in 2017. Shumlin and others hope that Congress passes a pending bill that would move the opt-out date to 2014. States securing waivers will receive the ACA funding that they are otherwise entitled to. Nevertheless, Vermont lawmakers still face the job of devising a comprehensive plan to pay for their new system.
Vermont's roadmap for universal healthcare coverage and a publicly financed health plan has received mixed reviews from physicians in that state. According to a survey conducted by Democratic state Rep. George Till, MD, who voted for the legislation, 44.2% of physicians support the single-payer concept, and 45.6% oppose it. Opponents tend to be specialists, who are more likely than primary care physicians to view the new system as financially unattractive. In addition, 28.4% of physicians say they would likely stop practicing medicine in Vermont if the proposed reforms come to fruition.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/742154May 5, 2011 — In a 94 to 49 vote today, the state House in Vermont sealed the... more
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go to: http://www.studenthealthcareaction.org/ to learn more and join the campaign!!!
A Valentine’s Day Break-up
We are all frustrated with the current state of our health care
system. But despite the pressing need for real reform, over the past
year we've had to watch as real opportunities to pass progressive
legislation were squandered and lost. We've been waiting for reform
too long to remain silent, so this Valentine's Day it's time to say
what's on our minds.
No one likes breaking up, but sometimes it has to be done. For
Valentine’s Day the Student Healthcare Action Network asks you to end
your un-healthy relationship with a politician, an organization or an
official who has particularly disappointed you during this past year’s
fight over health care reform. We are asking all of you to make your
own short video about your break-up. We will be collecting everyone's
break-up videos on our website and using them in a special Valentine’s
Day action.
Express your frustration, sadness, feelings of betrayal, AND your
continuing commitment to real reform. Let everyone know that the
health care system is not going to fix itself, that we still need
reform more than ever and we won't settle for anything less.
If you want inspiration for your own videos check out our sample
break-ups at www.studenthealthcareaction.org. Then make your video as
straightforward, dramatic, ridiculous, sarcastic, etc. as you want.
The wider variety of videos we get the more exciting they will be to
watch. When you're done with your video, upload it to YouTube and
email us the link between now and February 14th.
You might have someone in mind that you have been just dying to
break-up with, but in case you don't we have included a list of
suggestions below:
The Democrats (for caving to every interest group, for letting fear of
election losses instead of best solutions shape the legislative
debate, etc.)
The Republicans (for putting political gain ahead of the good of the
country, or for spreading misinformation, etc.)
Your own Senator or Representative (not representing your needs or
opinions, caving to lobbyists, etc.)
President Obama (not putting enough pressure on congress, not giving
congress clear direction, taking too long to attack the lies being
spread, etc.)
After you make your own, ask your friends and families to join in!
This Valentine’s Day be true to universal health care, and say so long
to bad legislation.
Student Healthcare Action Network
http://www.studenthealthcareaction.org/go to: http://www.studenthealthcareaction.org/ to learn more and join the... more
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WZeinN
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2 years ago
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Health care in the United States embodies a capitalistic structure. To the detriment of most citizens, health care seems more of a luxury than a necessity. With the current approval of President Barack Obama’s Health Care Reform policy, let us hope it is on track to becoming accessible to all United States citizens.Health care in the United States embodies a capitalistic structure. To the detriment... more
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Lesnar and UFC president Dana White announced this morning that the UFC heavyweight champion has miraculously recovered from an intestinal disorder, is back training tomorrow and is slated to fight sometime this summer. That’s all great but we really missed Lesnar’s attitude, opinions and bravado.
Full Story On Brock Lesnar Return and Anti Obamacare Rant VIDEO...http://ctpatriot1970.wordpress.com/2010/01/21/brock-lesnar-returns-to-ufc-rants-about-canadian-healthcare-and-obama/
Lesnar turned today’s teleconference into a campaign against the drive for universal healthcare in the United States.Lesnar and UFC president Dana White announced this morning that the UFC heavyweight... more
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jmsrmy
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added this
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2 years ago
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If i should have to go to the emergency room then i should have to wait my turn like everyone else, unless it was life or death. Get patch up and spite out like we do know but not be burden with the cost to pay them back.
http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/m/25441831/the-limbaugh-press-corps.htm#q=rush%20limbaugh%20on%20universal%20health%20careIf i should have to go to the emergency room then i should have to wait my turn like... more
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DeNice
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added this
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2 years ago
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Every foreigner I've ever met has loved their Universal Health Care, but I kept hearing rumors, stories and even NEWS that said the other systems around the world don't work. I kept hearing that Canadians hate their system and are continuously flocking across the border to the US for care. I had to find out the truth behind this matter before I could start getting involved in the health care issue, so I rented some video equipment and spent my one week vacation interviewing folks in different areas of the city of Vancouver. Here are the results:
http://vimeo.com/7385647Every foreigner I've ever met has loved their Universal Health Care, but I kept... more
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11/9/2009 Ron Paul’s Weekly Update on Healthcare, Congress, Government, and the Constitution.
***This article has been chosen as a discussion topic on PFP Movement Radio, http://www.blogtalkradio.com/pfpmovementradio Friday night at 6pm-8pm. Please Call In To The Show, 347-633-9636. COMMENTS will be included in the show so feel free to discuss or ask questions here on current.com as they will be addressed during the show. This article will also air on Freedom Hour Saturday at 9pm-10pm on Movement TV http://www.peacefreedomprosperity.com/?page_id=36***11/9/2009 Ron Paul’s Weekly Update on Healthcare, Congress, Government, and the... more
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Despite mass efforts by "Medicare for All" supporters, and Pelosi's willingness to allow a vote, Kucinich and Conyers have pulled their amendment from consideration for now.
Kucinich stated the following (http://healthcare.change.org/blog/view/kucinich_tries_to_kill_vote_on_medicare_for_all):
"... we want to offer a strong note of caution about tomorrow’s vote. The bill presented tomorrow will not be HR676. While we are happy to relinquish authorship of a single payer bill to any member who can do better, we do not want a weak bill brought forward in a hostile climate to unwittingly accomplish what would be interpreted as a defeat for single payer."
It makes a lot of sense to me to hold back on support of the current bill before Congress which has been called an insurance industry bailout, since it was largely authored by insurance industry lobbyists. Some say that getting any public option plan out will be a first step. I think doing that could quell and appease reformers into complacency, leaving us with years of continued third world health care in this country.
A weak public option is not a first step. It could be a last step. The real first step was Medicare.
Step two: Medicare for All.
The following letter comes from Healthcare Now, a coalition of Medicare for All supporters:
___________________________________________________________
On the eve of what could have been the first vote on single-payer legislation in our nation’s history, we have just learned that because of last minute developments, the vote and debate on Congressman Weiner’s single-payer amendment will not happen.
Speaker Pelosi received a statement from Rep. Kucinich and Rep. Conyers, the co-authors of HR 676, that they do not think that this is the right time for a vote on national single-payer legislation. They made this statement despite the extensive mobilization in support of this vote across the country. In addition, Speaker Pelosi felt that offering a single-payer amendment would open the floodgates to amendments proposed to limit abortion funds, restrict immigrant access to healthcare, and other regressive legislation.
Let us remember that the potential vote on Congressman Weiner’s single-payer amendment resulted from holding fast to our principles of universal, comprehensive healthcare with no financial barriers. These efforts have brought truth and clarity to a national debate on healthcare reform that has been polluted by the corporate influence over Congress. While the private insurance industry has sent 3,000 lobbyists to Capitol Hill this year, spending 1.4 million dollars a day to shape reform that protects their profits, our calls, faxes, and demonstrations have created the momentum to bring legislation based on HR 676 to the floor of the House and Senate.
The vote for Congressman Weiner’s single-payer amendment would have allowed advocates to have their representatives on record as single-payer supporters.
But this legislative battle is not yet over. Our focus can now turn to two remaining efforts for single-payer in this Congress. Sen. Bernie Sanders will introduce S 703 in coming weeks, and we understand that he is considering editing it to be more like HR 676. We will have the opportunity again to see the first ever vote on single-payer in this Congress. In addition, Rep. Kucinich’s amendment to allow states to more easily implement a single-payer system may be reinserted into the bill during the conference committee between the House and Senate.
All of these efforts are crucial to building the movement for the only solution to our healthcare crisis – single-payer national healthcare.
If this Congress passes inadequate legislation, there will no doubt be emboldened state movements in the coming years. We welcome them. But let us not forget the movement to push our federal legislators to meet the demands of the people, not roll that responsibility onto the states. Healthcare-NOW! and the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care remains committed to a national, single-payer solution to the healthcare crisis. Comprehensive, quality healthcare is a right that should be extended to every U.S. resident.
At this important time, let us not forget how far we have come. Either now or later, a single-payer national healthcare system must come to the table. We will keep building the movement to make that happen.
For healthcare justice,
Healthcare-NOW!
Physicians for a National Health Program
Progressive Democrats of America
California Nurses Association
Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care
Public Citizen
Healthcare for All Texas
Western PA Coalition for Single Payer
Alliance for Democracy
___________________________________________________________
http://www.healthcare-now.org/statement-on-the-withdrawal-of-rep-weiners-single-payer-amendment-to-house-bill/
Visit http://outinthestreetfilms.comDespite mass efforts by "Medicare for All" supporters, and Pelosi's... more
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So if you're a loyal Democrat, you're probably all riled up about the health insurance reform going on in congress. You're probably anxious for Congress to get something, ANYTHING passed. Not so fast there buddy. Health insurance reform, even if it's done by Democrats could end up making things WORSE, not better.
"What? How could this possibly be?" you might ask. Well...
It's old news by now that insurance giant Wellpoint, owner of Maine's Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, is suing the State of Maine, to increase their profits. But you may not know the entire backstory: Anthem Blue Cross, in anticipation of the individual mandate for health insurance, has jacked up their rates 18% from what they were previously, jacking many people's rates through the roof.
What may surprise you if you're not paying close attention, is that the Health Insurance industry is actually in favor of health insurance "reform." How could this be? Did they suddenly grow a concience, and decide that letting people die to increase their profit margin was wrong? Are they crying out to Big Government to regulate them like Sinners calling out to Jesus? "Please, Government! Save us from our own wicked nature!"
Not a chance in Hell.
It's no surprise that Wellpoint has run television ads in favor of the health insurance "reform" being pushed by Democrats in Congress. If the individual mandate becomes a final part of the bill, whether you can afford to or not, we will all end up having to pay these new increased rates, or face federal fines of up to three thousand dollars, depending on which version of the individual mandate ends up in the final bill.
Maine's state government has the power to regulate insurance rates. In light of this 18% increase, the State of Maine stepped in, and reduced the increase from 18% to 11%. So people's rate are still going up, and health insurance is still becoming less affordable. But that wasn't enough for the private insurance giant.
Last year Wellpoint made $2 billion in profits. In Maine alone, they've paid out over one million dollars in CEO bonuses. Rather than cut CEO bonuses to reduce their overhead, they are increasing their rates. Let's call a spade a spade. Wellpoint is essentially suing to ensure not their profit margin, but their CEO bonus margin.
[full article at link]So if you're a loyal Democrat, you're probably all riled up about the health... more
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asherp
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added this
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2 years ago
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Sam Pullen arrested for at a healthcare sit-in, was released Monday after being jailed for 5 days. He tells Amy Goodman his story on Democracy Now. He was released against his will. He was released unconditionally without bail, charges dropped, signifying a victory for his organization Mobilize for Healthcare at http://mobilizeforhealthcare.org.
Sam, as many of us including most doctors and healthcare professionals, continues to fight for universal healthcare for all. The public option which some see as an insurance industry bailout, is not good enough.Sam Pullen arrested for at a healthcare sit-in, was released Monday after being jailed... more
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The President has said that the health care insurance industry is 1/6 of our economy. Which 1/6 would that be? Because 1% of the population owns more wealth than 95%. So isn't that 1/6 of the economy in the 1% part of the population (his friends) on Wall Street and inside the beltway? The 95% can do just fine without the health insurance industry which makes money on their health care and medical debt.
So the argument that we can't have a universal health care system due to it being 1/6 of the economy is questionable. With universal health care we can eliminate medical debt, which is a big part of the problem, since it is the cause of most foreclosures. Yes the health insurance for-profit industry would be decimated. But it is a criminal industry that preys upon people and holds them hostage for their health insurance premiums, denying care when they need it, and effectively murdering 122 people every day who die for lack of care. As public health nurse Maureen Cruise says, they would be jailed in any other country.
The bank, credit, and finance industry should do just fine without the health insurance sector. After all, the health insurance industry has been making record profits, while everyone else, including the credit and bank sectors, languish as corporate welfare bailout recipients despite health insurance record profits.
The public option is just another bailout for the health insurance sector, which needs it the least of anyone.
Visit http://OutInTheStreetFilms.com/?page_id=3The President has said that the health care insurance industry is 1/6 of our economy.... more
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In my 20 years of practice as a family physician, I have encountered dozens of cases where the main contributing factor to a person’s death was the lack of health insurance for most of their lives.
The lack of universal health care is a mass killer in this country.
Nearly 45,000 deaths in the United States each year are attributable to the lack of health insurance, according to a Harvard University study released in September.
That astonishing figure, which appears in the American Journal of Public Health, is a big uptick from the Institute of Medicine’s finding seven years ago that 18,000 people die each year because they lack insurance and thus have less access to care.
The Harvard Medical School researchers found that an uninsured person’s risk of death is 40 percent higher than his or her privately insured counterpart. Looked at another way, every 12 minutes a person dies unnecessarily because he or she doesn’t have health coverage.
As startling as this 45,000 figure is, I fear it underestimates the problem.
In my 20 years of practice as a family physician, I have encountered dozens of cases where the main contributing factor to a person’s death was the lack of health insurance for most of their lives.
I recall one family that lost three members this way.
George was 21 when he died of complications of juvenile diabetes that he’d had since the age of 2. Whenever George worked for a while, he lost his Medicaid. This meant he could no longer afford to test his blood sugars, they would get out of control, he would get sick, have to stop working, he would spend down, then qualify for Medicaid again. This went on for the three years I knew him.
His older sister Tina also had juvenile diabetes from the age of 6. Her situation was the same — working, losing insurance, getting sicker, not working, getting Medicaid etc. Tina was pregnant at the time of George’s death. Her poorly controlled diabetes made her a very high risk for complications in pregnancy. The baby was born three months prematurely and died in the intensive care unit one month later. Tina’s health worsened after that and within one year she died in post-op after heart bypass surgery. She was 25.
Then there’s Russell — also a diabetic, also on and off insurance. He died at age 37 of diabetic kidney failure. He was uninsured for years.
Another case — Vivian — had warning signs for cancer for years. She finally qualified for insurance but died two weeks into the workup of a pulmonary embolus (a complication of pelvic cancers).
I am only one clinician, and yet I have witnessed dozens of cases of people who died of preventable illnesses — preventable illnesses that could have been treated had these patients possessed uninterrupted, seamless coverage for needed treatments over their lives.
Take my experiences and multiply them 700,000 times for the number of physicians in this country and you arrive at a lot more than 45,000 deaths a year due to lack of insurance.
It is time that our nation join the rest of the industrialized world and guarantee seamless health care coverage to every man, woman and child in America.
In other words, it’s time to enact single-payer health care — Medicare for All.
Dr. Deb Richter practices family medicine in Montpelier, Vt., and is a past president of Physicians for a National Health Program.In my 20 years of practice as a family physician, I have encountered dozens of cases... more
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Okay, it's not exactly scientific ... but it makes a point. Well, at least I hope it makes a point.Okay, it's not exactly scientific ... but it makes a point. Well, at least I... more
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly 45,000 people die in the United States each year -- one every 12 minutes -- in large part because they lack health insurance and can not get good care, Harvard Medical School researchers found in an analysis released on Thursday.
"We're losing more Americans every day because of inaction ... than drunk driving and homicide combined," Dr. David Himmelstein, a co-author of the study and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard, said in an interview with Reuters.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly 45,000 people die in the United States each year -- one... more
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Oh reeeaaaallly? I'm gonna read this and memorize it and present it to douchebag republicans next time they wanna talk shit!Oh reeeaaaallly? I'm gonna read this and memorize it and present it to douchebag... more
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"Do you want to see the tooth?" Dr. Mehrdad Makhani asked me Friday morning at the free clinic being staged inside Inglewood's Fabulous Forum. "Come. I'll show you."
Jenny McLean, 36, opened her mouth and Makhani aimed a little flashlight in there.
"You see here?" he said.
The area around a back tooth was red and swollen, and McLean's eyes were teary with discomfort. She'd endured the pain for more than a year because she's had neither insurance nor the money for a dentist since losing her job as a social worker.
It was a story repeated hundreds of times last week at the Forum, where a nonprofit called Remote Area Medical had brought in volunteers to treat legions of the uninsured.
"Here, look at this," said Makhani, pointing to a second tooth that would have to be extracted and yet another that needed a root canal.
Makhani pointed me to another dentist. "Talk to him. He's worked in Brazil."
That would be Joseph Chamberlain, a Westwood dentist who said he's done charity work in Brazil, but not in conditions like this.
"They have a nice system of public hospitals and clinics," he said.
But don't patients have to wait for treatment?
"Yes," Chamberlain said. "But not like this. Not for a year."
Stan Brock, who founded RAM in 1985 to bring medical care to Third World countries, told me that in 1992 he began getting requests to do the same work in the United States.
"The people we're seeing here have teeth as bad as the people in the Upper Amazon," said Brock, who used to tangle with wild beasts on "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom."
It would be nice if we could send Brock to the nation's capital and have him grab the vipers and hyenas by their necks until they work out a healthcare reform plan. But Brock has a better idea: The nation's leaders should instead come spend a day at one of his clinics and learn a thing or two."Do you want to see the tooth?" Dr. Mehrdad Makhani asked me Friday morning... more
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If you watch the mainstream press, you will hear that a single-payer health care plan will not be seriously considered by lawmakers crafting reform of the US health care system. Advocates of HR 676, the single-payer health care plan in the House of Representatives, beg to differ. This video follows their efforts at a rally in Upper Senate Park.If you watch the mainstream press, you will hear that a single-payer health care plan... more
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