Along with its original sponsor, John Conyers Jr (MI), 72 of the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives have now signed on to The National Health Insurance Act (H.R. 676): "To provide for comprehensive health insurance coverage for all United States residents, and for other purposes." Six of these are from Illinois.
Rep Davis, Danny K. [IL-7] - 5/26/2005
Rep Evans, Lane [IL-17] - 6/7/2005
Rep Gutierrez, Luis V. [IL-4] - 5/18/2005
Rep Jackson, Jesse L., Jr. [IL-2] - 5/25/2005
Rep Rush, Bobby L. [IL-1] - 12/15/2005
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [IL-9] - 12/13/2005
If your representative is on the list, send them a note thanking them for their support. If they aren't, let them know why you think they should sign on.
Note: if you click on the names above, it will show you every bill that they've co-sponsored. It's a lot of info, but still pretty cool.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Thursday, June 22, 2006
NPR story on healthcare in Tennessee
You can click the link below to listen and/or read a story that aired on NPR about the 200,000 residents of Tennessee who were dropped from the TennCare healthcare plan to solve the state's budget crisis. It documents some pretty sad stories about the hard choices people are forced to make when they lose their health insurance. People are forced to decide between food and medicine, can't seek treatment for chronic illnesses and rely on emergency care. It's an outrageous situation that's too typical these days.
Tennessee Health-Care Cuts Roil Poor Community
by Julie Rovner
Tennessee Health-Care Cuts Roil Poor Community
by Julie Rovner
A joke from a friend
American Health Care
Two patients limp into two different American Medical clinics with the same complaint. Both have trouble walking and appear to require a hip replacement.
The first patient is examined within the hour, is x-rayed the same day and has a time booked for surgery the following week.
The second sees the family doctor after waiting a week for an appointment, then waits eighteen weeks to see a specialist, then gets an x-ray, which isn't reviewed for another month and finally has his surgery scheduled for 6 months from then.
Why the different treatment for the two patients? The first is a Golden Retriever..... The second is a Senior Citizen.
Two patients limp into two different American Medical clinics with the same complaint. Both have trouble walking and appear to require a hip replacement.
The first patient is examined within the hour, is x-rayed the same day and has a time booked for surgery the following week.
The second sees the family doctor after waiting a week for an appointment, then waits eighteen weeks to see a specialist, then gets an x-ray, which isn't reviewed for another month and finally has his surgery scheduled for 6 months from then.
Why the different treatment for the two patients? The first is a Golden Retriever..... The second is a Senior Citizen.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Some good arguments for Single Payer
This article from the Asheville Citizen Times makes a good case for exploring Single Payer. The mainstream media seems to have gotten over its reluctance to talk about national health insurance as a viable alternative.
We can address our health care crisis, or we can outsource it
... Recent data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that compared health care spending in 30 industrialized nations put the annual average health bill for an American is $5,267. That’s more than double the world median of $2,193.
Now, the U.S. has the best doctors, nurses and health care professionals on the planet. But we are nowhere near having the best health care system. Despite the aforementioned lavish spending, millions of our citizens are underinsured and a growing number – 46 million – have no insurance at all.
Further, we’re toward the bottom on infant mortality, life expectancy and a host of other measures among industrialized nations.
What’s more, a relatively new phenomenon, medical debt, is reaching alarming levels. A study by the Commonwealth Fund showed nearly 20 percent of Americans are paying off medical debts. Among middle class Americans who are underinsured, according to a survey conducted by Reader’s Digest, almost half have refused or delayed medical treatments for serious conditions, or put off or didn’t renew prescriptions for drugs. Half had used credit cards to pay health costs.
This is despite health spending in this nation that represents 14.6 percent of the Gross National Product (compared to 7.7 percent in the United Kingdom).
We’re spending plenty. We’re not spending wisely. ...
Read full article
We can address our health care crisis, or we can outsource it
... Recent data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that compared health care spending in 30 industrialized nations put the annual average health bill for an American is $5,267. That’s more than double the world median of $2,193.
Now, the U.S. has the best doctors, nurses and health care professionals on the planet. But we are nowhere near having the best health care system. Despite the aforementioned lavish spending, millions of our citizens are underinsured and a growing number – 46 million – have no insurance at all.
Further, we’re toward the bottom on infant mortality, life expectancy and a host of other measures among industrialized nations.
What’s more, a relatively new phenomenon, medical debt, is reaching alarming levels. A study by the Commonwealth Fund showed nearly 20 percent of Americans are paying off medical debts. Among middle class Americans who are underinsured, according to a survey conducted by Reader’s Digest, almost half have refused or delayed medical treatments for serious conditions, or put off or didn’t renew prescriptions for drugs. Half had used credit cards to pay health costs.
This is despite health spending in this nation that represents 14.6 percent of the Gross National Product (compared to 7.7 percent in the United Kingdom).
We’re spending plenty. We’re not spending wisely. ...
Read full article
Businesses seeing appeal of Single Payer?
This is an article from Crain's Cleveland Business regarding the changing auto industry, and the comments of UAW's president at their convention last week in Las Vegas. It ends with a call to explore the viability of instituting a single-payer system in this country in order to keep manufacturers competitive.
Getting real
... To be specific, the Bush administration and Congress should examine the ramifications of instituting a single-payer national health plan. As Mr. Gettelfinger correctly noted last week in his speech, the high concentration of older workers and retirees at Ford and GM is causing the automakers to feel the impact of rising health care costs in a big way. However, those two companies are far from alone in their struggles with the medical component of their business expenses.
The challenge of covering those costs is particularly acute among employers with stagnant or shrinking rosters of active workers but growing rolls of retirees. Without a way to spread those costs and those risks beyond their own pools of insured lives, many companies face a daunting future. It is why we believe a single-payer system deserves a fresh look.
Read the full article
Getting real
... To be specific, the Bush administration and Congress should examine the ramifications of instituting a single-payer national health plan. As Mr. Gettelfinger correctly noted last week in his speech, the high concentration of older workers and retirees at Ford and GM is causing the automakers to feel the impact of rising health care costs in a big way. However, those two companies are far from alone in their struggles with the medical component of their business expenses.
The challenge of covering those costs is particularly acute among employers with stagnant or shrinking rosters of active workers but growing rolls of retirees. Without a way to spread those costs and those risks beyond their own pools of insured lives, many companies face a daunting future. It is why we believe a single-payer system deserves a fresh look.
Read the full article
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Interesting article on the conflict between profits and health
Someone forwarded me the following article from Asia Times Online. It deals with a struggle within the World Health Organization (as provoked by the US government) over whether countries should be able to circumvent intellectual property rights and produce low-cost generic drugs in order to deal with the health crises they face. It's as direct a conflict as you can get between those who view government as the protector of corporate profits and those who view it as the guarantor of public well being.
Pharmaceutical companies explain that the cost of their drugs is the direct result of the amount they spend on R&D. The irony is that a lot of their research is done with public funding at public universities. The high costs also reflect the tremendous amount of money spent marketing the drugs they develop. Also, the decisions on what drugs to R&D isn't based on public health needs, but on expectations of profit.
The conflict between private wealth and public health is the same we see here in the US, where the pharmaceutical and insurance industries dictate public policy, to the detriment of our health as a nation. To me, it is an issue of morality and social justice: how can we justify the amount of human suffering that is being created in order to feed the ever-expanding coffers of private companies?
Anyway, the article is interesting on many levels, including the way the US (in service of corporations) tries to control international bodies and bully its critics.
World health: A lethal dose of US politics
By Dylan C Williams
BANGKOK - When World Health Organization (WHO) director general Lee Jong-wook died of a cerebral hemorrhage last month before the start of the United Nations agency's annual World Health Assembly, the world's most prominent public-health official was arguably of a conflicted mind.
The WHO veteran was caught in the middle of an intensifying global debate over how to reconcile intellectual-property protection with the pressing public-health need to expand access to expensive life-saving medicines, a hot-button issue that has sharply divided WHO member states along developed- and developing-country lines.
An Asia Times Online investigation reveals that at the time of his death, Lee, a South Korean national, had closely aligned himself with the US government and by association US corporate interests, often to the detriment of the WHO's most vital commitments and positions, including its current drive to promote the production and marketing of affordable generic antiretroviral drugs for millions of poor infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which can cause AIDS.
Read the full article
Pharmaceutical companies explain that the cost of their drugs is the direct result of the amount they spend on R&D. The irony is that a lot of their research is done with public funding at public universities. The high costs also reflect the tremendous amount of money spent marketing the drugs they develop. Also, the decisions on what drugs to R&D isn't based on public health needs, but on expectations of profit.
The conflict between private wealth and public health is the same we see here in the US, where the pharmaceutical and insurance industries dictate public policy, to the detriment of our health as a nation. To me, it is an issue of morality and social justice: how can we justify the amount of human suffering that is being created in order to feed the ever-expanding coffers of private companies?
Anyway, the article is interesting on many levels, including the way the US (in service of corporations) tries to control international bodies and bully its critics.
World health: A lethal dose of US politics
By Dylan C Williams
BANGKOK - When World Health Organization (WHO) director general Lee Jong-wook died of a cerebral hemorrhage last month before the start of the United Nations agency's annual World Health Assembly, the world's most prominent public-health official was arguably of a conflicted mind.
The WHO veteran was caught in the middle of an intensifying global debate over how to reconcile intellectual-property protection with the pressing public-health need to expand access to expensive life-saving medicines, a hot-button issue that has sharply divided WHO member states along developed- and developing-country lines.
An Asia Times Online investigation reveals that at the time of his death, Lee, a South Korean national, had closely aligned himself with the US government and by association US corporate interests, often to the detriment of the WHO's most vital commitments and positions, including its current drive to promote the production and marketing of affordable generic antiretroviral drugs for millions of poor infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which can cause AIDS.
Read the full article
Friday, June 16, 2006
Upcoming Chicago event on healthcare reform
A Panel Discussion sponsored by
DL21C and GSB Government and Politics Group
Tuesday, June 20, 2006, 6:00 to 8:00 pm
University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business
Gleacher Center, Room 600
450 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive, Chicago, Illinois
Come hear experts and leaders share their political and policy-related ideas for reforming healthcare in Illinois
Distinguished Panelists:
Barry Maram
Director, Illinois Healthcare and Family Services
The Honorable Mary Flowers
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
John Bouman
Director of Advocacy, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
Dr. Quentin Young, M.D.
Founder, Health and Medicine Policy Research Group
Ian Doughty (Moderator)
Director, Office of Professional Development at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago
Refreshments: Appetizers, non-alcoholic drinks, and a cash bar.
Free to members of the GSB Government and Politics Group and the DL21C
$5 for non-members, payable at the door.
RSVP at gdiephou@chicagogsb.edu by June 18, 2006
DL21C and GSB Government and Politics Group
Tuesday, June 20, 2006, 6:00 to 8:00 pm
University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business
Gleacher Center, Room 600
450 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive, Chicago, Illinois
Come hear experts and leaders share their political and policy-related ideas for reforming healthcare in Illinois
Distinguished Panelists:
Barry Maram
Director, Illinois Healthcare and Family Services
The Honorable Mary Flowers
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
John Bouman
Director of Advocacy, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
Dr. Quentin Young, M.D.
Founder, Health and Medicine Policy Research Group
Ian Doughty (Moderator)
Director, Office of Professional Development at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago
Refreshments: Appetizers, non-alcoholic drinks, and a cash bar.
Free to members of the GSB Government and Politics Group and the DL21C
$5 for non-members, payable at the door.
RSVP at gdiephou@chicagogsb.edu by June 18, 2006
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
The AMA's solution to universal hc? Make people buy it.
The logic seems a bit twisted to me, but it's what I've come to expect from an organization such as the American Medical Association that has proven to value its own narrow self-interest more than public health.
Taking the Massachusetts bill as inspiration, they've come out in support of mandating that all uninsured American be compelled to purchase a minimum level of coverage. Of course that minimum level of coverage will be just that, minimal. Because of this, people will avoid preventative care and rely on emergency services, continuing the health cost spiral that's put us into this crisis in the first place. Was that a Hippocratic or Hypocritical oath they took?
Here's an article outlining what the AMA is proposing:
Physicians group supports mandated health coverage
By DUNCAN MOORE
Bloomberg News
CHICAGO - The nation's largest physicians group Tuesday urged that all Americans be required by the government to have health insurance.
American Medical Association delegates meeting here, in a voice vote, ratified a proposal suggesting that individuals making $49,000 or more, or families who make $100,000 and up, face tax penalties if they do not buy insurance. Lower-income individuals should get tax credits and subsidies so they can afford insurance, the AMA said. ...
Read the full article
Taking the Massachusetts bill as inspiration, they've come out in support of mandating that all uninsured American be compelled to purchase a minimum level of coverage. Of course that minimum level of coverage will be just that, minimal. Because of this, people will avoid preventative care and rely on emergency services, continuing the health cost spiral that's put us into this crisis in the first place. Was that a Hippocratic or Hypocritical oath they took?
Here's an article outlining what the AMA is proposing:
Physicians group supports mandated health coverage
By DUNCAN MOORE
Bloomberg News
CHICAGO - The nation's largest physicians group Tuesday urged that all Americans be required by the government to have health insurance.
American Medical Association delegates meeting here, in a voice vote, ratified a proposal suggesting that individuals making $49,000 or more, or families who make $100,000 and up, face tax penalties if they do not buy insurance. Lower-income individuals should get tax credits and subsidies so they can afford insurance, the AMA said. ...
Read the full article
Monday, June 12, 2006
Is Hillary a progressive?
There is an article on the site Media Monitors Network that I found very interesting. It's called "Why Pretend That Hillary Clinton Is Progressive?" and is only marginally about healthcare, but it raises what I think is the crux of the crisis within the Democratic Party. In it, the author takes to task the organizers of the "Take Back America 2006" conference for including Ms. Clinton among its list of speakers, portraying her as a "prominent progressive."
He writes:
" The 'Take Back America' schedule set aside half an hour for a speech from Clinton but not a minute for any words from Jonathan Tasini, the longtime union activist who’s running -- on an antiwar and all-around progressive platform -- against Clinton in this year’s Democratic primary for senator from New York. ...
"Tasini points out that Hillary Clinton remains for the war in Iraq, for so-called 'free trade' agreements and for the death penalty. She supported the notorious 2001 bankruptcy bill, 'has never been for single-payer health insurance' and has worked hard to undermine a host of other progressive positions."
Republicans have shifted the political debate so far to the right, that Hillary Clinton is portrayed in the media as "left" or "radical" or "progressive". Progressive Democrats, such as this conference's organizers, have done nothing to discourage such a false perception.
As long as the powers that be within the party dictate to their constituents who their candidates should be, as long as they wage campaigns that attempt to "capture the middle" and dismiss the voters (and in many cases non-voters) that should make up their base, as long as they fail to promote a truly progressive vision that can capture the imagination of the electorate, they'll be doomed to fail. As long as progressives give their unquestioning support to those candidates, solely because a Democrat is better than a Republican, they are doomed to keep those very same candidates company in the mire of inconsequence.
He writes:
" The 'Take Back America' schedule set aside half an hour for a speech from Clinton but not a minute for any words from Jonathan Tasini, the longtime union activist who’s running -- on an antiwar and all-around progressive platform -- against Clinton in this year’s Democratic primary for senator from New York. ...
"Tasini points out that Hillary Clinton remains for the war in Iraq, for so-called 'free trade' agreements and for the death penalty. She supported the notorious 2001 bankruptcy bill, 'has never been for single-payer health insurance' and has worked hard to undermine a host of other progressive positions."
Republicans have shifted the political debate so far to the right, that Hillary Clinton is portrayed in the media as "left" or "radical" or "progressive". Progressive Democrats, such as this conference's organizers, have done nothing to discourage such a false perception.
As long as the powers that be within the party dictate to their constituents who their candidates should be, as long as they wage campaigns that attempt to "capture the middle" and dismiss the voters (and in many cases non-voters) that should make up their base, as long as they fail to promote a truly progressive vision that can capture the imagination of the electorate, they'll be doomed to fail. As long as progressives give their unquestioning support to those candidates, solely because a Democrat is better than a Republican, they are doomed to keep those very same candidates company in the mire of inconsequence.
Study shows insurers can't even reduce their own costs
The following editorial from ContraCostaTimes.com cites a Kaiser Permanente / NE Journal of Medecine study that shows that by trying to offload more healthcare expenses to consumers, insurance companies have actually increased their own costs. Employers faced with increased costs either pass them on to their employees or stop offering coverage all together. Employees who lose coverage or have to shoulder more of the costs, avoid preventative care and don't fill prescriptions, relying instead on emergency care, which is much more costly. This might explain why healthcare costs keep skyrocketing and our health as a nation keeps getting worse. It's a vicious cycle that won't end until politicians find some courage to make bold policy decisions. I'll try to find a link to the study and post it.
Health care woes
SHIFTING MORE COSTS FROM health insurance to the patient is not working out as hoped. Health insurers, of course, hoped to save money. That's not what's happening, according to a New England Journal of Medicine report on a Kaiser Permanente study.
... Doctor visits have decreased and emergency room visits have increased. Insurers are not seeing reduced costs.
Neither are those employees of companies that provide some health benefits. Deductibles have risen at a faster, higher rate than pay. ...
Read the full article
Health care woes
SHIFTING MORE COSTS FROM health insurance to the patient is not working out as hoped. Health insurers, of course, hoped to save money. That's not what's happening, according to a New England Journal of Medicine report on a Kaiser Permanente study.
... Doctor visits have decreased and emergency room visits have increased. Insurers are not seeing reduced costs.
Neither are those employees of companies that provide some health benefits. Deductibles have risen at a faster, higher rate than pay. ...
Read the full article
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
More on David Gill's support of Single Payer
I found an article at News-Gazette.com that describes David Gill, the candidate for Congress from the 15th district, and his support for Single Payer.
Gill pushes for universal health care
By Debra Pressey
... Gill was in Washington today to support the launch of a congressional caucus promoting the adoption of the United States National Health Insurance Act – a House bill that would implement a taxpayer-supported, privately delivered health care system available to everybody.
"I think it's a terrific idea, because it would provide affordable health care for all Americans in a very cost-efficient and healthy way," Gill said. ...
Read the full article
Gill pushes for universal health care
By Debra Pressey
... Gill was in Washington today to support the launch of a congressional caucus promoting the adoption of the United States National Health Insurance Act – a House bill that would implement a taxpayer-supported, privately delivered health care system available to everybody.
"I think it's a terrific idea, because it would provide affordable health care for all Americans in a very cost-efficient and healthy way," Gill said. ...
Read the full article
Monday, June 05, 2006
Two More Illinois Politicians for National Health Insurance
I'm continuing to post links to candidates for the Fall election that support some form of national health insurance. Here are two more:
David Gill for Congress (15th District)
"The healthcare system in the United States doesn't work the way it should. Learn more about the Single- payer National Healthcare Plan Dr. Gill proposes and how it will save you money, improve your quality of care, and expand your choice of providers."
Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. (2nd District)
"To date, the state-by-state (states' rights) market approach to providing health care has not adequately met the American people's health care needs. It bears repeating that the federal government is the only entity that can accumulate the financial resources and coordinate a national health care system. Such a system can be run and controlled locally, but the minimum high standards, the overall coordination and administration, and the national financial planning for such a system must be administered and made democratically accountable at the federal level."
David Gill for Congress (15th District)
"The healthcare system in the United States doesn't work the way it should. Learn more about the Single- payer National Healthcare Plan Dr. Gill proposes and how it will save you money, improve your quality of care, and expand your choice of providers."
Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. (2nd District)
"To date, the state-by-state (states' rights) market approach to providing health care has not adequately met the American people's health care needs. It bears repeating that the federal government is the only entity that can accumulate the financial resources and coordinate a national health care system. Such a system can be run and controlled locally, but the minimum high standards, the overall coordination and administration, and the national financial planning for such a system must be administered and made democratically accountable at the federal level."
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Citizens Healthcare Working Group
Have you heard of this group? They were set up by the President and Congress to solicit input on how to reform the healthcare system. I don't know that the community meetings they held were particularly well publicized, and I don't know who exactly participated in them.
They asked citizens to respond to 4 questions:
Anyway, you can read the report that was written based on the national hearings that took place. It's available in PDF format. Other formats are supposed to be "available soon". You can also go here to add your comments or experiences.
They asked citizens to respond to 4 questions:
- What health care benefits and services should be provided?
- How does the American public want health care delivered?
- How should health care coverage be financed?
- What trade-offs are the American public willing to make in either benefits or financing to ensure access to affordable, high-quality health care coverage and services?
Anyway, you can read the report that was written based on the national hearings that took place. It's available in PDF format. Other formats are supposed to be "available soon". You can also go here to add your comments or experiences.
Friday, June 02, 2006
The votes are in for "healthcare for all" at MoveOn
As I mentioned in an earlier post, MoveOn held a vote last week to decide the three issues that would make up their "Positive Agenda". Over 100,000 people voted, and "healthcare for all" got the most votes. I'm going to post the vote totals and a member quote that MoveOn sent out to their subscriber list below.
Obviously, getting people to agree on "healthcare for all" in the abstract is pretty easy. The real fight will be over how to actually deliver on that policy goal. The recently passed Massachusetts "universal healthcare" bill is just one example of the fact that we don't always get what we vote for.
MoveOn Positive Agenda Vote Totals:
Health care for all - 65091
Sustainable energy independence - 61030
Restored constitutional rights - 35675
Guaranteed accurate elections - 35133
Global leadership through diplomacy - 28912
High quality education for all - 27874
Solutions to global warming - 26306
A guaranteed living wage - 25527
Publicly funded elections - 21096
A balanced federal budget - 20945
We need a system that is equitable and affordable for all...Health care should not be treated like a commodity. We have 46 million uninsured and many million more who are underinsured and don't have adequate health care. It is estimated that 18,000 people die each year because they don't have adequate health care that works out to 50 people every day. We cannot continue to tolerate a fragmented health care system which worries more about profits and stock holders than it does the well-being of Americans. It is time for a systemic change which will bring down the cost of health care.–Rebecca E. from Ithaca, NY.
Obviously, getting people to agree on "healthcare for all" in the abstract is pretty easy. The real fight will be over how to actually deliver on that policy goal. The recently passed Massachusetts "universal healthcare" bill is just one example of the fact that we don't always get what we vote for.
MoveOn Positive Agenda Vote Totals:
Health care for all - 65091
Sustainable energy independence - 61030
Restored constitutional rights - 35675
Guaranteed accurate elections - 35133
Global leadership through diplomacy - 28912
High quality education for all - 27874
Solutions to global warming - 26306
A guaranteed living wage - 25527
Publicly funded elections - 21096
A balanced federal budget - 20945
We need a system that is equitable and affordable for all...Health care should not be treated like a commodity. We have 46 million uninsured and many million more who are underinsured and don't have adequate health care. It is estimated that 18,000 people die each year because they don't have adequate health care that works out to 50 people every day. We cannot continue to tolerate a fragmented health care system which worries more about profits and stock holders than it does the well-being of Americans. It is time for a systemic change which will bring down the cost of health care.–Rebecca E. from Ithaca, NY.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
