birdsonawire
  • Blog
  • Chirps
  • About
  • Contact

Here's a pretty good primer on health care reform issues

9/30/2009

2 Comments

 
Still undecided about health care reform proposals? You’re not alone.

Click here to read a good, non-partisan explainer on the major issues.   

Here’s an excerpt:

blogs.nytimes.com
September 30, 2009, 11:22 am


Still Confused? A Refresher on the Basics of the Health Debate
By David M. Herszenhorn
and Charles Dharapak/The Associated Press
It may feel endless, but the health care debate in many ways is just getting started – the various bills are nearly ready, and full debate in the House and Senate lies just ahead. And yet, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll, 6 out of 10 people in the United States are confused about the plans to overhaul the health system.

Nearly half say they don’t know enough about the plans to have an opinion. And one-third can’t fathom a guess as to whether, if the proposed changes are adopted, the system would be better or worse in the years ahead.

So here’s a quick refresher of some of the basic parameters in the health care debate. Please pay attention, there will be a quiz – another poll – and if 59 percent of you are still confused, somebody ought to get fired. Maybe me.

Let’s start with two overarching issues: About 46 million people in the United States do not have health insurance. And health care costs – doctor visits, medicine, hospital care, lab tests, etc. – are rising way too fast. The proposals by President Obama and Congress try to tackle both problems.

2 Comments

Mark your calendar

9/30/2009

0 Comments

 
Plans are being made for a full Senate debate on health care reform measures, beginning after Columbus Day weekend.  For more information, see A Timetable for Full Senate Debate in the New York Times.

0 Comments

Saying thanks

9/30/2009

0 Comments

 
UK-resident Jacqui, a long-time friend of this blog, wrote about our situation here in the US on her own blog, Dirty Sparkle.  Here is what she said, in a post about the importance of saying thank you:

In a different part of my week, I received an email from my friend in the US who writes birdsonawire blog. She has been chosen to speak directly as the voice of bloggers on the subject of healthcare reforms in the US. I commented on her blog post and it made me realise how lucky people in the UK are to have a National Health Service. It's not perfect and it's not free as we subsidise it with our contributions from earnings. But we know that if we turn up at Accident and Emergency, we are going to be seen and treated. Imagine breaking your arm and turning up at Accident and Emergency just to be told that because you have no insurance no one will treat you. Now imagine if it was your five year old son.

…I have a lot to be thankful for. I live in a country where I can get health treatment when I  need it, see wonderful works of art for free, get educated for free and although I'm a struggling writer, I can still go out and sit in my back yard with cold lemonade! Nothing 'secret' about all that really, it just takes a dash of synchronicity, a dab of awareness and a drizzle of realisation to diffuse the taken-for-grantedness and the illusion that we are poor.

Of course there are some ways the country can be improved, mainly around the wide availability of harmfully addictive substances and the resulting impact on healthcare and other social consequences, such as trapping people who are already disadvantaged in a world of addiction and substance abuse which eats up their limited income. Would it make a difference if people would, for just a moment, take their eye off their television screen where Matrix-like lives are lived vicariously plugged into soap operas and reality drama, put down their can of Stella and their twenty Richmond Superkings and look around them at what we get for free, and be grateful. Free is a start to freedom.


from http://dirtysparkle.blogspot.com/

0 Comments

Breaking News: Senate Panel Says No to Public Option

9/29/2009

0 Comments

 
New York Times
15 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — After a half-day of animated debate, the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday rejected efforts by liberal Democrats to add a government-run health insurance plan to major health care legislation, dealing the first official setback to an idea that many Democrats, including President Obama, say they support.

All of the other versions of the health care legislation advancing in Congress — a bill approved by the Senate health committee and a trio of bills in the House — include some version of the government-run plan, or public option.

But the Finance Committee chairman, Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, long ago removed it from his proposal because of stiff opposition from Republicans who call the public plan a step toward “socialized medicine.”

The committee on Tuesday afternoon voted, 15 to 8, to reject an amendment proposed by Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, Democrat of West Virginia, to add a public option called the Community Choice Health Plan, an outcome that underscored the lack of support for a government plan among many Democrats. 

For the entire story, see Senate Panel Rejects a ‘Public Option’ in Health Plan 

0 Comments

Today's Senate debate

9/29/2009

0 Comments

 
Today is a good day to write to your senator and/or congressional representative, unless of course, you think everything’s fine with our health care system just the way it is.

0 Comments

Live free and/or die?

9/29/2009

0 Comments

 
At least 10 states are considering changing their constitutions so residents may opt out of mandatory health care insurance. See In Some States, A Push to Ban Mandate on Insurance.

I’m not sure plans are fleshed out enough to offer an alternative, but wonder what the consequences would be if these efforts are fruitful. Most constitutional scholars believe they will fail, but stranger things have happened.

My understanding is that some people think the odds are in their favor that they won’t get sick or have an accident, consequently they don’t want to be required to pay into an insurance plan. Presumably, they’ll put money aside on their own, just in case.

We are related to a young couple that just had their first baby, 10 weeks early. Mother and child each spent many weeks in intensive care and, when they left the hospital, their combined bill was up around $1 million.

Should they have saved that amount before they even considered having a baby? I wonder what would have happened had they not had insurance.

If states opt out of mandatory coverage, I wonder what will happen to similar couples if they follow the lead of libertarian local lawmakers and decide to take their chances without the safety net of insurance?  Would  their home state -- the one that advocated for self reliance -- step in and help them out? Would a hospital garnishee their wages for life? Or, would they be turned away at the hospital door?

This whole discussion reminds me of Mountains Beyond Mountains (Random House, 2003), a terrific book by Tracy Kidder profiling the life and work of Paul Farmer, M.D. Farmer's goal in life was and still is to eradicate infectious disease in poor countries. He works in Haiti and other desperately poor nations where health care is scarce, even if a person can pay for it.

Much of Mountains focuses on Farmer’s work in Haiti, where hospitals expect payment of the bill before patients are discharged. If they can’t pay, they’re confined to a nearby building until someone pays the bill for them. I’m told this is practice is fairly common in some African countries, as well.

The facility for non-payers typically is spartan, to say the least. No water, food or medical care is provided. Family members can come in and take care of loved ones, however. As you might expect, many people who survive whatever sent them to the hospital in the first place end up dying of dehydration, starvation or infection. Many of the dead are newborns.

Inhumane, you say? I’d agree, but the rationale sounds almost familiar. First, the hospital says, it can’t help others if some don’t pay their bills. Second, people should take responsibility for their own lives and their own health care needs.

I don’t imagine this is what the states of Minnesota, Arizona and others envision when they advocate for “freedom” from health insurance for their citizenry.

Actually, there is a pretty good way people can put aside money to pay for medical costs, and it’s called health insurance. 
  

0 Comments

Urgent: Heroes welcome!

9/28/2009

0 Comments

 
Ronni Bennett, publisher of Time Goes By, posted an alert this morning that tomorrow, Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee will debate the private option for inclusion or not in the Baucus Bill.

If you have some thoughts on that subject, write your senators TODAY.

Here is how to find your Congress members .

To contact Sen. Harry Reid, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, use this Email form or call 202.224.3542.

In his most recent post, George Phenix, publisher of Blog of Ages, asks Congress to:

“Show some political backbone. Give us meaningful health care reform. Heroes welcome.”

0 Comments

It's time to get real

9/28/2009

0 Comments

 
Enough fear mongering!

In a Sunday editorial, the New York times called for an end to “obscuring and twisting the facts and spreading unwarranted fear” about health care reform.

The Times said:


“…far from harming elderly Americans, the various reform bills now pending should actually make Medicare better for most beneficiaries — by enhancing their drug coverage, reducing the premiums they pay for drugs and medical care, eliminating co-payments for preventive services and helping keep Medicare solvent, among other benefits.”

This is a long and well-reference opinion piece. To read it in its entirety, click here. 

0 Comments

I have good health insurance at work, so why should I care about reform?

9/28/2009

0 Comments

 
Many people with employee-provided health insurance are ignoring reality if they think they can’t find themselves within the ranks of the unemployed and uninsured.

Look around you. Check the number of jobs advertised in your local newspaper and the size of local food banks. That should scare you into delving into this complex topic feet first, if nothing else does. 


Not only do the employed have to participate in this debate, but women need to voice their opinions.

Here’s why, according to registered nurse and attorney Jaci Mairs of Kansas City:

1.    In general, women have greater health needs than men.
2.    Many insurance companies charge women more than men for the same level of insurance.
3.    A greater percentage of women work part time than men, so they lack benefits. 

To make matters worse, Mairs says, "the majority of individual insurance policies exclude coverage for child-bearing, and many exclude pap smears and mammograms, major reasons women need health-care coverage."

Click here for the full op-ed in the Kansas City Star. 

AND, an economics blog on newyorktimes.com echoed the alarm, with this statement:
 

"In striking testimony to financial vulnerability, more than one-half of all bankruptcies related to medical costs in the United States in 2007 were filed by female-headed households."
 
See that entire opinion piece here.  

0 Comments

The Battle over Baucus

9/24/2009

0 Comments

 
from the New York Times, September 24, 2009

Panel’s Battles on Health Highlight a Broader Split
By Robert Pear and Jackie Calmes

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats swatted down Republican attempts to make fundamental changes in their health care legislation on Wednesday as the Finance Committee voted on a wide range of amendments that highlighted the deep partisan divide over the bill.

The committee rejected an amendment offered by Senator Jim Bunning, Republican of Kentucky, that would have deferred a final committee vote until the panel had actual legislative language and a complete cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office. The vote was 13 to 10.

Mr. Bunning’s proposal would have required the text of the bill and the cost estimate to be posted on the Internet for 72 hours before the committee voted on whether to send the bill to the full Senate.

“This bill will impact every American,” Mr. Bunning said. “It is too big and too important for us to rely on conceptual language and a preliminary estimate of cost.”

Senator Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, the one Republican who might eventually vote for the bill, supported Mr. Bunning’s proposal. “The American people are nervous about our attempt at health care reform and overhauling 17 percent of the economy,” Ms. Snowe said. “If it takes two more weeks, it takes two more weeks. What is the rush?”

To read the entire story, go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/24/health/policy/24health.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

0 Comments
<<Previous
    Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

    NOTE: Scroll down the page. At the bottom, click on the word Previous, to continue to another page. 


    Blogger Profile

     

    Retired reporter, writer, wife, mother, stepmother, grandmother, photographer, singer, knitter, kayaker, cook, swimmer --  not all at the same time
    songbird@birdsonawireblog.com


    Follow @phbehnken

    Blog Awards
    Honest Scrap
    Kreative Blogger

    Click here for
    Swimming as Meditation



    click here for
    Martin Luther King:
    Ordinary Acts,
    Extraordinary Courage


    click here for
    Photo Postcards


    click here for
    The Day JFK Was Shot

    click here for
    The Fall of the Berlin Wall
    series 

    Archives

    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009



    Posts

    All
    1960s Sit Ins
    2010
    2010 Photos
    911
    9/11
    A Cappella
    Adirondacks
    Advice
    Age And Beauty
    Aging
    All Things Swimming
    Amazing Stories
    American Idol
    Anne Frank
    Ann Mcneal
    Anti-intellectualism
    Archer Mayor
    Art
    Arthritis
    Audacity To Believe
    Author
    Authors
    Autumn
    Babyies
    Bastille Day
    Beach
    Bears
    Beauty
    Benefactor States
    Berlin Wall
    Bill Campbell
    Birds
    Birds' Books
    Bird Sightings
    Birthday
    Bloggers
    Blogging
    Blogs
    Blue
    Bob Dylan
    Bollywood
    Books
    Bruce Hartman
    California
    Cancer
    Cell Phones
    Change
    Chile
    Chirps
    Christmas
    Circus
    City
    Civil Rights
    Civil Rights Movement1
    Civil Rights Movement2
    Civil Rights Movement3
    Civil Rights Movement4
    Civil Rights Movement5
    Civil Rights Movement6
    Civil War
    Clips
    Coffee
    Coffee Party
    Connie Wilson
    Contraception
    Contracetion
    Daisy Mayhem
    Dance
    Darkness Cannot Drive Out Darkness
    Dartmouth Aires
    Dealing With Physicians
    Death
    Dirty Sparkle
    Disasters
    Diversity
    Divorce
    Dixie
    Domestic Violence
    Earthquake
    Elaine Magalis
    Enjoy Yourself
    Evolution
    Fair
    Fall
    Fall Of The Berlin Wall
    Family
    Fashion
    Films
    Fish
    Flood
    Flowers
    Fourth Of July
    France
    Freedom Riders
    Freedom Rides
    Friends
    Fun
    Future
    Generations
    Genetic Testing
    George Rhodes
    Getting Had
    Getting Older
    Girls
    Going Home
    Good News
    Graduation
    Grandmothers
    Great Blogs
    Growing
    Growing Older
    Guest Art
    Guestbook
    Guest Photo
    Guest Post
    Guest Posts
    Guns
    Haiti
    Happy Birthday
    Healing
    Health
    Health Care
    Health Care Reform
    Heat
    Henrietta Lacks
    Heroes
    Hip Replacement Surgery
    Home
    Honors
    Immigrants
    Immigration
    Inauguration
    Injustice Anywhere
    James Reeb
    Jour J
    Kansas
    Kayaking
    Kennedy Assassination
    Kiva
    Knitting
    Legacies
    Leigh Russell
    Like A Mighty Stream
    Looking Backward
    Loss
    Make A Career Of Humanity
    Malaria
    Map
    Maple Sugaring
    Martin Luther King
    Martin Luther King Quotations
    Martin Luther King Quotes
    Material World
    Medicare
    Meditation
    Melting Snow
    Mentoring
    Mindfulness
    Mlk Memorial
    Mlk Quotes
    Mlm Memorial
    Mother
    Mothers
    Music
    Must Reads
    Mysteries
    Nairobi Trio
    Navigation
    New England
    New England Winter
    News
    Normandy
    Occupy Wall Street
    Overriding Loyalty To Mankind
    Pain
    Pamela Chatterton-Purdy
    Panama
    Panda
    Parenting
    Paris
    Party
    Paula Dumont
    Peace
    Photo Postcards
    Photos
    Politics
    Postcards
    Poverty
    Protests
    Ptsd
    Queen Medley
    Race
    Racism
    Rain
    Rani Arbo
    Rape
    Recession
    Relationships
    Religious Bigotry
    Rihanna
    Road Signs
    Rules Of Dreaming
    Sabrina Cohen
    Sarah Palin
    Secession
    September 11
    Service Projects
    Shakespeare
    Shine On
    Shopping
    Site Map
    Sit Ins
    Skiing
    Sluts
    Snakes
    Snow
    Social Security
    Spring
    Summer
    Surgery
    Surviving The Sixties
    Survivor
    Survivors
    Survivorship
    Susan Boyle
    Swim Group
    Swimming As Meditation
    Switched At Birth
    Tea Party
    Technology
    Ted Kennedy
    The Arc Of The Moral Universe Is Long
    The Band
    The Civil War
    The Day Jfk Was Shot
    The Great Depression
    The Sixties
    Time Goes By
    Toys
    True Peace
    Turning 65
    Tweets
    Twitter
    Unions
    Vegetables
    Vermont
    Vincent Van Gogh
    Visitors
    Volunteering
    War On Women
    Water
    Weather
    Weddings
    We Shall Overcome
    Where We6444ab37d9
    Where Were From171c5aacf5
    Where We Stand
    While We Were Sleeping
    Wilmington Vt
    Winter
    Wisdom
    Women
    Women As Consumers
    Women Bloggers
    Womens Blogs
    Womens Issues
    Writing


    Blogroll

    A Little Red Hen
    Arts & Letters Daily
    Blog of Ages
    The Boomer Chronicles
    Cab Drollery
    Can It Happen Here?
    Cogitamus
    Common Weeder
    Darlene’s Hodgepodge
    Fifty Shift
    Health Matters
    Hill Country Mysteries
    Just A Song
    Kevin MD
    Late Fruit
    Mature Landscaping
    Mindful Living Network
    Montpellier Daily Photo
    Parsley’s Pics
    Really Relative
    SW Dunn
    Switched at Birth
    The Third Third
    Time Goes By
    Two Seeds on a Blog
    Weekly Wilson

    Womens Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory
    Personal Blogs

    Paulah's bookshelf: read

    A Scattered LifeMurder in the MaraisA Girl Like YouThinner Thighs In Thirty YearsBy NightfallMurder in Passy

    More of Paulah's books »
    Book recommendations, book reviews, quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists


    Local Food and Local Farms

    free counters