I’ve developed an educational handout on Healthcare Reform as a member of a volunteer group promoting this issue among fellow citizens in Bend. A copy is posted below in the hope that it will help people educate themselves about this critical issue. Medicare has rescued my wife and me from crushing insurance premiums which exceeded $1000 per month some 6 years ago, even though we were both in excellent health. Now we pay only $210 per month for supplemental insurance; which puts us out of financial danger. However, Medicare itself is at some risk due to skyrocketing costs, and our children and grandchildren, along with the majority of Americans, are at risk for medically induced economic disasters; that makes me keenly interested in fixing the mess.
Feel free to copy and distribute this material. I hope you will check out the web resources listed at the end. Had to go through a lot of manure to find those ponies.
Healthcare Reform Now!
Our healthcare system is broken
Over 45 million people (1 in 7 citizens) are uninsured, including
over 8 million children
Job loss and chronic medical conditions will add millions more uninsured and
uninsurable this year
The World Health Organization in 2000 ranked the US Health care system first in responsiveness and costs, but 25th in infant mortality rates, 37th in overall performance and US citizens 72nd in overall level of health (among 191 member nations included in the study)
In 2007, US Healthcare expenditures were:
― $2.26 trillion, over 15% of GDP
— $0.4 trillion in premiums for private insurance policies which only partially
covered medical expenses for 2/3 of our population
― $7,439 per capita, twice that of any other industrialized nation
Between 2001 and 2008 Insurance premiums increased 78% while wages rose 19% and inflation rose 17%
A study published by The American Journal of Medicine found that 62% of all bankruptcies filed in 2007 were linked to medical expenses; up from 43% in 2001.
President Obama’s Objectives
- Assure affordable, quality health coverage for all Americans
- Maintain coverage when you change or lose your job
- End barriers to coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions
- Guarantee choice of doctors and health plans
- Reduce long-term growth of health care costs for businesses and government
- Protect families from bankruptcy or debt because of health care costs
- Invest in prevention and wellness
- Improve patient safety and quality of care
Obstacle to reform
There are legitimate and serious issues that must be addressed in the process of reform. However, the primary obstacle to serious reform is an array of special interest groups— all of them enriched by the existing system and anxious to protect their own financial interests. They have prevailed in the past, and will do so again unless an informed public successfully lobbies its Representatives and Senators.
You are needed! Please help
Learn more; make use of the resources shown below
Discuss healthcare reform with your friends, family and neighbors; you may discover that one or more people you care about are at risk for a medical disaster.
Influence your government representatives with your health care story. Tell them which reforms you support.
Web Resources:
White House: Health Care (http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/health_care/)
Wikipedia: Health Care in the United States
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_the_United_States)
Oregon Public Interest: Health Care (http://www.ospirg.org/health-care )
Health Insurance in Oregon 2009
(http://www.cbs.state.or.us/ins/health_report/3458-health_report-2009.pdf )
Frontline documentary: Sick Around the World: comparing health care systems
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/ )
Universal Health Insurance Switzerland (one of the best systems)
( http://www.swisster.ch/en/living_guides/health_guide/health_insurance/ )
Physicians for a National Health Program (http://www.pnhp.org/ )
Kaiser Family Foundation Snapshots: Health Care Costs
(http://www.kff.org/insurance/snapshot/index.cfm )
— Unless we actively support health care reform, it will be derailed again—
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Please forgive my attempt at composition and spelling, I completed sixed grade. At 76 and 88 years old. we would like to be more objective however our in-dependence or self sufficency is not to be as medical cost has become our number one passion. This past Summer on top escalating cost, we landed in the donut hole – now paying hugh sums for medicene – were it not for food stamps and much charity, we would have to choose food, lights, water, taxes, goodwill clothes to costly. We, have always worked hard for low salaries as we were ‘in likeness’ but ‘not like’ those of successful kinship. My Husband has bone cancer, glaucoma and macaluar degeneration. My problems are heart and lungs, I am on 24 hour oxygen.
A number of years ago, while filling forms for a big insurance company, we learned that, from our payment into Medicare, 1/3 went to Doctors/Hospitals, 1/3 to the Insurance company and 1/3 to Medicare, that most of the money was spent on paperwork. We, have not kept track of ammounts of money nor would we ever be able to acquire just how much money is borrowed/taken from Medicare, for goodness only know what. As time passed several aspects of ‘cutting cost’ by the Medical Pros became clear, such as, Limited hospitalization – admission and length of stay, Free samples handed out for years at a time, the Doctor refuseing to change the Rx, even on a trial basis with the patient showing resulted evidence, complete change of Doctors caused big changes to less than half the number of Rxs and a poor functoning small heart lobe. Since changing to a different medical team, I am doing so much better, my swollen, sore feet, is no more, my lung Doctor has me off oxygen two hours a day and a agreeable once a day puffer that doesn’t cramp my body. The new team does not accept free samples, and does not pose in expensive new clothes, they mostly wear white coats. I felt really comfortable with them.
Appreciate and like you comments. Thank You, You lit a fire
Mary:
Thanks so much for your comments and for sharing your medical experiences. Let’s hope there are enough Senators who haven’t sold out to the unregulated Health Care Industry that we get meaningful reform.
Ed Lee
I would recommend some other links.
Health insurers refuse to limit rescission of coverage – http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-rescind17-2009jun17,0,3508020,full.story
“Executives of three of the nation’s largest health insurers told federal lawmakers in Washington on Tuesday that they would continue canceling medical coverage for some sick policyholders, despite withering criticism from Republican and Democratic members of Congress who decried the practice as unfair and abusive.
The hearing on the controversial action known as rescission, which has left thousands of Americans burdened with costly medical bills despite paying insurance premiums, began a day after President Obama outlined his proposals for revamping the nation’s healthcare system.
An investigation by the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations showed that health insurers WellPoint Inc., UnitedHealth Group and Assurant Inc. canceled the coverage of more than 20,000 people, allowing the companies to avoid paying more than $300 million in medical claims over a five-year period.
It also found that policyholders with breast cancer, lymphoma and more than 1,000 other conditions were targeted for rescission and that employees were praised in performance reviews for terminating the policies of customers with expensive illnesses.”
Hi pfrogger:
Thanks for the added link. I’d read the story, found myself getting steamed up at it, left it out of the handout but glad to add it back into the blog posting via your comments. Let me know if you have any other suggestions.
Ed Lee