The very sad news of the death of actress Farrah Fawcett today made me think about the many Americans without health insurance who suffer and die from cancer due to not being able to afford treatment for the deadly disease. Farrah was brave for documenting and calling attention to her battle with cancer. I think what the media needs to call attention to right now is the close to 50 million uninsured Americans. And many of those people are middle-class. We have a health care crisis in this country. The majority of Americans (72% according to a NY Times/CBS News Poll)favor a government administered health insurance plan. According to EBRI (Employee Benefit Research Institute) http://www.ebri.org/ a conservative organization, 83% of Americans favor "creating a new public health insurance plan that anyone can purchase."
Ironically, the demographic with the biggest opposition to a public plan are the over age 65 group, the same people who are currently in a government run health insurance plan called Medicare. Older Americans seem fearful of any change.
Obama promised us the same quality health care coverage that Congress receives. Everyone deserves health care, it is not a privilege. A public option is the only way to bring about universal affordable health care. In Obama's words, the public plan would "keep insurance companies honest." He is willing to compromise for Republican support, but most R's seem to just want to obstruct everything Obama wants to do. There are some Democrats against it too. And I think the Democrats need to grow a set and challenge the obstructionist Republicans. Let the R's filibuster. Obviously bipartisanship is not going to happen with this issue, so Congress needs to fight for the people's interests. They need to be in touch with the people. I like Howard Dean, he seems to be aware of the seriousness of this crisis . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Dean
Meanwhile, the national media is focusing on the infidelity and shenanigans of some governor, while Americans are dying due to lack of health care coverage. And in our local "newspaper", The Morning Call, headline news is constant updates on puppies in need and some hot dog vendor crisis. They need to get their priorities straight.
Photo: Protesters in Maine
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26 comments:
Breaking News: I just heard that Michael Jackson has passed at age 50, cardiac arrest. SO sad. I grew up watching Farrah and listening to the "king of pop."
Mrs.D, here are some real stories that show why this is such an urgent crisis. Thank you for posting.
http://stories.barackobama.
com/healthcare
Anon,7:21, that's a great link, thanks. I just glanced at a few of those heart wrenching stories, but I will go back to read it more in depth. And I just realized that I got that same link in a Twitter message from Barack Obama.
I see the Morning Call and some local blogs are following your lead on this...
Yes, all the other local blogs are following us, LVS is #5 in PA, #1 in the Lehigh Valley, have a look ...
Anon,I noticed the "newspaper" did a story in the local section today about health care reform, and there was a letter to the editor too. I had to stop reading the comments because they were from the usual rabid neocon attack dogs, not representative of most human beings. I avoid the local blahgassmear, too much neocon propaganda.
WOW great subject that hits home for my family. My wife and I run a small business that has been getting smacked in the face with the cost of healthcare for the past 20 yrs. We went form Prudential to Blue Cross to Keystone and most recently a switch to Aetna ( but they are all the same). The most we paid for coverage for two employees both with families reached $28000.00 a year. Thats when the switching started and now we are paying half of that much better I know but in light of how business has changed and with the right destroying our economy this still hurts and most months we have to dig deep to make this payment. I hope for a future where Big Pharma and the insurance thieves are put in there place once and for all. This exclusive club that has been built around our healthcare industry needs a severe reality check they have helped to make all of us a little poorer. But in a way we have ourselves to blame, the legal profession has also helped to drive up our healthcare costs by puting all our heath professionals backs again the wall. Malpractice kills these doctors and drives up the cost to you and I even more. This is a complex issue that will take a long time to sort out I just hope 8 years is enough time.
Hi Tom, thanks for commenting. The subject really hits home for us personally too, but I can't really comment on that since my mom checks in here once in a while!
I just read that 10,000 people rallied for health care reform at the Capitol yesterday. Senator Schumer spoke, he's been outspoken on the issue,so has Rangel, and Specter arrived late to speak.
Health insurance for small businesses is a huge problem. The WSJ has great stats here: http://blogs.wsj.com/independentstreet/2009/03/26/curing-small-business-health-insurance-woes/
A report found that, in 34 states (out of 39 analyzed), only 5 insurers are responsible for the coverage to 75% of the market. More concentration might lead to less competition and higher prices.
Interesting, albeit frustrating too. As Tom wrote earlier, "this is a complex issue that will take a long time to sort out I just hope 8 years is enough time."
UpSide is that we finally have a President w/ the smarts and the will to get these kinds of huge undertakings taken care of.
SiteMeter(R) says Chris Casey (who never reads this blog) caught lurking here mesmerized last night at 8:44pm and then again at 9:26pm. I've always wondered if Chris feels any remorse for having dropped the ball (he then kicked the ball into the bushes) on a great story he had in his grasp that he inexplicably (wink wink) abandoned when he became a Morning Call "Valley Blogosphere" blogger [see "Ethics, Morning Call style" in our right sidebar item on "Dave Erdman"] but at least there were no taunting anonymous comments from Chris Casey (RCN Allentown, IP # 65.78.112.190) this visit ... okay back on topic ...
I know Obama has the smarts, but I think he has to really make bold moves, and not be so concerned about bipartisanship on this issue.
This is really a civil rights issue, all Americans should have healthcare. And not to go too far off topic, but he's gotta be bolder about stopping the "don't ask don't tell" policy in the military if he is really gooing to champion equality of all citizens.
"not be so concerned about bipartisanship on this issue"
... or any issue. The writing's been on the wall (clearly) that Republicans will oppose anything and everything the Obama administration and the Dems and the majority of the American people want. So while I give President Obama high marks for displaying statesmanship in trying to find common ground w/ The Right, The Right doesn't wanna find common ground and share power. The Right only wants to rule via having all the power. I say fuck 'em. We don't need them. Let's move forward together without them.
[see "Ethics, Morning Call style" in our right sidebar item on "Dave Erdman"]
Casey probably forgot it was still out there, look for it to go poof soon...
The Whitehouse blog has a good post on Obama's speech: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Health-Care-Reform-Asked-and-Answered/
Writers from ABC News did a fact check and actually found out that the situation is even worse than what the President said: some studies have found health care costs are increasing five times faster (instead of three times) than wages.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=7922187&page=1
Very interesting stuff anon 3:28, thanks, and sorry for the delay in publishing it, we were hanging out on South Street in Philly after dropping my son Patrick off at the airport for a trip to London. Love South Street. Mrs. Dottie and I both got some weirdo shoes for our (in the works) stage comeback. And today is our 10 Year wedding anniversary. Seems like a year to me (probably seems like 20 to Mrs. D I mean V)
Happy 10th year anniversary! And please do keep us posted on your stage comeback.
Thank you! And we definitely will keep you posted. We have a rehearsal scheduled for a coupla weeks from now and this will be the first time we've plugged in and played (except for one other rehearsal about a year ago) since our last gig at Crocodile Rock in July of 2007. Yikes. How time flies when you're crying hysterically missing Sheena and fighting off sabotaging buttinsky bad guys. But now we're ready to balance the Villas band thing back into the mix of our life that includes being Liberals on a Mission for Justice and getting DA Jim Martin removed from office and disbarred. Hopefully some venues will still wanna book us, we'll see, the buttinsky bad guys may have contacted them all already telling them what bad people we are (they do that) ...
It is time we have health insurance for all. You constantly hear from the Republicans that we can not afford health care for all. They say if we do this we can not afford anything else. Turn things around and consider this. Get health care for all and maybe those misguided in our Federal government will realize they can not invade foreign governments spending billions on a war based on "poor intelligence" (lies). It is high time we take care of the American people first, and stop the misguided policies for the former administration.
Exquisitely stated, Bill Leiner, thank you for reading LVS and for being openly liberal. That's a wonderful quality in a Lehigh County Commissioner.
"please do keep us posted on your stage comeback."
Anon 12:30, did you know about The Villas (already in progress) studio comeback ... you can download our new 2-song "single" for FREE. Mixed & Mastered by the legendary ED STASIUM!
[Thanks, Bill Leiner!]
I for one am looking forward to getting the ball rolling on health care reform. I do think we need a public option to keep other private insurers cost in check. There needs to be something done when you get a catastrophic illness like cancer and you lose your job and ability to pay insurance. 62% of bankruptcies are because of medical costs. These are people who had insurance.
Z, Good points. Many people are forced to use credit cards to pay for health insurance or medical expenses and that's wrong. I get pissed when I see that commercial with that woman who is SO grateful for her credit card co. who worked with her to lower her payments so she could pay her medical expenses. Such compassion. No one should have to borrow money at high interest rates to stay alive. Plus the medical debt gets lumped in with all the other consumer debt, and becomes invisible. What a disaster.
Ah, credit cards... (This is OT regarding health care, but I feel like ranting :) )
I read this yesterday on the NPR website: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105974724
So people are trying to avoid credit card debt by using debit cards instead, and then it turns out the fraud protection levels aren't the same? Talk about trying to force people to use credit cards (the issuers probably recoup their money anyway because of the fees).
My main complaint is about the joint deals between credit card companies and other companies like retailers. For instance, Barnes&Noble advertises a $25 gift certificate if you sign up for the B&N Mastercard. Would they give people $25 if they didn't think they'll make up that money, and then some?
Continental Airlines says (if I remember the ad correctly) it'll waive the $25 checked-bag fee if you sign up for its credit card. Again, I doubt they'd do that if they didn't think they were going to make up that amount.
(And those are 2 companies I actually like. Every time I see those ads, I'm so disappointed in them.)
I had a friend sign up for a department store credit card in exchange of a free T-shirt once (we were young and naive back then...) and then regret it bitterly.
If companies want people to spend more in their store, they should just have a rewards card that gives buyers discounts after a membership fee, like B&N. (Or even better, a rewards card without a membership fee, like supermarkets!)
That was a truly GREAT, OT rant, thank you, come back and rant like that, OT or otherwise, any time.
Enjoy the website! But be careful about a public plan. If it reimburses the providers at the medicare rates, they are below cost, most hospitals will be out of business pretty quickly. Sad to say, but the HMOs have billions of dollars on their balance sheets and they will survive while the hospitals and doctors will file bankruptcy. Look at what democrat Kent Conrad is proposing with the CoOP plan, those are like the original non for profit blue cross plans.
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