The Sheep and the Goats

“‘I was a stranger and you never made me feel welcome, lacking clothes and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.’  Then it will be their turn to ask, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or lacking clothes, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?’  Then he will answer, ‘In truth I tell you, in as far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me.’” — Matthew 25:43-46

In this parable of the Last Judgment, Jesus states that people are to be judged by their works of mercy,  as a shepherd separates sheep from goats.

In the United States today, a broken health care system separates human beings into sheep and goats as if they are cattle.  Rationing of health care does not start in some future scenario.  It is a reality today.

Previously I enjoyed the benefits of group health insurance coverage provided by an employer.  Then for the past five years I was self-employed and had to purchase an individual policy for myself.   I faithfully paid premiums to Blue Cross Blue Shield so that I could keep health insurance coverage.  The first thing I learned with it was that certain conditions I had were to be excluded from any coverage because they were “pre-existing.”

Secondly, I learned that the insurance was relatively affordable as long as I didn’t need it.  But when I did that would make the premium rates and deductibles I had to pay for increase. And finally I have learned what it is like to be deemed “unworthy” and excluded altogether from health insurance.

That is how rationing exists in the US today.  People are divided into groups of haves and have-nots.  We are a two-tiered society, where the fortunate ones have full access to health care coverage, and the others can fend for themselves.

In recent weeks I have been following the health care reform debate closely.  Thanks to the internet we have a free flow of information that cannot be controlled by the media.  On the internet citizens express their outrage at the injustice that is the American health care system of today.

There are many encouraging developments every day as people get organized and speak up for universal health care.

Americans who are denied health insurance coverage by insurers are essentially being told, “you are not worthy,”  because the insurer has deemed their condition as not profitable enough for them.   They have become second class citizens of the US who do not have equal access to health care.  See my previous blog post, The Baucus Plan and 44,000 Uninsured Deaths a Year for more on this.

Can the Congress seriously believe that we can wait until 2013 to start health care reform?  What can they be thinking?  An estimated 44,000 people are dying each year, that is 122 per day.

At a minimum we need a robust public option, or as Dr. Howard Dean has proposed, to open Medicare in 2010 to people between 55 and 65 years old who lack coverage.

We must keep the pressure on Congress to enact the sweeping health care reform we need with a robust public option.

The Real Face of Americans Who Want a Public Option

While the media and Washington reporters continue to act as if health care reform through the Baucus plan is already a done deal, without a public option, I am encouraged that public support for it is strong. Some of these reporters like Karen Tumulty and Ruth Marcus really ought to venture outside Washington once in a while, or even surf the internet to see what’s going on.

I find new developments and encouraging news on Twitter every day.

For example, the latest New York Times/CBS opinion poll found 65% of Americans in favor of a public option, but downplays the possibility that the public option might actually be included in the final version of the bill.

The real faces and stories of Americans who support the public option in health care reform are shown in this Youtube video.   There’s nothing slick about this, the faces and simple messages shown tell a compelling story.  It might be an informative experience of every Congressional representative could actually watch it.

Meanwhile, the Republicans are trying every delaying tactic possible to stall the progress on getting the Baucus bill out of committee while more Americans lose their health care coverage by the day.  They continue to repeat the lie that public health care programs in the UK and Canada are failures.

But public pressure must be starting to get through, because some Senators such as Sherrod Brown of  Ohio and Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia are beginning to predict the public option will pass.

One can only hope.  In the meantime, keep up the calls and emails to Congress in favor of the public option.

Can the Democrats Deliver on Health Care?

I’ve been preoccupied with the health care reform issue for about the past month or so.  I’ve followed the debate in the media and online, blogged, tweeted, written to Congress people, and signed petitions.  I’ve been fired up since that Sunday when Health and Social Service Secretary Kathleen Sibelius hinted that  co-ops might be an acceptable substitute for the public option.

Sorry that won’t work for me.  I would actually prefer a single payer system such as they have in Canada, or some other public system that other civilized developed countries provide for their citizens.  But being a practical person, I realize that single payer doesn’t stand much of a chance here.  The public option was supposed to be the compromise.  Then came the word that won’t work because the Republicans won’t support it, so it must be watered down to co-ops.   Co-ops would be a risky experiment that will waste more time and unfortunately people’s lives.

I don’t consider myself to be a political activist.  At my age there are plenty of other ways I would rather spend my time, and I’m getting tired of filling out email forms on government websites.  I have been one of those so-called “reliable”  faithful Democratic voters.  The Democrats have been talking health care forever, only the reason they could never provide us with health care they said was the Republicans controlling either the Presidency or one or the other house of Congress.  Well now the Democrats are running the whole show, so it’s time to deliver.  No more whining and hand-wringing about the Republicans.  If they can’t make good on their promises this time, this is one voter who will start staying home.

Of course, we all know the Democrats never like to “miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.”  Too many of them have been out to lunch with the health industry lobbyi$t$.  It has even been reported that a health insurance lobbyist actually wrote the Baucus bill.

Case in point, this morning’s story on NPR by Peter Overby, “Who’s Representing the Uninsured on Capitol Hill?” Overby talks about Mike Ross, a “blue dog Democrat”  Congressman from Arkansas, who is opposed to the public option, and who coincidentally also just recently received over $100,000 for his campaign committee and a PAC that he operates from, guess who, the health care industry.

Overby then quotes one of Ross’s constituents at a town hall meeting in his district, “Many of those individuals who would need a public health care option are those who are not likely to be able to take two hours out of their day to go to a public event like that town hall,” says Kevin Motl, a history professor at Ouachita Baptist University who attended the meeting. “They were too busy earning hourly wages and trying to keep roofs above their children’s heads. Those voices are not going to be present in that discourse.”

That’s exactly what’s bothering me these days.  While people without health insurance are at work or standing in the unemployment line, the Senate and Congress are out to lunch with the in$urance industry lobby.  Literally.

Baucus Plan and 45,000 Uninsured Deaths a year.

As Senator Max Baucus unveils the Senate Finance Committee proposed health plan with no public option, a new study finds 45,000 uninsured die each year. You can read the story from Democracy Now! or watch the video here.

The Baucus Plan as introduced will do little to remedy this situation unless it is amended and strengthened during the legislative process going forward.    One wonders how many stories like this have to come out before the Congress wakes up and gets informed about the actual health care crisis in the US today.  At this point the Max Baucus plan seems like a hoax or a cruel joke to be perpetrated upon the American public– giving more money and control to the in$urance industry in the guise of  “health care reform.”

The Public Option Is Not Dead

Things seem to be heating up in the health care debate as supporters of reform and the public option are finding their voices and getting more organized.  Many more people are speaking out now in favor of the public option.  Yesterday I signed a new petition and went on twitter.  I was quite encouraged when I did a search on #publicoption to find hundreds of tweets in support of it.

I personally am among the “medically ineligible” who has fallen through the cracks in this broken system and been brushed aside by the in$urance companies as being unworthy of coverage because I am not among the lucky ones who has coverage from a group policy.  Since I am neither independently wealthy nor old enough to go on Medicare, I must do whatever I can to take care of myself and that includes being politically active on this issue.  Yes I am passionate regarding the outcome since I am among the millions of Americans who has a personal stake in it.

Last week I received a phone call from a staff member of FamiliesUSA, a group that has been campaigning for health care reform for years and who had worked closely with Senator Ted Kennedy over the years. I do not mind telling my story if it can help to achieve health coverage.  I had posted some comments on their web form so they called me to get more information.  I have written a few more details regarding my own situation in my blog posts here, on health care and health insurance denial, as well as the financial problems caused by my illness in God’s Grace Is Sufficient.

Here are a few links to some of the more interesting commentaries from recent days.  Olbermann last week again discussed the polls showing broad support among the public for the public option with Marcos Malitsos of Daily Kos.

Another really outstanding piece was this tv ad of Kevin Schilling, a Greenfield, Iowa farmer addressing Senator Grassley and the public option. Of course farmers are another one of the groups who fall through the cracks of the system, since they are largely self employed and not covered by group insurance through their employer.

Here’s Robert Reich explaining the public option in very simple, straightforward language, as well as the urgency of pressing Congress to enact it.

Finally, here is Bill Moyers personally addressing President Obama in a very passionate way saying what many of us have been wishing we could say to President Obama and the Democrats.

Yes we the people need someone to champion this cause who will at least stand up and fight for what has been promised and left undone for too long, instead of just caving in to a compromise without even taking a stand.

Real Canadians Talking Real Health Care

Here’s a reality check about our neighbors to the north and what they actually think about their health care system (as well as ours.)

Health Care Reform or Insurance Reform?

Dan Roan has created a Health Care Napkins Slide Show that effectively summarizes the issues in the current debate raging about Health Care Reform.

To paraphrase a slogan from the Bill Clinton era, “It’s about insurance reform, stupid.”  Of course the insurance companies would not like us to see it that way.

That’s why we have the noise level being raised about other issues such as so-called “death panels,” abortions, government take-over of health care that really are not actually part of the proposals being considered.  The insurance industry and other special interests have been gearing up for this for a long time, and they have pulled out their usual bag of tricks to scare the American people.

We need more reasoned factual presentations such as this to clarify what is truly at stake.

What about the public option in health care reform?

“This is a season of hope … and this is the cause of my life, new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American —north, south, east, west, young, old — will have decent quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege.” — Sen. Edward Kennedy quoted on NPR 8/26/09

Why should health care reform include a public health insurance option?

A strong public insurance option can benefit all Americans, whether they choose to keep their private insurance or enroll in the public plan. It will benefit you if you have good private insurance and choose to keep it, but would like to have lower costs.

If you are a small business owner and need affordable, comprehensive coverage for you and your employees, it would give you more options.

It will be available if you lose your job and can’t afford COBRA.

The public option can give you coverage if you or a family member have a medical condition that has excluded you from insurance coverage.

It will be available for you if you work for a business that does not offer health insurance as a benefit, and you can not afford the costs of health insurance premiums.

The public option health care system will bring down costs through competition, instead of bankrupting the nation with costs that are twice as high as any other advanced country in the world.

The provision of a public option through the federal government is the best way to accomplish the goal of universal coverage. A public option provided through cooperatives seem less likely to work.  Health care cooperatives don’t have a  strong track record of success. There are only a couple of them presently in operation.

Years ago I lived in a rural area of Northern Wisconsin, and a health care cooperative was formed to bring a medical clinic into our small town.  It struggled to get off the ground and only lasted two years before it closed down.

Trying to start many cooperatives on a national scale would result in a patchwork hodgepodge of different systems.  Some could succeed, but others might not.  The cooperative option would be a risky experiment.

Providing health care is an urgent need that calls for a comprehensive solution.  The public option to be provided nationally through a government funded and administered program such as Medicare is the only solution that has any hope of working to achieve the goals to bring down costs and provide universal coverage.

Five Reasons For Health Care Reform

Shocking Health Care Facts in the US part 2:

Here are five important reasons why we urgently need health care reform in the United States at the present time.

1. Health care should be available to everyone. But presently it is not. This is because some people are excluded from insurance coverage because they have “pre-existing conditions.”  Perhaps they were covered in a group policy which they lost when they lost their job or moved to another state.  Others have lost their insurance when they lost their job, and do not have enough income to purchase a policy under COBRA, or they work for an employer who do not offer health insurance as an employee benefit.

The present system of excluding persons from insurance coverage due to their health history or lack of money to pay is a form a rationing health care.  Presently 49 million Americans do not have health insurance coverage.  Health care is a human right, and most developed nations provide coverage for their citizens.

2. Americans deserve a choice. Health insurance is controlled by the private insurance industry, who set the rates and policies in order to maximize their profits.  Offering a public option would create competition and drive down the cost of health care premiums.

Insurance companies will no longer be able to refuse coverage to anyone due to pre-existing conditions, or charge more based on gender or health status, or limit the amount of coverage you can get in a year or a lifetime.  Insurers will be required to renew policies as long as the
premiums are being paid, and they will not be allowed to charge more than 10% of income for out-of-pocket expenses per year.

3. Health care should be affordable. Health care presently is not affordable for many working people or unemployed people who do not qualify for medicaid.  Because they cannot afford to purchase health insurance, they are forced to go without preventive care, and postpone going to the doctor until they develop a serious condition.  They then are forced to seek help at the hospital emergency room, which helps to drive up the cost of health care for those with insurance.

4. Having health care reform will increase our peace of mind. Health care reform will include preventive services such as routine mammograms, mental health services, oral health & vision services for children.  It will extend the age of children covered in family policies from 22 to 26 years, giving young adults time to get established without having to buy their own coverage.

5.  We can’t afford to do nothing. Presently the high cost of health care in the United States is becoming unmanageable.  It is a leading cause of personal bankruptcy filings and home foreclosures, as well as an uncontrolled cost for employers in both the public and private sectors.

Continuing to neglect this critical problem and kick the can down the road is simply no longer an option.

Health Care in the US– Shocking Facts

Part 1.

We already have a single payer health care insurance system in the US– it’s called Medicare.

That’s because if you are  65 years of age or older, one source, the US government, pays for the health care you get whether it is from doctors, hospitals or other health care providers.  And just like private insurance companies, Medicare decides what it will pay for, but not what health care providers you can see or what care you receive.

Health care for veterans is what some people are calling ‘socialized medicine,’ (like the system in the United Kingdom.)

The government both pays for and delivers veterans’ health care at VA facilities.  The VA is similar to Kaiser Permanente and other HMOs (health maintenance organization.)  Veterans can only get health care that is paid by going to a facility that is owned and run by the HMO.

Insurance policies provided by employer-funded health care plans are currently subsidized and regulated by the government.

Employer contributions for health care are presently exempt from income tax by the IRS as long as these contributions are made for all employees, not just executives.

Each of the above are examples of how the federal government supports health care for Americans right now.  Other examples  include:  community health centers, health care for military personnel, Medicaid, the FDA, and the National Institutes of Health.

Imagine how many Americans would have no access to health care if the government was not already in the health care business!

President Obama’s health care plan is NOT a government takeover of health care.  Rather it is a government effort to make sure no one in America, no matter how rich or poor, old or young, sick or healthy, or where they live, is left without access to the health care they need at a price they can afford.

– Adapted from flyer for Durham for Obama Health Care Group 2009

To Be Continued