In the past few days, our allies in Congress have made serious gains in health care reform. But one thing is still uncertain - whether we'll see a strong, immediate public health insurance option.
President Obama last week indicated that, in order to keep insurance companies "honest" and reduce costs, we must provide Americans with the option of a public health insurance plan.
Now it's time to convince Congress; and the strongest proof that our current health care system is broken is probably sitting on your kitchen table - your medical bills.
What are you spending on health care? Generate your own medical bill online, and send it to Congress: http://medbill.seiu.org
Today, the Senate is working on a plan for health care reform. The public health insurance option needs to be a part of it because it does three things:
- Lowers costs for individuals and families by competing side-by-side with private insurance plans
- Sets high standards for quality and accessibility that other plans will strive to meet
- Gives Americans more choice in their coverage by offering an affordable alternative to over-priced plans
After 80 years, we finally have the solution to this health care crisis in our sights. Thanks for joining us in our summer-long sprint to the finish line.
Thanks,
Dr. L. Toni Lewis
SEIU Healthcare
It's funny how all this talk about spending and saving money for healthcare costs doesn't include the biggest way to reduce overall costs to the entire system which is... To invest heavily in diet and lifestyle prevention and the education that goes along with it to the public. We need to make this the main area of concern. It was cool to smoke for decades until the media and politicians alike decided to get the word out on how unhealthy it was. But we have a political system and media conglomerate that wants to protect the dairy and meat industry because that's a big source of guess what..... MONEY for them!
Read The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell.
Also read how our current healthcare system has failed this patient:
http://rxvette.blogspot.com/2009/05/healthcare-reform-touches-home.html
Desni and Bob Crock want their two-year-old daughter Bridget to have everything she needs to fight the rare cancer that's attacking her lung, but they find themselves fighting a second battle at the same time.
Follow the Money on Health Care Reform "Right now we are the only nation on earth that barters human life for money." -- Geri Jenkins, RN, co-president of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee in her testimony Wednesday, in the one Congressional hearing at which single payer has been on the table
I thought I'd share my family's frustrating medical misadventure. They happen every day to thousands of people -- many not knowing where to turn.
A new study shows that SINGLE PAYER HEALTHCARE REFORM WOULD BE A MAJOR STIMULUS FOR THE US ECONOMY and would provide:
** 2.6 Million New Jobs,
** $317 Billion in Business Revenue,
** $100 Billion in Wages, and
** $44 Billion New Tax Revenues
The press release is here:
Here’s the study:
http://www.calnurses.org/research/pdfs/ihsp_sp_economic_study_2009.pdf
See the YouTube clip (5 minutes) about how to pay for healthcare reform “HR676 - The Single Payer Solution, Part 4 of 4. It’s about public financing and private delivery.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxi7DnCH3zk
It’s clear that single-payer is the solution, not only in terms of providing quality care for all, but also economically!
Additional information and comments:
My most recent "fun" letter from my insruance company was a document I have to return to indicate any other health insurance that my family might have.
It seem they really don't want to pay for things and are hoping we have something esle.
A few weeks ago, President Obama asked you to share your personal story about how the health care crisis has affected you and the ones you love. Hundreds of thousands of stories poured in from every corner of the country. The President and I have read through many of them ourselves -- and now I'm encouraging you to do so as well.
Read these powerful, personal stories from people in your area and around the country.
And after you do, please forward this note on to as many people as you can.
For folks who don't yet understand why health care reform is such an urgent priority, these stories make the case far better than any statistics ever could.
For those who support health care reform but haven't yet found the time to join our campaign, these stories provide more motivation than any speech any politician could ever give.
So please read these stories, pass this note on to everyone in your address book, and help us show everyone in America why fixing our broken health care system is a necessity that just can't wait:
http://healthcare.barackobama.com/stories
