Where does your health care debate take place?
Posted at 6:00 AM on August 21, 2009
by Eric Ringham
(12 Comments)
Filed under: Health, Politics/Government
Health care reform is the subject of town hall meetings, congressional negotiations and presidential news conferences. But the debate is happening in locations that never make the news. We want to know what conversations you're having about health care. Where does your health care debate take place?
I do not debate health care with my friends and family because we agree. My health care debate happens at work with my coworkers. -Erik, Minneapolis, MN
Share your reply in the comments: Where does your health care debate take place?
Comments (12)
Online, mostly. On a network called the Fidonet.
I've written email to my US Congressman and both US Senators and to the White House encouraging all of them to fight for a strong bill. I've discussed health care legislation on a Yahoo chat group, and with family members. I think this is the single most important domestic issue to most Americans.
I have not been able to have a conversation, let alone a debate on this topic. The issue of health care has been polarized to the point where it's mere mention results in passionate rants rather than considered discourse.
I have shared this with a number of our politicians and friends.
I have not gotten much of a response. Please feel free to share.
Dear Mr. Franken,
I write this hoping that finds its way to someone who believes it merits some thoughtful discussion and therefore to your eyes.
The current debate around how to effect healthcare reform and its importance has raised the public awareness and increased exposure to how critical these issues are to our future. It is in that “This is a big deal” spirit that I write to you. I hope that because you come from the far outside, with a mandate to bring a different viewpoint that this will resonate with you.
I suggest to you that to fix the system we need to look at how the premiums that affect what an individual yearly health care premium might be.
It some ways the current system for grouping people into a pool is a lot like the derivates mess that almost brought down the financial system.
In much the same way as loans got bundled to mitigate risk for the owners of those loans, people in the health care system get bundled into groups to mitigate risk for healthcare insurers. If you are a small biz owner paying for your employees and your workforce is made up of all young males you have a very low risk low cost pool. Contrast that with a workforce of women of childbearing age and it’s a very different picture.
Ok so the president campaigned on giving people the option of joining a larger pool to help level the playing field. Not bad, but still just a variation on the current plan with not a lot of thinking outside the box.
Here is a very different approach. Use the wealth of health care data to determine a base premium for each class of individual based on their individual risk factors. This will be based to age, race, gender etc.. Then adjust that for certain outside factors that the individual can control, have they had a check up recently, do they maintain their medications, are they enrolled in exercise program and adjust up or down from here. With this system people are made responsible and penalized if that don’t maintain the minimum standard.
These premiums would be created fixed and regulated at a federal level.
With this system the insurance companies would then negotiate the costs providers and not be raising rates and changing the cost of premiums each renewal period. An individual or small business owner will know exactly what their costs are and also be responsible for part of those costs.
The insurance companies would then be forced to negotiate for the costs for care and be able to create efficiencies but we would have given small business a break and created the fairest system possible.
This is a way for the government to help without assuming a cost responsibility.
That is my contribution to helping present an idea that looks at the cause and tries to be innovative in a solution.
In a simple format, anywhere I happen to be: SINGLE PAYER--Good enough for the troops, good enough for the rest of US; if not, then, a pox on both the Dems & the GOP. (I grew up as the child of a career military man & my brother & I also enlisted, & I have been an RN for 25 years, so I know of what I speak.)
Please disregard prior 2 posts as I didn't understand how to code for bolding.
I wanted to comment during the 11 a.m. show, but couldn't find how to do it through your website.
I WOULD have asked the Health Partners speaker why HEALTH PARTNERS MNCARE is willing to give me cortisone injections and all the pain pills the doctor orders but limits physical therapy to 20 visits a year.
I'm 60, and fall a lot, resulting in foot, ankle, and knee injuries. I also have extensive osteoarthritis and bursitis and am 40# overweight.
I walk daily as much as my doctor allows, so I don't aggravate injuries from my falls. I daily do exercises taught by my physical therapist. I'm off the cane now but still can't go down my own stairs without pain.
My only safe aerobic exercise is in a warm pool. I should do it 3 times a week. I'd need PT help to learn proper form so I don't reinjure myself. I WANT to do the rehab exercise, but HEALTH PARTNERS won't pay for the training and access to the warm pool.
My husband and I are both disabled and qualify for the food pantry. I can't afford to pay for training and access to a warm pool myself.
Insurance companies are in the business of externalizing costs of health, so they hold us responsible to exercise when it doesn't cost them anything.
I'm willing to take responsibility to do the work; I wanted to ask HEALTH PARTNERS why they won't make the prescribed exercise possible.
I wanted to comment during the 11 a.m. show, but couldn't find how to do it through your website.
I WOULD have asked the Health Partners speaker why
I'm 60, and fall a lot, resulting in foot, ankle, and knee injuries. I also have extensive osteoarthritis and bursitis and am 40# overweight.
I walk daily as much as my doctor allows, so I don't aggravate injuries from my falls. I daily do exercises taught by my physical therapist. I'm off the cane now but still can't go down my own stairs without pain.
My only safe aerobic exercise is in a warm pool. I should do it 3 times a week. I'd need PT help to learn proper form. I WANT to do it, but
My husband and I are disabled and qualify for the food pantry. I can't afford to pay for training and access to a warm pool myself.
I wanted to comment during the 11 a.m. show, but couldn't find how to do it through your website.
I WOULD have asked the Health Partners speaker why I my
I'm 60, and fall a lot, resulting in foot, ankle, and knee injuries. I also have extensive osteoarthritis and bursitis and am 40# overweight.
I walk daily as much as my doctor allows, so I don't aggravate injuries from my falls. I daily do exercises taught by my physical therapist. I'm off the cane now but still can't go down my own stairs without pain.
My only safe aerobic exercise is in a warm pool. I should do it 3 times a week. I'd need PT help to learn proper form. I WANT to do it, but
My husband and I are disabled and qualify for the food pantry. I can't afford to pay for it myself.
In a DVD that shopPBS.org is selling called "Sick Around the World". Not to be confused with "Sick Around America", which followed it, but was misleading.
"Sick Around the World" makes clear that health care reform in other countries is the presence of wage and price controls (without ever mentioning the concept in as many words), and far from being single-payer, which was rare (and still is).
Those countries that are continuing wage and price controls are succeeding. Efforts to block private insurance in those countries are losing ground.
This is what's happening in the St. Cloud area to raise consciousness of the need for reform.
HEALTH CARE DEMONSTRATION
alongside Barnes & Noble parking place where Division St. meets Hwy 15
August 29, 2009, 12:00 noon to 2:00
Sponsored by Alternatives to War Committee and Pax Christi of St. Cloud
What does this have to do with peace? It's about JUSTICE and lasting PEACE requires justice.
Ideas for signs:
HONK for Health Insurance reform
Insurance co's ration care, not gov't
Insurance co's deny care to raise profits
Wall Street:
Deny care to raise profits
Good socialism:
Medicare, SS, VA care for vets
Why pay so much for so little?
Get PROFIT out of health care
U.S. ranks 37th in quality care
U.S. lags behind Cuba, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Costa Rica
Besides this demonstration, 20 people went to Michelle Bachmann's office to state the case for reform, a retired doctor, retired U. prof's, an immigrant with experience in 4 W. Eur countries whose systems are superior to ours, & persons representing groups & who personally are hurt by the present system.
The debate is going on everywhere. Is it moral that an executive make well over 37 million a year off the backs of sick people and many of them with little money to spare? That is what CEO William McGuire from UnitedHealth Care made before he stepped down. I started working in healthcare in the early 70's - before business people discovered healthcare is a money maker. What a huge disconnect- to make all that money off the backs of people looking for healthcare. No healthcare worker is making 37 million a year- only the people collecting the money.
Discussion happen everywhere. Wherever there is the opportunity to speak about how we need an American Plan, for as American we have a history of taking care of each other. And that means that people's health insurance pays for their health care; that people should not have to have fundraisers to pay for their health care.
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