Answering your questions on health reform
Posted on August 14th, 2009 by Jason Rosenbaum in Solutions that Work
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We had hundreds of questions submitted via the web and twitter for our conference call on Tuesday. (For those who missed it, you can listen to the entire call here.) We couldn't get to them all, so I wanted to answer a few more.
From Melinda in Bay City, MI:
Where can we get factual information on health care reform?
For general information about how health reform will help you, read this piece. Also, the House committees have a ton of helpful fact sheets where you can find out what's in their bill and what it will do for you. The House bill is the best version of health reform in Congress yet, so it is a good guide to what reform should look like. The fact sheets are available here.
From Rebecca in Pulaski County, VA:
Where can I read the proposal that was passed by the house?
The full House has not passed a bill yet, but HR 3200 was passed by blending the amended bills of all three committees in the House. When the House returns from recess in September, they will be voting on HR 3200. You can read HR 3200 - America's Affordable Health Choices Act - here. The House committees also have a ton of helpful fact sheets where you can find out what's in the bill and what it will do for you. They are available here.
For those who are interested, the HELP bill in the Senate is available here [pdf].
From Brian Smith in Ellington, CT:
What would you say to the right wing morons who are disrupting town hall meetings?
This goes for all right-wing misinformation: First, check out our rebuttal of most of the right-wing smears about the bill here. Next, stay informed. Reading this blog will get you a lot of the rebuttals of health care smears. If you hear anything you don't know the answer to, leave a comment and I'll see if I can track it down. Lastly, Media Matters Action Network does a wonderful job debunking the right wing. Check out their website often for the latest.
From Brenda in Greenlawn, NY:
Assuming (hopefully) that there will be a public option in the final version of a health care bill, I wonder why it will not take effect until 2013?
Building a public health insurance option and an insurance exchange is a lot of work. There are people to hire, regulations to be written and approved, systems to design, infrastructure to set up (filing, billing, claim forms, etc…), and doctors to recruit and/or train to participate in the new system, educate the public on how the new system will work, and to handle the influx of newly insured patients. Considering the bill will likely not be signed until just about 2010, three years of lead time ensures we can get this program off the ground and working smoothly as soon as it opens.
From Michelle in Riverview, FL:
I am interested in hearing Dan Heck's input regarding everyday people like us countering the concerted right-wing effort to destroy healthcare reform. What specific ways can you recommend for us to fight the right-wing media and misinformation in our own hometowns, neighborhoods, and local media outlets?
There are a few things you can do in your community to right the right wing. First, you can attend town hall events in your area and make your voice heard. Click here to search for events near you. While at town halls, you can follow the steps we've laid out here to make sure you're heard over the shouting. And bring friends!
Second, Rep. Doggett suggested folks write comments on the blogs of their local newspapers. Lastly, you can sign up for the Health Care for America Now email list. About once a week, we'll email you things you can do to help out. Click here to sign up.
From Norman in Middlesex County, MA:
What's the most effective way to counter the disruptive tactics being taken at town hall meetings?
We've put together a document on how to counter the right at town hall meetings. You can read it and download it for your use here.
From the South Florida Tea Party Patriots, via Twitter:
Why do you want to kill grandma?
We don't. (See here for a full rebuttal of that lie.) Why do you want to shout at Members of Congress at town halls? Or lie about health reform? Or more importantly, why do you want to keep the status quo, which does nothing but make the insurance industry rich?
If you have other questions, feel free to leave them in the comments and I'll try and answer them.
I just read one of the many lies told by Richard Kirsch, your campaign manager. He said that town hall meeting should be held in churches "It's much harder for people to scream expletives and bring swastikas into a church" he is reported as saying.
The only swastikas in the town hall meetings are the tattoos on your member's arms, covered now with sleeves, but soon to be shown bravely as you persecute concerned Americans whose voices you would silence through your union coonies in the SEIU and other unions.
Your organization is a disgrace to Democracy. You wouldn't know one word in our Constitution and would kill those who tried to defend it. To offer health insurance to ILLEGAL immigrants is just one way you show your SOCIALIST goals. They are ILLEGAL - they don't belong here.
And neither do you or your members. Why don't you all take your kool-aid and move to Iran where your policies are more in line with the prevailing govenment.
I am a life-long Democrat. I campaigned for Mo Udall in Arizona and George McGovern. Being forced into socialism is not going to happen in this country.
May God stop you in all your plans.
Carol Rooney,
wow. What can I say? Your resentment towards illegal immigrants far outweighs any interest to lower the cost of health care in this country.
Frankly, there was already a man with a gun standing on hallowed ground across the town hall meeting in New Hampshire. And how that contributes anything to the debate, along with your incendiary mental images of Nazi symbols and anti-union rhetoric, I simply cannot process.
Without unions, a corporation can make their workers work for slaves wages and no benefits. Workers would have no voice.
In Iran, the people are struggling for womens rights, education and fair distribution of the profit from their nations natural resource; oil.
So in a sense, yes, we all belong to community attempting to find common ground with those in power and the powerless.
Carol, your insipid imagination lacks the reason for any constructive dialogue.
And how indicative of your nature that you would ask a judgemental God to "stop" us from providing health care for all.
Your compassion is impoverished by you ideological paranoia.
P.S. Ah, yes. And I should probably add that the language in HR 3200 exempts illegal immigrants. But you would know that, because you read it, right?
Yes or No question: Do you really believe we are paid to attend the town halls or do you just say this to discredit us?
Yes or no? Ah, you misunderstood. You're not being paid, but Freedom Works and American Prosperity are DEFINITELY getting.
You are on the other ARE being fed the talking points that may very well prove effective for your cause.
And I'm not certain the right wing needs anyone to discredit them when their fear mongering does not match the language of the bills.
Thanks for playing, Sara. We loved having you on. We'll be right back after this important message.
I don't even know what Freedom Works or American Prosperity are. I only found this website because I saw an interview on the News with John Freeman and he had "Healthcare for America Now" under his name and I wanted to found out more info. and found your angry condesending remarks. Just imagine for a second how you would feel if the government- the government you want to run our healthcare- called you and "Americans for Healthcare Now" fake. Plus, I bet you are wrong about healthcare bills bankrupting people. I had a very large hospital bill and the hospital worked with me, gave me a discount, and were willing to work out a payment plan. I bet those who went bankrupt had already made a series of other financial mistakes buying things they could not afford. I have found people who work in the healthcare industry to be people who want to care for people. But, they have been made to be the vilians right along with insurance companies. Don't ignore the of role of the patient- the one who actually is receiving the benefit from being helped by the healthcare industry. Don't ignore individual responsibilty.
I WANT TO KNOW IF THIS IN THE HEALTHCARE REFORM BILL! 1-THE HEALTH CARE COMMISSONER WILL DECIDE HEALTH CARE BENEFITS. WE WILL NOT HAVE A CHOICE. 2-ALL NON US CITIZENS, ILLEGAL OR NOT, WILL WILL BE PROVIDED "FREE HEALTHCARE SERVICES. 3-THE GOVERNMENT WILL HAVE DIRECT, REAL-TIME ACCESS TO ALL INDIVIDUAL BANK ACCOUNTS. 4-ANY NON-RESIDENT ALIEN IS EXEMPT FROM INDIVIDUAL TAXES (AMERICANS WILL PAY FOR THEM). 5 OFFICERS & EMPLOYEES OF GOVERNMENT HEALTHCARE BUREAUCRACY WILL HAVE ACCESS TO ALL AMERICAN FINANCIAL & PERSONAL RECORDS. 6-CANCER PATIENTS: BE RATION IN THEIR TREATMENTS."?" SO MANY MORE CONCERNS. GETTING THIS FROM http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2009/o7/whats-in-healthcare-bill.html. ONE MORE THING WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT WHEN TALKING ABOUT TAXING HEALTHCARE BENEFITS?
AS THINGS STAND NOW I AM TOTALLY AGAINST THIS BILL OF HEALTHCARE REFORM BILL. TO MANY OF MY RIGHTS ARE BEING TAKEN AWAY!
FROM SHARON PETERSON
None of these things are true. See here for a complete, line-by-line analysis of what's in the bill and a dubunking of these rumors:
http://healthcareforamericanow.org/site/content/fight_the_smears
Do we know what the premium will be for the public option or will those receiving the option even pay a monthly premium like we do to pay for private insurance? Is that too specific of a question at this point - I mean is that price something that will be worked out after/if a public option is passed in a bill?
There will be a premium like other insurance plans, but yeah, it's too early to say what exactly that premium will be. It will depend largely on your income.
*RIGHT WING MORONS????"
Your bigotted intolerance is showing……
I would just like to say if all the people in the White House had to have the same benefits that the GENERAL PUBLIC has like retirement, wages and social security, there would not be a problem because they would fix it where we all would have something good. The wages that they make are not the average of the general public. If they would just look at those figures and come up with something fair for all of us we would not be in this shape to start with. No one gets those kind of wages for the rest of their life or our surviving spouses for the rest of their lives. If we all were in the same boat White House included we would not be having this agenda. The government is trying to pass to many laws and taking away to much of our freedom too.
Your organization is advising the American public to trust our government to make quality medical coverage available for everyone.
The truth is that our government will mandate a highly inefficient, costly, poor quality health care geared primarily to ensure medical treatment for a small, select group at the expense of the American majority.
You are asking Americans to trust the government to make decisions concerning medical treatment. Currently the decision making resides within the individual, his/her physician, and the insurer.
If a person has a problem with their doctor, there are remedies including litigation. If a person has a problem with their insurer, there are remedies including litigation.
If our government denies your treatment because it does not meet it's criteria based on COST SAVINGS to the GOVERNMENT and our government's SOCIETAL VALUES, you have little or no remediation. Your physician has zero input.
The odds that any citizen will be able to obtain factual information from the government regarding these criteria is zero.
Can anyone name any federal agency known for accuracy, accountability, and/or expediency??
Just look at our ridiculous tax code. Any health care plan written into law by our government will make the tax code look like a children's reader.
There will be no remediation available just as there is none with the I.R.S.
You want us to trust the government rather than ourselves, our physicians, and our insurers, really?
No way, I'll take a legal agreement over our government's promises ANY DAY.
"You are asking Americans to trust the government to make decisions concerning medical treatment. Currently the decision making resides within the individual, his/her physician, and the insurer."
Well, you lost your argument right here. The decision resides with the insurer and your wallet.
Evidently the defenders of the "free market" are the ones who believe they've been doing such a dandy job. Medical Bills are the number one cause of bankruptcy and homelessness in the United States.
That more than 18000 people die a year for lack of health insurance should make you ashamed to be an American.
That we are the only wealthy industrial nation that doesn't provide coverage for all it's citizens should cause you much disgrace.
And, and do you mean the Post Office that takes the letter I send for 44 cents from California and arrives in Florida two days later? Do I want that kind of Federal agency? That doesn't sound so bad.
Just looked up the article you sited as saying that Medical Bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy. It stated that medical bills averaged $13,460 (the price of a car that could be paid off in 2-3 years if you made $300-400 monthly payments) I then googled the name of the lead author, Dr. David Himmelstein. Interesting.
There is another article written by Ning Zhu (UCDAVIS Personal bankruptcy) who is a professor/ researcher at the University of California Davis. He sites the number one cause of bankruptcy as excessive consumer consumption… bigger mortgages, bigger car loans, excessive credit card debt. If you have no savings/ back-up plan, you could be at risk if you were to get ill and acquire a large medical bill.
I believe the cynical and callous response to why people don't have health insurance is because they don't want it and are not responsible.
Yes, that would make the whole problem much easier to understand, if people were just plain old lazy. It's the people's own fault for developing pre-existing conditions. It's the people's own fault the insurance companies have made a more than 400 % profit between 2001 and and 2009. How dare the American people wish to lower the stocks of United Health Group.
How dare the American people demand a government option similar to the one our congressmen enjoy at the expense of our tax dollars. Have we no decency?
And Google number one cause of bankruptcy, and you might get this.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/bankruptcy_study.html
The private insurance industry is a lousy and abusive spouse, and a good majority of Americans want a divorce.
Does it all come down to the public option? Why not just have better oversight of the insurance industry? The fear with the public option is that it will lead to single payor which many Americans do not want. If it was just going to be the public option that would be one thing, but President Obama is on tape saying that he would eventually like single payor - so is Barney Frank and others. We don't want a government take-over of everything…banks, automobile industry, schools, healthcare…
If I had faith that the insurance industry would abide by regulation maybe this would be an option.
But, for example, the process of rescission - canceling people's coverage because they get sick - is illegal now. And yet the insurance industry admits this is common practice. Regulations will be evaded. That's why we need competition.
Then why doesn't the government - the government that you want to run health care - enforce its own laws?
Mostly because the funding of regulation enforcement was drastically cut under Bush's DoJ.
That's why the public option would be set up as an independent arm of the government.
Yes, the strawman fallacy failed Ronald Reagan who predicted the same thing when lobbying against Medicare.
The insurance companies WILL NOT regulate themselves, and they will not lower costs by "opening up the free market."
The formula that has served them well for half a century is finding any way to deny care in the name of profit.
In some countries it is illegal to make a profit by providing care, because other civilized nations put the need of its citizens above that of business.
And a single payer is not that horrifying. It would be cheaper and more effective. Most of us make no secret that a public option could lead to a single payer system.
Just like the LGBT community settled for Civil Unions at one point and are now fighting for the right to marry, so shall we fight until no one in this country is denied basic medical care.
People in this country are not denied basic medical care. If you go to the ER, you are treated. There is a "Good Samaritan" Clinic in my community that sees patients for non-emergencies for free. One of our home health agencies sees patients with a "nonpayor" source, but in order to do that, they must see people who do pay. Medicaid provides services for those who can not pay- all they have to do is sign up for it. Besides that, every medical bill I have ever gotten came after services were rendered. President Obama gave an example of a person who lost coverage in the middle of chemotherapy, but I know no doctor who would stop chemo (unless a patient asked to stop) if it were a matter of life and death. Dr. Himmelstein from that paper you sited said that paperwork is very expensive. I know of that government idea "HIPPA." Think of all the paperwork and storage involved in that program. Everytime I go anywhere, I have to sign a piece of paper everytime I have any medical work done and it's my understanding that it's simply saying no one can release my medical info unless they have my permission- seems like government waste to me. Our government allows our doctors to be sued for huge sums of money- which leads to high malpractice insurance which increases prices for the public and leads to doctors giving many tests to cover their bases which leads to higher costs. Medicare and Medicaid pay less than what people who have private insurance or pay out of pocket. The people who pay are picking up the slack for those government programs. It's my understanding that those who are uninsured either choose not to insure themselves, do not get a plan to cover themselves while they are between jobs, or do not fill out the paperwork for medicaid. In addition, I understand that illegal immagrants contribute to part of the strain on the system and part of the "uninsured" numbers. Let's fix what we have and not allow government intrusion into every aspect of our lives.
Hi
I'm french so excuse my english.
Do you know the words solidarity and Fraternity ?? (Fraternity is the third word of our constitution). Or, "dollar" and "God" are the only values you know ?? Your "dollar" and your "God" will destroy the planet if you continue…
Thank to all peaple in your country (wich is a country I love)who voted Obama. Please now trust him. He knows what he's doing : he try to make you more civilised…
In France, health care system is a very good system. Please stop beliving that justice and solidarity is only in the heaven. Justice can be on earth.
Thank you Yves,
and let me say that many of us in the USA admire the French system for the very reason that it puts compassion over competition.
And Sara, you need to work on your sentence structure. And ER is NOT basic medical care. Basic medical care includes preventive care, meaning regular check ups. In the United States we wait for people to get sick before we do anything to them, and then that ER bill can be astronomical to those below the poverty level.
God/Money, as Trent Reznor coined it, is what corporate America worships more.
There is an unjustifiable distribution of wealth from the government to the private insurance industry. If that very industry welcomes the healthy and the condemns the sick and the poor, then yes, we have no choice but to choose to create our own system.
For those of us who have been denied for having preexisting conditions, for those of us who work three jobs, go to school and have our jobs outsourced by the same corporations who turn their backs on us….
… the the survival of corporate sickcare is not a loss.
You did not criticize Yves' sentence structure. At least I know you are taking time to read my comments. The reason our jobs are outsourced is because our government - the government you want to run our healthcare- has made it too expensive to operate here. If the government takes over healthcare, they may decide it is too expensive to care for someone with skin cancer and make laws to say how long we can be in the sun. They may decide patients with diabetes are too expensive and outlaw sugary snacks. They may decide the obese are too expensive to care for and pass laws to watch their calorie intake and make them exercise. They may decide lung cancer is too expensive to care for and make cigarettes illegal. At least those "evil" insurance companies can't pass laws. And Paul, I'm sorry life has been so bad to you.
Okaaaay. Yves is is forgiven for his/her English because he asked for it. You, on the other hand, followed "basic medical care" with ER visits and are praising the private insurance industry.
Tell me how Medicare, not Medicare advantage, has made it soooo expensive that EVERY congressman voted against repealing it when challenged by the Democrat's recently.
And please remember that it is not only people who have been disenfranchised by the private industry who are fighting for reform. People who have insurance and see fellow American citizens gouged by profit-driven, not patient driven,corporations are fighting for aas well.
Dick Armey, the leader of Freedom Works, came out on Meet the Press on Sunday and confessed to Rachel Maddow that he opposed both social security AND Medicare.
We welcome people who oppose social security and Medicare. It helps our argument and draws a line in the sand.
And I won't dignify a strawman argument with a response when Ronald Reagan used the same scare tactics against Medicare in the sixties… and lost.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawman_argument