[tri-med] Re: Public Health Care Alert in UK

Great stats and talking points - I believe many of your peeps below need
coverage, **no one has yet to argue otherwise...  In my opinion - and the
opinion of half the country (the other half - <wink>) this bill is not THE
bill to fix it all tho - it is a spending bill that does NOT have the funds
to cover the costs (tho some say it does, the bi-partisan budget office says
no, many dems in congress see it too) so just tweak it a bit more - not much
to ask, right? ...  here are a few more talking points...
Basically, we are arguing on the same side... just how to get it done may
not be the same... or how fast.

A good part of the uninsured are that way by choice - half according to
my doctor - I've not the luxury of time to get you a stat... just fyi.  I
personally know a middle aged couple, well off financially, just don't care
to buy insurance, they are "cheap" and see themselves as healthy and have
determined they would rather pay out-of-pocket for expenses.  Of the 18%
uninsured, half are that way by choice.

People lose insurance, I'm sure... where's the stat on who turned around and
got new insurance of those... when they got a new job, etc... stats don't
work for me because I can see how they can be skewed by whoever needs them
to be viewed one way or another, call me cynical.

You've done a lot of work gathering the stats, thanks for that, but like
you, it is hard to sway some folks... I'm one of them - who is like you...
we just see things differently and need to acknowledge that.  I respect you
and your point of view, even if I don't agree with it, you seem well enough
informed, but by different peop

People can now walk into the ER and see a doctor at any time - same as
someone with insurance (only they don't pay), so no one is going without,
right?

Slow down, yes... me me me!  I vote for slowing down - not completey
bypassing the opportunity to help those with true hardships, but being smart
with our newly found debt... what's the big hurry when you are planning to
spend trillions of dollars and completely overhaul the best health care in
the world?

Gary, thanks for the opportunity to hear what you have to say... it is good
reading - and I appreciate your time putting it together.

My two cents... for that may be all it is worth.

Debbie, mom to Claire (T18)


On Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 3:59 PM, Gary David <gcdavid@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Who would like to explain to those in the following numbers that we need to
> slow down on getting expanded and affordable healthcare coverage:
> (from http://www.nchc.org/facts/coverage.shtml)
> Who are Who are the uninsured?
>
>        * Nearly 46 million Americans, or 18 percent of the population under
> the age  of 65, were without health insurance in 2007, the latest government
> data  available.1
>        * The number of uninsured rose 2.2 million between 2005 and 2006 and
>  has increased by almost 8 million people since 2000.1
>        * The large majority of  the uninsured (80 percent) are native or
> naturalized citizens.2
>        * The increase  in the number of uninsured in 2006 was focused among
> working age adults. The  percentage of working adults (18 to 64) who had no
> health coverage climbed from  19.7 percent in 2005 to 20.2 percent in 2006.1
> Nearly 1.3 million full-time  workers lost their health insurance in 2006.
>        * Nearly 90 million people ? about  one-third of the population
> below the age of 65 spent a portion of either 2006  or 2007 without health
> coverage.3
>        * Over 8 in 10 uninsured people come from  working families ? almost
> 70 percent from families with one or more full-time  workers and 11 percent
> from families with part-time workers.2
>        * The percentage  of people (workers and dependents) with
> employment-based health insurance has  dropped from 70 percent in 1987 to 62
> percent in 2007. This is the lowest level  of employment-based insurance
> coverage in more than a decade.4, 5
>        * In 2005,  nearly 15 percent of employees had no employer-sponsored
> health coverage  available to them, either through their own job or through
> a family member.6
>        * In 2007, 37 million workers were uninsured because not all
> businesses offer  health benefits, not all workers qualify for coverage and
> many employees cannot  afford their share of the health insurance premium
> even when coverage is at  their fingertips.1
>        * The number of uninsured children in 2007 was 8.1 million ?  or
> 10.7 percent of all children in the U.S.1
>        * Young adults (18-to-24 years old)  remained the least likely of
> any age group to have health insurance in 2007 ?  28.1 percent of this group
> did not have health insurance.1
>        * The percentage and  the number of uninsured Hispanics increased to
> 32.1 percent and 15 million in  2007.1
>        * Nearly 40 percent of the uninsured population reside in households
> that  earn $50,000 or more.1 A growing number of middle-income families
> cannot afford  health insurance payments even when coverage is offered by
> their employers.Another study (February 2009) has indicated that due to the
> recent economic crisis, approximately 14,000 more each day lose their
> insurance. (see here
> http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2009/02/health_in_crisis.html
> )
>
> Having no insurance and needing health care of course has a major impact on
> individual bankruptcy: see http://www.pnhp.org/facts/bankruptcy_study.php
>
> It appears that those who would like to see health insurance reform not
> progress do not fall into any of the aforementioned categories, and enjoy
> health coverage (which has become a privilege versus a fundamental right).
>  I am fortunate enough to have coverage through my work, and doubly
> fortunate to be exceedingly unlikely to lose my job.  Of course, health care
> costs still impact me and my employer, but far less than others experiencing
> different circumstances.  Insurance companies do not want reform to progress
> because it will affect their bottom line.  Many politicians seem to be
> resisting reform because: 1) they want to see the president fail and to (in
> the words of one senator) "break him."; or 2) they are getting loads of
> money from industries interested in maintaining the status quo.
>
> There have been concerns that reform would negatively impact people with
> disabilities.  However, I haven't seen any evidence that the current system
> does well by people with disabilities. Of course, if you have good coverage
> you are protected better than others, but that is a long way from providing
> universal protection (which in my opinion should be a goal, and not "I got
> mine, you get yours").  The issue of the disabled is a very real concern
> that needs to be addressed.  I tried to find any policy statements from
> advocacy groups regarding this point, but have not been able to find any.
>  The closest I came was from The ARC, but it was not specially addressing
> any current proposals.  People should be calling their Senators and
> Representatives to make the point that any reform must protect those with
> disabilities.  There is language in current proposals to end the practice of
> removing coverage for pre-existing conditions.  There should be like
> language to
>  protect the disabled.  I would like to know if there are any organizations
> out there that have offered specific amendments to be included. If not, then
> an important questions would be why not.
>
> Gary
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Audry Nafziger <Audry.Nafziger@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: tri-med@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 2:17:14 PM
> Subject: [tri-med] Re: Public Health Care Alert in UK
>
>  Fawna,
>
> You make a compelling case.  I work, in large part, to afford PPO which has
> also saved my T18 daughter.  As parents it would be wise to get on the phone
> to your legislators in DC.  This rushed train must be stopped and time and
> effort must be put in before any gov't plans are voted on.  Do it for our
> kids, and for the special needs kids of the future.
>
> Audry
>                  Building ___ooOOoo__ Rainbows
>                      www.trisomyonline.org
>                  Families Helping Families On-line
>                  Building ___ooOOoo__ Rainbows
>                       www.trisomyonline.org
>                  Families Helping Families On-line
>
>


-- 
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you
feed him for a lifetime.    -Chinese Proverb

                  Building ___ooOOoo__ Rainbows
                       www.trisomyonline.org
                  Families Helping Families On-line

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