Health For Louisiana

LA House Votes to Nullify Federally Mandated Health Insurance

2010-05-15T07:32:00.000-05:00

LA House Votes to Nullify Federally Mandated Health Insurance

Louisiana lawmakers want to exempt LA citizens from the federal mandate requiring all citizens to purchase health insurance.

The House of Representatives voted 59-15 today to declare that Louisiana residents should not be subject to the looming mandate to buy health insurance, an anchor provision of President Barack Obama's recently enacted health care overhaul.

Both the debate and the vote fell along party lines, with a handful of Democrats joining Republicans to forge a majority. Several other Democrats chose not to vote, a tacit admission of the political difficulty, particularly for white Democrats, of associating with a president who is overwhelmingly unpopular among white Louisiana voters.
House Bill 1474 states that every Louisiana resident "is and shall be free from governmental intrusion in choosing or declining to choose any mode of securing health insurance coverage without penalty or threat of penalty."

Interestingly, the one argument that Republican legislators don't seem to be making in support of their bill (HB 1474) is that their constituents cannot afford such a mandate, which does lead one to wonder why that objection was raised so loudly before the health reform initiative passed?

What Insurance Reform Means for Louisiana

2010-04-08T14:34:00.001-05:00

What Insurance Reform Means For Louisiana

Organizing for America (OAF) wants you to know what health insurance reform really means for us, right here in Louisiana. Together with President Obama's administration, they created this video to put some real numbers in front of the promise that reform is right for Louisiana.

After decades of struggle and a year of debate, health reform is now law in America.

What does it mean for you? It means an end to the worst insurance company abuses, new rules that treat everyone fairly, and more choices and affordable health insurance for millions of Americans.

According to the video, the new health insurance reform law will:

Provide 95,881 Louisianans (including me) with pre-existing conditions access to affordable health insurance options that were not previously available to them.
Provide tax credits to 588,000 Louisianans.
Provide tax cuts for 51,000 small businesses in Louisiana.
Save nearly 7000 Louisiana families from bankruptcy due to medical debt in just one year.
Will provide insurance to 894,000 Louisianans who previously had none.

Keep this information handy, because it will be pretty hard for insurance and pharmaceutical special interests to argue against these kinds of reforms for our (and every) state in the future.

Yes he did.

2010-03-21T22:43:00.001-05:00

Congress Passes Health Care Bill

As of roughly 10:00 p.m. this evening, Congress passed a bill which, upon becoming law when President Obama signs it, will enact sweeping health care insurance reform. Perhaps not exactly the way many were hoping (there is no public option) this act will nevertheless provide options for millions of Americans who currently have no options at all. People who live the way my family lived for nearly 5 years after I lost my own job as a social worker due what became a chronic, debilitating medical condition - with no health insurance, mounting medical bills, and an ever growing debt that promises to crush our family for much, if not all, of the rest of our lives. I am blessed to have people in my life who have helped me survive and begin to build a new kind of life. Yet with the years of social work experience behind me, I know that I am only one of many, and luckier than some. What in my opinion has been the worst disservice the contemporary American government has done to its citizens - denied them the right to affordable and lifesaving medical care - has been corrected this evening. As of when this bill takes effect, I can finally rest easy that even if I lose my current insurance, I will still be able to find some kind of health insurance, the kind that won't drop me the moment I need it the most.

And the great thing is, even if you don't agree me, so will you.

Congressman Joseph Cao To Host 5th AAA Health Fair March 20

2010-03-03T13:47:00.000-06:00

Congressman "Joseph" Cao Hosts 5th AAA Health Fair for Louisianans on March 20, 2010

Let's hear it for Congressman Cao, who continues to put his money where his mouth is on the issue of health care for Louisianans. Below is a copy of the press release issued today by his office:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 3, 2010
CONTACT:
D. Clayton Hall (202) 225-6636

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

Cao to Host 5th AAA Health Fair

New Orleans, LA – On Saturday, March 20, 2010, Congressman Anh “Joseph” Cao (LA-02) will host his 5th “Affordable, Accessible, and Accountable” (AAA) Health Fair at Craig Elementary School from 10:00am to 2:00pmCST.

Cao said: “While those in Washington continue to argue over the politics of a health care reform bill, I want to help the constituents of Orleans and Jefferson Parishes with immediate health care assistance.”

Cao added: “Our health care system should be affordable, accessible, and accountable. I host AAA health fairs for people to actively engage in preventive care. I invite everyone in the 2nd Congressional District to take advantage of these free services and vital information.”

Who: Congressman Anh “Joseph” Cao and certified health officials

What: AAA Health Fair (Affordable. Accessible. Accountable.)

Where: Craig Elementary School – 1423 St. Phillip St., New Orleans, LA

When: Saturday, March 20, 2010

Time: 10:00am - 2:00pmCST

The Louisiana Department of Insurance will be available to answer questions about insurance coverage, products, and rates. The U.S. Census Bureau will be on site to answer questions about the 2010 Census.

Provided services will include screenings, education, and/or referrals for the following items:

• Assistance with Prescription Medicines
• Children’s Health Insurance Enrollment (LaCHIP)
• HIV/AIDS
• Eye Exams
• Oral Health
• Mental Health
• Diabetes
• Blood Pressure
• Home Care
• Pregnancy Testing
• Stress Management
• Acupuncture

For more information about the AAA Health Fair, click here.

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If this issue matters to you, please take a moment to contact Congressman Cao or his staff to say "thank you" for his dedication to the issue of affordable health care for all Louisianans.

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Senators Need A Push To Pass Health Care Reform Bill

2010-01-26T12:51:00.002-06:00

Senators Need A Push To Pass Health Care Reform Bill

Today from MoveOn:

Breaking news: congressional leaders are presenting a new plan to finish comprehensive health care reform—but it's already meeting resistance from some rank-and-file Democrats.¹
News reports say "it's unclear that they will have the votes to move forward."²
So we're launching a massive nationwide call-in effort today to send an overwhelming message to Capitol Hill: giving up on health care reform is not an option. Voters want their elected representatives to stand up and deliver, and the first step is passing real, comprehensive health care reform this year.
We've set a goal of making 45 calls to Senator Mary Landrieu from MoveOn members in New Orleans today—can you join in?
Here's where to call:
Senator Mary Landrieu
Phone: 202-224-5824

Then, please report your call by clicking here:
http://pol.moveon.org/call?tg=FSLA_1&cp_id=1237&id=18719-17452410-veyD4cx&t=1
Thanks for all you do.

Update: We called Senator Landrieu's office today and - Hallelujah! - we got through! The Senator's aide stated that "as of right now, Senator Landrieu is all in" to support the bill. But don't let that keep you from calling...remember, the Senator withheld her support until virtually the last minute, so she needs to know that you want her to stick with it!

National Folic Acid Week

2010-01-05T18:44:00.000-06:00

National Folic Acid Week

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals has posted the following information on National Folic Acid Week, January 4 - 10. It's no "Talk Like A Pirat e Day," but I suppose it's still a worthwhile effort. So if you or someone you know has a bun in the proverbial oven, take a look:

NATIONAL FOLIC ACID AWARENESS WEEK IS JANUARY 4-10, 2010

LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HOSPITALS STATES,
IT TAKES A HEALTHY WOMAN TO PRODUCE A HEALTHY BABY
Folic Acid Taken Daily -One Year Before Pregnancy Greatly Improves Birth Outcome

Baton Rouge, LA – In efforts to increase the awareness of Folic Acid, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals stresses the importance for women to be healthy prior to pregnancy and how Folic Acid can help. The risk of birth defects can be reduced by nearly 70% if a woman consumes at least 400 micrograms of Folic Acid a day. Women who consume the recommended amount of Folic Acid supplement daily, one year before pregnancy occurs are shown to have fewer complications, in terms of preterm birth, low birth weight and birth defects, Folic Acid may also reduce their risk of miscarriage. Neural Tube Defects are birth defects effecting the spine and brain and typically occur in the first 28 days of pregnancy – before most women even know they are pregnant. In addition to these compelling reductions in risk, Folic Acid benefits the mother by strengthening skin, hair and nails, as it allows cells to rapidly reproduce, helping our bodies repair themselves faster.

According to Louisiana data, nearly 70% of women reported that they heard or read that taking folic acid can help prevent some birth defects and yet only 30% of these women admitted to taking folic acid daily in the month before their pregnancy. To help address this gap, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals offers folic acid vitamins to all of its family planning clients in parish health units statewide.

“Our goal is to make people to understand that it takes more than 9 months to have a healthy baby. Women in their childbearing years should begin taking Folic Acid at least one year prior to pregnancy,” says Dr. Joan Wightkin ,Maternal and Child Health Administrator for the Office of Public Health. Dr. Wightkin continues “Being healthy and prepared in the years preceding a pregnancy greatly increases the chances of having a healthy baby.”

Where can Folic Acid be found? Vitamin supplements are a great way to get the recommended daily amounts of Folic Acid, however, another source is a vast array of delicious foods. It is found in fruits such as oranges and bananas, veggies such as broccoli, spinach, kale and asparagus, dried beans and nuts and many grain products, including fortified cereals.

Partners for Healthy Babies is funded by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Office of Public Health, Maternal and Child Health and WIC Programs. The program began because about 10 percent of all babies in Louisiana were born small and weak. These are called low birth weight babies (less than 5.5 pounds) and many of them die before their first birthday. Our goal is to link pregnant women to the services they need to help them be healthy, and have healthy babies. 1-800-251-BABY - www.1800251baby.org

Click on www.1800251BABY.org for the official website and more information.

A Healthy New Year For Louisiana

2009-12-23T14:11:00.001-06:00

A Healthy New Year For Louisiana

While we wait and watch to see what Congress will actually decide to put forward in a health insurance reform bill, here are some links to help you keep your families healthy in the coming New Year:

Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals:

Anyone wanting to "apply for LaCHIP, LaCHIP affordable, and other Medicaid programs" can go to the Franklinton Health Unit - 120 Eleventh St., Franklinton on December 29, 2009 from 8:00 am to 2:30 pm. If you can't attend the program that day, remember you can always apply for Medicaid online.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals will be sponsoring free Health Fairs on the North Shore on January 16 and January 23, 2001. Vaccinations for the H1N1/swine flu virus will be available. Click on the dates for more information.

Louisiana Rebuilds - Hospitals and Clinics

Click HERE or see below for a list of health clinics currently operating in the New Orleans area.

Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans
http://www.dcsno.org
The DCSNO offers inexpensive healthcare to residents of the greater New Orleans area. Medicaid, Medicare and commercial insurance are welcomed. A financial assistance program is available based on income and eligibility. Health centers are located in Carrollton, Metairie, and St. Cecilia on Rampart. Services offered include primary care, chronic illness care, behavioral and mental health services, and pharmacy services. Visit the website for more information including phone numbers for appointments. less

Map of Open Clinics
http://www.gnocommunity.org
This online service is dedicated to helping individuals find a quality healthcare center that fits their needs This site lists over 80 healthcare center sites, 40 of which offer primary care services. These centers are funded in part by the Primary Care Access and Stabilization Grant, a program designed to meet the increasing demand for quality healthcare services in Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parish. Other services include mental health and substance abuse services, dental care and more. Individuals can search for healthcare services on the website or call (504) 872-0750. less

Tulane Community Health Clinic Mobile Units
http://www.gnomobileunits.org/tchmobile.html
Updated
Tulane Community Health On the Road offers comprehensive primary care and behavioral health services to children and adults in a mobile setting to meet each neighborhood’s unique needs. Services are provided irrespective of insurance status or ability to pay. Services include comprehensive primary care, women’s health, blood pressure and diabetes management, health education, health screenings, Medicaid enrollment and case management. In additional to its regular schedule, the mobile unit also provides services during health fairs and community events.

The units are stationed regularly in Gentilly, Algiers, Westwego, Central City, and Mid City. Click the link for locations and schedules. Call (504) 994.0054 for more information. less

Tulane Community Health Center at Covenant House
http://www.tucovenanthealthcenter.org/
Updated
The Tulane Community Health Center at Covenant House offers healthcare services, mental health counseling, reproductive health services, and geriatrics care. Medical services are available Mon & Thurs from 8am to 7pm and Tues, Wed & Fri from 8am to 5pm. Call 504-988-3000 for more information or to make an appointment. less

Excelth, Inc. Primary Care Mobile Medical Unit
http://www.gnomobileunits.org/excelth.html
The Excelth Mobile Medical Unit provides pediatric and adult primary care, women's health, podiatry, behavioral health, case management, care management, medication assistance, Free HIV counseling and testing, focusing on the uninsured and underinsured. Once initial services are provided, patients are linked to a Medical Home with an assigned, consistent, provider within the network which includes Daughters of Charity and New Orleans Health Department clinics (fixed sites).

The unit is stationed regularly in Gentilly, New Orleans East, and the Lower 9th Ward. Click the link for locations and schedules. Call (504) 444.7071 for more information. less

Free Prenatal Care - Mom & Baby Mobile Health Center
http://www.gnomobileunits.org/docmobile.html
The Mom & Baby Mobile Health Center offers prenatal services to women throughout the community. There are two units in the Greater New Orleans area to serve the needs of the uninsured and underinsured. Prenatal care is available for everyone regardless of your ability to pay. Services include regular prenatal visits with a nurse midwife, lab-work, and health education including topics such as vitamins, and folic acid, other important health information. The mobile unit is stationed regularly in Kenner, Mid-City, Arabi, Chalmette, Central City, and the Lower 9th Ward. Click the link for locations and schedules. Call (504) 231.8193 for more information. less

LSU Neighborhood Health Clinics (.pdf)
http://www.lsuhospitals.org/Documents/community-clinics.final.v6.pdf
These LSU community health clinics located throughout New Orleans offer comprehensive primary health care and access to specialty care with an emphasis on prevention. Download the .pdf for clinic locations, contact information, and type of care offered.

The Lower 9th Ward Health Clinic
http://www.l9whc.org/
This clinic at 5228 St. Claude Ave. offers healthcare services in the Lower Ninth Ward. Walk-in hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 8am-4:30pm; Tuesday, 10am-6pm. Appointments only on Fridays. Starting June 1, 2008, the clinic will use a sliding fee scale for payment of services; however, no one will be turned away. Call 504-309-0918 for more information. less

St. Anna’s Medical Mission
http://www.gnomobileunits.org/stannamed_sched.html
St. Anna’s Mobile Medical Unit travels to various areas in and around New Orleans to provide healthcare to vulnerable populations, with a focus on uninsured, homeless, and immigrant adults. The unit serves the Treme Neighborhood, the St. Roch area, the Lower 9th Ward, 7th Ward, Downtown, Metairie, and Arabi.

Click the link for locations and schedules. Call (504) 232.4403 for more information. less

Louisiana Spirit’s directory of free and low-cost resources and services listed by parish
http://www.dhh.louisiana.gov/offices/publications.asp?ID=231&Detail=2468
Find information for recovery and urgent needs resources such as free food and clothing, healthcare, senior services, and shelters is available on the Louisiana Spirit website. Visit the website to choose a parish and access a list of resources in that area.

Louisiana Spirit also has a toll free number with crisis counselors that can make over-the-phone referrals for services and counseling help. Call 1-800-273-8255.

In This Together, Inc.
http://www.inthistogetherinc.org/index.html
ITT was formed in late 2004 to address health disparities with an emphasis on the Treme' area. ITT's initial focus has been in the area of HIV/AIDS. The clinic provides HIV Case Management, and housing locater assistance for people living with HIV/AIDS. It is an active LA Medicaid application site.
1661 Canal Street, Suite 3107
504-962-3245 less

Take Charge: Free Family Planning Services
http://www.dhh.louisiana.gov/offices/?ID=291
Free family planning services are available to uninsured women ages 19-44 who do not have Medicaid and want to avoid unintended pregnancy. The program is available through Lousiana Family Planning Waiver Services. For more information, call 877-252-2447 or visit the website. less

New Orleans Musician's Clinic
http://www.neworleansmusiciansclinic.org/index.php
The New Orleans Musicians Clinic offers free healthcare services and prescriptions to local musicians. The clinic is located at 2820 Napoleon Avenue, Suite 890 in New Orleans. Call (504) 412-1366 for information or an appointment. less

Louisiana Public Dental Clinics
http://www.lsusd.lsuhsc.edu/LSUSDClinics.html
A listing of public dental clinics compiled by the LSU School of Dentistry. Also see their student clinics less

"Smile Again New Orleans" Mobile Dental Van
http://www.gnomobileunits.org/lsumobile.html
“Smile Again, New Orleans” is a HRSA Special Project of National Significance (SPNS) initiative to provide oral health care services to the HIV positive population of Greater New Orleans on a mobile dental van . It is a collaborative effort with the LSU School of Dentistry, MCLNO, and the HIV Outpatient Program/HOP. Partners include the NO/AIDS Task Force and N`R Peace. The “Smile Again, New Orleans” clinical team consists of a dentist and a dental assistant that provides oral healthcare services in two chairs on the mobile van.

Diagnostic services, preventative services, and simple restorative procedures are provided, and referrals are available for complicated restorative. The mobile dental van will travel to sites identified as having a significant population of those that are HIV positive and in need of oral health care services.

The van is regularly stationed in Downtown/Mid-City and New Orleans East. Click the link for locations and schedules. Call (504) 292.2519 for more information.

If you need help finding the right resource to meet your needs, you can dial "211" from any land line phone. 211 is a 24 hour non-emergency information and referral service, providing comprehensive community resource information and referrals. Counselors can provide referrals for food banks, utility assistance programs, medical care, job training, elder care, disability assistance, after-school programs, tutoring, and more. If you don't have a land line, you can call the numbers below.

New Orleans
800-749-2673

Baton Rouge
877-923-2114

Lake Charles
866-310-4636

Lafayette
866-778-2618

Shreveport
866-823-9615

Monroe
800-644-9886

Here's wishing all Louisianans a happy, healthy new year!

Comparison of House and Senate Versions of Health Reform Bill

2009-12-22T17:16:00.000-06:00

BusinessWeek.com published this comparison of the House and Senate versions of the health insurance reform bill:

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The Senate Democratic bill (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act):

WHO'S COVERED: About 94 percent of legal residents under age 65 -- compared with 83 percent now. Government subsidies to help buy coverage start in 2014. Of the remaining 24 million people under age 65 left uninsured, about one-third would be illegal immigrants.

COST: Coverage provisions cost $871 billion over 10 years.

HOW IT'S PAID FOR: Fees on insurance companies, drugmakers, medical device manufacturers. Medicare payroll tax increased to 2.35 percent on income over $200,000 a year for individuals, $250,000 for couples. A 10 percent sales tax on tanning salons, to be paid by the person soaking up the rays. Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. Forty percent excise tax on insurance companies, keyed to premiums paid on health care plans costing more than $8,500 annually for individuals and $23,000 for families. Fees for employers whose workers receive government subsidies to help them pay premiums. Fines on people who fail to purchase coverage.

REQUIREMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS: Almost everyone must get coverage through an employer, on their own or through a government plan. Exemptions for economic hardship. Those who are obligated to buy coverage and refuse to do so would pay a fine starting at $95 in 2014 and rising to $750.

REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS: Not required to offer coverage, but companies with more than 50 employees would pay a fee of $750 per employee if the government ends up subsidizing employees' coverage.

SUBSIDIES: Tax credits for individuals and families likely making up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level, which computes to $88,200 for a family of four. Tax credits for small employers.

BENEFITS PACKAGE: All plans sold to individuals and small businesses would have to cover basic benefits. The government would set four levels of coverage. The least generous would pay an estimated 60 percent of health care costs per year; the most generous would cover an estimated 90 percent.

INSURANCE INDUSTRY RESTRICTIONS: Starting in 2014: no denial of coverage based on pre-existing conditions. No higher premiums allowed for pre-existing conditions or gender. Limits on higher premiums based on age and family size. Starting upon enactment of legislation: children up to age 26 can stay on parents insurance; no lifetime limits on coverage.

GOVERNMENT-RUN PLAN: In place of a government-run insurance option, the estimated 26 million Americans purchasing coverage through new insurance exchanges would have the option of signing up for national plans overseen by the same office that manages health coverage for federal employees and members of Congress. Those plans would be privately owned, but one of them would have to be operated on a nonprofit basis, as many Blue Cross Blue Shield plans are now.

HOW YOU CHOOSE YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE: Self-employed people, uninsured individuals and small businesses could pick a plan offered through new state-based purchasing pools. Would generally encourage employees to keep work-provided coverage.

DRUGS: Grants 12 years of market protection to high-tech drugs used to combat cancer, Parkinson's and other deadly diseases. Drug companies contribute $80 billion over 10 years with the majority of the money used to limit the prescription coverage gap in Medicare.

CHANGES TO MEDICAID: Income eligibility levels likely to be standardized to 133 percent of poverty -- $29,327 a year for a family of four -- for parents, children and pregnant women. Federal government would pick up the full cost of the expansion during the first three years. States could negotiate with insurers to arrange coverage for people with incomes slightly higher than the cutoff for Medicaid.

LONG-TERM CARE: New voluntary long-term care insurance program would provide a basic benefit designed to help seniors and disabled people avoid going into nursing homes.

ANTITRUST: Maintains the health insurance industry's decades-old antitrust exemption.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: Would be barred from receiving government subsidies or using their own money to buy coverage offered by private companies in the exchanges.

ABORTION: The bill tries to maintain a strict separation between taxpayer funds and private premiums that would pay for abortion coverage. No health plan would be required to offer coverage for the procedure. In plans that do cover abortion, beneficiaries would have to pay for it separately, and those funds would have to be kept in a separate account from taxpayer money. Moreover, individual states would be able to prohibit abortion coverage in plans offered through the exchange, after passing specific legislation to that effect. Exceptions would be made for cases of rape, incest and danger to the life of the mother.

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The House bill (Affordable Health Care for America Act):

WHO'S COVERED: About 96 percent of legal residents under age 65 -- compared with 83 percent now. Government subsidies to help buy coverage start in 2013. About one-third of the remaining 18 million people under age 65 left uninsured would be illegal immigrants.

COST: The Congressional Budget Office says the bill's cost of expanding insurance coverage over 10 years is $1.055 trillion. The net cost is $894 billion, factoring in penalties on individuals and employers who don't comply with new requirements. That's under President Barack Obama's $900 billion goal. However, those figures leave out a variety of new costs in the bill, including increased prescription drug coverage for seniors under Medicare, so the measure may be around $1.2 trillion.

HOW IT'S PAID FOR: $460 billion over the next decade from new income taxes on single people making more than $500,000 a year and couples making more than $1 million. The original House bill taxed individuals making $280,000 a year and couples making more than $350,000, but the threshold was increased in response to lawmakers' concerns that the taxes would hit too many people and small businesses.
There are also more than $400 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid; a new $20 billion fee on medical device makers; $13 billion from limiting contributions to flexible spending accounts; sizable penalties paid by individuals and employers who don't obtain coverage; and a mix of other corporate taxes and fees.

REQUIREMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS: Individuals must have insurance, enforced through a tax penalty of 2.5 percent of income. People can apply for hardship waivers if coverage is unaffordable.

REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS: Employers must provide insurance to their employees or pay a penalty of 8 percent of payroll. Companies with payrolls under $500,000 annually are exempt -- a change from the original $250,000 level to accommodate concerns of moderate Democrats -- and the penalty is phased in for companies with payrolls between $500,000 and $750,000.
Small businesses -- those with 10 or fewer workers -- get tax credits to help them provide coverage.

SUBSIDIES: Individuals and families with annual income up to 400 percent of poverty level, or $88,000 for a family of four, would get sliding-scale subsidies to help them buy coverage. The subsidies would begin in 2013.

HOW YOU CHOOSE YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE: Beginning in 2013, through a new Health Insurance Exchange open to individuals and, initially, small employers. It could be expanded to large employers over time. States could opt to operate their own exchanges in place of the national exchange if they follow federal rules.

BENEFITS PACKAGE: A committee would recommend a so-called essential benefits package including preventive services. Out-of-pocket costs would be capped. The new benefit package would be the basic benefit package offered in the exchange.

INSURANCE INDUSTRY RESTRICTIONS: Starting in 2013, no denial of coverage based on pre-existing conditions. No higher premiums allowed for pre-existing conditions or gender. Limits on higher premiums based on age.

GOVERNMENT-RUN PLAN: A new public plan available through the insurance exchanges would be set up and run by the health and human services secretary. Democrats originally designed the plan to pay Medicare rates plus 5 percent to doctors. But the final version -- preferred by moderate lawmakers -- would let the HHS secretary negotiate rates with providers.

CHANGES TO MEDICAID: The federal-state insurance program for the poor would be expanded to cover all individuals under age 65 with incomes up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $33,075 per year for a family of four. The federal government would pick up the full cost of the expansion in 2013 and 2014; thereafter the federal government would pay 91 percent and states would pay 9 percent.

DRUGS: Grants 12 years of market protection to high-tech drugs used to combat cancer, Parkinson's and other deadly diseases. Phases out the gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage by 2019. Requires the HHS secretary to negotiate drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries.

LONG-TERM CARE: New voluntary long-term care insurance program would provide a basic benefit designed to help seniors and disabled people avoid going into nursing homes.

ANTITRUST: Would strip the health insurance industry of a long-standing exemption from antitrust laws covering market allocation, price-fixing and bid rigging. The bill also would give the Federal Trade Commission authority to look into the health insurance industry at its own initiative.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: Would be barred from receiving government subsidies but permitted to use their own money to buy coverage offered by private companies in the exchange.

ABORTION: Private companies in the exchange could not offer plans covering abortion if those plans received federal subsidy money. Most plans in the exchange would be affected, because most consumers in the exchange would be using federal subsidy money to buy coverage. The new government plan could not offer abortion coverage. Insurance companies would be permitted to offer supplemental abortion coverage in separate plans that people could buy with their own money. Use of federal money for abortion coverage would be limited to cases of rape, incest or danger to the woman's life.

Fix The Senate Health Care Bill

2009-12-22T17:00:00.000-06:00

Fix The Senate Health Care Bill

For those of you following the continued drama surrounding the health care reform bill(s) floating around Washington, here's a summary of progress to date. In order for this bill to become law, both houses of Congress (the Senate and the House of Representatives) put forward their own preferred versions of the bill. Once each house of congress passes its individual version of the bill, the two versions will be sent to a committee comprised of members of both houses, from both Democratic and Republican backgrounds. This committee will determine which parts of the proposed bills to include in the final bill, and which parts to discard. In other words, the committee will compose the final bill.

Currently the House of Representatives has put forward a version of the health reform bill that aggressively tackles issues such as the U.S.'s lack of public insurance options, and the fact that insurance companies are currently exempt from the usual anti-trust laws by which other industries must abide. The Senate, after much debate and a spoiled filibuster, is in the final throes of putting forward its own, significantly less progressive, version of their bill.

Below are five main ways that the Senate version of the health reform bill differs from the House version.

Five Critical Flaws in the Senate Health Care Bill
The Senate bill would:

#1—Deny Americans the choice of a public option. In contrast, the House bill contains a national public option, the key to real competition, greater choice, and lower costs.¹
#2—Leave insurance unaffordable for some lower income and working people. Both bills require virtually all Americans to buy insurance. But even with the subsidies provided, some families could have to pay up to 20% of their income on health care expenses.²

#3—Impose dangerous restrictions on women's reproductive health care. Unfortunately, both bills do this and the House provision is worse. Both versions would be a dangerous step and neither should be in the final bill.³
#4—Tax American workers' health coverage to pay for reform. The Senate would pay for part of reform by taxing the hard-won benefits packages of some working Americans. The House, on the other hand, pays for reform with a small surcharge on only the wealthiest Americans—a far better approach.⁴
#5—Allow insurance companies to remain exempt from anti-trust laws. Under current law, insurance companies are actually exempt from laws designed to prevent monopolies and price-gouging. The House bill would fix this, but the Senate bill leaves it in place.⁵
Of course, these aren't the only problems with the bill. Most glaringly, both the Senate and House bill would leave millions uninsured,⁶ a far cry from the vision of universal coverage so many of us have fought for. That remains a long-term goal.
But these five things need to be fixed immediately—and we need to spread the word to make sure House and Senate leadership and the White House get the message we're counting on them to craft a final bill with these key fixes...
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Sources:
1. "Comparing the House and the Senate Health Care Proposals: Public Plan," The New York Times, December 19, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85859&id=18398-17452410-dLeI9Ux&t=5
"The House Bill and the Senate Bill," The Now! Blog, December 21, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85861&id=18398-17452410-dLeI9Ux&t=6
"Why We Need a Public Health-Care Plan," The Wall Street Journal, June 24, 2009

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124580516633344953.html

"Why a public health insurance option is key to saving costs," Economic Policy Institute, June 25, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85866&id=18398-17452410-dLeI9Ux&t=7
2. "Assessment of Affordability Provisions in the Exchange in House (H.R. 3962) and Senate (H.R. 3590) Health Reform Bills," Health Care for America Now

http://hcfan.3cdn.net/46590729111c307ccc_lom6b3a6r.pdf
"Finishing Reform Right: Fixing affordability before the President signs a health care bill," The Now! Blog, December 22, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85867&id=18398-17452410-dLeI9Ux&t=8
"Comparing the House and the Senate Health Care Proposals: Individual Mandate," The New York Times, December 19, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85860&id=18398-17452410-dLeI9Ux&t=9

"The House Bill and the Senate Bill," The Now! Blog, December 21, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85861&id=18398-17452410-dLeI9Ux&t=10
"Senate health bill is launch pad," Jacob Hacker, December 22, 2009

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30871.html
3. "Comparing the House and the Senate Health Care Proposals: Abortion," The New York Times, December 19, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85862&id=18398-17452410-dLeI9Ux&t=11
4. "Comparing the House and the Senate Health Care Proposals: Paying for the Proposals," The New York Times, December 19, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85863&id=18398-17452410-dLeI9Ux&t=12
5. "Comparing the House and the Senate Health Care Proposals: Insurance Regulations," The New York Times, December 19, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85736&id=18398-17452410-dLeI9Ux&t=13
6. "H.R. 3962, Affordable Health Care for America Act," Congressional Budget Office, November 20, 2009

http://cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=10741
"Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," Congressional Budget Office, November 18, 2009

http://cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=10731
"REPORT: How the Senate Bill Compares to Other Reform Legislation," Think Progress, November 19, 2009

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85670&id=18398-17452410-dLeI9Ux&t=14

Above list and sources supplied by MoveOn.org

Scary New Health Care Tax = Small Tax on Cosmetic Surgery

2009-12-16T18:31:00.000-06:00

Should Congress Tax Elective Cosmetic Procedures To Help Pay For Universal Health Care?

Now that Senator Landrieu and Congressman Cao have given their support to the health insurance reform initiative, let's talk about some of those BIG SCARY TAX INCREASES that have someone (read:. "insurance companies") splashing all kinds of silly misinformation all over TV and radio commercials.

For example, perhaps Cousin Sally was just diagnosed with leukiemia. But Sally is widowed and works two part time jobs to keep her kids in shoes and food, and neither of her low-wage jobs provides her with health insurance. On the other side of the tracks, Banker Joan has traded her youthful years to become a wealthy businesswoman, and wants to finally enjoy her single retirement. So she would like to get nice, natural looking facelift and peruse the single life in her golden years. The Question: Is it wrong for Congress to suggest that a small tax on Joan's fully elective, cosmetic procedure is in order to help Sally afford to get medical insurance, which will help Sally work longer, and ensure that she is around and healthy enough to take care of her kids for as long as medically possible?

It's a question of priorities. Every special interest group in our nation has political action committee (PAC), and guess whose PAC is spending lots of money to tell you that this kind of taxing priority is wrong, wrong, wrong? If you guessed the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (if you've misplaced your thesaurus, "aesthetic" translates as "pretty") then you are a winner! These are the doctors who are being paid (and have a personal financial stake) in telling you that Congress is trying to raise health care taxes - they just don't happen to mention that the tax is relatively small for each individual, and is only applied to non-medically required, purely aesthetic, elective cosmetic procedures.

These are the kinds of priorities that Congress is currently debating with a health insurance reform bill. What they are NOT debating is a "government takeover" of health care (remember, this is insurance reform, not doctor/patient reform; no matter what version of the bill passes, you will be able to keep your own doctor and your current insurance if you can afford and prefer it).

And since we're on the topic of priorities, let's discuss this proposed "cosmetic tax." What are the doctors who specialize in cosmetic procedures claiming is wrong with such a tax? Why, they say it is discriminatory. So apparently they're under the impression that people who can afford to pay out of pocket to have purely cosmetic procedures are some kind of protected class in our society...while apparently impoverished parents and children who suffer and die due to lack of insurance should be just swept aside as a national "oops, my bad."

Look, as a former policy specialist and an aging woman myself, do I think that this tax is likely to be primarily paid by women? Of course. Women are by far the largest consumers of elective cosmetic procedures (although men are gaining on us). But the key word here is "elective." If you really don't want to pay tax on a cosmetic procedure, don't get the procedure, or get it elsewhere (although you'll probably just end up paying for another nation's taxes if you do so). If you want the procedure enough to pay tax on it... well then you can probably afford your health insurance anyway. Consider yourself fortunate to be financially (and medically) stable in a time when millions of your fellow Americans are not.

Americans are by and large a compassionate, caring group of people. If 9/11 taught us nothing else, it taught us that when the shit really hits the fan, we as a nation want to be one community that cares for its own. So I really believe that once we learn who is truly in the business of trying to buy our votes - either with money, or with hyperbolic emotional half-truths and scare tactics, then we as a nation will do the right thing for our communities and our country. So keep an eye out, and remember to always ask the question: Who stands to benefit from this commercial, or that speech, or the other emotion-laded, fist-pounding diatribe? And once you find out who that beneficiary is, ask yourself whether they're really concerned with the best interests of you and your family, or simply with their own pocketbooks. Then you'll have an educated base from which you can confidently decide your own priorities.

Senator Landrieu Supports President's Reform Bill

2009-12-16T10:11:00.000-06:00

Senator Mary Landrieu Finally Puts Her Weight Behind President's Health Insurance Reform Bill

NOLA.com reported this morning that Senator Mary Landrieu, the Democratic holdout to Congressman Cao's unexpected cross-party vote supporting the President's health insurance reform plan, has finally come out in support of the proposed senate bill.

"Time is short, the political maneuvering tense and the ultimate vote will be tight, but Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., emerged from a White House meeting with President Barack Obama on Tuesday as a full-throated enthusiast for the Senate health care bill Democrats want to enact by Christmas.

Times-Picayune archive'Senate Democrats have developed a consensus that combines the best blend of private and public approaches to reduce cost, expand coverage and increase choice and competition for Americans,' U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu said Tuesday."While many of us expressed cost and bureaucracy concerns about early drafts of health care reform legislation, it is clear that the product the Senate is debating is a dramatic improvement," Landrieu said Tuesday evening.

"Senate Democrats have developed a consensus that combines the best blend of private and public approaches to reduce cost, expand coverage and increase choice and competition for Americans."

Landrieu's statement, issued under the headline, "Now is the Time to Pass Health Care Reform," is the most positive she has issued about the health care plan, which has been the subject of intensive negotiations in recent weeks. It came a few hours after Landrieu and nearly all Senate Democrats met with the president at the White House to talk about what he described as a historic opportunity they dare not squander.

"And from the discussions we had it's clear that we are on the precipice of an achievement that's eluded Congresses and presidents for generations -- an achievement that will touch the lives of nearly every American," Obama said after the afternoon meeting."

With all due respect, Madame Senator, it's about damn time.

We'll deal with Senator Vitter's ridiculous response to these developments at a later date.

Happy Holiday Wishes

2009-12-10T18:07:00.001-06:00

Organizing For America asks that you remember our senators when you send out your holiday greetings this year. Let Senators Landrieu and Vitter know that your wish is for effective, affordable health care reform for all of our friends and family this year. Below you can see their message, and click to send a card to our senators.

This year, when you're writing holiday cards to your friends and loved ones, there are two more people who need to hear from you: Senator David Vitter and Senator Mary Landrieu.

With the Senate deep in final negotiations -- and a compromise just introduced that increases choice and drives costs down -- your senators need to understand how urgent reform really is.

So we've come up with a unique way for you to get the message across -- by sending your senators a card with your holiday wish for the season.

Send a holiday card to your senators, telling them that your wish this season is for them to pass health insurance reform.

Since the full Senate began debating reform just over two weeks ago, approximately 224,000 Americans have lost their health insurance, while spiraling costs have forced countless more into bankruptcy or foreclosure.

That's a big number -- it's as many people as live in a city like Baton Rouge, and more than live in Reno.

This crisis affects everyone in our community. It could be a father down the street who now won't be able to pay for care when his son breaks his leg playing soccer, or a daughter who must watch helplessly as her newly-uninsured mother gets a breast cancer diagnosis she can't afford to treat.

Every day brings thousands more stories of heartbreak and struggle that just shouldn't be in a nation as blessed as ours.

So please take a moment to cut through the noise in D.C. with your simple holiday wish: affordable, quality health care for every American family.

Send your holiday card for health reform today:

http://my.barackobama.com/HolidayCard

Thanks,

Mitch

Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America

Video Challenge Winner - "I Deserve Health Care'

2009-11-17T16:49:00.000-06:00

Video Challenge Winner

"I Deserve Health Care"

For those of you who have been following the president's video challenge, we have a winner! Watch the winning video below or click here to see the video on the Organize For American website.

The Ballad of Joseph Cao

2009-11-17T12:48:00.000-06:00

The Ballad of Joseph (Joe) Cao

Vote For Your Favorite Health Care Video

2009-11-13T16:35:00.001-06:00

Vote For Your Favorite Health Care Video

In keeping with it's dedication to grassroots and viral advocacy, the Obama Administration issued a challenge to the YouTube generation: Send us your best video supporting health care reform, and we'll put you on the air. The winning video will become a national commercial.

The results have been impressive: scores of home made videos that run from funny to touching, and express - perhaps better than we could - the depth of our nation's need for health insurance reform.

Take a look at some of the top contenders below, and view all videos and vote for your favorite on the Challenge website!

(FYI - a friend of ours made this "Boogeyman on Health Reform" video, so if you like it, don't forget to vote for it!)

Here's one that highlights something we were amazed to learn in our research - that not only is medical debt the #1 cause of bankruptcy in the U.S., but also the majority of those bankruptcies occur even though the person HAD health insurance!

This one reflects our own view that, as Americans, we have the RIGHT TO LIFE!

This video does a great job of appealing to the innate capacity for compassion that makes us human, and reminds us that just because we don't always see all of the tragic effects of lack of health insurance, doesn't mean that we can ignore the issue. If it were right in front of us to do something to save another human being's life, would we not do everything we could? I believe that most people would - and reform is something we CAN do.

Other top contenders:

Why the Pro-Life Movement Should Support Health Care Reform

2009-11-09T15:06:00.001-06:00

Why the Pro-Life Movement Should Support Health Care Reform

Much has been made of Congressman Cao's recent cross-party vote to support the health care reform bill that was passed by the House of Representatives this week, but Cao has been on the side of our health ever since his election. In fact, as a recipient of his e-mail newsletter (you can sign up on his website), I have personally received no less than 5 messages in the last 2 months from his office directly related to health care issues in our community, including information about local health fairs, instructions on where LA residents can get H1N1 flu vaccines, his work to re-open Charity Hospital, and more. Critics can say what they will, but no one can deny that health issues have been a priority for Cao's office ever since his election.

So why is Congressman Cao so willing to take on an issue that has most Republican (and not a few Democrat) officials quaking in their political boots? There could be many reasons, but for my money, I'll say it's because he is unusually far-sighted for a congressman, especially one from our neck of the woods. Cao's priorities are far from hidden. He wants Charity Hospital re-opened. He wants Louisiana residents to have access to affordable health care. And he wants the Right To Life platform to put its money where its mouth is and take charge of the issue. And ultimately, that may prove to be his most notable battle.

Our Declaration of Independence states that we are endowed by our Creator with certain "unalienable" rights, including the right to life. Lawyers may argue that the Declaration, being a separate document from the Constitution, does not itself endow any rights upon U.S. citizens, and that therefore the failure to save a life when we have the ability to do so does not necessarily violate the legal principles of our nation. I disagree. In a nation where we have both the money and the technology to save hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who would otherwise die simply due to lack of health insurance, I believe that we have a moral and ethical, if not historical, obligation to provide that life-saving insurance - whatever the cost.

Indeed, if any political movement of our generation should be backing the call to reform health care, it is the "Right To Life" movement. It doesn't take a genius to see the connection between fighting to maintain the life of a fetus and fighting to maintain the life of a fellow citizen. Or have we reached some sad social benchmark where we care more for the life of a potential person than an actual one?

What Congressman Cao has done with his vote is not only support the right of our citizens to have access to effective, affordable medical care; he has also united the good intentions of the Right to Life movement with the stark realities of a nation which has failed to provide the most basic necessities to maintain the lives of the citizens it already has. What the Health Care Reform movement may not have taken into account when it began is what the liberal voting base may have to give up in order to see successful reform enacted. Congressman Cao has very likely struck the first blow in a battle that could ultimately determine the way we as a nation proceed with both issues. Ultimately, it is possible that neither the Right to Life movement nor the Health Care Reform movement can come to fruition without the other. The question now is, what is the liberal voting base prepared to give up in order to see real health care reform enacted? And what is the conservative voting base willing to lay on the line in order to to advance the pro-life agenda? If we follow both arguments to their logical conclusion, it seems to me that they unfailingly end up in a place where we must either place the ultimate value on all lives, or none of them.

For those of you who are wondering, yes, my inner feminist is actively screaming bloody murder at the very thought of losing ground on the battle for women's rights, especially in a nation that has not even been able to pass an Equal Rights Amendment. Yet I cannot deny that my perspective on the matter of health care changed when I lost my own health insurance due to a chronic illness - just as my perspective on the matter of right to choice might change if our nation could ensure that any unwanted child born would, at the very least, have access to the basic health and medical care needed to ensure her or his healthiest possible life - no matter what. So if the Right to Life movement wants to gain votes, here is its best chance. Let the Right to Life advocates fight as hard for the lives of our fellow citizens now as they have for the lives of the unborn in the past, and - for the first time in my life - they might in return see my vote and my check headed in their own direction.

Louisiana Congressman Crosses Party Lines to Support Health Insurance Reform

2009-11-08T06:55:00.004-06:00

Louisiana Congressman Anh "Joseph" Cao Crosses Party Lines to Support Health Insurance Reform

Congressman Anh "Joseph" Cao has a history of listening to the concerns of his constituents.

History is being made in our very midst, Louisiana.

Yesterday at 11:15 p.m. the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass their version of the health insurance reform bill. For those of you who are counting, this is the first time in the history of our nation that either chamber of Congress has passed a comprehensive health insurance reform bill. Among the 220 votes supporting the bill (215 voted against it) we find our very own Louisiana Representative, Congressman Cao (pronounced Gow). As if the House vote weren't historic enough, Congressman Cao crossed party lines to throw his political weight behind the reform bill - the only Republican to do so.

As ever, the price for making history is steep. Obviously Congressman Cao runs the risk of alienating his largely conservative constituency by crossing traditional Republican party lines to support health insurance reform. And the news for his liberal constituents isn't perfect either - Cao was instrumental in removing any portion of the bill that would provide government subsidized funds for abortions. Critics of the Congressman will likely opine that he hopes to have his cake and eat it too (does that expression make sense to anyone?). But we here at HFL take a different view, and we'll tell you why:

Over the past several months, we have lobbied each of our representatives in Congress heavily regarding health insurance reform, and that means lots of e-mails, letters, phone conversations, and direct meetings when possible. Any member of Congress will send a return form letter if you write to them, but Congressman Cao has been by far the most responsive politician that I, personally, have ever dealt with. Not only was his response letter immediate, but it was also clear, well-written (you wouldn't believe the kind of crap that some representatives put their name on), and thoughtful. Regardless of one's own position on the matter, it would be difficult to read that letter and not feel that Cao has put tremendous energy and thought into the issue of health care in America.

Congressman Cao's aides are also intelligent, polite, and well-versed in political issues AND on his stance on those issues. This is in extraordinary contrast to, say, Senator David Vitter's aides, who in my personal interactions have managed to be mostly hostile, uninformed, and in all other ways pretty much totally unprepared to communicate with the general public. (We'll get to Landrieu's aides later). A politician's aides tell a lot about how seriously that politician takes his or her position as a leader, and Cao's aides have been unfailingly well informed and eager to involve his constituents. The Congressman also goes out of his way to determine his constituents' opinions on political matters. Rather than wait for opinions to find their way to his desk, the Congressman holds regular town hall meetings in his district, and his website posts surveys on major issues, allowing his constituents an ease of access that is relatively uncommon amongst the more high-brow political types.

But all of this is secondary to the strength of Congressman Cao's convictions, and the lengths to which he will go to be a positive, effective influence on the democratic process. His history of seeking out input from his constituents and his willingness to stand behind his values, putting his votes where his mouth is, make him stand out as a remarkably dignified figure amongst a crowd of glorified snake charmers.

So while we can't say that he does everything exactly the way we, as voters, might want him to do it, we can say this: If Congressman Cao is brave enough to vote against his party lines for something he believes is truly in the best interest of his community, then those of us who traditionally vote Democrat can vote against our party lines to keep him in office. Because when it comes right down to it, party lines are just a convenient illusion, and one that tends to distract voters (and politicians) from the real issues. They are no substitution for careful consideration and ethical action, and we think Congressman Cao embodies an approach to representation that truly brings the "serve" back into public service.

If you live in LA's Second District, click here to share your thoughts with Congressman Cao.

Kids Without Insurance 60% More Likely To Die While Hospitalized

2009-11-05T17:05:00.001-06:00

Kids Without Insurance 60% More Likely To Die While Hospitalized

The Johns Hopkins Childrens Center in Baltimore, MD recently released a study comparing the health outcomes of children who were hospitalized due to illness or injury. According to the study, children who lacked health insurance were an almost unbelievable 60% more likely to die during their hospitalizations than children who had health insurance coverage. Upon further statistical analysis, controlling for variables such as age, gender, and race, the study still noted that uninsured children were more than 37% more likely to die than their insured counterparts.

U.S. News and World Report followed up on the study:

David C. Chang, co-director of the pediatric surgery outcomes research group at Hopkins and a study co-author, said he could not think of a medical treatment that has such a dramatic impact on health outcomes as health insurance seemingly does.
"This is actually something we as a society ... can choose to do something about," he said. "It's literally with the stroke of somebody's pen, this could be changed."
The article was published online Oct. 30 in the Journal of Public Health.
Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus, a bipartisan child and family advocacy group, noted that data from the U.S. Institute of Medicine have shown that people who are uninsured have a higher mortality rate.
"You knew that it existed, you knew that there were cases [of child deaths related to lack of insurance], but I think this data is pretty shocking and really points to the need for national health reform," Lesley said.

This study's results suggest that more than 17,000 children may have died needlessly over the past two decades, due to their lack of health insurance.

Even critics of health insurance reform have historically balked at the idea of leaving children uninsured, but it is time that we as a society take a deeper look at the needs of our nation's families. Let us assume, for the sake of argument, that as a result of reform, all American children will be covered by some form of health insurance. That would be a laudable result - but it simply does not go far enough. If we really want to protect children in America, then we must protect families and individuals as well. What happens to those same children if their parents become too ill or injured to work, or lose their jobs, or any number of potential tragedies occur? What good does it do to protect children if we will not protect their own parents, or family members, or teachers, or social workers?

The fact is that in order to fully protect our children from the tragedies that recent years have shown are all too possible, we need to protect everyone in their society. We must provide basic coverage to anyone who comes into contact with our children - and that simply means everyone. If every other industrialized nation in the world can accomplish it, there is simply no acceptable reason why the United States should not.

How Louisiana's Position Matters:

As U.S. News and World Report noted, one of the first official acts of President Obama's administration was to renew funding for CHIP - Children's Health Insurance Program. CHIP allows American children to be enrolled in a program providing basic medical coverage and preventive check-ups (AKA socialized medicine).

But Senator Landrieu - who could choose to be a driving force for reform - is essentially dragging her political feet on the health care issue. Rather than support universal health care options for everyone, the senator refers her constituents to a bill which she co-sponsored, called the Healthy Americans Act. The title of her bill sounds great, but the contents show that the bill is actually designed to accomplish something far less impressive. Senator Landrieu's bill would actually end CHIP for Louisiana's children. It would also end health benefits provided by federal programs, including coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits.

Call or write Senator Landrieu today! Tell her to stop pushing the Healthy Americans Act, which would achieve anything but your and my health. If she's really interested in health care reform, well, she has many other more effective bills to choose from right now!

Senator Landrieu:

Washington, DC

328 Hart Senate Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Voice: (202)224-5824
Fax:(202) 224-9735

Phone Calls For Health Insurance Reform Surpass All Expectations

2009-10-21T15:19:00.000-05:00

Phone Calls For Health Insurance Reform Surpass All Expectations

Goal Overshot By More Than 300%

Yesterday we posted a link to Organizing For America's project asking supporters of health insurance reform to call their Representatives in Congress and make their views known.

Today, we are happy to report that not only did you respond, but you overshot OAF's goal of 100,000 phone calls in one day - by over 300%! More than 300,000 phone calls to congress were logged in support of health insurance reform efforts!

Here is what OAF and the Obama Administration have to say to those of you who participated in this great show of support:

As you know, we set a big goal: 100,000 calls to Congress placed or committed to in a single day by OFA supporters and allied organizations. By 2:30 p.m., you had crushed it. So, we gulped and said let's go for 200,000, not knowing what would happen. But the calls just kept pouring in -- keeping phones ringing off the hook in congressional offices in D.C. and your representatives' district offices around the country.

Then, OFA supporters gathered in over 1,000 living rooms and community centers from Macon, Georgia to Missoula, Montana. You called hundreds of thousands of key voters in your community and got them to agree to call Congress and speak out for reform, too. President Obama joined in at a call party in New York -- and he had some amazing words of support for the folks like you who make this movement possible.

I'm looking at the numbers, and with almost all of the reports now in, the tally wasn't 200,000 calls placed or pledged -- it was 315,023. You did it.

Take a moment to watch the President's inspiring words to OFA volunteers on this incredible day.

Your voice was overwhelming -- with reports in the media of congressional offices "completely crushed with calls." CBS News described your effort as an "onslaught." And a congressional aide was quoted with a common response, saying their office was deluged by "pretty much non-stop health care calls from OFA.

You set a new OFA record, you caught the national media's attention, and you certainly put Congress on notice. But you know that's not what really matters.

The message I sent earlier talked about a woman, Jenny U., whose insurance company cut off her coverage because they decided her kidney donation to her sick daughter counted as a "pre-existing condition." What really matters is that today you brought America one giant, irreversible step closer to being a place where no one will ever have to suffer that kind of injustice again. That's what all the messages, late nights, and phone calls ultimately add up to. It's what makes everything we do together worthwhile -- and it's why we'll keep fighting together until the job is done.

Watch President Obama's special message to you from a call party in New York:

http://my.barackobama.com/TTDreport

Thank you, so much, for being part of the team.

We thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts, for joining this fight for health insurance for ALL Americans. We have never been prouder to share this great nation with you.
~ Editor and contributors to HealthForLouisiana.blogspot.com

Call Your Representatives Today - 100,000 Phone Calls For Health Care

2009-10-20T13:11:00.002-05:00

Call Your Representatives Today - 100,000 Phone Calls For Health Care

Organizing America has declared today, Tuesday October 20, the first threshold for supporters of health care reform to conquer. Constituents (that's you and me) are being asked to call their representatives today to state their support for President Obama's health care reform package, including an affordable public health insurance option for all Americans.

With crucial negotiations taking place in congress, [our] volunteers and other organizations are raising our voices to make it clear to our representatives: It's time to deliver on health insurance reform. We've set a big goal for today - 100,000 phone calls made or committed to in a single day. To hit it, we'll need your help - Will you take 5 minutes to call Congress now?

As of 12:56 pm Central Time today, 89,223 calls supporting health insurance reform have been logged.

To call your representatives, dial the numbers listed below for state Senators Landrieu and Vitter, and go to House.gov to find your district's Representative by zip code.

Senator Landrieu - (202) 224 - 5824

Senator Vitter - (202) 224 - 4623

If you live in another state, go to Senate.gov to find your senator's phone number.

If you can only make one call, please make it to Senator Landrieu, who is one of the senators President Obama has noted as a key vote for health insurance reform.

Editor's UPDATE: 3:46 pm

As of 3:46 pm, over 160,824 calls to our representatives supporting health insurance reform have been logged today! OFA has raised it's goal to 200,000 calls - so if you haven't called yet, you can still help!

I spoke with Senator Vitter's office today regarding his letter stating his position on (resisting) health care reform. His aide seemed unaware of Senator Vitter's stance, other than to say that he does not support a public option. When I read to her statements in his letter, her responses ran along the lines of "I don't know."

I spoke with my House Representative, Congressman Cao, whose aide had a fantastic grasp of the health care situation from both points of view. She stated that the Congressman would like to come out with a stronger statement supporting the reform efforts, and has not yet done so due to the fact that several bills are being discussed and he can't be sure which one will actually be voted upon. We also discussed the need for a public option, which he does not currently support but which he states he is willing to consider. When asked why he has not supported a public option, she stated that he was concerned about the effect on small businesses. I responded that small businesses would no longer be responsible for their employees' health care if a public option were available - a position which she promised to pass on to him.

I have not been able to reach Senator Landrieu's office due to the number of calls she is currently receiving. Good work Louisiana!

Why don't you call and see if you can accomplish more than we did? Let us know how it goes! Write to us at HealthForLouisiana@gmail.com

Why Insurance Companies Are Different, And Why They Need To Be Regulated More Than Your Job

2009-10-17T08:19:00.024-05:00

Much has been made of “insurance companies’ right to make a profit” and “treating them like everyone else” lately. What this attitude fails to take into account is the series of massive favors that we, as a society, do for the health insurance industry. See, we are allowed to add regulations and requirements because we have exempted health insurance companies from the Federal Anti-Trust Act (the act that prevents an industry from having a monopoly on the entire market). Let’s say that again.

We have exempted health insurance companies from the Federal Anti-Trust Act. The McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945, 15 U.S.C. § 1011, allows state law to regulate the business of insurance without federal government interference, though it does allow the Federal Government to pass laws specifically aimed at the insurance industry. It just exempts them from non-insurance-specific Federal Laws. Including anti-trust laws.

This is important because it means that we have not required health insurers to have competition or behave in a competitive manner. As such, “the market,” which everyone screams will save us from the horrible health care companies, has no bearing. “The market” requires competition. So it’s kind of like if we stopped regulating prices on energy companies completely. How much do you think you’d be paying for electricity if there weren’t rules about that sort of thing? See, that’s a trade-off. We give Entergy, or SoCal Edison, or whoever, a monopoly in a certain area. We then regulate their prices and what they supply to be sure they don’t take advantage. But we haven’t been doing enough of that in the United States in the health insurance arena.

Some facts about the anti-competitive nature of health care in America in 2008, according to the United States Government Accountability Office:

• The median market share of the largest carrier in the small group market was about 47 percent, with a range from about 21 percent in Arizona to about 96 percent in Alabama. In 31 of the 39 states supplying market share information, the top carrier had a market share of a third or more.

• The five largest carriers in the small group market, when combined, represented three quarters or more of the market in 34 of the 39 states supplying this information, and they represented 90 percent or more in 23 of these states.

• Thirty-six of the 44 states supplying information on the top carrier identified a Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) carrier as the largest carrier, and in all but 1 of the remaining 8 states, a BCBS carrier was among the five largest carriers.

• The median market share of all the BCBS carriers in the 38 states supplying this information was about 51 percent, with a range of less than 5 percent in Vermont and Wisconsin and more than 90 percent in Alabama and North Dakota.

This is unacceptable. A lack of competition coupled with a lack of regulation means higher costs to consumers and skyrocketing profits for companies. Which helps explain why 17.6 percent of our GDP is spent on health care, and why the average family health care plan has increased from $6,654 per year to $13,378 per year in the last decade. That’s over double, for those of you counting.

Nationally, the average premium for health insurance rose five times as much as median worker wages in the last ten years.

If health insurance companies want an exemption, they will live with regulation. If not, the numbers above show that they would already be under court order to split up if it weren’t for anti-trust exemptions. We should stop letting them be ungrateful, gluttonous children and show them what life is like for the rest of the businesses in this country. It’s cutthroat, it’s tough to scrape out a living, and it involves needing actual business acumen and sense.

Or, they can simply jump on board with reform and regulation. It seems like that would be in all of our best interests.

Why We Should Support Reform NOW

2009-10-16T14:47:00.005-05:00

Why We Should Support Reform...NOW!

There are many reasons that our readers might want to support the health care and insurance reform efforts currently going on in congress. Some might support the bill because they cannot currently access health insurance due to a pre-exisiting condition or excessive cost. Others might want to use the public option to receive more affordable prescription medications. Some might simply believe, as we do, that the American economy would be improved by providing an affordable public insurance option for small business owners, contract or part-time employees, and those who are self-employed.

But there is one good reason to support the health care reform option as it exists now...because the longer the debate is drawn out, the less benefits we are likely to see. More than a few people are legitimately undecided about health care reform. They believe that reform is necessary, but are unsure how to go about it. But the real concern we have is in regards to those in congress and business who go out of their way to reject virtually any form of health care reform. Senators like David Vitter, who receive the majority of their campaign contributions from insurance and pharmaceutical companies, are putting the very nature of health care improvement at risk. Because the longer the debate continues, the more concessions will have to be made to satisfy those squeaky political wheels who benefit from resisting reform.

It is our belief that nothing is more powerful in America than an idea whose time has come, and like it or not, subsidized health insurance is that idea today. Make no mistake, some form of health care reform will be enacted. It will be enacted because it is an idea that has been effectively, if not perfectly, put into action in every other industrialized nation in the world. It will be enacted because it has received in President Obama the champion it previously lacked. It will be enacted because people like us - you and me - know that reform is key to the political and social future of our nation. And, perhaps most importantly, it will be enacted because Americans who have lived the alternative - who have lost loved ones or whose own lives are at risk without a public option - will never, can never stop lobbying for it. For millions of us, it is literally a matter of life and death.

But just to enact some health reform is not enough. Reform must be effective. It must provide affordable alternatives to Americans who currently have none. It must raise our designation as an ethical democracy in the world forum. And the longer we wait to support reform, the more we will have to give up to make it a reality.

If you have not already done so, please read about President Obama's plan. As it currently stands, it contains measures that would improve not only the status of those who are currently uninsured, but would also guarantee continued coverage to those who currently have insurance. It would be paid for up front, primarily by taxes that have already been collected, and it would not add a dime to the federal budget deficit. It is that rare but beautiful creature - a public policy that is designed to truly solve a problem. But the longer we wait, the more we hesitate, the more this plan will be torn apart by critics who will demand concessions that will mean less coverage, more cost, and ultimately could put enough holes in this plan to make it as ineffective as they already swear it to be. And then, as we all know, the terrorists win.

Don't let that happen. In all seriousness, this is about YOUR right to affordable health insurance. Congress will not win this battle for us.... they already have guaranteed health insurance for the rest of their lives. We don't. We have only each other. That is why we must each, individually, make our demands known. And the sooner we do that, the more our reform will look like this:

The President's Plan for Health Reform

“It will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance.
It will provide insurance to those who don’t. And it will lower the cost of health care
for our families, our businesses, and our government."
– PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

If You Have Health Insurance, the President's Plan:

Ends discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions.
Limits premium discrimination based on gender and age.
Prevents insurance companies from dropping coverage when people are sick and need it most.
Caps out-of-pocket expenses so people don’t go broke when they get sick.
Eliminates extra charges for preventive care like mammograms, flu shots and diabetes tests to improve health and save money.
Protects Medicare for seniors.
Eliminates the “donut-hole” gap in coverage for prescription drugs.

If You Don’t Have Insurance, the President's Plan:

Creates a new insurance marketplace — the Exchange — that allows people without insurance and small businesses to compare plans and buy insurance at competitive prices.
Provides new tax credits to help people buy insurance.
Provides small businesses tax credits and affordable options for covering employees.
Offers a public health insurance option to provide the uninsured and those who can’t find affordable coverage with a real choice.
Immediately offers new, low-cost coverage through a national “high risk” pool to protect people with preexisting conditions from financial ruin until the new Exchange is created.

For All Americans, the President's Plan:

Won’t add a dime to the deficit and is paid for upfront.
Requires additional cuts if savings are not realized.
Implements a number of delivery system reforms that begin to rein in health care costs and align incentives for hospitals, physicians, and others to improve quality.
Creates an independent commission of doctors and medical experts to identify waste, fraud and abuse in the health care system.
Orders immediate medical malpractice reform projects that could help doctors focus on putting their patients first, not on practicing defensive medicine.
Requires large employers to cover their employees and individuals who can afford it to buy insurance so everyone shares in the responsibility of reform.

Medical Debt #1 Cause of Bankruptcy In the U.S.

2009-10-07T14:32:00.000-05:00

Are you concerned about the state of the U.S. economy? If you are, then consider the findings of a recent article in the American Journal of Medicine (among multiple other sources), which reports that medical debt is the #1 cause of bankruptcy in the U.S.

If you are like most Americans, you live one medical disaster away from poverty. What's worse, many of those who have unwillingly found themselves sunk in such debt had health insurance. The Washington Post points out that of those who were forced into bankruptcy by medical debt, nearly 80% had some health insurance coverage at the time of their illness, yet still reported an average medical debt of nearly $18,000. Meanwhile, Americans who did not have health insurance carried an average medical debt of over $26,000. What does all of this mean? As the health insurance system in the U.S. currently stands, you are more likely to fall to bankruptcy for medical debt than for any other reason - even IF you have health insurance!

Isn't it time we demanded more for our money?

Watch CBS News Videos Online

According to CBS News:

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius pointed out on The Early Show Friday that many Americans who have health insurance have inadequate protection, and increasing out-of-pocket expenses are "crushing families and businesses."

"That’s why President Obama is so focused on health reform this year," she said, "lowering costs for those who have coverage already so that we can keep the coverage we have, keep the doctors we have, but also to provide some coverage and some payment for the millions of Americans -- close to 50 million -- who have no insurance coverage at all."

A Public Option Story: How "Socialized Medicine" Is Already Saving Lives In America

2009-10-01T16:50:00.001-05:00

A Public Option Story:

How "Socialized Medicine" Is Already Saving Lives Right Here In the U.S.

Critics of health care reform seem eternally focused on the potential for problems, but rarely do we take the time to consider the possibility of the "best case scenario" where the public option is concerned. But we needn't tax our imaginations to see what a successful health policy would look like. Surprisingly, it seems that a successful public option already exists in America... for people with one specific diagnosis.

Jennifer Nix is the author of the article "I Love My Socialist Kidney," a first-hand look at how a government-sponsored "public option" for patients with end-stage renal disease has been saving lives for decades right here in the U.S... and how it saved hers.

The day after this country elected Barack Obama its 44th president, a doctor told me I'd inherited from my father a rare form of cystic kidney disease and that I was already in renal failure. Beyond the devastation I felt on hearing this news, and despite having health insurance, my greatest fear in those first, foggy days was one that haunts millions of Americans. I was more terrified of being dropped or denied treatment by my insurer over some minuscule technicality than I was of facing the disease.... A few weeks into my ordeal, however, I learned that my diagnosis qualified me for a little-known existing "public option," or government health insurance plan. The same program had saved my father's life, but I was frankly surprised to learn it still existed despite numerous legislative changes through the decades. Today, almost a year after my diagnosis and amid the disheartening acrimony and willful misinformation pervading our healthcare debate, I can bear witness to what constitutes "socialized medicine" in the United States....

By the 1960s, dialysis and transplantation were established as effective treatments for kidney failure, which could allow ESRD patients to live full and productive lives. With no funding for long-term, chronic dialysis, however, hospital committees decided who would live and die. These committees looked at age, complicating health concerns, psychological well-being and a patient's "social worth," but because the wealthy could afford to pay for their treatments outright, they were the most often treated, resulting in a class-driven mortality rate. The government "death panels" decried in the hyperbolic rhetoric of today's right-wing anti-healthcare reform fanatics may be imaginary, but in the 1960s and early '70s there really were death panels for ESRD patients....

Without the government stepping in to remedy a situation that the market and private business willfully ignored, both my father and I would most likely have died within a year of our diagnoses. I believe every American citizen deserves the same kind of health security. Even before I got sick, my father's story was the reason I became an activist myself during the Bush years, as I saw people's faith in government dwindling. It's why I fought so hard to get Obama elected, and why I'll be gravely disappointed if he gives in on the public option....

Click HERE to read the entire article.

The author makes a strong point about the idea of "death panels," as the ultra neo-conservative rhetoric has labeled them. Although the myth of Social Security "death panels" in President O'bama's plan is patently false, the idea behind them is perhaps more based in reality than we would care to admit to ourselves.

Today, the specter of a "death panel" lingers over American families who receive a chronic or terminal medical diagnosis. For those who have health insurance, the stress of waiting and wondering whether their insurance will cover the high costs of treatment - or continue to cover them at all - has become in itself a part of the illness which much be treated. The same can be said for the millions of Americans who are lost somewhere in the (usually multi-year) process of applying for disability. In these situations, an insurance executive or an administrative law judge will literally make decisions of life and death - decisions which would be left in the hands of the patients and their own physicians if a public option for health insurance were available to these same patients.

So rather than pouring our national energy into figuring out ways that a policy of providing health insurance for everyone could go wrong, perhaps we have reached a point where we need to admit to ourselves that failing to provide such coverage has already cost us too much in terms of our economy, our national standing, and - most importantly - the lives of our own loved ones. Our lack of universal health coverage has already gone far wrong. It is up to us as citizens of "the world's wealthiest nation" to refuse to allow such a monumental failure of policy to continue. What we can do, as the moral and just society we want ourselves to be, we must do. What we can do to save one life, we can do to save many. We have seen the devastation caused by the lack of such a policy, and we can see how a successful policy can be run. Now it is up to us as Americans to make it work for everyone.

LA Senator David Vitter on Health Care/Health Insurance Reform

2009-09-29T17:36:00.005-05:00

Louisiana Senator David Vitter On Health Care/Health Insurance Reform

Louisiana's Senator David Vitter (to label him "Republican" might be something of an understatement and/or a misnomer, depending on who you ask) is back in the news today regarding what seems to be a never-ending Washington prostitution ring scandal, but we're more interested in his stance on the state of health care in Louisiana. So we wrote to Senator Vitter about our support for reforms that would mean affordable health insurance for all Louisianans, and received in response his form letter on the issue (the same letter you would likely receive if you wrote to him on the issue). Senator Vitter's form response to the health care issue reads as follows (the only edit we made was to replace the name with an initial in the first line):

Dear Mrs. M.,

            Thank you for contacting me in favor of a public health insurance plan. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

            I understand many Americans are uninsured or underinsured, causing many individuals and families to not receive the proper care they need to stay healthy. I am committed to finding ways to provide quality and affordable health insurance to all Americans, and I believe we can reform health care by allowing reimportation of safe, cheaper prescription drugs from Canada and by speeding the approval of generic drugs. Also, I believe we should offer small businesses the ability to pool together, which would provide the same negotiating advantage as corporations, to get access to affordable health care for their employees. And, providing refundable tax credits would make health care more affordable and accessible by empowering individuals and families with more buying power to pick the health care plan that best fits their needs.

            I also want health care reform, but I am concerned that the America's Affordable Health Choices Act would actually limit choices, diminish quality, and do nothing to control costs. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office projected that this plan would cost more than $1 trillion over the next ten years and would still leave 34 million people uninsured. Other independent studies show that 118 million Americans or 60 percent would lose their current coverage to be pushed on to the public plan. I am concerned that the creation of a public plan would hinder Americans' access to the care they need and could result in long waiting lines for important surgeries and procedures. I will continue working to make health care more affordable and accessible for Louisiana families as the Senate considers health care reform.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts on this important issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me again in the future about other issues important to you.

Sincerely,

Senator David Vitter

United States Senator

What we can discern from this letter:

Senator Vitter is aware that millions of Americans (and therefore presumably Louisianans) are currently uninsured or underinsured.
Senator Vitter supports the "reimportation" of prescription drugs from Canada. Apparently, he does not feel that the same drugs should simply be made more affordable to Americans in the first place. Why might this be? Perhaps we should consider that Vitter's top campaign contributors are from the "Health Industry" - and who has the money in the the health industry? Ah, that would be the insurance companies...followed closely by the pharmaceutical companies.
Senator Vitter believes that small companies should be able to pool together to seek insurance - which they already can.
Senator Vitter wants to "solve" the problem of lack of insurance for millions of Americans by suggesting some kind of tax refund (although he doesn't seem want to suggest to anyone who hasn't written to him supporting health insurance reform). What's the biggest tax refund you have ever received? Would it come anywhere near paying for the cost of quality health insurance? We didn't think so.
Senator Vitter believes that the President's plan for health care reform is too expensive. So apparently, the senator has higher priorities for your tax dollars than to help you pay for your own health insurance. He would rather that money go... where? Oh, right. To his top campaign contributors - the health insurance industry.
Senator Vitter believes "independent" studies which seem to say that the plan would still leave millions without insurance, though how that is possible with a public option open to everyone, he doesn't explain. Nor does he provide you with a reference for these "studies," so I guess he just assumes that you wouldn't understand them anyway. We should just take his (and the insurance companies') word on it.
Senator Vitter seems to be under the impression that providing a public insurance option, affordable and open to anyone, would somehow cause a trend of people who are currently insured to lose their insurance, although he doesn't explain how or why this would be the case. In fact, he appears to be behind the times on this one, since Louisiana residents are already losing their health insurance at a faster rate than residents of any other state.

Health Statistics ; % Point Change in Uninsured (most recent) by state

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Totals

Definition Source Printable version

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Map

Showing latest available data.

Rank	States	Amount
# 1	Delaware:	5.9
# 2	Mississippi:	5
# 3	Pennsylvania:	4.1
# 4	Rhode Island:	3.4
# 5	Tennessee:	3
# 6	New Jersey:	2.6
= 7	Utah:	2.1
= 7	Connecticut:	2.1
# 9	Missouri:	1.6
# 10	Michigan:	1.5
# 11	Vermont:	1.3
# 12	Wisconsin:	1.2
= 13	Minnesota:	1.1
= 13	Illinois:	1.1
= 13	Georgia:	1.1
# 16	North Carolina:	0.6
= 17	New Hampshire:	0.5
= 17	Arizona:	0.5
= 19	Colorado:	0.4
= 19	Oklahoma:	0.4
# 21	Nevada:	0.3
# 22	Montana:	0.2
# 23	North Dakota:	-0.1
# 24	Massachusetts:	-0.5
# 25	Maryland:	-0.6
# 26	Iowa:	-0.7
# 27	South Carolina:	-0.8
# 28	Kentucky:	-0.9
# 29	Oregon:	-1.1
# 30	South Dakota:	-1.2
# 31	Nebraska:	-1.3
# 32	Texas:	-1.4
# 33	Alabama:	-2.1
# 34	Virginia:	-2.2
= 35	Indiana:	-2.3
= 35	Florida:	-2.3
= 37	California:	-2.4
= 37	District of Columbia:	-2.4
# 39	New York:	-2.5
= 40	Hawaii:	-2.8
= 40	Ohio:	-2.8
# 42	Maine:	-3
# 43	West Virginia:	-3.1
# 44	Washington:	-3.3
# 45	Wyoming:	-3.4
= 46	Kansas:	-3.8
= 46	New Mexico:	-3.8
# 48	Arkansas:	-3.9
# 49	Alaska:	-4.8
# 50	Idaho:	-4.9
# 51	Louisiana:	-7.2
	Weighted average:	-0.6

To summarize: Senator Vitter, who is self-admittedly perhaps not the foremost authority on "family values," knows that millions of us are uninsured. He knows that we cannot afford our prescription medications. But his campaign benefited more from the contributions of insurance and pharmaceutical companies than from any other industry. So, perhaps not coincidentally, he does not support health care reform as it is currently being debated, nor does he offer any more likely option. Senator Vitter would like, in short, to do absolutely nothing to help your family access affordable, quality medical care. He told us so himself.

Would you like to say something to Senator Vitter? Let your views be known (and let us know what he says)! You can contact him via the internet, or through any of his offices:

Senator David Vitter:

Washington, D.C. Office
516 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Main: (202) 224-4623
Fax: (202) 228-5061
Central Louisiana Office
2230 S. MacArthur Dr., Suite 4
Alexandria, LA 71301
Main: (318) 448-0169
Fax: (318) 448-0189
Northeast Louisiana Office
1217 N. 19th St.
Monroe, LA 71201
Main: (318) 325-8120
Fax: (318) 325-9165
Northwest Louisiana Office
920 Pierremont Road, Suite 113
Shreveport, LA 71106
Main: (318) 861-0437
Fax: (318) 861-4865
Southeast Louisiana Office
2800 Veterans Blvd., Suite 201
Metairie, LA 70002
Main: (504) 589-2753
Fax: (504) 589-2607
Southwest Louisiana Office
3221 Ryan St., Suite E
Lake Charles, LA 70601
Main: (337) 436-0453
Fax: (337) 436-3163
Acadiana Office
800 Lafayette St.
Suite 1200
Lafayette, LA 70501
Main: 337-262-6898
Fax: 337-262-6373
Baton Rouge Office
858 Convention St.
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Main: 225-383-0331
Fax: 225-383-0952

Health Care Reform = Insurance Reform; The Difference Between Public/Private, and Profit/Non-Profit

2009-09-28T16:52:00.002-05:00

Health Care Reform = Insurance Reform;

The Difference Between Public/Private and Profit/Non-Profit

You may love your doctor, but do you love your insurance company?

Critics of "health care reform" like to film commercials showing home town doctors in white coats talking about how reform would be a problem for you. This is because critics would like you to associate them with your doctor's care. But the truth is that the reform issues that are currently being debated in congress focus on your insurance company's performance, not your doctor's care.

Why Private, Profit-Making Insurance Companies Will Never Put Your Health First:

Look at it this way. There is already someone between you and your doctor, whether those commercials show it or not. If you currently have health insurance, that someone is an insurance company executive, whose primary purpose is to make a profit off of your health care needs. As long as you are in good health, this is no problem for them. They charge a premium for covering you, because statistically it's a good risk for them...as long as you stay healthy. Of course, if your health should deteriorate for any reason, they'll re-think what they charge you and what they'll pay for - if they continue to cover you at all. And they'll do this for one simple reason; not because they're awful people, or they have no conscience, but because this is their job. As long as health care is only run as a for-profit industry, profits will always be the bottom line for insurance companies, even if it is at the expense of you or your family's health.

Why Non-Profit Insurance Companies Aren't the Answer:

Some companies, such as Kaiser Permanenete, have attempted to resolve this by creating non-profit insurance. Although the idea seemed solid, their track record in terms of improving quality of care has been poor. As someone who teaches classes in non-profit management, let me explain why this has been the case:

The label "non-profit" is often misunderstood. Non-profit status, also called 501(c)3 designation, is a designation that an agency makes primarily for tax reasons. The main difference between a non-profit and a for-profit corporation, as far as their interaction with the public, is that donations made to a non-profit can be tax-deductible. This is because any agency profits are required to be put back into the agency, rather than go to shareholders. For this reason, many charities choose to utilize the 501(c)3 status.

However, non-profit status does NOT necessarily mean that the agency is stable, well-funded, or provides any better quality service than a for-profit agency. Indeed, most non-profits are in a constant struggle to find and maintain funding. Non-profit insurance companies have a bit of a leg up, because they will charge you premiums and co-pays just like any for-profit insurer will. This helps them to maintain funding. But it does not guarantee that money will go into your care. Executives for large non-profit agencies, especially insurance agencies, can make just as outrageous salaries, bonuses, etc. as any other executive. That money is simply not considered to be a profit for the company. And running a non-profit insurance company is just as expensive as running a for-profit insurance company, so they still have to find a way to solicit business, pay for services, pay for salaries, etc. on top of the cost of doing business. The result has been that non-profit insurers have no better record of quality or consistency of care than any other insurance company.

How A Public Option Would Be Different:

A "public option," such as the one in President Obama's health care plan, means just that - it is an option that would belong entirely to the public. Essentially, the public - you and I - would replace the shareholders that private agency would have. This means that anyone who wants to utilize the public option would be allowed to do so - because we, the public, are the providers. We are the insurers. Better yet, all of us can band together and work as one to bring the costs of health care down. This is how every insurer works - they use the collective power of all of their clients to bargain with health care vendors for better prices on materials, prescription medications, etc.

Imagine the bargaining power that we could wield as the entire public of the United States of America. The more people who select the plan, the better our bargaining power would be. And right now, with approximately 50 million people uninsured in the U.S., we already have a large bargaining base to begin with.

We could be larger than any insurance company could imagine. That's why insurance companies don't want this bill to pass. They simply don't know how to compete with us, if we all work together. They would have to improve their own performance and payment options to maintain competitiveness.

Of course, there will always be skeptics. Under the current plan, no one would have to leave his or her insurance company if they choose not to. Not everyone will sign up for the public option, so it is unlikely that other insurance companies would be driven out of business. More likely, they would have to bring down the cost of executive salaries, reduce their own profits, and provide better, more specialized care to maintain competitiveness...just like any other industry. At least, that's what has already happened in most other developed nations - all of which have some form of regulation on health insurance. But don't believe me. Go find yourself someone who is actually from one of these countries (don't rely on second-hand spin from ultra-conservative Americans), and ask if they would switch for the insurance system we have now. You might be surprised how fast they say "Not a chance."

How Can the Public Own An Insurance Organization?

We can be our own insurers, just the same as we own other businesses which are important to the stabilization of our nation's welfare. We own the postal service. We own interstate highways. We own libraries. Some are great, some need help. But everything the state (public) owns, it owns for one reason - we believe as a nation that it is too important to be left up to a few private companies.

And when it comes right down to it, what could be more important than your and your family's access to affordable health care, prescriptions, and medicine?

Protect Insurance Companies! (video spoof)

2009-09-24T14:14:00.002-05:00

Thank you to FunnyOrDie.com for taking up the cause, and producing this video spoof of a PSA to protect the insurance companies against the threat of regulated health insurance!

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

Presenters: Will Ferrell, Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde, Thomas Lennon, Donald Faison Linda Cardellini, Masi Oka, Ben Garant, Jordana Spiro, Drew Antzis, and Chad Carter

Health Care: How Louisiana Stacks Up

2009-09-22T16:55:00.000-05:00

Health Care: How Louisiana Stacks Up

Health Statistics > Health Index (most recent) by state

VIEW DATA:

Totals

Definition Source Printable version

Bar Graph

Map

Correlations

Showing latest available data.

Rank	States	Amount
# 1	Vermont:	22.67
# 2	New Hampshire:	21.4
# 3	Massachusetts:	18.69
# 4	Minnesota:	16.3
# 5	Maine:	16.06
# 6	Iowa:	14.57
# 7	Utah:	14.19
# 8	Hawaii:	13.71
# 9	Nebraska:	12.82
# 10	Connecticut:	12.63
# 11	North Dakota:	11.47
# 12	Rhode Island:	10.51
# 13	Washington:	9.87
# 14	Wisconsin:	8.07
# 15	Kansas:	7.85
# 16	New Jersey:	7.71
# 17	Virginia:	6.74
# 18	California:	6.51
# 19	Oregon:	5.92
# 20	Idaho:	5.42
# 21	Pennsylvania:	5.33
# 22	South Dakota:	5.29
# 23	Michigan:	3.73
# 24	Indiana:	3.33
# 25	Montana:	3.19
# 26	Ohio:	3.12
# 27	Colorado:	1.61
# 28	West Virginia:	1.23
# 29	Maryland:	0.77
# 30	Wyoming:	-0.19
# 31	New York:	-0.64
# 32	Kentucky:	-0.86
# 33	North Carolina:	-1.03
# 34	Illinois:	-1.17
# 35	Delaware:	-1.49
# 36	Missouri:	-2.89
# 37	Alaska:	-4.98
# 38	Tennessee:	-5
# 39	Arizona:	-5.78
# 40	Arkansas:	-5.93
# 41	Alabama:	-9.97
# 42	Georgia:	-10
# 43	South Carolina:	-10.63
# 44	Florida:	-11.21
# 45	Texas:	-11.85
# 46	Oklahoma:	-12.07
# 47	Nevada:	-13.37
# 48	New Mexico:	-17.69
# 49	Mississippi:	-18.43
# 50	Louisiana:	-20.95
	Weighted average:	2.1

Politics in America: what could be more controversial, or more important to us as American citizens? Despite the cynicism that permeates the discussion of politics and voting in our nation, it has been my experience that most people have a basic understanding of the democratic process (at least as a theoretical ideal) and that most people in the U.S. want to vote. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 70% of residents who were eligible registered to vote in the 2004 election, and over 88% of those registered actually showed up at the polls to vote. Americans do care about social and political issues, and they do want to make their views known. But sometimes we can become paralyzed by confusion about the issues being debated, or lack of understanding about the difference between politicians or their views. After all, not everyone can spend hours researching facts and figures before every election. So we want to share what we think is some of the most significant information Louisianans should know about the health care debate - information that has affected the way we view the heath insurance controversy as both Americans, and as proud Louisianans.

Louisiana ranks lowest in the nation in a comparison of health factors among all 50 states. The results of a study published by United Health Foundation included factors such as insurance coverage, number of children living below the poverty rate, percent of preventable hospitalizations, infant mortality rates, and overall death rates - all of which were noted as specific challenges to the future of Louisiana's health care.
Louisiana ranks last in the nation in terms of people losing health coverage. In a study conducted from 2000-2004, more Louisianans lost their health insurance coverage than residents of any other state. Over 7% of residents who previously had health insurance lost it in the course of the study. This is several times greater than the average loss among other states, which was slightly higher than half of one percent.
Roughly 20% of residents in Louisiana are already completely uninsured. This translates to more than 860,000 people, all members of our own communities. And although the majority of these uninsured residents live below the poverty level, at least 30% of these uninsured residents actually bring in at least twice the amount of income designated as the federal poverty level. This means that lack of insurance is not just a problem among our impoverished communities - it is also a problem in our middle-income, "average" families. These are families in which one or both parents work, but still cannot afford health insurance coverage.

The above studies lead to one worrying and undeniable conclusion: that Louisianans have objectively some of the worst health outcomes in the nation. Perhaps if we were all residents of some other state, we could afford to let the status quo remain as is.... But as Louisianans, we have more reason than anyone to push for health care and insurance coverage reform!

Who Are We? An Introduction to Our Work on Health Care Reform for Louisianans

2009-09-21T17:13:00.001-05:00

Louisiana and the Health Care/Insurance Reform Controversy:

How We Can Help

The current controversy about "health care reform" seems to be everywhere these days. Maybe you have heard people speaking about it on local or national newscasts. Perhaps you have heard politicians speaking about it on television. Or you may have read about it in the papers, or even seen demonstrators for both sides of the issue. And if you watch TV, you can't help but see dueling commercials from one political action groups or another. But what is this controversy really all about? How do the positions of the various political parties really differ? And what does it mean for you, as a resident of Louisiana? In short, why should you care about this reform?

If you have asked yourself any of these questions, you are not alone. Policy controversies can be confusing, and it doesn't help to have politicians on either side of the aisle throwing out accusations or spreading misinformation based primarily on what they think their constituents want to hear. So where do you turn for information that you can trust? We created this site to help you answer these important questions. We want to share with you our understanding of the controversy, the positions of differing political parties (including your Louisiana senators and representatives) and what you can do to make the best decisions for your family.

How can we help you? We created HealthForLouisiana.blogspot.com to help Louisiana residents like you to find answers to the questions that surround the health care controversy. Our goal is to help you understand what the real issues surrounding the health care reform controversy are most likely to be, so that you can make the best decisions for the health of your family. Our site is in no way affiliated with any political action group - meaning that we're not involved with any of those commercial campaigns, and we don't have any financial stake in your vote. We are just a family, residents of Louisiana, with professional backgrounds in the social policy and reform processes. We know how to break apart, analyze, and follow a government policy, and how to advocate professionally for policies in which we believe strongly. Collectively, we hold graduate degrees in Social Work and Social Policy and in Law. We live and work in Louisiana, and we stay as informed as possible about policy matters. But we also know that not everyone has the luxury of doing the same. So we decided to create this site for you, to share what we have learned, and to help you consider the multiple complexities of local and federal policies surrounding the health care controversy.

Why do we care about this issue? The reason is simple. We feel strongly that the issue of "health care reform" is the most important issue facing our family, our community, our state, and our nation today. Over the next few weeks, we will explain why we feel the issue is so important. What you need to know right now is that we have been both personally and professionally involved in many government policies throughout our adult lives and careers, and while our community faces many important issues today, including "rebirth" after disastrous hurricanes, widespread poverty, joblessness, housing problems, and more...it has been our experience that health care and health insurance reform are in many ways the most pressing of issues affecting our entire community. Without a strong health care policy, our state simply cannot move forward on finding lasting, effective solutions to the multitude of other issues we face today.

Why should you care about this issue? Again, the reason is simple. How much money do you pay to the state and federal government in the form of taxes? That money is meant to be your guarantee that your representatives will listen to you, and will advocate for your needs in the local and national government arenas. You pay their wages. You pay for their health insurance. So don't you have the right to be heard when it comes time for them to listen to what your family needs? And yet, how many of us really feel "heard" by our representatives? How many of us even know how to contact them? We want that number to become 100%, and we want to help you make that goal a reality. You deserve a voice in our legislature, no matter who you are. If you buy goods or services in Louisiana, you pay taxes here. If you have a steady job, you pay taxes here. If you live in Louisiana, you pay taxes here, and you have an opinion and a voice. We want to help you use it!

Do we have an opinion on the issue? Of course we do. Anyone who tells you that they don't have an opinion on an issue for which they are advocating is trying to sell you something.

Look, we don't want your money. We're not interested in donations or payoffs. We're not working for or with any politician, political action group, or political party. We have nothing to gain by our site beyond sharing our own voices. We feel that we have something important to say, something that you may or may not already know about, and we want you to hear us out. We welcome your questions, comments, and responses. We will gladly hear you out too, and share our replies. We feel that we have a strong position, but whether you agree with it or not, we think you will find some answers by reading our site. At the very least, we hope that we can motivate and encourage everyone who visits our site to become involved in the political process, and to realize that even one family, even one person, even one opinion, can make a difference.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. ~ Margaret Mead

Contact Us

2009-09-19T18:52:00.001-05:00

Contact Us

Do you have a personal experience with health insurance that you want to share?

Is there something you would like us to include on the site?

We'd love to help!

Email us at: HealthForLouisiana@gmail.com

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Contact Us