I've already forwarded this link around. The video pokes fun at right-wing scare talk about fixing the health care mess - you know, the corporate insurance extravaganza that is ravaging millions of families and keeping the economy down.
The video underscores the consistent refusal of the Republican Party to speak to the American people as if we are adults.
On a related note, State Senator Matt Murphy is apparently going to run for Illinois governor. Several months ago I asked Senator Murphy how he would balance the budget. His answer: tax cuts.
(I also asked about HB 311. After I explained that it was for single-payer health care, he said he was against it.)
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
where your treasure is, there also will your heart be
Update 9/27/09: since the original posting, an updated CBPP report shows the number of states with shortfalls has risen to 48 and the total deficit anticipated for the next fiscal year, 2010, is $168 billion.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, of 50 states, 47 face budget shortfalls over the next few years. The total budget shortfall for all states for fiscal year 2009 is $106 billion. Because states cannot run deficits, sharp and immediate cutbacks in social services and infrastructure are often seen. But these measures can be false economies, taking down systems that make our communities good places to live.
Last week, Congress passed another war supplemental funding bill. There was maybe a week of debate over some of the issues - but the outcome was never in doubt. Nothing like the pitched battle going on over whether we will join the rest of the civilized world and institute universal health care. The amount of the appropriation - $106 billion.
This is insane.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, of 50 states, 47 face budget shortfalls over the next few years. The total budget shortfall for all states for fiscal year 2009 is $106 billion. Because states cannot run deficits, sharp and immediate cutbacks in social services and infrastructure are often seen. But these measures can be false economies, taking down systems that make our communities good places to live.
Last week, Congress passed another war supplemental funding bill. There was maybe a week of debate over some of the issues - but the outcome was never in doubt. Nothing like the pitched battle going on over whether we will join the rest of the civilized world and institute universal health care. The amount of the appropriation - $106 billion.
This is insane.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Doctors arrested protesting exclusion of single-payer at Senate Finance Committee
[from the PNHP.org press release, May 5, 2009]
See also the report at PNHP.org, here:http://www.pnhp.org/news/2009/may/doctors_single_paye.php
VIDEO footage:
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) reacts to protesters
Russell Mokhiber, Single Payer Action, speaks at hearing
Margaret Flowers, MD & Katie Robbins, Healthcare-NOW
Carol Paris, MD, PNHP
Mark Dudzic, Labor Campaign for Single-Payer Healthcare
Adam
Pat Salomon, MD & Kevin Zeese
WASHINGTON - Doctors and other advocates of a national single-payer health system - also known as an improved Medicare for All - directly confronted senators at a Senate Finance Committee "roundtable" on health reform today.
One-by-one, eight single-payer advocates in the audience stood up during the opening comments of the hearing and asked why single-payer experts were being excluded from the proceedings. They each spoke out in turn until they were removed from the committee hearing room and arrested, one-by-one, by U.S. Capitol police.
The doctors and others said that a publicly funded, privately delivered single-payer system is the only solution to the crisis plaguing our nation's non-system of health care, noting that single-payer national health insurance would guarantee coverage for everyone and contains costs.
Despite polling that shows a clear majority of public and physician support for a single-payer system, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, has stated on multiple occasions that single payer is "off the table" of health reform.
Today's round table, the second of three, consisted of 15 witnesses with no single-payer advocates among them. By contrast, several witnesses have direct ties to the for-profit, private health insurance industry.
The doctors and activists were dressed in black, which they said was in memory of the 22,000 people who die every year due to lack of health insurance. They represented a coalition of single-payer advocacy organizations including Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), Healthcare-NOW, Single Payer Action, Private Health Insurance Must Go, the Campaign for Fresh Air and Clean Politics, Prosperity Agenda, and Health Care for the Homeless.
"Health insurance administrators are practicing medicine without a medical license," said Dr. Margaret Flowers, co-chair of Maryland chapter of PNHP. "The result is the suffering and death of thousands of patients for the sake of private profit. The private health insurance industry has a solid grip on patients, providers and legislators. It is time to stand up and declare that health care is a human right."
Much to the frustration of Baucus, the multiple disruptions demanding single-payer be on the table set the tone for the second of three roundtables on Health Reform by the Senate Finance Committee.
Katie Robbins, assistant national coordinator of Healthcare-NOW, said: "The current discussion on health reform is political theater at its best. Our elected officials are hosting these events to go through the motions of what developing effective national health policy should look like. There is a big difference between getting health policy experts in the room and the witnesses here today who would profit the most from reform. That difference means our hard-earned dollars will go to further insurance industry profits, not to guarantee health care to the American people."
"It's a pretty spectacular display of raw political power," said Russell Mokhiber of Single Payer Action. "The health insurance industry demands that not one of the 15 people who testified today shall be a single-payer advocate. And the industry gets what it wants. It's time for the American people to storm the gates and demand - put single payer on the table."
Single payer is successfully implemented in the United States' own Medicare system providing comprehensive care to the elderly, as well as in many of the best health care systems in the world. A single-payer system, as embodied in legislation H.R. 676 and S. 703, would provide guaranteed, quality care to all Americans with no increase in U.S. health spending.
The single-payer advocates said they will continue to use direct actions and nonviolent civil disobedience to urge the inclusion of a publicly funded, privately delivered system.
Other methods of communication with elected officials have failed in delivering the demand for single-payer national health care as evidenced by the exclusion of single-payer advocates from official hearings on health reform.
###
Comment: The Capitol police got it wrong. They should have hauled away the lobbyists and seated the doctors who came to speak on behalf of the thousands in this country who die every year from lack of insurance and millions who are bankrupted or foreclosed because of medical bills.
P.S.: C-Span video of the entire hearing below. Note Senatorial banter as people call for consideration of single-payer:
Baucus: The comments are out of order. This may cause us to recess until the police can restore order.
Grassley: I would do it right now.
...
Baucus: We need more police.
Grassley: Isn't there someplace they can watch it on television?
...
Kerry: Is there anybody in the audience who didn't come to ... ?
To see who was invited to speak, check here.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Thoughts on Running for Local Office
by Hal Snyder
Five of us ran as Democrats in the April 7 election for Palatine Township board: Duncan Swenson for Supervisor, Joe Gump for Highway Commissioner, and Beth Siela Marcin, Jan Wood, and me for Trustee. We were joined by Dexter Stokes, running for Palatine Park District Commissioner - a non-partisan race, but Dexter was a kindred spirit.
None of us was elected. This time. We learned, though, about the democratic process and about ourselves. I asked my fellow candidates to write something about the experience of running for office. Here are some of their responses.
- Beth Siela Marcin
I am in awe and thankful for our wonderful, dedicated volunteers. We could not have had the success we did have without them. To our generous donors - thank you.
For me personally, I was really challenged and had to get out of a comfort zone to speak to a group of people I did not know and express my thoughts, ideas, and feelings. I had a great time - working the trains (watching Joe Gump, the professional and natural campaigner, Hal Snyder with his infectious enthusiasm, and Dexter Stokes with his quiet determination); going door to door - reconnecting with my neighbors and meeting new young neighbors; listening to my husband getting excited when talking to his friends about my campaign. It really was a great experience - not one that I ever thought I would have.
PROUD TO BE A DEMOCRAT!- Dexter Stokes
This was an experience that I will never forget. All of the candidates of the Democratic party should be applauded, and be proud. We have shown we are a force to be reckoned with. Our time is soon to come if we continue to strive toward the goal.- Joe Gump
The reason that I ran for highway commissioner was to increase transparency, efficiency, and accountability.
It is important that township residents have a choice at election time and that the entrenched incumbents not feel as if they are entitled to their position. They need to earn our support and be accountable to those who pay for the services they are directed to provide. Due to the partisan nature of the election and the composition of the township, I was not particularly optimistic about our chances, nonetheless it was important to run.
I encourage any committed person to run for office. It is hard work, but you will benefit in many ways. It is truly what makes our democracy strong and the local level is where the rubber hits the road and can have the most direct impact on your quality of life.- a few of my impressions - hal
There's always more to do in a campaign than you have time or resources to accomplish.- You find out fast how helpless you are alone. Volunteers make the campaign happen.
- It helps to have an experienced coach. We were lucky to have Sue Walton. The Township candidates started as five different people going in five different directions; we became a team working on a single set of goals.
- If elected, we would have been the first Democrats on the Palatine Township board in over 150 years.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
Overview of the Health Care Crisis
By David Borris
(Thanks to David for sharing the notes he prepared for a talk at the March 28 Health Care Summit at Countryside Church in Palatine.)
Thanks to our hosts for having us here to discuss this critical topic at such an opportune time. And I appreciate everyone who took time out of their busy schedules on a Saturday afternoon to come out and share their thoughts, hopes and fears about where health care is headed in this country and how we can help shape the agenda. And it is up to us to shape the agenda if we want to see true reform. The health insurance industry, aligned with the for profit medical community and the mega pharmaceutical giants are ready for battle. They do not want to see any real reform that will jeopardize the rapacious profits they have enjoyed for decades, and they are prepared and organized to see that the status quo is not disturbed to any great degree. And most of the folks over there in Washington DC are only too happy to accommodate their major donors if we do not stand up and hold them accountable.
Meetings like this should be, and are happening all over the country as people like our hosts here and A Better Day work to create opportunities for all of us to discuss what is broken and what is possible. So thank you once again for coming- and thanks in advance for what you will be doing in the next few months to radically transform Health Care in America and make this country a more equitable, a more honest, and a more just place to raise our children and our grandchildren.
Before we talk about solutions, I would like to give an overview of the problem. So let me try to do this simply and clearly. While the details of specific solutions often appear quite complex, the problem can be stated clearly.
Think again. Once again referring to the OECD data, the United States ranks:
Because we leave too many people out. Walk down the street—every sixth person you pass has no health insurance, and thus a severely limited ability to access quality health care. Of the other five people who walk by you, another 1 is underinsured - so will not be able to take advantage of treatment options that he or she thought they had coverage for until they became ill.
(Thanks to David for sharing the notes he prepared for a talk at the March 28 Health Care Summit at Countryside Church in Palatine.)
Thanks to our hosts for having us here to discuss this critical topic at such an opportune time. And I appreciate everyone who took time out of their busy schedules on a Saturday afternoon to come out and share their thoughts, hopes and fears about where health care is headed in this country and how we can help shape the agenda. And it is up to us to shape the agenda if we want to see true reform. The health insurance industry, aligned with the for profit medical community and the mega pharmaceutical giants are ready for battle. They do not want to see any real reform that will jeopardize the rapacious profits they have enjoyed for decades, and they are prepared and organized to see that the status quo is not disturbed to any great degree. And most of the folks over there in Washington DC are only too happy to accommodate their major donors if we do not stand up and hold them accountable.
Meetings like this should be, and are happening all over the country as people like our hosts here and A Better Day work to create opportunities for all of us to discuss what is broken and what is possible. So thank you once again for coming- and thanks in advance for what you will be doing in the next few months to radically transform Health Care in America and make this country a more equitable, a more honest, and a more just place to raise our children and our grandchildren.
Before we talk about solutions, I would like to give an overview of the problem. So let me try to do this simply and clearly. While the details of specific solutions often appear quite complex, the problem can be stated clearly.
- We pay too much.
- We get too little.
- Too many people are left out.
Think again. Once again referring to the OECD data, the United States ranks:
- 25th out of 30 High Income Nations in Mortality from Heart Disease.
- 23rd out of 30 in overall Life expectancy.
- 25th in Low birth weight children.
- And most disturbing of all, 27th out of 30 in Infant Mortality. There are 26 high-income nations in the world who spend less than 60% of what we spend for health care who give their newborn infants a better chance at survival than we do.
Because we leave too many people out. Walk down the street—every sixth person you pass has no health insurance, and thus a severely limited ability to access quality health care. Of the other five people who walk by you, another 1 is underinsured - so will not be able to take advantage of treatment options that he or she thought they had coverage for until they became ill.
Meanwhile, costs are soaring. Since 1999, employment based health insurance premiums have increased by 120% - well more than doubling, while cumulative wage growth has grown by a mere 29%.
At the same time, employers continue to shift the burden of rising premium costs onto their employees. The annual Kaiser Family Foundation survey released in September of 2008 reports that the average worker now contributes nearly $3400 to their health insurance premiums --$1600 more than they did in 1999, and 12% more than they did in 2007.
Is it any wonder that more and more employers have chosen to severely curtail or drop coverage altogether? According to the Illinois Main Street Alliance, 12% of small business polled in over a dozen states have dropped coverage altogether in the past two years while 35% report switching to coverage with less benefits. And just three weeks ago, Hewitt Associates released a survey stating nearly 1/5 of U.S. employers will stop offering health benefits in the next 3-5 years, more than 5 times the number that reported that just last year.
And with the current economic downturn resulting in job loss numbers of almost unprecedented proportions, isn’t it obvious that we can no longer afford to wait for a broken, noncompetitive “Market” to work out a solution?
It is time that we reconnect to what health care should be - a profession whose primary mission is to improve the lives of those it serves, not an industry whose purpose for being is to maximize profit at the expense of the least fortunate. We are currently engaged in a great debate of how to most meaningfully achieve this rebalancing.
We won’t develop comprehensive solutions here this afternoon – but we can all walk away from here with a more educated and more focused framework and direction. And we can bring the ideas that we will discuss in more detail later this afternoon to the attention of our friends, neighbors and elected officials as we make this the year that we finally address one of the most vexing issues hamstringing the economic recovery - how to provide quality, affordable health care for all.
Comment: we have an opportunity to influence health care legislation that is under consideration now. We can join forces to ensure that the result truly serves the public and not special interests. There is a major rally for health care reform on Saturday, April 18 at St. Augustine College in Chicago. A free bus to the rally and back will be available from Palatine and Arlington Heights - specifics online here. - Hal
At the same time, employers continue to shift the burden of rising premium costs onto their employees. The annual Kaiser Family Foundation survey released in September of 2008 reports that the average worker now contributes nearly $3400 to their health insurance premiums --$1600 more than they did in 1999, and 12% more than they did in 2007.
Is it any wonder that more and more employers have chosen to severely curtail or drop coverage altogether? According to the Illinois Main Street Alliance, 12% of small business polled in over a dozen states have dropped coverage altogether in the past two years while 35% report switching to coverage with less benefits. And just three weeks ago, Hewitt Associates released a survey stating nearly 1/5 of U.S. employers will stop offering health benefits in the next 3-5 years, more than 5 times the number that reported that just last year.
And with the current economic downturn resulting in job loss numbers of almost unprecedented proportions, isn’t it obvious that we can no longer afford to wait for a broken, noncompetitive “Market” to work out a solution?
It is time that we reconnect to what health care should be - a profession whose primary mission is to improve the lives of those it serves, not an industry whose purpose for being is to maximize profit at the expense of the least fortunate. We are currently engaged in a great debate of how to most meaningfully achieve this rebalancing.
We won’t develop comprehensive solutions here this afternoon – but we can all walk away from here with a more educated and more focused framework and direction. And we can bring the ideas that we will discuss in more detail later this afternoon to the attention of our friends, neighbors and elected officials as we make this the year that we finally address one of the most vexing issues hamstringing the economic recovery - how to provide quality, affordable health care for all.
Comment: we have an opportunity to influence health care legislation that is under consideration now. We can join forces to ensure that the result truly serves the public and not special interests. There is a major rally for health care reform on Saturday, April 18 at St. Augustine College in Chicago. A free bus to the rally and back will be available from Palatine and Arlington Heights - specifics online here. - Hal
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Call Melissa Bean's office today for health care
Health Care for America Now (HCAN) is urging 8th District constituents to phone Representative Melissa Bean's office today and ask her to support President Obama's proposed budget, especially the funding of $634 billion for health care over the next ten years.
This is the second day of a call-in campaign. Word is that Congresswoman Bean is on the fence. We can let her know it's important to fund solutions to the health care crisis. (In fact, we can't afford not to fix health care if we want a full economic recovery, but more on that later.)
HCAN has an online app here (you'll need to sign up if you haven't already, then click "CALL") that saves the cost of a phone call and lets you record the outcome of the call - the name of the staffer you spoke to and the present stance of the politician called. Be polite! It's likely we're at the start of an extended discussion with the Congresswoman's office.
This is the second day of a call-in campaign. Word is that Congresswoman Bean is on the fence. We can let her know it's important to fund solutions to the health care crisis. (In fact, we can't afford not to fix health care if we want a full economic recovery, but more on that later.)
HCAN has an online app here (you'll need to sign up if you haven't already, then click "CALL") that saves the cost of a phone call and lets you record the outcome of the call - the name of the staffer you spoke to and the present stance of the politician called. Be polite! It's likely we're at the start of an extended discussion with the Congresswoman's office.
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