Large Support For US Government-Supported Health Insurance
President Barack Obama wants to offer a public insurance option on the health care plan that he is promoting. This is not the same as the single-payer health insurance program, which currently is in Congress under U.S. House Resolution (HR) 676.
In Mr. Obama’s quest to promote his health care plan, he is asking people to share their stories about health care. There are a number of stories from Austin, including the following—
“I am in the most uninsured demographic in the United States - young adults. I'm currently working on a Master's degree and am getting married in three weeks. Instead of being as excited as I should be, I worry endlessly about being tossed off of my parents' insurance plan and into the world of uncertainty and fear that is being uninsured. Neither my husband-to-be nor I are able to hold full-time jobs that offer health benefits because we are both graduate students. We make ends meet through part-time and odd jobs, but there is not enough at the end of the month to pay for a $300 health insurance bill. Thus, we remain uninsured. We are left to worry that something will happen to one of us and we will not be able to pay medical bills we might incur. We would go further into debt, in addition to all of our student loans. Just the other day, my fiance had an accident with a knife in the kitchen and he suffered a puncture wound in his hand. The first thing that went through both of our minds was, "Oh no, we can't go to the hospital; he doesn't have health insurance." We both live in constant fear of what might happen. In a few weeks, I won't be able to afford the allergy and asthma medication that has allowed me to live in the central Texas area, which has the highest pollen and allergen count in the U.S. My fiance will worry about what we could cut from our meager monthly budget so that we could afford even a basic health care plan just for me. Both my fiance and I are in desperate need of healthcare reform that will take the burden of health care off of employers and will make healthcare more affordable to individuals like us who are trying to better ourselves through education and who can't yet find jobs that will afford them benefits. If fear of "socialism" and ideological differences is holding back those in power, I beg each of them to please consider each personal story they hear as if they were hearing it from their own son or daughter.” Shawn, Austin, TX
The governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm, commented about the relationship between health insurance and the auto industry. “…we have a saying that the auto companies are really health care companies who make cars to pay for it.”
Governor Granholm said that the US auto industry, which has had to supply its own health insurance, competes with auto industries in other countries such as Canada that have national health insurance. She noted that for the first time, last year before the economic meltdown, more cars were built in Ontario, Canada than in Michigan.
A recent poll conducted by the New York Times and CBS showed wide-support for government-run health care, although this does not necessarily mean that those polled support only single-payer health insurance.
Wikipedia had this to say about the current U.S.health care system. ...“the U.S. health care system is the most expensive in the world on both a per-capita basis and as a percentage of GDP.[30] Despite this expenditure, the current U.S. system fails to provide universal coverage. More than 45 million Americans, about 15 percent of the population, lacked health insurance in 2007.[31] The lack of universal coverage contributes to another flaw in the current U.S. health care system: on most dimensions of performance, it under performs relative to other industrialized countries.[16] In a 2007 comparison by the Commonwealth Fund of health care in the U.S. with that of Germany, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, the U.S. ranked last on measures of quality, access, efficiency, equity, and outcomes.[16]”
A recent article in the New Yorker concerning Medicare cost discrepancies in two Texas-Mexico border cities, McAllen and El Paso adds fuel to the debate about government-operated health insurance Medicare expenditures were twice as high in McAllen than El Paso, because McAllen doctors increased their incomes by over-treating their patients.
Meanwhile, back in Austin, on Saturday, May 30, about 150 people—mostly white and over 50-years old, participated in or attended a single-payer health insurance rally at City Hall in Austin, TX. The rally was one of many held on the same day across the US to raise consciousness and support for U.S. House Resolution (HR) 676.
As of this writing, the Austin City Council appears to be the only city council in Texas to have passed a resolution supporting HR 676. That is why the rally was held in Austin rather than in Houston or San Antonio. The city councils of those cities have not yet passed resolutions supporting HR 676. Several people from Houston and San Antonio attended the Austin rally.
The rally was sponsored by several organizations including the following-- Health Care For All Texans, Gray Panthers, Texas State Employees Union, the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care, California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee,Health Care--Now,Progressive Democrats of America,Physicians for a National Health Program,and Americans for Democratic Action
The following are photos from the May 30,2009 rally for single-payer health coverage in Austin. The last photo shows Mayor Lee Leffingwell, who helped lead the Austin City Council to support HR 676 while he was a council member, greeting a constituent.
In Mr. Obama’s quest to promote his health care plan, he is asking people to share their stories about health care. There are a number of stories from Austin, including the following—
“I am in the most uninsured demographic in the United States - young adults. I'm currently working on a Master's degree and am getting married in three weeks. Instead of being as excited as I should be, I worry endlessly about being tossed off of my parents' insurance plan and into the world of uncertainty and fear that is being uninsured. Neither my husband-to-be nor I are able to hold full-time jobs that offer health benefits because we are both graduate students. We make ends meet through part-time and odd jobs, but there is not enough at the end of the month to pay for a $300 health insurance bill. Thus, we remain uninsured. We are left to worry that something will happen to one of us and we will not be able to pay medical bills we might incur. We would go further into debt, in addition to all of our student loans. Just the other day, my fiance had an accident with a knife in the kitchen and he suffered a puncture wound in his hand. The first thing that went through both of our minds was, "Oh no, we can't go to the hospital; he doesn't have health insurance." We both live in constant fear of what might happen. In a few weeks, I won't be able to afford the allergy and asthma medication that has allowed me to live in the central Texas area, which has the highest pollen and allergen count in the U.S. My fiance will worry about what we could cut from our meager monthly budget so that we could afford even a basic health care plan just for me. Both my fiance and I are in desperate need of healthcare reform that will take the burden of health care off of employers and will make healthcare more affordable to individuals like us who are trying to better ourselves through education and who can't yet find jobs that will afford them benefits. If fear of "socialism" and ideological differences is holding back those in power, I beg each of them to please consider each personal story they hear as if they were hearing it from their own son or daughter.” Shawn, Austin, TX
The governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm, commented about the relationship between health insurance and the auto industry. “…we have a saying that the auto companies are really health care companies who make cars to pay for it.”
Governor Granholm said that the US auto industry, which has had to supply its own health insurance, competes with auto industries in other countries such as Canada that have national health insurance. She noted that for the first time, last year before the economic meltdown, more cars were built in Ontario, Canada than in Michigan.
A recent poll conducted by the New York Times and CBS showed wide-support for government-run health care, although this does not necessarily mean that those polled support only single-payer health insurance.
Wikipedia had this to say about the current U.S.health care system. ...“the U.S. health care system is the most expensive in the world on both a per-capita basis and as a percentage of GDP.[30] Despite this expenditure, the current U.S. system fails to provide universal coverage. More than 45 million Americans, about 15 percent of the population, lacked health insurance in 2007.[31] The lack of universal coverage contributes to another flaw in the current U.S. health care system: on most dimensions of performance, it under performs relative to other industrialized countries.[16] In a 2007 comparison by the Commonwealth Fund of health care in the U.S. with that of Germany, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, the U.S. ranked last on measures of quality, access, efficiency, equity, and outcomes.[16]”
A recent article in the New Yorker concerning Medicare cost discrepancies in two Texas-Mexico border cities, McAllen and El Paso adds fuel to the debate about government-operated health insurance Medicare expenditures were twice as high in McAllen than El Paso, because McAllen doctors increased their incomes by over-treating their patients.
Meanwhile, back in Austin, on Saturday, May 30, about 150 people—mostly white and over 50-years old, participated in or attended a single-payer health insurance rally at City Hall in Austin, TX. The rally was one of many held on the same day across the US to raise consciousness and support for U.S. House Resolution (HR) 676.
As of this writing, the Austin City Council appears to be the only city council in Texas to have passed a resolution supporting HR 676. That is why the rally was held in Austin rather than in Houston or San Antonio. The city councils of those cities have not yet passed resolutions supporting HR 676. Several people from Houston and San Antonio attended the Austin rally.
The rally was sponsored by several organizations including the following-- Health Care For All Texans, Gray Panthers, Texas State Employees Union, the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care, California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee,Health Care--Now,Progressive Democrats of America,Physicians for a National Health Program,and Americans for Democratic Action
The following are photos from the May 30,2009 rally for single-payer health coverage in Austin. The last photo shows Mayor Lee Leffingwell, who helped lead the Austin City Council to support HR 676 while he was a council member, greeting a constituent.
posted by lmk at
7/04/2009 04:41:00 PM
3 Comments:
Here's a Harris poll of what Canadians , Britons, French, Americans think of their healthcare systems
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fharrisinteractive.com%2Fnews%2Fnewsletters%2Fhealthnews%2FHI_HealthCareNews2008Vol8_Iss6.pdf&ei=B45MSqa7LIyysgP6vsHpBQ&usg=AFQjCNGM1zYK2DPagCQo8YL3pcxQ1BqVxA&sig2=LI7fTuwMzp51R-jbby39SQ
I'm under the belief that passing universal health care will only alienate anyone over 50. To the people who passed this resolution, they should read up on Canada's healthcare. (And I've lived there)
Thanks for the link Hamster.
pylorns --Most of the people at the Austin rally for single-payer health insurance were over 50 years old. Even if they have health care coverage, many know someone younger and even older who is struggling with lack of adequate health care and/or the expenses of it.
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