News and Notes
March 25, 2008 - The collapse of health reform in California and ominous signs from Massachusetts spell big trouble ahead for reforming the nation's healthcare system no matter who is elected President. The lessons from those states, which have tried hard to bring insurance coverage to all residents, are worth heeding for anyone sitting in the White House next year. They also raise the question of whether it is possible, either fiscally or politically, for states to do the job. Indeed, failure in California and troubles in Massachusetts indicate that the underlying problems that bedeviled reform efforts fourteen years ago are still with us, and could doom yet another attempt to change the American way of healthcare.
April 2008-In their attempt to insure those without health insurance, the former Governor and the Massachusetts Legislature passed a health reform Bill that also changed the framework of employee benefits and compensation for those currently insured.
Employment based health insurance is a key component in benefit & compensation considerations for every working person in Massachusetts. It is often the most contentious issue in contract negotiations for most unionized workers as well.
April 1, 2008 - WASHINGTON - More than half of U.S. doctors now favor switching to a national health care plan and fewer than a third oppose the idea, according to a survey published on Monday.0401 06
The survey suggests that opinions have changed substantially since the last survey in 2002 and as the country debates serious changes to the health care system.
Of more than 2,000 doctors surveyed, 59 percent said they support legislation to establish a national health insurance program, while 32 percent said they opposed it, researchers reported in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
March 31, 2008- Is it time for your annual health insurance renewal? Have you noticed that your premium has gone up, while the coverage you receive is less than the coverage you had last year? Have you noticed that you are paying more, but getting less; that before you can even use your insurance, you have to pay a sizable deductible; and that if you visit your doctor or buy medication, your co-payment has increased?
March 27, 2008- If there is one thing that separates the self-employed from those employed by others, it is their preoccupation with health insurance. I was reminded of this on Feb. 14, when I wrote a post on the Shifting Careers blog asking small-business owners and would-be entrepreneurs what they were doing about health insurance. Within hours, scores of people posted comments about their own experiences and, if they had managed to find good resources, shared those. I have been reading e-mail messages and trying to make sense of the subject ever since. In short, it is not pretty out there.
March 27, 2008- Americans believe employers pay the bulk of workers' premiums, government pays for Medicare, Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program and individuals pay some premiums as well as deductibles and co-pays. This is wrong. Business, government and individuals do not share the financial responsibility for health coverage. Individuals bear the full cost of health care through lower wages and taxes.
March 26, 2008 - With employer health benefits shrinking, cost has become the top health care concern for thousands of Americans, even among those with insurance, according to a national survey released Tuesday by the AFL-CIO. The poll -- the second this week to chart rising frustration with high health care bills -- found that one in three American families skip medical care because they can't afford it and 79% rate health as a top voter issue this year.
"We, the poor, jobless, downsized, uninsured victims of welfare reform and others abused by the institutions of domination are no longer silent. We are moving forward with the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer and so many freedom fighters to improve the lives of Americans."
-Portia Anderson, WEAP
Upcoming Events
| 05/15/08 | Truth Commission- Health Care: A Human Right - Oakland, CA |
| 06/18/08 | Teach-In & Dialogue- Health Care: A Human Right - Oakland, CA |
| 10/10/08 | Town Meeting - Health Care: A Human Right - Oakland, CA |