Dear Lydia, A Pro-Healthcare Reform Message

    
I received an email from my friend Shon. He was being harassed because someone didn't like his support of healthcare reform. He IMed me and asked me to send her a letter telling her why I support it. Below is the letter. (Her name has been changed.)

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Dear Lydia:

You sent a message to a friend of mine commenting on his support for healthcare reform. I, too, support healthcare reform, and I would like to share my story.

I have been a working stiff since I was 11 when I started babysitting. My family is like a lot of middle American families, we struggle to get by. My mom worked various jobs as a cashier, Catholic school secretary, running an in-home day care, and as a biller for a medical billing company. Now she works as an administrative assistant for a hospice. None of those jobs offered health insurance (including her current one). Luckily, my dad worked for a grocery store in produce and his union provided insurance. (Now, he is a janitor in a school, and still provides the health insurance.) So we all had coverage.

Then, I grew up and was no longer covered by my father's insurance. I ended up working different jobs trying to find my way. I worked mostly in youth service or education jobs and was only lucky enough to get insurance when my employer provided it. When an employer didn't provide it, I went without. It wasn't because I didn't want health insurance. It was because I couldn't afford it. Not only couldn't I afford it, but I had serious back problems in high school, am clinically diagnosed with ADHD, and have a heart murmur. All of these so-called "issues" (aka pre-consisting conditions)  increase the price of my premiums.

I have been lucky. I haven't needed serious medical attention since losing my health insurance again last July 2009. Recently, I developed a cold along with a very serious fever of 101.4. I panicked. I didn't know what I was going to do. I could go to the emergency room, but that didn't seem worthy of a trip to the emergency room or seem to me to qualify for the financial burden of an emergency room visit. I waited and my fever reduced but stayed at 99.4 for three more days. I had to see the doctor. If noting else to rule something more serious out.

I live in San Francisco, and we have a public health system here. Instead of running to the emergency room or to urgent care, I decided to see if I qualified for the program first. I make about $3000 a month before taxes. Luckily, I squeaked in as a qualifying participant. After a little explanation of cost (it will cost me $450 every three months plus $20 for urgent care visits and $10 costs for doctors visits and $200 for any overnight admittance to the hospital regardless of how long I stay or what services I receive), I went home for the evening because I was exhausted.

I returned the next day for urgent care. I waited. I waited a fairly long time (from the time I entered until I left it was about 6 hours). I saw a nurse practitioner; I got a chest x-ray because they thought it might be pneumonia (it wasn't); I got my prescriptions. I left with only having to pay $37 out of pocket for everything including the medications.

Before becoming uninsured, I had Kaiser. I developed a similar sickness and had to go to Kaiser's urgent care. I had to pay a $30 co-pay, and $20 for prescriptions. I waited in the waiting room for two hours. Once I was admitted, I waited in my room for another hour. I only saw a nurse practitioner. I never got a chest x-ray. My employer covered the monthly healthcare bill of $300 per month.

When comparing these two systems, I actually prefer the San Francisco option. It is just as simple or just as complicated depending on how you look at it. It provides the same level of coverage, arguably better. I got well in the same amount of time. And it costs less.

This is what healthcare reform is about. It is about ensuring that all Americans have access to healthcare. It is about making it affordable. It is about making sure that someone with a simple case of the flu or a cold doesn't get worse and drain the system. It is about reform.

I believe this isn't the complete answer, but I believe that doing nothing is way, way worse. I know that this will help a majority of Americans. Including you.

Peace,
Jason

Women's Health in Healthcare Debate

  
Last night, I was watching The Rachel Maddow Show, and Melissa Harris-Lacewell was a guest on a segment related to women's health and religious bigotry. While watching, I was dumbstruck by the provision to not fund women's reproductive health in the current healthcare reform bill proposed by President Obama.

Here is the segment I watched:

It seems to me that this may just be a first step in repealing healthcare rights disguised as reform. I am not a conspiracy theorist. I don't seek out hidden messages or back room shenanigans and try to find out how the government is pulling the wool over my eyes. But this made me take a huge pause because here is a concrete example of how easily it is to take something away through compromise, and it exemplifies everything that is wrong with our current political structure.

Everyone has a different perspective on what good policy is. Everyone has a different perspective period. But there are some things that should be non-negotiable in my mind's eye. If we are talking about healthcare reform, we should be talking about healthcare reform for ALL people. Abortion is legal. Let me reiterate that: abortion is legal. In fact, the Supreme Court ruled on it.

And yet, here women are caught in the crosshairs of political expediency and "coalition building" to move a piece of policy forward that Republicans don't even support and will never support. It seems like an abject failure of government to not create policies that are in line with what is currently legal. I don't care who the president happens to be.

A converse example of this is when Bush Administration lawyers John Yoo and Jay Bybee wrote memos legalizing torture. Torture is illegal. Once again, torture is illegal. Yet the Bush Administration found a convenient way to make everything they did legal: issue a memo reinterpreting the law.

All of this interpretation, reinterpretation, and re-imagining of policy is on one level understandable. There is always room to interpret something differently than someone else. It is how pluralism works. However, if healthcare includes your body, it should cover all aspects of your body including reproductive organs. And, if the law states that abortion is legal, it should be legal in all iterations of policies around healthcare. Conversely, if a policy is already written that outlines what torture is and states that torture is illegal, an executive memo shouldn't be able to quickly overwrite that policy.

I worry that this encroachment on women's reproductive rights are just the tip of the iceberg. I worry about what else might be chipped away. I worry that my family that is HIV positive will see their rights whittled away with a simple justification of, "Hey, you could've prevented contracting it in the first place." I worry that my family that has depression might be told "You're mental health isn't covered because your brain is different." I worry that my family that is sick and dying will be told "You can't end your life because that's immoral." These all seem like far-fetched ideas. But so does removing organs from a healthcare bill.

Organs that already have laws protecting them.

For more information on the current healthcare bill as related to women's health, read Ann Nueman's "Rationing, Abortion Funding Are Back: Debunking “Pro-Life” Criticism of the Health Care Bill."

Connecting the Dots: San Francisco Politics, Healthcare Reform, MUNI Fare Increases, Homeless Youth, ADAP, and Senior Housing

   
Dot: The Worst Run Big City in the U.S. (via SF Weekly) I've worked in the San Francisco non-profit scene for almost 12 years interfacing and working with a variety of city departments during that time, and I agree with the basic premise of this article: San Francisco needs real reform that decreases waste and duplicated services. I also agree with the premise that lack of accountability of both The City and the non-profit industry is perpetuated by a lack of people really wanting to step up into leadership positions and make difficult decisions of which the decision-maker holds him/herself accountable. Well...it's not put that succinctly, but you get the idea.

But the problem goes deeper. Those that do stand up and point out inefficiencies, duplications, and challenge the status quo are the ones that get silenced, transferred, replaced, or torn down not only by city government but also by the community at large. As someone who has been trying to make changes for 12 years, I have seen this situation repeated again and again on multiple levels. The victim here: all of San Francisco.

Dot: States with Expanded Health Coverage Fight Bill (via New York Times) This article shows how states that are already providing expanded Medicaid coverage are going to be picking up the tab for states that currently do not provide expanded coverage. Federal poverty levels are being used to define this expansion. Currently, the federal poverty levels are:

The 2009 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia

Persons in family	Poverty guideline
1	$10,830
2	14,570
3	18,310
4	22,050
5	25,790
6	29,530
7	33,270
8	37,010
For families with more than 8 persons, add $3,740 for each additional person.

(From: http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/09poverty.shtml)

These are not new poverty levels. They do highlight how unrealistic it is to use these levels to determine poverty. Take for example a VERY low estimate of paying $300/month in rent AND $300/month for health insurance. These expenses are $600/month. Times that by 12 months and the total is $12,000. That doesn't include food, clothing, or any other basic need and still exceeds the poverty level.

In the expansion of Medicaid, eligibility will be based on 133% to 150% of the federal poverty level based on the Senate and House bills respectively. Thus the new chart will be:

The Eligibility of Expanded Medicare

Persons in family	Poverty guideline
1	$14,403 - 16,245
2	19,378 - 21,855
3	24,352 - 27,465
4	29,326 - 33,075
5	34,300 - 38,685
6	39,274 - 44,295
7	44,291 - 49,905
8	49,223 - 55,515
For families with more than 8 persons, add $4974 - 5,610  for each additional person.

(Based on table above times 1.33 and 1.5 to get range.)

Still using the estimates above for insurance and housing, that leaves $2403 - $4245 per year in for purchase of other necessities.

This doesn't even address the millions of people that struggle in the working and middle class that find themselves straddling increased expenses (everything from food to gas to rent and mortgages) and lower living conditions. These citizens find little relief or support from outside sources until they finally fall into low income or poverty definitions or break the ceiling into upper class.

States that already provide expanded Medicaid coverage will now be burdened with finding ways to fund the federal expansion. For states like California, that increased burdened is matched with a reduced state-wide budget. Trying to find the money is worse than finding a needle in the haystack because the needle does not even exist. This means having to create a new needle, also known as new revenue, which will result in either deeper, more painful cuts to public programs or increased taxes. Either way, the lower income and middle income citizens will be disproportionally affected, all for a program that is supposed to benefit them.

Dot: Newest SF Muni fare increase my further affect access to education (via Examiner) This week it finally hit the papers that after SFMTA slashed service on December 5th, 2009, they were also increasing FastPass prices on January 1, 2010. This increase is said to cover the burgeoning costs of providing public transit. SFMTA are now providing two different FastPasses for adults. The A Pass will now be $70 (up from $55). It is the A Pass that provides free BART rides within the confines of San Francisco. Currently ALL ADULT FastPasses are A Passes.

SFMTA will also be providing the new B Pass. The B Pass will be $60. It will not allow holders to ride BART within the confines of San Francisco for free. These types of passes did not exist previously.

Now, match the fact that riders are being hit with a $25 increase in six months for reduced service with the SF Weekly article above, and you start to see just how ineffective our own reforms are at supporting low and moderate income citizens. In the article they mention the mismanagement of Prop A funds, which gave SFMTA millions of dollars in parking meter money. Other public agencies were upset that SFMTA got the set-aside and started charging SFMTA for services that they were providing for free (e.g. The SFPD started charging for police coming on to Muni to escort off passengers. Isn't that their job? Don't they already receive money from The City to "protect and serve"?) How is any of this helping the residents of San Francisco?

Dot: Homeless Youth Struggle through the Season (via Bay Area Reporter) In all of the goings-on of the holiday season, the crumbling economy, and the turmoil of health reform, it is easy to lose focus as to whom is being directly impacted and effected the most by this tumultuous economy: youth, seniors, and the vulnerable. This article directly addresses what homeless youth face in the ever changing landscape of San Francisco. Much needed resources provided by agencies such as Larkin Street Youth Services are being cut drastically. The support services that Larkin Street Youth Center and other community-based organizations and public institutions rely on are shutting their doors or reducing services so much that they are inaccessible. Thus, it is becoming increasingly harder to match the increased need for aid with the decreased services available and will create a pool of people that will fall through large cracks in safety net systems and services.

If history is an indicator, than it is fair to assume these people will later be blamed for being in the situation they are in. All we have to do is look at the blame shouldered by "welfare mothers", the homeless, teens with unwanted pregnancies, etc.

Dot:  ADAP Action on City Hall Steps (via JW Reports) The AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), a federally-funded and state-administered program to subsidize expensive and needed HIV/AIDS medications, is currently under the budget cutting guillotine. It is estimated that the cost of HIV prescriptions are around $1000/month minimum. These drugs cannot be afforded without either government or insurance subsidies or the drug companies lowering their prices. The drug companies will not lower their prices, insurance companies find ways to disqualify HIV positive patients even though it is illegal. This leaves the government to fill the gap. If the program is cut, it will result in low income folks losing life-saving medicine. In essence, it is a death sentence.

Dot: Housing Projects for LGBT Elders Stalled Due to Economy (via New America Media) The shrinking of the economy is also having a dramatic effect on housing for elders. Projects that have been in the works for years are now being stalled by HUD matching requirements and the inability for the developers to meet those matches. This inability for the developers to match the requirements is directly related to the shift in the economy and people not being able to afford homes at market value, especially homes for people on fixed incomes (like seniors). So instead of figuring out new guidelines from HUD, all development on the projects stops. And it stops at a time when the services and resources are needed the most.

Connecting the Dots: All of these things in isolation don't look too bad, but together paint a much larger picture of how the poor are bearing the brunt of these new efforts to balance budgets and change health care. Instead of making policies that actually work for those populations, lawmakers are continually put into positions of compromise. When in that position, the poor are rarely heard because they are not funneling money into lawmakers pockets. This is nothing new.

And that doesn't mean we remain silent. 

In fact, thanks to the ability to get news from multiple sources in a matter of seconds, we can start laying bare the connections between things and showing people how all of these decisions are not isolated but interconnected. They are a part of a larger web that is spun by folks that aren't looking for these patterns; they are looking only for a short term solution. It is up to us to help them see the connections, so they can no longer ignore them. We must halt the assault on the poor and working class.

Action: Taking action is easy. Here are three easy ways you can take action:

1. Click through the links and read the articles. Leave a comment that connects A DOT between the article and another story or experience you have. Share something personal. While risky, it is anonymous and makes your comment more compelling to read. 
2. Call you representative and senator and let them know what you think. They work for you! While it may seem intimidating, be confident in your own experience and voice; it is powerful. You can find who your House Representative and Senators are here. 
3. Get involved in sites like Change.org. Change.org is a great place to learn more about and get involved with the issues you care about. Just don't forget that it's all connected. Help connect the dots between various issues by keeping your mind open and reading more than just what your comfortable with. Change comes for learning and being open. 

Death Panel Advisors

Loved this. It is really quite amusing. Take a moment and watch. If you're not laughing, you're a part of the Death Panel.

Death Panel Advisors - watch more funny videos

Health Care Updates

Alright, so it is time for some more info on the health care "debates" that are going on right now. I am amazed and inspired by the fact that the left is finally organizing, questioning, and reporting. There already is enough in the blogosphere/news media that I don't need to go into depth or detail about the policy or debates. Instead, I offer you a list of links to help you engage in the debate depending on what suits you.

Health Insurance Reform Reality Check - Want to know the official Whitehouse position on health care reform? Follow this link and find lots of direct responses to the lies being propagated by the right.

YouthNoise Blog on Health Care - Know a youth who has an opinion about health care reform? Check out YouthNoise, a great organization that empowers youth voice through the blogosphere, and encourage them to sound off on their hopes, dreams, fears, and opinions about health care reform. Health Care reform WILL affect our youth.

Huffington Post Health Care Big News Page - Want to know where to go for all of your news on health care? Well check out this Huffington Post link. Want to know what other citizen's are thinking? Read the comments on any of the posts. They are most insightful.

Pam's House Blend - Great reporting/summaries/commentary on the intersection of healthcare and LGBT issues. Definitely a blog to keep on your radar.

Rachel Maddow - Like the reporting by Rachel Maddow below? Then keep abreast of all that she is reporting with this link. She has daily updates on what is happening in this "debate". Don't miss her fabulous reporting.

And last... A piece of the absurd from John Stewart:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Gun Show - Barrel Fever
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Healthcare Protests

Health-Care "Debate"

There is a growing hullabaloo around the so called health-care "debate". As it turns out, this isn't really a debate. The opposition's tactics are aimed at intimidating the American public through lies, half-truths, hidden agendas, shouting, and false protests in an effort to halt any conversation or debate from happening. They are airing ads that say health-care reform will lead to death panels or forced sex changes. They are corporate lobbies masquerading as grassroots movements all aimed at keeping the status quo and money in the hands of big business, insurance companies, and pharma.

And they have been excellent at getting their message across. Now, they have "real folks" showing up at town halls across America with the sole purpose of shouting down the conversation. Some of those protesters are saying things like "I don't want socialized medicine" but when asked what heath-care they say "Medicare and I like it." This is evidence that the fear and intimidation they are using is seeping in to the public's consciousness whether we like it or not.

Rachel Maddow is doing excellent investigative reporting laying out what actually is happening in this so-called debate. She has done exposes uncovering who is financially contributing to these "grassroots efforts" (spoiler alert: it's corporations making bank off the current system and a number of folks with ties to Bush and Cheney). She has aired segments that directly counter the lies of "Death Panels" and "Mandatory Sex Changes". She is giving air to facts that need to be heard.

My concern is that her message and her reporting is falling into the hands of the already converted, those that already know that this "debate" is a sham. I believe others, specifically our friends and family that may be swayed by the yelling and lies, need to hear her reporting. They need some education to counter the fear.

I have pulled together some of the segments I have found to be helpful in unearthing and learning about what is going on below. These are just a smattering. There are plenty more at http://rachel.msnbc.com.

Take a look and pass this on to others that might need some information about the current shouting match. Let's take back the story and make this a debate.

An overview of who is pulling the strings at these protests.

Here is a link to Recess Rally as mentioned in this video clip.

Here is a follow-up clip to the previous one with an interview of Tim Phillips.

Here is a clip connecting the dots of the health-care "debate" to the Bush administration.

Here is a clip making the linking the current right wing rhetoric and escalating violence.

Here is a clip showing how profitable the current health insurance companies are and why they put profits ahead of patients.

Here is an interview with the head of the AARP countering the rights current scare tactics aimed at seniors.

Here is more investigative work on FreedomWorks one of the orgs protesting against health-care reform.