Showing posts with label Obamacare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obamacare. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Don't Take Away Our Health Care




Don't Take Away Our Health Care
words by C.A. Matthews
photos by Adrian Matthews 
(watch a short video of Bernie's remarks below or at: 
 https://youtu.be/XIBbiOZHfyA)

 
Senator Bernie Sanders made a surprise visit to Ohio's capital on Sunday morning to rally the troops in the ongoing battle to save the A.C.A. and shut down Trumpcare 2.0, a thinly disguised tax break bill for the billionaire class at the expense of ordinary Americans' health and well-being. Bernie's coming to Columbus was on very short notice (a Friday afternoon email), so the packed to overflowing house of 2000+ enthusiastic attendees at the downtown music performance venue was a pleasant surprise. No doubt about it--Ohioans are serious about saving their health care.

The rally was sponsored by MoveOn.org and other Ohio groups, and its aim was simple: Convince Republican Senator Rob Portman to vote against the Republican bill. The crowd was urged to continue to call, email and visit Portman's offices throughout the state and share their health care stories, explaining how important Obamacare is to them and their families. (Here is a website that will help you make the call to your senator and tells you what to say: https://www.aft.org/call-now)  Photos and memes on the big screens before the speakers took stage gave sobering statistics and a few encouraging ones as well: Only 17% of Americans (16% according to Bernie in the very latest poll) approve of the Republicans' attempts to repeal and replace the A.C.A.  However, 23 million Americans are at risk of losing their coverage, adding to the 28 million without health insurance in those states that never accepted the Medicaid extension. The time to block this mockery of a health care bill is now.

Opening rally speakers included Ohio MoveOn organizers, a community health care center doctor from Dayton, a local pastor who has witnessed the good Obamacare has done for his members and could continue to do for them, and a veteran speaking for Planned Parenthood and women's health services which are threatened by the new bill. ("Republicans say they'll give you a choice of private insurers, but not give a woman the right of choice over her own body.") No one held back on their condemnation of Trumpcare. The young, the old, the disabled, pregnant women and anyone with a pre-existing condition (as determined by a private health insurer) could see their access to health care vanish overnight if the senate bill is passed.

Bernie was in great form, looking energized and determined to take on opponents of the A.C.A. He gave a straightforward and impassioned plea to his fellow senator, asking Rob Portman to listen to the cries of his constituents who can't afford to lose their health care coverage. The Medicaid extension program has been essential in helping Ohio fight its opioid addiction crisis; the state is a leader in opioid/heroin overdoses and death. Over half of the births in Ohio are covered by Medicaid currently, and it has a high infant mortality rate. By cutting back the Medicaid program and allowing private health insurers to cancel policies for pregnant women and their babies, addiction and mental health services and other pre-existing conditions, Trumpcare would leave some of the most vulnerable Ohioans without essential services, adding to the state's rising toll of preventable deaths.

Bernie noted that two-thirds of all nursing home patients in America receive Medicaid as well as Medicare. Where would these older/disabled patients go if they lost these programs? He remarked how many hardworking Americans are already working two or more jobs (often without health care provided) and are stretched as it is to make ends meet. Could they afford to take care of aging or sick parents on top of taking care of their children's needs? What if they had to quit their jobs to take care of an ailing family member? How would they feed and shelter all family members and afford their health care needs? The implications of not providing these life-saving programs are dire. The AARP, the American Medical Association and many other organizations have decried Trumpcare for allowing private health insurance companies to gouge older Americans by raising their premium from two to five times what they pay now.

The crowd booed and shouted as Bernie listed all those who would be hurt and how thousands could die if the A.C.A. is repealed and replaced by the Republican senators' legislation. He noted that the bill was written in secret by a baker's dozen worth of white males and never put before a committee or debated on the floor of the Senate. "Obamacare is far from perfect," Bernie admitted, but it is a first step toward implementing a Medicare for All program so no American ever again has to go bankrupt because of medical bills or live with the anxiety of not having health care. He urged everyone to call Senator Portman and express their outrage at this "immoral piece of legislation."

Morality--and the lack of it in our current government--isn't something Bernie Sanders shies away from discussing. He faces the issues and speaks with complete candor. "Our country is facing a moral crisis," Bernie stated.  "A nation is judged on how compassionate it is and how it treats its most vulnerable citizens." How does the U.S. measure up to those standards?  Not well under Trumpcare. Lives are at stake. 

We are in need of moral leadership--not simply leadership by well-dressed politicians spouting platitudes while accepting bribes from Big Pharma. Five months after Donald Trump stepped into office, Senator Bernie Sanders continues to lead ordinary Americans toward a future worth believing in and fighting for. Bernie's moral compass leads us along a straight and true path to a better, healthier America for all of its people.


More on this story--
The AARP Just Responded to the Trumpcare Bill with a Massive Threat to Every Senator: https://www.liberalexaminer.com/2017/06/23/aarp-just-responded-trumpcare-bill-massive-threat-every-senator/ 

Shifting Dollars from Poor to Rich is Key Part of Senate Health Care Bill:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/22/upshot/shifting-dollars-from-poor-to-rich-is-a-key-part-of-the-senate-health-bill.html

Medicare for All vs. All the Healthcare that Each Can Afford (The Sanders Institute):
https://www.sandersinstitute.com/blog/medicare-for-all-vs-all-the-healthcare-that-each-can-afford 

Robert Reich -- "The Secret Health Care Bill": https://www.nationofchange.org/2017/06/26/secret-health-care-bill/

Lee Camp -- "Here's Why There's No Legitimate Healthcare Debate in this Country":  http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2017/06/lee-camp-heres-no-legitimate-healthcare-debate-country.html

Call your senator now and tell them, "Don't take away our health care!"  https://www.aft.org/call-now 

Sign up to sit in to #StopTrumpcare on July 6--nationwide!

https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-up-to-sit-in
This week's Chastise Rich Arrogant Pricks (C.R.A.P.) Award goes to the thirteen Republican senators listed above for trying to ram their secret "don't-care-much-about-ordinary-folks'- health-care" bill through Congress. Look at those dollar amounts, and you'll understand why they want us to pay higher insurance premiums and even more for drugs. Please chastise them on all social media platforms (you can right click on this meme and share it) and call/email/write them and tell them what you think about their efforts to deprive 23 million+ Americans health care.
Really American has a petition for you to sign to show these 13 senators how you feel...

***

From Brand New Congress:

Senate Republicans finally crawled out of hiding and revealed their version of Paul Ryan’s AHCA. While 13 Republican men decided the fate of your health behind closed doors, Senate Democrats rightly complained about the lack of transparency in this trainwreck. But they failed to put forward the most obvious solution: Medicare for All.



The House AHCA was bad enough. Now the Senate version guts Medicaid, leaving millions of children and older Americans exposed without insurance or affordable treatment. If Republicans in Congress get their way, 51 million Americans will be cut off from medical treatment so a handful of the wealthiest Americans can have a tax break.

 This is not about politics -- people’s lives are on the line.


Congress needs to hear us. We’re done with expensive premiums, costly co-pays and sky-high deductibles. And we are NOT going back to the days a faceless corporation can cut off your coverage for pre-existing conditions or because you got sick and hit a lifetime cap. We demand healthcare for every single American, as a right, not a privilege.


 

Yours for the revolution,

Cory Archibald
Communications Team Volunteer, Brand New Congress
 

 
 ***
From Climate Hawks:


A group working for Senate Democrats is running pro-coal television ads in West Virginia to prop up anti-climate Senator Joe Manchin. The ad even shows footage of Manchin cozying up to Donald Trump as he signed legislation killing the Stream Protection Rule.


The group behind the ad, Majority Forward, is the c4 arm of the Senate Majority SuperPAC. Run by operatives for Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, they operate together as outside-spending allies of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Schumer has the power to stop this ad.

“When Washington proposed anti-coal regulations, Joe Manchin said no.” - Direct quote from an ad funded by Schumer’s Democratic donors

Joe Manchin next to Trump in Majority Forward ad.
Sign the petition »
Climate Hawks Vote is partnering with Friends of the Earth Action, CREDO, and other organizations on a petition to tell Senator Schumer we strongly oppose Democratic-funded ads attacking our climate. We'll be delivering all of the signatures to Senator Schumer. In order to resist Trump, we need to embrace a strong climate justice agenda, not cozy up to his agenda of climate denial and destruction.

This dirty ad shows how climate polluters still have power over the Democratic Party. J.B. Poersch, the Schumer operative in charge of Majority Action, is a partner at SKDKnickerbocker, a Democratic firm that lobbied for Keystone XL on behalf of TransCanada.

Coal mining is poisoning our water, and coal burning is poisoning our air, and coal money is poisoning our politics. Every Democratic senator should be working to move our country to 100% clean energy for 100% of our people.


Your fellow climate hawk,

Brad
References

PAC aligned with Schumer runs pro-Manchin TV ad, EE News https://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2017/06/13/stories/1060055936

Majority Forward Ad for Pro-Coal Joe Manchin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IcrDXWZDLU


SKDKnickerbocker Does PR For Keystone XL Pipeline, Tar Sands Rail Transport, DeSmogBlog https://www.desmogblog.com/2013/05/03/obama-anita-dunn-public-relations-keystone-xl-pipeline-tar-sands-rail-transport
***
 From Open Media:

The Internet is in great danger, but we still have time to save it.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under Ajit Pai is trying to destroy Net Neutrality — the idea that all content be treated equally on the Internet,1 meaning innovative new startups can compete on a level playing field with giant corporations.

Big Telecom and special interest groups want to change all that. These powerful companies want to make it so their content is delivered to the user in a “fast lane,” and everything else — smaller blogs, content from independent competitors — is forced into a slow lane.2

The good news is that we can stop this, but we need your help. If you can take a few minutes to call Congress and the FCC now, we can convince them that the Internet is too important not to protect.


 
Click on this link, and type in your phone number and it will automatically connect you with your local Member of Congress. (Don’t worry, your phone number won’t be used for anything else.)
 
We know these tactics work because we’ve won this fight before — in 2015 millions of Americans told the FCC and Congress they wanted to protect Net Neutrality,3 and this public pressure forced them to do the right thing.

Call now, tell Congress: “I oppose the FCC’s efforts to roll back Title II net neutrality rules — and I urge you to oppose them as well.”
 
Thank you for taking a stand for an open web. 

—Katy, on behalf of OpenMedia


P.S. Another way to support an open web is to donate even $5 today. Help fuel our fight to stand up to Big Telecom’s attempt to control our digital freedoms. 

Footnotes
[1] The Internet is Under Attack: Now This News
[2] Breaking down the FCC’s proposal to destroy net neutrality: The Verge
[3] Well, Internet, we did it. We stopped the Internet slow lane: OpenMedia


Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Why Should Our Fellow Americans Suffer & Die?



"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care 
is the most shocking and inhumane."
–Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Unspoken Question

In the game of Jeopardy it's not the answer that's called for--it's the question.

We've been bombarded with a lot of "answers" lately, but somewhere in this barrage of outrage a basic question exists. When the Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, announced their estimate of Americans who would lose their health care coverage if the Republican health care plan took effect, eyes popped and jaws dropped at the staggering statistics. Even self-professed conservatives admitted to feeling a bit uneasy about the proposed Republican plan, and some have distanced themselves from it. 

Why all the uproar? The CBO predicts, by 2020, 21 million Americans will be without any health insurance coverage whatsoever. By 2026, that number soars to 52 million Americans without as the Republican health plan takes effect. In contrast, if the Affordable Care Act remains as is, there would be only 28 million without health coverage by 2026. The biggest surprise seems to be how popular and well-utilized the Medicaid extension program of the ACA has been for many Americans. Of course, several Southern states flat-out refused to enter into the program, which explains the 21 million currently uninsured. Even more Americans would have coverage today if all qualified in the opted-out Southern states were allowed to receive health care through the Medicaid extension program as well.

With a growing number of Americans not being able to obtain private health insurance due to pre-existing conditions, unemployment, under-employment and outright finagling by employers to avoid insuring any employee, the time for a single-payer or "Medicare-for-All" plan seems at hand. Study after study has shown it is the most efficient health delivery model in the U.S. In fact, in 1995 the Tawainese government modeled their national health care delivery program after U.S. Medicare because of its cost efficiency. If our bloated
defense budget can be expanded another $52.3 billion, surely a program which pays for itself through payroll taxes qualifies as cost effective. To any rational mind, it seems the answer to the question, "How best do we provide health care to all Americans?" is "By implementing Medicare-for-All."

But why are Republicans and many corporate Democrats avoiding the most rational answer to this question? There doesn't seem to be any one answer, but one strong reason is that they're being paid good money not to recommend Medicare-for-All. According to Term Limits for U.S. Congress.com, from 1998 - 2015 the following amounts of lobbying money were spent in Congress:


Pharmaceutical/Health Care Products: $3,146,090, 212
Insurance Industry: $2,190,651,832
Hospitals/Nursing Homes: $1,310,021,801  
Health Professionals: $1,189,983,794 
HMOs: $863,410,051

Yes, those are trillions of dollars.

Even more telling, according to OpenSecrets.org, from 2005 - 2016, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell accepted $5.9 million dollars from the health care lobbyists, while House Speaker Paul Ryan accepted over $3.5 million dollars from lobbyists. When those in Congressional leadership positions are being paid so well by the private health care industry to keep things the way they are (or make it even better for private industry), can anyone really expect they'd promote the more efficient and egalitarian Medicare-for-All program?
There's no use in asking why lobbyists bribe our politicians. It's allowed by law, and it's what they do--the lobbyists bribe and the politicians accept the bribes and thank the lobbyists for thinking of them, while promptly forgetting their constituents' needs for decent and affordable health care. But possibly the cruelest cut of all is the fact the Republican plan allows private health insurers to write off as a business expense the entire amount of their executives' salaries on their taxes and not just the first $500,000, as is the case presently under the ACA

The rich get yet another big tax break at working class Americans' expense.
Lucky them!

According to Harvard Medical School researchers, an estimated 45,000 Americans die each year simply because they lack insurance and cannot receive a decent standard of health care. (These preventable deaths outnumber yearly drunk driving deaths and homicides combined.)  It has been noted that over 60% of all bankruptcies in the U.S. involve medical bills--the leading cause of all filings, far outpacing credit card debt. (That's 643,000 Americans per year in bankruptcy court according to a NerdWallet Health Analysis.) Someone is making a lot of money off of these individuals and families going bankrupt and losing their homes, cars and property. Some group is directly benefiting from so many Americans' premature deaths.

There's something deeper, more profound going on than simple greed here. There is a desire to exert the power of life and death over others of a less fortunate status. There is a desire to take money and material goods away from those who have little and redistribute it upward to the richest echelons of society. There is a desire to put those of a different class, ethnicity, race, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation--or any of a number of protected statuses (at least currently)--in their place.  (Read The True Purpose of TrumpCare for the chilling details.) There is a desire to discriminate in one group's favor. More than likely, it's not a group whose members would allow us ordinary folks to join them.

The question remains unspoken: Why should our fellow Americans suffer and die needlessly without adequate health care?  Face it, we know the answer. So, the essential question becomes: What are we willing to do to provide health care for all Americans?
Want to know how to take action on health care? Check out organizations such as Single Payer Action Network (Ohio): http://spanohio.org/ 
 and the Campaign for Guaranteed Healthcare--click here to learn how to call your representative today: https://campaignforguaranteedhealthcare.org/call-your-representative/  and also at Hands Off Medicare: https://handsoffmedicare.wordpress.com/

Here are some more tips to fight for health care from Indivisible:

Republicans are rushing to pass "TrumpCare" (Republican Health Care Plan) before the upcoming April recess, ignoring the normal legislative process, because they don’t want to face you, their constituents. They are attempting to ram through a TrumpCare bill that will cut coverage for millions and raise premiums for millions more. Their proposal simultaneously guts Medicaid and gives a $600 billion tax break to the wealthy and corporations. We can’t let them get away with this—millions of lives hang in the balance. 

The House vote this coming week is the first step towards enactment of this devastating TrumpCare bill. Your Member of Congress (MoC) needs to know that you oppose it. Here’s how you can show your opposition:

  • Show up. Show up at your MoC’s District Office with your group to demand that your MoC vote against TrumpCare. Bring affected individuals to these meetings and use personal stories as much as possible. Your stories are powerful—stories change minds and alter what is politically possible. Your story should answer this question: How will you or your family be affected by TrumpCare?
  • Create a public demonstration. Hold a vigil outside your MoC’s office. Invite the media. Their vote in favor of this bill would mean the difference between life or death for thousands each year. You need to demonstrate your resolve. If your member has already committed to vote no, show up and thank them. In a big way.
  • Make your calls to your Representative. Start with this script and tell your Representative that a vote to take away health care from 24 million people is a vote you'll be watching. Spread the word on social media using #ProtectOurCare and tell your friends, neighbors, and colleagues to call their Representatives.
  • Get others involved. This vote is too important for people to sit on the sidelines. Time to get someone else involved—empower a friend, family member, neighbor, or colleague. Create social media events, tag a friend on Facebook, or just tell someone else why you get involved.
  • Get creative. You’re leading this movement—it’s your constituent power, so use it how you see fit. We’ve seen some local  groups create scrapbooks of local constituents who would be affected by TrumpCare. Others have brought their children who stand to lose coverage to the MoC’s district office. Your goal is to make clear to your Senators and Representatives—and any local media who will listen—what TrumpCare means for you and your family, friends, and neighbors.
  • Plan a Friday district office visit to hold your MoCs accountable. The House vote is expected Thursday. No matter how your MoC votes, you should provide immediate feedback (positive or negative) by making a visit to their district office on Friday with your group. Your MoCs will have to take more votes in the future on TrumpCare to pass the final bill. They’ll be holding their breath and watching carefully after this vote, hoping that the outrage dies down. By providing immediate feedback today, you’ll change their political calculus tomorrow. 

    Need More ACA Info?

  • Wondering how TrumpCare will affect people in your state? Our friends at the Center for American Progress have an interactive map showing TrumpCare’s impact around the country. Check it out here: TrumpCare by the Numbers.
  • Want to get wonky? Republicans are trying to push TrumpCare through with a process called “reconciliation” that allows them to pass the bill without the usual 60 votes in the Senate needed to pass legislation. Read up on this tricky bit of congressional procedure with our new explainer: Legislative Process 101—Budget Reconciliation.
  • Just want all of the the Indivisible Project’s ACA materials in one place? Absolutely—here’s our resource page: Save the ACA.
You have a chance to stop this legislation by getting involved on your home turf now. If enough members stand up and say no, Republican leaders will be forced to pull the bill from their weekly schedule—which would be a devastating defeat for Trump. If TrumpCare does pass the House, the fight’s not over. In that scenario, TrumpCare will soon move to the Senate—and then the fight will shift to your Senators.
***

From Facebook:

When I was hungry, you canceled my food stamps
When I was thirsty, you diverted lead and coal into my water
When I was sick, you tripled my insurance rates
When
I was naked, you raped me and blamed me because I was naked.
When I was in prison, you enslaved me to corporations
When I was a stranger with brown skin you deported me
From the lonely you took away social programs
From the elderly, you took away meals and medicine
From the workers, you took away legal protections
From the young, you took away school funding
From the victims, you took away shelter
Instead of diversity, you encourage intolerance
Instead of caring, you encourage isolation
Instead of equity, you encourage military excess
When the 1% has ground us into the dust, taken all of our money, and let us die for lack of insurance - who will you feed upon?

 ***

Paul Ryan -- The Anti-Robin Hood
by Coastwatcher

Last week Paul Ryan unleashed his party's budget upon the American people. At the stroke of a pen he plans to destroy the Meals on Wheels service, environmental protections, arts funding and foreign aid, along with any kind of public medical assistance in the form of the ACA. To avoid his proposed measures being filibustered to death in Congress, Ryan has worked his budget so much of it can be done through budget reconciliation. This means they can be moved quickly through a maneuver that requires a simple majority in the Senate and House. You read that right. With or without help from the corporate Democrats, these measures will be rammed through into law.

All the above cuts are worthy of mention, but space precludes me from writing about them here. Let us focus instead on the issue of the ACA, the proposed loss of which will hit Americans in the area which fundamentally affects every person on Earth – their health.

Today, in part due to Obamacare’s expansion of the program, Medicaid covers more than 73 million Americans, most struggling to survive in a country that

is growing increasingly hostile to the poor and disadvantaged. Ryan’s measures will gradually end funding for the Medicaid expansion to the point where some 14 million fewer Americans will be covered by the program by 2026. That number could skyrocket if the work requirements and block-granting proposals currently being worked out in Congress make it into the final bill.

Never in the political history of the United States has one government set out to do the maximum harm to the maximum number of its citizens in the shortest possible time – all in the name of those good old Republican values of self-reliance. It doesn’t matter to them if you were born with a congenital disability or complaint. They don’t care if you were injured in the workplace and are unable to work. In the eyes of the Republican government if you’re unable to "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" (which is impossible – think about it and read this article) then you are of no value to them or society. This Republican government, headed by Donald Trump, is populated by nothing more than a bunch of sociopaths.

These are the defining characteristics of sociopathic behavior:
    Superficial charm and good intelligence

    Absence of delusions and other signs of irrational thinking
    Absence of nervousness or neurotic manifestations
    Unreliability
    Untruthfulness and insincerity
    Lack of remorse and shame
    Inadequately motivated antisocial behavior
    Poor judgment and failure to learn by experience
    Pathologic egocentricity and incapacity for love
    General poverty in major affective reactions
    Specific loss of insight
    Unresponsiveness in general interpersonal relations
    Fantastic and uninviting behavior with alcohol and sometimes without.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201305/how-spot-sociopath

That last trait is all the more revealing when you consider Paul Ryan’s boast in a recent video: “So, the health care entitlements are the big, big, big drivers of our debt. There are three. Obamacare, Medicaid, and Medicare. Two out of three are going through Congress right now. So, Medicaid—sending it back to the states, capping its growth rate. We’ve been dreaming of this since you and I were drinking out of a keg.”

That’s right. Ryan dreamed of depriving his fellow citizens of any kind of government aid since he was a privileged white guy in college. These "big, big, big drivers of our debt" are as nothing compared to the bloated military budget, which the proposed cuts are supposed to help increase to the tune of over $52 billion.

Let’s consider the definition of sociopath in the Urban Dictionary.
Sociopath:
A person with antisocial personality disorder. Probably the most widely recognized personality disorder. A sociopath is often well liked because of their charm and high charisma, but they do not usually care about other people. They think mainly of themselves and often blame others for the things that they do. They have a complete disregard for rules and lie constantly. They seldom feel guilt or learn from punishments. Though some sociopaths have become murders, most reveal their sociopathy through less deadly and sensational means. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sociopath
Ryan is obviously not the kind of sociopath who reveals his sociopathy through less deadly and sensational means. His proposed measures will kill citizens of the United States through no fault of their own. It sets the United States even further back in comparison to other countries with socialized medicine.

Perhaps Ryan’s cold-eyed ambitions will yet be thwarted by dissenting voices within his own party. The prospect of so many people being dropped from Medicaid and the prospect of states footing a much larger share of Medicaid’s bills has unnerved the more moderate Republicans across the country. It’s no secret that the majority of states where Federal government spends far more than the average on state Medicaid programs are all Republican in outlook, the so-called "Deep Red" states. Certainly the raised voices of millions of Americans in town hall meetings across the country are being heard with increasing nervousness by representatives who until now have gone largely untroubled by public opinion. It might come as a shock to these Republican politicians that a great many who voted for Trump are suffering "buyer’s remorse" now the full scope of his plans are being made plain.

The people are awake and paying attention, something the oligarchs and the  Republicans who worship them are going to regret. 

Bio: Coastwatcher observes what is happening in our world and senses a change in the weather, literally and figuratively.
 ***

In a galaxy long, long ago...
I finally did it--I finally set up a Patreon page so you, my fellow progressive political revolutionaries, can help keep this weekly electronic news/commentary magazine afloat. So, if you have a couple of dollars to spare, please sponsor me, your lowly editor of Our Revolution Continues, at Patreon:


I sincerely thank you for your generosity. May the "Bern" be with you always!