Archive for the ‘Health’ Category

Judge Sonia Sotomayor blocks provision of Obamacare that would force all employers to provide birth control to their employees. This is a narrow decision that only applies to religious groups. I believe that this is the correct decision as the government has no business telling religious groups what to believe. This would have  forced a religious group to provide birth control to their employees. This would have gone totally against their beliefs. Catholic do not believe in birth control and the government should not force him to do anything against their faith. This is not only healthcare but religious faith in the government should be out of this

Well, we are down to the final weeks until election Day November 6. I am still awaiting to hear Romney’s healthcare plan. From what I’ve read Romney’s medical plan would leave about 72 million Americans uninsured. So far, we read that the Romney plan would cost families, nearly double what Obama care would cost them. I am very concerned about health care. I am lucky that I am a veteran and through them I received free healthcare. However, my wife and children have no insurance, because we cannot afford it. I still feel that no one in this country should have to do with out basic health care, because they cannot afford it. Approximately 62% of all the bankruptcy filed each year are due to medical costs and approximately 72% of them did have healthcare. As far as I’m concerned, this is     not acceptable.

Now, I do agree that the budget needs work on it and we cannot go on spending money like it’s water. Look at the mess we are in now and compare it to what it was like. When Obama was sworn in to office. Bush dug us into deep water and it’s going to take a while to get out of this hole we are in. I hear all these people say that we cannot survive four more years of Pres. Obama in office. Personally I doubt that statement even more so after looking at eight years we had with President Bush in office. In those eight years, we went from a budget surplus to the huge deficit we are in now. We need to quit pandering to insurance companies and other special interests and take care of the citizens in the United States. As far as I’m concerned, taking care of the citizens is the number one job we need by the president and our lawmakers.

I have been very lax about posting and posting something interesting lately. I’ve have had some very nasty days with my fibromyalgia. I have been reading up on the so-called Obama care. While I do see parts of a Obama Care that should be repaired. Overall it is better in the long run than anything I’ve heard out of the Republican camp. I do disagree with charging minimums that require you to purchase health care insurance. I would set a final price $100,000, and anyone making more than that would need to get their own insurance policy they could self pay or employer pay. However, if you make less a $100,000, (150,000 or more for married filing jointly) you would be eligible for Medicaid. Medicaid requirements should be paid by the  federal government. Romney has already stated that he would drop Medicaid altogether. Back in the 60′sRepublicans fought tooth and nail attempting to block Medicaid and Medicare. If not for Pres. Johnson, we would not have Medicaid or Medicare. Well that and equal rights. Republicans, including our longtime senator Strom Thurmond were against equal rights. If I remember correctly, Thurmond, holds the record for longest filibuster of all time in the USA and that he was for speaking out against the Civil Rights Bill. That is the truth behind the Republicans legacy.

If we can retain”Obama Care”starting January 1, 2014, medicaid expansion will now have a new limit. Anyone making 113% of poverty the level will be eligible for Medicaid. This is a step in the right direction. That part is good. The bad part is that it will impose a filing minimum of $95 or a 1% of the filing income minimum, depending upon which one of the two is the highest This is where I think there are problems. By 2016, they are starting to create tax credits or charges or not having insurance. More on that later.

I have discovered how to receive free health care for all of us. There is one hitch though. We need to move to a third world country that has a deep water port. Our Navy, (the best in the world) will provide health care for the needy in these foreign ports. I know it is a good thing to help these people who might otherwise suffer or worse, die in their humanitarian and friend building efforts. However I feel if they can do this for non citizens of our country why can’t they do the same for us? As I have stated before I am a vet so I am eligible for some of the best health care anywhere in the world. I can not say that for the rest of my family though. Our easiest way to provide basic health care for all of our citizens is to expand the medicare and medicaid roles. I know this does not fix everything and that they will have to limit some procedures but it would be a huge step in the right direction. I also know that there would be a huge outcry against the government controlling what could and could not be done for us. However those same healthcare insurance companies who would fight a move like that tooth and nail would still be able to offer health care to anyone who wanted more coverage for themselves and their family. I know that this is not the complete fix for our healthcare but we need more than is going to be supplied by “ObamaCare” as they call it but we need more not less as the Republicans are poised to do if they win the elections this year. It was them who fought so hard against Medicare and Medicaid during President Johnson reign. Now it is so basic and important we wonder how we made it before it was instated.

just the thoughts of the ringleader

Tomorrow is a big day for our family. My daughter in law is going to address congress in hearings about the need for funding for rheumatoid arthritis, all manner of auto immune diseases and health care in general. This is a very big honor and I am very proud of her. I would love to be able to go myself and just watch from the gallery but I can’t do that so maybe I can get her to guest author a post or two detailing it and her feelings on the state of our government and health care issues where we tend to agree on a large portion of things. She is quite intelligent and I am sure she will make a good showing with them. I only hope that they will actually listen and make changes for the good of all citizens instead of just making corporations happy.

Today I site here feeling very privileged. I just got through a private screening of a movie that is to be released later this year. It was a documentary about our failing health care in the United States. The working title is “The Health Care Movie” and is narrated by Kiefer Sutherland. It compares our health care system to Canada’s health care system. Seeing it made the plan we have here in the good ol’ USA pale in comparison to theirs. They believe in taking care of their citizens and not favoring huge corporations over the masses. They also see it as a basic human right. Something we agreed to, and ratified when we signed the “The Declaration of Human Rights”. If you look it up and start reading go down to article 25.  There you will find us agreeing that health care is a human right. But I am off topic here somewhat.

I was talking about the movie I was allowed to see. It gives some shocking facts and numbers about our nonexistent health care. I hope that everyone will see this and be mad as hell. Writing their congressman  or senator mad. Everyone needs health care at some point in their lives. That is a fact no one  can dispute. The question is can you afford it? Is your insurance going to cover it. How much money comes out of my pocket? None of us can deny it. Even if you have health care you will have a co-pay and how large does that go? What if my bill becomes so large that my out of pocket money is too high for me? Will I have to sell the house to pay? Will I have to file bankruptcy because of an illness or accident? In our system all of these scenarios are not only possible but happen. A lot of times this is the story. Even a wealthy family can be bankrupted by a prolonged illness. I feel like this is a travesty that we allow for profit, private insurance companies run our health care system. They arbitrarily dictate what treatments we can or can’t have and we let them have their way in the name of democracy. If you were to remember your history you will find that Lyndon Johnson pushed medicare and medicaid through the halls of Congress. That was in direct apposition with insurance companies and their lackeys in Congress. Back then it was painted as an end to democracy and the beginning of socialism. Now it is considered essential. It is a sure fired method of losing votes if you voice a plan on cutting medicare and medicaid. It took some wrangling and over the objections of insurance companies they were passed into law. That is what we need now. someone to push expanding medicare and medicaid to cover everyone in the USA. But that is my simple plan. No need for all these tax credits and vouchers.

Anyhow that is my opinion. I have good health care from the VA but not everyone has served their country.

I was able to view the movie early because they used my sons song part of the movie. The title is Silence
Is Consent
It was really great to see my sons name in the credits. It brought tears to my eyes for him to be so honored. The song fits this movie perfectly as my son feels very strongly that everyone should have access to health care regardless of whether they have money or not. I made the song title a link to his website joshua121.   You can hear the song there on the site. I recommend that you listen to it then write your congressman or woman. Don’t forget that you have a senator that needs to know that we need health care. That is the only thing that matters to a politician, votes and how much money he can gather from corporations and others for his next reelection campaign.

Dr Thomas Fuller made that quote back in 1732 and it is still as valid today as it was back then. Supposedly we have made many progressions since then but in the availability health care is only for the people with money. If you are poor or even working poor you get no health care in this country. This country with all of our nation building and meddling in other countries affairs does not take care of itself. When we first chartered into the United Nations we signed a treaty that in part agreed that a nation should take care of its citizens.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, proclaimed that “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of oneself and one’s family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care.”

Oops. How did that one slip by? Could it be that the United States is being run by corporations instead of the people? High powered lobbyists can slip a little money into campaign funds and buy the vote of our representatives in Washington DC. Happens all the time. Could it be that the government that President Lincoln espoused as “of the people, by the people, for the people” has changed to of the rich, by the rich, and for the privileged. We know it is true but so many refuse to open their eyes and see what is in front of them. How can we a country that is supposed to set the standards for other nations to follow lag so far behind? Our allies and even regimes that we are opposed to have government sponsored health care. Call it socialism if you wish but the government is supposed to help its citizens not bow to the wishes of for profit insurance companies. Until we collectively stand up and demand a change it will remain as it has been for many years now, broken.  All we need to do is expand medicare and medicaid to cover all individuals. If you do not like them making decisions about your health care then buy a private insurance policy. Then you can be in the hands of some huge corporation that can turn you down.

There is a country in severe trouble. There are many who have no homes, shelter and clean drinking water. Many citizens have no heat in the winter nor a way to cool off during it’s normal summer heat waves. The elderly and young children are the ones who need air condition to prevent them dying during its heat waves. Thousands are without jobs and lack basic health care for the sick. What country is this that sounds as if it is in such dire straights? The country that needs this help is not overseas where we send so much money but instead right here at home. The US is in need of help but instead they say to hell with those unfortunates and send money overseas instead. I am not saying that there are countries that do not have dire needs but we should take care of our own people first.

According to a study published by the Journal of Social Science & Medicine. Researchers in Montreal found out that unemployment will shorten your life span. The findings that analyzed data over a forty year span, in fifteen countries and millions of individuals say that 78% of men and 37% of women face the likely hood of premature death. With our unemployment rate at nearly 20% that means millions of Americans are at risk of an early death. Right now our representatives are wrestling with our budget trying to cut out programs that help unemployed as well as under employed citizens. The easiest thing to do would be for Obama himself to invoke the 14th Amendment and raise the debt ceiling where they do not have to cut out programs that are essential for the unemployed and poor people who comprise about half of the US. The Republicans darling, Ronald  Regan not only raised taxes in his term but he raised the debt ceiling eighteen times while he was in office. However Obama and the rest of the democrats are trying to make the Republicans look bad so they can insure that they win big at the polls when Obama comes up for reelection. I know we need to do something about this runaway debt we have accumulated but why does it have to be done by cutting out programs for the less fortunate citizens who need these services the most. Why not cut out the corporate welfare we have been dishing out with nothing in return? These tax breaks and bailouts were supposed to keep these companies in business so they can create more jobs. But that is not what they do. Instead of creating new jobs they gave huge bonuses to the very same ones that got them in such hot water financially. How did that help us out? Those huge billion dollar bailouts could easily have went to fund the very same programs the Republicans want to make deep cutbacks in or it would have went a long ways to an actual health plan that would work for all Americans. Those who do not like what is offered can always buy their own health care policy. Of course no one actually wants that as they have their greedy pockets lined with lobbyist money.

The debate over the budget has been a heated one with some controversial talks about making Medicare recipients pay more for their medical care. If approved these changes could make healthcare for the disabled and elderly rise by hundred or even thousands a year. It remains unclear if the Republicans who demand that trillions of dollars be cut from the budget will go through this year. It seems that they have forgotten how Bush had pretty much a blank check to run our deficit out of sight when it was in the black during the last few years of the Clinton years. It remains unclear to me how anyone who survives from paycheck to paycheck like most of the working class could be a staunch Republican. It seems like everything is on the table to be cut except the tax breaks for the wealthy that are in place. I have gotten way off track here and voiced opinions that have nothing to do with health care. Except the fact that taking care of the unfortunate health problems is far from their thoughts. Members of Congress and Senators get great medical care for free. I wonder if we were to demand that either we get the same good coverage they get or they get none at all if that would make a difference?