Friday, August 21, 2009

WE’RE MAD AS HELL!


A funny thing happened on my way to reading more of HR 3200. I found a link in my email to the Mad As Hell Doctors of Oregon. They have put up some of their own money to fund a cross country trip in a message wrapped motor home promoting universal health care in the form of HR 676, calling for single payer health insurance.

Here is what they have to say:

"We're mad as hell because our health care system is run by people who profit from illness" says Dr. Paul Hochfeld, lead Mad As Hell Doctor and producer of the documentary '
Health, Money and Fear.' "The rest of the civilized world has test driven single payer and it works. But elected officials in America won't even allow a discussion."
"The public option is a trap." Hochfeld continues. "It sounds very reasonable, but the problem with it, no matter what the final bill looks like, is that it will continue to allow private medical insurance companies to dictate America's public health policies. And that's just plain wrong."

The rest of the story is HERE.

So,I decided to check out HR 676. First, it has only 30 pages, a definite improvement over the 1017 pages of HR 3200. Next, the contents are laid out in an orderly and logical fashion and include how it will be funded.

Everyone is covered, period. You will fill out a form and then get a card. You will be able to go to any doctor anywhere in the country. Doctors and medical facilities will remain privately owned but must be nonprofit and cannot be investor owned. All necessary medical procedures are covered, including eye care and dental care. There are no deductibles and no co-pays. Anything not covered by the universal plan can be offered in coverage by a private insurance company which would be things like plastic surgery.

There would be an operating budget that would be divided to cover actual medical costs and then capital improvement costs to ensure a high level of health care delivery. Physicians will be offered payment options to best suit their needs.

Long term care needs will be provided for and it is calling for what should have been part of Medicare long ago; to focus on providing coverage for in-home care or community based care as opposed to institutional care.

The only thing I would criticize in this bill is in the prescription drug provisions. I have personally had a problem with the issue I’m about to discuss in regard to my private insurance (when I had it) as I’m sure others have had. There have also been comments about the same problem with public health entities like Medicare.

The problem is the formularies used that lean heavily toward generics. While this works fine in most cases, there are certain people, certain drugs and certain conditions that require this plan to be flexible enough to make medically necessary exceptions for patient safety and well-being. These include thyroid conditions, seizure disorders and heart conditions. I think I’ll send an email to one of the bill’s co sponors about this issue.

A downloadable version of this bill can be found HERE and I promise you, you don’t need a law degree or a medical degree to read it.
And when you have doctors backing it, well, I’ll give the last word to another of the Mad As Hell Docs:

"People need to understand what single-payer is--and isn't," says Dr. Mike Huntington, a radiologist from Corvallis, Oregon and fellow Mad As Hell Doctor. "It isn't Socialism, any more than police and fire are Socialism. And it doesn't require any more money. Simply put, single-payer is a way to take current premium payments that go to a thousand different private insurance companies, and redirect them into a single, public fund that insures everyone. That's all it is. But when we do this, lots of wonderful things happen, not the least of which is to save Americans 500 billion dollars a year starting day one. That's billion - with a 'b.' America needs this information. That's why we're taking the tour."

To find out when they’ll be in a city near you, go HERE.

12 comments:

  1. Excellent post, Rocky. The doctor you quote is spot on. And to those who keep running off at the snout about their hated -isms, I guess the best thing to say is that to the wingnuts, civilization itself is "socialism."

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  2. Rocky - this it too simple, too logical, too WONDERFUL to have a chance, I suspect oh so cynically. Obama does not seem inclined to put the for-profits out of business. True to his form - he is trying to play the middle of the road. Though in fairness to him, he probably is as cynical as I am and realizes that he doesn't have a chance in hell unless he bows to the power of profit. I'm also not sure there are enough democrats who would support this - some of them bow to the health lobbyists as well.

    I also wonder how many OTHER doctors would support this. Much as we have all been busting on the for-profit insurers, doctors are also part of the problem - some of whom have inflated ideas about what they are worth. I wasn't quite sure from your post how they would be compensated.

    I think it is absolutely terrific that these doctors are rallying to the cause. I truly hope people listen - including the dems & pres in washington.

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  3. Rocky honey, you found our version of the Swiss system!!!

    The thing has a snowballs chance in hell of getting anywhere because its too simple and offers no incentives for socialized profits for big companies....

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  4. While I too am cynical I have been heartened by the amount of support this bill has.
    There are 93 co-sponsors in the House. Also, there is a group supporting this bill made up of physicians called Physicians for a National Health Program that boasts over 17,000 members.
    Squid - to answer your question about physician payment - fees would be negotiated between the provider, state directors and regional directors with final approval by a national director.
    Physicians would be paid by either fee for service or as a salaried employee of a qualifying institution.
    The single payer scenario is gaining momentum despite the deliberate ommission from most healthcare reform discussions.
    I think I'm going to try and meet up with these docs in DC.

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  5. The bill shows some spirit at the progressive end of the debate. People need to stick up for that end, and if we do, it might influence the shape of the final bill.

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  6. My doctor has not voiced his opinion on public, or private, but he constantly complains about the way insurance companies treat patients and doctors. His biggest complaint seems to be all the paper work he has to do to satisfy the insurance companies.

    If we look at the problems we would like to solve in this medical mess, seems the single payer plan solve more of those problems than any other plan, not to say that it has no faults, or would not create new problems.

    In my mind the major problems are: cost, portability. covering the uninsured, denial of coverage by the present system, and getting the cost off the back of employers so they can compete in a global market.

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  7. Dino - if we could just get people to stop sniping each other long enough to get involved in the REAL issues of healthcare! It is so frustrating!
    Tom - an excellent summary of what needs to be done. And you're right, there will be problems and we will find faults with a new system, but we have to start somewhere.

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  8. Rocky, that is most true. But of course, the world is filled with policy-chomping stegosaurs and braying donkeys. Some of the worst of the latter I've read is on a certain liberal news site -- the logic always goes something like, "Obama promised us everything but hasn't delivered everything yet; therefore, he's an evil corporatist hack." I mean, are these types sincerely distressed, or are they right-wing trolls? In the end, it doesn't matter -- the effect of their words is similar. Which is why a consistently positive progressive rhetoric laying out the necessaries is so vital.

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  9. No, they're RWT's for sure and they were using that line half an hour after the inauguration. I get this in person all the time and my stock answer is that Jesus promised to redeem the world and it's still a pile of shit.

    The quicker ones reply with something like "that's not his fault because mankind is evil and stupid"

    AHA! says the ancient mariner.

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  10. It is my understanding that Senator Max Baucus, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has consistently said single-payer is off the table. He would not even allow testimony before his committee. He had 13 protestors removed from Senate Finance Committee hearings after the protesters demanded that single-payer advocates be given a seat at the table during health care reform hearings. Full story here.

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  11. Postscript: Single payer is what I wanted from the beginning, and I am quite upset at Senator Baucus for suppressing this testimony. Bottom line: Senator Baucus is a bad actor, perhaps even worse than Senator Grassley.

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  12. OCTO - I too have favored the single payer plan but thought a compromise bill might have a better chance. After reading HR 3200 and listening to all the hysteria and ignorance, I realized that there is no room for compromise with Repugs and the bill is shit.
    So, I am firmly behind the single payer,Nazi/Fascist/Communist/Socialist, doctor supported bill, HR 676.
    The docs are requesting a face to face with the President which is why they are caravaning cross country trying to get the message out. They are also asking for those who agree to use the form on their website to send a message to the President asking him to give the docs a sit down.
    If you go to the last HERE link in my post, this will bring you to the docs' website. On the top, there is a box "Letter to Obama", click that and you can add your voice.

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