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.