Surely, you have heard of Congressman-Elect Andy Harris’s newfound support for government-run health care – at least for himself – by now. But to appreciate the full head-spinning magnitude of his conversion to socialism, one has to observe his statements on the issue while he ran for office. This video comes from his February 2010 appearance at the Cecil County Patriots Candidate Forum.
At 1:50 of the video, Harris is asked his opinion on the federal government’s role in health care. At 3:15, Harris begins his answer by denouncing Medicare and Medicaid and predicting that more government-run health care “got us into bankruptcy and will keep us in bankruptcy.” And yet, Harris’s first action as a Congressman-Elect is to complain that he can’t get government-run health care for himself fast enough.
Rarely has the stomach-churning stench of hypocrisy wafted so heavily over Capitol Hill.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Andy Harris: Government-Run Health Care "Got Us Into Bankruptcy"
Monday, September 06, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
What’s Next? State Leadership Will Enhance National Health Reform
By Lieutenant Governor Anthony G. Brown.
Last week, President Obama signed The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, one of the most comprehensive and critical pieces of domestic health care legislation in over 40 years. While the challenges at the federal level to pass a bill and expand affordable access to care have been discussed in great detail, the challenges individual states will face over the next three years to implement reform have been underreported.
National health reform can only be as good as a state’s ability to implement it. With the right leadership on the state level, health reform can eclipse the original federal intent by greatly improving the quality of care for all patients and reduce health care costs.
While Republican leaders from some of our neighboring states have set a course to politicize the progress we made last week, Maryland views health reform as a tremendous opportunity to make us a stronger, healthier and more prosperous state. We’ve felt this way for some time and have taken measures on our own accord to jumpstart reform in Maryland.
During the special session Governor O’Malley called in 2007 to address the $1.7 billion structural deficit left for us by the previous administration, we passed the Working Families and Small Business Health Coverage Act. The Act created the Health Insurance Partnership, a tax credit to assist small businesses with the cost of employee’s health insurance and expanded Medicaid to 116% of the federal poverty level. Since enactment, the Act has helped 62,000 previously uninsured Marylanders obtain the coverage that they need and deserve. Last year, the state enacted first-in-the-nation legislation requiring state-regulated insurers to provide incentives for electronic health record adoption. Governor Martin O’Malley, with help from the Maryland General Assembly, is developing a statewide health information exchange – the Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients (CRISP) – to collect, consolidate, standardize and redistribute secure medical information. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded Maryland with a $9.3 million stimulus grant to help CRISP implement our exchange.
We began this year knowing that our State’s top priority was the economy, but that health reform was a necessary component to securing our economic future. Federal reform is estimated to save Maryland $1 billion over the next ten years. As the O’Malley-Brown Administration’s point person for health issues, I have spent the past six months meeting with health experts and touring our hospitals, clinics and private practices to ask doctors, nurses, patient-advocates and administrators what policies and programs would be needed for Maryland to implement health reform by 2014. During my discussions, health professionals statewide emphasized that reform must include the expansion of information technology and Maryland’s health care workforce.
States have an incentive to develop more comprehensive health IT systems and encourage electronic health record adoption. Americans deserve the highest quality of care. More reliable and secure electronic health records will provide doctors and nurses with patients’ complete medical histories and the ability to conduct more comprehensive and efficient analyses and diagnoses. Health IT also provides hospitals and physicians with more accurate billing practices, and reduces medical errors and duplicative procedures, the combination of which reduces cost and improves the quality of patients’ care.
One of the most fundamental obstacles in states’ implementations of health reform will be to put in place the necessary workforce to meet the additional health care needs of a larger community of insured patients. In Maryland alone, more than 400,000 uninsured citizens will receive coverage due to the federal legislation and the state will need to train and employ thousands of additional nurses and physicians to meet their needs. We are leaning on our network of community colleges and undergraduate and graduate institutions to train new workers to meet the medical, clerical and IT demands of the federal legislation. To encourage more physicians to pursue employment in primary care, the O’Malley-Brown Administration has introduced legislation to establish a Maryland Patient Centered Medical Home program that places a premium on spending time with patients, emphasizes wellness and prevention, and coordinates patient’s care. This patient-centered approach has shown great promise towards improving the quality of care, reducing health costs and changing how care is delivered.
Last week, Governor O’Malley signed an Executive Order establishing the Health Reform Coordinating Council that will be responsible for coordinating existing State programs and resources with the federal reform. He’s asked me to chair the council, alongside Health and Mental Hygiene Secretary John M. Colmers. Together, we’ll address the full range of challenges presented by health reform and develop a strategic plan for implementing reform in Maryland. We will interpret the federal mandate in order to prepare for the expansion of Medicaid, reform the individual and small group markets, expand innovative pilots, establish a statewide health insurance exchange and examine how to leverage our strengths and improve weaknesses. Most importantly, we will develop a model that makes reform a reality and improves the efficiency and quality with which we provide care and reduce costs for Maryland’s taxpayers.
Health reform is long past due and President Obama’s political courage to take on such a controversial and complex issue is laudable. Still, any national effort to make transformative change must be complemented at the state level and true reform will only be as good as a state’s ability to implement it.
Maryland, for one, embraces this historic opportunity.
Anthony G. Brown is Maryland’s Lt. Governor. His policy portfolio includes the O’Malley-Brown Administration’s efforts on health care, economic development, higher education and veterans affairs. He previously served as Majority Whip in the Maryland House of Delegates while representing Prince George’s County.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Kaiser Seems Determined to Give Local ER's and 911 More Business
By Alan Banov.
Did you hear that Kaiser is shutting down its urgent care department at its Kensington Center? And it’s sharply curtailing the other vital services (pharmacy, laboratory and x-rays).
Just after the close of Open Season, in a bait-and-switch move, Kaiser Permanente announced that it will close the Urgent Care after-hours center at its Kensington Center, requiring members from the down-County area and even Northwest DC to drive all the way to Shady Grove when they need urgent care. See the attached letter we received from Kaiser just this week. It announces that these changes will take effect as of February 28 -- less than three weeks from now.
Check out their statement that they are "pleased" to terminate these services. Such chutzpah! How do you think the County would react if Ike Leggett were to announce that he was "pleased" to reduce plowing services dramatically!
This is a matter of life and death for many Kaiser members who may not be able to make it to Shady Grove when they are in need of urgent care. These are senior citizens in their 70s and 80s who may not be able to drive themselves to Shady Grove after dark, especially when they are ill; mothers of children with asthma who will now have to sit on I-270 in rush hour while their children are struggling to breathe; and single adults suffering from a variety chronic illnesses who can't possibly drive themselves to Shady Grove during an acute episode.
The Kensington urgent care center serves people from Northwest DC (the only other urgent care center is in Penn Quarter) and the entire down-county area of Montgomery County. This service change will, of course, place a greater burden on our County services, since many patients will probably end up calling 911 when they need urgent care. They may very well end up at area emergency rooms, which are already over-burdened, because they are too ill to make the 30-45 minute ride to Shady Grove, especially at rush hour. I personally know there have been times when I could barely drive the one mile from my home to the Kensington urgent care center; I could not possibly have made it to Shady Grove.
Details are in a new blog which Daphne White has started:
http://kaiserkensington.wordpress.com/
MPW readers: Could you please contact Kaiser Permanente right away and help us persuade them that this move will be harmful to their members! Specifically, you may contact Marilyn Kawamura, president of Kaiser Permanente for the Mid-AtlanticRegion at marilyn.kawamura@kp.org or 301-816-2424 ext. 0. In addition, please contact Kaiser's medical director, Bernadette Loftus. Her email is Bernadette.loftus@kp.org, and her phone number is 301-816-5239.
Please contact me at my office number (301-588-9699) or at legalrun@aol.com, or fellow Kaiser member Daphne White (301-949-0378) if you need more information or want to help us. (Daphne is the leader of this movement, and she created the blog!)
Thanks!
Alan Banov
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Hoyer , Health Care and Affordability
By Josh Wright.
Because of how the legislative process has worked, our own Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer can make a significant positive difference in the final healthcare bill and we should push him to follow through for Marylanders and all Americans.
Rep. Hoyer has worked hard to bring us so close to meaningful health care reform. It has been a monumental undertaking in the face of an unproductive and many times disingenuous opposition. However, many Marylanders are deeply concerned that the best aspects of the House work on health care reform will take a back seat to vocal maneuvers of a small minority of recalcitrant conservative Senators. Interestingly Rep. Hoyer is sitting in a strong position of power to influence the final outcome. The democratic leadership has decided to forgo conference committee and instead “ping-pong” the Senate bill over to the House and back again (e.g. vote on the senate bill in the house with some amendments and use managers amendments to modify for any necessary Senate follow-ups votes that are required). Avoiding conference committee was the right decision at this point, because the conservative senators would have used a variety of procedural moves in conference to slow down final passage of healthcare reform. This gives the house leadership a great deal of authority on what amendments to put into and push for in the final bill. As the number two in house leadership Rep. Hoyer can push to make the final bill as progressive as possible.
We all realize that the bill is less than perfect. It could go further to address costs and a public option should be part of the bill. Neither of these seems likely now, however, there is still a good opportunity to push on affordability and numbers of people covered. Health care reform can only succeed if it makes coverage truly affordable for ordinary families who are finding it more and more difficult to get the care they need. Requiring people to buy health insurance that they cannot afford is not a legitimate, feasible, or desirable solution to our health care crisis. The House bill got the affordability balance right and suggest that the final bill expand Medicaid to at least 150% of poverty. Consider the reality that the average family of 3 earning $28,400 (or 155% of poverty) would pay $2100 more in premiums and out-of-pocket costs under the Senate bill than the House bill. The Senate bill would have a serious impact on the quality of life for working people in this country. Without better affordability provisions, people will continue to have to choose between groceries and health care, and thousands of families will continue to go bankrupt because of health care costs. Moreover, the House of Representatives has passed health reform legislation that would cover 36 million people, 96 percent of all legal residents. The House covers five million more people than the Senate. We should urge Rep. Hoyer to support the coverage provisions in the House bill, so that millions of Americans are not left uninsured after the passage of comprehensive health reform.
Recent (November, 2009), tracking polls on health care by the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families and Lake Research Partners show that American’s put affordability as a top priority for healthcare reform.
The Kaiser poll found that
· “Making sure affordable health insurance plans are available to the average consumer” was ranked as extremely or very important by 79 percent of respondents (November 2009).
· “Having government provide enough financial help so that as many uninsured people as possible can get health insurance” is ranked as extremely or very important by 65 percent of respondents (November 2009).
· The top concern for 66 percent of voters is “to make health coverage more affordable to families (November 2009)”
Furthermore the Georgetown poll found that if forced to choose, voters think it’s more important to make health care more affordable to families than to worry about overall costs to government: 66% say “make coverage more affordable to families compared to 33% choose “Making sure health reform does not cost the country too much.”
Now more than ever we need Rep. Hoyer to stand up for the people of Maryland and America and make sure that the reform that is passed covers the maximum number of people in the most affordable manner possible.
To find out more about taking action for healthcare reform you can go to http://www.communitychange.org/
Josh Wright is a Takoma Park City Councilmember and Director of Social Enterprise Programs, at the Campaign for Community Change.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Why We Need Health Care Reform
A neighbor of mine dealing with serious health issues encapsulated the answer in one short paragraph on his Facebook page:The pharmacist handed me a small box of pills and said, "That'll be $6,000 for the rest of this month's co-pay." The Oxaliplatin, Tarceva and Xeloda this replaces had been costing $20,000 per month. My out-of-pocket was actually just $10 since I am fortunate enough to have a top health plan, but can you imagine how inancially devastating a serious disease is to those with a merely better-than-average health plan?
Monday, November 09, 2009
Problems on the Left for Kratovil
Bob Stewart, Executive Director of Montgomery County’s giant public employees union MCGEO, has sent out an open email to the Democrats and the rest of labor blasting Congressman Frank Kratovil for not supporting health care reform. This is a sign of big problems to come for the freshman.
After Kratovil announced his opposition to the House leadership’s health care bill, Stewart sent out this email to the state’s Democratic and labor leadership.From: Bob Stewart
Frank Kratovil is walking an electric tight rope with the alligators chomping below. He won his seat in Congress last year over State Senator Andy Harris (R-7) – a man even some conservatives can’t stand – with just 49% of the vote. At the same time, John McCain beat Barack Obama in the district by 58-40%. As of the 2008 general election, the district had 200,216 Democrats, 193,584 Republicans and 74,639 unaffiliated or others. Kratovil is the first Democrat in the seat since Roy Dyson (1980-1990), but at that time the district included swing counties like Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s. Redistricting replaced those counties with right-leaning precincts in Anne Arundel and Baltimore Counties and helped Wayne Gilchrist (1990-2008), Kratovil’s moderate Republican predecessor, stay in office.
To: [Recipients]
Sent: Fri Nov 06 16:34:36 2009
Subject: Kratovil Vote On Health Care Bill
Just spoke to Congressman Kratovil’s office (202) 226-8629 for the 3rd time today asking for Tim McCann [Kratovil’s Chief of Staff] to return my call. He was “not available.” I finally left a message.
At the suggestion of your Chair early on last year, the campaign called and requested assistance - we gave it in his race for Congress against Andy Harris. In fact Majority Leader Hoyer made an urgent request for the entire Maryland labor movement to come to Frank’s aid…..and they did! “Priority # 1 in the state”, it was said, knowing everyone else was safe and that Obama would easily carry Maryland.
Remember, it was a very close race which Frank “squeaked out” in an Obama surge which even reached the Eastern Shore. The way I see it, if not for President Obama and Labor’s help, Congressman Kratovil would not have won. Remember also that this is the Congressman who was “hung in effigy” in August by the Tea-baggers, birthers and assorted other right-wingers. Running scared and showing fear by voting how they want him to will probably not get them to vote for him next year.
Unable to reach Mr. McCann, I finally asked how the Congressman was going to vote and was told he was going to “Vote No” on the Health reform Bill. We are smart enough to know that if we can’t count on the Congressman to vote for Health Care Reform this year, then why delude ourselves into thinking that we could count on him to vote for the Employee Free Choice Act next year!
President Obama took Majority Leader Hoyer’s 5th Congressional District last year by 65%.
THE MESSAGE WAS THIS;
Next year when Frank is running for Congress, maybe Majority Leader Hoyer will have some free time to help Congressman Kratovil out — we will be focused on other races!
Since his victory, Kratovil has had an unpredictable voting record. His pattern so far is to waver over every tough vote so much that when he finally takes a position, neither side is impressed enough to give him credit. Kratovil voted against the stimulus package when it came out of the House but voted for it after it was reconciled with the Senate. Kratovil remained on the fence on the cap-and-trade bill up to the last minute before voting for it. After being hounded and hung in effigy over health care, he voted against it in the House. In explaining his no vote, Kratovil cited praise for his position from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Businesses. But given his record, he could very well vote for a health care bill once it comes back from the Senate.
Kratovil is trying to give right-of-center independents enough reason to support him for a second term. Unlike most Maryland races, his contest will likely be decided by independents because the Democrats are not numerous enough to give him an easy win. But his choices are not that easy since a great deal of his financial support comes from liberals and left-leaning groups outside his district. So far in the 2009-2010 cycle, he has raised $841,882. His top twenty contributors include the Operating Engineers Union, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the Carpenters and Joiners Union (where your author works), the Iron Workers Union, the National Education Association, the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union, the Teamsters Union and the United Transportation Union. His fifth biggest industry of contributors is public employee unions, who have collectively given him $28,500. In terms of geography, contributors in the liberal Washington, DC Metro Area have given him $60,033, including $7,300 from Chevy Chase and $5,800 from Potomac.
But liberal support extends far beyond just money. Maryland progressives had two action priorities last year: first, helping Obama win Virginia, and second, helping Kratovil turn the Eastern Shore blue. Montgomery County liberals donated endless hours of phone banking for Kratovil in 2008 and took regular trips to the Eastern Shore. Obama will not be on the ballot next year, leaving Kratovil as a potential sole beneficiary of liberal activism. But health care is the number one priority for the left, and for the moment, Kratovil is on the other side. Liberals work hardest for candidates they believe in and get excited about, like Howard Dean, Barack Obama, Donna Edwards and Jamie Raskin. How many liberals are excited about Kratovil now?
All of this means Frank Kratovil has a problem. Because if people like Bob Stewart stay home next year, Kratovil could be headed home too.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
The Legacy of Thomas Kennedy and the Current Battle for Health Insurance Reform
By Delegate Kirill Reznik (D-39).
Most people will not recognize the name Thomas Kennedy. He is not of the famed Joe Kennedy clan. He is not related to Teddy and Jack and Bobby. He was born in Scotland in 1776 and immigrated to the Unites States, settling in Hagerstown, Maryland in 1802 where he later ran for a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates. In the early 1800s, only 150 Jews resided in Maryland and Kennedy had never met one. Nevertheless, he, a Scottish Presbyterian, took up the cause of amending the Maryland Constitution to allow “Jewish inhabitants” to run for public office; something that was explicitly forbidden at the time.
The bill he wrote was defeated several times, and in 1823, having been labeled “an enemy of Christianity” and a “Judas” by his political opponents, he lost his seat. Kennedy was eventually elected back to the legislature as an independent, and with time and a change in public sentiment, the “Jew bill,” as it came to be known, passed.
It is as a direct result of Kennedy’s efforts that 21 Jewish members currently serve in the Maryland General Assembly, including myself, the second largest number in any state legislature in the country. Kennedy’s efforts were also the start to a greater expansion of the right to serve in public office, and today I serve with members from a variety of races, religions, gender, and sexual orientation. Because we have this diversity we are better off as a State. We are better off because of the sacrifice of Thomas Kennedy.
So, what does this have to do with health care reform?
I have to assume that Thomas Kennedy enjoyed serving in the Maryland House of Delegates as much as I do. I find public service through elected office to be one of the greatest callings one could have. Yes, I am still in my first term, but I hope that I never lose that feeling. My former State Senator once told me that if you ever get to a point where you do not pinch yourself every time you walk through the Chamber doors, you should find something else to do.
I suspect that it is no less rewarding to be a member of the U.S. Congress or the U.S. Senate; In fact, I bet it is more. The opportunity to help constituents on a daily basis, whether through day-to-day constituent services or through meaningful legislation, is a great reason to get up in the morning.
Well, one of those meaningful pieces of legislation is before us today in the form of health insurance reform. In fact, it is more than just meaningful; it is watershed legislation that will affect generations of Americans for decades to come. And just like other watershed legislation, it has its detractors. People who will lose money, power, and influence. People who fear change. People who are fine with the status quo because it does not affect them. They have always been here, whether it is with women’s suffrage, civil rights, Social Security and Medicare, or one of hundreds of other bills that at the time were described by those detractors as the possible end of the world. But, when that legislation was up for consideration, regardless of who screamed and yelled, the powers that be did the right thing, and today, we couldn’t imagine what life would be like otherwise.
I have the pleasure of serving on the Health and Government Operations Committee in the Maryland House of Delegates. This committee assignment gives me a very clear window into the problems of our existing health care system, which I find to be unsustainable. Even in this horrible economy, we in Maryland have been working around the edges and trying to expand health care to as many people as possible. Even facing perpetual projected deficits we have expanded Medicaid to 116% of poverty (it was 46%), provided subsides to small businesses to purchase insurance for their employees, enrolled thousands of children on SCHIP who were already eligible but didn’t know it, and helped fill the Part D Prescription donut hole for many seniors. We do it because it is the right and moral thing to do, and in the long run it is for our own fiscal health. But we can’t do this alone. We cannot print Maryland dollars and go into debt, and with the Governor announcing another $450 million in out-of-session cuts to the budget, we simply can’t afford much more.
We need federal reform, and we need it now.
So, this brings me back to my point. The current health reform debate that you are watching is not a question of what is wrong and what is right; rather it is a question of a legislator’s ability to be re-elected. This is a reality that exists for many of us. The notion that “I can’t do anyone any good if I am not here” has forced many in elected office to make decisions that they later come to regret or support positions that they don’t truly hold. It works in both ways. I’ve spoken to a number of my Republican colleagues who have admitted to me in private that they would support repeal of the death penalty, marriage equality, and yes, health insurance reform, if they didn’t think that it would hurt their chances for re-election. It seems now that the most vocal members for reform are the ones in the safest seats. The ones talking about removal of the public option, implementing co-ops, or doing nothing at all are the ones most worried about coming back.
At the end of the day, even if we pass health insurance reform, I believe most of the Democrats in Congress will get re-elected and we will maintain our majority. It is true that some will not and will be sacrificed on the altar of current public hysteria. In the end, though history will show that they did the right thing, they might lose their seats. Well, so be it. 186 years after his political sacrifice, Thomas Kennedy is regarded by many as a champion of causes greater than himself. The Delegates who voted against his bill, though they might have been re-elected for a term or two, are now lost to history.
Thomas Kennedy was brave enough to do what was right. I am hopeful that the men and women in the U.S. Congress are made of the same mettle.
Delegate Kirill Reznik (D-39)
Crossposted on Reznik for Maryland.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
MCGEO Takes on Whole Foods
The Municipal and County Government Employees Organization (MCGEO) has begun leafletting at Whole Foods stores to protest its CEO's comments against President Obama's health care initiative. MCGEO's parent organization, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), represents hundreds of thousands of grocery store workers across North America. Following is a press release from the union.
Media Contact: Amy Millar 240-876-1660
WHOLE FOODS CEO’S EFFORTS TO UNDERMINE OBAMA HEALTH CARE REFORM DRAWS WIDESPREAD CONDEMNATION
Health care activists and labor groups to take online efforts to the stores; groups provide information about CEO’s extreme position on reform to Whole Foods shoppers
Gaithersburg– In response to a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed by Whole Foods’ Chief Executive Officer John Mackey, activists, consumers and labor groups around the country have been organizing in opposition to his efforts to undermine meaningful health care reform.
Over the course of the next few weeks, members and staff from the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) will be disseminating educational information to Whole Foods shoppers. The purpose of these efforts will be to set the record straight about health care reform and to raise serious concerns about Whole Foods CEO’s position on this critical issue. These events will be part of a series of regional educational efforts being planned for the coming weeks.
The UFCW passed out leaflets about Mackey’s position at the Whole Foods in Gaithersburg at 316 Kentlands Blvd, Gaithersburg, MD from 3:00 to 5:00 on August 25.
For UFCW members, health care reform is a top legislative priority. UFCW members around the country are organizing and mobilizing their communities in support of comprehensive health care reform. 
Caption: Despite heavy police presence, shoppers on their way in and out of the Gaithersburg Whole Foods store were receptive to Local 1994's message.
# # #
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
The Health Insurance Racket: Getting Rich by Denying Americans Care
Forwarded by Sharon Dooley:
For more, visit here.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Swift Boating Health Care
By Sharon Dooley.
Well folks, it’s August and the Swift boaters have come up from the murky depths yet again, this time to try to distort the message against health care. They and others on the right have marshaled their mercenary forces against change and set out once again to spread the lies that polls have decided would be effective destructors. Disgraced former Health care Executive Rich Scott (mentioned in my earlier blog) has spread his millions around various lobbying outlets in DC, helping to outfit buses and pay for “involved citizens” to tour around and organize demonstrations that suppress free speech and quash civil discourse. (Conservatives for Patients Rights is one of them.) This is becoming an annual August rite – only much more venal than Hay fever!
In Maryland, House Majority leader Steny Hoyer was shouted down when he tried to meet with constituents and have a reasonable discussion about the various Health care options before the Congress. Some criticized Senator Ben Cardin, when he held a closed door Town meeting recently, but perhaps he was wiser than some of his colleagues who were filmed attempting to shout over organized mobs. Progressives throughout the area are attempting to provide sane voices in these meetings and Move-on and others are trying to run reality commercials.
MSNBC filmed Republican operatives – denying their affiliations and insurance company employees – in their company shirts – all speaking out as “ordinary people” in their objections to “government run health-care.” Oddly enough many parents and grandparents are doing quite well with their “government run” Medicare programs and even their prescriptions drug plans. Additionally, thousands of children are now immunized through the federally run Vaccines for Children programs and the SCHIP for uninsured minor children, while other elderly residents in nursing homes are covered under the dually sponsored State and Federal Medicaid programs.
Some in Montgomery County may have received the emails and scare tactics being voiced here in this battle. Only this time the sides are not evenly matched. While well-meaning Democratic Members of Congress attempt to reach out to their constituents, the opposition has the propaganda machine out in force. Older residents are being frightened and told that their health care will be rationed and their Medicare benefits will be reduced. Claims are being made that indicate seniors will be required to make living wills and end of life plans (not a bad idea in the abstract) which will then lead to euthanasia. Also discussed is the supposed creation of local medical panels that will make specific life and death decisions about elderly people based on economic criteria. While studies have shown that the last year of life is a huge expense for Medicare, care decisions are often made by families who are upset and emotional and do not know what their loved one might have wished. Nurses know how hard it is to decide whether or not to provide more life supports. Caring advisors believe that this decision is a difficult one best made when all sides are healthy and unemotional. But death squads and rationing of end of life care options – incredible! Nothing could be further from the truth; where are the sane voices? Nurses and primary care physicians who care for these patients and others have long been among the loudest voices pressing for health care for all and in support of the single payer options, because they know the reality of our inadequate health care system. AARP has some facts and myths on their web site Myths that try to answer some of these concerns but this voice is a quiet one, not easily heard in this bedlam of the current media. AARP should not be so timid and should use their bully pulpit as they did in the prescription drug plan fight where they helped the flawed Bush drug plan get passed.
Those in favor of Health care reform are being labeled as anti-American Nazis, posters have shown Obama with a Hitlerian moustache and the haters are out in force. Even Sarah Palin has weighed in, claiming these planners would kill her son with Down’s syndrome because he is not productive in society. This must stop. How could an intellectual discussion be reduced to such absurdity? Americans spend more than any other country on health care, but we trail many countries in areas such as infant mortality and longevity because we do not use our health care dollars wisely. We need to follow the money here and note that those who stand to gain the most if reform fails are the major drug companies, insurance companies and hospital associations. Those who would lose the most are all the rest of us. Since there is no one bill currently approved – just agree upon reform. Please be a voice for reason and sanity and contact your elected officials now – let them hear from the real voters whose free speech is stilled by the voices of the mobs. Tell them we need real reform – now. Do not fall for Swift boating again.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Organizing for Healthcare, Part Two
By Marc Korman.
Last time, we discussed the Organizing for America healthcare event that took place earlier this month to build up grassroots support for healthcare reform. This time we will talk a bit more about some of the discontent at the meeting.
President Obama may have three priorities for healthcare (costs, choice, and coverage), but many of the grassroots supporters at the OFA event had just one: single payer. Sharon Dooley gave a preview of the desire by many progressives for a single payer system, instead of tinkering with the current marketplace of competing insurance companies. That same desire was expressed at the OFA event.
There was always a bit of unrest among progressives over some of candidate Obama’s positions, such as a troop increase in Afghanistan or his failure to support gay marriage. But people were willing to shove that aside in order to get a progressive Democrat elected. But with healthcare, many attendees expressed a willingness to let healthcare reform die entirely instead of allowing a system resembling the current mix of public plans like Medicare and private insurance exist.
Delegate Barve spoke about the importance of securing 60 votes and Karen McManus from Congressman Van Hollen’s office conceded that the final product would not be perfect. But those reality checks did little to settle down anxious activists. I have heard that many of the earlier house parties had a similar vibe.
One way to calm the base might be to provide a little more information. Costs, choice, and coverage make nice talking points, but many of those in the room wanted more information. A few were even honest enough to admit to not knowing the difference between a public option (where a government run plan would compete against the private insurers) and single payer (where all health coverage would flow through one entity). The idea of the public option is something of a “single payer lite.” A robust, government run program could use its bargaining power to negotiate low prices and provide comprehensive services, theoretically requiring its public sector competitors to do the same. One of the downsides of the current cooperative compromise put forth by Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) is that they would likely be local cooperatives, total lacking in the bargaining power that makes a federal public option appealing.
But President Obama may not really be that interested in what the OFA attendees know or support. He may be using a disgruntled base for Machiavellian purposes. The assumption has been that the purpose of the healthcare house parties is to encourage grassroots supporters to contact their legislators and educate their neighbors about healthcare reform. But a slightly unhappy progressive base could allow President Obama to tell moderates in both parties he cannot compromise any further. That could lead to him getting more of what he wants in a final plan.
Maybe the Obama faithful will fall in line once a plan starts moving through Congress, but as of today they do not appear sold, at least not in Montgomery County. But with a vast network of Congressional liaisons and a high approval rating, perhaps President Obama can bring them around.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Organizing for Healthcare, Part One
By Marc Korman.
Harking back to his community organizer roots, President Obama has transitioned his presidential campaign, Obama for America, into an activist group, Organizing for America. Their work is just getting started in Montgomery County.
Organizing for America exists under the auspices of the Democratic National Committee. Jason Waskey, who served as Campaign Director of Obama’s Maryland operation, is moving over to the DNC where he will serve as State Director for DNC-OFA. Every Congressional district in the country will have a volunteer liaison working with DNC-OFA. In Montgomery County, the 8th Congressional District liaison is Jon Randall, who worked tirelessly at the Bethesda Obama Office. Curtis Valentine is the liaison for the 4th Congressional District. He was an Obama fellow who worked in Prince George’s County during the general election.
A little outreach bye OFA began earlier in the year in support of President Obama’s budget proposal. But their real debut came in early June when house parties were held all around the country in support of healthcare reform, one of the Obama Administration’s top domestic priorities. After a weekend of house parties around Montgomery County, OFA held an event at the new Montgomery County Education Association headquarters.
The event had over sixty people in attendance, including State Senator Jennie Forehand, Delegate Kumar Barve, and State Senate candidate Cheryl Kagan. The purpose of the event was to build excitement for healthcare reform, including preparing for a day of healthcare service on June 27th, and presumably to activate a grassroots army of supporters to promote reform.
At the event, attendees heard about President Obama’s vision for healthcare reform, including his three priorities of lower costs, freedom to choose doctors and healthcare plans, and full coverage for all Americans. Karen McManus from Congressman Van Hollen’s office also spoke, encouraging people to contact his office with thoughts or ideas on the plan.
Following the speeches, the room broke into four smaller groups. Each group had two purposes. First, participants shared personal stories from their lives that demonstrated to them that healthcare reform was needed. Second, attendees brainstormed ideas for a healthcare service activity. Some ideas in the group I sat in were to hold a healthy barbecue, bring health professionals to a specific community to provide services, offer educational services, or conduct activities to lobby for healthcare reform. OFA is still finalizing its plans for the service day, but when they become available we will post them here.
That tells you the who, what, when, where and why of the event. Next time, we will take a look at some of the underlying tension at the meeting.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Organizing for America Announcement on Health Care
Following is a call for action from Organizing for America on health care.
ANNOUNCEMENT:
Organizing for America, the former Obama for America operation, is holding a large health care meeting on Wednesday June 10 ay 7:30pm (doors open at 7pm). OFA is a part of the DNC, and is focused in furthering the President's agenda. We expect a fierce debate in Congress and the nation over health care. We want to organize around President Obama’s three principles: Reducing costs; Guaranteeing choice; Ensuring that all Americans have quality affordable health care.
We’ll talk about personal experiences that make health care reform important, review President Obama’s plan, how we can best support that plan, and local health care service events for the weekend of June 27. Dozens of these meetings have already been held throughout Maryland, and thousands nationwide. Join us at the last meeting for Montgomery County as we build towards a weekend of service on June 27.
Please join us on Wed. June 10 for this important health care meeting. (And please don't go to the old meeting place!) We'll also update everyone on OFA's mission and organization. Refreshments available.
Date: Wednesday June 10
Time: Doors open 7 pm, Program starts promptly at 7:30 pm
Location: NEW LOCATION!! At the new MCEA (teachers’ union) headquarters:
12 Taft Court, Rockville MD 20850
Link for directions: http://www.mcea.nea.org/pdf/DIRECTIONSTOMCEA.pdf
(FYI: Taft Court is off of East Gude Drive, near where East Gude meets Norbeck Road; the old location where Obama meetings were held before the election was on West Gude Drive, on the other side of Rockville Pike).
(In case of extreme weather: if MCPS evening school activities are cancelled, this meeting will be cancelled.)
PLEASE RSVP HERE http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpclfj OR TO mcforobama@gmail.com
