Do You want Universal Health care?

[Pharaoh]

Sign the petition

http://ga1.org/campaign/healthcare

This is Russ Feingolds baby so you know something will be done about it.

don't forget to kick to the greatest page so we can get more signings

:dem: :dem: :dem:

[Blue Belle]

1. Done!

:)

[Bjornsdotter]

2. Done n/t

[Xenotime]

3. Done..

It's a dream of mine.

[TayTay]

4. Depends on what's in it.

It's kind of like saying, 'Are you in favor of World Peace.' Ahm, yeah, I am, but I think the devils in the details on that one too!

[Pharaoh]

7. sign it anyway

it will cover the poor souls without like my 30 year old daughter 3 kids and bad disks in her back..........Gawd thats a train wreck waiting to happen, it costs society one way or another......

[ncrainbowgrrl]

5. Most definitely.

I'd like to go to the doctor to see how my recovery is going- I feel better, not coughing as much, but I would have liked to get to follow the ER doc's recommendation that I follow up within 5 days with my primary care doctor. I can't afford to right now-Since I went to the ER, even with insurrence, that wipes out money for all "extras" for the month. Ramen noodle time.

[patdem]

27. I know what you mean. I had a siezure over a year ago, told to see

a neuro...whatever, but they refused to see me without a primary care physican recommendation..even though I did not have insurance, so it had nothing to do with them getting paid..I would have had to pay cash at visit time. Needless to say, I never went. Have not had another siezure either...keeping my fingers crossed. So YES..I will sign!

[ncrainbowgrrl]

32. I hope that you never ever have another seizure!

And that you never have another reason to think about this episode. :hug:

[liberal N proud]

6. Done

[pooja]

8. done. need to start somewhere. universal health care is the only

way for Americans to take back America. We will be able to pursue more small businesses knowing our families will still be taken care of. It will re-invigorate the country, the individual, the creativism, and ingenuity that we really need.

[mopinko]

10. what she said nt

[rodeodance]

9. yes. good start.

[Nite Owl]

11. Done

and passed on

[livvy]

12. Done

[undergroundpanther]

13. I want national health but..

I am afraid of this administration doing it.
Why?
http://www.transparency.org/publications/gcr/download_gcr#download
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/09/27/fda-politics/
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/294/5540/59
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/15/AR2006051500875.html
http://www.unknownnews.net/040712a-upits.html
http://www.unknownnews.org/060710a-Panther.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-court/state-of-bushs-secret-he_b_14473.html

[Rosemary2205]

14. I cannot support this plan and here's why

because it's administered by the states. It will have the same treatment problems as Medicare. If I have a child with a rare illness in cow country and my doctor wants to send us to New York to a specialist then my kid is SOL because New York cannot bill my cow country state for the costs.

It has to be national coverage or I won't support. If I live in GA and have a rare cancer that a Cleveland Clinic (ohio) or the Cancer Center in Texas can treat best then I should be covered to some extent even if I have to choose to pay some out of pocket.

[Pharaoh]

15. this is a first step

Wisconsin already covers all children, the state can do it better cheaper and faster, but we will eventually have a national system one would hope.

[bobbolink]

16. I agree with you wholeheartedly! I really like Feingold,

but this is NOT the way to do it.

We already have the model--H.R.676!! Keep at your reps to sign on to 676, and we'll bug Senators to do a companion bill in the Senate!

[never_get_over_it]

19. Are you saying that Medicare would not let a patient

go to state B for specialist if they lived in state A? Because if you are I'm sorry to hear that - the plan I wanted to support is to let everyone into Medicare regardless of age.

Edit: to fix typo

[Rosemary2205]

23. Correct

Medicare is not nationwide. Medicare covers you only in the state where you live - barring an emergency. If grandma in Ohio gets a rare cancer and her doctor wants to send her to Texas for treatment she isn't covered by medicare.

IMHO if we allow universal healthcare to be started as state run then it will never get changed to national coverage. Ever.

[knitter4democracy]

25. That doesn't sound right.

My hubby has many, many Medicare patients, and they get referred to Mayo and the Cleveland Clinic all the time. I'm going to ask him about that when he gets home from rounds.

[never_get_over_it]

30. Please do

because some of the things I have heard regarding universal health care seems like the best and easiest thing we could do is just end the age limit and open it up to everyone...but if we can't leave state facilities to go to specialized facilities then that would so suck....

[knitter4democracy]

43. He had to run back in.

I'll ask when he gets home. He got home right before dinner with my mom and her husband, so that didn't work. Well, that and his pager and phone hardly gave us a moment's peace and he lost a patient. It's been such a bad year for his patients, and I'm worried about him.

I totally agree about that. We should be able to go wherever we need to, regardless of state lines.

[TahitiNut]

31. An MD that'd be familiar with the arcane insurance provisions?

Rare bird. :shrug:

[knitter4democracy]

42. He has to be.

He has a large patient population on Medicare, and many fall in the prescription gap. So, he makes sure to know what the meds cost so he can keep it down (and gives out samples as much as he can) and what Medicare covers and what it won't.

[knitter4democracy]

52. Hubby says that's wrong.

He says that Medicare isn't a state-based system but that Medicaid is. He wonders if you're thinking of Medicaid, but you still have the chance to get care wherever you need to, regardless of where it is, as long as you can jump through all the hurdles that big hospitals put in the way for Medicaid recipients.

Medicare covers you all over the country, regardless of emergency issues. If Grandma needs to go to the Clinic or Mayo, she can go as long as all the paperwork is right (usually just a referral form).

[knitter4democracy]

24. They make it work in Canada, and that's province-based.

It doesn't make sense, with the way our Constitution's worded about interstate commerce, to say that you would not be able to get care in another state. What if you're on vacation and need care?

[u4ic]

47. Health care is administered by the provinces

Both the federal and provincial governments contribute financially. A few provinces, like my own, also charge premiums, with subsidies for lower income brackets.

The provinces must follow the Canada Health Act: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/nr-cp/2002/2002_care-soinsbk4_e.html

A bit more about the system: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Health_Act

[knitter4democracy]

53. My hubby is impressed with Canada's system.

It seems a lot better than the press here would have us believe.

[OzarkDem]

28. It can only work

if the feds require states to have really strong consumer protections, also. The GOP has learned some clever tricks recently to gut consumer protection and render many kinds of "universal" health care useless.

[SoCalDem]

37. HAS to be NATIONAL.. If it's by state, you KNOW what will happen

People WILL move to states with better "coverage", and if they are "not allowed" to do that, then what does that say about us being a UNITED country? People have to be free to "move about the cabin"...and to know that their benefits will transfer with them, no matter where they go..

I do not mind if the insurance companies stay in business for their lah-dee-dah rich folks who want to pay extra for PRIMO-DELUXE-Platinum coated doctors....but the general public NEEDS and DESERVES coverage for EVERYONE...

The ugly secret is that we will probably NEVER get national coverage though UNTIL we institute PUBLIC election financing FIRST..

The politicans we have now, SAY they favor national health care, BUT they have their hands outstretched to every HMO/Pharma/Insurance/Hospital corporation...and they have to beg money from them every 2 or 4 years,,

[truebrit71]

17. Done.

.

[AzDar]

18. It's the ONLY way. n/t

[eridani]

20. Is a bear Catholic?

Does the Pope shit in the woods?

[lonestarnot]

21. Done

[NMMNG]

22. Done! n/t

[Ysabel]

26. done...

- kick...

:)

[tomreedtoon]

29. Well, people in Hell want ice water.

That doesn't mean they'll get it, or that there are any Democratic candidates with the will or the courage to provide it - in the extremely improbably chance that any of them will be elected in the face of Diebold and their own mendacity.

[LWolf]

39. Feingold is one who is obviously willing to work with the idea.

Dennis Kucinich has had a plan for universal, single-payer, not-for-profit health care on the table for some years.

DK, a previous candidate, and Feingold a possible '08 candidate; one in the senate, one in the house.

There's two Democrats for ya.

[tomreedtoon]

46. Well, thanks, but they're not in The Big 3, are they?

You know, Kerry, Gore or Clinton? The people that the Democratic Party (and the GOP-run Whore Press) have decided are the Democratic frontrunners? The people filling our E-mail boxes and the soundbites on the newscasts, trying to get our support for their next failed runs?

Now, if one of the candidates you mention were to stand up and innovatively attack the Big Three where they live, they might rise to national attention and get support. Like, if one of them said "Why do you want Kerry? He caved to the Repubicans in 2004, and he'll do the same in 2008. I hold your vote as a sacred trust and I'll fight to make sure it counts."

Or perhaps they could say "Clinton sat on her hands while New Orleans starved to death in the Superdome, and while Bush expanded the war. I promise you that I will never sit by and file my nails while Americans are being killed, whether due to an unjust war or to Republican neglect."

I'll be waiting to see of Kucinich or Feingold or any of the non-Big 3 are willing to show the courage that the Big 3 did not.

[LWolf]

50. Should either of them run,

you will hear them talk about opponents' records. I don't think you'll hear anything otherwise, and while DK can easily hold is own in any debate, you won't hear him doing any negative campaigning. He'll speak up clearly about his disagreement, though. I don't know about Feingold.

The "big 3" are who we make them. What if the party held a coronation for their "big" candidates, and no one showed up? Spend voice, time, energy, and money on those you want to see at the top, not those who are already perceived to be there.

[Cleita]

33. Done!

[burythehatchet]

34. NO

I want SINGLE PAYER healthcare. I want providers stripped of the right to make obscene profits from proving health services. Of course, universal healthcare would be a natural extension.

[Pharaoh]

35. yes but you must be a sane person

:party:

[knitter4democracy]

45. Single payer would be great.

The only problem would be if the doctors lose too much power in making the best decisions for their patients. There are more doctors in favor of single payer than you'd think. The ones most against it are the ones worried they'd be fighting it constantly, which is what they do with all the insurance companies now.

Btw, not all doctors make obscene profits. I know my hubby doesn't, and he's not the only one I could name. Don't get me wrong--we're more comfortable than we've ever been, financially--but we still mostly live month to month, what with the huge med school debt and all.

[burythehatchet]

48. I would like to learn how you reach that conslusion

I've studied health delivery systems in about 12 countries and single payer actually allows doctors more independence than any system I've seen. Currently, the niggest problem is that providers select services based on reimbursement methodologies. So you see HMO's paying less than market in order to restrict services, while private payers pay more than anyone and get a spectrum of services that they don't need. Anyway, as you know, its complex, but the solutions are not really that complex, they're just painful for some sectors of the delivery system. Single payer is the best answer because it would immediately cut 30% of cost that currently goes towards marketing, profit and administation. For example, social security costs 2 to 3% to administer.

[knitter4democracy]

51. I'm just saying what the fears are.

I don't agree with them and talk about it with docs whenever I get the chance. Doctors here are so burned out on insurance companies trying to tell them how to practice that they're gun-shy on a larger one taking care of everyone.

Medicare has about a three percent overhead, and the average insurance company has 22% overhead. Anyone who thinks the government isn't as efficient as business hasn't looked into this.

[Pushed To The Left]

36. Done! We're working on getting single-payer

out here in California as well!
www.onecarenow.org

[Pharaoh]

38. Kickin it

[bigwillq]

40. Done (nt)

[sutz12]

41. Done. I think it's a good start. nt

[barb162]

44. Veyr much so, but I am now convinced we can't pay for it

Iraq, jobs being shipped to China and Asia, tax base eroding re jobs, etc.

[burythehatchet]

49. Barb, it would cost 20 to 30% less than we pay now.