Shock stage: Initial paralysis at hearing the bad news.
Denial stage: Trying to avoid the inevitable.
Anger stage: Frustrated outpouring of bottled-up emotion.
Bargaining stage: Seeking in vain for a way out.
Depression stage: Final realization of the inevitable.
Testing stage: Seeking realistic solutions.
Acceptance stage: Finally finding the way forward.
Those words were written and often spoken by a man who fought for and cared about ALL people.
His name is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
When I first heard that, I never understood the significance of the words, or maybe just didn’t give it much thought. When I was diagnosed with advanced cancer at age 33, I quickly came to understand them. Today, I understand them even more, and live it every day.
I am one of the 48 million Americans in this country who is uninsured. I am one of the many people who thought they had insurance, only to be canceled due to some obscure print that even an attorney could not understand. To have this happen was bad enough, but to have it happen 2 weeks into the treatment that would help me live, put me into another category — someone who suddenly had hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills and no place to get treatment. I couldn’t get “public help” as I made too much money. That’s when I really understood Dr. King’s words.
To have a productive member of society, who did everything right and as I was supposed to do, suddenly become a cast off, dead beat who didn’t (couldn’t) pay the enormous bills already accumulated, I also faced the prospect of dying because I couldn’t get treatment. I was reduced to pleading to doctors I knew, going to emergency rooms, anything I could do to find treatment to save my life. I now knew the true meaning of the word “inhumane.”
I would wonder, where are the people that are charged to enforce the laws that are supposed to stop these kind of actions? Where is my government, to whom I paid faithfully into a system that was supposed be my safety net? — “I am sorry, we can’t help you.”
I am one of the lucky ones, as I am survivor. I found a doctor in the Great State of Indiana who dealt with my kind of cancer. He didn’t care about money as he would say “We never turn down anyone in need.” I broke down and cried when I heard those words. He actually invented a cure for it. 25 years ago, my cancer had a mortality rate of almost 100%. Today, the cure rate is almost 100%. He helped me get the treatment that saved my life.
Even now though, I cannot get health insurance. In spite of all the rules, numbers, percentages, etc, etc, I am considered a high risk. Let me say that another way. I could get insurance, but it would cost me about the same as a monthly mortgage on a beachfront home in Miami. I am not kidding.
So, I became very interested in this election. I knew I had no chance under the present Administration, and truly believe that this is my last shot in my lifetime to obtain health insurance. The system has got to change. I still have to pay for tests, CT-scans and such, and we all know those cost thousands of dollars. I don’t even worry about gas prices, right now, I look at tumor marker futures, how much is it to see an Endocrinologist (still working on that one). I spend an enormous part of my day, finding help for people like me who don’t know where to turn just to get treatment. I guess I got very good at begging as now, I have a network of doctors that will help people. Still, I am a very busy man over the last few years. I do it gladly though, because nobody should go through what I did. Sadly… many many do. Everytime I open my mailbox, there are hundreds of e-mails, from people of all walks of life, who are now (still to me) going through the same experience.
Hillary Clinton believes that everyone should be covered under Universal Healthcare. She believes that every American should have the right to be in the same insurance group that the United States Congressmen have. Must be good as I don’t ever recall a congressman losing his home, or declaring bankruptcy because of medical bills. If anyone knows one, I would sure like to know who it is. This plan is NOT national Healthcare, it is Universal, and EVERYONE can join. As someone pointed out, everyone has to join to make it work. If you are happy with what you have, you can stay with it. But those who have no other means can get into this, with our Government leaders.
Mr. Obama, says that his plan also will cover everyone. Then he says, well, not everyone, all but maybe 8 or 9 million. I ask myself a question. Am I one of those people too? He also says that Americans could buy insurance of they wanted to. They just can’t afford it. I am probably one of those as I would much prefer to have insurance over the beach house, but I can’t afford either. My biggest dream in life now is to walk in and when they say “do you have your insurance card” I would be like a kid who just got his permit to drive. Really. The problem again is “afford it.” Well, he will just give us a tax credit. $1,500 or something like that. Well, I just fell into Obama’s 9 million uninsured because my insurance is going to cost more than that per month. My company pay for it? They are shifting it more and more to the Government anyway. Look at Walmart.
People who have insurance through their companies, often find out the hard way, that insurance is really not insurance, and if something bad happens, like me, they are instantly wiped out. Finished financially, and with that, their kids’ university and futures, retirements, etc. Gone in a flash.
To me, the same thing that the Congress has sounds the best. We all know they don’t do anything to screw themselves.
I went to a rally for both Candidates. Mr Obama, was kind enough to ask me “You want a picture?” “Well, thank you, but really, I want to talk about Healthcare.” He patted me on the shoulder and said “We are going to take care of you kid” and moved on. Kid? I am 3 years younger than him.
At the Hillary Rally, I was on a mission to talk to her about healthcare, cancer specifcally. She wasn’t in a Stadium, that looked like a Pink Floyd Concert, with 25,000 screaming fans, but was in a high school gym, which was full. She spoke to the audience not with a speech full of lofty words and promises, but spoke directly to people, about things that were real and on their minds. “I am going to do this, and this is how I am going to do it” was pretty much the theme. It amazed me how she would look people in the eye. It also amazed me how different she was came across in person. If you were there, or have seen her, you know what I mean. She is real.
After it was over, I literally was climbing chairs to get up front. I was so determined that even the Secret Service agent turned toward me. I made it though and when she got to me, and shook my hand and I said, “I have to talk to you,” she paused, and continued to the next person, and I said again,”I really need to talk to you about health care and cancer.” She stopped, came back to me, and we talked for about 15 minutes. I had her full attention, and she was listening. She was answering back. She asked questions. The whole time looking me in the eye. She even called her assistant over and had her immediately address the issue I was presenting to her. On the spot had her on the Blackberry to get the person I was referring to some help with the issue. Even Govenor Strickland walked over and joined the discussion. With all that was going on, schedules, reporters, I was able to have a private conversation with the person, I knew at that point, should be the President of the United States. After all these years of screaming HELP, for me and others, she stopped to talk to me, just 1 person. The Senator cared to hear what I had to say.
I don’t know about you, but to me, That is a President. It was very clear to me, and even the Republican I had with me, was just amazed at how she responded not only to me, but to others after me.
This Lady, as President is going to help you, me, and the rest of us in this country with things that affect our every day lives. We don’t have time for a “rockstar”. We have no time or place for another unchecked ego. We must have someone that is going to reverse the last 8 years and help us all get our lives back, starting from day 1.
To my friends in the State Of IN, WV , KY, OR , PR and everywhere else, do yourself a favor. Just go see her in person. You will see exactly what I am talking about. This country desperately needs someone who will listen, cares, and will act.
I was a skeptic until that day, but now I will do everything I can to help her, help us. Go see her, you will feel the same thing I did, and I hope you will help me, and others like me, get the right person as the next President. It’s not “no child left behind,” with Senator Clinton, it is no person left behind.
]]>Yet he repeats it again.
“What’s she not telling you about her health care plan? It forces everyone to buy insurance even if you can’t afford it.”
and leading health experts called him on it back then and we all should call him on it now. (excerpts below from 2.1.08 Huffington Post by Taylor Marsh)
Experts who are NOT supporting any candidate, but are health care experts, …, all of whom charged that Obama’s message could cause permanent damage to universal health care efforts. The following are words they use to describe Obama’s message about her health care plan.
“Demonize.”
“Grossly untrue.”
“Disgusting.”
“So far over the line.”
“Drive to the lowest common denominator.”
My thoughts:
He is just trying to distract from the fact that his plan doesn’t cover everyone and would cost more. And all the things in the last debate.
You attack someone on their strongest point — that is what Rove/Repubs, and swiftboaters do. That is what the Obama camp is doing. The ONE BIG difference between Obama and Hillary on the issues is Healthcare. And there she kicks his butt because she GETS IT. (She learned from her EXPERIENCE) You HAVE to have everyone in or else it costs those of us who are responsible — who opt in for insurance under Obama’s plan — a lot of money.
Here’s my previous piece on this: Obama’s poor judgement on healthcare.
Hillary’s plan:
Would cover everyone because it contains more generous subsidies than the Obama plan. Thus, Under the Hillary plan, everyone will be able to afford coverage, noted health expert Ken Thorpe of Emory University concluded. It has been estimated that the Obama plan would leave 9-15 million people out (because they would opt out by not buying insurance), which drives up costs because everyone else ends up subsidizing their emergency care.
The Clinton-type plan would cost $2,700 per newly insured person, an Obama-type plan would cost $4,400. (According to Jonathan Gruber of M.I.T., one of America’s leading health care economists) Which plan do you want?
Clinton’s plan achieves more or less universal coverage; an Obama-like plan costs more than 80 percent more and covers only about half of those currently uninsured. (per Krugman article)
Gets people to understand the need for mandates. Per Krugman, the “Obama campaign has demonized the idea of mandates. … If Mr. Obama gets to the White House and tries to achieve universal coverage, he’ll find that it can’t be done without mandates — but if he tries to institute mandates, the enemies of reform will use his own words against him. … If Mrs. Clinton gets the Democratic nomination, there is some chance … — that we’ll get universal health care in the next administration. If Mr. Obama gets the nomination, it just won’t happen.
Starts the “bargaining” at a point of strength rather than already conceding differences.
See SCHIP article for swiftboating by Obama supporters aka Kennedy.
]]>Hillary Clinton has given autism the most attention. In November, she announced that she would spend $700 million a year on research, teacher training, and support services. At a campaign stop in Iowa, she said:
Now, when I was in law school, I took a special year at the Yale Child Study center. That was back in the very early 1970's. At that time, science was still blaming parents for autism. And they particularly blamed mothers. And I remember reading some of the so-called research and in particular the work of one scientist who had a lot of national and international prominence for his theories. And I thought, you know, that just can't be right, there's got to be more to it to that. I later moved to Little Rock where one of my friends had a son with autism. And I spent time in her home, I spent time with her and her son and my instinct perhaps as a mother was that this could not be the explanation.
Clinton was striking the right political chord. Parents of autistic children would recognize the "scientist" as psychoanalyst Bruno Bettelheim. They loathe his memory because his "refrigerator mom" theory wrecked thousands of lives before research exposed it as junk science.
Expanding research to identify causes of autism by doubling investments in the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) efforts to identify the causes of autism, and monitoring its impact across the country
Creating an Autism Task Force charged with investigating evidence-based treatments, interventions, and services
Providing planning and demonstration grants for services for adults: Clinton will provide funding for for a one-time, single year planning grant for states and a multi-year service provision demonstration grant program to increase access to appropriate services to adults living with autism, including job training, housing, and transition services for young people leaving school.
Improving access to post-diagnosis care, so that children can start receiving services as soon as possible after they are diagnosed.
Providing teacher training: Clinton will provide funding for school districts to ensure that teachers responsible for educating children with autism receive specialized teacher training, including ways to engage in appropriate interventions
Creating a National Technical Assistance Center that will gather and disseminate information about autism treatments, interventions, and services, and provide technical assistance; this information would be accessible through the Internet.
Guaranteeing quality, affordable health care: Clinton's American Health Choices Plan would enable individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities to have access to quality, affordable health care for their conditions.
Clinton's plan would double investments in the National Institutes of Health's efforts to identify the causes of the disorder, including possible environmental causes. Fully funding the "Combating Autism Act," (CAA) a Clinton co-sponsored bill that became law in 2006, would cost $200 million a year and would be covered by the senator's initiative to increase the NIH budget by doubling it over 10 years. The other $500 million would come from savings from improving government efficiency, said spokesman Jay Carson.
allocates approximately $950 million in spending on autism over five years, approximately doubling expenditures on existing programs; this includes a significant increase in spending for biomedical research in autism.
The Act requires the director of NIH to develop and implement a strategic plan for autism research
The act also authorizes:
The Act reauthorizes, for five years, the $12 million annual funding for the epidemiological surveillance program for autism, overseen by the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC).
Obama was NOT a co-sponsor of CAA of 2006 despite there being 48 cosponsors.
Obama's "plan" = non-specific. from his website
"Barack Obama believes that we can do more to help autistic Americans and their families understand and live with autism. He has been a strong supporter of more than $1 billion in federal funding for autism research on the root causes and treatments, and he believes that we should increase funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to truly ensure that no child is left behind.
More than anything, autism remains a profound mystery with a broad spectrum of effects on autistic individuals, their families, loved ones, the community, and education and health care systems. Obama believes that the government and our communities should work together to provide a helping hand to autistic individuals and their families."
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Great HBO video on Autism: The Musical
http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/autism/video/
Currently, women are forced to bear a heavier financial burden for health care than men primarily because many health care insurance providers refuse to cover contraceptives. Studies have shown that women of reproductive age often pay 68 percent more out-of-pocket for health care than men, in large part because of the failure of health plans to cover contraception. Given this inequity, both the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a federal district court in Washington state (Erickson v. Bartell Drug Co.) concluded that excluding coverage for prescription drugs that are used overwhelmingly by women -- such as contraception -- constitutes unlawful sex discrimination.
Moreover, providing insurance coverage for contraceptives is sound health-care policy. A recent report found that 52% of the unplanned pregnancies each year occur to the 11% of women who were not using a birth control method during the month they became pregnant. The elimination of financial barriers to effective contraceptive services will reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, and ultimately, the number of abortions. Lack of insurance coverage forces many women to choose less expensive and less reliable methods of contraception, which increases the likelihood of unintended pregnancy.
she got Emergency Contraception over the counter, preventing possibly 2 million pregnancies and 1million abortions a year if widely used
she was key for SCHIP - insurance for poor kids - 6 million kids/yr
she got the pediatric rule for the FDA - they have to test drugs in kids b/c kids metabolism is not the same as adults.