tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63708364184564886812024-03-13T19:45:24.042-04:00Health Care for All NOW ..... via improved Medicare for AllHere I record infrequent notes related to the single-payer movement, which is the movement to establish Improved Medicare for All in the United States. This is not a "daily blog". --- Bob the Health and Health Care AdvocateBob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-57297572477334883922010-07-31T16:12:00.004-04:002010-07-31T16:16:45.329-04:00Need ReviewersYesterday I established a list of additional answers that I need to add to address questions and concerns about Improved Medicare for All.<br /><br />Refer to the <a href="http://www.medicareforall.org/pages/Answers">Answers</a> web page to see what is there already prior to my adding even more. I recently added key words at the top of the web page. Check it out.<br /><br />If you want to review and give feedback to this important web page, please let me know. Select Contact Bob at the <a href="http://www.medicareforall.org/">website</a> .<br /><br />- BobBob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-61362002567598144872009-03-30T14:59:00.002-04:002009-03-30T15:01:52.486-04:00Great Time to Start Campaign<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: verdana;">What a great time to start the Million Letters for Health Care Campaign.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: verdana;">If you feel a need for some exercise, then take some walks and do some talking about health care along the way and at your destination(s).</span></span>Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-475149202457203792009-01-08T23:25:00.004-05:002009-01-08T23:37:56.237-05:00Vote by Jan 15, 5 pmI recommend you going to the following web page and voting as it indicates there. Then, afterwards, act on the suggestions related to telling others about single-payer and about this voting opportunity.<br /><a href="http://www.ninenineohnine.org/pages/Votes">A Million Votes for Single-Payer</a><br />(where million means as many as possible as fast as possible, since the deadline is January 15 at 5 p.m.)<br /><br />This is an opportunity to spread the word about non-profit single-payer national health insurance and H.R. 676 and to get people to<br /><a href="http://www.ninenineohnine.org/pages/Single-Payer_Education">learn or learn more</a>.<br /><br />Regards, Bob Haiducek<br />Bob the Health and Health Care AdvocateBob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-24393067588427334612008-12-04T07:34:00.008-05:002008-12-04T10:00:10.575-05:00Excercise Democracy? When?<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Merry Christmas!</span><br /><br />... Merry Christmas??? ... The young father of a neighbor died a few days ago of cancer. I wonder if he is one of the statistics of the couple of HUNDRED <a href="http://www.ninenineohnine.org/pages/Real_People">real people</a> who DIE EACH DAY UNNECESSARILY in the United States simply because we have such poor health care performance compared to other industrialized countries.<br /><br />In the past 13-14 months, even though over half of Americans <a href="http://www.ninenineohnine.org/pages/Chart_of_Americans_Support">support</a> non-profit single-payer national health insurance, Americans have made zero <a href="http://www.ninenineohnine.org/pages/Graphs_of_Progress">progress</a> in getting it.<br /><br />There is something seriously wrong. We STILL need have the need to exercise our democracy.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">A "Prepare for Change" strategy involves single-payer activists<br />1) educating citizens,<br />2) getting some of the educated to be participants by getting reminders to communicate to their U.S. Representatives,<br />3) getting some of the educated to tell 3 other persons,<br />4) giving a short training session to those citizens who wish to themselves become activists so that they are prepared to tell more than 3 other citizens.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">--- NOTE that this strategy mainly requires time and effort; there are NO requests for activists or citizens to send money to a state or national organization, and there is NO need to spend money on brochures, posters, and so on. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Anyone can do this no-budget, low-expense grassroots strategy</span>.</span> [Those activists who go to multiple cities will need to cover their own personal expenses, such as for transportation and phone calls.]</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">The "Prepare for Change" strategy is required, because people are naturally concerned about change. Even people who know that they care have been too readily influenced by those organizations and individuals who have spent and are still spending literally hundreds of millions of dollars to oppose what EVERY other industrialized nation in the world has had for many years ... with BETTER health of citizens and with citizens having PEACE of MIND!<br /><br />The influence of money and propaganda has caused people (who know in their heart that we need non-profit financing of health care) to have their opinions swayed when it comes to key moments ... like voting on ballot issues (Oregon, California, and probably others).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">We are at a MOST CRITICAL time. If we do not act NOW then 2010 will see the FURTHER <a href="http://www.ninenineohnine.org/pages/Wrong_Direction">dismantling</a> of Medicare. The U.S. Congress in 2003 established the plan that in 2010 Medicare will go MORE to privatization! This is the WRONG direction!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">It is time to exercise Our Representative Democracy.</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"> We must have <a href="http://www.ninenineohnine.org/pages/Number_of_Participants">thousands</a> of participants in EVERY U.S. Congressional District.</span><br /><br />The <span style="font-weight: bold;">choice is simple</span>. Either we follow a "Prepare for Change" strategy or we continue to have zero progress.</span>Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-67829138710452891652008-07-04T14:31:00.007-04:002008-12-04T07:34:02.327-05:00Exercise Democracy<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Happy July 4th!<br /><br />It is time to exercise Our Representative Democracy</span></span><br /><br />We, the citizens, need to provide a massive set of communications to the members of the U.S. Congress: <a href="http://www.ninenineohnine.org/pages/Number_of_Participants">thousands</a> of participants writing notes to each U.S. Representative.<br /><br />The activity is a top priority action within the national Health Care for All movement.<br /><br />The <span style="font-weight: bold;">choice is simple</span>. Either we do this activity or we fail. To not do this activity is suicide to our efforts.<br /><br />We must educate each other!<br /><br />We must motivate each other to communicate!<br /><ul><li>Have you written your note this month (for March, June, September, December)?<br /></li><li>Have you called this month (for the remaining 8 months of the year)?</li></ul>Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-66356770153647085082008-04-21T11:10:00.008-04:002008-06-27T07:18:06.731-04:00205-277 people EVERY dayMy previous post was "60 People EVERY Day." Now <a href="http://www.pnhp.org/news/2008/january/make_that_22000_uni.php"><strong></strong></a>I often also think of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">205 to 277 people who die every day in the United States under age 75.<br /><br />These are UNNECESSARY DEATHS. Why are they not necessary?</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> The United States is the bottom of 19 countries in its ability to minimize the number of deaths due to preventable diseases</span>.<br /><ul><li>As per a study partly funded by the Commonwealth Fund, which announced the results in January 2008:</li></ul><ul><ul><li>The U.S. ranked 15th out of 19 using 1997-1998 data.</li></ul><ul><li>The U.S. ranked 19th out of 19 using 2002-2003 data. <ul><li>Rankings from 1st to 19th: France, Japan, Australia, Spain, Italy, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Greece, Austria, Germany, Finland, New Zealand, Denmark, Britain, Ireland, Portugal, United States</li></ul></li></ul></ul>The researchers (E. Nolte and M. McKee) estimated how many lives would be saved in the United States if the U.S. performed better ...<br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">205 people EVERY day<br />would NOT be dying<br />if we were only<br />average in performance<br />among 19 countries<br />in minimizing preventable deaths<br /></span></strong></div><br />For more explanation go to <a href="http://www.ninenineohnine.org/">www.99oh9.org</a> and select "Real People" ... or go directly to that web <a href="http://http//www.ninenineohnine.org/pages/Real_People">page</a>.Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-15655898101807969662008-02-29T21:28:00.004-05:002008-04-21T11:09:14.691-04:0060 people EVERY dayEver since I saw the <a href="http://www.pnhp.org/news/2008/january/make_that_22000_uni.php"><strong>January 10</strong></a> PNHP Quote-of-the-Day, I have often thought of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">60 people, on average, who die every day in the United States under age 65</span> due to the fact that those people did not and do not have health insurance.<br /><br />Whether or not you were already aware of the update of the number of deaths from 18,000 per year (50 per day) in 2000 to 22,000 per year (60 per day), <strong>please read or re-read Doctor Don McCanne's </strong><a href="http://www.pnhp.org/news/2008/january/make_that_22000_uni.php"><strong>comments</strong></a>.<br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">60 people EVERY day</span></strong></div><br />Please remember that this number is ONLY those who die due to uninsurance. As Dr. McCanne highlights, it does not count the number who died due to underinsurance.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></strong> </div>Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-29476991081928032972008-01-21T17:12:00.000-05:002008-01-31T22:05:29.145-05:00What's In It for ME?A couple of days ago a close friend said that Americans want to know what's in it for them in terms of immediate benefits ... such as in Joining Nine-Nine-Oh-Nine! to give some indication that there is interest in writing notes to the U.S. Congress.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Isn't it good enough to have a more caring society ... and remember </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.ocregister.com/news/brown-suicide-kenny-1961865-one-mother">the details</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> that preceded of Sally Brown's death on the 10th of January 2008?<br /><br />Examples of those details:<br /></span></span><ul><li><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:12;" >"asthma, emphysema and congestive heart failure"</span></li><li><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:12;" >"every breath an agony"</span></li><li><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:12;" >"little more than a year to live"</span></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:12;" >"</span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">medical bills piling at her door</span>"</span></li><li><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:12;" >"<span style="font-weight: bold;">(health insurance company) ... policy had been canceled</span>"<br /></span></li><li><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:12;" >"</span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:12;" >unable to work at the job she loved"; "(employer) terminated her employment"<br /></span></li><li><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:12;" >"disability expired the same week she lost her job"<br /></span></li><li><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:12;" >"<span style="font-weight: bold;">more than $20,000 in bills</span>"</span></li></ul><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Isn't it good enough to remember that citizens of other countries are <a href="http://www.pnhp.org/news/2007/august/worlds_best_medical.php">more satisfied</a> with their health care system than we are with ours, often simply because they know that people get care? -- See "World's Best Medical Care?" PNHP 8-20-07 <a href="http://www.pnhp.org/news/2007/august/worlds_best_medical.php">here</a>.<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br />My family of four lived in Canada for over four years. After several years of having been back in the United States, <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">I started asking Canadians what they think of the health care there. The first answer I received was very positive and was based solely on the fact that Canadians care for one another</span></span>. To give you another example of an answer, the last reply that I received from a Canadian was only one word: wonderful. But let's not focus on individual answers, just refer to the previous paragraph.Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-14690141183177852642008-01-19T15:21:00.000-05:002008-01-20T13:16:46.774-05:00Taking Care of Single Mom with TripletsI could hardly believe my ears when a woman in Michigan told me that she's a single mother with triplets. I immediately wondered if there was anything that I could do to help her if she needed specific help, especially since I love children.<br /><br />She said she had heard that the U.S. is the ONLY country in the world without health care for all of its citizens. I emphasized to her that the fact has not sunk fully into the minds of U.S. citizens, trying to indicate what a huge injustice it is to the vast majority of us.<br /><br />So, shortly after the brief chat, I thought once again that <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">WE the citizens of this great country of ours, the United States of America, can help take care of this single mother with triplets</span></span> ---- and everyone else. "All" we have to do is implement a non-profit national health insurance, such as the extremely efficient single-payer option. All we have to do is demonstrate that we care.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">But we must take action<br />---- <a href="http://healthcareforallnow.org/">www.healthcareforallNOW.org</a></span></span>.Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-34724606479266194372008-01-17T15:44:00.000-05:002008-01-18T09:09:55.143-05:00Disease in the Belt-WayOne of the times in 2007 that I was in Washington D.C. I learned this: some people in the Washington D.C. area apparently refer to D.C. and the surrounding area as the "Beltway"<br /><br />There is a kind of a disease in that beltway. It causes most of the members of the U.S. Congress to have their vision blocked and their ears closed. It causes an endless repetition of one of these sets of words:<br /><ul><li>"Single-payer is not politically feasible."</li><ul><li>This is the short version that is said the most often.<br /></li></ul><li>"Single-payer is definitely the best solution, but I don't think it has the political will to make it happen."</li><ul><li>Heard face-to-face during a chat with a U.S. Senator.<br /></li></ul><li>"If I was starting from scratch, I'd certainly want single-payer, but (speaker fills in his or words for the rest)."</li><ul><li>Heard directly from another U.S. Senator of another state.<br /></li></ul></ul>Here is my translation of these sentences and any other similar sentences:<br /><ul><li>A huge number of dollars are spent by health insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies in this county fighting what is good for the United States. U.S. citizens have the option of rising up with literally millions of direct contacts with the members of the U.S. Congress. One of those sets of direct contacts could be the activity of "Notes and Votes" pouring two to four thousand personally composed letters into the offices four times per year, growing each time. But, until something massive like that happens, there will continue to be zero support in the U.S. Senate and less than one-fourth support in the U.S. House. Why? Because there are many more health care lobbyists than there are members of the U.S. Congress. These lobbyists have a continual impact on the minds and the activities and the actions of the U.S. Congress.</li></ul>It's important to keep in mind that<br /><ul><li>The people HAVE spoken.</li><li>The medical horror stories HAVE been communicated in multiple ways.</li><li>The polls HAVE been taken over and over again.<br /></li><li>The federal government's own reports and working groups have documented that the nation will benefit from non-profit, single-payer national health insurance.</li><li>There is no excuse.<br /></li><li>The facts are known.</li></ul><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Based on everything written above, it is nothing short of corruption that most members of the U.S. Congress are not responding to what over half of Americans want. Today I read it described by another single-payer activist as "a flagrant betrayal of trust by our legislators (which is a definition of treason)."</span></span>Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-85082016918322274232008-01-15T08:29:00.000-05:002008-01-17T16:31:38.664-05:00Very Angry Medical Biller(s) and a Look to the FutureVery recently I spoke with the husband of a medical biller. He said that every U.S. citizen should see the movie SiCKO. After seeing SiCKO his wife declared that it was all the truth, that what's seen on SiCKO is what happens all of the time. She's very angry about the situation.<br /><br />I asked him about his wife losing her job when the U.S. implements national health insurance. With a very big smile he said that he'd be very pleased if she lost her job for that reason.<br /><br />She and others in her billing department (one of two or three billing groups in the organization) make up a group of health care workers: technicians and nurses. In other words, they are highly skilled people who are doing the billing job for various reasons, such as better working hours. But their training is such that they could readily be working as health care workers, helping satisfy the need for an expanded amount of health care activities that will occur when the U.S. implements single-payer national health insurance.<br /><br />Based on what is written above, I write the following with tears in my eyes:<br /><ul><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Glimpse of the Future: some of the health care workers might not like the hours as well. But, according to the above words, but they might very much like the caring for people within a more caring society. Wow, that's a very heavy positive thought</span></span>.<br /></li></ul>Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-77061846110636007972008-01-14T09:07:00.000-05:002008-01-15T23:06:14.862-05:00Out of Touch with RealityAs a general statement:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Most Members of the U.S. Congress are Out of Touch with Reality regarding Health Care</span><br /><br />In mid-June 2007, when I personally went to the offices of the 435 U.S. Representatives and 100 U.S. Senators to notify them about Nine-Nine-Oh-Nine!, I noticed many staff people, such as the personnel for mail, house-keeping, and maintenance.<br /><br />I spoke with one of those persons briefly, asking them what they had for health insurance. The person assured me that those workers were all set as federal employees. They all have health insurance with the same federal benefits as the U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators. Wow! During the last 20 years my company did exactly what thousands of other companies did. The services that I listed are contracted out. In many cases the resulting personnel performing those services not only have lower pay rates, but their benefits were also slashed. In other words, those people have no health insurance benefits in many cases.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Since our society is slashing wages of the lowest-income workers, the least we could to is to have a fair, equitable, cost-efficient, non-profit health care financing so that everyone has access to health care.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Members of the U.S. Congress are continuously surrounded by people who are not experiencing the same reality as the average American. Why? Because they do not operate their organization in the same fashion as much of the rest of the nation!</span><br /><br />With my insurance going up 44% this year and roughly 550% over six years, I am one of those people who is IN the reality that we, the citizens, must work to get single-payer financing ... and get the factor of profit out of health care financing.<br /><br />By the way, what triggered this sharing was my listening to Morning Edition's segment about health insurance and U.S. Presidential candidates this morning. See or hear it <span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18033917"><span style="font-weight: bold;">here</span></a></span>.<br /><br />Ah ... there's so much more to say ... but that's enough for today. --- BobBob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-27403927606699253362008-01-11T08:21:00.000-05:002008-01-11T10:00:46.618-05:00The Average Persons are Real PeopleI try to avoid "bashing" insurance companies and proclaiming or otherwise focusing on individual horror stories." I prefer to focus on the <span style="font-weight: bold;">average person</span> ... and the positive results of what U.S. citizens could have. That is, we could have it if we simply communicated what we want, such as the example of writing our notes that we want it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Average Person in Other Industrialized Countries</span> --<br /><ul><li>pays less than half the cost for health care </li><li>has a higher degree of satisfaction with health care </li><li>has no fellow citizens having medically-caused bankruptcies</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Average Person in the United States</span> --<br /><ul><li>has a significantly lower life expectancy</li><li>has a large financial burden regarding health care<br /></li><li>has many barriers to being able to access health care</li><li>has 22,000 fellow citizens dying every year due to having no health insurance<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Real People</span><br /><br />Yesterday I read the words of another full-time volunteer activist, who is also a health care policy expert. As a <span style="font-weight: bold;">family physician</span> for over three decades, he <span style="font-weight: bold;">saw real people die merely because they did not have insurance</span>. He asks us this: <span style="font-weight: bold;">do body counts, such as the 22,000 in 2006, really matter when they are not accompanied by information on each of the real human beings who died?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">These are fellow human beings dying, not just body count numbers.</span></span><br /><ul><li>If we counted the number of deaths due to insurance company decision-making, the number of deaths would be higher.</li><li>Every day that we don't go to non-profit, publicly financed health care (single-payer national health insurance) then, on average, another 60 people die due to a lack of health insurance and more die that we have not counted</li></ul><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">These are real people. They die every day simply because we just haven't yet gotten this one right. Please do a few effective, efficient actions to make it right ...<br /><br />Select <a href="http://www.ninenineohnine.org/pages/Home">this link</a> to: <span style="font-size:180%;"><a href="http://www.ninenineohnine.org/pages/Home">Take action</a></span>.</span><br /></span>Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-44410817954651147422008-01-10T12:21:00.000-05:002008-01-10T12:55:18.835-05:00Over 50 more died today --- the average is now about 60Today's Quote of the Day by Don McCanne is available <a href="http://www.pnhp.org/news/2008/january/make_that_22000_uni.php">here</a>. It is titled <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Make that 22,000 uninsured deaths"</span>.<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">On a daily basis the number of uninsured who died every day in the United States averaged about 50 per day in 2000 and is now averages about 60 per day as of 2006. Please write notes and help stop this.<br /><br /></span></span>See the first item at <a href="http://www.ninenineohnine.org/pages/Updates">Best Daily Update</a> for information about the daily update that you can get from Dr. Don McCanne via e-mail ----- and a Tip about how to get full advantage of Dr. McCanne's efforts to give updates about health care policy.Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-89075274720768765972008-01-06T22:05:00.000-05:002008-01-10T13:30:17.977-05:00Barack Obama On How to Get Single-Payer<span style="font-weight: bold;">I do not like the lack of response to date from Senator Barack Obama and his staff</span> to the repeated requests that he support single-payer national health insurance. Those requests have been given to him by hundreds of people on his own web site.<br /><br />More importantly, <span style="font-weight: bold;">I do not like the lack of a positive response from Senator Obama to the people of New Hampshire</span>, who have made it perfectly clear to him and the entire country what we, the people, want: single-payer national health insurance.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">HOW TO GET SINGLE-PAYER<br />BY BARACK OBAMA</span></span><br /></div><br />However, <span style="font-weight: bold;">I do give Barack Obama credit for being one of my motivators</span> that has me going forward confidently regarding asking people to write notes to their U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators via the U.S. Postal Service.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">WRITE NOTES</span></span>. <span style="font-weight: bold;">On April 3, 2007 Senator Obama made it very clear</span> to citizens at his community meeting on health care in New Hampshire <span style="font-weight: bold;">that personally-composed notes can and do get results</span> in terms of establishing the health care policy that citizens want.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">WRITE NOTES</span></span>. <span style="font-weight: bold;">He also made it clear on that day that he requires citizens to act</span>. He said " ... I have to insist on the voters rallying for this change".<br /><br />Reference for both of Obama's points and more:<br /><a href="http://www.ninenineohnine.org/pages/2007-04-03_New_Hampshire">http://www.ninenineohnine.org/pages/2007-04-03_New_Hampshire</a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">WRITE NOTES</span></span>. I was in his office on November 2, 2007 and heard one of his staff give a constituent the same message: <span style="font-weight: bold;">constituents can best give their input by composing it and send it in the mail so that the staff can keep good track of it and respond to it</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Let's follow this popular Senator's advice! Let's keep on writing our notes every three months and get single-payer! --- If you support him, include his campaign office on your list of where you send your notes!</span>Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-69303993937227542782008-01-01T23:47:00.000-05:002008-01-06T14:13:50.538-05:00Happy New Year and Special Thanks<strong>THANKS FOR THE THANKS</strong> --- My very special thanks to individuals who have recognized the power of the outstanding set of tools at the Nine-Nine-Oh-Nine! web site to do the following:<br /><ul><li>support single-payer activists in their work to get Health Care for All with single-payer national health insurance. </li><li>support individuals 1) to write notes to the U.S. Congress and 2) to vote with consideration of who supports single-payer.</li></ul><p><strong>CONTINUOUS PROGRESS </strong>--- Today the outstanding volunteer webmaster made more improvements. It will still be plenty of work to get the information and maintain it, but the web site's functions make it feasible to report the up-to-date information to you.<br /></p><p><strong>STAY POSITIVE</strong> --- No matter what you or I work on, we need to stay positive and continue to work on the cause.<br /><br />My very best regards and many e-Hugs to all, Bob Haiducek</p>Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-25637946077153535082007-12-31T23:52:00.000-05:002008-01-01T00:46:28.254-05:00Year-End Observations<strong>Year-End Status</strong><br /><p><blockquote><p>I just wrote the Year-End Status and placed it into the Nine-Nine-Oh-Nine! News.<br /><br />Please go <a href="http://99oh9.blogspot.com/2007/12/year-end-status.html">there</a> to see the graph, the data and the conclusions about the status.</p><p>Summary: </p><ul><li>U.S. House support was a little under 19% 3 months ago; now slightly over 19%. </li><li>U.S. Senate support is still at zero. </li><li>U.S. Presidential front-runner candidates' support is still at zero.</li><li><strong>We, the citizens, need to exericse the power of the people with our notes and our votes to get the U.S. House, U.S. Senate and a new U.S. President to support the Will of the People.</strong>.</li></ul></blockquote><p></p>Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-75347656742378697962007-12-27T23:20:00.000-05:002007-12-29T23:36:05.230-05:00Mind-Boggling Situation and Smiling Health Insurance CompaniesALL of the front-runner U.S. Presidential candidates have health care proposals that do the following for health insurance companies do one or more of the following actions:<br /><br /><ul><li>Help keep them in business (over 1500 of them)</li><li>Increase their income from the mandates, forcing people to buy insurance</li><li>Increase their income from government subsidies, since there will be an estimated $100 billion additional spending by the government to cover the uninsured, and much of that money will go to private health insurance companies</li></ul><p>It's mind-boggling that this insult is occurring to our global competitiveness and to the financial impact on individuals and families. But I am sure that the health insurance companies are smiling.</p>Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-70470977136172529462007-12-26T00:40:00.000-05:002007-12-29T23:31:55.380-05:00Immediate Challenge to Supporters of U.S. Presidential CandidatesTo get Health Care for All it would be best to have a supportive U.S. President.<br /><br />Most U.S. politicians are waiting for U.S. citizens to communicate in an overwhelming manner to the U.S. Congress about th<span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline"></span>e need to establish single-payer national health insurance.<br /><br />To help, people can join: <a href="http://www.99oh9.org/">www.99oh9.org</a>, then select <a href="http://www.99oh9.org/Join">Join</a>. When joining, each person should check the box for receiving Nine-Nine-Oh-Nine! reminders ( four times per year ) for when it's time again to send a note to the person's U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators.<br /><br /><div>During the month of January, as the U.S. Congress settles in after the Christmas holidays, they need to received thousands of notes of support for single-payer ... notes that are also copied to the campaign offices of the U.S. Presidential candidates.<br /><br /><div>***** <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">What Actions to Take</span> *****</div><div></div><div>Join here to indicate that you are ready to act to write notes to your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators<br /><a href="http://www.ninenineohnine.org/pages/Join">http://www.ninenineohnine.org/pages/Join</a></div><div>As soon as you join you will be given the message with the necessary link necessary to take the action of writing to the U.S. Congress.</div><div></div><div>WHEN YOU WRITE your note ... also send a copy to the campaign office of whatever U.S. Presidential candidate you support.</div></div>Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-77872032274510412282007-12-24T23:43:00.000-05:002007-12-26T00:40:01.398-05:00Fifty more deaths every dayI went to the funeral of a friend yesterday. I thought of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">average of 50 funerals that are held each day</span>, every day, in the U.S. for people who had no health insurance. The National Institute of Health estimates the total as 18,000 per year.<br /><div><br /></div> <div> </div> <div>I also thought of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">hundreds of thousands who are in</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">financial and emotional and physical stress</span> due to the way health care is financed in America.<br /><br /></div> <div>The average person in the United States has <span style="font-weight: bold;">less health care and lower life expectancy</span> ... at more than twice the cost per person ... as the average of ALL the other industrialized countries<br />of the world, who provide Health Care to All of their people.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></div>Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-38528639482157306272007-12-23T19:53:00.000-05:002007-12-24T21:55:02.669-05:00Spaghetti Dinner HeadlinesA few of the examples of headlines from only one small city of one state in the U.S. ... (with the last names only identified by the first initial)<br /><br /><ul><li>"Fund-raiser set for D. family" ... and the bills it must pay for Cameron's hospitalization and recovery (from a serious head injury)</li><li>"Benefit dinner/dance for heart disease and car accident victim"</li><li>"Tom W. benefit spaghetti dinner and bake sale"</li><li>"Community benefit planned for W. tonight at BC High School"</li><li>"4-H Club Hoping to Raise Final $4,000" ... for a Paws With A Cause dog for 19 year old with cerebral palsy</li><li>"Benefit this Sunday for leukemia patient's family" ... to help offset medical and funeral costs</li><li>"Saginaw native auctions off America's original 50-star flag" to help pay ... costs related to his diabetes and partial foot amputation.</li><li>"Benefit Planned for A." ... to raise money to help the family.</li><li>"Forget-me-not" "Auburn family, struck by troubles, gets a little help"</li><li>"Benefit dinner planned to help Mc." ... to help with expenses accrued during cancer treatments</li><li>"Fundraiser will help with dental work"</li><li>"S. benefit planned" ... to pay for medical bills that are not covered by insurance.</li><li>"Her 'special' arm"... puffy and swollen and has a hue of blue. Friends of the M. are holding a benefit for the family ...</li><li>"A past of help, a present need" Friends and family of M. L. are sponsoring a benefit to raise money to help pay for medical bills and prescription costs associated with a second kidney transplant ... The ... bills are more than most people can comprehend ...</li><li>... and on ... and on ... and on ... just in one small city of one state of the U.S. as per the Midland Daily News of Midland, Michigan<br /></li></ul>Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-40108430804392920822007-12-22T09:25:00.000-05:002007-12-22T20:55:14.137-05:00Answer: the Profits!Yesterday I gave two examples of the impact of single-payer:<br /><ul><li>Decisions will be more in the hands of medical teams, referring to the 17-year old girl who died the night before<br /></li><li>Common sense will still apply regarding medical and economic factors<br /></li></ul>So ... <span style="font-weight: bold;">if economic factors still apply, then what is the difference in what we will have with single-payer national health insurance.</span>? <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Answer</span>: <span style="font-weight: bold;">profits will not influence decision-making</span>!<br /><br />By having non-profit national health insurance we will no longer have people in private health insurance companies making decisions partly based these topics:<br /><ul><li>their bonus checks in their income and </li><li>how well their company performs in terms of its profits and its stock market price</li></ul>Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-32886409895977365012007-12-21T12:43:00.000-05:002007-12-22T10:24:22.542-05:00Impact of Single-Payer --- Two ExamplesExample #1 - <span style="font-weight: bold;">When we have single-payer national health insurance, decisions will be more in the hands of medical teams</span><br /><br /><blockquote>Last night, December 20, it was reported by the Associated Press, as seen in <a href="http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/12/21/ap4466891.html">Forbes</a> and <a href="http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/12/21/ap4466891.html">MSNBC</a>, that 17-year old Nataline Sarkisyan " ... died just hours after her health insurance company reversed its decision not to pay for a liver transplant that doctors said the girl needed."</blockquote><br />Example #2 - <span style="font-weight: bold;">When we have single-payer national health insurance, common sense will still apply regarding medical and economic factors</span><br /><br /><blockquote>Do not think that single-payer national health insurance will mean that a patient can always get everything that he or she wants in terms of medical care. In fact, there is a chance that there will be even more of an uproar of complaints about medical care then compared to now. There are certainly complaints in other countries. However, the average person in those other countries reports a very high degree of satisfaction with health care. They know that they and all of their neighhors have access to health care.</blockquote><br /><br />Just two days ago, December 19, the following Associated Press article was reported by <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22330384/">MSNBC</a>:<br /><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-weight: bold;">Very obese less likely to get kidney transplant</span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:14;color:black;" ></span><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">"Very obese people who need a kidney transplant are far less likely to get one than normal weight people, and when they do, their wait is an average of a year to 18 months longer, a new study found.<o:p></o:p></p> The reason seems to be both economic and medical. Very obese people have a greater risk for complications, and the transplant centers often must bear the additional cost of treating those problems."</p><br />For more information, see the remainder of the <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22330384/">article</a>.Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-12715306494606909052007-12-20T08:15:00.000-05:002007-12-22T10:17:27.542-05:00Complexity of Current Health Care Financing -- UnimagineableThis morning I added the following list to "Single-Payer: Comparison to the Current System" under "Complex with Many Costs":<br /><ul><li>The medical component of:</li><ul><li>Workers compensation programs</li></ul><ul><li>Medical malpractice premiums</li></ul><ul><li>Auto insurance</li></ul></ul><blockquote>And I had thought the previous list was already long about where our tax dollars and out-of-pocket dollars are going for health care. It is truly unimagineable, a word not in the dictionary, but it should be!</blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Worker compensation programs</span> are, of course, part of the complexity of covering health care, since that is a primary purpose of those programs.<br /><br />Some people cry out about <span style="font-weight: bold;">malpractice premiums</span>. National health insurance automatically eliminates a major portion of the number of dollars for a possible lawsuit claim. Since health care for life is automatically provided, one cannot sue for "health care for the rest of the life of the injured party."<br /><br />Inputs from others have been helpful. Yesterday as I was spreading the word, someone<br />strongly suggested that I look on my <span style="font-weight: bold;">automobile insurance</span> bill for the words "coordinated medical benefits" for a sizeable portion of my insurance bill. (He was correct!) He also pointed out that this additional health insurance will not likely pay anything if I have to go to the hospital due to an automobile accident. Why? Because this is secondary, not primary, health insurance. Not only that, some people might not even think to submit their health care bills to the automobile insurance company.<br /><br />I tried a few years ago to document on a flow chart where all the money flows among the private health insurance companies and government programs. I didn't get very far; it was overwhelming. We need to move from complex to simple for the financing of health care!<br /><br />Here is the link to the <a href="http://www.ninenineohnine.org/pages/Comparison_to_Current">above web page</a>.Bob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370836418456488681.post-39205871465052981892007-12-19T16:45:00.000-05:002007-12-21T15:13:03.450-05:00Raul Grijalva [AZ-7] - U.S. Representative cosponsor of H.R. 676To U.S. Representative <span style="font-weight: bold;">XRaul Grijalva, Arizona 7th District</span>:<br /><br />Thank you for being a cosponsor for U.S. House Resolution 676, the United States National Health Insurance Act.<br /><br />When I spoke with three of your staff members in June 2007, they made it very clear that you are a strong supporter of single-payer national health insurance.<br /><br />Your support is now documented at the at the Nine-Nine-Oh-Nine! web site <a href="http://www.ninenineohnine.org/support_by_state.php?state=AZ&district=7">report</a> regarding Arizona's 7th District.<br /><br />Regards, Bob Haiducek, Health and Health Care Advocate<br />Nine-Nine-Oh-Nine! campaign, part of the Health Care for All MovementBob Haiducek (hi' da sek) , Bob the Health and Health Care Advocatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00925876053360228337noreply@blogger.com0