Because People Matter

Individual Mandate: Step in the Wrong Direction

By Roger White
 
If the Democrats are able to pass their version of health care reform this winter it will include an individual mandate that every US citizen buy private health insurance except for a small percentage of people who qualified for a hardship exemption.  For decades the American right developed a deserved reputation for being eager to legislate morality in sexual, personal and family affairs. Today the liberal left rivals conservatives in their desire to use state power to regulate, prohibit and control what only recently used to be considered private matters.  Due to technological advances and the slow but steady erosion of the Fourth Amendment at the hands of the war on terror and drugs, the very concept of privacy has become quaint. Cameras on every street corner are no longer some Orwellian nightmare; they’re just a normal part of America’s domestic security and safety architecture.

Medicare for all

By Duane Campell

The right-wing rage fueling the disruption at some of this month’s congressional health-care town hall meetings fascinates the media but doesn’t address why health care reform is needed now.

I support Medicare for everyone.  I am 68.  I have had Medicare for 3 years. Prior to Medicare, I had Kaiser.  I and my employer paid for Kaiser care.

Now, I, and the Medicare system pay for my Kaiser Advantage system using Medicare.  There has been no noticeable to me difference in the care, only a difference in billing for drugs.  I get good care. We should all get good care.

It's time for single-payer, universal health care

My Story

By Cres Vellucci

I have been very healthy most of my life. It all came crashing down in February of this year when I found myself in the hospital without healthcare insurance.

Like tens of millions of Americans—the government says 48 million are uninsured but how long can that figure remain the same with millions of people losing their jobs and benefits?—I did not have health care because I could not find it at a reasonable price.

I did receive care, but was left with a $40,000 bill for four days of treatment.

Health Care: Ready for the Son of Harry and Louise?

Derailing Obama’s health plan

By Charlene Jones

Shortly after the American Hospital Association (www.aha.org) and America’s Health Insurance Plans (www.ahip.org ) changed their minds in May about volunteering to save Americans $2 trillion over 10 years, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina hired a public relations firm to derail President Obama’s public health plan.

The Washington Post’s May 18 story about Blue Cross/Blue Shield revealed a campaign as slick as the infamous ad couple Harry and Louise who helped kill health care reform in the 1990s.