Diana Rosetti from CantonRep.com reports that “watching politicians on television outline ways to save taxpayer dollars through health care reform spurred Dr. Cynthia J. Koelker into action.” Koelker is not your ordinary doctor; she makes house calls and keeps her practice small in order to establish close relationships with her patients. She stresses that patients should constantly ask their doctors questions, and be proactive in their healthcare. Koelker says, “I thought I could write a list of 100 things people could do today, so I sat down at my kitchen table and did it.” Koelker published a book entitled “101 Ways to Save Money on Healthcare” which reveals information medical professionals know and other’s do not.
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A new study showed that if healthcare reform doesn’t pass, rural residents will suffer substantially. Lynda Waddington from The Iowa Independent states, “Jon Bailey, director of the rural research and analysis program at the Center and author of the study, believes that existing health care policy, or lack of it, places rural people at a disadvantage that will worsen if steps are not taken by Congress.” Bailey went on to say that “the benefits far outweigh the risks of inaction.”
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W. J. “Billy” Tauzin, a former congressman from Louisiana, has announced that he is retiring in the summer as head of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America which creates a problem for Democratic leaders who are fighting to keep healthcare reform alive. Tauzin was an influential lobbyist, and “became a pivotal backer of health-care legislation after reaching a deal with the White House aimed at limiting damage to the industry,” reports Dan Eggen from The Washington Post.
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For heart patient Frank Amend, an engineer from North Carolina, his heaviest expense is healthcare, unlike the average American family whose mortgage would be at the top of the list as their biggest expense. Reuters states, “That’s why Amend and tens of thousands of patients with similar conditions find themselves at the center of debate over how to reform the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare sector — and whether the country can afford it.”
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President Obama revealed on Sunday that he plans to assemble a public meeting at the end of the month with Republican and Democratic leaders to reach a bipartisan consensus on healthcare reform. Obama wants to hear Republican’s input in regards to healthcare reform, however, he does not want to completely start over, only take the best ideas and move forward. Newt Gingrich and John C. Goodman from The Washington Post say, “The best ideas out there are not those that were passed by the House and Senate last year, which consist of more spending, more regulations and more bureaucracy.”
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Michael Milchovich from The Baltimore Sun says, “With all the talk from members of Congress about the federal budget deficit, I would think they would be just as concerned about the budget deficits of middle class families across the country.” Milchovich says the growing costs of healthcare are very much responsible for millions of American families being in debt, and also has led to many of those families being bankrupt. Milchovich says, “No one in a nation as wealthy and powerful as ours should be punished for getting sick.”
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A healthcare poll revealed that 63% of Americans want Congress to keep working on passing a comprehensive health care reform bill. The survey took place Thursday through Monday and involved more than 1,000 voters.
The key question was, “Do you think lawmakers in Washington should keep trying to pass a comprehensive health care reform plan, or should they give up on comprehensive health care reform?” Joel Connelly from Seattle PI states, “Sixty-three percent said “Keep Trying” while 34 percent opted for “Give Up.” By an 88 percent-to-8 percent margin, Democrats opted for trying. So did Independents, by a 56 percent-to-39 percent division. By contrast, by a 55 percent-to-42 percent margin, Republicans opted for the give-up option.”
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Sunday before the Superbowl in an interview with Katie Couric, President Obama revealed that on Feb. 25 he will assemble a public meeting with Republican and Democratic leaders to reach a bipartisan consensus on the healthcare reform bill. PriceDoc COO Patrick Bradley, Ph.D., says, “I like it because one, we will get input from both sides….and, the public gets to hear it. You would think for 1/6 of the nation’s economy, you would let the public hear the debate. Now, we may get reform that help American consumers and lowers cost.”
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Anthem Blue Cross, California’s largest for-profit insurer, was asked by California insurance regulators to postpone problematic rate increases for individual policies. These rate increases, some as much as 39%, have “triggered widespread criticism from subscribers and brokers — and now from the federal government,” reports Duke Helfand from the Los Angeles Times. The Obama administration requested that Anthem justify these rate increases, and according to Helfand, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius “voiced serious concern [in a letter to Anthem's president] over the higher premiums, which go into effect March 1 for many of the insurer’s estimated 800,000 individual policyholders.”
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Experts say California might have to go solo on extending healthcare coverage to the millions of uninsured Californians because “the future of federal overhaul efforts appears uncertain,” reports California Healthline. Nearly 7 million people are uninsured in California, and about the same amount of people are enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal. “Although federal health care reform could extend coverage to more Californians, it also could burden the cash-strapped state with additional Medi-Cal costs,” states California Healthline.
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I am not sure how many of the public noticed a provision in the proposed health reform legislation that would have placed a federal tax on cosmetic procedures. The provision was known as the Bo-TAX and it aroused a unified response from the medical community in general and organized medicine in particular. This proposed tax was a clear example of how out of touch the Congress is with the needs of the public. This always happens in government when those who govern make a career of governing rather than serving the electorate.
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