Invitation to join citizen journalists team at Huffington Post to investigate insurance claim denials follows. Also, do you have any leads to share? Join Our Investigation: How Often Do Health Insurers Deny Claims? Posted by Adam Clark Estes Amid all the loud arguments about the proper role for government and private companies in American health care, one point often seems lost: Exactly how well – or badly – are private insurers handling claims in the existing system? Daniellle Ivory is uncovering some answers. But we also need you to help us investigate... http://huffpostfund.org/participate/join-our-investigation-how-often-do-health-insurers-deny-claims
How can we make sure that health care reform includes ending insurance companies' abuse of denying claims (millions of claim denials a year)?
My son was just refused reimbursement for $1,300 for physical therapy for a serious knee injury. His physical therapy was recommended by his doctor to prevent the need for surgery. He was told he could be covered for PT only after he had surgery. How stupid and short-sighted is that! But I bet that, if he has to have surgery , insurance will find another reason to deny the claim. Just think about it. Our insurance premiums pay for insurance staff to find excuses to deny our benefits! Multiply this problem by millions a year.
Access to affordable health insurance is a key starting point, but reform needs to include correction of these bogus claim denials and continued oversight. Universal and continuous access to a public option would also help a lot to keep private insurance honest and give people like my son a chance to vote with his feet and walk out on ripoff private insurers.
I just finished my first post-election conference call with Organizing For America (OFA). During the election I’ve been on several conference calls for volunteers, but this is the first time I’ve heard “This is the operator from Air Force One, please hold for the President.” After graciously thanking us for our efforts, President Obama talked to us about the importance of working together for health care reform now, and answered questions from volunteers. Clearly the great organization built during the campaign is fired up, and ready to go to work for change. OFA staff – Jeremy Bird, Mitch Stewart, Natalie Foster and David Plouffe - did their usual excellent job of running the call and letting us know about events – June 6th house parties for health care reform – and online organizing tools – event tool, call tool. Now it’s up to us.
To host or attend a health care organizing kickoff, link to:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hckickoff
In the crucible of the economic crisis, this once-principled maverick who put country first, has unraveled into a confused, erratic and angry man who is not above lying about his opponent to get elected. The deregulation ideologue’s dilemma that McCain is facing is how to respond to the failure of the laissez-faire, rational free market approach that he and Republican economic advisors have long advocated (which turns out to have been as rational as playing slot machines at a casino). Just as McCain’s economic policy is a repeat of the Bush administration, McCain’s confusion is also strikingly reminiscent of President Bush’s query when Hurricane Katrina caused the levees to fail in New Orleans: who could have predicted this? Who could have predicted that the rational, self-correcting market on Wall Street would be undone by greed, selfishness and an obsession with short-term profit with reckless disregard for the consequences to the rest of us on Main Street and the global economy? Well, back when McCain was in favor of deregulation before he was against it, Treasury Secretary Paulson was sounding a warning on the need for greater, more comprehensive regulation. Long before McCain’s former economic advisor and champion of deregulation, Phil Gramm, was describing people who were facing foreclosures as a nation of whiners, Barack Obama proposed legislation, the STOP FRAUD ACT, that included more regulation of subprime mortgages, as well as support for struggling homeowners.
In his search for a response to Wall Street’s meltdown, in the space of one week McCain has lurched erratically from claiming that the fundamentals of the economy are strong to acknowledging that this is a serious crisis. This week he has transformed from a long held position as a deregulator to a regulator who even wants a new government agency. One day he was against a bailout for the American Insurance Group (AIG), next day he was for it. McCain has engaged in angry rants against the greedy denizens of Wall Street. In his search for a scapegoat besides the failure of unrestrained free markets, he has called for the firing of the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). McCain’s scattershot and inconsistent response does not inspire confidence in his leadership. While I and other senior citizens watch our savings dwindle, he inspires fear.
In contrast, Barack Obama had the foresight to call for oversight in subprime mortgages a year ago. Also reassuring are his calm demeanor during this difficult week, the high caliber of his economic advisors and his call for a bipartisan response that addresses the needs of the homeowners on Main Street as well as the bankers on Wall Street.
Sarah Palin sounds more and more like the opposite of Hilary Clinton on women’s issues and has no achievements or policies that begin to compare to Barack Obama’s extensive record and proposals in support of women and working families. See article below and link at end to overview of her record (Palin-digest).
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin wrote in her line-item veto changes by hand in this copy of a 2008 spending bill obtained by The Washington Post.
(see link for copy of documentt)
By Paul Kane ST. PAUL -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee who revealed Monday that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, earlier this year used her line-item veto to slash funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live.
After the legislature passed a spending bill in April, Palin went through the measure reducing and eliminating funds for programs she opposed. Inking her initials on the legislation -- "SP" -- Palin reduced funding for Covenant House Alaska by more than 20 percent, cutting funds from $5 million to $3.9 million. Covenant House is a mix of programs and shelters for troubled youths, including Passage House, which is a transitional home for teenage mothers.
According to Passage House's web site, its purpose is to provide "young mothers a place to live with their babies for up to eighteen months while they gain the necessary skills and resources to change their lives" and help teen moms "become productive, successful, independent adults who create and provide a stable environment for themselves and their families."
Palin's own daughter, Bristol, is five months pregnant and has plans to wed.
"Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family," Palin said in a statement released by the McCain campaign. "We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi's privacy, as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."
Earlier today the Associated Press reported that Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, opposed funding to prevent teen pregnancies, a position that Palin also took as governor. "The explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support," she wrote in a 2006 questionnaire distributed among gubernatorial candidates.
Reporters asked McCain in November 2007 whether he supported grants for sex education in the United States, whether such programs should include directions for using contraceptives and whether he supports President Bush's policy of promoting abstinence.
"Ahhh, I think I support the president's policy," McCain said
For more info on Palin’s background see:
http://thinkprogress.org/palin-digest/
Obama-Biden Plan To Combat Cancer
I am an 11-year survivor of breast cancer because I had the privilege of early detection and treatment, which people who are uninsured or under insured do not get. Later treatment means less likelihood of survival. It is tragic that the right to life for cancer patients is a privilege and not a right in our country. The Obama-Biden plan to combat cancer would mean that everyone will have access to screening for cancer and would, for example, eliminate Medicaid co-pays for breast and colorectal cancer screening. These screenings can mean the difference between life and death.For me, having had cancer also means that private insurance companies refused to insure me because of this pre-existing condition, and I am not yet eligible for Medicare. Although my state, Illinois, has a public insurance plan for people like me, many cancer survivors are unable to find or afford insurance, leaving them at great risk should they have a recurrence. The Obama-Biden health care plan would end the denial of health insurance for people with pre-existing conditions like cancer, and would provide both private and public insurance options. We can count on Barack Obama to champion our health care needs as President, just as he did in the Illinois Senate and as a United States Senator.
Besides Bill Richardson, the only other presidential candidate that I know of to comment on the reaction to Reverend Wright's inflammatory remarks is Mike Huckabee. Having grown up in the segregated South, he calls for everyone to cut some slack for people "who grew up being called names, being told, 'You have to sit in the balcony when you go to the movie. You have to go to the back door to go into the restaurant.' " (NY Times, March 23) Not to mention getting lynched for registering voters or looking twice at a white woman or just because. Yes it is time to move on but let's not forget where we've been.
Meanwhile Bill Clinton is trying to slime Senator Obama by implying he is un-American. How low will the Clintons go? First saying Obama isn't ready to be Commander-in-Chief, now this. They may as well be making McCain's attack ads for him. When will the uncommitted super delegates wake up and stop the Clintons from destroying the Demcratic party from within?
The web site clearly has a terrific wealth of information that is very helpful in general and when making calls to voters. Some additions would make it even better - FAQ section, searchable database, older adults section under people, variation on Wikipedia. Although I try to stay informed and up to date, there is so much detail on the site that it can be hard to quickly find the answer to a voter's question. Yet it seems to help in engaging undecided votes to ask if there is a specific issue or concern that is making it hard to decide.
Would it be possible to add a FAQ section and/or a searchable database? For example, in using a google search, I entered barackobama.com FAQ health and found a really nicely done presentation of health insurance reform issues as the first hit: www.barackobama.com/pdf/Obama08_HealthcareFAQ.pdf(Also available quicker as html). The format fit well with the way people often frame their questions. However, google doesn’t always provide the most salient and recent information first and provides thousands of hits to sort through. A specialized search on this web site might be really helpful and tune in to the way people think about their concerns. For example, some voters might find it easier to look for “mortgage” or “donut hole” than to go to economy, etc. At the risk of stereotyping us older adults – I am one – many of us are less experienced in searching through web sites and more concrete in how we think about our concerns.Speaking of senior citizens, I read today that Pennsylvania has a very high proportion of older adults. The issues section on senior citizens is very good as far as it goes, but could benefit by adding a section on mortgages as many seniors have got caught in the subprime mortgage crisis due to home equity loans. Also, might we add older adults to the people section of the web site? I’m told the term senior citizen is sometimes perceived as stigmatizing. Also, in gerontology we talk about the “young old,” starting at age 50. Perhaps an Adults over 50 category would help to focus people in that group. It could include much the same content as the seniors’ section with the addition of mortgages and perhaps a specially adapted section re health insurance for people over 50. Those of us who aren’t yet 65 and can’t get Medicare face an especially daunting task in getting insurance. I’m an 11-year cancer survivor, which is good news for me, bad news for insurers – leaving me paying $935 a month in a public plan.An earlier post suggested a version of Wikipedia for the campaign and that is really worth considering. It could be adapted by having a campaign staff edit for accuracy. That way we could upload new information. For example the social costs of the Iraq war were recently put in the trillions by economists testifying before Congress.These suggestions are meant to improve an already wonderful web site by making it a little more user-friendly. I don’t mean to take away from the great job campaign web designers have done to date. I’ve seen lots of news articles viewing the Obama campaign as far and away the best in using web technology.
Senator Clinton has recently spoken about LBJ's role in signing the Civil Rights Act, while belatedly acknowledging the importance of Dr. King's role. One wonders what Dr. King would think of Clinton's surrogates, the teacher's union, in their efforts to disenfranchise the votes of casino workers, many of whom are low-income Hispanic or African American, as well as white, many of whom are women, all of whom represent the rainbow of diversity that is our country! Is this law-suit not another effort for political sleaze to triumph over principle?
This is an important opportunity to draw the contrast in letters to the editor, blogs, and talking to our friends. For example, the Washington Post has a blog titled, In Vegas Politics Comes To The Strip by Kane & MacGillis at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/12/AR2008011202834.html
On Thanksgiving, as we reflect on how much we have to be thankful for, it is also time to reflect on how we can reciprocate by giving. Our family has been struggling a bit since I was laid off over a year ago. Meeting day to day needs without dipping into our retirement savings is a challenge, but I am thankful that I have retirement savings, as I am thankful for support from my family, and for a good Thanksgiving dinner with friends, and for so much when many have so little. Thanks also to Michele H for inspiring me with her blog on charity and giving. So, how much to give and to whom? Maybe we can’t give a lot right now, but we can give a little – $10 a month, $25 a month, sometimes $50 or $100 a month, or even more. Although there are many wonderful and important charities that need support, we can make the biggest, most important changes for our fellow citizens by contributing to Barack Obama’s campaign for President. Every month we must meet the challenge and:
Give a little or give a lot, but give, and contribute to universal health care for all.https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/recurring?source=mainnav
Give a little or give a lot and contribute to providing early education for every child, and $4,000 in college tuition for every student.https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/recurring?source=mainnav
Give a little or give a lot and end the tragedy of war in Iraq.https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/recurring?source=mainnav
Give a little or give a lot and make Social Security secure for us, for our children and for our grandchildren.https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/recurring?source=mainnav
Give a little or give a lot and start really fighting global warming.https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/recurring?source=mainnav
Give a little or give a lot and we can change our country and our worldhttps://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/recurring?source=mainnav
Give a little or give a lot. So this Thanksgiving, please join me in signing up for a recurring donation to Obama’s campaign today!https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/recurring?source=mainnav
Give a little or give a lot. From each of us, according to our ability, to each of us according to our need.https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/recurring?source=mainnav
Karl Rove and the Republican right have focused narrowly on fetal life as a wedge issue. It is important both to be aware that the consequences of ideologically driven abstinence policies actually function to increase abortion rates, and to broaden the issue to the sacredness of all human life. Although the Bush administration attempts to “create reality”, health science provides a stark contrast to their highly polarizing approach to decreasing abortion rates, as well as maternal deaths due to illegal abortions. Recently, the New York Times had a useful report on the World Health Organization study (a link to the full text follows my comments).
The study supports the provision of family planning including contraceptives, suggesting that “the best way to reduce abortion rates was not to make abortion illegal but to make contraception more widely available… In Eastern Europe, where contraceptive choices have broadened since the fall of Communism, the study found that abortion rates have decreased by 50 percent, although they are still relatively high compared with those in Western Europe. ''In the past we didn't have this kind of data to draw on,'' Ms. Camp said. ''Contraception is often the missing element'' where abortion rates are high, she said. Similar data was reported for Uganda. “In Uganda, where abortion is illegal and sex education programs focus only on abstinence, the estimated abortion rate was 54 per 1,000 women in 2003, more than twice the rate in the United States, 21 per 1,000 in that year.” Moreover, 67,000 women a year die from unsafe abortions, which are more likely to occur in countries where abortion is illegal.
Barack Obama has a realistic policy for decreasing abortion while still recognizing the privacy of women who are struggling with this choice. He is an original co-sponsor of legislation to expand access to contraception, health information and preventive services to help reduce unintended pregnancies. A recent dialogue with an Iowa voter was a thoughtful exchange:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/06/obama-explores-abortion-issue/
In discussing abortion, it is also really important to remember that the underlying issue of the sacredness of human life applies to more than fetal life: - The importance of the sacredness of human life applies to the lives of children from poor and working class families, whose very lives are at risk when their access to health care is threatened by the lack of health insurance.
- The lives of women who die from unsafe abortions.
- The cost of over four years of this mismanaged and apparently endless Iraq war includes the lives of almost 4,000 soldiers, as well as over $400 billion.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903EFDF1F3DF931A25753C1A9619C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all#
