Medical Costs and Politics

When the the supreme court heard the case about Obamacare, members of the Tea Party and people who support the bill faced off outside the Supreme Court in dueling protests. There was actually a point of agreement. I'm almost certain it was missed. Both sides think the cost of health care is too high. 


Today there were two stories that caught my attention. The first from NPR about the increasing cost of health insurance. Costs are going up while coverage is going down. The story focused on one family but, what they are experiencing is the same for many families. High deductibles and decreasing coverage. 

Health Insurance Cutbacks Squeeze The Insured


I recently got some quotes for health insurance. We need to get individual insurance . Being underemployed means we have no other option. Deductibles start at $5000 and run as high as $10,000. After that, the plans might cover 80% of the cost. There's a lot that is not covered like office visits.


In the case of the Cooper family in the NPR story, Amber Cooper needs medication for her liver transplant that cost $1000 a month. It is no longer covered. The Cooper's now pay the entire cost of the medication out of pocket.

The second story that caught my attention was in the Huffington Post by Khadeeja Safdar. Medical costs are pushing Americans into credit card debt. According to a survey by a policy center called Demos, 50% of those surveyed paid for out of pocket medical costs with credit cards.  There's more in the article:

• Health care costs rose 6% last year.
• Over 25 percent of Americans ages 16 to 64 went without health coverage for at least some part of last year.
• An ordinary family with a job based plan will pay $20,000 toward health care. That's about 40% of their income.

Right Infighting Over Health Care

Meanwhile, the gridlock in Washington will make the situation worse. According to an article in Politico Republican plans to retool the Obamacare plan as an alternative were shot down by conservatives. They want full repeal. Nothing less. Their stance? Any national health care plan is creeping socialism at its worst. According to Politico's Jake Sherman, the drive to completely repeal is led by groups like Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform to Heritage Action to Club for Growth. Any attempt at compromise is being blocked by people with very deep pockets.  

Can anything be done? Be informed. Speak up. Tell your representatives you want something positive to be done.

There are groups that can help. One is called Center Politics. It's a nonpartisan political action committee.

http://www.centerpolitics.org/

You can find out more about the deceptions and confusion in US politics by going to FactCheck.org. FactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. It is nonpartisan.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0512/76471.html#ixzz1vjVExyZE

Civility Is Giving Way to Rudeness

The Public Respects Civility, But Rewards Rudeness

Alan Greenblatt's piece on NPR points out that in politics people say they prefer civility....but rudeness is rewarded. The article also points out that bad behavior abounds in our society from people who snack in church, to texting at weddings and wagging fingers at presidents.

There's a key point in the story. George C. Edwards III, a scholar on the presidency at Texas A&M University says, every political incentive in the current climate seems to reward attacks on politicians from the other while discouraging collaboration or compromise. "We as Americans don't just see the people on the other side as having different views, but as evil."

This unwillingness to respect the views of an opponent is leading to extremism. There is no compromise because the other person's view is demonized. 

SD Governor Says Foster Care Report Flawed

South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard said he didn’t gain any useful information from a controversial 2011 public radio series on American Indian foster children in South Dakota. Daugaard repeated his assertion to the editorial board of the Daily Republic that NPR investigative reporter Laura Sullivan made up her mind before she came to South Dakota.  Daugaard declined to speak with Sullivan about the key points in the story. The Governor pre-responded to the series sending emails to South Dakota media outlets claiming that Sullivan was biased and unwilling to listen to all sides of the story.


While Daugaard was part time Lt. Governor of South Dakota he was also CEO of the Children's Home Society. CHS deals with many foster care cases in South Dakota.

The Governor's office contacted NPR's Ombudsman. EDWARD SCHUMACHER-MATOS says he is looking into the series and will have a report soon.

Kumbaya

A song about social justice...about building consensus has become the victim of snarky dismissive comments that mirror the political dictum...no compromise.

According to a piece Linton Weeks on NPR, Kumbaya was originally used by African Americans asking god to intervene on their behalf against their oppressors. It was later used during the civil rights movement. The song was treated in a straightforward manner, held up without irony as a ritual of reverence, a soft-voice anthem of togetherness. That togetherness is being ridiculed in our political world. Compromise is considered a weakness.


You can find out more at the NPR website.


Sources cited include Michael E. Ross and Samuel G. Freedman.

Twinkies May Be In Our Past

Hostess has filed for bankruptcy. Critics are saying Hostess changed to late. Wonder Bread fell out of favor long ago. The company is blaming its pension and medical benefits obligations, increased competition and tough economic conditions. There's a lot more on this story at NPR.org.

Did you peel off the frosting on the cupcakes first? What about sucking out the filling on the Twinkie?
You could also ball up the bread and it would stay that way making for a wonderful projectile to throw at siblings. There were a few that stuck to the classroom clock. (I plead innocence)