Senate Health Care Reform Discussion 12/11/2009

Interested in understanding what your leaders are discussing about your health care future? You should be. Coverage limits, community hospitals, drug coverage, costs, loophole.... all words discussed in the past 5 minutes. Senators are discussing right now on CSPAN2

Here is a direct link to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act being debated in the Senate.

Detroit Area Health Care Experts Discuss Health Care Reform

Interested in understanding more about the current health care reform discussion?
If you are in the Detroit area - tune in Sunday morning (October 25 - 9:30 am) for Spotlight on the news on Channel 7 - WXYZ.

The panelists will include:

Vernice Anthony Davis, President & CEO, Greater Detroit Area Health Council

Kevin Seitz, Executive Vice President, Health Care Value Enhancement, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

Dr. Richard Smith, President of the Michigan State Medical Society and Henry Ford Health System Physician

Michael Duggan, CEO, The Detroit Medical Center

Obama's Press Conference on Health Care Reform

President Obama addressed the nation tonight to clear up some questions about health reform. Obama states "We spend more on health care than any other nation in the world, but we are not any healthier for it." He also stressed the importance of health care reform in the overall plan to rebuild our economy.

How does health care reform affect you? Here are key items from his address:

For individuals who currently have insurance coverage, the reform will bring security and stability. It gives you the option to keep your insurance if you are happy with it. It gives you the security of knowing you'll still have coverage if you lose your job, move, or change jobs. It will prevent insurance companies from dropping your coverage when you get too sick. It limits the amount of money your insurance company can force you to pay for medical costs out of your pocket. It will also cover preventive care, like checkups and mammograms.

If you don't have health insurance, health care reform gives you the ability to choose a quality and affordable health plan through a health insurance exchange (a place that promotes choice and competition). No insurance company will be able to deny you coverage because of a pre-exisiting health condition.


President Obama vows health care reform will lower costs, promote choice, and provide coverage every American can count on, and reform will come by the end of this year

Obama & Health Care

President Barack Obama has started to pitch his new health care plan. The health care changes would entirely restructure the nation's medical plans. The plan is to cover nearly 50 million uninsured Americans, to persuade doctors to stress quality over quantity of care, and to save billions of dollars in spendings. "The president repeatedly said the current health care system is not acceptable and must be overhauled this year. He urged the audience, which included people following on Facebook and YouTube, to reject critics who say his plans are too costly or a step toward socialized medicine," wrote Philip Elliott and Charles Babington of the Associated Press. Whether or not that one agrees with Obama's plan, it is evident that changes must be made, and a better job of aiding citizens with health care is necessary.
For the full article concerning Obama's health care plan and feedback, visit: Emotion, few details, in Obama's health care pitch

Fighting for Health Care Reform

It should not be impossible for a person to find health care that is affordable and helpful. But it can be. Whether breaking an arm in an accident or needing a surgery, there is always a reason to find dependable health care. Governor Granholm and union leaders are fighting to push Michigan's health care reform. Although easier said than done, we are slowly taking steps toward positive changes. In an interview, Mark Gaffney of Michigan AFL-CIO said, "We need an employer-based system, but at the same time we need a public option that people can, if they can afford, buy into it. We think that will provide the competition to, over the years, keep costs down and quality up." Until problems are resolved, every individual can and should stay informed and compare health care providers to find what is best for specific situations.
For more details on the health care reform, visit:
MLive: Granholm, union leaders push health care reform

Obama Addresses Health Care Reform at Town Hall

On Thursday 6/11/09, President Obama addressed U.S. health care reform at a town hall in Green Bay, WI. He outlined his goals and stressed the need for swift change. He also emphasized strongly that he is not proposing "socialized medicine" and that he is not interested in government running the US health care system. While he clarified some points, several questions still remain.

Among the reasons for swift change:

1. The US spends 50% more than other countries, yet receives no better quality


2. The cost of health care increased three times faster than the cost of labor in recent years


3. The cost of doing nothing will be much higher in years to come

Obama's goal: Quality health care for every American at an affordable cost.

What Obama proposes:

1. Invest in wellness programs


2. Allow those who like their doctors or health care plans to keep them


3. Change provider incentives so they are not rewarded for performing unnecessary tests and procedures, or those that result in mistakes. He says the current system "equates expensive care with better care" and pays based on the number of tests and procedures performed.


4. Provide more affordable health insurance options


5. Create a "health insurance exchange" for health insurance one-stop-shopping. Consumers will be able to compare plans and choose what's best for them.


6. Require that no plans be able to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions


7. Provide assistance to consumers who cannot afford a basic benefits package

President Obama also announced that more information will be revealed in the coming days about his cost savings plans that will help pay for health care reforms. He hopes Congress will submit a health care plan sometime in October.

While the President did his best to explain his goals for a public health insurance option, some important questions still remain. Like, will the healthcare system have enough capacity to serve the additional 47 million currently uninsured patients? As these patients become insured under a public health plan and utilize more health care resources, will this put a strain on the system and create treatment delays for everyone?

If a new public health insurance is implemented as suggested, why would anybody choose a private health care option? Will employers continue to offer private health insurance in benefits packages or will they encourage employees to utilize public insurance in order to save money? And what will that mean to private insurance companies and consumers' choice?

Current public health care plans such as Medicare and Medicaid traditionally do not pay much to providers and often do not cover the cost of providing care...with more patients having public insurance, what will that mean for providers' ability to cover costs and stay in business?

It sounds like a grand plan with great benefit; however very few details are available that would allow anyone to determine if it is actually feasible. As the saying goes, "the devil is in the details." We'll all just have to wait to learn more.

In the meantime, if you're uninsured and cannot afford health care you still have options. Free clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) exist nationwide to provide free or low-cost basic health care to those in need. Go to WhereToFindCare.com to find and rate these providers in your area.

Obama's Budget: What it does for Health Care

Obama's proposed budget provides the Department of Health and Human Services with $76.8 billion dollars. Some key points of the plan:

1. The budget establishes a reserve fund of $630 billion over 10 years to finance health care reform. Half of the $630 billion comes from new revenues. The other half comes from saving proposals. This is only a down payment. The $630 billion will not guarantee health care coverage for all Americans. For this, additional funding is needed.
2. Invest in cancer research with the goal of developing new diagnostics, treatments and cures.
3. Encourage and increase the use of electronic health records (EHR). Starting in 2011, health care providers participating in the Medicare program will receive temporary incentives to use EHR. However, by 2015, all Medicare health care providers will need to use the system, or else they will face financial penalties. Medicaid providers are also eligible for incentives to assist with the purchase, implementation, and use of EHR.
4. New efforts to lower drug costs and strengthen the Food and Drug Administration efforts to make food and medical products safer.
5. Dedicate resources to improve oversight for the Medicare Prescription Drug program, Medicare Advantage, and the Medicaid Program.
6. Increase efforts to strengthen the long term sustainability of the Medicare program.
7. New funding to broaden the Medicare and Medicaid research agenda.
8. Provide health care coverage to low-income individuals by temporarily increasing federal Medicaid funding to help states facing budget problems. Also signing into law the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, a program that provides children access to health care.
9. Increase resources in the detection, prevention, and treatment of HIV/AIDS.
10. Strengthen the health professions work force by investing $330 million to address the shortage of health care providers in certain areas.
11. Invest $4 billion in Indian Health Services to support and expand the provision of health care services and public health programs to American Indians and Alaska Natives.
12. Invest $221 million for research into the causes and treatments for Autism Spectrum disorders, screenings, public awareness, and support services.
13. $73 million to improve access to and quality of health care in rural areas.
14. Continue investment in comparative effectiveness research, which produces information on what medical treatments work best for a given condition.
15. Create the Nurse Home Visitation program, which will provide funds to states to provide home visits by trained nurses to first-time low-income mothers and mothers-to-be.
16. Increase efforts to prevent teen pregnancy.

Click here to see a copy of the proposed budget. (Source: CNN)

Need help finding a health care provider? Use our free health care provider directory. We have quality information, reviews, ratings, and much more!

Obama's Address: Health Care Reform cannot wait

In his address to Congress tonight, Obama said: "Health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year." It was met with standing applause.

59 billion dollars of the recovery act has been set aside for health care (Source: Recovery.gov). From his speech, Obama said the recovery plan would cover the following health care items:

1. Electronic health records
2. Cure for cancer
3. Preventive Care

He called this a down payment on the principle that we must have quality, affordable health care for every American. Check in with recovery.gov periodically to track progress and track how the money is spent.

Obama has also set up a conference next week, bringing together businesses, workers, doctors, health care providers, democrats and republicans to tackle health care reform.


What is your opinion on healthcare reform?





Need help finding a health care provider? Use our free health care provider directory. We have quality information, reviews, ratings, and much more!

You Can Make A Difference in Health Care

With all this talk of health care reform, one might wonder..."where do we begin?"

Each of us can take a small step to reform the way health care is delivered in hospitals, nursing homes or any of the 14 other types of health care providers on WhereToFindCare.com.

How? Rate your experience. Whether you were a patient or visitor, your opinions and comments can help improve the next patient or visitor's experience. Your feedback will help your neighbors choose a provider and they may help the provider improve anything from the way they greet you to the way they process your bill. But they can't improve if they don't know there was an issue.

Hospital ratings are fast becoming the way smart consumers make choices. You get unbiased data on one of the most important decisions of your life. But there are so many other choices that are just as important: Where to go for diabetes education? home care services? hospice? WhereToFindCare.com lets you find and rate all of these providers in one place. So start making a difference in your community. Rate your health care!