A new report from the Minnesota Department of Health confirms what we've been saying all along in this health reform debate: the status quo is not an option.
The report found that more than 100,000 Minnesotans lost their health insurance between 2007 and 2009, largely due to the bad econom, raising the total of uninsured Minnesotans from 374,000 to 480,000 -- 85,000 of those being children under the age of 17.
The survey found that some groups were hit harder than others. More men than women lost their employer-sponsored insurance as sectors that traditionally hire men -- manufacturing and construction, for example -- were hit hard by the recession. Some 12 percent of male Minnesotans were uninsured last year, compared to 6 percent of females.
Young adults were also far more likely to be uninsured, as were minorities.
Equally worrying was the finding that more people were going without insurance for long periods. Researchers asked respondents if they had been continuously uninsured for the past 12 months; 6.2 percent said yes, up from 4.6 percent when that question was asked in 2007.
So not only are more people uninsured, but they're staying uninsured for longer.
Under the current proposal for health insurance reform being debated in Congress, 519,000 Minnesota residents who currently don't have insurance -- and 356,000 residence who have nongroup insurance -- could get affordable coverage through the health insurance exchange. An additional 282,000 residents could qualify for premium tax credits to help them purchase health coverage.
A new study by the Commonwealth Fund and the Center for American Progress Action Fund estimates that health care reform legislation will lead to greater savings than the Congressional Budget Office had predicted. While the CBO does not score savings from prevention, modernization, and payment reform, this study uses a more inclusive analysis, according to the Wonk Room.
Economists David Cutler, Karen Davis and Kristof Stremikis go beyond the CBO/CMS methodology by relying on business literature about the inefficiency in the health care sector, experiences of health practitioners, and the real world experiences of Geisinger Health System, Health Partners, Denver Health and others.
So how different is this new study from the CBO estimates?
The report finds that the Senate bill would reduce the deficit by up to $459 billion over ten years (approximately $300 billion more than CBO estimates) and produce Medicare savings of $576 billion (nearly $200 billion more than CBO estimates for the Senate bill).
That would be a huge reduction to the deficit, much greater than the CBO calculated. This study highlights how the status quo is absolutely not an option. The Star Tribune reports that the national per-person spending on health insurance premiums will jump 94 percent by 2020 without reform. Premium costs in Minnesota are already among the highest in the nation, and we simply cannot afford for them to increase.
It is past time that we had quality, affordable health care for all Americans. You can find out if your Senators and Representative voted to support universal health care or sided with insurance companies.
Health and Human Serivces Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the release of a new report highlighting the benefits of health insurance reform for Minnesota.
Under health insurance reform in Minnesota:
519,000 residents who do not currently have insurance and 356,000 residents who have nongroup insurance could get affordable coverage through the health insurance exchange.
282,000 residents could qualify for premium tax credits to help them purchase health coverage.
747,000 seniors would receive free preventive services.
133,000 seniors would have their brand-name drug costs in the Medicare Part D “doughnut hole” halved.
72,400 small businesses could be helped by a small business tax credit to make premiums more affordable.
The report also notes that if we do nothing, by 2019 the number of uninsured people will grow by more than 30 percent in 29 states and by at least 10 percent in every state. Without reform, the amount of uncompensated care provided will more than double in 45 states. Additionally, businesses in 27 states will see their premiums more than double and fewer people will have coverage through an employer if the status quo continues.
Our friends over at Media Matters Action Network put together a highlight reel from yesterday's rally against health insurance reform. Check it out below:
With a vote on health care legislation in the House expected this weekend, Organzing for America is encouraging folks to call their members of Congress in support of reform. If you haven't called before, call now. If you've called before, call again and encourage your friends to join you.
A new ad from MoveOn.org shows actress Heather Graham as the public option, forcing “lazy, bloated” private insurance companies to get back in the race and compete.
“Insurance companies have gotten lazy, bloated from the profits of raising our health care costs sky high while the health care crisis keeps getting worse. A public health insurance option is the key to quality affordable care for Americans. And over 70 percent of Americans want the public option. Some in Washington say this is unfair competition. But competition is as American as apple pie.”
Families USA released a report today that has hit the Star Tribune on the 45,000+ Minnesotans that have now lost their health insurance by losing their jobs. This is quite a scary number, and it certainly points to the need to reform our broken insurance system. However, there is a line in the Star Tribune story on this report that would almost slip by you if you weren't careful. It both points to the need for health insurance reform AND the positive effects of a program designed to take care of those who need it the most...lets see if we can pick it out:
The states with the biggest losses are California (661,600), Texas (396,900), Florida (297,600), New York (253,100) and North Carolina (184,700). By contrast, the number of uninsured children stayed stable due to public coverage for children through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.
Find it? Right after listing the hundreds of thousands of people who are newly uninsured, the story notes that children in these families have not suffered the same fate. The reason? Super socialist/evil/mean government run health insurance! This is not really surprising for supporters, that is why it was developed and passed in the first place. However on a political level, with regards to the current reform effort, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the government program that uses tobacco taxes to pay for health care for poor and working poor children (in brief), is particularly useful for us to look at, because this program was just enhanced and expanded at the start of this year after George W Bush and Republicans had blocked and watered down parts of the legislation in 2007. Despite this program's obvious success and the essential service it provides, the program has been hammered with the same attacks being shouted against President Obama's current reform efforts.
Just take a look at some of the crazy conservative Republicans like Michele Bachmann have talked about this program, which is now preventing millions of children from suffering the same fate as their parents in going uninsured, I promise you'll recognize a few:
"[B]ecause now President Obama even voted for the SCHIP bill, which we all know will now for the first time swing the door wide open for illegal aliens. I know one thing: The people in my district are not interested in paying for the health care for illegal aliens that are coming across our border to be yet one more magnet to bring people in that should come here legally." (Michele Bachmann, from Minnesota Independent, 3/18/09)
Rep. King of Iowa introduced a new acronym for the program. He called it the, "“Socialized Clinton-style Hillarycare for Illegals and their Parents” (Think Progress, 10/18/07)
Rep. Tom Feeney of Florida had his own little acronym, "Socialized, Cuba-style Health care for Illegals and their Parents" (Think Progress, 10/18/07)
Both Bachmann and John Kline voted against this program a grand total of six times.
Yet none of these Glen Beck styled conspiracies about coverage for non-citizens, socialism running around lawless, a government takeover and the end of the private insurance market have come true. What has happened, though, is that millions of children are now getting access to the care that they need, staying out of expensive emergency room visits keeping costs down for everyone, and allowing their parents to sleep a little easier at night. Something that isn't happening for adults because of the powerful interests that have blocked reform in the past are gearing up to fight yet again.
The point is, folks, that all of the theatrics about the current reform effort are just the same old sick scam that conservative Republicans have trotted out against every reform effort that may dip in to insurance company profits, including successful ones like the State Children's Health Insurance Program. We need to extend the same access to all people that we fought so hard for to give to our children. Head over to our health care website and learn about past attempts to distract from and destroy reform, and then share it with your friends. If you're more the phone type, make a call to your legislator about the urgent need for real health insurance reform for all Americans.
Working families have been diligent in their fight for health care reform that includes a public option. With the Senate vote at hand, things are bound to move quickly through Congress this month.
That's why it is important that Senators Franken and Klobuchar hear from you TODAY so they get the message loud and clear for quality, affordable health care we can count on.
Tell our two senators that we can’t wait any longer for health care reform that:
* Controls costs and doesn’t tax our benefits.
* Provides guaranteed coverage to all Americans.
* Includes a public health insurance plan option.
* Holds insurance companies accountable.
* Requires all employers to pay their fair share.
Thank you for making the calls.
Minnesotans have been working together through the Health Care for America Now! coalition to build support for federal health care reform in Minnesota. They accomplish this through coordinated efforts to write and call legislators, as well as actions that escalate the awareness and need for reform now.
Doctors from all 50 states gathered at the White House yesterday to show their support for President Obama's health insurance reform plan. The first doctor interviewed in the video below is Dr. Nathan Bahr from St. Paul, who is the Minnesota State Director of Doctors for America, a grassroots groups of doctors who believe the American people deserve a better health system.
Dr. Bahr, who grew up in Caledonia, says that he become a doctor so that he could help people -- not to haggle with insurance companies about prices and coverage.
I'm working for reform for my patients and for every American; we deserve better. While some Americans can access wonderful healthcare, too many have no access at all or find out that they don't have enough coverage to pay for the care they need when it counts. I'm fighting for a system that allows me to be the doctor I strive to be. I want to supply great, efficient care to my patients without the very system I practice in interfering with my ability to do so.
Denise Cardinal sent out this email earlier in the week announcing Sick Scam, a a website dedicated to telling the truth about how the big insurance companies and their allies in Minnesota are working together to block reform.
Friend --
We are closer to real health care reform now than we have ever been, but conservative Republicans, their allies here in Minnesota, and the big insurance companies have spent the last few months trying every tactic they can think of to destroy President Obama's vision for reform and it's hitting home with some of our neighbors.
Wondering what you can do to help much-need health insurance reform get through Congress and on to the President's desk?
That's why we're launching Sick Scam, a website dedicated to telling the truth about how the big insurance companies and their allies in Minnesota are working together to block reform.
Check out the site and share the information with friends and neighbors about who's holding up the health insurance reform that all Americans, whether they have insurance or not, desperately need.
Sick Scam shows how insurance execs have been raking in millions in pay, conservative Republicans have been rolling in the campaign donations, and all the while 14,000 people a day have been losing their insurance.
Yesterday, around 150 Minnesotans gathered outside of UnitedHealth Group's headquarters in Minnetonka to protest the insurance industry's efforts to block health care reform while it continues to make record profits. The demonstration was part of a national day-of-action effort organized under the theme "Big Insurance: Sick of It."
MINNETONKA - When many Americans can’t afford basic health care, is one insurance company executive worth $744 million? That’s the question demonstrators asked Tuesday outside the headquarters of UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation’s largest insurers.
“We have a question for (United Health CEO) Stephen Hemsley,” said the Rev. Grant Stevensen. “How much is enough?”
In Minnesota, protests were held at UnitedHealth in Minnetonka and OptumHealth in Duluth. Minnesotans also participated in a rally at the Blue Cross Blue Shield offices in Fargo, N.D.
“We need to shed light on the fact the insurance companies are profiting on our losses,” said Laura Askelin, president of the Southeast Area Labor Council in Rochester. “They’re making money off sick and dying people.”
Our friends at the Minnesota AFL-CIO have a wrap-up of all the "Sick of It" events across the state, including video of many of the speakers.
Marchers carried seven hundred and forty-four green balloons emblazoned with white dollar signs--symbolic of the $744 million in unexercised stock options held by UnitedHealth CEO Stephen J. Hemsley. They performed an action in front of the UnitedHealth lobby that you can watch in the above video. In addition to the green balloons, MNA nurse Diane Johnson and ISIAIAH Pastor Grant Stevenson carried a blown up policy document, asking that Hemsley sign the pledge to support real health care reform. The pledge demands that UnitedHealth Group:
Not stand between a doctor and a patient when it comes to deciding what care that patient needs.
Not deny coverage or raise rates for individuals or businesses based on a pre-existing condition and end arbitrary caps on payments for necessary medical care.
Terminate any policy or incentive that rewards employees financially or otherwise for denying care and rejecting claims.
Not use any resources--including funds, employees, and facilities--to lobby against and oppose aspect of the health reform proposals supported by President Obama and being considered by members of the United States Congress, including but not limited to a national public health insurance option available on day one.
The corporate bureaucrat that met the group stated that she would review and show the demands to the CEO, but was unable to give a date in which UnitedHealth Group would give a response.
A short rally was held after the above events and you can view a slideshow of photos from it here.
You can track tweets from across the country about the Big Insurance: Sick of It campaign on Twitter, just use the hashtag #sickofit.
Igor Vovkovinskiy, the "World's Largest Obama Supporter" who got a shout out from President Obama during his visit to the Target Center earlier this month, says he owes his life to the government-run Medicare program, which provides insurance for the elderly and disabled.
Beyond a chance to see the president, Vovkovinskiy said he wanted to be there to support the call for health care reform.
Vovkovinskiy said he wouldn't be alive without the initial medical care the Mayo Clinic provided at no charge and the continued medical care funded by the federal Medicare program for the elderly and disabled. He worries about the people with fewer medical needs but no insurance.
"People should at least have the basics," he said.
One of the myths being spread by people who want to defeat health insurance reform is that, under current proposals, Americans wouldn't be able to get the coverage they need. That's simply not true.
The truth is, health care rationing does exist. Under the status quo, health insurance companies -- not you or your doctor -- decide what care you can and can't have. And these decisions aren't based on your doctor's diagnosis or the treatments you may need, instead, they're based on what kind of insurance you have.
Here's the truth about health insurance reform, as explained by President Obama:
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who accompanied President Obama on his trip to Minneapolis over the weekend, just released a new analysis of the latest Census numbers regarding the uninsured.
The results, which found that the number of uninsured jumped from 39.8 million in 2001 to 46.3 million in 2008, "only serve to further confirm a reality that far too many American families live with every days," says to Secretary Sebelius. "Our health care system has reached a breaking point. The status quo is unsustainable, and continuing to delay reform is not an option."
The status quo is not an option. The number of uninsured in Minnesota has increased from 370,000 in 2001 to 444,000 in 2008. The percent of non-elderly adults without insurance increased from 9.4% to 11.1%. And this number only considers people who are uninsured for an entire year – it does not include people in Minnesota who have more recently lost coverage through the recession, or who had shorter gaps in their coverage.
Private coverage is eroding under the status quo. The percentage of people with employer-based coverage decreased from 84.3 % of the population in 2001 to 76.8% in 2008.
More workers are being left without protection from health care costs. Too many workers in Minnesota do not have health coverage, at 290,000 in 2008. And the proportion of workers from Minnesota without insurance has increased, from 8.9% in 2001 to 10.6% in 2008.
The problem of the uninsured is a problem that crosses income brackets. The new Census numbers also drive home the fact that everyone in Minnesota is vulnerable to losing health insurance. An additional 12,000 from high-income households are now uninsured.
At the Target Center on Saturday, President Obama called for health insurance reform that brings stability and security to those with insurance and affordable coverage to those who don't, including the choice of a public health insurance option. But if we're going to make President Obama's vision a reality, we need to take action now. Populista over at the Minnesota Progressive Project explains how:
We are closer than ever to winning. 4 out of 5 congressional committees have passed health reform that meet the President's principles, hundreds of thousands of Americans have contacted their representatives for health reform in 2009, hundreds of thousands of Americans showed up at health townhalls this August and made suporters of reform outnumber the teagbaggers, 6905 have donated to representatives who stood up for the public option, and many more have taken action in other ways.
Health Care for America Now launched a new ad campaign today. The message? If the insurance companies win, you lose.
We’ll be doing national and DC television, plus print and online advertising targeted at Washington. Why so much beltway focus? To make sure lawmakers on Capitol Hill understand that there will be winners and losers in the health care debate and they have a choice to make between us and the insurance companies.
Minnesota was front-and-center in the health care debate this weekend, when CNN's State of the Union show, hosted by John King, broadcast live from the Minnesota State Fair.
King got right down to business, immediately asking Senator Amy Klobuchar if she supported a "trigger" mechanism for the public option, which would only "trigger" a public health insurance option if certain conditions weren't met by the private market after a certain time period had elapsed.
Senator Klobuchar indicated her openness to a trigger component to the public health insurance option, but made it clear that competition would be the main goal of any legislation:
You know, I'd want to see what those triggers are, what the benchmarks are. Because when I get around our state, talk to, like, a small business, a backpack company up in Two Harbors, a guy there owns a company, $24,000 a year he's paying for his family of four, and he says he wouldn't even have started the company 15 years ago if he knew that.
So what I want to see is something where small businesses, self- employed, small businesses are paying 20 percent more than people who work at big corporations, that they have a chance to buy into something. And certainly it's worth looking at, but we have to push competition. We have to do a better job of putting some rules on the insurance companies.
So I think a combination of pushing on with some competition, whether it's some kind of a public option, or any kind of a push, and also have those kinds of rules. We need to do something, and that's a consensus I see developing.
While Klobuchar's overarching goal in terms of health insurance reform seems to be making the market more competitive, supporting a "trigger" for a public health insurance option doesn't make sense. I'll let Senator Chuck Schumer explain why (emphasis in the original):
Some who have been skeptical of a public plan have been calling for a "trigger," that would introduce a public plan some time down the road if certain conditions were met. Today's report blow away the idea that we should wait for a trigger. Today's report seems to suggest that any reasonable criteria for triggering a public plan has already been met.
After all, if we were to write a trigger into comprehensive health care reform, what would it look like? The main criteria would be market share and premium price. This report today shows that in many states, both conditions have already been met. Premiums are high, and either one or two insurers dominate the market. As we've seen with Medicare part D, a trigger option has so far meant no public option at all.
Every day,190 Minnesotans lose their health insurance.
Two health insurance companies control 76% of the of health insurance market in the stat.
Minnesota has seen a 20% rise in the number of uninsured during this same period. But having coverage doesn't mean you're without worry. The average Minnesota family pays $400 in higher premium costs because of a broken health care system that costs the American economy between $124 billion and $248 billion in lost productivity this year alone due to the almost 52 million uninsured Americans who live shorter lives and have poorer health.
As Senator Schumer said, it doesn't make much sense to include a trigger for a public health insurance option when all the trigger conditions have already been met.
Our friends at the Minnesota AFL-CIO blog posted an update from the recent Health Care for America Now! event in Plymouth which drew over 250 supporters of health insurance reform.
Before and after the event, activists were encouraged to visit tables set up around the room to write letters and make phone calls to members of Congress. Rep. Ellison called upon Minnesotans to contact President Obama before next Wednesday so he hears the strong support for the public option. Congress returns to Washington next week and will be addressed by President Obama in a joint session on Wednesday night.
Earlier today, the White House launched a new online quiz to help set the record straight abouth health insurance reform. By answering a few simple yes-or-no questions (like "What is your age range?" and "Are you self-employed?") the "What's In Reform for You" Quiz will let you know exactly what's in health insurance reform for you and your family.
There are only 5 developed nations that have worse life expectancy than the United States, and those nations all spend 8 percent or less of their GDP on health care. This comes from Jeff Rosenberg’s analysis of the OECD’s data on health care spending (see the graph on the left-the United States is the red dot). Nations that spend more on health care should see better results than those that spend less. We spend way more on health care then any other developed nation, but we see worse results.
How are we spending so much on health care without the expected results? Many Americans simply don’t have access to the care that they need, which is definitely the case for some people in Minnesota. This forces these people to try and tough it out until they are too sick and need to go to the emergency room.
Sometimes I think we get lost in the numbers, so here is a story about what our current health care system is failing to do in Minnesota. MinnPost reported on Monday that uninsured children will now have access to dental services thanks to a 40-foot mobile dental vehicle. They will now be able to access the kind of care that will hopefully prevent them from needing major, expensive dental work in the future.
The 40-foot vehicle has two dental stations for hygiene and restorative work, and a reception station. It will provide exams, cleanings, fluoride treatments, sealants, X-rays, fillings and extractions, along with dental education.
It will travel to schools, churches, public health and community centers in the 13-county metro area, to serve children who would otherwise receive limited or no dental care.
These kids can only see a dentist when the vehicle stops in their area. This is simply unacceptable, and is one more sign our health care system isn’t working. We spend tons of money on health care, and these Minnesotans kids can’t even go to the dentist.
Many more Minnesotans are applying for the state’s insurance plan, MinnesotaCare, in the hopes of having some coverage. The number of applicants for MinnesotaCare has increased by 25 percent so far this year, according to the Star Tribune. Because of the weak economy, employers have been forced to drop coverage or shift costs onto their employees. Because so many people have applied, the department has even hired more workers.
Our health care system is broken. We should not be spending nearly 16 percent of our GDP for a health system that doesn’t provide high quality results and care. Children should not have to wait for a mobile dentist’s office to come to their county to get their teeth cleaned. What we need is a health care system that guarantees quality, affordable health care system for all Americans. Sign this Health Care for America Now petition to voice your support for health care reform.
This morning I met with Angela, one of ABM's Twitter followers, in the library at St. Cloud State University. Angela is a graduate student at SCSU and took a few minutes out of what-must-be a busy week before school starts, to share her story with the Make Minnesota Thrive Drive.
Like Francis -- the student we spoke to in Moorhead -- Angela said she struggles to make ends meet following years and years of tuition and fee increases. What's most striking, she said, is that college students at Minnesota state colleges are paying the same amount in tuition as she paid for private college tuition. Many of her peers, Angela added, are constantly worrying about how they're going to pay for another semester's tuition and that affects their studies. To make sure she pays for school and makes her loan payments on time, Angela has moved back in with her parents and borrowed money from them. Most students don't have that option, she added.
But it's not just tuition and fee increases that are affecting college students. Angela shared the story of one of her friends, a fellow graduate student, who is a brilliant researcher, but who struggles with depression. Angela's friend is on MinneostaCare, and wouldn't be able to afford her medication (upwards of $200 a month!) if not for the coverage it provides. When she heard about Governor Tim Pawlenty's plans to cut GAMC funding and force 30,000 Minnesotans off of MinnesotaCare, she began to fear that she would no longer be able to afford to treat her depression.
Check out the video below. We'll have more of our interview with Angela soon.
SAINT PAUL -- Alliance for a Better Minnesota is hosting a media call tomorrow, August 20th, with Paul Begala, former Clinton advisor and national pundit, to talk about Minnesota's unique role in the health insurance reform debate.
In Minnesota, and nationwide, radical right-wing rage is occupying the front pages, websites and nightly broadcast of media outlets nationwide. Begala will discuss the problems with this right-wing strategy, his experience, and the next chapter in the move to health insurance reform with a Minnesota perspective.
The call is open to Minnesota-based media and bloggers.
For dial-in information, contact Denise Cardinal, ABM Executive Director at denise@allianceminnesota.org. (TV stations wanting an on-camera interview can contact Denise).
WHAT: Minnesota Conference Call With Paul Begala on Health Insurance Reform
WHEN: THURSDAY, August 20th, 10:30 a.m. Central Time
Alliance for a Better Minnesota (ABM) is a nonprofit organization that educates the public about the negative effects of certain policies, politicians and organizations on their quality of life using earned, paid and new media techniques. The ABM home base is a state-of-the-art website designed and maintained by Blue State Digital through the national ProgressNow network of organizations.
Economics Debts Combining Tips | Posts with the tag Health Care Reform
One entity that some people do, who reach themselves swimming in a
association of nix but horrible debt, is obtain a deb...
Read more | Comments (0)
Politics or People? | Posts with the tag Health Care Reform
Yesterday, we sent this email out to Alliance for a Better
Minnesota members in hopes that Minnesota Republicans would s...
Read more | Comments (0)
A new study by the Commonwealth Fund and the Center for American Progress Action Fund estimates that health care reform legislation will lead to greater savings than the Congressional Budget Office had predicted. While the CBO does not score savings from prevention, modernization, and payment reform, this study uses a more inclusive analysis, according to the 
This morning I met with Angela, one of ABM's 
Posts
