Healthcare reform vigil tonight

Geeky Swedes Ballard

More than 350 vigils are planned across the country this evening to raise awareness about healthcare reform, including one at Ballard Commons Park. MoveOn.org and several other groups are organizing the vigils to show support for a public health insurance option. “This is an important community event that is intended to put the focus of the health care reform debate back where it belongs, on real people who are suffering under the current broken health care system.,” Jo Ardinger emailed us. “Vigil participants will light candles, hold pictures, and share the names and stories of those suffering under the current health care system. At the Ballard vigil, participants will add their photos and stories to a large wall to demonstrate the desperate need for a real public health insurance option,” the press advisory states. We’re told that more than 150 people have registered for the Ballard vigil that starts tonight at 7 p.m.

Geeky Swedes

The founders of My Ballard

65 thoughts to “Healthcare reform vigil tonight”

  1. Where's the vigil for people who want strict cost control and rationing including in that public plan? You know, no triple bypass surgeries on-demand if you think a Big Mac is good breakfast food.

  4. No, if I go, I'll light a candle for my 35 year old friend who was insured, but had her policy rescinded when she was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer.

    Or maybe I'll light one for my wife whose is expecting, and think of her cousin who is covered by the NHS, and has had 2 children, plus a weekly visit from a neonatal nurse at no cost – all expenses covered.

  5. “plus a weekly visit from a neonatal nurse at no cost – all expenses covered.”

    No cost to her you mean, someone paid. If you want to pay 50% taxes like my Brit friends do, be my guest.

  6. Fact is, we're going to get reform, but not a massive, government run, single payer, entitlement program. That's why I voted for Obama, he's a moderate.

  8. 50% !! I used to live and work in the UK for 20 years and the income tax is 20% for basic rate and a maximum of 40% if you earn more than 40grand. Get your facts right.

    The NHS is great. It is there if you need it, plus if you still want private health care you have that option too (BUPA) and it is cheap because it competes along side the 'free' NHS.

    It is a riduculous scheme here in the USA as it is, the insurance companies should absolutely not be allowed to make the profits they do. It's not the Health care that needs fixing but the insurance companies!!

  9. ” maximum of 40% if you earn more than 40grand. Get your facts right. “

    You forget VAT, council taxes and all the other fees you get knicked with in the UK. And if you think paying 40% BASE income tax on $40K a year is a deal, move back.

  10. Yes, the bill in the house is not single payer. Still, if there is no “public option” among the exchanges offered, there will be no real reform, as insurances companies will continue to set prices high.

  11. “It's not the Health care that needs fixing but the insurance companies!!”

    Not true, both need fixing. There has to be strict cost controls. 75% of the US health care budget is spent on chronic, preventable diseases: diabetes, heart disease, hypertension. Until Americans take responsibility for their own health, all bets are off.

  12. “strict cost control and rationing….” we have that today, but the savings are passed on to shareholders at the expense of the sick.

  14. Interesting concept. I don't think the national health care has worked out so swell in Canada, BTW. I'd be interested to know IF people at Group Health, for example, use it more, because once you've joined, the services are “free.” (my experiences with Group Health were not positive.) It's been my experience that people I know who use it are constantly in the ER for headaches, colds, etc. I wasn't a fan…they seem to do almost anything to avoid giving the patient actual care. They don't call it “Group Death” for nothing.Your mileage may vary.

    We need insurance reform. I used to be that if you had double coverage, through a spouse, the secondary insurance wuold pick up the rest of the bill. No more. Example:
    Cost of surgery- $10,000
    Primary insurance coverage- 75% of “usual fees”, ie: $7500
    Secondary insurance- 75% of “usual fees= net $0.
    Secondary insurace coverage- 80%- ie: 5% difference-$500
    Cost to insuree- $2500-$2000

    Previously-
    Cost of surgery $10,000
    Primary insurace coverage of 75%=7500
    Secondary insurance coverage of 75%- would pick up the other $2500
    Cost to insuree- $0.

    And it's not like you have a choice, generally, if you are married and both are insured through a job.

    Those days are long gone. The “usual fees” are what kills you. Say your doctor orders a procedure that costs $500, but your insurance company says that they pay $75 for that procedure. You Are Screwed. Apparently, the vast majority of bankruptcy proceedings in this country are not from credit card bills as popularly supposed, but from medical hills.

    I agree, Teddie- no more liver transplants for alcoholics. I myself am hoping for a heart attack before our health/insurance system fails completely. I totally dodged a bullet recently by not having surgery- the cost could be between $25,00-$50,000. My out of pocket could have been anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000. …and I have insurance.

    Even more frighening is the fact that the top end of the “Baby Boomer” generation is now going to be on Medicare soon. I expect that system to fail completely before I reach that age.

    Is there any country that has a health plan that actually works?

  16. This is about the sanctity of human life. Sure, many people make bad choices, but access to healthcare is a not a reward for living well. Access to healthcare is a fundamental right, and should be recognized as such today.

  17. “Access to healthcare is a fundamental right”

    Not according to the constitution, but I digress.

    I'm all for universal coverage but the simple fact is Americans take appalling care of themselves and then expect others to pick up the tab. 75% of medical costs in the US are directly caused by people's lousy lifestyles.

  20. Its pretty simple really. Insurance companies run for profit, they seek to make money for their shareholders. As for rationing, thats a fact of life, public or private. There is only so much to go around

  22. I'll light a candle for my friend who was basically kille d by Group Health. Had a baby…and kept having bleeding. Trip after trip to GH, where the nurse practitioner said it was normal post-natal bleeding. She never even got a pelvic exam for @6 months….because it wasn't “scheduled.” When she finally did get to see an actual doctor, she was diagnosed with uterine cancer. After removing pretty much all of her internal organs, she died. Start to finish, a little over a year.

  25. Lifestyle choices won't fix anything like all cases of diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. For instance, a good ten percent of diabetes is type 1, and given that most type 1 diabetics are diagnosed in childhood or adolescence, they loom much larger than 10% in terms of the amount spent on their treatment over the years. In addition, the way the insurance industry is set up, many people with chronic health problems get only intermittent emergency care, which is in general far more expensive than having them see doctors more regularly would be.

  27. I think you may need to do a little more reading than just the New Yorker. We are giving $170 Billion to insurance companies now. We are currently spending, I believe, over 2 Trillion in healthcare that doesn't treat people. Please read more than just articles here and there when making these kind of comments. Maybe try reading even just the links in the post.

  28. Here's what alarms me: there are diseases such as SARS, swine flu, etc. that can spread very quickly in this age of cheap jet travel and international trade. The people in the ideal position to spread these diseases are quite often the people with the least access to healthcare: restaurant workers, retail workers, and others whose jobs involve daily contact with large numbers of the public. These people usually have minimal (if any) healthcare insurance AND work for pretty low hourly wages. When they develop the sniffles staying home as the health officials advise simply isn't an economic option for them so they go to work and contaminate who knows how many people in the process. By the time they're so sick as to crawl into an ER they've already done untold damage. If these people had healthcare coverage they could go to a doctor and get treated before infecting large numbers of people. However, that's considered a bad thing by many people. Apparently a pandemic is cheaper to deal with. Go figure.

    PS – Don't forget that we live in a port city that is also home to an international airport. That makes us an ideal entry point for any new disease.

  29. Healthcare isn't a right. Owning a high powered rifle, no questions asked however is. Hey, we have to keep our priorities straight, right? Having guns is far more important than having health care. After all, if you don't have a gun you won't be able to stop the government black helicopters when they come to get you. That's WAY more important than not suffering a slow death from disease.

  30. Our health care shoud have government involvement, It shoulf be based on ability to pay on a sliding scale. if you can pay for private ins fine, but if your income level is very low you should get it for free. Maybe any family of 4 making less than 50,000, should get a government voucher to help pay. I am not sure of what the actual income levels shoud be but that could be worked out. There aint no free lunch.

  35. Really, I work hard and make more than 50k, why can't I have free healthcare? My neighbors who work part-time (on purpose) would get freebies but not me? I'm not interested in giving free-rides to low-ballers with kids they can't afford.

  37. “Not according to the constitution, but I digress.”

    The Constitution isn't written in stone. Pick up a history book sometime and you'll see it's been amended numerous times.

  38. Tell me genius, how exactly do you propose doing that? Again, these people don't see doctors precisely because they lack healthcare. If they're not seen by a doctor how will you know to quarantine them?? Also how do you propose paying for that since you're so opposed to taxes??

    BTW, infant mortality in Cuba is better than that in the USA. That's not a number made up by some lefty loon like Michael Moron or Sean Penn. That comes from our very own CIA. Personally, I think it's pretty sad when Cuba can do anything better than the USA.

  39. The two things I find most interesting in this whole debate:
    1) The people who say they're against government healthcare but still receive Medicare. These people are either hypocrites or idiots (maybe both).

    2) People say they're against government healthcare but don't demand smaller fire department budgets. In most cities 75% or more of the 911 calls are medical related. Paramedics are pretty much government paid healthcare by definition. Why don't people whine about that?

    3) People are for private health insurance but have no issue with paying the government to run fire departments. If the idea of a private fire department sounds crazy to you I suggest you pick up a history book. Up until the 1860s private fire insurance and private fire brigades were the norm in many cities. If your house caught on fire and you didn't have an insurance plaque on your door then the private fire brigades let your house burn. Sort of like our healthcare system: get sick but don't have insurance? Tough luck.

    While we're at it, let's do away with other government services such as schools, libraries, and the mail. Why not allow the glorious free market to come up with cheaper and more efficient options to these bloated government entities? After all, our wonderful free market system has given us a healthcare system that is higher quality and lower cost than any other nation on Earth, right?

  40. Who said this was the only article I read? It just happens to be the only one I linked to, but maybe you're too dumb to see the difference.

    FYI I guess you didn't hear that Obama was talking about this article he was so impressed….?

  41. I agree that many problems in this country are directly related to the inability of people to eat right and get their big fat asses off the sofa.

    That said, the notion that the fat and lazy cost more is questionable at best. While people who have heart attacks and diabetes due to their lack of personal control cost more in the short term they also die at a younger age which means they cost less over their lifetime than the more physically fit.

    Here's a link to a peer reviewed study: http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10…
    Excerpt:
    “Until age 56 y, annual health expenditure was highest for obese people. At older ages, smokers incurred higher costs. Because of differences in life expectancy, however, lifetime health expenditure was highest among healthy-living people and lowest for smokers. Obese individuals held an intermediate position. “

    and

    “Obesity prevention may be an important and cost-effective way of improving public health, but it is not a cure for increasing health expenditures.”

    Buy hey, I'm sure you know more than a bunch of epidemiologists, right?

  45. Millions and Millions… BILLIONS go to fighting ghosts… and cleaning up collateral damage… and the VA.

    Speaking of which the VA is publicly funded.

    So are Fire Departments.

  46. Ahh, butter not guns. Shame Obama is intent on not cutting defense spending or visualizing world peace anytime soon.

    Bet the looney left is pissssssed at him for being a centrist. How does it feel, do you all feel dirty and used?

  47. Better than the alternative by far. Disappointing that he's busy trying to include people who would sooner spit on him than work with him.

    It's no secret we (USA) spend a shitload on defense that is entirely unnecessary. Education is necessary… buy hey, an educated populace might actually read the Constitution and Bill of Rights and find they are being snookered.

  48. the people on medicare/medicaid/schip are worried that this program is going to divert funds from their already underfunded and nearly insolvent program.

  49. Coops such as Group Health are actually what the GOP and conservatives are trying to sell right now. Group Health is one of the least affordable plans I am offered where I work. If GH is the best example the GOP can offer us we are in serious trouble….wait we are already.

    The US should be embarrassed by our healthcare system. Both Cuba and El Salvador have lower infant mortality rates. Really we have a lot to be embarrassed about. American Exceoptionalism is a myth.

  51. By not allowing private insurance companies to deny coverage, by requiring everyone to have coverage, by putting caps on what private insurance companies can charge, etc., etc. Basically follow the German model. BTW, the German model is NOT a government run plan. People in Germany have private insurance. Difference is the insurance companies don't get to do whatever they want to screw people over in the name of profits.

  52. Answer my question: do you favor getting rid of socialist Medicare? Do you favor getting rid of the socialist fire departments we have? If not, why is that different than having a government healthcare plan?

    You keep pissing and moaning but I've yet to hear you offer a solution. Of course I've also yet to hear you offer an original thought beyond the usual right wing paranoia and babble.

  56. Did anyone else go to the vigil last evening? As I recall there were 100 people signed up and a goodly number of those actually showed up. The woman who organized the vigil did an outstanding job and we had the opportunity to hear the personal stories from many. It's very sad IMO that those kinds of things can happen in this country.

    A fellow from the UK happened to be at the park with his dog and volunteered to answer questions. He did so with great good humor. A couple Q&As I remember were:
    Q – Does anyone go bankrupt in the UK due to healthcare costs?
    A – No
    Q – What about “preexisting conditions?
    A – He hadn't even heard the term before he came to the US. Everyone has healthcare in the UK.

    He remarked that their system is not perfect but then no system is. After 50-60 years it could use a tuneup but by and large it works quite well and most people are satisfied with it. Private insurance is still available for those who can afford to pay more.

    He also mentioned that it was the US which enabled the British to establish the NHS by loaning them the money. In 1946 when the NHS was established England had been devastated by the war. That loan was finally paid off in 2006.

    It's interesting to me that the US could help a war torn country rebuild but we've not been able to help ourselves to establish a decent healthcare system for everyone here.

  57. I think you may be too dumb to understand the issues. I did not say that the article was bad, just that you need to get your facts straight before you start spouting off like you might actually know something.

  58. I was there and thought what he said was very interesting. Especially when the question was asked about medical in our auto insurance. That was one area I had not thought of for saving everyone who drives money.

    If we are not a smart enough country to take what other countrys have done and learn from their mistakes and make ours better, then we are in a sad state of affairs.

    The only good that would come out of not getting this done would be that in the next few years those opposed will not be able to afford the insurance they have now. That is if they live long enough.

    nwcitizen, I was really sad about the woman there who pays over $2k a month for health insurance and needs a new heart but her insurance won't let her on the transplant list because she can't afford her portion. For the rest of you that didn't hear her story, she had one insurance that would not pay. They told her she had to get a second insurance to deny her so the gov't would pay. She is now paying for the second insurance too and now has to wait 2 more years until she is old enough for Medicare to pay for it, if she lives that long. This is a Ballard resident that attended, not a friend of a friend but one of our own.

  59. Dear No!

    You're an idiot. Not only do YOU pay for YOUR gun but so do I and every single other taxpayer, you moron! Where do you think the money comes from to pay for all the cops you have to deal with gun violence? Where do you think the money comes from to pay for the ATF? Seriously, you don't know what you're talking about. All taxpayers pay a price for our right to own firearms. If you don't believe that you're an idiot.

    PS – I saw that as a gun owner and someone opposed to gun bans.

  60. You silly, silly, silly Obama lap-dogs.

    It's not like Canada, and the UK (et al) have magical money — rules of economics that don't apply here. In fact, those other fabulous countries DON'T have universal, government supplied healthcare. (Sorry to burst your idealistic bubbles).

    Canadian healthcare is funded substantially (30%) by private party insurance generated by people who are scared to death to be stuck with gov't insurance. Oh those enlightened Canadians, whose courts recently stopped a privately-owned medical clinic for charging patients who wanted to receive private care. (Do you really want a system that doesn't respect the right for people to exchange legal services?)

    And the wonderful NHS in the UK. Healthcare isn't a “right” there either. Healthcare is simply the universal rationing of services, often with terrible consequences. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/249938.stm

    Just because someone opposes this government heist attempt, doesn't mean they are “anti-reform.”

    We just don't like being robbed.

  61. “Is there any country that has a health plan that actually works?”

    Yes. Almost all of them. It's really shocking to come back to the US after seeing what the rest of the civilized world has.

  62. If you add up all our taxes we're not that far off. Add in the cost difference in the healthcare that we get, the tuition differences of most developed countries, and we're not getting any kind of deal at all.
    A typical middle class worker in the EU doesn't have six figures of student loans and a few hundred a month in health care insurance expenses.

  64. This Health Care bill, which may become law, would go about “rewriting the constitution”. That's how it works, we as a society write laws and amend the constitution over time.

  65. reminder that the goverment's been running health care for many years in Medicaid and the VA. This bill would expand that kind of coverage.

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