Mid-Michigan Coalition for Health Care Reform (MidMcHCR) is working to influence Congress to pass National Health Care Reform legislation that expands and improves upon the Medicare model as an option for all Americans. A program modeled on Medicare that included prevention would cost less than our present system, provide a choice of programs and cover everyone. We seek to inform our community about health care issues, organize and promote local events and activities and encourage citizens to communicate with Congress and the media through phone calls, emails, letters, petitions, newspapers, blogs, personal networks and personal visits.
Anyone can read and comment on our blog. If you wish to be authorized to post entries, please email me at whitetigerspaceATgmail.com with your real name, phone number and email address and I will add you as a blog author which will allow you to initiate posts.
Thanks, Ramona = the white tiger
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
BC/BS sued for engaging in "life threatening business practices"
Urgency of public option: BC/BS sued for engaging in "life threatening business practices"
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/7/23/756690/-Urgency-of-public-option:-BC-BS-sued-for-engaging-in-life-threatening-business-practices
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/7/23/756690/-Urgency-of-public-option:-BC-BS-sued-for-engaging-in-life-threatening-business-practices
NPR shines harsh light on Baucus
NPR had a relatively objective and therefore devastating item on Max this afternoon. Covered his close ties with health industry lobbyists and the big bucks he gets from the industry. One point they made: only 13 percent of his campaign contributions come from inside his home state, Montana, more than 50 percent from special interests. Another point: Five of his former staffers, including two former chiefs of staff, are now lobbyists for the industry.
From the NPR report:
Paul Blumenthal, a writer for the nonpartisan watchdog the Sunlight Foundation, mapped Baucus' network of influence. (You can see the "Baucus influence map" at left).
"We have Max Baucus, who represents a single node, as the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee," Blumenthal explains. On his computer screen, lines radiate from Baucus to five of his former Senate staffers. Two of them served as chief of staff to Baucus, the top job in his Senate office.
All five now lobby Congress for various interests. Among their clients: drugmakers Wyeth, Merck, Amgen and AstraZeneca, plus the third-largest corporation in the world, Wal-Mart.
They don't stop with Baucus. They use him as an example of Congress' conflicts of interest:
Backing up the access is money — and that puts Baucus at the heart of Congress' ethical conflict.
Baucus And Fundraising
Lawmakers have two constituencies: one, the voters back home; the other, the people and interests that finance much of their re-election campaigns. These donors often live out of state.
When Baucus ran for his sixth term last year, his campaign raised $11.6 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Nearly half of the funds came from out-of-state donors, including millions from health care and other industries overseen by Finance and Baucus' other committees.
Just 13 percent of Baucus' re-election funds came from Montana donors.
In all, it is great to listen to.
Listen here.
http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=106655060&m=106894646
From the NPR report:
Paul Blumenthal, a writer for the nonpartisan watchdog the Sunlight Foundation, mapped Baucus' network of influence. (You can see the "Baucus influence map" at left).
"We have Max Baucus, who represents a single node, as the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee," Blumenthal explains. On his computer screen, lines radiate from Baucus to five of his former Senate staffers. Two of them served as chief of staff to Baucus, the top job in his Senate office.
All five now lobby Congress for various interests. Among their clients: drugmakers Wyeth, Merck, Amgen and AstraZeneca, plus the third-largest corporation in the world, Wal-Mart.
They don't stop with Baucus. They use him as an example of Congress' conflicts of interest:
Backing up the access is money — and that puts Baucus at the heart of Congress' ethical conflict.
Baucus And Fundraising
Lawmakers have two constituencies: one, the voters back home; the other, the people and interests that finance much of their re-election campaigns. These donors often live out of state.
When Baucus ran for his sixth term last year, his campaign raised $11.6 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Nearly half of the funds came from out-of-state donors, including millions from health care and other industries overseen by Finance and Baucus' other committees.
Just 13 percent of Baucus' re-election funds came from Montana donors.
In all, it is great to listen to.
Listen here.
http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=106655060&m=106894646
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Big Pharma Cash Cow
The companies that make up the pharmaceutical industry are among the largest corporations in the world. In 2004 their combined global sales were over half a trillion dollars, with Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson leading the pack. Together, these businesses have come to be known as Big Pharma.
Between 1996 and 2004, industry spending on Direct ot Consumer Advertising (or DTC) rose over 500 percent. In this new landscape, the most vital question for American consumers is this: How might the influence of one of the most powerful for-profit industries in the world affect the way we think about our health and well-being?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOHNYHVEJkg&feature=related
Between 1996 and 2004, industry spending on Direct ot Consumer Advertising (or DTC) rose over 500 percent. In this new landscape, the most vital question for American consumers is this: How might the influence of one of the most powerful for-profit industries in the world affect the way we think about our health and well-being?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOHNYHVEJkg&feature=related
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Silencing Single Payer-Call to Action
Reforming the dysfunctional U.S. healthcare system is a major issue in the news these days. The goal of the reform efforts, we're told, is to expand coverage to the uninsured and to reduce costs. But what many experts and citizens see as the most sensible solution to these problems is kept out of the discussion by the corporate media.S
Single-payer national health insurance is a model in which healthcare delivery would remain largely private but would be paid for by a single federal health insurance fund (much like Medicare provides for seniors). Single-payer is favored by a majority of Americans and physicians, according to recent polls (New York Times/CBS, 1/11-15/09, Annals of Internal Medicine, 4/1/08).
Yet a recent study by FAIR found that of hundreds of stories about healthcare in major outlets earlier this year, only five stories included the views of advocates of single-payer--none of which appeared on the TV networks. In May, news coverage of the arrests of single-payer advocates showed that practically the only way to get single-payer mentioned in the corporate media is to get thrown out of Senate hearings.
Let's send a message to the networks: The insurance lobbies and many politicians don't want to talk about single-payer. But that makes it all the more important that the media do. Sign our petition to ABC, CBS and NBC, demanding that single-payer be a part of their coverage of the healthcare debate. Add your name below to lend your voice to this effort to broaden the debate over the broken U.S. healthcare system.
Watch youtube video and then go to http://www.fair.org/ to sign a petition to tell the media to include Single Payer in the health care debate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wOz23QZmqs
Single-payer national health insurance is a model in which healthcare delivery would remain largely private but would be paid for by a single federal health insurance fund (much like Medicare provides for seniors). Single-payer is favored by a majority of Americans and physicians, according to recent polls (New York Times/CBS, 1/11-15/09, Annals of Internal Medicine, 4/1/08).
Yet a recent study by FAIR found that of hundreds of stories about healthcare in major outlets earlier this year, only five stories included the views of advocates of single-payer--none of which appeared on the TV networks. In May, news coverage of the arrests of single-payer advocates showed that practically the only way to get single-payer mentioned in the corporate media is to get thrown out of Senate hearings.
Let's send a message to the networks: The insurance lobbies and many politicians don't want to talk about single-payer. But that makes it all the more important that the media do. Sign our petition to ABC, CBS and NBC, demanding that single-payer be a part of their coverage of the healthcare debate. Add your name below to lend your voice to this effort to broaden the debate over the broken U.S. healthcare system.
Watch youtube video and then go to http://www.fair.org/ to sign a petition to tell the media to include Single Payer in the health care debate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wOz23QZmqs
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Assessing a "Public Option" for Health Care
This week on the JOURNAL, Bill Moyers spoke with Wendell Potter, a former health insurance executive who left the industry to become an advocate for health care reform. Potter discussed the industry’s history of denying care to members and its extensive efforts to prevent the federal government from creating a “public option” for health insurance to compete with private plans.
Click link to read complete article:
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2009/07/assessing_a_public_option_for.html
Click link to read complete article:
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2009/07/assessing_a_public_option_for.html
BILL MOYERS JOURNAL
BILL MOYERS JOURNAL Preview: Wendell Potter pt 2 PBS
Source: www.youtube.com
Health insurance companies vs. Michael Moore. Bill Moyers interviews former health insurance industry executive Wendell Potter, who left the field after almost 20 years to become a health reform advocate. ...
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=112959887358&h=goA5F&u=XqHEx&ref=mf
Source: www.youtube.com
Health insurance companies vs. Michael Moore. Bill Moyers interviews former health insurance industry executive Wendell Potter, who left the field after almost 20 years to become a health reform advocate. ...
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=112959887358&h=goA5F&u=XqHEx&ref=mf
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