The Numbers Of Our Healthcare Crisis Show Why we need Public Option ( Use this Information)

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Thousands lined up last month standing in the night waiting for care at RAM Event in LA. This has been repeated around the country at every RAM event, at fairgrounds and Gyms. As amazing as Stan Brock and RAM are, this is not the way we should be providing care to people...but it does show how big a problem we have.
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We are the only advanced democracy on Earth – the only wealthy nation – that allows such hardships for millions of its people. There are now more than 30 million American citizens who cannot get coverage. In just a two-year period, one in every three Americans goes without healthcare coverage at some point. And every day, 14,000 Americans lose their coverage. In other words, it can happen to anyone.
President Obama to Joint Session 9.10.09
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We have heard many people blamed for this Healthcare Crisis. People that are losing Insurance or losing Care should not be blamed. We should be calling DC, especially our Reps and Senators because the DC Bubble is shielding them from listening or talk to Real People Losing Care. The People who are really responsible for the Mess, are the Insurance Execs and we need to remind their employees that their Boss is making 120,000 in an hour? There is Greed and Gluttony at the Top and it is even hurting their own Employees.

This greed is sadly also effecting decision making skills and judgement in DC. Has anyone asked if Wilson was "paid" to Disrupt the Speech the other Night. In a way he was - one of his biggest Contributors to his campaign is the Insurance Industry- more than 240,000. Money and gifts can cloud Judgement. And has money and greed also fed to this cycle of Hate and fearmongering ? And has it destroyed civil conversation and dilaogue ? Write to your Senators, reps and the Media, they all need to be educated on the Facts.
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There are some numbers we have not been told and have not even been discussed, and they should be. The Numbers alone tell WHY the costs are so astronomical and WHY the Current System is Broken.And why we have a Healthcare Crisis.Please do share them, please also send to the MSM, or when you write to Senators and DC and the Whitehouse.If you write your Senators and Reps Do it again,and forward a copy to the Whitehouse, and Do write to the Repugs and Bluedogs too.And do it NOW, Time is of the Essence.
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LET'S LOOK AT WHO HAS GOVERNMENT HEALTHCARE
Medicare 47 Million ( This number includes Disabled-early medicare as best as I can find)
Medicaid 48 Million ( This number includes working poor, impoverished families, and only lower level working poor).
VA 50 Million ( these are VET numbers, I am not sure if this number includes families and Military that is currently serving.)
( I went through Govt links- I will post at the end if anyone wants to see).
9 Million Children recieving SCHIP.
Another number we have not seen mentioned at all is how many people actually have Insurance through Federal Employment, numbers are 12.4 to 14 Million, This number has rarely been publicized, but Bush did increase and expand Federal Employees by thousands and is graphed at the BLS. ( ie the Homeland Security Dept ?)
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This means that currently over 168 Million have access to Government Managed Programs, and this does not even include the State Employees and their programs. With that many having access to such programs, why shouldn't small businesses and the UnInsured and UnderInsured have access to more affordable accessible care ?
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The Repugs and the Tea Party people keep saying that People Wanting Publicoption are in the Minority. That is not true, it turns out. It might actually be people with Insurance are in a Minority compared to people already accessing Government Insurance Plans. And sadly at this point the Repugs have shamed people without healthcare, so they are not comfortable to speak out in this current Hostile Climate that is filled with anger and hate.

According to New Census data released that does not have the the Economic DownFall Data, which President Obama admitted to the Nurses at his conference on Thursday is 6.6 Million, says that over 47 Million are Currently UnInsured. So that Number is Clearly over 50 Million Uninsured, at approximately 53 Million.

State Employee Numbers also have to be considered as they are people getting Government Healthcare, even though most states are currently struggling providing care to current employees and retirees under 65. The Bureau of Labor Statistics are updating all of their numbers this week, so I am having a hard time finding current numbers.

President Obama also said that the UnInsured numbers are still rising, with 17,000 a day losing care.( the previous number that had been researched was 14,000), That means that a HALF MILLION a month are losing Healthcare right now. That Means a year from now, the true Number of Uninsured Withhout Healthcare will be over 60 Million.The Number of People Losing Healthcare and Insurance is rising higher than the Unemployment Rate.

From the Speech:
Finally, our healthcare system is placing an unsustainable burden on taxpayers. When healthcare costs grow at the rate they have, it puts greater pressure on programs like Medicare and Medicaid. If we do nothing to slow these skyrocketing costs, we will eventually be spending more on Medicare and Medicaid than every other government program combined. Put simply, our healthcare problem is our deficit problem. Nothing else even comes close.

We have other numbers we have to consider, People losing Jobs and Homes have damaged credit, they too can not qualify for Insurance. Especially the people that have had to declare Bankruptcy due to medical debt ( the Number One cause of Bankruptcy is Medical Debt).People who are renting after such events, or struggling to find part time work have no money for Private Single Insurance Plans. The number of people on FoodStamps in the highest ever, over 35 Million, they too are working poor and have no money for Expensive Private Plans.

The dialogue on this issue has to be more focused on Working Poor, Poverty is an issue for people in that they can not afford to live. And the Repugs need to be schooled that the American People, even their Constituents are hurting, and among those numbers of Undermployed or Working poor. It is NOT just Democrats that need affordable Accessible Healthcare. And President Obama also pointed out that the Whitehouse is literally tracking Millions that are being denied care and losing care, we as a Nation Cannot turn out backs on Millions of people.22,000 People now are dying per year without healthcare , 179,000 Since 2001, Does Anyone really want to see how high that number can grow ?
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(1) Mortgage Crisis Numbers.
(2) WashPo. Article on Federal Employee Numbers.
(3) AFMSCE has press releases explaining why the biggest State Employee Unions support the Public Option.
(4) DO READ President Obama 's speech again,really does explain alot of WHY a Plan is needed- he spoke for 7 minutes on the Public Option.
(5) Bureau of Labor Statistics

Our Healthcare Battle is serious....That is all this Blog is covering now

The Truth is that Our Country has a Healthcare Crisis....as a Nurse of 20 years I know it , I see it everyday, people not getting the Care they need to live.My neighbor joked that our Healthcare has gone to the dogs...and in a way..it's true.And Repugs idea how to fix it is to scare Everyone that has ANY kind of care, ( Today they sent McCain out to scare Old People in a pathetic excuse of a townhall,yelling at elderly white people about What the Dems are taking from Them ). Everyday I try to find as many article and videos and links that Explain OUR Crisis and why we need a Public Plan. So please do click and take links and share far and wide. 50 Million and Countin are Uninsured in this Country, 14,000 are Losing Healthcare per day, that is over 400,000 per month. And yes approximately 22,000 per year die without Healthcare. Email me if you have articles or Video that you want seen....enigma4everATearthlinkDOTnet...thank you.

Another Video that shows Weiner Battling for Healthcare at FOX, really shows HOW to Defend a Public Plan....

Gottalaff is a creator of the PoiliticalCarnival Blog, and she has a great write up of this amazing showdown with RepWeiner over at FOX, I encourage people to watch him because he really knows how to defend in reasonable terms WHY we need a Public Plan....click the title and get schooled...he is amazing.

Do watch the Wiener video that shows how he explained Healthcare to Joe Scarborough....

And for anyone who doubts Weiner or how persausive he can be , watch this video as well, he totally explains it so well that even Joe Scarborough has a Come to the Maker moment where he can see the light on this Issue....stunning. We all need to Learn these Talking Points

A Great Post Says it all about GOP Death Panels.....What an older American really feels and Thinks...

This post is written by Gottalaff , it is an Interview with an Older American, it in no way embraces this silly notion of Death Panels....

Sunday's Best Post of the Day about Health care....Roger Ebert Really tells it Like it is..(click the title) and share...

Today I blogged and tweeted and shared so many wonderful posts about Healthcare and what is needed and missing and the Crisis that our Country is experiencing....But this one column haunted me all day, Roger Ebert in his quiet sensible loveable way....makes this all seem so simple, so clear What is Needed and WHY it matters...please do share.

This Snippet alone is Priceless:::
¶" Federal Death panels would decide who lives or dies. This, very frankly, is a lie. The nearest thing we have to a death panel in the United States is an insurance company claims adjuster. Some readers wrote that they or their loved ones were denied tests or treatment by their insurance companies, especially in the case of "pre-existing conditions." One, who had a brain tumor, says he was denied coverage of the treatment by an adjuster, as if he'd known about the tumor at the time he took out his policy some time earlier. Think about this. Unless we die violently or in an accident, we all die of a pre-existing condition. The condition is called "life."

Think it would be cheaper to Do Nothing about Health Care, Read this About True Costs of Doing Nothing, CNA breaks it all down

Click the Title, Share this and RT, this is about what will happen if we have NO Reform and the True Costs that are Coming at us...

Do you need the Link to the Actual Healthcare Bill ? ( as it is right now HR3200 ? ) Here it is - do share and RT....

Click the title to get to the Reform Bill as it is now by the House.And yes it really is 1400 pages long, and yes, if you want to see the Death Panel Page and read for yourself it is pages 431-435, and NO there is Nothing in there about a Death Panel. It does take a while to load- sorry. ( pdf)

Health Care Reform for Dummies...Video...Share, Tweet etc...( linked to the title)

Click this amazing video and share...RT and send far and wide...really short and welldone...

Keith Olbermann's Special Comment on the Public Option....Please share ( it is linked to the title)

I thought this was worth reposting, linked to the title, Keith Olberman's Special Comment on the Public Option....repost, resend,Twitter or put on Facebook.

Wednesday Healthcare Battle Update August 19th: Fight for Healthcare for 50 Million Americans Continues

1000's getting Free Needed Medical Care at the RAM Medical Event this week in LA at the Forum. The RAM Medical Event at the Forum shows WHY a Public Option is Essential....Do you need to know WHO to call about the Public Option? ALL Contact Info linked in the Post in the Title. ( LA Times great article about the RAM event)
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I will continue these Healthcare Battle Updates Daily, and this will be the main focus here at Watergate Summer. So please do scroll down if you need to see what went on yesterday. So Tuesday was a wild and wooly night, 8PM it was all over the Internet and Twitter that Robert Reich was calling for a September 13th March On CD for the Public Option ( and no he has never organized such a thing before, but he was willing and ready, read more here about his efforts and his concerns.) ( and for anyone who did not know this, Robert is a blogger, and this is his latest post on this mess...)
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So finally at 10 PM last night some definite progress was being made This NYT article has more about the DEMS going the Health Care Reform alone....finally.
And even the WSJ is reporting it, Saying that Obama will shift focus to the Moral Imperative...
And at 10 PM CNN with Breaking News on AC 360 Ed Henry came on and said that the Whitehouse and the Dems are ready to go it alone on Health Care Reform. ( Video is not on CNN site,but it is on Daily KosTV site, Here, and was working at 3AM)
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Dems rally at Caucus meeting, Suddenly behind the Public Option full force....Finally. And yesterday I reported that Pelosi finally came out strongly pushing for the Public Option in a meaningful way.
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If you have not seen this, you need to, during a particularly strange Town Hall Meeting Barney does a great job confronting a absurd nutjob,
Barney Franks Town Hall:

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IF you have seen any of the Gibberish about the Co-OP idea that Conrad and Sebelious were busy jabbering about, it is an ill formed embryo of an idea, that is not really feasible or practical. It is not meant to be used for a Large Nationwide Health Care Crisis, Conrads plan really is not something that could enable 50 Million people to get Healthcare. It at most would provide care for 12 Million and would ONLY provide basic Medical Care for Healthy People, it would be inadequate for Major Disease or illness. WSJ covers it here.
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Bill Moyers Does the RAM Medical Event in LA, and shows How Significant OUR HealthCare Crisis is in this Country.... ( earlier in the week I blogged about the Medical Event in LA where thousands lined up for medical care waiting in lines for hours, you can read more about that event here and learn about the care they provided for 8 days straight.
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Healthcare Debate needs to be totally reshaped and redone, great article about Jonathon Alter, excellent read that breaks it all down.
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Really good post by Anderson Cooper about WHO does and Does Not have Health Insurance.
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Other News, Andrew Sullivan is collecting "Sickbed Stories" for the Daily Dish where is showing American's Stories about their Experiences with Getting Healthcare and Insurance etc. ( Nightmares ) But do read his post on it, it really is amazing, and yes , sad.
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If you are trying to educate people about the Healthcare crisis and about the HR3200, here is a link that breaks it down in a way that is simple and uncomplicated, it is even in Easy Eye print if you want to print out.
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And if ANYONE needs to learn more or be convinced that there is a way to fix this, do read Thom Hartmans' Letter posted over at Common Dreams, Cookie Jill posted this at Skippy's and it really is an amazing letter he wrote to President Obama.
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FIREDOGLAKE has a place where you can sign up, to be involved with the Fight For the Public Option. ( and do also go tell Jane Hamsher how wonderful she did on MSNBC this week).
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For Anyone that says we don't have a growing Healthcare Crisis, we do, and here is one reason why. 14,000 people a day are losing their healthcare. Please do look at this map and it clearly shows the UnEmployment Map and it shows where the UnEmployment is spreading, when you look at this map please also think of all the families are losing their healthcare and access to care.
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Final Thought , People have been asking How many actually die per year without healthcare or insurance, this link
has more and it is grim, over 100,000 people died in the past 8 years, and up to 22,000 per year.
page 1 of Urban Institute report:
Summary
"The absence of health insurance creates a range of consequences, including lower quality of life, increased morbidity and mortality, and higher financial burdens. This paper focuses on just one aspect of this harm—namely, greater risk of death—and seeks to illustrate its general order of magnitude. In 2002, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimated that 18,000 Americans died in 2000 because they were uninsured. Since then, the number of uninsured has grown. Based on the IOM’s methodology and subsequent Census Bureau estimates of insurance coverage, 137,000 people died from 2000 through 2006 because they lacked health insurance, including 22,000 people in 2006."

CDC data is here, from 2004/2005, compiled 2006, still researching this, as it is not matching the numbers in the Health Care Proposals Per State, Here is the link.
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Please do follow me on twitter as "watergatesummer" and do email me if you have updates,enigma4everATearthlinkDOTnet,Thank you for all that you do, keep calling and emailing etc. It is helping this battle . I am still compiling the data from the RAM Medical Event, if anyone has more on that please do contact me, the Final RAM LA Medical event update will be up later tonight. Thanks for all that you do.
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"Pray for the dead, but Fight like hell for the Living." Mother Jones. 50 Million People are worth Fighting for.....

Healthcare Battle Update, With articles videos and news......

Photo from President Obama's event in AZ
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Click Here to tell the President The Public Option is NOT Optional
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We now truly appreciate that we are in for a battle, please do keep calling DC and your reps at home offices while they are on recess. Please do keep writing letters and do share the responses that you get. Do work FB, Twitter, and other social networks.It matters that we stay informed and spread information. Over the weekend the Public Option almost got snatched away on a sleepy summer Sunday afternoon, it was internet vigilance that resuscitated it. Do share these articles below, I will update during the day.

First off late last night after many hours of Silence Key Democrats did start to Voice Concern about the Fate of The Public Option calling it Essential to the Reform bill. This Wash Post article from late Monday night has more. Secretary Sebelious on Sunday had said it was Not Essential on CNN and yet on another show she had said Something else, all the while touting the benefits of a Co-op Plan.

This article has more about Pelosi's stand on the Public Option and about how the House Dems stand on it. at this juncture there are also 64 Dems that have announced they will not vote for a Bill without the Public Option. Here is more about the key Dems position on the Public Option.

Today Russ Feingold: "I am not interested in passing health care reform in name only. Without a public option, I don't see how we will bring real change to a system that has made good health care a privilege for those who can afford it."

One of the things we learned yesterday was that Conrad has been pushing and promoting his Co-Op Idea, which has not been fully explained or even in the dialogue until Sebelius started pushing it in recent weeks. Here is a HUGE WSJ tidbit that needs to be spread far and wide, Conrad's Co-op Idea at best would ONLY provide Some Care to 12 Million. And that is only basic care, this is not covering Complicated illness or disease issues. We have estimates of atleast 35 to 40 Million that would still therefore be left with NO Healthcare.

Finally Do you need a Quick and Easy Primer to explain the HR3200 Bill to the UnInformed ? Print it out and share with your friends and neighbors and help educate them, it really simplifies it. Excellent Source. And when you talk with people remember to point out that we don't just have an UnInsured Problem, we have an UnderInsured Problem as well that this TIME article explores further.

And finally we need to start reading and learning about other Healthcare Systems, and share that information. The GOP has spent much time and effort bashing systems abroad. Today I am providing Links to the Facts about the UK System. First this article that breaks Down the Facts of their Healthcare, Facts vs Fiction of the Level of Care they provide to ALL Citizens, it will amaze you. And here is more from a British Doctor about his Country's Medical Care as told to NPR.
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2PM Update::
Great OpEd NYT about Reform and what it needs and what it means...
5PM Update :::
NYT points out that the Co-op Idea is nothing but a muddied mess that is not big enough or detailed enough for our Healthcare Crisis.
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6PM Update:
Politico tells about the House Dems who will NOT support Plan without The Public Option.
And NOW ABC released this today, Information about that Health Experts say that the Public Option would drive costs down.
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Raging Celt got a response that is worth seeing, after he wrote to his senator.
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Ed Schutlz has posted the MSNBC Video of Dean telling Obama to stand firm on the Public Option, worth seeing and reading, Let me know if this link fails, got it off Twitter.
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Healthcare Reform Supporters are NOW Outnumbering the "Critics' at Rallies..( keep it up folks).
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Donald Sutherland really writes an amazing article about healthcare on Huffpost, MUST READ.
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Please do scroll down for Contact Information of WHO and HOW to call and contact, and also you can read my Letter to the President if you need ideas what to write. And just below the letter is the post I did on the RAM Medical Event that is providing Medical Care to Thousands in LA this past week at the LA Forum. I will have more final updates in that event in next few days. If you have news for me do email me enigma4everATearthlinkDOTnet.