Reasons Why Health Care Reform Must Come to Rural Areas

Rural areas in Virginia are particularly hard hit by shrinking or non-existent availability to affordable health care, or sometimes, any health care at all. Since I live in a rural area myself, I started looking around at what was happening with regional and local health care.

There are some studies that have looked at access and affordability issues, such as the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, and reports by Virginia committees on the state of kids’ health care and accessibility. These studies and reports are not brand new, but we do know that since the middle of this decade (when these were written) things have gotten worse for rural and low-income citizens without health care coverage.

The impact of being uninsured is enormous. The costs that every taxpayer pays for in Emergency Care for others when paying Federal taxes is the result of no regular physician. Low income uninsured adults are much less likely than low income insured adults to receive care or have a particular doctor they see on a regular basis. These low-income adults are the most likely to have unmet medical needs. When people go to the emergency room and/or take their children there, it is very expensive and very inefficient for the job it has been given in our health care ‘system’. The emergency room was always supposed to be just that; true emergencies, including life-threatening emergencies. It has become the medicine and health care of last resort for far too many people.

When I had no health insurance, I went to the VA Medical Center in Richmond. I appreciated the care they gave me, I paid as I was able for prescriptions and visits. Not everyone has that or any other choice for health care. When there is no insurance, no fall back choice of the VA or public health clinics, people stay sick and infect others. Otherwise productive citizens with jobs, full time jobs with no health care are not paying payroll taxes because they are sick and can’t go to work. If the illness is serious enough, they die without being able to see enough doctors.

Health care without involving insurance companies is not something we will see soon, in my opinion. It shouldn’t have to be that way, but it is.

We ration care in this country already, and those who claim that any health care reform will mean rationing of care are misguided.

Millions of people over the past few years have been forced to declare bankruptcy because of medical bills. This is the true rationing of health care in this country, and it has to stop. Are we ready as a country to say that if you don’t have money, you can’t be well, and with all that comes with being healthy? Because of these sorts of difficulties, almost 60 percent of low-income uninsured adults had an unmet need for care in the last year because of financial difficulties.

If we can’t treat our own citizens with dignity and respect, what will this country become? In my opinion, a country of extreme haves and have-nots. Those lucky or smart enough to have a lot of money? No problems. Us other people? We get less and less of the health care pie all the time due to higher prices for it.

Health care is a right, a fundamental one. Those who criticize in this country by saying health care is a privilege are wrong, and need to be called on to explain themselves. I ask these people: Is it OK to have almost 30% of this country’s children having no medical care over the last 12 months (of this study) versus just 10% of the insured children? (SHADAC, 2006) Mr. Representative, any of you, would you trade the health of your children for that of other, less fortunate children, the way things are right now? Of course not.

Uninsured Americans have lower 5-year survival rates, a higher likelihood of late stage cancers, a drastically reduced rate of receiving important screening tests. They are also much more likely to have preventable hospitalizations. (Kaiser)

Although Medicare and Medicaid account for 60% of rural hospital’s budgets, the payout is too low for these hospitals to afford newer technology, larger staff, and life-saving procedures. (Center for Rural Affairs) Most of the 5th Congressional District where I live is underserved with shortages of all medical professions.

According to the most recent figures, surprisingly, Charlottesville is the city with the largest population in the 5th District and had the highest percentage of citizens uninsured with over 23%. Other areas, such as Pittsylvania (15.2%), Danville (10.4%), and Lynchburg (13%) are all undoubtedly higher figures than that now.

I am in favor of, as a part of reform, including provisions for incentives such as education loan assistance and recruitment for specific underserved and unserved areas. I am also in favor of medical service commitments as part of AmeriCorps.

Rural areas are not really all that different than any other area. We have our special characteristics, and we have needs. So do urban dwellers. All of us should work together as Americans and Virginians to accomplish the goal of successful health care reform and better health care for all of us.

It’s A Learned Condition

Via Newsweek, The Political Carnival has “Town Hall Face” as their lead story tonight. Here’s a sample:

Town Hall Face

You really need to see the whole story. It is hilarious.

Joss Stone – Fell in Love With a Boy

The soulful Joss Stone.

Music for your Saturday night. I looked it up so you don’t have to.

more about “Joss Stone – Fell in Love With a Boy“, posted with vodpod

Lou Reed “Dirty Boulevard”

Life in America on the Dirty Boulevard.

Music for your Saturday night.

more about “Lou Reed “Dirty Boulevard”“, posted with vodpod

Bill Osl Gives Congressman Perriello the Metaphorical Back of His Hand

I went to two town hall meetings this week, one in Prince Edward County, and one here in Cumberland County. There was not much difference in the questions asked, but one glaring difference did leap out at me.

In Prince Edward County, the chair of the Board of Supervisors is someone I don’t particularly like or respect. Buckie Fore had the good grace and manners to welcome Rep. Perriello to the county and he was dressed in his work clothes, in other words, a suit and tie. Wade Bartlett, Prince Edward County’s  Administrator and someone else whom I do not respect or like, was also there in support of welcoming the congressman to the county. Neither had any public questions for the congressman.

Contrast that with Cumberland County. A half hour after the meeting started, the Cumberland County Administrator came in and sat down near me. Shortly thereafter, Bill Osl, the chair of the Board of Supervisors of Cumberland County, came in and immediately went to perch on a chair next to the administrator in jeans and a green shirt of some kind. The two county officials then held a conversation while Congressman Perriello was speaking, which made it hard for me to hear him.

I had to leave early, but had seen the editor of the local paper, The Cumberland Bulletin, present at the meeting. Therefore, I knew that whoever hadn’t spoken yet would get coverage in the newspaper. The Bulletin is usually a very thorough newspaper.

The paper was published yesterday, and here is the paper’s account of what was said by Bill Osl, after he waited in line to speak:

Bill Osl said that people wanted their country back and that there needed to be a stop to demonizing businesses. He said that government is not the answer but is the problem. He also asked Congress to stop the redistribution of wealth and movement to Socialism and said that business was strangled with regulations. He said that proposals to tax the wealthy was really going to put businesses like dairy farms out of business because the proposal was to tax gross income. He said that just because a business or individual has a high gross income does not mean the enterprise is making money. He cited dairy farms which are being paid less than their operating costs.

Is it just me, or did he just argue for a dairy farm bailout?

Of course, Bill Osl knows what he means by ‘wealthy’. He is a retired Lucent chief financial officer who got out before the chips all fell. He is at the very least a millionaire. He is complaining about paying his fair share of taxes so those who are not millionaires can have things they need, like health care and cleaner air to breathe.

Beyond that, the county just accepted in April a check for over $300,000 of that ‘redistributed wealth’ Bill Osl hates so much. In fact, he hated it so much, he was in several photos with Tom, plus a USDA representative, accepting this tainted money for a water project to extend water lines another 1 or 2 miles west down Rt. 60.

None of this is a surprise to me. Bill Osl is part of the reason this county is technically broke and only able to fund half the current year’s budget thus far (due to last year’s overspending while counting on landfill money and reservoir payments that didn’t materialize).

I am embarrassed that this county’s executives treated our congressman with such disdain and that our chair displayed an apparent ignorance of facts about what is really going on in Washington. I am also embarrassed for anyone in this county who still thinks that Bill Osl is somehow the ‘saving grace’ for the county.

So, just shut your mouth, Bill, and quit spouting the Republican Party’s talking points on redistribution of wealth and Socialism. Election time is not all that far off. Many of us have long memories, want our own county back, and feel that you are definitely not a part of the solution for Cumberland.

[Edited for clarity and additional factual information]

Conservative Media’s Culture of Death

Some people will say anything for money. Either that, or they are severely mentally ill.

more about “Conservative Media’s Culture of Death“, posted with vodpod

Death watch all the time? Just another day in the Republican-run media.

I Did Not Know That.

I guess a person learns something new every day. I thought I had seen the height of ridiculousness on Republican blogs, but now I think we have a new winner.

Did you know that…

• AARP  is a group of left-wing radicals?
• If I comment on your blog, you have to listen to me spout bullshit
• Being intellectually dishonest to further a stupid conspiracy theory that the President is not a citizen is a good idea, if you wish to have no credibility at all.
• You are required to allow me to stay on your blog, even though I am either dumber than a sack of hammers, or willfully misrepresenting the truth and the facts.
• NewsMax is an actual news outlet rather than a right-wing propaganda operation.
• President Obama tells all of us Democratic bloggers what to say and do, personally.
• ACORN is at least as bad as the mafia, maybe worse.
• President Obama wants to euthanize older Americans, like your Gramma.
• There is such a thing as a ‘long-form’ birth certificate issued by the State of Hawaii.
• The $125 million Unemployment Extension funds are a ‘trojan horse’.
• Fox News (sic), The Washington Times, and Dick Morris are all actual, reputable sources for news.
• ‘The Annointed One’ is an acceptable name for the Commander in Chief.
• Progressives are the ‘KKK’ wing of the Democratic Party.

…Progressives are the KKK wing of the liberals, just at the opposite end of the radical spectrum. They applaud the environmentalists as they burn down developments and car dealerships.

It is high time this radical hate based “progressive” wing of the Democratic Party gets their due. I am grateful for their help in causing the coming Republican Revolution Part II. Without their radical hatred spewed from the MSM, the Republicans would have had a long road back to majority. They have facilitated a fast and certain comeback, rolling in with a vengeance.

The more moderate Democrats will do well to purge these Socialists from your party, starting with President Obama!

“President Obama and his Euthanasia Nation have a new name for Government Run Health Care: Medical Co-ops. Yes, this is the same as the old “Throw Grandma Under The Bus” Public option, just a new name. It still seeks to shift money away from the “wasteful” Medicare spending and plans to cover 12 million illegals with the money it will not be spending on the elderly.”

I try not to make it a habit of reading such drivel, but sometimes, just like at the circus, I want to look under the tent flap. Sometimes I wish I hadn’t.