Consumer Sonia Replansky
Governor Douglas highlighted creative initiatives in Vermont to improve the health of its residents by increasing the use of health IT, expanding insurance coverage and improving chronic disease management. Governor Douglas boasted that Vermont is ranked as the healthiest state in the nation. Governor Patrick highlighted the great results achieved by Massachusetts health reform and addressed challenges. Patrick described our hybrid system as an alternative to maintaining the status quo or finding a “perfect solution.” Patrick added that the broad coalition formed to design health reform and ensure its successful implementation was key to our success in Massachusetts.
DeParle explained that the Regional Health Care Forums are a critical first step in achieving health reform. DeParle stated that health reform is an economic and moral imperative. The audience also heard televised remarks from President Obama. Obama emphasized that health reform is a top priority for his Administration. According to Obama, the economic crisis has amplified the urgency for health reform, as we “can not wait another year”. Obama strives to make health reform an open, inclusive and transparent process, and hopes that stakeholders can work together to ensure that everyone has quality, affordable health care.
The audience then had the opportunity to voice frustrations with the dysfunction of our current health care system and discuss features that a more ideal health system would include. Audience members stressed the inextricable link between the economy and health care and the need to constrain health care costs while improving health care quality and outcomes. Commonwealth Care member Sonia Replansky shared her own story of how fortunate she was to have insurance coverage while preparing to attend medical school. Sonia emphasized the need for outreach specialists to help consumers navigate the complex health coverage world.
Other major points raised by the audience include:
- Lowering prescription drug costs
- Improving the cultural competency of providers and empowering communities
- Achieving both delivery system and payment system reform
- Researching comparative effectiveness
- Increasing the focus of health care on preventive care and addressing the primary care provider shortage
- Improving health care quality
- Reducing system waste and increasing simplification
- Exploring single-payor approaches
- Ensuring fair reimbursements to providers
- Better managing chronic diseases and strengthening public health interventions
- Utilizing health IT
- Including long term care and mental health in reform efforts
Reverend Hurmon Hamilton closed the forum by emphasizing the moral imperative of health reform. Rev. Hamilton shared the story of his congregation member who had no access to health care for seventeen years. Massachusetts health reform allowed her to gain coverage and treatment for a life-threatening condition. Health reform saved her life. For some of our stories on how health reform is helping Massachusetts residents, click here.
Catherine Hammons
Pingback: Wonk Room » The WonkLine: March 19, 2009
It’s time to stop the charade about the MA Plan being “perhaps the boldest health care experiment in American history.” (as a Blue Cross Blue Shield executive has referenced).
Enter the truth-squad. Effective health reforms mean NOT following the path of the Massachusetts insurance law. It means following the principle of putting patients before profits.
The Massachusetts mandatory insurance law is largely a give-a-way to the private insurance industry. Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006 is a law that was rammed through by special interests and state legislators afraid of losing Federal Medicaid waiver money.
The MA law that was largely written by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of MA (with help from the Urban Institute who was paid handsomely by MA BCBS) and the Heritage Foundation (Repub Gov. Romney thanked Heritage publicly in his press release after signing the lawin April 2006).
One of the biggest failings of the MA health insurance law (and, believe me, there are many failings) is that it did not include creating a public insurance choice and it did not include a shred of cost control measures. Obama has pledged to include these components in his reform and we must hold him to it. Instead, The MA Plan handed over the pocketbooks of individuals, businesses, and taxpayers to the private insurance industry.
So, reader beware (and attendee of the VT Regional forum beware), in full balance the MA Plan is a bad deal. Yes, it does some good for some people, but at what cost and what value are we getting for that cost?
Im trying to undertand the new health care reform. Im worried that it might be hard to go across the country to the Mayo clinic with this new health care plan. I feel my son may eventually need to go there. I don’t want to be selfish but I love my son. We have two health care policies right now that may pay for an out of state visit to the Mayo clinic. My Aunt has medicare. She is 83. Her son, my cousin, does not have health care and he is sick. She worries about him and his health. They waited outside a charity hospital at 3am and when it opened at 8am there were seven people in front of her and they turned her away because they only wanted to take so many patients that day. So even though im fighting this new health care reform because im agraid that it will damper research for rare illnesses that costs alot of money, im worried about my aunt and my cousin too. So im not able to choose without knowing what exactly is involved. Also, if every health center only gets so much money from the government how are they going to take care of my son who might need mri’s, operations, ct scans, xrays, multiple muscle biopsies, blood work, genetic testing,.. its too expensive. Im afraid my son wont get the care he needs. I love him and im standing by him. So im sorry if im a little selfish but im his mom. Thanks
President Obama,
I have apx. 6,ooo dollars a year to live on; will you force more money from me?
My religion forbids human medical treatment; will you violate my religious freedoms?
Nutritional therapy works to STOP disease; will you make me into a sick prescription drug addict, like my mother?
Will you continue to let FDA criminalize people for wanting to be healthy; by (FDA) illegalizing natural nutrients that without make a nation sick?
Will you continue to forbid proven cures from other countries, for long standing diseases, to come to our alleged civilized nation.
Will you jail me for refusing man made drugs that kill more people than the diseases themselves?
Will you jail me for being healthy and not needing your brand of ‘health care’?
Must I now fight ‘you’ to keep my freedom? If you can’t destroy America from outside do it from within?
You were not hired to police me, you were hired to serve and protect me. My country runs just fine without you. It always has; why do you imagine is the reason your political party pushed and got a cap on the number of years one person can be a president.
The president does NOT run this country; WE the people do.
Stop listening to your godless chatterers and seek the still small voice of your Creator: or be fired by the ‘WE’.