Healthcare-NOW

WEBINAR: Vermont at the Crossroads

December 2014, just after being re-elected to office, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin dropped a bomb shell by recommending that the Vermont state legislature not proceed with financing for universal, public health coverage for Vermont, stating that “now is not the time.” What were Governor Shumlin’s reasons? Were they legitimate? What are the implications for state single-payer…

Readers’ Guide to Racial Equity in Healthcare

Race is a Social Construct To start, it’s important to understand that there is no biological basis for race. Race is purely a social construct, and racial inequities in health all have social roots (although health impacts on a social group can lead to genetic consequences for that group’s descendents, such as in sickle cell…

Losing Your Vision & Bartering For Care

Dr. Daniel Root testified before the New York Assembly Health Committee on December 4, 2014 about trying to care for the uninsured and underinsured in a rural county primary care practice. He describes a farmer, whom he has treated since childhood, losing his vision due to lack of access to basic preventive care; and another…

What Haunts a Police Officer of 30 Years?

Lieutenant Gary Pudup, a police officer for 30 years, testified to the New York Assembly Health Committee on December 8, 2014, about his haunting memories of investigating suicides – only to find out that the victims had ended their lives to protect their families from crushing medical expenses. In a just healthcare system, no officer…

Interview: Living Hope Wheelchair Association

We spoke with leaders of the Living Hope Wheelchair Association, based in Harris County (which includes Houston), Texas, which is a member of our affiliate Health Care for All Texas. Raymundo Mendoza (board secretary and Living Hope member), Francisco Cedillo (board treasurer and Living Hope member), and Francisco Arguelles (Executive Director of Living Hope Wheelchair…

Interview: Connecting the Dots Between Healthcare & Homelessness

John N. Lozier has been executive director of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council since its founding in January 1990. The Council is a network of more than 10,000 doctors, nurses, social workers, patients and advocates who share the mission to eliminate homelessness. John lives in Nashville, TN with his wife Joceline, and…

Ebola Preparedness Without a Single-Payer System

Below is testimony from Michael Lighty, Director of Public Policy for National Nurses United, to the California Assembly Health Committee regarding Ebola preparedness in a fragmented healthcare system with cost-barriers to care and declining investment in public health. This is a proud moment for California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, whose members have taken the lead…

New York Assembly Sponsoring Historic Single-Payer Hearings

The Health Committee of the New York Assembly has announced that it will be hosting a historic series of six public hearings across New York state to receive testimony on the “New York Health,” bill which would establish a single-payer healthcare system for the state. Below is the announcement from the NY Assembly Health Committee,…

Unable to Meet the Deductible or the Doctor

By Abby Goodnough and Robert Pear for the New York Times: Patricia Wanderlich got insurance through the Affordable Care Act this year, and with good reason: She suffered a brain hemorrhage in 2011, spending weeks in a hospital intensive care unit, and has a second, smaller aneurysm that needs monitoring. But her new plan has…

Why Americans Are Drowning in Medical Debt

By Olga Khazan for The Atlantic: After his recent herniated-disk surgery, Peter Drier was ready for the $56,000 hospital charge, the $4,300 anesthesiologist bill, and the $133,000 fee for orthopedist. All were either in-network under his insurance or had been previously negotiated. But as Elisabeth Rosenthal recently explained in her great New York Times piece,…