Healthcare-NOW

White House Summit In Denial On Regulating Health Care Costs

By Jamie Court for the Huffington Post— “Prevention” was the word of morning at the White House Western forum on health care reform in downtown LA. Led by Oprah’s Dr. Oz, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire, the assembled “stakeholders” rattled off how prevention pays in health care. 20% of the patients…

Suffering and Dying for Healthcare in Las Vegas

By Donna Smith— Happy Easter everyone. Happy season of new life and blooming flowers. It’s the season of rebirth and regeneration. So, if that’s the case, then what the hell is up with letting thousands of people wait and suffer and die because we do not have the money to treat their illnesses anymore? In…

Universal health coverage in spotlight at L.A. forum

But the White House-organized event is light on details. By Lisa Girion and Noam Levey for the LA Times— Reporting from Washington and Los Angeles — Even as President Obama toured Europe his administration pressed its healthcare reform campaign Monday in Los Angeles with a forum co-hosted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who lost his bid…

The Recession’s Impact: Closing The Clinic

60 Minutes: Bad Economy Leaves Cancer Patients Without Health Insurance In Dire Straits (CBS) In the economic crisis, public hospitals are needed now more than ever. If you’re down on your luck without insurance, the county hospital can be your last resort. Recently thousands of letters went out across Las Vegas telling cancer patients that…

Democrats seek compromise on health care plan

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR for the Associated Press— WASHINGTON — Democrats are seeking a compromise on a bigger government role in insurance coverage as part of President Barack Obama’s proposed health care overhaul. At issue is whether middle-class workers and families should have the option of a government-sponsored plan that would compete with private insurers. Obama…

Something is Rotten at PBS

By Russell Mokhiber for Counter Punch— Last year, former Washington Post reporter T.R. Reid made a great documentary for the PBS show Frontline titled Sick Around the World. Reid traveled to five countries that deliver health care for all – UK, Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Taiwan – to learn about how they do it. Reid found…

An Open Letter to Congress: Help Me or I Will Die

By Donna Smith– U.S. Representative Eric Massa of New York said this week that in the 86 days since he took office, he has received many letters from his constituents. Some are general letters supporting him or proposed legislation; some letters express disagreement with some of what Congress is working on. Other letters begin with…

‘Sick Around America’ disappoints

By Mark Almberg for PNHP— “Sick Around America,” a Frontline documentary about the dysfunctional U.S. health care system, aired March 31 on PBS. Billed as a sequel to the widely hailed “Sick Around the World,” a 2008 Frontline production featuring veteran Washington Post correspondent T.R. Reid, the new documentary was eagerly awaited by U.S. supporters…

Health insurance woes hit workers

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar for the AP— Premiums rising 6 to 8 times faster than wages have American workers – whose taxes pay for massive government health programs – are getting squeezed like no other group by private health insurance premiums that are rising much faster than their wages. While just about all retirees are covered,…

Congressmen will talk about health reform

By Cathleen F. Crowley for timesunion.com— As the nation grapples with improving the health care system and making it more affordable, a contingent of people believe the answer is a single-payer system. But advocates worry that their idea is being sidelined. Representatives of the single-payer movement were initially locked-out of health care summit called by…