Brownstein on Health care reform path - California Healthcare Recipes

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-outlook14mar14,1,6708005.column?coll=la-headlines-nation&ctrack=1&cset=true

WASHINGTON OUTLOOK
California Healthcare Recipes Could Whet National Appetite
Ronald Brownstein
Washington Outlook

March 14, 2005

In Washington, the debate over reforming the healthcare system seems to be on life support. The capital has largely turned the other way as a spiral of rising prices and declining access has increased the number of uninsured nationwide by more than 5 million since 2000. Proposals now advancing from President Bush and GOP congressional leaders to cut spending on Medicaid, the joint state-federal healthcare program for the poor, would probably push those numbers higher yet.

All of which makes the ferment over healthcare in California so timely. Almost every conceivable idea to expand health coverage for the uninsured is on the table in the state. These include a mandate on employers to insure their workers, a mandate on individuals to purchase insurance, a single-payer government-run healthcare system that would eliminate private insurance and a public-private partnership to guarantee coverage for all children.
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The breadth of ideas surfacing in California underscores the depth of the problem. Figures from the Census Bureau and UCLA's Center for Health Policy Research show that about one-fifth of Californians lack health insurance. That's among the highest rates of any state. The number of Californians without health insurance (an estimated 6.6 million) exceeds the entire population of 38 states.

<snip>An unexpectedly close ballot brawl in November helped propel healthcare onto the state agenda. With a late assist from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, business interests passed a ballot initiative to repeal the mandate that former Gov. Gray Davis signed requiring employers in firms with at least 50 workers to insure their employees.

But the repeal initiative won by only 180,000 votes out of 11.6 million cast. That demonstrated a larger constituency for action on healthcare than many expected. "We never anticipated coming this close," says Anthony Wright, executive director of the consumer group Health Access California. The narrow finish has inspired the unions and consumer groups that fought repeal to begin planning their own initiative, probably for 2006, to reimpose the business mandate.
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There was a time when a person living here could go just about anywhere instate and receive comparable healthcare...even if they used "Medi-Cal".

The program has been so chipped away that counties now partially fund the medicaid programs. One cannot go outside of their county to receive healthcare like we used to. Having it this way puts the burden on the county so if the county is small and broke :shrug: It makes finding a doctor extremely difficult. Having it this way reduces the quality of healthcare for the poorer Californians as well.

We've had emergency rooms close, a threat of whole hospitals closing, doctors refusing service to medi-cal patients. Hell, a poorer person (perhaps even middle income persons as well) can't even STAY in a hospital until they are WELL. 'Feeling a bit better? Well out you go then!' God bless the person who has a compassionate doc with cajones.

Last week they let my ex mother n law go home with a severe heart problem so she could "die at home". My companion has been extremely sick for over a month. He went to emergency room for his asthma; they pumped him full of prednisone and oxygen then sent him home! Told him to just "take these pills" and call us if you are still having troubles breathing. Wellllll, he IS.

I'm out of my mind with worry. I'm completely overwhelmed by his illness and the lack of concern via the healthcare providers. He is running a temp now, can't breath at night, his broncs fill up with mucous, he nearly chokes to death! His primary doc says to go ahead and go back to hospital but my guy won't go until the morning because the doc won't be available til then and they hospital needs the doc to sign off on treatments. Jesus Christ, he could die overnight.

In the old system, the doc/hospital would have kept my guy for up to a week. He'd have received quality repiratory care and meds and not released until he was breathing normally with no other problems.

*checking own blood pressure here* :hangover:

system.

Damn - why does the GOP fight so hard against single payer National Health?

It seems that the GOP has become not the small government with military alternative, but is just evil.

:-(

Hang in there - and may the peace of the Lord help you and your partner through these times.

:-)

I'm pretty frazzled today...