News/Social Issues/Healthcare Special Report:
Denis Shibut delivers a “A Flowchart of Health Care Reform” for better understanding the dilemmas being debated in the US Congress
Viewpoint by Denis Shibut, WCW Columnist
On a recent Sunday morning I went to the main market place here in Avignon to buy the coming week’s vegetables, fruits, bread, and meat, all from local growers. At the poultry stand, I ran into Kate Schertz, who was collecting two fresh ducks for a special dinner for visiting friends. Kate, a retired U.S. diplomat, is a driving force behind the Democrats Abroad organization in the South of France.
We chatted about the busy summer with relations and colleagues dropping by in a constant stream, the gorgeous Provençal sun-filled blue sky, our recent excursions and trips, and the mounting August heat. I felt we had much more to catch up on, so I invited Kate for espresso at a nearby outdoor cafe that sits in the comfortable shade of the old clock tower dating back to the 17th century.
Once settled in at a small table with our shopping bags tucked out of the way and our order taken by the garçon, our conversation meandered through the upcoming concerts, performances, and exhibitions that bloom throughout villages and towns in these parts during the summer months in an effort to keep the hordes of vacationers culturally well fed, and we locals feeling that we’re at least benefiting from the tourism onslaught in our daily lives.
As you might expect, our conversation finally turned to the political arena in the United States. Kate’s face suddenly went from glowing to grim; I could even detect some lines of personal sadness.
“It’s the same small bunch of operatives, funded by big business, who created all those distortions, scare campaigns, and lies against Obama during the election, and then again against the financial stimulus‰ she lamented. And now, they’re doing the same thing to this health care reform bill, which our country badly needs. It’s utterly shameful what they’re saying!”
Kate’s voice became more thoughtful yet stern, “We are the last developed country in the world not to implement a national health care system that covers all its citizens.”
Finally I could sense her exasperation, “I just can’t believe how many paranoiac Americans there are who fall again and again for these same distortions and fear campaigns spread through the Web, in radio talk shows, and on television.”
I know how she felt, in the past years these same lobbyists spread distortions and fear against compact florescent light bulbs (CFLs) which help the environment and save consumers money in electricity charges. However, power companies as well as ‘Global Oil and Coal’ saw this ‘consumer saving’ as a huge loss to their corporate profits, so they hired these operatives to spread fear and distortion campaigns against these bulbs.
But I also felt I needed to give the average American some credit. I’m a firm believer in Lincoln’s political theorem: “You can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all the people all the time”.
So I told Kate, “You know, part of the problem here, and I can put myself in the same boat, is that the American people don’t know what this 1000-page legislative bill really says about health care reform. That’s why Americans are so apt to fall for these lobbyist distortions and lies. I mean, who has the time and legal skill to sit down and read the whole thing through to understand it for themselves?
Furthermore, if the citizens can’t understand the laws that need to be passed, they won’t support them. It’s always safer to just say ‘No’. That’s why the Founding Fathers, from the very beginning, put such an emphasis on universal education: reading and writing.
The Morning After…
The morning after my conversation with Kate, I looked at the New York Times and found the answer to the problem I had confronted Kate with. The solution came from Paul Krugman’s column where I frequently go to find an isle of calm and reason in the midst of tempests of rage and bombast.
There are three reasons for this:
1) to be an NYT economics columnist, you must know how to put things in down-to-earth terms,
2) Krugman is a PhD professor of economics at Columbia University, and
3) last but not least, he won the Nobel Prize for economics in 2007.
For me, he is not the kind of guy whose palm lobbyists can grease to do their dirty work, or who newspaper moguls (read: Rupert Murdoch) can pressure.
Paul Krugman has supported President Obama’s original election campaign pledge to implement an American National Health Care system that works and is affordable for everyone. Krugman’s support is not only because he thinks it’s a good thing for Americans, but more because it makes good economic sense.
In his view, compared to what the rest of the world pays for health care, America is being bled to death by unregulated, notoriously discriminatory, profiteering health insurance companies and for-profit hospitals. (If you think the high price is because Americans get the best medical care, think again, the U.S. ranks only 5th in the world in health care performance along with Argentina, Brazil, and Poland [Source: UN World Health Organization]. As we all know, coming in fifth doesn’t win you a medal or prize in anything. You’re just another loser.)
Krugman to the Rescue, A Simple Flowchart
Krugman’s op-ed column offered readers a simple flowchart that illustrated in a single diagram how the new health care reform bill will work and benefit every American citizen. The chart below was a concept by Chris Hayes that Hayes presented at a briefing for economists attended by Krugman. The chart was then simplified by Nicholas Beaudrot.
For those not familiar with such charts, here’s a quick tutorial: the diamond shapes are decision steps. Follow the arrows (Yes or No) to where you qualify. The rectangular shapes indicate what will change (or not) for you. The numbers in millions (as well as the size of the box) show approximately how many Americans are affected by the change.
With this one flowchart, based on the current health care reform bill, everyone has a place and coverage that’s easy to find.
A ‘Medical-Coverage Bill of Rights’
For the majority of Americans who are employed and covered under their employer’s medical coverage, there is no change except for the new consumer protection laws. This is, however, something major because these protections are the heart of the word ‘reform’. The list of protections are somewhat like a ‘Medical-Coverage Bill of Rights’ that protects everyone against some of the most pervasive abuses that medical insurance companies have used in the past to get rid of people who they think are putting a drain on their profits. Here are some of the most important protections in the reform:
Your insurance company must provide you with at least the minimum standard of accepted medical treatment and care for any illness you currently have or may experience. This standard is set by medical experts working for the federal government in the interests of the American public. Your insurance company can offer more than this standard, but it cannot force you to take less.
Your insurance company cannot downgrade your current quality of care to the minimum standard without your approval.
Your insurance company cannot exclude specific illnesses or conditions from your coverage that you might be prone to.
You can keep your current health insurance at the current price if you lose your job, change jobs, or move.
- Insurance companies cannot discriminate against you for pre-existing conditions.
- You cannot be refused health insurance because of your medical history.
- You cannot be asked to pay exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles, or co-pay.
- Your insurance company must abide by yearly regulatory caps on how much it can charge you for out-of-pocket expenses.
- Your health coverage must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.
- Your health coverage cannot be dropped or watered down if you become ill.
- You cannot be charged more for health coverage because of your gender.
- Your insurance company cannot put annual or lifetime caps on your coverage.
- Your children are covered under family coverage through the age of 26.
- Your insurance company cannot refuse to renew your coverage as long as you pay the premium in full. Also, it cannot refuse to renew your coverage because you or someone in your family becomes sick.
[Sources: NYT Health Care Reform Primer, and Whitehouse.gov, Reality Check]
Take Action
To support the Health Care Reform bill which will be voted on in Congress very soon, email your Representative or Senator and state that you are for the reform bill with its guaranteed minimum standard of coverage, all the protection rights currently proposed, and the public option for those people with low incomes.
You can find and send a message to your government representatives as follows:
In Congress: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
(ref: www.house.gov
In the Senate: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
(ref: www.senate.gov
Also, please mail this message to all those on your personal mailing list who might be interested in its content. I thank you in advance for doing so.
Let’s understand and support health care reform, Now!
About Dennis Shibut
He has an MS Physics, member of the Union of Concerned Scientists, former researcher for NASA and US Coast & Geodetic Survey. In addition, he is the Director of Kyoto Action for the Environment
(www.kyotoaction.com
