Health Insurance Mashables: Righting the SCHIP Hillary Care All Over Again? Presidential Veto Threatened
With nearly half of America either uninsured or underinsured, with healthcare costs annually escalating at three times the rate of inflation, with millions of America's children with no healthcare at all, bitterly fought partisan politics continue to dominate the healthcare agenda in Washington.
Under the threat of Presidential veto, Congress' monthlong summer recess was preceded by passage of legistlation in both houses to reconstruct SCHIP funding that would deliver health insurance coverage to 3-6 million additional children currently deprived and potentially empower states with the latitude to provide relief to lower income families in need of funding assistance.
ABC Health-Care News Video Series: Prescription for Change ABC News Video: Why American Health Care is Broken Medical Editor Tim Johnson on why U.S. must revamp its health-care system.
ABC News Video on Demand - ABC Medical Editor Tim Johnson discusses why U.S. must revamp its health-care system.
According to federal government statistics, the increased cost of health-care in the U.S. has declined over the previous three year period. Yet, the annual cost of health-care per person ($6700) in America still hovers at almost three times more than the rest of those among other developed nations.
Many health-care experts and policy makers estimate, of nearly $2 trillion in 2005 spent on health-care in America, over 30% never came close to its target objective due to waste, mismanagement and administrative boondoggling.
This ABC News Video goes on to dissect some the issues.
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"We're going to fix this medical crisis in this country. There is no reason why young men like your grandson will die because this is the wealthiest country in the world, and we got plenty of money to take care of every person in this country and keep them healthy. We just have to have some leadership to do it!"
With all the talk about the uninsured in America and health insurance reform it seems that Medicaid and the less fortunate continue to be the soulless victims. The states eye mandatory health care like the legislation passed in Massachusetts, which, by the way cut dental care from its Medicaid menu (see "Toothless Reform"), while other states narrow the Medicaid window so much so that it's near impossible to qualify for the minimalized coverage available (like Tennessee).
One thing you can bet on, health care providers haven't felt the squeeze. The system insulates network providers while kicking John Q. to the curb. Of course, we do have the Deficit Reduction Act which makes a feeble attempt at adjusting for the ravages of the administration's poor fiscal management strategies at the expense of Medicaid and America's general health.
No one really cares to address the billions of dollars having to be spent nationwide on the health and education needs of those illegally pouring across our borders. According to a recent article in Suffolk Life, it costs New York state taxpayers (aided by a 1982 US Supreme Court ruling that prohibits school districts from "barring access to a student on the basis of legal status or alleged legal status) an incredulous $4.3 billion dollars per year to educate the children of those with illegal or dubious status. Imagine what the health care tab is.
Candidate Clark seems ot think "some" leadership in Washington is needed. That statement somehow doesn't have a JFKesque ring to it. With major policy overhauls beckoning on every front, guts and steel to face the issues head on with daredevil skill and resolve are knocking at the election door.
When John Q (Denzel Washington) discovers health insurance will not cover the organ transplant that will save his son's life, he is willing to take the most extreme measures, including taking his own life, in order to save him.
John Q asked an soul shaking question and not strictly rhetorical in nature; tremors and terrors in the night not unfamiliar to most parents. Although the film and its message went unheralded and was ignored by Hollywood and Washington, Denzel Washington's courageous performance and choice of subject matter did not.
Unfortunately and somewhat understandably, dialog about health insurance and health care policy is not something that most Americans delight engaging in. Who relishes in discussing bills or financial pressures socially; a free pass given to lawmakers that is fully exploited.
(Katie Couric: Eye to Eye) Couric speaks with Michelle Obama about how her two young daughters are coping with their father's surge in popularity as his presidential campaign gains momentum. (CBS News On Demand)
The Silent Congo War: With over 1,000 people continuing to die each day from conflict-related causes, five million have perished in seven years, more than any other conflict since WWII. Perhaps the most unimaginable aspect of all is the widespread use of genocidal rape as an instrument of war by both sides of the conflict.
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