Health Insurance Reform...The Cause Endures

On March 31st, the Paso Robles Democratic Club held it's monthly meeting at Centennial Park. We were joined by Bill Skeen, Executive Director of Physicians for National Health Program.  PNHP

The program, founded in Chicago, is an advocate for "Medicare for All" or "Single Payer" as many know it to be.

Bill touched on many points of interest, including the fact that 50 million US Citizens Do Not meet criteria for private health insurance! Even in a tiered system, the premium for top notch "Gold Standard" of health insurance can be upwards of $3k per month! Then of course it steps down a couple of levels. Once insurance premiums reach a level where by most American workers can afford (barely), the level of care and co-pays are shameful.

To the corporate insurers, health care is a commodity to be traded IE "Gaming the System"

Did you know that 30%...let me say that again...30% of the premiums paid, go to shareholder profits, CEO incentives and admin, sales and marketing??

In other words, your hard earned money that you pay into private insurance pays for their vacations, cruises, bonuses and advertising!

Since Medicare was implemented in 1965, there was;

• Huge increases in senior care
• Less poverty
• Less suffering

Under private insurance, we have seen;

• 51 million Americans un-insured with still millions under-insured
• Lower life expectancy
• US being the only developed nation where one can go bankrupt over healthcare
• And finally, "Death by Insurance Company

Those who know me may have heard my personal story of why this subject is so important to me.

My brother-in-law, having been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, was denied what may have been life saving, or at the very least, life prolonging, health care by his insurance company, BCBS, whom he paid monthly premiums through his job for more than 20 years, . Eventually he won his appeal and was dead one week later...at the age of 46...rest in peace, Brian.

This is a perfect example of "Death by Insurance Company". BCBS directly profited by Brian's death.

So...the system must change, right? What about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -PPACA?? Basically all this is, is private insurance that was tinkered with. It's not what we fought for and we cannot sit idle and not fight for something better.

Single Payer is a system where we pay the government through a tax. The government then pays the public insurance company who pays your physician to treat you, thus recouping the 30% of your money wasted in admin costs.

If you are in California, you need to be aware of  SB810. There are similar bills in other states. Follow this link and scroll down- State Single Payer Bills

Check out some interesting videos at  PNHPNYMETRO's Channel

Don't settle for what the private insurance industry is selling! We need a single payer system and we needed it yesterday!