More people understand health reform
This month’s poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation (http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/upload/8075-F.pdf) finds more people saying they understand the health reform law.
That’s good because once you understand the law, you’re more likely to understand its benefits and your rights.
More than 40 percent still say they’re confused about the law, though, down from 55 percent in April, and about one-third say they don’t know how the law will affect them personally.
People are still divided along political lines with their approval, with those who approve citing increased coverage and those who disapprove citing reasons such as wariness of government oversight and the cost.
Here’s what one person said when asked why he or she held an unfavorable view of the law:
“Because I paid for my health care for the last 30 years, and now you are giving it for free. That is unfair. I don’t want to pay for anybody else’s health care. Why can’t everybody else be responsible for paying for their own health care like I did?”
My answer is that I pay for your children’s education, even though I don’t have children in school; I help pay for the wars in Iraq and Asghanistan even though I opposed them. My son was paying state and federal taxes when he got sick and no one — NO ONE — helped him until it was too late. He deserved health care as much as anyone else, but because of a birth defect — something that was not the result of laziness or bad choices, as so many opponents of health care for all say — he was unable to get coverage or care, and he died.
Another point is that health care is not being given away to most Americans. Children who need care will still get it under the State Children’s Health Insurance Plans; Medicare recipients will still get it; the military will still get it; and now adults with incomes lower than 133 percent of the federal poverty level will get it. Keep in mind that studies have shown it takes more than double the federal poverty level to survive in most places in America.
Everyone else will buy care, either through an employer or a state exhcange.
What has changed is that people who can’t afford insurance will get help buying it. I don’t have a problem with that. In fact, I’d rather see my tax money go to help people get access to health care than to war.
Understandably, the survey found Americans with lower incomes and without insurance more likely to understand the law and how it will affect them. That’s because the lower the income, the less likely a person is to have access to care.
There are ways to understand what’s in the law and how you will be affected. Most people surveyed said they get most of their information about the law from cable news. Television news doesn’t have time to get into the details of the law. To do that, you have to do a little work. Lots of nonpartisan Web sites have detailed information.
Check out the Kaiser Family Foundation, www.kff.org, for more information. It’s all there; you only have to look.
Patient Pals & Family Friends
Life o' Mike has a peer support program for people with one or more serious or chronic medical issues or disabilities.
We aim to reduce isolation and fear among people who have conditions, including psychiatric illness, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, mild dementia or other cognitive disorder or disability, thereby reducing depression and complications as people learn to improve self-management of their medical conditions.
Patient Pals help alleviate feelings of isolation and frustration. They can help people develop a list of questions to ask the doctor and then accompany the person to the doctor to make sure all the questions are answered, taking notes to be sure the person understands the doctor’s answers.
Our trained volunteers also accompany their “Pals” to art exhibits, movies and walks outdoors, meet for coffee, call to check in and more.
Our Pals have experienced weight loss, improvement in diabetes, HIV, psoriasis, depression and more, just because they have someone who cares about them. Some relationships develop into longer-term friendships; other Pals move on to more independent lives.
Family Friends are there to help caregivers and other family members grow into their new role.
We need volunteers, who are asked to donate a minimum of one hour a week. Training is free and includes information on active listening, ways to help and when to know more help is needed.
And of course, we need funding.
To learn more, call Leslie Boyd at 828-243-6712 or e-mail lifeomike@gmail.com.
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