How many people would $102 million help?
I figure my son’s medical care cost more than $750,000 before he died — more than two-thirds of it for chemo alone. His funeral expenses are not included in that tally. He could have been helped for about $50,000 if his cancer had been caught early.
But the insurance companies wanted nothing to do with him because of his risk of getting colon cancer.
Instead, they spent $102 million on trying to defeat the law that could have saved my son’s life, had it been in place in 2005.
A new report by National Journal shows that the industry trade group America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) transferred almost $88 million to the National Chamber of Commerce in 2009 and another $16 million in 2010 so the Chamber could attack the Affordable Care Act and the Democrats who supported it.
I remember AHIP president Karen Ignani meeting with President Obama and promising to play nice. I guess her fingers were crossed behind her back the way I used to do when I promised to be nice to my little sister.
During this time, AHIP pretended to support reform, but its money tells the truth about where insurance companies stand. That money paid to influence public opinion with attack ads. They don’t care who dies, as long as they can keep raking in the money.
According to the Journal, “… in its 2009 IRS filing, AHIP reported giving almost $87 million to unnamed advocacy organizations for ‘grassroots outreach, education and mobilization, print, online, and broadcast advertising and coalition building efforts’ on health care reform. That same year, the chamber reported receiving $86.2 million from an undisclosed group. … The $86 million accounted for about 42 percent of the total contributions and grants the chamber received.”
The same thing — a donation of $16 million — happened in early 2010, before the law was passed and signed in March.
While none of this surprises me, it does really piss me off. The other thing that makes me furious is that you won’t see this in the mainstream media, because the media are owned by more of the wealthy thugs who oppose reform of our health care system.
I just wonder how many lives could have been saved with that $102 million or the tens of millions more spent by Big Insurance and others to prevent health reform.
And the money is still flowing, by the way, to influence the way states will set up their insurance benefits marketplaces. Will there be sanctions for companies that overcharge or underpay? Who will govern the marketplace? Will insurance companies sit on those boards so they can oversee themselves? What will patient appeal processes look like? Will there be more protections for insurance companies than there are for consumers?
All this is still at stake and you can bet insurance companies’ money is being spent to influence the outcome.
Millions — perhaps billions — will be spent during the election this year to influence Americans to vote against their own best interests.
It probably would cost less to just offer health care to all Americans, but these people just want their own way, and they can afford to buy it.
Tags: 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.
Life o’ Mike honors Joe Eblen
Life o' Mike presented its first Michael T. Danforth Community Service Award to Joe Eblen at a luncheon on June 8, in the Friendship Hall of First Congregational Church, 20 Oak St., Asheville.
Joe, seen here with Leslie Boyd, left, and his wife, Bobbie, has spent his life helping children and families, both as a coach and game official for more than 60 years, and as founder of Eblen Charities.
Start From Seed
Life o' Mike has a new program- Start from Seed (SFS).
SFS is a volunteer doula program aimed at providing non-medical, comprehensive support to low income, high-risk women and families of Buncombe County focusing on three areas:
1. We help new doulas with certification and training in return for their participation as a volunteer doula for SFS
2. We mentor volunteer doulas with their first few clients
3. Our volunteer doulas provide birth and postpartum doula services to low income, high risk moms, providing support and tools to empower them as a new parent.
A birth doula is a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; a postpartum doula provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period.
Start from Seed clients are referred to us from the Buncombe County Department of Health’s Nurse-Family Partnership Program, Western North Carolina Community Health Services, and Mission Hospital. The Program is intended and designed for growing clients’ inner strength and helping them gain empowerment to help them cope with the emotional, physical and mental challenges of childbirth, labor, and motherhood.
Our new moms and their infants have many needs. If you would like to help them get off to a good start, please visit our Start from Seed web site: Start from Seed, or call Program Director Chelsea Kouns at 804-814-9946.