WE Blog

3 Comments

1. lucee
   Posted January 2, 2007 at 9:22 am | Permalink

   I work in the healthcare field and for all the complaining doctors do about the Medicare reimbursement rates, they still see Medicare patients. Why you ask? These people will always come in for their appointments as told to do. These people will always take any and all prescriptions they are told to by the doctor. They will take all the tests if the doctor tells them to. That generation is made up of people that never questioned the doctor.

   So, as a result, the doctor can and will do just about anything they want and bill Medicare. And Medicare pays promptly and, for the most part, without questions.

   That’s why so many people have attempted fraud from Medicare. It’s really not that hard to do if you know the system.

2. Mary Caruso
   Posted January 2, 2007 at 7:34 pm | Permalink

   I think it has a lot to do with competition between health care facilities. They all want the most high tech equipment and cutting edge treatments to attract business. If we focused as much on prevention, it would cut back on the costs of health care, but it’s not good for business, and it’s profits that the hospitals are most concerned about.

3. Richard Heckler
   Posted March 4, 2007 at 1:14 pm | Permalink

   Millions of AFL-CIO Members Support Universal, Single-PayerHealthInsurance

   > Millions of AFL-CIO Members Support> Universal, Single-Payer Health Insurance>> By Harry Kelber>> When the AFL-CIO Executive Council meets March 6-8 in Las Vegas, itwill> be deciding what to do about the nation’s most important domesticproblem,> health insurance for all Americans. It should recognize the wishes of> millions of union members and endorse and campaign for the UnitedStates> National Health Insurance Act (H.R. 676)) that would establish a> single-payer health insurance system with guaranteed coverage for all> Americans.>> The Council will surely be impressed by the grass-roots,extraordinary> support for H.R. 676. Union members in 40 states, represented by 239labor> organizations that include four international unions, 17 state> federations, 63 central labor councils and scores of local unions,favor> the single-payer measure, which eliminates profiteering by insurance> companies, pharmaceutical companies and HMOs.>> H.R. 676 would create a publicly-financed, privately-delivered healthcare> system that uses the already existing Medicare program by expandingit and> improving it for all U.S. residents. The goal of the legislation isto> ensure that all Americans, regardless of employment, income or healthcare> status, will have a legal guarantee for access to the highest qualityand> cost effective health care services.>> The four AFL-CIO international unions that have officially endorsedH.R.> 676 are: United Auto Workers, International Longshore Workers Union,> United Association of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters, and the National> Association of Letter Carriers. In addition, there are many membersin> virtually every international union who support the bill.>> The 17 state federations that have signed on for H.R. 676 (originally> introduced by Rep. John Conyers, a pro-labor congressman fromMichigan)> are: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri,North> Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, SouthDakota,> Vermont, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.>> AFL-CIO Can Reclaim Image as Workers’ Champion>> The Council’s endorsement would put the single-payer plan in theforefront> of the national debate about how to reform the health care system. It> would make organized labor a principal player in the debate, givingnew> hope to the 47 million Americans that have no health care coverageand the> millions who are being exploited by insurance and drug companies.>> An AFL-CIO campaign for H.R. 676 would receive an immediate and> enthusiastic response from tens of thousands of union members acrossthe> country, who would gladly volunteer for a cause that means so muchfor> working families. The “talking points” for H.R. 676. are numerous and> persuasive: Under single-payer, everyone is guaranteed choice of> physician, as well as comprehensive and uniform coverage. Whetheryou’re> rich or poor, you get the same level of treatment.>> Even if you are unemployed or lose or change your job, your health> coverage goes with you. It ends the insurance companies’ interferencewith> care. There is no denial of coverage due to pre-existing conditionsor> cancellation of policies for “unreported” minor health problems.>> The amount of money that single-payer can save will be enormous.Insurance> agencies and drug companies are notorious for their highadministrative> costs, exorbitant executive salaries, and profits for thestockholders.> And perhaps best of all, the single-payer system doesn’t have tostart> from scratch. It builds on Medicare, which has served millions of> Americans for four decades.>> All of the current proposals on health care, including PresidentBush’s,> rely on “market forces,” allowing the for-profit companies tocontinue> their exploitive control of an industry that serves a vital humanneed.>> By endorsing H.R. 676 and waging a full-scale campaign for itspassage,> the AFL-CIO can regain the respectful attention it once had inWashington> and across the country. It could probably serve as a boost for the> Employee Free Choice Act.>> The Executive Council’s decision on national health insurance may beas> important as any it has made in years. Let’s hope it is the rightone.>> Our two weekly columns and their archives (LaborTalk and The World of> Labor) can be viewed and downloaded at our website:> http://www.laboreducator.org.>> ____________________________________>> The above article of interest to union members is distributed by:>> All Unions Committee For Single Payer Health Care–HR 676> c/o Nurses Professional Organization (NPO)> 1169 Eastern Pkway, Suite 2218> Louisville, KY 40217> (502) 636-1551> email: nursenpo@aol.com> 3/2/07