Tag Archives: Health care

BIG SHOCK: GOP Governors Deny The Poor Health Care In Opposing Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion

But this year, the state determined that the $819 a month she draws in disability payments exceed the allowable limit. By the federal government’s reckoning, her $9,800 annual income made her officially poor. But under the standards set by Louisiana, she was too well off to receive Medicaid.

This is how Johnson, 57, finds herself back amid the roughly 49 million Americans who lack health insurance.

via GOP Governors Deny The Poor Health Care In Opposing Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion.

I don’t know why our Government thinks this is ok? People living way below the poverty line still don’t and will not have access to health care even under the Healthcare “Reforms”! I checked to see what my premium would be as a self-employed, self-pay insurance purchaser….$600 a month! I will get penalized if I don’t purchase insurance but I still can’t afford it on my own! Corporations who are cutting their employees hours to circumvent the new “reforms” disgust me and I will be doing a personal boycott of these brands (ex. Olive Garden). Where is the reform? I personally don’t see any! But what I do see is a lot of abuse of people who have no voice from so-called health providers. Case in point is my best friend who suffers from Lupus and all the complications that entails. She went into the hospital 2 weeks prior to Thanksgiving for routine test and follow-up and ending up in the ICU because of incompetent people who are supposedly sworn to do no harm! They ignored multiple cries for help and she nearly died! I can’t go into major detail yet because of possible litigation  but suffice it to say, this is what millions face everyday because they cannot afford to go to a hospital or doctor who isn’t just drawing a paycheck from the insurance companies not to treat people! Like Laura Johnson, my best friend also lost her ability to work because of her illness. She didn’t want to give up her livelihood but her body had other ideas. She too was denied and continues to be denied Medicaid because they claim she makes too much in SSDI. The amount she makes is commiserate with the earnings she made for a lifetime of putting up with stupid people and situations on a daily basis which isn’t very much. She, by definition, is the poorest of the poor also. I take care of her because she cannot afford a home health aid to assist her. She doesn’t pay me because her meager SSDI barely covers rent, utilities, food, and her medications. We were born and raised in Texas and we used to be proud to say that but now in light of all the heartless decisions being made by our richy-rich Governor, we don’t shout it from the roof-tops any longer. It’s a sad fact that hard-working Americans, who have always been able to make their way, are now finding themselves on the losing end of political machinations that are only harming this great nation of ours! Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness is threatened because NO ONE has money anymore due to loss of jobs and other income (retirement eaten by greed). One can’t have a LIFE (which includes health, shelter, food) without money. LIBERTY is null when the people are no longer represented by those who care about them. PURSUING HAPPINESS has a direct correlation to LIFE which again, one can’t have WITHOUT MONEY! Some might say, “SHE MUST BE A DEMOCRAT”. I say I am an American FED UP with all the fighting between the “two-party system” we supposedly still have! I don’t think we do anymore. It’s no longer about Democrat versus Republican. It’s about America and how we are failing in the basic rights guaranteed to us by the U.S. Constitution. Until the folks in charge figure this out, no one will have access to anything they need and The United States of America will fall into 3rd World status at the rate we are going now!

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Does True Democracy Still Exist?

[D]emocracy is impossible in a capitalist system. Capitalism is the realm of injustice and a tyranny of the richest against the poorest. Rousseau said, ‘Between the powerful and the weak all freedom is oppressed. Only the rule of law sets you free.’ That’s why the only way to save the world is through socialism, a democratic socialism… [Democracy is not just turning up to vote every five or four years], it’s much more than that, it’s a way of life, it’s giving power to the people… it is not the government of the rich over the people, which is what’s happening in almost all the so-called democratic Western capitalist countries.
Hugo Chávez, June 2010]

I do not know Hugo Chavez personally, but I wondered why Sean Penn kept running down to his side and supporting someone who has aligned himself with America’s sworn enemy (Cuba to be exact). i wondered what was so fascinating about this manthat Sean Penn supported his every move. What did he stand for and why did that conflict with America’s Political Ideology? I came across the above quote while reading about Presidente Chavez’s ideology.

His ideology is called Social Democracy. Social Democracy is defined as a “rejection” of the “either/or” polarization interpretation of capitalism versus socialism.[2] It claims that fostering a progressive evolution of capitalism will gradually result in the evolution of capitalist economy into socialist economy.[3] Social democracy argues that all citizens should be legally entitled to certain social rights. These are made up of universal access to public services such as: education, health care, workers’ compensation, and other services including child care and care for the elderly.[4] Social democracy is connected with the trade union labour movement and supports collective bargaining rights for workers.[5] Contemporary social democracy advocates freedom from discrimination based on differences of: ability/disability, age, ethnicity, gender, language, race, religion, sexual orientation, and social class (Wikipedia, 2012).

Last time I checked and read my pocket U.S. Constitution (yes, I carry a copy in my purse), I interpreted it to mean exactly what Hugo Chavez believes. This Social Democracy is what the 99% of American’s are fighting for right now in 2012! So, I ask you how this ideology conflicts with America? In my UNHUMBLE OPINION it doesn’t! I think it is parallel with the spirit of the America that was found BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE! Not BY THE CORPORATION FOR THE CORPORATION! I would agree that capitalism in its current form is no longer working for everyone and changes do need to be made.

How do we get back to the America that upheld the above ideologies?

By researching and VOTING! Voting is a privilege and the ONLY way to send a message to our current government institution that change is needed. My friends and I had a discussion about voting and the importance of voting. I feel if you don’t vote, you DO NOT have the right to complain about the state of the union. If you didn’t exercise your voice and vote, I feel you need to shut up! One of my friends felt voting for a third-party candidate was throwing away a vote. Voting for a third-party candidate is still a vote against the established parties of “Democrat” and “Republican”. To me they are one in the same. Here’s why: when it appears that a candidate may end up on the losing team, they jump ship and switch parties to retain their seat in our legislative body. Do I have proof they do this? No, but I have seen this tactic on the local and state levels.So, I wouldn’t be surprised if this tactic didn’t happen on a national level! I also think the reason behind this kangaroo party jumping is linked to the Congressional pay. The current salary (2011-2012) for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $174,000 per year (Longley, 2012; http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/congresspay.htm). That is more than anyone I know makes in a lifetime. It’s become very lucrative to be a legislator.  But you also have to come from money to run for public office. The little people or common American folk can’t afford to quit their hourly wage jobs to run for public office. Which is sad because that is how the power got taken away from the people. The current candidates will spend an estimated $5.8 billion on their race to the Presidency and Congress (Center for Responsive Politics, an independent research group which tracks money  in politics-Read more: http://www.bellenews.com/2012/08/02/world/us-news/why-does-the-us-election-cost-so-much/#ixzz22pboVzbs).

I don’t know any regular person with that kind of money. It would take years for someone on the grassroots level to raise that kind of money and by the time they did they would probably have lost interest. So, this brings me back to my point of voting. Voting will bring back America to the people if enough people will get out there and exercise their freedoms and let their voice be heard. We can get back to an America that cares about the people and their Constitutional Rights laid out by our fore-fathers: Government by the people and for the people!

Health Care Reform: Good Idea but Poorly Executed!

 

I am all for health care reform because I currently do not have health care and I still won’t if the health care law remains as is. I just read an article on CNN about an elderly lady who pays nearly $1000 a month for her healthcare (http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/19/us/embed-america-arkansas-health-care/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1). I find this crazy! But the new reforms will not help her either. They won’t help anyone! I went to the government website (http://www.healthcare.gov/) to read all the details and see how it would affect me and what I discovered is, like this elderly lady, I too will not be able to afford healthcare either. But the kicker is I, like her, will be penalized for not purchasing the (un)”affordable” health care plans spelled out on the government website. I calculated based on my current age and income, I would be paying nearly $600 a month for coverage. That would eat away at my daily living expenses and my diet would consist entirely of Ramen noodles which ISN’T healthy at all! My health would suffer from this poor diet and my cost would end up increasing from more doctors visits. It’s a vicious circle that could easily be avoided if they would take out the penalty in this healthcare “reform” bill. Why penalize someone who still can’t afford the “reformed” health care plans. There should be a provision that provides plans on a sliding scale based on income but I didn’t find any information on that if such a provision exist. A lot of the states (including my home State of Texas) will not abide with the Affordable Insurance Exchange provision (http://www.healthcare.gov/law/features/choices/exchanges/index.html) for reasons I can’t quite fathom. Politics! The one key factor that all politicians on both sides fail to realize is 99% of Americans live in abject poverty.  It’s rich and poor! There is no middle class.  Two-classes! That’s it! If you don’t have enough savings to live on for at least 6 months in case of a lay-off or medical disaster, then you live in abject poverty! If you do not have a retirement savings plan or it has been depleted because of a lay-off, medical disaster, or God-forbid someone stole it then you live in abject poverty. If you live paycheck to paycheck and your take home pay is only a 1/4 of what is listed in the gross amount, then you live in abject poverty. How many people can identify with these scenarios? I do, my friends do, and my family members do! So, how can our lovely government, comprised not only of the president but a congress as well, justify adding a penalty to an already over-taxed, over-stressed, under-paid population? I just shake my head in disbelief at the sheer illogical thought process our lovely government officials have come up with! Some would say we still have the best system of any country in the world. But do we really?  I am beginning to wonder.

And remember, this blog is my 1st Amendment right! You can agree or disagree but do it respectfully!