My Event

I did my event on Friday May 23. I painted a sort of mural on a poster and then talked to people about it outside The Cheeseboard in Berkeley. A lot of people looked at my mural, but they did not stay to listen. I found that elderly people were more likely to listen to me than younger people so I mostly targeted them. I told people the basic issues with our health care system and then asked them to share what they knew with me. Some people did not know anything about health care while others had person experiences. One man told me about an operation that he had that cost $135,000. Another woman told me about how she cannot get health care for her daughter because her daughter has cancer. The worst part of my event consisted of a man giving a twenty minute (I timed it) monolog about how politics can never get anything done and then taking out his teeth half way through his speech and sticking them in his pocket. I still shudder when I think about it. I had a lot of trouble getting people to stop and listen. In retrospect, I wish that I had brought my petition or a survey so that I could have a better opener. That way, I could inform people about the issue quickly and then go into more depth if the person was willing to listen.
The experience that I had that night was new to me. I have always hated people who try and talk to me about issues and for those few hours, I was one of those annoying people whom I would have ignored. I am a very shy person so it was completely out of character for me to try and talk to complete strangers. On the whole, the experience is one that I would never like to endure again for as long as I live.

S.E.C. Backs Health Care Balloting

This article is about how the S.E.C., or the Securities and Exchange Commission have decided that shareholders in large companies must vote about providing universal health care for the employees. Many shareholders are hesitant about agreeing to require universal health care because they do not see how it would benefit their business. The S.E.C. has banned companies form keeping the proposal off of the 2008 proxy. The companies and share holders have many various views about the issue. Some of the companies have already implemented the basic ideals that are used to provide universal health care. Others, like Wal-Mart are negotiating with the shareholders to come up with a compromise, still others do not want to implement a universal health care system because it might hurt the company. The leaders of this commission are religious leaders or from labor unions and have implemented similar plans to what they are proposing. They hope that these companies will do the same.
I think that this is a good idea, because it emphasises the importance of this issue. I thought that it was interesting how the advocates for this proxy were religious leaders because I had never thought of them as people who play a large role in the health care issue. I also thought that it was interesting how Reynold's American, a cigarette company was hesitant about the plan because it might mean an increase on the cigarette tax. I think that it is really good that so many people are taking a stand about American health care.

Pear, Robert. "S.E.C. Backs Health Care Balloting." nytimes.com. May 27, 2008. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/business/27health.html>

Response to a Capitalist America

While I understand that on of the United States' greatest triumphs is its capitalist economy, I believe that there are some limits. I do not believe that everything in our lives should depend on a competing market. This is especially relevant now because of the state that our economy is in. There is a distinct line between using capitalism to increase productivity and letting it control our lives. Specifically, I do not think that we should receive less health care because we have less money than other people. Why should the rich get a better chance to receive help if they are ill or injured? There is a difference between buying a great car and buying great health insurance. When we depend on capitalism for health care, we start to cross the line of putting a price on great service and the price of a person's well being. I do not think that anyone has the right to put a price on a person's life.

Presidential Candidates on Health Care

This article summarizes the three presidential candidates' health plans.
Clinton: Requires everyone to purchase health insurance, make employers provide insurance in large companies and have tax cuts for small companies that provide health care for their employees. She would make insurance portable from job to job and increase the use of government programs. Make it illegal for insurance companies to charge more or refuse service if someone has a preexisting condition.
Obama: Require everyone to provide health insurance for children. Make employers in large companies pay for insurance, have tax cuts for small company employers who provide health care, make insurance portable form job to job, and increase the use of government programs. Make it illegal for insurance companies to refuse service or charge more if someone has a preexisting condition.
Difference: The only difference between these two plans is that Clinton would require that everyone purchase health insurance, and while Obama says that people would buy it willingly without a mandate. If that is the case then the mandate is unnecessary and there will be no difference between Clinton and Obama's health care plans.
McCain: Increase competition between insurance companies, provide tax cuts for people who purchase their own insurance, make insurance portable from job to job or in other states.
I think that Clinton and Obama have really good health care plans. They are both as fool proof as possible and will greatly benefit our country. McCain's plan is a little idealistic, his ideas seem nice, but when it comes down to it, there will be no change, McCain's plan is based upon the assumption that the price of insurance will drop enough to make it affordable for everyone. I do not believe that this will ever happen.

"The Issues: Health Care." nytime.com. May 29, 2008. <http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/issues/health.html>

End Runs on Medicaid

To the Editor:
I am writing in regards to the editorial ‘End runs on Medicaid.’ For the past several years, congress has been trying to increase spending on Medicare and Medicaid programs only to have their proposals continually vetoed by President Bush. The Moratorium on passing laws about Medicaid seems like the only way to ensure that the Bush Administration does no more damage. At this point in time, congress and the senate are divided on the health care issue. The Moratorium would ensure that no drastic changes are made until there is a new house. Over the past year, I have seen an increase in interest in better funding for government run health care systems within my community and the government itself.
The Bush Administration has extended its power too far and it is imperative that the house take measures to prevent the Administration from creating long term consequences. While I understand why President Bush feels so strong a need to overstep his boundaries in some areas, I am unable to comprehend his reasoning behind cutting budgets on Medicaid. The Medicare and Medicaid programs are some of the few designed solely to help the United States’ population. What benefit does President Bush see in cutting their budget? If anything, we should be adding money to the Medicaid budget. After extensive study on the topic of health care and the role that the government plays in it, I still cannot understand why we do not have a better health care system. I understand the argument about keeping insurance companies in business, but what about the millions of people who are still uninsured? Shouldn’t they have health care as well?
The biggest issue with the Health care debate is that there are so many other issues that need to be taken care of. We have a failing economy, the dollar is dropping and gas prices are soaring. We are in the midst of a war and we still spend so much time on health care. Comparatively, health care is the least of our concerns. I believe that the house should stop revising health care laws and President Bush should stop vetoing them. After all, once enough people are out of jobs, they will not be able to afford health insurance and there will be an even greater need for government run health care.

'End runs on Medicaid.' Editorial. nytimes.com. May 27, 2008. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/opinion/>

Clinton on Health Care

In this video, Clinton concisely describes her view on health care in the United States. She believes that health care is one of our nation's biggest issues and has come up with a solution to enroll all of America's uninsured citizens into some form of health care. In this video, Clinton also gives the basics about her health care plan, stating that it is a combination of employer based and individual responsibility.
While I do not agree with Clinton on all issues, I think that she has the best health care plan. McCain does not have one and Obama's is the same but less extensive. The only thing that I do not understand about Clinton's plan is how she will enforce her mandate on health care. The reason that people would not purchase health care is that it would be too expensive, so what would she do to enforce her plan? Have a fee? That would make it harder for people to afford health care than before.

Hillary on her dedication to universal health care. youtube.com. May 26, 2008. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UFQ-O_muOc>

Illegal farm Workers Get Health Care in Shadows

This article is about what illegal immigrants do for health care. One-half to two-thirds of illegal immigrants do not have health insurance so they use a number of different sources. Most common is the use of curanderas or healers who use herbs and incantations. The people use the healers because it is mostly for common sicknesses or pains and it is significantly cheaper than going to a doctor. On curandera, Herminia L. Arenas, gets her inspiration for healing through anything, even watching egg yolks separate. While these remedies seem unsafe, they can help relieve pain and the immigrants have full trust in her. Immigrants also go to Mexico where they can receive cheap pharmaceuticals that will last throughout the next year. Contrary to popular belief, they only go to the emergency room when it is necessary. Once illegal immigrants move to the United States, they often suffer from common diseases like diabetes, obesity and asthma.
I think that it is interesting how the illegal immigrants use healers with such trust. This article showed a different side of the health care issue because I never thought about what illegal immigrants did. What was also interesting to me was that immigrants will use their same remedies even if we get universal health care because these plans are for citizens. We assume that everyone will have health care if we implement universal health care, but illegal immigrants will probably continue on with the curanderas.

Sack, Kevin. 'Illegal Farm Workers Get Health Care in Shadows.' nytimes.com. May 10, 2008.<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/us/10migrant.html?pagewanted=1&ref=opinion&adxnnlx=1211257363-xeN%20Quus69iYgbwIzWRHAg>