I'VE GOT MINE

Written by: Thomas Janowski on Sep 3, 2009 9:34 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy for New York, Fair Share For Health Care Initiative, dfaROCHESTER, DFA Night School

When I attended my local Congressman's health care town hall meeting I was immediately struck by the hatred  and selfish attitudes that filled the 1000 seat auditorium.  I endured 4 hours of comments that proved  two simple points.  1.  The overwhelming majority were incredibly selfish and 2.  Misinformation ruled their thoughts and comments. 

While sitting there, sad and depressed thinking about how ashamed I was of my fellow Americans, I kept thinking of one of my favorite songs.  After that town hall meeting I came home and looked at the lyrics.  Sure enough, the song perfectly described the attitude of the majority of people attending.

Glenn Frey's I've Got Mine

 

I’VE GOT MINE

Someone’s sleeping on the sidewalk
As the winter sun goes down
Someone’s drinking cold champagne
In another part of town
And the only thing he thinks about
As he sips his glass of wine
“It sure feels good sittin’ here tonight
Now that I’ve got mine”

I’ve got mine, I’ve got mine
This isn’t such a bitter world
‘Cause I’ve got mine

Someone’s wandering the streets tonight
No way to warm his hands
Someone’s turning up their fireplace
Making travel plans
His mind is on some sandy beach
Where the sun is gonna shine
He thinks, “I don’t have to hang around
Now that I’ve got mine”

You see them in their limousines
You see the way they stare
They don’t see us looking back
Because they don’t really care,

They say,
“I’ve got mine, I’ve got mine
The world is as it’s meant to be
‘Cause I’ve got mine”

So I make a small donation
What more can I do?
You know I didn’t make this world
I’m in it just like you
I’ve worked all my life on this house of cards
To keep it all in line
I can’t take care of everyone
Now that I’ve got mine

There’s another kind of poverty
That only rich men know
A moral malnutrition
That starves their very souls
And they can’t be saved by money
They’re all running out of time
And all the while they’re thinking,
“It’s OK, ’cause I’ve got mine”

I’ve got mine, I’ve got mine
I don’t want a thing to change
‘Cause I’ve got mine, I’ve got mine

 

Democracy For America needs to support Jonathan Tasini for US Senate in NY

Written by: Thomas Janowski on Jul 3, 2009 2:49 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy for New York, Fair Share For Health Care Initiative, dfaROCHESTER

I really can't think of anyone who is more of a true, hard core progressive than Jonathan Tasini.  He has already run for Senate once, in the primary against Hillary Clinton.  In 2010, he will challenge Kirsten Gillibrand.  I will admit to not knowing too much about Kirsten Gillibrand, but I feel like I know Tasini as much as a supporter can know a candidate. 

dfaROCHESTER hosted a meeting with Tasini when he ran the first time and collectively, we were impressed.  I have continued to follow Tasini and I continued to be impressed. 

Check out his online announcement....he mentions the "great one"--Howard Dean.

 

http://www.jonathantasini.com/

 

Analysis of Private Health Insurance Industry $2 Trillion “Savings” Proposal

Written by: Scott R on May 13, 2009 8:44 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy for New York, DFA Campaign Academy Alumni, Democracy for America Miami-Dade (DFAM), Democracy for Tennessee, Philly for Change

The private health insurance industry proposes to reduce health care spend and slow rate increases over the next 10 years to provide $2 trillion in “savings”?

Let's analyze what that might mean.

Analysis of Private Health Insurance Industry $2 Trillion Savings Proposal

The purpose of this analysis is meant to provide grounding, and further the discussions and progress of US health care reform.

Please note that all statistics are rounded to make the calculations and comprehension of the concepts more straightforward.

Please provide feedback to make this information more correct and useful.

US Private Health Insurance Industry $2 Trillion Savings Proposal

The private health insurance industry proposes to reduce health care spend and slow premium increases over the next 10 years to provide $2 trillion in savings.

2009 US Health Care Spend

Total 2009 US health care annual spend is widely accepted to be US $2.5 trillion.

US Private Health Insurance Industry Market

Today, 1200 US private health insurance companies make up the US private health insurance industry that insures 60% of the US population, or 180 million Americans.

Approximately 180 million Americans are covered by private health insurance.   At an estimate of $10,000 per person per year, that amounts to roughly $1.8 trillion annually.  

At $1.8 trillion annually, the private health insurance industry administers 70% of the total $2.5 trillion US health care annual spend. 

Whether for profit or non profit, the private health insurance industry is lucrative. In fact, of the $1.8 trillion private health insurance industry, 31% goes directly to private health insurance industry administrative costs and income.  So, for every US health care dollar spent by privately insured Americans, an average of 31 cents goes to the US private health insurers' administration and income, or approximately $580 billion annually.

If the private health insurance industry continues to administer 70% of the US health care industry at $1.8 trillion annually over the next 10 years, the total 10 year private health insurance industry would be $18 trillion at current US health insurance industry premiums and health care costs (obviously assuming no growth or reduction in the private health insurance and health care industries). 

Also, if the private health industry continues a 31% administrative costs and income at $580 billion annually over the next 10 years, the health insurance industry would receive $5.8 trillion for administrative costs and income at current US health insurance industry premiums and health care costs (once again assuming no growth or reduction in the private health insurance and health care industries). 

However, the US health care industry is estimated to grow as much as 60% or to a total of $40 trillion over the next 10 years.  

If the private health insurance industry continues to administer 70% of the total US health care annual spend over the next 10 years, the total private health insurance industry would be $24 trillion.  

And if the private health insurance industry maintains a 31% overhead over the next 10 years, a total of over $7.7 trillion would go directly to private health insurance industry operational costs and income. 

Over the next 10 years, the private health insurance industry could potentially see a $24 trillion industry that includes $7.7 trillion operational costs and income.

Does it really cost $7.7 trillion to write policies and process health care bills?  

With a potential total industry of nearly $24 trillion over the next 10 years, I am not surprised that the private health insurance industry proposed $2 trillion in reduced spending and slower premium increases. That's less than 10% in an industry that is projected to grow 60%.

US Private Health Insurance Industry Overhead

How does the private health insurance industry realize a 31% overhead today?

The 180 million Americans with private health insurance are statistically healthier, wealthier, and have less costly medical conditions (e.g. not terminally ill like a larger segment of those on Medicare, etc.).   By taking advantage of advances in information technology, automating business processes, and setting policies to deny coverage and insure the young, healthy, and wealthy is where the private health insurance industry realizes 31% overhead for administrative costs and income.

US Medicare and Medicaid/SCHIP Markets

How does private health insurance overhead compare to Medicare and Medicaid/SCHIP?

Medicare covers 45 million seniors or 15 percent of the US population. At an estimate of $10,000 per person per year, that amounts to $450 billion annually (including unfortunately $60 billion in fraud annually), with an overhead of only 3% or $13.5 billion annually due to no income requirement or excessive administrative costs and salaries. 

Medicare has some excesses and inefficiencies.   Also, seniors are statistically an unhealthier segment of the US population, while many require more expensive long term health care, especially the terminally ill.  The fact that this segment of the US population is growing the fastest will make matters even more complicated in the very near future. 

Medicaid/SCHIP costs are $300 billion annually (also including unfortunately $40 billion in fraud annually) for 30 million children, families, and seniors who are 65 or older, blind or disabled and have limited income, or roughly 10 percent of the US population.  At an estimate of $10,000 per person per year, that amounts to roughly $300 billion annually, with an overhead of only 3% or $9 billion annually due to no income requirement or excessive administrative costs and salaries. 

Medicaid/SCHIP also has some excesses and inefficiencies.  Additionally, low income groups are statistically an unhealthier and less literate segment of any population, and administering health care coverage and treatment can be more challenging.   Regrettably, this segment of the US population is also growing.

 

Analysis of Private Health Insurance Industry $2 Trillion “Savings” Proposal

Written by: Scott R on May 13, 2009 7:53 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy for Maryland, Florida DFA, DFA Film Club, Philly for Change, DFA Night School

The private health insurance industry proposes to reduce health care spend and slow rate increases over the next 10 years to provide $2 trillion in “savings”?

Let's analyze what that might mean.

 

Analysis of Private Health Insurance Industry $2 Trillion Savings Proposal

The purpose of this analysis is meant to provide grounding, and further the discussions and progress ofUS health care reform.

Please note that all statistics are rounded to make the calculations and comprehension of the concepts more straightforward.

Please provide feedback to make this information more correct and useful.

US Private Health Insurance Industry $2 Trillion Savings Proposal

The private health insurance industry proposes to reduce health care spend and slow premium increases over the next 10 years to provide $2 trillion in savings.

2009 US Health Care Spend

Total 2009 US health care annual spend is widely accepted to be US $2.5 trillion.

US Private Health Insurance Industry Market

Today, 1200 US private health insurance companies make up the US private health insurance industry that insures 60% of the US population, or 180 million Americans.

Approximately 180 million Americans are covered by private health insurance.   At an estimate of $10,000 per person per year, that amounts to roughly $1.8 trillion annually.  

At $1.8 trillion annually, the private health insurance industry administers 70% of the total $2.5 trillion US health care annual spend. 

Whether for profit or non profit, the private health insurance industry is lucrative. In fact, of the $1.8 trillion private health insurance industry, 31% goes directly to private health insurance industry administrative costs and income.  So, for every US health care dollar spent by privately insured Americans, an average of 31 cents goes to the US private health insurers' administration and income, or approximately $580 billion annually.

If the private health insurance industry continues to administer 70% of the US health care industry at $1.8 trillion annually over the next 10 years, the total 10 year private health insurance industry would be $18 trillion at current US health insurance industry premiums and health care costs (obviously assuming no growth or reduction in the private health insurance and health care industries). 

Also, if the private health industry continues a 31% administrative costs and income at $580 billion annually over the next 10 years, the health insurance industry would receive $5.8 trillion for administrative costs and income at current US health insurance industry premiums and health care costs (once again assuming no growth or reduction in the private health insurance and health care industries). 

However, the US health care industry is estimated to grow as much as 60% or to a total of $40 trillion over the next 10 years.  

If the private health insurance industry continues to administer 70% of the total US health care annual spend over the next 10 years, the total private health insurance industry would be $24 trillion.  

And if the private health insurance industry maintains a 31% overhead over the next 10 years, a total of over $7.7 trillion would go directly to private health insurance industry operational costs and income. 

Over the next 10 years, the private health insurance industry could potentially see a $24 trillion industry that includes $7.7 trillion operational costs and income.

Does it really cost $7.7 trillion to write policies and process health care bills?  

With a potential total industry of nearly $24 trillion over the next 10 years, I am not surprised that the private health insurance industry proposed $2 trillion in reduced spending and slower premium increases. That's less than 10% in an industry that is projected to grow 60%.

US Private Health Insurance Industry Overhead

How does the private health insurance industry realize a 31% overhead today?

The 180 million Americans with private health insurance are statistically healthier, wealthier, and have less costly medical conditions (e.g. not terminally ill like a larger segment of those on Medicare, etc.).   By taking advantage of advances in information technology, automating business processes, and setting policies to deny coverage and insure the young, healthy, and wealthy is where the private health insurance industry realizes 31% overhead for administrative costs and income.

US Medicare and Medicaid/SCHIP Markets

How does private health insurance overhead compare to Medicare and Medicaid/SCHIP?

Medicare covers 45 million seniors or 15 percent of the US population. At an estimate of $10,000 per person per year, that amounts to $450 billion annually (including unfortunately $60 billion in fraud annually), with an overhead of only 3% or $13.5 billion annually due to no income requirement or excessive administrative costs and salaries. 

Medicare has some excesses and inefficiencies.   Also, seniors are statistically an unhealthier segment of the US population, while many require more expensive long term health care, especially the terminally ill.  The fact that this segment of the US population is growing the fastest will make matters even more complicated in the very near future. 

Medicaid/SCHIP costs are $300 billion annually (also including unfortunately $40 billion in fraud annually) for 30 million children, families, and seniors who are 65 or older, blind or disabled and have limited income, or roughly 10 percent of the US population.  At an estimate of $10,000 per person per year, that amounts to roughly $300 billion annually, with an overhead of only 3% or $9 billion annually due to no income requirement or excessive administrative costs and salaries. 

Medicaid/SCHIP also has some excesses and inefficiencies.  Additionally, low income groups are statistically an unhealthier and less literate segment of any population, and administering health care coverage and treatment can be more challenging.   Regrettably, this segment of the US population is also growing.

 

 

Watch Countdown with Keith Olbermann on the net at http://liberal.democratz.org

Written by: Dennis Baer on Feb 17, 2009 4:04 PM EST

Linked to groups: DFALA, Illinois Sixth Progressive Dems, The Young Turks ~ ENOUGH!, Blogs United, Health Care Maryland

Did you miss last night's episode of Countdown with Keith Olbermann? Does your tv system not have MSNBC? If so then you can watch Countdown with Keith Olbermann on the net at

http://liberal.democratz.org and if you can't get to that web page then go to

http://mysite.verizon.net/vze2pnn4/dmocrats1/id2.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read more

Send this letter to congress to end Republiklan filibusters and get needed legislation enacted. http://write2congress.buyblue.biz

Written by: Dennis Baer on Feb 17, 2009 1:19 PM EST

Linked to groups: DFA Nashville, Tennessee Trained Activists, Democracy for Illinois, Democracy for Hawai`i, Oakland DFA Meetup

Send the following letter by fax to Senate Republican minority leader Senator Mitch McConnell. Tell other people to visit this site and have these people to get other people to visit this site.

Go to http://write2congress.buyblue.biz which will have the letter shown below in the text box and the fax information for Senator McConnell. Just enter your name and email in the left hand box and fill in the captcha code and then click on the button that reads send free fax now.


Dear Senator Senator McConnell

I want the following actions taken and legislation enacted into law.

 

Read more

Bush health insurance plan is unhealthy for all Americans

Written by: catherine wolf on Mar 2, 2007 5:01 PM EST

Linked to groups: Fair Share For Health Care Initiative

I have Lou Gehrig’s disease. I have concluded Bush’s health insurance plan is unhealthy for me and the American people. I am a quadriplegic and ventilator dependent. Although I have Medicare, it is not sufficient for my extensive needs. I urge Congress to reject Bush’s plan. I will address the part of the plan that gives individual and family health insurance tax deductions of $7,500 and $15,000, respectively.

 

Employer related health insurance has dropped from 63.6% in 2000 to 59.5% in 2005, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). This trend will be exacerbated if employers choose to eliminate health insurance plans because their employees will have a tax deduction to buy health insurance on their own. I am insured as a dependent under my husband's employer's health plan. If his and other employers terminate their health insurance, where will I and others with serious illnesses get health insurance in the free market? Under the Bush plan, insurance in excess of $15,000 for a family would be taxable income. The administration estimates that 80% would see their taxes drop and 20% would see their taxes increase. But that assumes the status quo. Those employers that don't terminate their health insurance plans would almost certainly shift more of the cost to their employees. Thus, many middle and low income employees who have employer insurance would be taxed on the excess. Employer related insurance, which covers the majority of Americans, is far from perfect. The president's plan would have dangerous and unpredictable effects on employer related health insurance.

 

More importantly, the president's plan would do little to reduce the ranks of the uninsured. The government estimates that three to five million of the nearly 47 million uninsured would be insured under the Bush plan. Consider the case of a single mother with three children. She would need a taxable income of $78,550 and a pre-tax income of $91,750 to take full advantage of the Bush health insurance deduction using the 2006 tax tables. This puts her in the highest quintile of family income for 2004, according to the EPI. Minimum wage earners with families, working forty hours a week at the proposed new minimum wage of $7.25/hour, would get no tax benefit. My guess is that the primary beneficiaries of the proposed health insurance plan would be highly paid healthy young people with flexible benefits who currently opt out of employer health plans and choose a cash payment in lieu of insurance. Under the president's plan, this group would have a tax incentive to take employer health insurance or buy a private policy. Is this the group who we want to help?

 

Bush's plan does little to help the uninsured and jeopardizes employer related health insurance.

 

Catherine G. Wolf, PhD  

Message From Steve Perez, Working Families Party Internet Organizer

Written by: Larry Dudley on May 12, 2006 9:47 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Fair Share For Health Care Initiative

Hi,

The Times Union just called the Fair Share for Health Care Act the "next big thing" in the state capital, so put the next big step for the bill on your calendar: The State Assembly will hold a hearing on the Fair Share for Health Care Act two weeks from now on May 23rd. This is a critical chance for us to join together to show how broad support for the bill is.

Please take a moment to sign on to our testimony in support of the bill and add your own testimony on the importance of guaranteed, quality health care. Then ask your family and friends to support the bill by forwarding this email to them.

To take action, click here -
www.workingfamiliesparty.org/fai...

You probably know the rap. The Fair Share for Health Care Act will ensure that large employers provide decent, affordable benefits to their workers. That means employees of firms like Wal-Mart and Pizza Hut, and even big buildings like the Empire State Plaza, will have to do what most responsible local employers do - provide health care to their cashiers, waiters and security guards.

Four hundred fifty thousand New Yorkers from working families will get health care if the bill passes, and
Taxpayers will save $1 billion because another 200,000 New Yorkers employed by these corporate freeloaders will move from Medicaid to employer-sponsored health care.
The Assembly hearing on the Fair Share for Health Care Act is our chance to make our case for the bill before state legislators. Hundreds of us will be at the hearing and the media will be watching, but our opponents will also be out in force.

When you sign on to our testimony you can also say why you support the bill and see what other people are saying. Then, we'll take what everyone says with us on the 23rd to the state capital.

In preparation for the hearing, we've also posted a new overview of the bill and a series ofregional reports showing the benefits of the Fair Share for Health Care Act.

To take action, click here -
www.workingfamiliesparty.org/fai...

Sincerely,

Steve Perez
Working Families Party Internet Organizer
sperez@workingfamiliesparty.org
workingfamiliesparty.org/...
wfpjournal.blogspot.com/...

p.s. Next week we'll send out details about how you can join other supporters and sign up for a bus ride to the capital to fill the hearing room and support the bill.