Separate And Unequal: U.S. Health Care and the Republican Response

Separate And Unequal: U.S. Health Care and the Republican Response

By RJ Eskow

Created Apr 8 2008 - 10:33am

The nation commemorated the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King's death

last week. Here's a quote from him that didn't get much play in the

testimonials: "Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is

the most shocking and inhumane." Two recent studies highlights the lack of

progress we've made in four decades, and proposals from John McCain and the

Florida State Senate show how little resonance Dr. King's words have in some

corners of public life.

Studies by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of

Public Health provide more documentation for something many Americans know

from personal experience: The United States is a nation living under medical

apartheid. The South Florida Times [1] summarized the studies' findings as

follows:

"... elderly black and Hispanic patients often received substandard care

for common but serious conditions like heart attacks, congestive heart

failure and pneumonia. Researchers say their data suggests that the nation's

healthcare system is racially and ethnically segregated, not just for the

elderly, but across the board."

Lead researcher, Dr. Ashish K. Jha, said:

"When we see ongoing segregation in housing and education [in America,] it

may not be surprising that we're seeing very different administration of

care in hospitals that serve blacks and Hispanics versus hospitals that

mostly serve whites. But we're not talking about [failures of] high tech

medicine. This is basic stuff, like failing to administer aspirin or beta

blockers to patients suffering a heart attack; treatments that we've known

about for 20 years.''

These studies are consistent with earlier findings that, at all levels of

incomes, black Americans die years earlier than whites [2]. The infant

mortality rate for African American babies is 2.5 times greater than it is

for non-Hispanic whites, according to data from the National Center for

Health Statistics [3], giving us the worst infant mortality rate of any

industrialized nation on Earth [4] except Latvia. It should be noted that

these recent studies demonstrate that Hispanics in this country also

experience extreme disparities in medical care.

Are you OK with that? Then how about this? Lack of health insurance results

in the deaths of 18,000 Americans each year, according to studies compiled

by the National Academies' Institute of Medicine [5]. That equates to 49 or

50 deaths every day.

How are politicians responded to this ongoing health crisis among "the least

of us"? The Republican-dominated Florida State Senate is proposing to cut

$803 million in health care financing for the low-income residents, the

poor, and senior citizens -- a figure the Orlando Sentinel [6] calls

"staggering." Disabled Floridians and recent transplant recipients would be

among those losing medical coverage. "This is a death sentence for a lot of

people," said a bone-marrow transplant patient. He's right.

For his part, according to the Boston Globe, John McCain is still "working

out the details" of his health plan. He's already done enough. Some friendly

reporters are emphasizing his willingness to offer tax credits rather than

just tax deductions, as his GOP predecessors have done. But his plan is the

same prescription for disaster that Bush's and Giuliani's were. Like them,

he proposes to end tax benefits for employers providing health insurance.

That would effectively scrap the current employer-funded system which,

however imperfect, provides health coverage to millions of Americans today.

McCain would replace the employer system with a tax benefit that would fall

far short of covering the added costs of health insurance for working

Americans, especially since the bargaining clout of employers would be

scrapped for a free-for-all system of individual buyers without expertise or

buying power. The result would be a plan that creates substantially higher

out-of-pocket costs for workers currently covered by their employers,

without extending insurance to those currently uncovered.

Oh -- and insurance company profits would skyrocket.

McCain attempts to make his plan more politically palatable than his

predecessors' by speaking in vague terms about "high risk pools" and

subsidies. But, except for the inclusion of tax credits, he has yet to

differentiate his proposal from theirs in any concrete way. His refusal to

place any requirements on insurance companies, together with his abandonment

of the employer-based insurance system, would create enormous financial

hardship for many of those who suffer from cancer and other pre-existing

conditions.

What about the poor and unemployed? Some of them might benefit from a tax

credit in theory, but here's what would happen in real life: The

$5,000-per-family figure McCain mentioned wouldn't cover premiums for very

many lower-income people, if any. It's unlikely they'd be able to afford the

difference between $5,000 and the actual cost of insurance, which would

likely be thousands of dollars per year. The net result? An unused tax

credit - and continued lack of coverage for the uninsured.

Obama and Clinton supporters are free to continue their blood feud over

which has the better health plan. I've argued that Obama's is more

politically feasible and, in the end, more progressive [7]. Some colleagues

in the policy world disagree. But most of us agree that either Sen.

Clinton's plan or Sen. Obama's would be a vast improvement over McCain's.

And the actions of the Florida State Senate are nothing more than

unconscionable.

To be clear, we're talking about two distinct policy issues here: the

problem of the uninsured, and the ethnic and racial divide in American

health care. But these two issues are closely related, and both cut to the

heart of what it means to be a just society in the 21st century.

--

NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not

always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material

available to advance understanding of

political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I

believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as

provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright

Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107

"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their

spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their

government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are

suffering deeply in spirit,

and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public

debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have

patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning

back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at

stake."

-Thomas Jefferson

On Apr 9, 9:45 am, "Gandalf Grey" <valino...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Separate And Unequal: U.S. Health Care and the Republican Response

>

> By RJ Eskow

>

> Created Apr 8 2008 - 10:33am

>

> The nation commemorated the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King's death

> last week. Here's a quote from him that didn't get much play in the

> testimonials: "Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is

> the most shocking and inhumane." Two recent studies highlights the lack of

> progress we've made in four decades, and proposals from John McCain and the

> Florida State Senate show how little resonance Dr. King's words have in some

> corners of public life.

>

> Studies by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of

> Public Health provide more documentation for something many Americans know

> from personal experience: The United States is a nation living under medical

> apartheid. The South Florida Times [1] summarized the studies' findings as

> follows:

>

> "... elderly black and Hispanic patients often received substandard care

> for common but serious conditions like heart attacks, congestive heart

> failure and pneumonia. Researchers say their data suggests that the nation's

> healthcare system is racially and ethnically segregated, not just for the

> elderly, but across the board."

>

> Lead researcher, Dr. Ashish K. Jha, said:

>

> "When we see ongoing segregation in housing and education [in America,] it

> may not be surprising that we're seeing very different administration of

> care in hospitals that serve blacks and Hispanics versus hospitals that

> mostly serve whites. But we're not talking about [failures of] high tech

> medicine. This is basic stuff, like failing to administer aspirin or beta

> blockers to patients suffering a heart attack; treatments that we've known

> about for 20 years.''

>

> These studies are consistent with earlier findings that, at all levels of

> incomes, black Americans die years earlier than whites [2]. The infant

> mortality rate for African American babies is 2.5 times greater than it is

> for non-Hispanic whites, according to data from the National Center for

> Health Statistics [3], giving us the worst infant mortality rate of any

> industrialized nation on Earth [4] except Latvia. It should be noted that

> these recent studies demonstrate that Hispanics in this country also

> experience extreme disparities in medical care.

>

> Are you OK with that? Then how about this? Lack of health insurance results

> in the deaths of 18,000 Americans each year, according to studies compiled

> by the National Academies' Institute of Medicine [5]. That equates to 49 or

> 50 deaths every day.

>

> How are politicians responded to this ongoing health crisis among "the least

> of us"? The Republican-dominated Florida State Senate is proposing to cut

> $803 million in health care financing for the low-income residents, the

> poor, and senior citizens -- a figure the Orlando Sentinel [6] calls

> "staggering." Disabled Floridians and recent transplant recipients would be

> among those losing medical coverage. "This is a death sentence for a lot of

> people," said a bone-marrow transplant patient. He's right.

>

> For his part, according to the Boston Globe, John McCain is still "working

> out the details" of his health plan. He's already done enough. Some friendly

> reporters are emphasizing his willingness to offer tax credits rather than

> just tax deductions, as his GOP predecessors have done. But his plan is the

> same prescription for disaster that Bush's and Giuliani's were. Like them,

> he proposes to end tax benefits for employers providing health insurance.

> That would effectively scrap the current employer-funded system which,

> however imperfect, provides health coverage to millions of Americans today.

>

> McCain would replace the employer system with a tax benefit that would fall

> far short of covering the added costs of health insurance for working

> Americans, especially since the bargaining clout of employers would be

> scrapped for a free-for-all system of individual buyers without expertise or

> buying power. The result would be a plan that creates substantially higher

> out-of-pocket costs for workers currently covered by their employers,

> without extending insurance to those currently uncovered.

>

> Oh -- and insurance company profits would skyrocket.

>

> McCain attempts to make his plan more politically palatable than his

> predecessors' by speaking in vague terms about "high risk pools" and

> subsidies. But, except for the inclusion of tax credits, he has yet to

> differentiate his proposal from theirs in any concrete way. His refusal to

> place any requirements on insurance companies, together with his abandonment

> of the employer-based insurance system, would create enormous financial

> hardship for many of those who suffer from cancer and other pre-existing

> conditions.

>

> What about the poor and unemployed? Some of them might benefit from a tax

> credit in theory, but here's what would happen in real life: The

> $5,000-per-family figure McCain mentioned wouldn't cover premiums for very

> many lower-income people, if any. It's unlikely they'd be able to afford the

> difference between $5,000 and the actual cost of insurance, which would

> likely be thousands of dollars per year. The net result? An unused tax

> credit - and continued lack of coverage for the uninsured.

>

> Obama and Clinton supporters are free to continue their blood feud over

> which has the better health plan. I've argued that Obama's is more

> politically feasible and, in the end, more progressive [7]. Some colleagues

> in the policy world disagree. But most of us agree that either Sen.

> Clinton's plan or Sen. Obama's would be a vast improvement over McCain's.

> And the actions of the Florida State Senate are nothing more than

> unconscionable.

>

> To be clear, we're talking about two distinct policy issues here: the

> problem of the uninsured, and the ethnic and racial divide in American

> health care. But these two issues are closely related, and both cut to the

> heart of what it means to be a just society in the 21st century.

>

> --

> NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not

> always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material

> available to advance understanding of

> political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I

> believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as

> provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright

> Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107

>

> "A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their

> spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their

> government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are

> suffering deeply in spirit,

> and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public

> debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have

> patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning

> back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at

> stake."

> -Thomas Jefferson

I'm not surprise at this finding. AmeriKKKa is a still a racist

society. Many people simply don't get it how racist this nation is.

This nation is rooted in racism.

Red Cloud wrote:

>

> I'm not surprise at this finding. AmeriKKKa is a still a racist

> society. Many people simply don't get it how racist this nation is.

> This nation is rooted in racism.

I went to a baseball game with a Black friend ,who having come

directly from work ,was wearing a suit. Several people assumed he was a

former player and asked for autographs. I saw no resemblance but I think

they saw a large well dressed Black man and assumed he must have been an

athlete because how else could he afford the nice suit.

NumbNadds wrote:

> On Apr 9, 12:37 pm, Red Cloud <mmdir2...@yahoo.com> wrote:

> > On Apr 9, 9:45 am, "Gandalf Grey" <valino...@gmail.com> wrote:

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > > Separate And Unequal: U.S. Health Care and the Republican Response

> >

> > > By RJ Eskow

> >

> > > Created Apr 8 2008 - 10:33am

> >

> > > The nation commemorated the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther

> > > King's death last week. Here's a quote from him that didn't get

> > > much play in the testimonials: "Of all the forms of inequality,

> > > injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane." Two

> > > recent studies highlights the lack of progress we've made in four

> > > decades, and proposals from John McCain and the Florida State

> > > Senate show how little resonance Dr. King's words have in some

> > > corners of public life.

> >

> > > Studies by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard

> > > School of Public Health provide more documentation for something

> > > many Americans know from personal experience: The United States

> > > is a nation living under medical apartheid. The South Florida

> > > Times [1] summarized the studies' findings as follows:

> >

> > > "... elderly black and Hispanic patients often received

> > > substandard care for common but serious conditions like heart

> > > attacks, congestive heart failure and pneumonia. Researchers say

> > > their data suggests that the nation's healthcare system is

> > > racially and ethnically segregated, not just for the elderly, but

> > > across the board."

> >

> > > Lead researcher, Dr. Ashish K. Jha, said:

> >

> > > "When we see ongoing segregation in housing and education [in

> > > America,] it may not be surprising that we're seeing very

> > > different administration of care in hospitals that serve blacks

> > > and Hispanics versus hospitals that mostly serve whites. But

> > > we're not talking about [failures of] high tech medicine. This is

> > > basic stuff, like failing to administer aspirin or beta blockers

> > > to patients suffering a heart attack; treatments that we've known

> > > about for 20 years.''

> >

> > > These studies are consistent with earlier findings that, at all

> > > levels of incomes, black Americans die years earlier than whites

> > > [2]. The infant mortality rate for African American babies is 2.5

> > > times greater than it is for non-Hispanic whites, according to

> > > data from the National Center for Health Statistics [3], giving

> > > us the worst infant mortality rate of any industrialized nation

> > > on Earth [4] except Latvia. It should be noted that these recent

> > > studies demonstrate that Hispanics in this country also

> > > experience extreme disparities in medical care.

> >

> > > Are you OK with that? Then how about this? Lack of health

> > > insurance results in the deaths of 18,000 Americans each year,

> > > according to studies compiled by the National Academies'

> > > Institute of Medicine [5]. That equates to 49 or 50 deaths every

> > > day.

> >

> > > How are politicians responded to this ongoing health crisis among

> > > "the least of us"? The Republican-dominated Florida State Senate

> > > is proposing to cut $803 million in health care financing for the

> > > low-income residents, the poor, and senior citizens -- a figure

> > > the Orlando Sentinel [6] calls "staggering." Disabled Floridians

> > > and recent transplant recipients would be among those losing

> > > medical coverage. "This is a death sentence for a lot of people,"

> > > said a bone-marrow transplant patient. He's right.

> >

> > > For his part, according to the Boston Globe, John McCain is still

> > > "working out the details" of his health plan. He's already done

> > > enough. Some friendly reporters are emphasizing his willingness

> > > to offer tax credits rather than just tax deductions, as his GOP

> > > predecessors have done. But his plan is the same prescription for

> > > disaster that Bush's and Giuliani's were. Like them, he proposes

> > > to end tax benefits for employers providing health insurance.

> > > That would effectively scrap the current employer-funded system

> > > which, however imperfect, provides health coverage to millions of

> > > Americans today.

> >

> > > McCain would replace the employer system with a tax benefit that

> > > would fall far short of covering the added costs of health

> > > insurance for working Americans, especially since the bargaining

> > > clout of employers would be scrapped for a free-for-all system of

> > > individual buyers without expertise or buying power. The result

> > > would be a plan that creates substantially higher out-of-pocket

> > > costs for workers currently covered by their employers, without

> > > extending insurance to those currently uncovered.

> >

> > > Oh -- and insurance company profits would skyrocket.

> >

> > > McCain attempts to make his plan more politically palatable than

> > > his predecessors' by speaking in vague terms about "high risk

> > > pools" and subsidies. But, except for the inclusion of tax

> > > credits, he has yet to differentiate his proposal from theirs in

> > > any concrete way. His refusal to place any requirements on

> > > insurance companies, together with his abandonment of the

> > > employer-based insurance system, would create enormous financial

> > > hardship for many of those who suffer from cancer and other

> > > pre-existing conditions.

> >

> > > What about the poor and unemployed? Some of them might benefit

> > > from a tax credit in theory, but here's what would happen in real

> > > life: The $5,000-per-family figure McCain mentioned wouldn't

> > > cover premiums for very many lower-income people, if any. It's

> > > unlikely they'd be able to afford the difference between $5,000

> > > and the actual cost of insurance, which would likely be thousands

> > > of dollars per year. The net result? An unused tax credit - and

> > > continued lack of coverage for the uninsured.

> >

> > > Obama and Clinton supporters are free to continue their blood

> > > feud over which has the better health plan. I've argued that

> > > Obama's is more politically feasible and, in the end, more

> > > progressive [7]. Some colleagues in the policy world disagree.

> > > But most of us agree that either Sen. Clinton's plan or Sen.

> > > Obama's would be a vast improvement over McCain's. And the

> > > actions of the Florida State Senate are nothing more than

> > > unconscionable.

> >

> > > To be clear, we're talking about two distinct policy issues here:

> > > the problem of the uninsured, and the ethnic and racial divide in

> > > American health care. But these two issues are closely related,

> > > and both cut to the heart of what it means to be a just society

> > > in the 21st century.

> >

> > > --

> > > NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which

> > > has not always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am

> > > making such material available to advance understanding of

> > > political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social

> > > justice issues. I believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such

> > > copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US

> > > Copyright

> > > Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107

> >

> > > "A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass

> > > over, their spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true

> > > sight, restore their government to its true principles. It is

> > > true that in the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit,

> > > and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of

> > > enormous public debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us

> > > at home we must have patience till luck turns, and then we shall

> > > have an opportunity of winning back the principles we have lost,

> > > for this is a game where principles are at stake."

> > > -Thomas Jefferson

> >

> > I'm not surprise at this finding. AmeriKKKa is a still a racist

> > society. Many people simply don't get it how racist this nation is.

> > This nation is rooted in racism.- Hide quoted text -

> >

> > - Show quoted text -

>

> Fucking troll !!

More irony. Thanks, NumbNadds

George Grapman wrote:

> Red Cloud wrote:

> >

> > I'm not surprise at this finding. AmeriKKKa is a still a racist

> > society. Many people simply don't get it how racist this nation is.

> > This nation is rooted in racism.

>

>

> I went to a baseball game with a Black friend ,who having come

> directly from work ,was wearing a suit. Several people assumed he was a

> former player and asked for autographs. I saw no resemblance but I think

> they saw a large well dressed Black man and assumed he must have been an

> athlete because how else could he afford the nice suit.

Thats both a nice and a not very nice story. We are (supposedly) as

what many refer to as the freest nation on earth, but it still doesn't

have the ability to accept all as just people. Like with Obama, his

race shouldn't even be an issue, but a uniting element if anything,

not a reason to push others away.