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The Health Care Community Discussion Project was organized by Senator Tom Daschle, Secretary-designate for Health and Human Services, to reach out to the American people for ideas and stories on how the existing health care system could be revamped.
I signed up to host a discussion where I live in Congress, Ariz. on Dec. 28, 2008. The Host and Moderation guide said to invite friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors and aim to invite at least 15-20 people, although smaller gatherings were fine as well.
My house is quite small and what with all the books, computers and photo gear there isn't room for more than eight people. So I decided to e-mail people on a combined mailing list: physical neighbors in Congress; people who subscribed to the mailing list for the website I manage (see Congress Arizona) ; people I talked with at various political/cultural events (see Oh My News International); people I talked with during my 20-day journey up US 89 from Mexico to Canada (see Open Salon and/or Actual Life).
The e-mail I sent invited people to come to the Discussion or fill out the Survey included in the Participant Guide and perhaps write up Compelling Stories that would be good features to highlight the need for health care reform.
Out of the 157 e-mails sent out, 21 people clicked to send a Receipt, 55 people actually opened the e-mail (a total of 219 times), 21 people sent in the survey, 11 people sent in stories, seven people took part in the face-to-face discussion, including me.
THE SIGNUP PAGE FOR THE DISCUSSIONS on www.change.gov had this to say (see Signup Page):The Presidential Transition Health Policy Team is encouraging Americans to host and attend Health Care Community Discussions across the country between Dec. 15 and Dec. 31. These Community Discussions are part of the President-elect's continuing efforts to reach out and directly involve the American people in their own government. Health care is a top priority for President-elect Obama, and he wants your help in designing a system that provides quality, affordable health care for all Americans.
His nominee to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tom Daschle, and his Team will review the submissions from all of these gatherings. President-elect Obama wants to bring the voices and health care concerns of all Americans to Washington. On his behalf, thank you for helping to make this happen by participating in this Discussion. ACCORDING TO THE HOST AND MODERATION GUIDE, the overview and goals were these (see Health Care Discussion FAQ):1. Engage in discussions with your friends and neighbors about health care reform and draft a group submission with your findings and conclusions. This will help the Transition Health Policy Team flesh out key issues around health care and give the Team fresh ideas about the best ways to promote the President-elect and Vice President-elect's vision of quality, affordable health care for all Americans.
2. Develop your group submission to the Transition Health Policy Team through a process that respects, empowers, and engages all attendees.
3. Identify particularly poignant stories about health care from participants that can be used to help emphasize the need for health care reform in our country. AFTER WE HAD BRIEFLY INTRODUCED OURSELVES, we watched Senator Tom Daschle's video introduction to the Health Care Community Discussions (see Signup Page) and read the Participant Guide, we used the questions in the Participant Guide (see Health Care Discussion FAQ) as the basis for discussion.
 | |  Clockwise from Dave (front right, red shirt tan vest): Norma, Sueko, Gene, Doris, Rand, Jane | | | ©2009 D. McLane | | Dave has VA privileges and Medicare Part A. Norma has insurance that works for her but her daughter has none. Sueko had insurance when she lived in Japan, but has no insurance in the US. Gene and Doris are married and are happy with the insurance they have; but their daughters have no insurance. Rand and Jane have insurance but it's extremely costly for them.
LISTENING TO THE IDEAS AND STORIES from the various viewpoints, it seemed to me there were three major categories. First was the question of what kind of treatment is given where, and how much it cost. Everybody agreed that it cost too much and that sometimes it wasn't tailored to their needs, especially when the choice of doctor or hospital was based on what kind of insurance they had.
Second was the question of who should pay for insurance. It didn't matter whether it was a combination of public plans, private plans, or employer plans as long as everyone was covered.
Third was the question of prevention and what lifestyles lead to a healthy life. As it is, Americans are, in general, less healthy than people in other first-world countries, need more treatment, and thus the costs are higher. Some people thought that much of the treatment is overkill and not directed so much to the appropriate level of care needed but rather to cover the cost of potential malpractice suits.
THE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY were as follows:
1. What do you perceive is the biggest problem in the health system?
11 - a. Cost of health insurance
3 - b. Cost of health care services
1 - c. Difficulty finding health insurance due to a pre-existing condition
- d. Lack of emphasis on prevention
- e. Quality of health care
2. What do you think is the best way for policy makers to develop a plan to address the health system problems?
6 - a. Community meetings like these
1 - b. Traditional town hall meetings
5 - c. Difficulty finding health insurance due to a pre-existing condition
3 - d. A White House Health Care Summit
- e. Congressional hearings on C-SPAN
3. After this discussion, what additional input and information would best help you to continue to participate in this great debate?
3 - a. More background information on problems in the health system
8 - b. More information on solutions for health reform
2 - c. More stories on how the system affects real people
2 - d. More opportunities to discuss the issues
STORIES AND COMMENTS were as follows:
Bill's Story, Denton, Texas
One option is to prohibit insurance which would lower the extreme costs of health care. For example: I took a guy into a local Hospital (not mentioning any names of the facility) in Wickenburg, AZ. He needed five stitches in the eyebrow. The hospital costs were about $750 and the Dr was $1100. I consider that extreme. They used about 4 ounces of betadine a syringe/needle, 1 oz of novacaine, 1 ft of suture & a needle, some sterile wipes & lots of paperwork. Full Text.
Chris's Story, Wickenburg, Arizona
Simple thoughts on the issue: 1. A civilization that does not care for its young and elderly cannot call itself civilized. 2. I favor a system of the government assisting with (generally) private sector health care, based upon family income. 3. I favor a system where a portion of every tax dollar goes to a pool that is specifically designated for health care. Full Text.
Dave's Story, Congress, Arizona
I grew up in a Christian Scientist family and knew next to nothing about the physical body and its health. Nowadays, I go the VA but don't accept everything the doctors there say willy-nilly but check it out on the internet and sometimes mix it together with things that work well or even better for me. Full Text.
David's Story, Congress, Arizona
My strongest suggestion for solving the health care problem would be to first define for certain what the problem really is no matter how unpopular that definition turns out to be in the end. Full Text.
Howard's Story, San Diego, California
My wife had a couple little health issues while we were in Wales. Our experience with the nationalized health care system over there was interesting. Everything flowed as scheduled. The care seemed just fine. The cost to a non-E.U. or British Commonwealth resident was still less than our co-pay on our insurance here in the U.S. Full Text.
Jane & Rand, Cave Creek, Arizona
My husband (57) and I (60) are self employed so we pay for individual health insurance. When we relocated to AZ from California in 2005, we had to drop our Blue Cross coverage because it is state-specific and had to seek new coverage. I couldn't get my husband covered anywhere else so he's now on the $5,000 deductible plan, which deductible now applies only to him. We pay almost $1,000/month for that coverage. I got picked up by a different insurer also at a $5,000 deductible; I pay $325/month. So ... we now pay $20,000 per year for less coverage which still doesn't pay for any of our current health care expenses which are about $20,000 per year. Full Text.
Julie's Story, Congress, Arizona
I will be participating in this great debate. But frankly, committee meetings and the like have a habit of consuming a lot of time with few tangible results. Full Text.
Karen's Story, Phoenix, Arizona
The cost of healthcare services is so high because there are so many insurance brokers and agents who get a cut of the premium and on top of this -- the administration fees to enroll and terminate folks from insurance programs. We need a national Health database that maintains everyone's health data. Full Text.
Norma's Story, Congress, Arizona
I guess my "compelling story" is that I remain shocked at the comparison between my health insurance coverage under Alcoa's provisions for me under their salaried retirees. I also wonder about my own diagnosis of diabetes and the ensuing medical expenses my insurances have incurred over the past year. Full Text.
Sandi's Story, Prescott, Arizona
My biggest concern is for the un-insured and under-insured population. I'm convinced that the medical community, business leaders, and AARP are all poised to reach a consensus on this now. Timing is everything. Let's just get the ball rolling. Full Text.
Sue's Story, Congress, Arizona
The issue of Health Care is almost overwhelming in its immensity. I have been a part of the health care system for almost 40 years on several levels of care in public and private institutions. The public needs to practice some good preventions and assume some responsibility for their own good health. Full Text.
Sueko's Story, Congress, Arizona
I moved to the US from Japan in 2001. I'm not insured here, I'm one of the people who can't afford to buy insurance. Full Text.
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| Note: If you would like the full name and contact information, please e-mail Dave McLane davemclane@actual-life.com and I will forward your request whoever wrote the story. |
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2009/01/02 ì˜¤ì „ 5:38 |
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