Making sure that my premiums are spent on health care and not solid-gold Hummers for insurance execs

Sen. Mike Enzi receives "public option" health care -- but doesn't want other Wyomingites to have it

From Think Progress (via Crooks & Liars): Rep. Weiner Identifies 55 Republicans On Medicare Who ‘Steadfastly Oppose’ The Public Option

Rep. Anthony Weiner’s (D-NY) office today released an internal study showing that 151 members of Congress “currently receive government-funded; government-administered single-payer health care — Medicare.” Of those 151 members, 55 are Republicans who also happen to be “steadfastly opposed [to] other Americans getting the public option, like the one they have chosen.” Included on Weiner’s list are anti-public option crusaders Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), and Rep. Peter King (R-NY).

WyoDems: "Health care professionals address reform and the state's needs‏"

Brianna Jones, the WyoDems' communications director, just issued this release about last night's health forum:

Four Wyoming health care providers addressed the health insurance reform proposals going through Congress, their experiences as health care providers, the state of health care in Wyoming and what reforms the state needs during a panel discussion in Cheyenne on Tuesday.

Dr. Brent Sherard, Wyoming Department of Health director and state health officer; Lorraine Saulino-Klein, RN; Mary Forrester, RN Family Nurse Practitioner; and Lance Proctor, MD; sat on the panel, which was sponsored by the Wyoming Democratic Party and the Laramie County Democratic Party.

An audience member asked where Wyoming would be in ten years if nothing is done and Dr. Sherard candidly answered that there will be a “substantial over expenditure in our budget.” He pointed to concerns about funding our health care with natural gas and said Wyoming needs to look at ways to diversify the economy. Dr. Sherard brought attention to the need to build infrastructure to better serve the larger pool of patients that will come with universal coverage.

He also spoke about the need for increased transparency. “People cannot evaluate what they are getting for their healthcare dollars,” explained Sherard. “There is no mechanism or vehicle to evaluate your health care provider.”

Both Mary Forrester and Lorraine Saulino-Klein stressed the problems that arise when patients neglect serious conditions because they do not have insurance and cannot afford care.

“We pay two times as much for our health care than other developed countries and have inferior outcomes,” said Lorraine Saulino-Klein.

There was consensus from the panel that a stronger push for preventative medicine is essential. Dr. Proctor said, “There needs to be incentives to have a healthier population so that we pay more for quality than quantity.”

Please direct questions to Brianna Jones (752-5288) or to panel members at
the following numbers:
Dr. Brent Sherard: 777-6778
Dr. Lance Proctor: 760-2012
Lorraine Saulino-Klein: 742-5107
Mary Forrester: 742-5202

Health Care Forum tip: consider your retorts carefully

When I say "teabagger," I'm referring to the prog-blog meaning of the word. A handy label for people who attend local and national anti-Obama tea party rallies, such as the ones organized and energized by Glenn Beck and Fixed News on Sept. 12. Those shouting crazies who disrupt town hall meetings. The fuming bearers of misspelled signs.

To some, though, "teabagger" refers to a sex act described and/or pictured on a variety of non-political blogs and web sites.

I should have considered my words more carefully when I called The Woman In The Back Row (hereafter referred to as TWITBR) "a teabagger."

But that was later. When she arrived, she trotted out all the lines from the Glenn Beck Playbook. Her first non-question to Tuesday night's health reform panel organized by the Democratic Party was about tort reform. Uh oh. A Republican talking point. The panel took a shot at the answer. Yes, tort reform was important but not crucial. The next panelist talked. TWITBR spoke again. This time she had a litany of complaints. All alternative opinions in the national health care debate are being shut out. "I don't appreciate the secrecy," she said. Process at the federal level is asking for failure because it's terrifying to people." People don't want decision made by a one-sided process. And so on.

Mike Bell, vice chair of the Wyoming Democrats and the evening's moderator, asked her to to specific and maybe ask a real question.

She then reeled out some statistics, saying that 51 percent of the American people don't like the health care public option.

Me: "57 percent of the American people want the public option. The survey was just on the evening news"

Mike: "More like 65 percent."

She disputed our figures. I said she could look it up. She said she did look it up and said our statistics were wrong.

Then I asked the fateful question: "Are you a teabagger?" She was showing all the symptoms. I should have referred her to one of the physicians on the panel.

"What?" she yelled. Her eyes bugged out.

I turned back to the panel, hoping that the informative talk could resume.

Next thing I know, TWITBR was beside me yelling "Asshole!"

I turned. She was fuming. "You know what a teabagger is?"

"Yeah," I said, "a conservative who yells at town hall meetings."

"You know what a teabagger is?"

I knew what she was getting at. But I was het up now in the tradition of my Irish ancestors. "Teabaggers go to tea parties."

"Asshole," she said again. I felt the calming hand of a fellow Democrat on my shoulder, some murmuring in the crowd. Mike came over to referee.

TWITBR then described the teabagger sex act.

"It has nothing to do with that."

She fumed some more. Calming Democratic voices could be heard but the room was red. "Idiot," she said.

"You're the idot," I said, adult-like.

She stomped away grumbling. I think I heard "asshole" again. Gary's calming hand was still on my shoulder. He's a teacher -- he knows how to calm feuding factions.

The woman in the back row stomped to the door. She said something bad about stupid Democrats and how they couldn't even get a crowd out for this event. She was correct on the attendance -- only 16 people in the audience.

And then there were 15.

"Go talk to Lummis." This was my parting shot, referring to ultra-conservative Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Lummis.

Mike told me to cool it for the second time. And I found myself turning red as those remaining in their seats tried not to stare at me.

Rep. Pete Jorgensen from Jackson went up to the podium in an effort to get us back on track. Steam was still coming out of my ears so I didn't hear most of it. He talked about controlling costs and gave grudging praise to Mitt Romney's successes with that in Massachusetts. He then noted that "75 percent of critical care for people of Wyoming is done outside the state." That's a fact of life in a rural state that has neighboring cities such as Denver and Salt Lake City and Billings with excellent medical facilities.

Not even critical care. I chose to go to Fort Collins tomorrow for a root canal. F.C. has dental surgeons and Cheyenne doesn't. Most people I know go to Fort Collins doctors and choose hospitals there and in Denver for their critical care. Coloradans sometimes make the trip to Cheyenne. But most of them are veterans seeking care at our excellent V.A. Hospital.

The rest of the evening was interesting yet anticlimactic. The panelists, whose names I haven't even mentioned, were Mary Forrester, a family nurse practitioner from Laramie; Lorraine Saulino-Klein, a registered nurse from Laramie; Dr. Brent Sherard, head of the Wyoming Health department and the state's chief medical officer; and Dr. Lance Proctor, an anaesthesiologist from Laramie.

The event was organized by Brianna Jones, public information officer for the Wyoming Democrats. The Democratic National Committee had encouraged each state to hold forums on Oct. 20 to push harder for real health care reform.

Dr. Sherard talked at length about Medicaid. About 14-15 percent of the state's population is uninsured.

That's 75,000-80,000. About 75,000 people in Wyoming are on Medicaid. That adds up (at most) to to 160,000. The rest (370,000), he said, have some kind of health insurance.

If some sort of public option were instituted for the uninsured (as Obama has proposed), Dr Sherard said he's not sure "who will take care of them until we get the infrastructure in place." The state's Medicaid program, funded by state and federal dollars, is stressed.

He also talked about prevention. If it was instituted in the correct way, it would save money and lives. Said Dr. Sherard: "Beware of facts by health care economists who say that prevention will not save a dime."

That's one of the problems with this health care conundrum. Whom do you believe? Which set of facts by which expert do you work with? You have to do some homework. That goes for teabaggers and pinko liberal bloggers alike.

Dr. Sherard, formerly a family physician in Wheatland, volunteers at the Cheyenne Free Clinic.

Mary Forrester volunteers at the downtown free clinic in Laramie. The clinic is only open one night a week and is "very busy." It only serves people "with absolutely no insurance."

"At the clinic, there are so many of them that are working but have nowhere else to go," said Forrester. Their employees may have cut coverage or never had it. Some people aren't able to work. And some have just made some bad choices or lived through bad times.

The clinic works on volunteers and donated money. It accepts no government funding.

Forrester is a firm believer in universal coverage. "This is the only way we can cut down costs and reduce unnecessary suffering."

Dr. Proctor says that it's "embarrassing that the U.S. has no universal health care." He wants us to "eliminate the middle man and pool our money and use that to do good by providing the infrastructure we need for health care."

The doctor is originally from Texas. As a specialist, he's the rare Democrat. "95 percent of my colleagues are Republicans," he said. "They think I'm crazy. But most of their opposition is based on fear." Doctors spend so many years in school and interning and residency and starting a practice "that they're afraid of losing what they've worked hard for."

He advocates a compromise by creating a public trust. This should calm the fears and create a better system, he said.

"For health care, we pay two-and-one-half times in the U.S. compared to other western countries," said Lorraine Saulino-Klein. Republicans usually scoff at health care in Canada and other western democracies. They contend that care is rationed and that people have to wait for months for surgical procedures.

"It takes me three months to get a mammogram in Laramie," she said. "Don't believe the scare tactics." She wants to see the regulation of drug and insrance companies. "If that doesn't work, do a public option," she said.

She noted that scare tactics again enter the equation with the mention of "public option." Critics decry the "government takeover of health care" and 'socialized medicine." She had some fun with this: "You know how many people are dropping out of Medicare. They're the most satisfied people in the country."

The forum broke up at 9 p.m. A fine time was had by all. Well, almost everyone.

It's possible I may encounter TWITBR at this Thursday's 7 p.m. health care forum at the Laramie County Public Library. This forum will feature staffers from the offices of Rep. Lummis and Wyoming Senators Barrasso and Enzi. They're all Republicans. It will be a partisan crowd. Enzi is one of the Senate Finance Committee's "Gang of Six." The term "public option" will be mentioned only in jest. Teabaggery won't be mentioned but patriotism will be. Over and over and over again.

Wyoming MoveOn supporter to Sen. Hatch: I dare you to kick my teeth in

Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah is going to kick MoveOn.org in the teeth. MoveOn members picketed his D.C. office to protest the fact that he has sold his everlasting soul to the health insurance industry.

Sen. Hatch must be mature enough to know that he's too old to kick anyone in the teeth, let alone a bunch of organic-food-eating, latte-swilling, mountain-biking activists from Blue States. Blue Staters are in much better shape than Red Staters, younger too, and a lot better educated. They may not be as mean as the Repubs, but they are wiry and crafty. They float like butterflies, sting like bees.

This comes from Crooks & Liars:

Seems Orrin Hatch is not taking to kindly to having his office protested by MoveOn.org for being in the pocket of the health care industry. I've got to wonder, how would the Republicans react if a Democratic member of the Senate went on television and said they'd like to kick those Tea Bag protesters in the teeth?

Hatch: Now by the way MoveOn.org is a scurrilous organization. It's funded by George Soros. He's about as left wing as you can find in this country. And they're up to just one thing, and that is to smear good people. And frankly, they're not gonna smear me without getting kicked in the teeth by me.

Stay classy there Hatch. While MoveOn has received $1.46 million from George Soros as Wikipedia notes:

MoveOn's primary source of funding is its members. MoveOn.org raised nearly 60 million dollars in 2004 from its members alone, with an average donation of $50.

Yes, I live in a Red State but have contributed my share to MoveOn -- probably right around $50. Now that I've made that public, I suppose that Sen. Hatch will drive his Ford Expedition down I-80 from Provo to Cheyenne and kick my teeth in. Yeah, him and what army?

Remember Sen. Hatch's inspiring words at Sen. Ted Kennedy's funeral? They were long-time BFFs, at least that's the way it sounded. He was honoring Kennedy's legacy then and now seems to have forgotten it.

Your BFF from those good ol' days in the U.S. Senate would be ashamed of you now.

How much of our money do health insurance execs need want desire?

True Majority wants support in its campaign to fire greedy CEOs. Latest target is the CIGNA CEO, Ed Hanway. I'm all in favor of this, as some of my hard-earned income goes toward Mr. Hanway's purchase of solid gold umbrella stands and other assorted necessities.

Here's the post from True Majority:

To launch this campaign, Stacie Ritter went to confront Cigna CEO Ed Hanway at his Philadelphia mansion. Stacie's twin daughters got cancer when they were just 4 years old, but Cigna is denying them access to a critical drug they need.

So Stacie went right to his front door to demand the medicine her kids need, and deliver a message from other Americans like us that we're sick of Big Insurance pushing us around.

Ed Hanway declined to see Stacie, just like his company is declining to take care of her kids. But Stacie's not giving up, and neither can we.

Next week, we're planning more events with Stacie and other patients that challenge even more CEOs at Big Insurance corporations. Can you help make sure we've got the resources to pull it off? Chip in $35 to support this effort right now.

Go to https://secure.truemajority.org/o/2/p/7002/tma_defaultdonate_page_KEY=128

I know that sometimes it seems like we're tilting at windmills, but the resignation of [Bank of America CEO] Ken Lewis reminds us that if we keep at it, our voices CAN be heard.

Wyoming: health insurance premiums up 129 percent during past 8 years

We don't need no stinkin' health care reform!

Right....

Mike Bell, vice chairman of the Wyoming Democratic Party, wrote a fine guest editorial about health care for Sunday's Casper Star-Tribune. Here's a sampling:

Over the past eight years in Wyoming, health insurance premiums increased by 129 percent, bringing Wyoming to an average family policy that now costs over $13,500 a year. Alternately, wages in Wyoming rose a paltry 37 percent over the same period.

To read the rest, go to http://www.trib.com/news/editorial/forum/article_7303a04e-dfb2-556d-9905-46e4036b02db.html or http://www.wyomingdemocrats.com/

Pres. Obama delivers Labor Day speech that includes "public option" -- it's about time