Life In Sherman Oaks

Below is a summary of consumer insurance reforms in the Health Care Reform Bill. Within 90 days of enactment Small Business Tax Credits: For small businesses, tax credits of up to 35 percent of premiums. Access to the Federal High-Risk Pool for the Uninsured with Pre-existing Conditions: $5 billion for people who can’t qualify for insurance to buy insurance from the government (it’s not free). Reinsurance for Retiree Health Benefit [...]

If you think your vote for insurance commissioner doesn’t matter, think again. The Insurance Commissioner ensures that insurance companies comply with the law. In California, the law for health insurance companies requires that they spend 70% or more of their collected Premiums on actual Medical Care (YOU). Last year, as a reaction to the passage of the Affordable Health Care Act, Anthem Blue Cross in California came to the Insurance [...]

Believe it or not — we’re still talking about Health Care Reform because it is actually part of our economic crisis. A big part. Overall, health care is consuming an ever increasing amount of our Nation’s resources: in 1970, health care expenditures were 7 percent of GDP; now, it’s 16 percent; and at this rate will hit nearly 20 percent by 2017. I know no one wants to talk about [...]

Today, I heard the Republicans tell President Obama that they had plenty of ideas for health care reform and other issues facing the American people — but that he just didn’t listen to them. They said they had specifics. That all he needed to do was go to http://www.GOP.gov to find them in their “Solutions” Report. So, I went to the GOP website and looked up Health Care Reform, specifically. [...]

This morning, Sen. Jim DeMint, R- South Carolina who will be responsible for the Republican party’s platform in the 2010 elections, said he never said that if the Republicans could stop President Obama on Health Care Reform it would be the President’s “Waterloo.” This he said AFTER the following video clip was shown to him. Now Sen. Jim DeMint comes from the northern part of South Carolina — that part [...]

With the election of the 41st Republican Senator, the GOP Scott Brown who replaced Ted Kennedy, there’s a lot of talk going on about Health Care Reform. John McCain said, “Well, maybe now democrats will sit down with us.” But Republican Olympia Snowe said that the democrats bent over backwards to ensure Republicans were included in the negotiations. And I tend to agree with Sen. Snowe. Why? Let’s look at [...]

President Obama is the child of a single mother. He was often times raised by his grandparents, who struggled to give him the best education that they could. President Obama attended Occidental College here in California, then went on to graduate from Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. Now most folks with this kind of education try to get as [...]

Myth Reform will cut Medicare for Seniors Fact The new law will not cut benefits for seniors; the same protections that Medicare beneficiaries have now will be there in the future. In fact, the Affordable Care Act will add benefits such as free prevention coverage, an annual wellness visit and a phase-out of the Medicare donut hole. In addition, by reducing waste, fraud, and abuse and cracking down on overpayments, [...]

You could have bought prescription drugs for less — but the Senate intervened to make sure the pharmaceutical companies to continue to plunder. You could have had the public option to compete with private, profit making health insurance companies — but Joe lieberman said no. You could have bought into Medicare early — at say age 55…but first Joe said yes — and then he said no. Watch the video [...]

You know, LBJ had so much dirt on so many politicians – they say even J. Edgar Hoover was afraid of him. That’s how he got Civil Rights legislation and Medicare passed. We’ve spent a considerable amount of time in this column, trying to go over the health care experience in the United States vis-a-vis other countries. We’ve spent time trying to summarize the various health care bill alternatives. To [...]

California’s Senator Dianne Feinstein FINALLY spoke out on health care reform this morning while on Meet the Press this morning. Finally, this intelligent and articulate woman spoke. And she came out swinging in favor of health care reform and gave her reasons why. Small businesses are dying under the weight of health care premium costs for one. A hospital is about to be wiped out as a result of the [...]

Just moments ago, 60 Democrats voted “yea,” on the motion as to whether or not to proceed with debate on the health care reform legislation. Why were 60 voted needed? Because it takes 60 votes to ensure that the Republicans could not filibuster and effectively kill the bill. After Republican MccConnell stood to completely mischaracterize the bill and state that the American people wanted Congress to “start over” — Harry [...]

When we compare the health care systems of Afghanistan and the United States, we find them to be comparable. Neither one has a health care system. But then Afghanistan doesn’t have a government outside of Kabul either. And, they have few doctors. Or nurses. They don’t have an economy outside of opium. They don’t even have roads. They have the Taliban. We have the Tea-baggers. They do have a golf [...]

Article 31 of the Iraqi Constitution, drafted by the Republican right in 2005 and ratified by the Iraqi people, includes state-guaranteed (single payer, like Medicare) healthcare for life for every Iraqi citizen. The Iraqi Constitution States: Every citizen has the right to health care. The State shall maintain public health and provide the means of prevention and treatment by building different types of hospitals and health institutions. Individuals and entities [...]

Health care in Israel is both universal and compulsory. It is administered by a small number of organizations with funding from the government. All Israeli citizens are entitled to the same Uniform Benefits Package, regardless of which organization they are a member of, and treatment under this package is funded for all citizens regardless of their financial means.

Spain’s single-payer health care system (like Medicare) is ranked seventh best in the world by the World Health Organization. The system offers universal coverage as a constitutionally-guaranteed right and no out-of-pocket expenses — aside from prescription drugs.

According to the World Health Organization, Italy ranks 2nd in health care in the world. In 1978 Italy adopted a tax-funded universal health care system called “National Health Service” modeled on the British system. It covers general practice (distinct between adult and pediatric practice), outpatient and inpatient treatments, and the cost of most drugs. The government sets fundamental levels of care which cover all necessary treatments, which the state must [...]

The World Health Organization (WHO), which ranks countries according to (1) financial contribution, (2) Responsiveness to people’s expectation of their health system and (3) fairness in financial contribution — ranked the United States 37th in the world — despite the fact that the United States spend more on health care than any other country in the world, by far. This ranking put the United States LAST, among industrialized countries.

A recent survey showed that 92% of the British population was satisfied with the U.K. health care system. The NHS was established out of the high ideal that good healthcare should be available to all, regardless of wealth. At its launch by the then minister of health, Aneurin Bevan, on July 5 1948, it had at its heart three core principles: That it meet the needs of everyone That it [...]

According to the World Health Organization, France has the Best Health Care System in the World. The public health insurance program in France was established in 1945. Under the law of universal coverage called la couverture maladie universelle (universal health coverage), all residents have health care. It is based on the principle of solidarity, a belief that all French should have financial protection against life´s health problems, The main fund [...]