Union Nurses Call For Health Care Reform (WATCH)

The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) will begin airing a new television ad on Sunday as part of their health care reform campaign.

The spot features the union's nurses describing the pain of having to turn patients away for lack of insurance and displays the slogan, "Patients aren't the only ones crying out for health care reform."

WATCH:

The initial buy for the "Nurses" ad begins Sunday, July 26 and will continue on networks and cable through July 29th.

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Comments

[Samalabear]

This is for everyone who cares about health care reform. Very important to watch. Especially if you are supporting President Obama you must watch this show on Bill Moyers. They are talking very succinctly about the nitty-gritty, brass tacks of the current bill. It's not good folks. It's exactly what many of us who support single payer have been saying. This bill is a health-insurance bill. It is not the excellent health care that Congress or the President enjoy. Please inform yourselves, and if you come away from watching this saying WTF, well, it pays to be an informed citizen:

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07242009/watch.html

Here's an article on the bait and switch of the Public Option:

http://www.pnhp.org/blog/2009/07/20/bait-and-switch-how-the-%E2%80%9Cpublic-option%E2%80%9D-was-sold/

[Firbolg]

I agree with Marcia Angell on the Bill Moyer segment 100%.
I would like Obama to succeed on healthcare because of all the other outstanding issues. He is faltering at the moment and needs momentum to return.
But I do not want it to be at the expense of a complicated second rate healthcare system for me and my fellow Americans put together with lobbyists simply to extend and protect the market of "for profit" private healthcare industry.
This is not leadership it is "follow-on-ship", particularly when excellent examples of what we could have are everywhere, tried and tested over decades and acknowledged to be so by the president.

[helonias]

AETNA Headquarters: Hartford, Connecticut 2007 Profits: $1.831 billion 2007 CEO Total Compensation: Ronald A. Williams, $23,045,834 Aetna has a long history in the business of insurance. Founded to sell life insurance in 1850, it became the first insurance company owned by stockholders to go into the health coverage business. Infamous For: “Underwriting Discipline” In 2007, Aetna applauded itself for its low “medical loss ratio”--the percentage of revenue it “loses” to paying for health care. (Sensitive to public relations, the industry now calls this a “medical benefit ratio.”) “Our commercial medical benefit ratio of 79.2% for the fourth quarter and 79.5% for the full year reflected solid underwriting discipline and our focused efforts in the area of medical management,” CEO Ronald Williams told investors in February, 2008. Translation: We are proud to spend less than 80 percent of premiums on health care by avoiding unhealthy enrollees and keeping a lid on services.

[helonias]

Jesus cured the uninsured

[Firbolg]

How weird! HR3200 is a “save the insurance companies” not “save the patient” measure.
Most people with health insurance get it from their employers and personally pay only a fraction of the premium. There is no way the gross public option premium, even if discounted, can be attractive to them if the have to pay it all themselves. No option for them.
If they loose their insurance for any number of reasons they are faced with paying their entire premium (as in COBRA), a massive increase, so many will join the uninsured.
One has to assume a large proportion of the currently uninsured feel they can’t afford any premiums. Again to them the public plan, even if discounted, will still appear unaffordable.
Enter the individual mandate in HR3200.
Mandate for most uninsured will only be possible if heavily subsidized by the government.
So basically the HR3200 trickles down to a massive government subsidy to extend the market for “for profit” health insurance. These companies are obliged to fight tooth and nail to maintain their stock values and if they are forced to increase their risks to write policies for existing conditions and not increase premiums the only target the have is reducing the cost of services.
In other words they will hope to recoup from the pockets of providers, doctors, hospitals, and, dare I say it NURSES! So whose side is the AFSCME on?

[instagladiator]

To true. By and large, the majority of any union is "pay & benefits" vs. "quality of performance". Oh, there are a few "good" nurses out there I'm sure, but they are very few and far between. I can say that because I've dealt with various unions during my many years in the work-force. Which includes nurses, doctors and hospitals as well. They are ALL profit driven and that will never change.

[tbone99]

There are only a "few" good nurses out there.?

Believe me - the money doesn't come close to making it worth it.

[bluecollarblogger]

How much is your life worth? When i hand you, your spouse, your mother, your father, your kid a cup full of pills how much is it worth that each pill be properly dosed, according to the orders, or better than that your pills! How important is it too you that for the next 12 hours, if your heart stops, that I bring it back to life with my own hands! Can you put a price on a human life? Of course the answer is no! And I will be there, not because of money, but because of what I am, a REAL NURSE! Most of us are overworked, underpaid for the level of training, education and expertise we have! The most respected profession in the US for the last 10 years.....­.....accor­ding to gallop polls..........a nurse!....­....rememb­er whose eyes will probably be looking at you.....the next time you need help in a hospital..­..........

[bluecollarblogger]

Where I live a family of 5 can get a reasonable health care policy for $250 a month with no pre existing conditions. So although i do agree with some of what you say, i do believe that something is better than nothing. When hospitals are seeing the number of visits to ER's up by 200% and the majority of those visits are indigent, and we are eating cost, believe me something is better than nothing. By the way, most hospitals are losing money hand over fist, and the first positions they cut........nurses! Do you really think that these healthcare cost are not going to hurt the paying, insured public? Instead of having 5 patients tomorrow night, I will have 7, and instead of working 8 hours I will work 12, why because of administration. I only hope for your sake, that I am as alert as I should be, and as attentive.­..........­.your life depends on it!

[oldngrumpy]

I would be willing to bet that the $250 you cited is after an employer has subsidized the premium. Employers are entitled to tax credits up to $15000 pr employee for their cost of providing coverage. Most who qualify for the credits will give the employee the maximum subsidy possible while keeping costs under the credit.

[helonias]

Well my self employed friend with 2 kids pays 250 a week with a large deductible

[SteadyOn]

So there are NO pre-existing conditions in this group? What is the cost with a pre-existing condition? Where I live (TX - soon to be Canada, I hope), it is $700 per month for just me because of pre-existing condition. My husband was turned down for even catastrophic only. We decided to take our chances with a single-payer system. It will take 3 years to become citizens. We have 7 to make Medicare - and I'm betting it WON'T be around w/o reform. And thanks for the work you do as a nurse. Many in my family are/were the same.

[Samalabear]

I am beginning to understand why they're supporting this bill. I could be wrong about this, but these people have their health insurance paid by us in our municipal, state and county taxes. On Long Island these people, along with teachers, have their excellent health benefits (believe me, I've met many and they have everything covered) paid for by our onerous property taxes. These people, like Congress, like the President, like other Federal employees (who I believe will be exempt from this bill) have no "skin in the game," so to speak.

So, I believe in answer to your question, AFSCME is on the President's side because they have nothing to lose.

The only unions you will find fighting for a single payer option are unions like the UAW and unions for private-sector jobs, where the corporations have to foot the health insurance bill. Now you understand the division of unions in this effort.

[Firbolg]

Excellent points but I still think it is a shortsighted approach by a nurses' union.
The massive amount of savings from the "cost" side have to come from somewhere and the salaries of the employees of healthcare providers are bound to be called on before those of the health insurance industry who are the ones with the good buddies in congress. Union members or not, their future earnings are on the table so they have "skin in the game" whether they realize it or not.

[jmpurser]

Sorry but President Obama isn't for "real" health care reform.

Better luck next generation.

[CALAVA]

I'm disappointed in him.

[instagladiator]

Sad, but true.

[Jompa]

“A single tear” for the uninsured American citizen or whomever comes here?

[r3768]

Govt employee my ass.

I was one of those nurses in a large, top notch Sacramento medical center. I walked in every day to several charts waiting for me to do my thing, which was personally calling Ortho, Plastics, Oncology or whatever specialty was needed, to beg a doc to take a patient who either had no insurance, or was under-insured.

I did it because I would, and could, as I was one of the only ones with a strong enough relationship with the private, staff physicians to do so, and because I had the outright balls to do it where others wouldn't. To their credit, I was never told No, and most often the docs received NO PAYMENT for their care, but I would make up for it where possible with bottles of wine, cookies, whatever it took as a means to say Thank You for their compassion.

[LorettaSingbiel]

Allow me to also say THANK YOU for YOUR compassion!

[wordvarc]

Just said goodby to a seventeen y.o. MVA victim whose EEG was flat for seven days. His MD great uncle wanted to pull a Scavio but the parents had no money. If Dr. Frist was around maybe he'd still be on a ventalator. But the parent had no money and the plug was pulled. the RNC/GOPers seem to think we should trust God to protect us without money for doctors and healthcare­....(excep­t they make sure their is healthcare money for themselves and their elitist buddies.) Just as they sneak their kids abortions but scream to deny monies for sex education and planned parenting for others. For the 'elitist moneyed haves' God is a panacea delusion to be sold to the 'have nots.'

[jt austin]

Thank you.

[Bernique]

I believe you, r3768 -- That is why we need major reform of the whole system, right now, not in 2013 or 2019, the way Obama is structuring it. You'd think he was in the pocket of the health "insurance" industry, wouldn't you?

[Samalabear]

It's a shame that they're not calling for a strong single-payer public option. H.R. 3200 certainly is not that and it will still leave millions uninsured. What is this union's interest in keeping the insurance companies powerful?

[Peabodies]

Salamabear -- I think it has to do with contract negotiations, and they involve negotiating for health benefits. Fine. But if under Single Payer-Medicare for All, everyone is covered for basic, essential care, the unions could negotiate for the electives, the "frills". Why unions don't rally round Medicare for All is baffling to me. They do rally, I guess, for something like HR3200 , but to me that's half a milketoast , not a worthy goal. Unions used to storm the barricades.

[ChiProgressive]

As someone who has seen fellow people suffering being turned way and as provider who has seen the ravages of lack of access, I teared up.

HR 3200 isn't the answer though.

The "public option" is going to diluted so far that it'll only be a half measure that's going to prolong the suffering and the cost of sick care in this country. You're going to see an increase of bankruptcies until a single payer system is implemented.

[yemaya]

dear Mr Hark, Excuse me but in case you haven't noticed from living under a rock; unemployment rates are at an all time high. Highest they've been in 30 plus years! People are losing their jobs so guess what? They lose their health insurance coverage as well. If you lost your job Mr. Hark; would you be able to afford 1K a month to insure your family? Why do you automatically assume the uninsured are freeloaders? Millions of unemployed Americans are offended by your obscene sense of entitlement and your lack of imagination.

[sonoffestus]

I just got off the phone with a friend in Boston. Her husband who is a good person who happens to be a devout right wing christian. He spends alot of time complaining about the "socialist agenda' of the Obama administration, and wants no part of socialized medicine.

At the same time he is enrolled in Medicare and has recently signed up for Veteran benefits at the local VA hospital. I guess that type of socialism is OK? Yes, he is a good guy, but a hypocrite as well.

He'll be fine, he's waiting for the rapture, afterwhich he won't need healthcare anyway....­..........­........LO­L!

[thepianodiva]

Yes-just like those Congress people who are getting a fine government program but don't want the rest of us to have that option. A BUNCH OF HYPOCRITES.

[RightWingMarine]

use of the VA or military hospitals is not socialism. The veteran served a contract in return for pay and benefits one of those benefits being VA care for those that qualify.
This is opposed to those that demand subsidized healthcare because they have the virtue of being sick and poor.

[SeriousBlack]

Oh, nice parsing.

The VA is indeed a socialist type of program because it is operated BY THE GOVERNMENT USING TAXES.

You can't get around those basic facts by trying to use lame reasoning about some type of "contract".

[wordvarc]

Just said goodby to a seventeen y.o. MVA victim whose EEG was flat for seven days. His MD great uncle wanted to pull a Scavio but the parents had no money. If Dr. Frist was around maybe he'd still be on a ventalator. But the parent had no money and the plug was pulled. the RNC/GOPers seem to think we should trust God to protect us without money for doctors and healthcare­....(excep­t they make sure their is healthcare money for themselves and their elitist buddies.) Just as they sneak their kids abortions but scream to deny monies for sex education and planned parenting for others. For the 'elitist moneyed haves' Their god is a way to make them feel entitled and special while being also a cheap panacea delusion to be sold to the 'have nots.'

[yemaya]

rightwingmarine, to charge hard working americans ridiculously high premiums then deny them coverage when they need it most; that sir is theft and murder as well. But of course, if you are really a marine, then you enjoy a government tax payer funded health plan that covers veterans, so you're ok. And, for republicans, as long as they are ok, no one else matters. Am I right?

[RightWingMarine]

My contract has ended and I have private insurance because the doctors at the VA are grossly inept.
As a Libertarian I can't speak for what makes a Republican happy.

[SeriousBlack]

Well if you actually ARE eligible for VA health care, we'll see how you feel about it when you find out you have some serious disease and then find out that your private insurance that you prefer has figured out some way to deny your treatments.

Then you'll end up running back to the VA to get the treatment you need. That is, unless your blind adherence to ideology will actually make you refuse the treatment. Right.

[susane07]

A germ doesn't know who has health insurance and who doesn't. Let's get real, people, about passing health care reform NOW!

[Callyson]

Thank you! One would think this would be common sense, but apparently it needs to be repeated, so thanks for posting this.

[alisonv]

I used to be one of the people who had to find some kind of help for patients or else have this kind of talk with patients. It is terrible. I no longer do it. I now teach English in Italy. But if we have healthcare reform, I'd like to be a part of it.

[fcsakes]

Bless you.

[tbone99]

What is the Italian system like?

[camanokat]

A friend has been in Italy visiting friends for over a month...think she's arriving back today BTW...her child got hurt and needed to be hospitalized for about 2 weeks. No charge, great care, plastic surgeon visited child daily to make sure no scarring would take place. She raved.

[Brothaman2k]

Devastatingly effective. Let's just hope none of these people are actors or it'll get picked apart.