Would The Senate Health Care Bill Have Helped Obama's Mom?

True/Slant:

Back in the day, Candidate Obama told a touching story about his mother's struggle to pay her medical bills while battling cancer. Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, died of ovarian cancer at the age of 53, an event Obama said in part inspired him to tackle healthcare reform.

But what kind of coverage would Dunham receive today under the Senate bill as it stands right now?

Read the whole story: True/Slant

Comments

[redplanet]

12:54 AM on 12/20/2009

Oh, please. I am so tired of the manipulation through sob stories to pass a useless bill. More drugs, more $ and nonsense. Drug companies have brainwashed right and left alike to think only a drug will do the trick. (read profits).

As long as the public thinks the only option is a drug that costs in the thousands this argument goes nowhere.

Ovarian cancer responds to a low cost off patent drug: naltrexone: http://naltrexonelowdose.com/

> How It Works

3 possible mechanisms:

Inducing increases of metenkephalin (an endorphin produced in large amounts in the adrenal medulla) and beta endorphin in the blood stream;

Inducing an increase in the number and density of opiate receptors on the tumor cell membranes making them more responsive to the growth-inhibiting effects of the already-present levels of endorphins, which induce apoptosis (cell death) in the cancer cells; and

Increasing natural killer cell numbers and activity and lymphocyte activated CD8 numbers, which are quite responsive to increased levels of endorphins.1 (abstract)

I am tired of Obama, Pelosi, Lieberman, progressives, and anyone else that actually thinks we need MORE health care. We need reform from the bottom up, We need doctors that aren't trained by drug companies. Then we might begin to get cost effective non toxic therapies. They exist right now, but the medical industry isn't set up to promote substances such as low dose naltrexone. (off patent Rx drug).

[roninroshi]

09:57 PM on 12/19/2009

Obama has been seduced by his status and wealth and has forgotten his root's...

[Okieborn]

07:05 PM on 12/19/2009

This bill hands the un-insured crumbs and were supposed to say thank you !!
There will be an election day !!

[DnDCfromChi-town]

05:32 PM on 12/19/2009

There are numerous frightening stories out there; why use President Obama's mother for an example? Totally inappropriate!

[Littlewords]

11:26 PM on 12/18/2009

More importantly, would Obama have fought harder to ensure that critical provisions and protections, missing in the current Senate bill, stay in bolstered by a Presidential VETO threat or would he have ended up where he is now?

To me, this is a more interesting lens. The contemplation offers a frank assessment of where we are today vs should be today, particularly with respect to the President's wiillingness, or not, to go to the mat to get the right bill implemented. Especially given the situation has continued to deteriorate for the average citizen.

[DB55]

12:52 PM on 12/18/2009

The bottom line of this analysis is this: Obama's mom would get a $1,900/year subsidy to help her buy insurance and, most importantly, no insurance company could bar her for her pre-existing conditions.

Is this perfect? No. Is this a step forward? Yes. Should we do it? Yes.

[XME]

06:56 PM on 12/18/2009

Exactly, while I think this bites compared to what I'd like them to pass, SOME progess is better than none. If you hold out for everything you want, we'll have the EXACT same things in place in 100 years that we do now, but if you take what you can get now, and what you can get again in 20 years, than another 20 years a little more...in 100 years you might be at least keeping pace. And while we may not be around that long from now, our kids or grandkids will, and it's not such a bad thing to do a little every now and then to help significantly for future generations. It sure beats refusing to do anything because you can't have everything you wanted. That attitude is what is SO frustrating about the extremes of both parties: they overlook the realities to "hold true" to their ideals, only to accomplish nothing.

[bluguy8]

08:54 AM on 12/18/2009

NOPE . It doesn't help anybody , but the insurance companies

[GenosseJoe]

06:59 AM on 12/18/2009

Obama family did not need this bill. And we do not need it as well.

Each of us can do-it-yourself.
Here is how:
1. Borrow $50,000 from China for 10 years for your family of four. Let Chinese know, that after 10 years you will sure need to borrow again.
2. Swear to either have insurance through employer, by it yourself for 30,000 a year for you and your spouse. If you fail to do it - you will put yourself to federal prison.
3. Ask your congressional representative to take care of scheduling your doctor appointments and medical procedures for you.

This way you will always have your insurance coverage.

[mergina]

02:09 AM on 12/18/2009

If you do not begin reform by Regulating insurance first, why bother at all.

[lovesds]

07:14 PM on 12/17/2009

This woman who wrote the article is full of her own rubbish. Love how some white women try to use the Presidents dead mother as their example. And jasv01 he has leadership. And please remember alot of the so called afro american leaders that claim they speak for the whole community sold us out long ago. But we sit here and praise these so called leaders like Jackson and others.

[TheBaffler]

11:17 PM on 12/17/2009

He's the one of brought up his mother. He used her experience as an argument for health care reform. Since then, he's worked hard to undermine real reform. Reminding him of how his mother suffered due to inadequate health care is perfectly reasonable.

Quit making excuses, and quit senselessly introducing race where it doesn't belong.

[Loveforlife]

12:53 AM on 12/19/2009

I would like to add that the most recent healthcare recommendation for women suggested that women not to have a breast exam until 50. While numerous stories have shown that women very young with history of such were diagnosed and saved. Will this administration defer breast exams, yet let these exams go as well? Scary. You're ovaries or your breasts. = life or death in both circumstances.

[BarryS]

07:03 PM on 12/17/2009

the anaysis forgot that in the ensuing years her salary would make the insurance policy a Cadillac policy and she would be paying anothe 20-30% on top of that. She is considered rich, and having too much insurance!!! Right on Obama - you screw even your own mother!

[nomobull]

04:35 AM on 12/18/2009

so did those who compromised away the public option and then the medicare buy in option. spread the blame.

[Loveforlife]

12:55 AM on 12/19/2009

Reckon there would be no chance that we could get the healthcare WE pay for Government workers. Hey! That's what Pelosi is. She works for us, give us her healthcare.

[jade7243]

05:06 PM on 12/17/2009

I read Ms. Kilkenny's "analysis." It's sloppy. It appears that she cherry-picks some data and facts about Ms. Dunham to suit her case and dismisses others. If she was going to build a "model case" based on a real person, it behooves her to use all of the facts available as know about the real person. She didn't. She makes assumptions about her work and income. about her insurance coverage before and after getting sick. treatment, medication and more.

If you're against the bill, you'll support Kilkenny. If you believe in more rigorous, more thorough analysis, you'll find Kilkenny's comments, not just wanting, but almost laughable.

[PSzymeczek]

07:20 PM on 12/17/2009

If the President's mother was employed full-time with the USAID, which is a Federal Agency, she would have been insured under the FEHBP. By law, insurers participating in the FEHBP are forbidden from failure to cover pre-existing conditions and from dropping a Federal employee when they become ill (recission). I was a Federal employee for 22 years, and had coverage at various times under Aetna, United, and BCBS. Everything was covered according to the Statement of Benefits.

[Sergeant]

04:31 PM on 12/17/2009

One would think, then, that he would have personally written a bill that met the parameters he felt needed to be met. And then sent it to Congress.

He did not.

[Tommygun264]

08:03 PM on 12/17/2009

You mean like Bill Clinton did? That really worked. I don't agree with President Obama's seemingly total "hands off policy" either, but I believe that rather than personally writing the entire Bill, he should have given Congress a set of minimum requirements that would have to be met in order to avoid a VETO and let the Congress craft the Bill. Otherwise the Repiglicans could have gotten traction on the "dictator" claim and killed it with the same way they did with Clinton. However, all is not lost - whatever gets passed by the Senate must still be reconciled with the House version in Conference Committee, then they will only need 51 votes to pass it in the Senate. The Public Option, the Medicare By-In Option, hell, even Single Payer can be put in during Conference Committee. This is far from over.

[Tane]

01:27 AM on 12/18/2009

It is not the Executive Branch's job to legislate, in fact it is not even constitutional. The attacks on President Obama for not doing the Congress' job for them is misguided. We finally have a President who believes in the balance of power and who has attempted to give Congress back the power that it was denied under Bush. Our Representatives have stumbled through this newfound power, but I for one welcome the return.

[Citizen-Jane]

06:59 PM on 12/19/2009

Yet, He will sign this bill into law. He he and his minions did a lot of arm twisting and directing the dems to bend over.

He is weak leader and if he gave a $hit about the people he would've stood up for us a long time ago. No but he gives into LIEberman and preacherman Neson. This bill sucks and it is not going to get much better.

[quindy]

04:26 PM on 12/17/2009

I was paying all my life for health insurance. I was hardly ever sick when I was young. Now that I am getting older I will be punished with 3x higher premium for being old. I consider myself lucky, because I can always go back to Europe and enjoy good health care, but this is not the solution. This health bill is slap in the face.

[kalimuzo]

07:15 PM on 12/17/2009

Without this bill you would pay 11 times what a healthy person gets if you can find an Insurance policy.

[M1]

07:43 PM on 12/17/2009

Until the insurance companies run through the loopholes and raise the prices rendering this bill useless while the masses are fed to the insurance companies.

[jcorrington]

03:50 PM on 12/17/2009

You didnt factor in the fact that under this bill she would likely have had to pay 300% more for a pre-existing condition.