Sen. Whitehouse Continues Pasta Dinners Here

July 1 at 6 pm

Health Care Community Dinner - The Portuguese American Vasco de Gama Hall, 15 Fenner Ave., Newport, RI
Please bring your family and friends for a free macaroni and meatball community dinner on Wednesday, July 1 at 6 p.m. in Newport to share your personal story about the crisis in our health care system - and your ideas about how to fix it.

Click here to let them know you'll be there. I'll be there. So come already!

Health Insurance & Socialism

The opinion article in the NDN on Wed. certainly caught my eyes with Rep. Loughlin screaming, "Socialized Medicine- Don't go There." Socialized medicine. I haven't heard that bugaboo since I was a h.s. debater with the topic of whether or not we should adopt Medicare. It was in the early 1900's that the AMA decided to torpedo attempts to supply Amercian's health care coverage with the then ominous threat of "socialism." OOOh, very scary. It also sounds like Communism- aren't they the same? Nope. What socialist countries can you even name off the top of your head?

Do you know who the AMA got to promote this campaign of deep-sixing Medicare in the Sixties? Ah, that vernable Republican icon- Ronald Reagan. What else has the AMA opposed under this banner- HMO's, Medicare, Medicaid, chiropractors, and it's not all that crazy about psychiatrists either. With less than 15% of practicing physicians now belonging to this group, who cares?

Rep. Loughlin also touts the "Patients' Choice Act." Sounds good, right? Choice is good. Unfortunately, this act is now also commonly referred to as the Swiss Cheese Policy and not because it tastes good or melts well. Sure, you'll be able to get healthcare coverage. Ah, but pricing, pricing, there's the rub. Women will pay more along with seniors like me. Just when you need it, how can you afford it?

The good Rep. also supports "Medicare Accountability" organizations. Yup, let's concentrate all our efforts fixing a program that works. Tax credits (this only works if you actually are paying substantial taxes to begin with), taking away your rights to sue physicians, hospitals, etc. all are part of his solution to our healthcare dilema. Less government is better (boy, that certainly worked out in New Orleans, didn't it), Wash. bureaucrats made this mess (hey, didn't Republicans runn the show for 14 yrs.) & berating Rep. Kennedy along with the DMV (it's recently taken me less time there than at my doctor's)= Conservative Republican magical mystery tour. He forgot to mention that he also favors mom & apple pie, rah, rah.

I don't want "universal acess" to health care, I want affordable coverage for everyone! I also want a single-payer system. Choice- yup. I choose a public plan and, if I want, I add to it with private coverage. Do I trust insurance companies to now suddenly come up with a plan to economize? Oh, surely. They just never thought that we were interested in that before.

Don't go there, indeed. We should have travelled there years ago and it's people like State Rep. Loughlin that blocked us. He wants us to have the same quality healthcare that Rep. Kennedy enjoys. 75% of the his costs are paid for by- US as part of the federal plan (FEHBP). Yup, I could live with that.

How stupid are we? Let's see- 119 million Americans are ready to sign-up today for a public plan. And sixty-three percent favor an increase in the governmental regs over their health care plans while attempting to lower costs and cover more Americans. Six out of ten Americans believe that health care should be a right. Not so dumb after all.

Patients' Choice Act? We don't need no stinking patients choice act! We need universal health care insurance. Now.

Health Insurance for ALL

This is the time to send your message to your two Senators- Reed & Whitehouse. Sen. Reed has come up with an alternate program which does NOT offer a strong public health insurance option.

Want health insurance costs to go down? The only way this will happen is to control drug costs & take some of the profit out of it, along with better management. It needs to be ready on day one. That's what happened with Medicare & the world did not collapse- quite the contrary.

Do it now! Click here:

http://pol.moveon.org/fax?tg=FSRI_2.FSRI_1&cp_id=967&id=16427-4550874-_w9Dynx&t=4

I've spent a LOT of time looking into healthcare costs over the past few years. Strong public option- end of many of our problems, including economic.

"The Health Care for America Now campaign in Rhode Island released a letter today signed by 40 Rhode Island state legislators to President Obama and Congress urging them to pass comprehensive health care reform within the year. The letter, which has been signed by more than 700 state legislators nationwide, urges congress to pass a bill that controls costs, extends coverage to all Americans, and gives all businesses and individuals the choice of buying into a strong public insurance plan." (letter)

Our local Signers:
Sen. Louis DiPalma, Sen. Charles Levesque, Sen. M. Teresa Paiva Weed, Rep. Amy Rice, Rep. Deborah Ruggiero

Digital Mammograms at Newport Hospital

I went for my annual mammogram Sat. & appreciated the early call that there had been a number of cancellations & could come earlier.

The actual test takes hardly any time now- ?1o min. at most. The operator uses buttons to manuveur the equipment & received an immediate monitor pic.

Breast cancer is curable if detected early. Every woman needs one! An ounce of prevention & all that. There is now a center in Portsmouth which can do the same. The one in Newport is open 6 days/week. As a rule of thumb, women over 40 need one every year. These tests are said to reduce mortality by 30%. These digital pics along with new software are state-of-the-art.

Okay- a joke:

The Knob

A woman visited her plastic surgeon who told her about a new procedure called "The Knob," where a small knob is placed at the top of the woman's head and could be turned to tighten up her skin and produce the effect of a brand new face-lift.
Of course, the woman wanted "The Knob."Over the course of the years, the woman tightened the knob, and the effects were wonderful, the womanremained young looking and vibrant.

After fifteen years, the woman returned to the surgeon with two problems. "All these years, everything hasbeen working just fine. I've had to turn the knob many times and I've always loved the results. But now I've developed two annoying problems: First, I have these terrible bags under my eyes and the knob won't get rid of them."
The doctor looked at her closely and said, "Those aren't bags, those are your breasts."She said, "Well, I guess there's no point in asking about the goatee."

Bi-Polar In Rhode Island

It takes a lot of guts to publicly admit that you have a serious mental health problem. I was impressed recently by a Projo article from a Wakefield business consultant who wrote about his bi-polar illness.

"The bipolar tornado sucked me into its vortex and tumbled me into a desolate, rubble-strewn landscape that I still do not understand. There was, is, no roadmap through this mental maze. There was no way out of Dodge. "(Projo)

The writer is 71 and he wrote not only to give his personal experience with this disorder but "... to promote understanding of the disease and tolerance and support of those who have it. I also want to encourage support for pending federal legislation that would put insurance for mental illness on par with “ordinary” health insurance."

There are 5.7 million bipolars in America — about two in every one hundred
people that you meet. About 20 percent, or 114,000, will commit suicide. Bipolars lose much of their lives because they function poorly or not at all, and bipolars die 9.2 years on average earlier than their contemporaries.

Lest you wonder why this should be of aony concern to you or the rest of sociedty, keep this in mind: "By one estimate, America’s 5.7 million bioplars “lose” each year a total of 1.5 million days of productive time." In other words, besides a health concern, it costs all of us money.

Severe mental illness grabbed him when he was a sophomore in college. Most severe mental illnesses seem to be genetic. You get it or you don't. It likely is in your genes, although some brain injuries seem to also produce mental illness.

Read more of one man's journey. He has led a sucessful life with unexpected & life-threatening detours. My hat is off to you, C. Davis Fogg.

My family has experienced severely mental illness. It's not a pleasant journey & definitely not one that we had expected to be in. But as they say, it's an ill wind that blows no good. It certainly has opened up our world, broadened it, and given us the opportunity to meet the most extraordinary people which we would not have gotten to meet otherwise.

Rep. Kennedy on Health care

This is a link for Rep. Kennedy's current work on healthcare. Recently I was made aware through personal experience of the limits of my family's insurance regarding mental health parity. 30 visits/yr. for counselling does it. You'd better be cured by then! And Medicaid is even worse. Counselling for mental health through Newport Co. Mental Health- wait a year! The Rep. has been working to change this. Go Patrick! We're lucky to have him representing our District.

Oh, that we all had Rep. Kennedy's & Sen. Kennedy's health care policies which we all pay for! Talk about parity...

Universal health care coverage- because it's time!

Health Care Meeting

Lt. Gov. Roberts will be explaining her Healthy R.I. Reform Act 2008 at the Newport Hosp. this Wed. at 6:30 pm.

We wouldn't be bogged down in all these villainous attacks against each other if we had universal health care coverage which the large majority of Americans want. Think how many items would be off the table if everyone had low-cost, good quality healthcare coverage. Let's ALL have the same coverage that the state leislators have which we pay for. Let's ALL have Ted Kennedy's health care plan which WE pay for. Instead of being nickle & dimed & persuaded that everyone should have high-cost, high-deductible coverage, why not change the discussion?

Really, how much lower can we go? Universal health care coverage- because it's time!

Is Lifespan Merger Good for Our District?

From the Boston Globe:

You just have to pay it, Steve," Sam Thier, the likable but combative former chief executive of Partners HealthCare, the 800-pound gorilla of the Boston hospital world, used to tell me when I'd ask, as I often did, about the exploding cost of healthcare.
"Of course, you have to pay," says Regina Herzlinger. "The question is how much?"

That is a good question with both Mass. & R.I. (with Lt. Gov. Robert's proposed program beginning to wend its way through the Lege) attempting to answer it. But there is also a more central question that needs to be broached and it is even more difficult to answer. How do we control soaring double-digit costs, most notably in meds & hospital charges which control insurance costs?

Herzlinger lays out her case for another way in her provocative book, "Who Killed Health Care?" which is nothing short of an all-out attack on the "villains" of the current system, including the hospitals, the insurers, and Congress.

What especially caught my eye was her statement regarding the Boston hospital market: "Whenever there is oligopoly in any industry, it is no good. It cannot be good."

In R.I. this could become much worse with Landmark's proposal to merge most area hospitals. While this could work out quite well for them, it's questionable as to the effect on we the consumers. One large company would control most all of our hospital health care system. Forget oligopoly & think monopoly.

The mergers [in Boston], she says, have accomplished their goals: limiting competition and raising prices. Hospitals now hold leverage over the insurers.

Oh, goody. This merger is something that we all should be keeping our eyes on. At some point in time there will be public hearings on it. I don't mind paying for healthcare and I doubt anyone does. The question is how much & when will we just get tapped out by uncontrolled costs? The book's author suggests consumer-driven healthcare reforms is one answer. She wants more data from the hospitals themselves so that one can compare.

A good idea actually, but how much more can I be expected to take ownership of? An example would be the bill for R.I. hospitals to reveal to the Dept. of Health their infection rate AFTER entering the hospital. These infections are the nation's fourth highest killer & are often preventable with better hospital cleanliness outside the operating rooms. Lifespan objected because it was concerned over how the data would be used. I support this bill as it's we the people who basically support hospitals. We have the right to know period. The bill was "held for futher study" which essentially means that it's dead.

Most times I have been to the hospital there really was little choice on my part. Which was closest, which did the procedure and which had the bed doesn't directly speak much to what she's looking for but it's central to me. Frankly competition in this area doesn't seem to work that well compared to which computer do I want to purchase.

America spends $2.1 trillion a year on healthcare, about the size of the Chinese economy. This week the federal government projected that number will double to $4 trillion in a decade. Hospital spending, representing roughly 30 percent of all healthcare spending, was again the fastest-growing sector.

....Another way to think about it is in competitive terms: America spends about
16 percent of its gross domestic product on healthcare; Japan spends about half
that. That difference explains, in part, why Toyota is crushing General Motors.

This is a good argument for universal healthcare with a single payer system. Yes, I don't mind paying but my wallet isn't bottomless. Trusting the hospitals & med companies to monitor themselves with market forces controlling them doesn't seem to be working very well, does it? The Europeans and Canadians have more experience with this & have been quite sucessful. We need to look to them for models & learn from them.

Check out "Who Killed Health Care?" at the library or book store. Editorial reviews of this good. And keep your eyes on that proposed merger. Real-life "Monopoly" is going to take a lot to convince me. And, yes, Newport Hospital is in this District.

ISBN-10: 0071487808

Thanks to Globe columnist Steve Bailey.

New Rhode Island blogs

Natural News Network is one new R.I. website along with blogger RIslander. The former is an environmental site with lots of info & local links. Evidently it's been around for about a year & I missed it. Thanks to Mary for putting me wise. The latter blog features pithy commentary, although he's been rather quiet lately.

Another new favorite is Regulating Health Insurance. This one is written by John Aloysius Cogan Jr. (a fine Italian name) who is the Executive Assistant for Policy and Program Review for the Rhode Island Office of the Health Insurance.

Check them out!

R.I. Blue Cross #20 in Nationwide Healthcare Plans

In an "Honor Roll" rating "the very best of the hundreds of commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid managed-care plans" was recognized. This roll was scored with "data collected and analyzed by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, managed care's major accrediting and standards-setting body." Receiving the highest score 91.7 of was Harvard Pilgrim of Mass. New England companies figured in 8 of the top 10. Scoring second highest was Tufts Assoc. HMO working out of Mass., N.H., & R.I.

The ratings from #11 - #20 were 8 more N.E. companies with Rhode Island Blue Cross coming in at #20 with a score of 87.

With R.I. Blue Cross, consumer assessment showed some problem areas with overall plan satisfaction, physician satisfaction, and timely care receiving lower ratings. Mental & behavioral health care was lacking while preventive health care for all groups rec'd very high ratings. Costs were not considered.

U.S.News & World also rated the best Medicare health care plans in the nation. "Rankings reflect success in preventing and treating illness compared with average health plan." Topping the list are three plans out of Mass. Receiving the highest score of 86.4 is Fallon with R.I. Blue Cross ranking #9 with a total of 85 points. These scores were assigned by users. Mental health treatment & prevention rec'd the lowest scores in R.I.
R.I. Blue Cross figured out # 3 in the Medicaid ratings scoring 88.1. In commercial plans it was #20.

While I am delighted that we made the top twenty, what can we do to improve? I know that Blue Cross monitors this blog, so perhaps...?

I Heart Rhode Island Hospital

I was in R.I. Hospital for three days for an elective procedure (translation: You can see us now while you're still feeling decent, or you can see us later when you're not.) I have nothing but nice things to say. Everyone was polite & went out of their way to assist, when clearly they did not have to. My procedure was clearly (meaning overly) explained by everyone as was my immediate treatment afterwards. I was in surgery ? 4 hrs. I recall being in the prep room with others & the next thing I know someone was asking to me to squeeze their hand & I was wheeled away from recovery to my room. Evidently I was quite entertaining before they put me out but my minds is a blank. Darn! my best moment & it's a goner.
Question: When did Doctors & nurses start to look so young when they used to look so darned old???
The first day and 1/2 after the procedure I was in "Step-Down." This was intensified care with a nurse looking after three patients. Lovely. They were wonderful & I would have thanked them more often if I'd had a voice. Unfortunately I had to have a tube down my throat which gave me the mother of all sore throats. Throat spray was useless, but other pain killers helped. Ah, pain-killers.
The only complaint was that I never had more than 2 hrs. of continuous sleep. While the hallways were sometimes noisey, it was comforting to know that there was life out there. The rooms were private & equipped with medical computers.
When the tube was removed (instant relief) I went into the co-op building. Two to a room, one nurse for 6-8 patients & a CNA. It was noisier, but I had a nice view of the city, especially at night. My partner kept her t.v. on 24 hrs./day - grr! - and much of the time I could hear it - headphones needed here or the supplied hand-control with a lower sound cap . Finally, some kind nurse turned her overhead light off. Care is not quite as close here, but that worked for me. I received instructions from a nutritionist & a social worker. I was there a day.
When I left there was valet parking so that my husband could leave the car out front & come & get me. Good thing because I was unable to do much walking.
The Visiting Nurse Service out of Middletown-Portsmouth has already been here. Love them! I am so lucky to have good health coverage. Other then some co-pays on meds, I won't see many actual bills. When I was younger I rarely saw the Doc., much less a hospital. As one ages, this process reverses & this is when most insurers would like to rid themselves of you. High blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, high cholesteral, smoking - all YOUR fault - not.
I'm homebound for awhile letting incisions heal up & hoping that the bruising will leave soon, but I actually feel quite good. My diet has been restricted to purees - yum, puree, but I'm making do quite nicely.
When I could speak, I asked my CNA about her shift schedule. She was just coming off a voluntary 16 hr. shift. Sometimes the nurses are required to do so, too. 16 hours??? How do you actually function for sixteen hours? Doesn't sleep deprivation play a detrimental role here?
If you haven't been to RI Hospital or its environs, it is quite a complex with expansion going on in the area. Hasbro (for children) & Women & Infants are all there. The staff told me that everything is connected underground. It's in South Prov. (I think), just outside the city - easily accessbile by highway. For the bariatric procedure I was having - no go for Newport Hospital.
R.I. Hospital is also a teaching hospital for med students at Brown Univ. I met many students who were working with my surgeon. I like that. Sorry, guess it's the teacher in me. And women! Sometimes things do change for the better.
Thanks for the good thoughts, prayers, etc. It helped.
Forty years of indigestion. And it's just gone. Amazing.
My former heart-patient Frank & I also heart Miriam Hosp. - specialists in coronary procedures!

Major Candidates on Health Care

I've given you the link for a summary of all the major candidates' (both parties) stand on health care from the N.Y. Times. I like Kucinich. I've always liked him. He's constantly undermined by the press/media who make subtle (and not so subtle) comments on his appearance. I just don't care about that. Feel free to comment.

I believe that health care is a basic right. It comes under "life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness." Without good health, you can't do any of these things. I'm also pretty much fed up with our parents who saved & worked all their lives to leave something to their children and leave them zilch because it's all eaten up with health care costs. My mom now pays for for her meds under the new drug prescription plan than she did before. Thanks for nothing.

I do not care for the recent health insurance programs that the Guv & lege have come up with. Better than nothing? I suppose. But this is the best that we can do? Many preventive tests/treatments aren't covered. In bad health? It's YOUR fault. Meanwhile the richest thousand or so taxpayers get a tax break. I don't get it. How many of these "richest" actually generate income in the state (besides their own). They're easily replaced & maybe housing prices would actually decline.

Americans have repeatedly said that they believe health care is a right & are willing to pay taxes for it. At least we'd get a chance then to actually see/use where our taxes our going. Too often now, we have to remind people what they are used for. Perhaps that's because most of us just don't see it for ourselves, while we do see others provided with what we lack.

The poorest do get it. And that's why some of them choose to stay that way rather than take a job which in the end will cost them more than they receive. If the middle class doesn't get a break, then they wonder why they have to foot the bill for others. And well they should.

Perhaps that's the point, though. If we're all angry with each other, that means we're only out for ourselves. And as a societal basis, this doesn't work well for most. But it definitely works out quite well for a handful who are darn good at persuading the rest of us who are too tired, scared, & discouraged to presume otherwise.

***BTW - The discriminating teen likes Gravel who wants health care vouchers.

Mastectomy Bill in Congress

*Sandra Flowers sent me this e-mail. I thought it was most appropriate to publish as an article, esp. after seeing the movie, "Sicko." I wonder what the policy would be for men losing a part of their body (say, testes)? I'm surprised they have not yet started to do "drive-by" outpatient medicne. You could just remain in your car.


"Hello, everyone!
I just received the following message from a dear friend and I feel that it must be passed on to you folks who know that speaking up for justice is not only our right, but our duty. I have already signed the petition on-line. Please feel free to forward this to all your friends in your address books. " - Sandra

Subject: Please read....Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 14:39:34 -0400 This will take just a minute. Please pass it on! (written by a surgeon)

I'll never forget the look in my patients eyes when I had to tell them they had to go home with the drains, new exercises and no breast. I remember begging the Doctors to keep these women in the hospital longer, only to hearthat they would, but their hands were tied by the insurance companies. So there I sat with my patient giving them the instructions they needed to take care of themselves, knowing full well they didn't grasp half of what I was saying, because the glazed, hopeless, frightened look spoke louder than the quiet 'Thank you' they muttered.
A mastectomy is when a woman's breast is removed in order to remove cancerous breast cells/tissue. If you know anyone who has had a mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards. Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Let's give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.

Mastectomy Bill in Congress

It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important .. please take the time and do it really quick! Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill - Important legislation for all women. Please send this to everyone in your address book. If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times.
If you're receiving this, it's because I think you will take the 30 seconds to go to vote on this issue and send it on to others you know who will do the same. There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the 'drive-through mastectomy' where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.
Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year over half the House signed on. PLEASE!! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below. You need not give more than your name and zip code number.

http://www.lifetimetv.com/breastcancer/petition/signpetition.php

This takes about 2 seconds. PLEASE PASS THIS ON to your friends and family, and on behalf of all women, THANKS

"Sicko" playing at Opera House

Go see it. It's about 2 hrs. long & entertaining while also getting it's message across.

Rhode Islanders are somewhat luckier than insurance buyers in other states. If you have a pre-existing condition in R.I. you can still purchase insurance here at the same price that others pay. Not so in other states. However, it's still expensive.

I've decided after this pic that I'd like to become French. Sure, not being fluent in the language could be a slight problem (among others). Watch this movie & see why.

Every once in awhile my family thinks of moving to Ireland where my husband & sons are citizens. Why? - free health care, secure retirement, free college, good jobs, etc. The only thing lacking is good weather.

High taxes? Yes, but not much more than ours when you add all the extras we pay in fees besides taxes (and no more free dump). And their governments are afraid of them, rather than vice versa here. So enjoy & send in your comments!

***BTW, My discriminating teen says it was "very entertaining."

R.I.'s "Better Than Nothing" Health Insurance

There are two new health insurance offerings for small business winding their way through the Lege. One comes from the guv's new health insurance commissioner, Koller:

" [It] targets employers who are in danger of dropping coverage as premiums rise. It limits the premium to 10 percent of the average Rhode Island wage, which computes to a monthly premium of $314 for an individual.
....'WellCare', name coined by Governor Carcieri — will force subscribers to pursue “wellness initiatives” to avoid high out-of-pocket costs. The initiatives include maintaining a healthy weight or participating in a weight-management program and remaining smoke free or participating in a stop-smoking program."
Of course, no one yet discusses the results of your not being sucessful in maintaining a healthy weight or not stopping smoking (like either of these are cures). And as of yet no health insurance program has signed on to offer this plan.

"Rep.Costantino’s bill (he is Chair of House Finance Com.) aims to push premiums even lower — 7.5 percent of the average wage, or $240 a month, for an individual plan — to draw in employers who don’t currently offer insurance. The cost of the insurance policy — the combined amount paid by employer and employee — would be $3,000 for an individual and $7,200 for a family, roughly half the cost of insurance policies currently available in Rhode Island.

Costantino’s bill would achieve cost savings through increased flexibility [read this as 'it's not covered']. Over the years, lawmakers have built up a list of mandates — things insurers are required to cover...: hearing aids, contraception, mammograms, pap smears and infertility treatment. (Many of the mandates specify a minimum level of coverage...) Costantino’s bill would free insurers from all those mandates."

He does have companies willing to provide this coverage (I wonder exactly what it does cover?).
Both of these bills are touted as "they're better than nothing." So is a first aid kit. The former says that if you're not healthy it's your fault. The latter offers a bandaid as being at least something. Surely, we can do better. We must do better. Most Americans in recent surveys believe that health care is the government's responsibility. Offering products that are, "Better than nothing!" (can you see that in the promo lit.?) aren't much to be proud of. Can the bar get much lower?

Thanks to Projo & reporter Elizabeth Gudrais

R.I. Healthcare that We All Pay For

You may have missed this article on healthcare a few days ago in Projo. While the Fair Share bill last year did not pass, a bill requiring businesses with over 250 employees (and dependents) on Medicaid to give some details about their employee health care plans did.

"Thousands of people who are workers, or dependents of workers, at some of Rhode Island’s largest companies last year got health coverage through the state Medicaid program for the poor, at a cost to taxpayers of roughly $10 million, a new state analysis shows....Those employers were Bank of America, Citizens Financial Group, the City of Providence, CVS Corp., S & S Credit Company, and Wal-Mart, along with three agencies that place temporary employees — Employment 2000, Qualified Resources, and Workers Mania.

“We have knowledge now that some significant corporations are in fact utilizing a safety net and a very good one … for their own purposes,” said Sen. Charles J. Levesque, D-Portsmouth, secretary of the Committee on Health and Human Services. “I’m not happy that they’re doing it.” Levesque said he believes all employers should offer insurance to all employees, full and part time.

The Fair Share bill targets businesses with more than 1000 employees to pay for health care or to pay a $ into the state health care system. This bill is said to target Walmart for it's lousy almost non-existent employee health care plan. In fact if you work in Newport, you can buy into a plan with Dr.s in Woonsocket, Providence, Cumberland and Coventry. Helpful, isn't it?
Now remember, it's your taxes that in effect offer these mostly profit-making employers' subsidies. Why?
The Fair Share bill never made it out of committee. Maybe this year it will. Better they should pay their fair share rather than pass it on to all the rest of us (unless we also receive the benefits).

Thanks to the Projo & their reporter, Felice Freyer.

Health Insurance that's Good for All Rhode Islanders

UnitedHealthCare of New England wants to send $36.8 mill of it's profits back home to Minn. Now if it were R.I. Blue Cross, that wouldn't happen. But giving state workers & others Unitedhealthcare was a great deal. Yep, it was. (Keep repeating that). Awarding a healthcare contract to a vendor which is not under state control & ownership (quasi) was a good idea. Minn. really needs that money. Yup, a great deal.

Why, because I say so. Keep repeating: The Guv knows best, the Guv knows best. Thanks, Dad.

Rep. Rice Wants Insurance Co-Pay

Rep. Amy Rice (Dist. 73) has introduced sister legislation to a Senate bill calling for the lege & general officers to pay 10% of their health care costs. "Rice said she put in her bill out of 'fairness to the state employees' who already contribute to their health care."

"So will Rice, even if her bill fails, voluntarily pay part of her health-care cost, as some of her colleagues are already doing? 'I haven’t thought about that. I’m not sure,' Rice told Political Scene the other day."

I haven't been in favor on the Lege paying for their health care coverage as their salary is so low (about $12,500). I do think that everyone ought to pay something for their health care coverage though, if for no other reason than to make them aware that these services are costly. In the past the Lege has seemed oblivious to Blue Cross or other health care costs and perhaps this is why. I've often wondered if most of them even know the cost of health care plans.

I think that we expect an awful lot from our Lege without paying them much in return. I'm a big believe in "you get what you pay for." With so many highly complex issues on the agenda, it's not unreasonable to place discussion of a longer legislative year and hours on it. Our lege don't even have offices or staffers.

It's not unreasonable to expect general officers making over $100,000/yr. to help pay for their health insurance, but poorly paid legislators, too? And 10%? I also wonder if those eager to jump on the bandwagon already have spouses/retirement plans with health insurance coverage. Like the Guv.

However I do expect that this is a political move in a non-election year which will get buried. We'll see.

Thanks again to Projo.

District 12's School & Budget Woes

Troubling times in R.I. regarding the budget. Things will probably be as friendly as last year, though, regarding the relationship of the Lege and the Guv. Firstly, it's not an election year, and secondly, the Guv has no control votewise over the leadership. They "wuv" each other now & so there will be little finger wagging over who has gotten us into this mess in the first place.

I am trying a new shorthand way to refer to the Legislature or General Assembly. Somehow "Generals" didn't seem quite right & "Asses" was a bit over the top. So "Lege" works for me (thank you again, Molly Ivins).

No, you won't see any increase in taxes but you'll be seeing huge increases in fees on both the state & local levels. It's already happening in Tiverton.

Middletown is laying off all its non-tenured teachers yet again - 25 this year (Daily News says 22. Who even notices anymore except those involved? But with budget shortages looming everywhere, those rehirings in May/June will no longer be so automatic. What you're seeing in P'mouth is the future for all of us.

The "Newport Daily News" editorial opinion (no link) is upset with the Guv for once again not reimbursing Portsmouth for its group home. Last year during the election it repeatedly creamed Rep. Rice & Sen. Levesque for not collecting this $ (not to mention their opponents). Supposedly this was behind their non-endorsement of them (although it may well have had to do with the position of the stars in the sky at the time or the fact that Democrats have a "D" in its spelling). The Guv then promised to fix it & now he has reneged. Ironic, huh?

I wonder if Rep. bruce J. Long will show next Wed. at the Newport County meeting to examine the feasibility of one large district (held in Prov. after the Lege meets but it is being moved to Newport's Colony House)? I also wonder where their meetings/agendas/minutes are posted? Enquiring minds like to know. The good Rep. has been mighty quiet of late. April 15 ain't all that far away. Hope that he hasn't lost his filing form this year. I heard on WADK the other day that he was going to be participating in a health care forum in Prov. I hope the Guv isn't cutting his former wife's RITE care. Oops, I mean the Rep's former wife, of course. The Governor's wife has her health insurance paid for by all of us. Don't you?

The anticipated cost increase of Blue Cross for next year is 15%. But, you're expecting a like raise, right?