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Maryland physician Andy Harris (R) just soundly defeated Frank Kratovil, one of the most endangered Democrats on Capitol Hill going into the November election. And he did it in large part by railing against 'Obamacare' and pledging to repeal Health Care Reform. But when he showed on Capitol Hill today for an orientation for incoming members of Congress and their staffs, he had a different question: Where's my government health care?
According to Glenn Thrush of Politico, Harris created a stir at the orientation meeting by demanding to know why he had to wait a month after he was sworn in in January for his government-subsidized health care to kick in. After responding in a huff, he even asked if there was some way he could buy into the government care in advance, seemingly thinking there might be a government program similar to the so-called 'public option' championed by progressive Democrats in 2009.
According to an unnamed congressional staffer quoted by Thrush, Harris stood up at the meeting "and asked the two ladies who were answering questions why it had to take so long, what he would do without 28 days of health care."
During the campaign, Harris told voters, "the answer to the ever-rising cost of insurance is not the expansion of government-run or government-mandated insurance but, instead, common-sense market based solutions that ensure decisions are made by patients and their doctors."
What the fuck has Obama done so far
Nov. 2nd, 2010 03:50 pmBirth Control Matters is an effort to make no-cost prescription birth control available so that all women can use the method that works best for them and to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies.
Affordable prescription birth control is an essential part of health care for millions of women. The average woman spends 30 years of her life trying to avoid getting pregnant. More than one-third of women voters in America have struggled with the cost of prescription birth control at some point in their lives, and, as a result, have used birth control inconsistently.
Making birth control available at no cost is the single most important step we can take to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies.
The new health care reform law represents the single biggest opportunity to advance women’s health in 45 years. To make this opportunity a reality, the law must require health plans to provide prescription birth control to women with no co-pays, as part of the prevention provision. This would be a huge step forward for America – and especially for the many of women in this nation who cannot afford to pay for prescription contraception.
The time has come to provide birth control at no cost to every woman who wants it.
Please sign the petition.
US cities with greatest housing stress
Oct. 7th, 2010 08:28 amYahoo Finance: Which Cities Face Biggest Housing Risks?
The second column should decline after 2014 when health insurance reform kicks in.
The third column combines those on fixed incomes (pensions/other retirement income and unemployment insurance payments) with those with no income.
The fourth column, "Housing-Stress Indicator," combines the other three.
To be sure, a high level of income can make crossing the 30% threshold of housing costs-to-income less risky for a borrower. New York, for example, is in the top 10 for the housing-stress indicator among the 49 most populous cities, but the percentage of people without health insurance and unemployment are both below the national averages in the region. The New York area has one of the highest median incomes in the nation, allowing residents to apportion more to housing while maintaining wiggle room to deal with other expenses.
Below is a chart of the 49 most populous U.S. metro areas with their stress readings and components, sorted by the cities with the highest housing-stress indicator to the least.
| Metro Area | Spending >30% of Income on Housing | Without Health Insurance | Population Not Working | Housing-Stress Indicator |
| United States, average | 37.5% | 15.1% | 33.1% | 85.7 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | 57.7% | 25.6% | 33.3% | 116.6 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 54.3% | 20.5% | 39.5% | 114.3 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA | 54.3% | 21.5% | 33.5% | 109.3 |
| San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA | 53.9% | 17.0% | 36.4% | 107.3 |
| Las Vegas-Paradise, NV | 49.6% | 22.3% | 32.2% | 104.1 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee, FL | 47.6% | 21.2% | 32.6% | 101.4 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 46.6% | 18.5% | 34.4% | 99.5 |
| Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville, CA | 48.4% | 12.6% | 35.4% | 96.4 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 50.5% | 12.3% | 31.6% | 94.4 |
| New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA | 48.8% | 12.9% | 32.2% | 93.9 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | 41.3% | 17.9% | 33.5% | 92.7 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 50.2% | 11.9% | 30.6% | 92.7 |
| Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI | 39.0% | 12.9% | 39.1% | 91 |
| New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA | 38.0% | 18.8% | 33.7% | 90.5 |
| Jacksonville, FL | 40.0% | 16.8% | 33.3% | 90.1 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI | 42.9% | 14.4% | 31.9% | 89.2 |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | 42.1% | 11.7% | 34.6% | 88.4 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA | 36.5% | 19.2% | 32.4% | 88.1 |
| Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX | 32.2% | 24.6% | 31.1% | 87.9 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 35.9% | 16.3% | 35.4% | 87.6 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA | 40.9% | 14.8% | 31.3% | 87 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 32.0% | 24.0% | 29.6% | 85.6 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 43.0% | 12.1% | 29.9% | 85 |
| San Antonio, TX | 30.1% | 20.0% | 34.4% | 84.5 |
| Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA | 42.9% | 9.0% | 29.9% | 81.8 |
| Austin-Round Rock, TX | 31.6% | 20.5% | 27.7% | 79.8 |
| Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH | 35.2% | 11.5% | 32.7% | 79.4 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 37.4% | 10.0% | 31.7% | 79.1 |
| Richmond, VA | 34.1% | 12.8% | 31.5% | 78.4 |
| Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO | 35.0% | 15.3% | 27.3% | 77.6 |
| Birmingham-Hoover, AL | 31.0% | 12.3% | 34.2% | 77.5 |
| Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC | 31.7% | 15.7% | 30.1% | 77.5 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 38.3% | 11.0% | 27.2% | 76.5 |
| Baltimore-Towson, MD | 36.8% | 10.1% | 29.4% | 76.3 |
| Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN | 32.4% | 13.3% | 30.5% | 76.2 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | 26.4% | 17.9% | 30.6% | 74.9 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI | 35.3% | 9.9% | 28.6% | 73.8 |
| Columbus, OH | 30.6% | 12.7% | 30.1% | 73.4 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH | 40.2% | 4.7% | 27.6% | 72.5 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel, IN | 28.2% | 13.6% | 29.9% | 71.7 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | 35.5% | 7.6% | 28.4% | 71.5 |
| Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN | 27.5% | 12.4% | 31.6% | 71.5 |
| Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN | 28.1% | 11.8% | 30.9% | 70.8 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 29.7% | 10.5% | 30.4% | 70.6 |
| Rochester, NY | 29.4% | 7.9% | 31.9% | 69.2 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 27.6% | 13.2% | 27.8% | 68.6 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 34.7% | 9.1% | 24.7% | 68.5 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 28.1% | 8.6% | 31.0% | 67.7 |
| Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY | 27.8% | 7.9% | 31.2% | 66.9 |
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The Real Death Panels | Politicker NY
Aug. 13th, 2009 07:57 pmThe Real Death Panels | Politicker NY
When Republican politicians and right-wing talking heads bemoan the fictitious “death panels” that they claim would arise from health care reform, they are concealing a sinister reality from their followers. The ugly fact is that every year we fail to reform the existing system, that failure condemns tens of thousands of people to die—either because they have no insurance or because their insurance companies deny coverage or benefits when they become ill.
The best estimate of the annual death toll among Americans of working age due to lack of insurance or under-insurance is at least 20,000, according to studies conducted over the past decade by medical researchers, and is almost certainly rising as more and more people lose their coverage as costs continue to go up.
They die primarily because they didn’t have the coverage or the money to pay doctors and thus delayed seeking treatment until it was too late. They don’t get checkups, screenings and other preventive care. That is why uninsured adults are far more likely to be diagnosed with a disease, such as cancer or heart disease, at an advanced stage, which severely reduces their chances of survival.
The Real Death Panels | Politicker NY
Aug. 13th, 2009 07:57 pmThe Real Death Panels | Politicker NY
When Republican politicians and right-wing talking heads bemoan the fictitious “death panels” that they claim would arise from health care reform, they are concealing a sinister reality from their followers. The ugly fact is that every year we fail to reform the existing system, that failure condemns tens of thousands of people to die—either because they have no insurance or because their insurance companies deny coverage or benefits when they become ill.
The best estimate of the annual death toll among Americans of working age due to lack of insurance or under-insurance is at least 20,000, according to studies conducted over the past decade by medical researchers, and is almost certainly rising as more and more people lose their coverage as costs continue to go up.
They die primarily because they didn’t have the coverage or the money to pay doctors and thus delayed seeking treatment until it was too late. They don’t get checkups, screenings and other preventive care. That is why uninsured adults are far more likely to be diagnosed with a disease, such as cancer or heart disease, at an advanced stage, which severely reduces their chances of survival.
