As we discuss health care reform, we also need to be looking at how we fund research and development for some major diseases like ALS (commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease). This disease destroys the body in a slow process that takes away a person's independence and eventually their very breath. As my friend said, "You die inch by inch." The following book review is a comprehensive look at the disease and how it affects both patients and families. We need to be raising our voices to get more money for research.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis : A guide for patients and families… by Hiroshi Mitsumoto, MD
I requested this book as I am now being a supportive caregiver for a dear friend who has ALS. This book has an impressive list of contributors and Dr. Mitsumoto has a been given awards for his compassionate care of patients with this debilitating disease. There is an excellent index as well as a comprehensive Table of Contents.
The book is very thorough and goes into every aspect of the disease. In some places it seemed pretty technical and I am not sure that all families will take the time to read it all. I have a medical background that is very out of date so I appreciated reading about how the disease affects the person, what research is being done and how the symptom can be treated so that the patients are kept comfortable.
I especially liked the chapters on Hospice Care and Mourning. I think these chapters are essential reading for patients and families. Making end of life decisions are so important for all of us and the book certainly encourages that.
I will be giving the book to the family that I am helping so they can have a better understanding of what their family member is going through.
I rated this book 4 1/2 stars and I think it should be in every doctors office, public library and be given to any patient diagnosed with this disease.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Let's Stop Playing Politics With People's Lives
I feel like a broken record! I seem to be consumed with anxiety about what the Congress will do with Health Care Reform. I am tired of the Republicans doing nothing but running ads and making statements that spread lies and scare tactics about everything from race, the economy, health care and other issues but do nothing constructive.
What follows is my most recent communication with Senators Collins and Snowe. I know I would like more people to get involved and communicate with their elected official and I also know that I am being unrealistic. I don't think it is because people don't care, although that is true of many, but they can't expend the energy and are hopeless. I am the type of person that cannot give up the fight and I am always hopeful that I can help affect change that will help folks. That is always my basic premise for the issues that I support. Unfortunately money from the rich and powerful most always wins!
Anyway here is the letter. Join me if you can.
Dear Senators Snowe and Collins.
I am begging and pleading with you to support the public option as part of health care reform. It is the only wat to protect the people of this country from the immoral practices of the insurance companies.
Also, if you support taking away S-Chip which covers 11 million children it will be one of the most immoral acts ever committed. This is a country that professes to love their children but we ruin their health care, their education, allow them to go to bed hungry and that is not loving or caring for the children.
Also you should be trying stop the the members of your party from spreading lies and scare tactics to the people on the health care and economy when they have been responsible for the breakdown of our economy by supporting the Bush policies and illegal activities.
Priscilla Payne
Windham, Maine 04062
What follows is my most recent communication with Senators Collins and Snowe. I know I would like more people to get involved and communicate with their elected official and I also know that I am being unrealistic. I don't think it is because people don't care, although that is true of many, but they can't expend the energy and are hopeless. I am the type of person that cannot give up the fight and I am always hopeful that I can help affect change that will help folks. That is always my basic premise for the issues that I support. Unfortunately money from the rich and powerful most always wins!
Anyway here is the letter. Join me if you can.
Dear Senators Snowe and Collins.
I am begging and pleading with you to support the public option as part of health care reform. It is the only wat to protect the people of this country from the immoral practices of the insurance companies.
Also, if you support taking away S-Chip which covers 11 million children it will be one of the most immoral acts ever committed. This is a country that professes to love their children but we ruin their health care, their education, allow them to go to bed hungry and that is not loving or caring for the children.
Also you should be trying stop the the members of your party from spreading lies and scare tactics to the people on the health care and economy when they have been responsible for the breakdown of our economy by supporting the Bush policies and illegal activities.
Priscilla Payne
Windham, Maine 04062
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Please Take Action on Health Care Reform
This is a letter that I have sent to Senators Snowe and Collins. I hope you will all take action too. You can email them at:
http://collins.senate.gov
http://snowe.senate.gov
Go to their sites and you can email them from there. If you prefer their phone numbers are listed on their sites. We have this chance to reform our health care system and make sure that everyone has a choice and is covered. The stories of folks losing their homes and being forced into bankruptcy are sad and heart wrenching. Let's be a nation that cares for all and not just the select few who have coverage. I am one of those and I want my neighbors and community members to have the same. PLEASE TAKE ACTION!
Dear Senators Snowe and Collins,
I am urging you to support health care reform with a public option. I have said this before but you don't seem to listen. All people need to have health care at the same level that you do. Yours is paid for by us, the taxpayers and you don't have to worry about losing your health care or being denied treatment.
Go to this article in the Washington Post, read it and then read the comments. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/20/AR2009072003363.html?hpid=topnews
Do you realize how angry the voters are that Senators and Representatives take huge sums from the health care industry and then vote against the people. Yes we are angry and we want you to listen to us. We want healthcare reform with a public option NOW!
The United States should not be #28 when it comes to infant mortality and we need to recognize that we are #30 in the obesity category. And you think we have a good health care system?
Stop trying to delay the process and make sure that there is a public option. The insurance companies are not honest and they treat their clients terribly. Let us have a choice! Stop voting with the lobbyists and insurance and health care industries and vote for the people.
IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS EMAIL AND WANT TO BE TAKEN OFF THE LIST, LET ME KNOW BY EMAILING ME AT pmpayne1936@GMAIL.COM
http://collins.senate.gov
http://snowe.senate.gov
Go to their sites and you can email them from there. If you prefer their phone numbers are listed on their sites. We have this chance to reform our health care system and make sure that everyone has a choice and is covered. The stories of folks losing their homes and being forced into bankruptcy are sad and heart wrenching. Let's be a nation that cares for all and not just the select few who have coverage. I am one of those and I want my neighbors and community members to have the same. PLEASE TAKE ACTION!
Dear Senators Snowe and Collins,
I am urging you to support health care reform with a public option. I have said this before but you don't seem to listen. All people need to have health care at the same level that you do. Yours is paid for by us, the taxpayers and you don't have to worry about losing your health care or being denied treatment.
Go to this article in the Washington Post, read it and then read the comments. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/20/AR2009072003363.html?hpid=topnews
Do you realize how angry the voters are that Senators and Representatives take huge sums from the health care industry and then vote against the people. Yes we are angry and we want you to listen to us. We want healthcare reform with a public option NOW!
The United States should not be #28 when it comes to infant mortality and we need to recognize that we are #30 in the obesity category. And you think we have a good health care system?
Stop trying to delay the process and make sure that there is a public option. The insurance companies are not honest and they treat their clients terribly. Let us have a choice! Stop voting with the lobbyists and insurance and health care industries and vote for the people.
IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS EMAIL AND WANT TO BE TAKEN OFF THE LIST, LET ME KNOW BY EMAILING ME AT pmpayne1936@GMAIL.COM
Sunday, July 19, 2009
More on Health Care Reform
I received an email from Democracy For America discussing which Democratic Senators might stand in the way of health care reform and it lists 8 Democratic Senators and how much money they have taken from the health and insurance industries. Here is the listing.
Here are eight senators who may stand in the way of the public option -- along with the total amount of money they’ve received from health and insurance interests. Who should we target first with local ads?
Sen. Max Baucus $3,973,485
Sen. Evan Bayh $1,565,088
Sen. Kent Conrad $2,154,200
Sen. Dianne Feinstein $1,749,887
Sen. John Kerry $8,994,077
Sen. Mary Landrieu $1,653,943
Sen. Joe Lieberman $3,308,621
Sen. Ben Nelson $2,214,715
You can go to the following link to vote on which senators should be targeted in ads.
http://vote.wewantthepublicoption.com/p-dfa-fe2
Take this opportunity and vote. Let's stop the lobbyists and insurance companies from determining how we will be treated, what medical tests we can have and forcing our doctors into seeing a predetermined number of patients regardless of the amount of time that might be needed to treat a patient successfully.
Here are eight senators who may stand in the way of the public option -- along with the total amount of money they’ve received from health and insurance interests. Who should we target first with local ads?
Sen. Max Baucus $3,973,485
Sen. Evan Bayh $1,565,088
Sen. Kent Conrad $2,154,200
Sen. Dianne Feinstein $1,749,887
Sen. John Kerry $8,994,077
Sen. Mary Landrieu $1,653,943
Sen. Joe Lieberman $3,308,621
Sen. Ben Nelson $2,214,715
You can go to the following link to vote on which senators should be targeted in ads.
http://vote.wewantthepublicoption.com/p-dfa-fe2
Take this opportunity and vote. Let's stop the lobbyists and insurance companies from determining how we will be treated, what medical tests we can have and forcing our doctors into seeing a predetermined number of patients regardless of the amount of time that might be needed to treat a patient successfully.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Snowe and Collins try to delay Health Care Reform
Senators Snowe and Collins have joined 4 other "Centrist" senators to try and delay a vote on health care reform. The following link is to an article on Huffington Post by Ryan Grim. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/17/gang-of-six-centrist-sena_n_237750.html
Paul Krugmann, my favorite economist, writes the following in a New York Times op- ed piece. http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/the-six-deadly-hypocrites/
"The six deadly hypocrites
Will the destructive center kill health care reform? It looks all too possible.
What’s especially galling is the hypocrisy of their claimed reason for delaying progress — concern about the fiscal burden. After all, in the past most of them have shown no concern at all for the nation’s long-term fiscal outlook.
Case in point: the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, which denied Medicare the right to bargain for lower drug prices, locked in overpayments to private insurance companies, and did nothing, nothing at all, to pay for its proposed outlays. How many of these six self-proclaimed defenders of solvency voted no on the crucial procedural vote? One. (Joe Lieberman, to my surprise.)
And let’s not forget that Ben Nelson, who appears to be the ringleader, has fought tooth and nail against competition from a public option — which would almost certainly save a significant amount of money, as well as providing much-needed competition.
If the Gang of Six really does kill reform, remember their names; they will bear the responsibility for vast, unnecessary suffering over the years to come."
As I have mentioned before both Collins and Snowe are covered by the very best health insurance plan which is paid for by us, the taxpayers. They will never have to worry about losing their health care. I am totally amazed and disgusted that our Maine Senators are joining in this effort when over 72% of the public want a public option and reform NOW!
The cost of health care is rising at a formidable rate and is ruining the lives of many Americans who have either lost their coverage, been denied coverage or have never had health insurance. There are stories after stories of people who have been forced into bankruptcy, lost care and have died because of a lack of insurance and the lack of money to independently pay for health care.
If anyone thinks our health care system is the best, just take a look at our infant mortality rates which are worse than 28 other countries.(http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/oct2008/mort-o18.shtml). The US obesity rates are the highest out of 28 other countries with 30.6% of Americans being obese. (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity). If our health care system was better these figures might be lower and therefore cost for health care would be lower.
Therefore, for those of you who get this post by email, send it on and let's make calls and send letters to our Senators and let them know we want health care reform NOW and we want a PUBLIC OPTION!
Paul Krugmann, my favorite economist, writes the following in a New York Times op- ed piece. http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/the-six-deadly-hypocrites/
"The six deadly hypocrites
Will the destructive center kill health care reform? It looks all too possible.
What’s especially galling is the hypocrisy of their claimed reason for delaying progress — concern about the fiscal burden. After all, in the past most of them have shown no concern at all for the nation’s long-term fiscal outlook.
Case in point: the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, which denied Medicare the right to bargain for lower drug prices, locked in overpayments to private insurance companies, and did nothing, nothing at all, to pay for its proposed outlays. How many of these six self-proclaimed defenders of solvency voted no on the crucial procedural vote? One. (Joe Lieberman, to my surprise.)
And let’s not forget that Ben Nelson, who appears to be the ringleader, has fought tooth and nail against competition from a public option — which would almost certainly save a significant amount of money, as well as providing much-needed competition.
If the Gang of Six really does kill reform, remember their names; they will bear the responsibility for vast, unnecessary suffering over the years to come."
As I have mentioned before both Collins and Snowe are covered by the very best health insurance plan which is paid for by us, the taxpayers. They will never have to worry about losing their health care. I am totally amazed and disgusted that our Maine Senators are joining in this effort when over 72% of the public want a public option and reform NOW!
The cost of health care is rising at a formidable rate and is ruining the lives of many Americans who have either lost their coverage, been denied coverage or have never had health insurance. There are stories after stories of people who have been forced into bankruptcy, lost care and have died because of a lack of insurance and the lack of money to independently pay for health care.
If anyone thinks our health care system is the best, just take a look at our infant mortality rates which are worse than 28 other countries.(http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/oct2008/mort-o18.shtml). The US obesity rates are the highest out of 28 other countries with 30.6% of Americans being obese. (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity). If our health care system was better these figures might be lower and therefore cost for health care would be lower.
Therefore, for those of you who get this post by email, send it on and let's make calls and send letters to our Senators and let them know we want health care reform NOW and we want a PUBLIC OPTION!
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