Mari Cordes, of the Vermont Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals Union at Fletcher Allen Medical Center, speaks at a rally at the Statehouse on Jan. 5, 2011
More than 300 activists crammed into the Cedar Creek Room on the first day of the legislative session to pressure lawmakers to adopt a single-payer health care system in Vermont.
In speeches in front of the cheering crowd, House Speaker Shap Smith, Sen. Bill Carris and the chairs of the health care committees in the House and Senate pledged to support the passage of a plan in this session that would provide universal medical coverage to Vermonters.
The activists who represent the Health Care is a Human Right Campaign delivered 4,000 petitions to the Statehouse.
Dr. William Hsiao will be releasing a much-anticipated report on Jan. 19, detailing three health care reform plans that would provide all Vermonters with access to health care. One of the three plans will be a single-payer option.
The Vermont Workers Center organized the rally. Video footage follows.
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Not a right – not in my Constitution or Bill of Rights
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The phrase “general Welfare” occurs twice in our federal constitution: once in the preamble which explains the purpose for the articles that follow; and once in Article 1, Section 8 which describes the authorities of congress.
As a matter of fact the “general Welfare” was thought so important not only does it appear twice, but it also is listed in the first enumeration of congressional powers!
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Human rights exist outside of law. We have human rights because we are human, not because a government grants them to us. It is our government’s responsibility to protect and ensure our rights, not to decide whether or not we are entitled to them.
Untold numbers of Vermonters are demanding a healthcare system that would strengthen our communities, improve our lives, eliminate much of the waste in our current healthcare non-system and — most important — reduce needless suffering and death. It seems silly to question whether we have a right to those things. Who would not want a healthcare system that is accountable to the people it is supposed to serve?
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There is a practical and economic imperative for all of us to support health care for all, since we now already support a shadow system of health care for all with our own inurance dollars and taxes which have to cover those without health insurance. Emergency rooms are now used frequently as Primary Care services or when illness becomes so severe, the person is forced to seek help (and then help is far more expensive). So we are already paying for health care for all, just a much more expensive form, more expensive and less adequate.
In addition we are paying high admninistrative costs to for-profit health insurance companies which are in business to provide profits for stockholders and themselvesm not health care. Evidence of this is in the latest CEO annual salary figures from 2009 as follows:
AETNA CEO Ronald Williams – $15,300,000
WELLPONT CEO Angela Braly – $12,800,000
UNITED HEALTH GROUP CEO Stephen Hemsley – $9,500,000 + $99,000,000 in stock options previous year
HUMANA CEO Michael B. McCallister – $6,200,000
CIGNA CEO David Cordani – $5,600,000
CENTENE CEO Michael Neidorff – $7,100,000
(figures supplied by Wall St. Journal CEO Compensation Study 11.16.10)
Do these folks REALLY worked harder than you and me? And WE are the ones paying through our teeth now for an antiquated, inefficient non-system of health care. We must work toward a single payer, medicare-for-all (improved from what is currently Medicare for sure) integrated system to provide us with preventive not just catastrophic care, and to reduce costs to schools, towns and businesses which now are forced to buy in to these profit-making businesses called Health Insurance comanies.
We have a unique opportunity at this moment in our State’s history to make a huge contribution to improving health care for all and at the same time save our institutions and local busniesses money.We must assure a mandate to end the wealth of health insurance companies and provide universal health care under a single payer system.
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I am glad that I found VT Digger. Anne I love your coverage, especially the videos.
“Shumlin already heard of the New Health Care Savings approach”
By Thomas Hall,
{Opening day handout (http://tinyurl.com/ShumlinSavings)}
Vermont Governor Elect Peter Shumlin said at the Vermont Business Magazine’s Rising Star Award Dinner that he had heard from his fellow legislators about the concept:
“Healthy People equals Affordable Health Care– A $1,500 evidence-based health program saves $11,000” (tinyurl.com/Healthy108)”
Substantial scientific evidence exists that funding evidence-based health promotion significantly reduces health care costs by keeping people healthy. This approach, by reducing health care utilization, will go a long way in answering the question of how to pay for a single-payer system.
{Photo captions:
From left to right John Boutin, Publisher, Vermont Business Magazine Mark Hall, Rising Star Jim Douglas, Vermont Governor
From left to right Thomas Hall, Proud Father Peter Shumlin, Vermont Governor Elect Mark Hall, Rising Star}
Question referred by Vermont Health Care Reform Commission:
“What would the savings be from funding evidence-based health promotion?” I asked this during the public comment section of the Vermont Health Care Reform Commission’s December 14, 2010 meeting. The Commission referred the question to their consultant and single payer expert Harvard Professor Dr. William Hsiao. Hsiao was there to give a progress report on “Act 128: Update on Health System Design and Macro-economics Model”.
During his presentation Dr. Hsiao covered the savings from payer reform and integrated medicine but did not mention health promotion. These are the three areas I listed in my op-ed piece “Health Bill or Rights- A holistic approach” (tinyurl.com/HealthRights).
I distributed to the Commissioners copies of my concept “Healthy People equals Affordable Health Care– A $1,500 evidence-based health program saves $11,000” (tinyurl.com/Healthy108). I also gave them my piece “Reversing the Deficit by Keeping People Healthy- Save $10 Trillion” (tinyurl.com/HealthReversesDeficit).
The meeting was videotaped by Anne Galloway, VT Digger, who posted an excellent online article with video clips (tinyurl.com/HCRC01).
After the meeting Dr. Hsiao said he had referred my “e-mail on Transcendental Mediation®” to his staff. I had sent my concept piece to him the day before and also to the other two consultants on the team, Dr. Jonathan Gruber and Steve Kappel.
Vermont Vedic Health- Thomas’ Blog-
Integrating Knowledge from All Proven Prevention Approaches (www.VermontVedicHealth.org)
Professor Thomas Hall, ret, BSEE Electrical Engineering, MS Nutrition and Biochemistry
Founder
Vermont Vedic Health
161 Austin Dr. 38
Burlington, VT 05401
802-999-1651
ThomasHall@alum.mit.edu
http://www.VermontVedicHealth.org
You might find these web sites interesting, as I do
http://www.TM.org
http://www.MUM.edu http://www.DoctorsOnTM.org
http://www.DavidLynchFoundation.org
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Note to Editor:
Thank for posting my comment. I discovered that some of the links are not clickable please use this one after deleateing this comment.
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Comment on VT Digger Activists rally
I am glad that I found VT Digger. Anne I love your coverage, especially the videos.
“Shumlin already heard of the New Health Care Savings approach”
By Thomas Hall,
{Opening day handout (http://tinyurl.com/ShumlinSavings)}
Vermont Governor Elect Peter Shumlin said at the Vermont Business Magazine’s Rising Star Award Dinner that he had heard from his fellow legislators about the concept:
“Healthy People equals Affordable Health Care– A $1,500 evidence-based health program saves $11,000” (http://tinyurl.com/Healthy108)
Substantial scientific evidence exists that funding evidence-based health promotion significantly reduces health care costs by keeping people healthy. This approach, by reducing health care utilization, will go a long way in answering the question of how to pay for a single-payer system.
{Photo captions:
From left to right John Boutin, Publisher, Vermont Business Magazine Mark Hall, Rising Star Jim Douglas, Vermont Governor
From left to right Thomas Hall, Proud Father Peter Shumlin, Vermont Governor Elect Mark Hall, Rising Star}
Question referred by Vermont Health Care Reform Commission:
“What would the savings be from funding evidence-based health promotion?” I asked this during the public comment section of the Vermont Health Care Reform Commission’s December 14, 2010 meeting. The Commission referred the question to their consultant and single payer expert Harvard Professor Dr. William Hsiao. Hsiao was there to give a progress report on “Act 128: Update on Health System Design and Macro-economics Model”.
During his presentation Dr. Hsiao covered the savings from payer reform and integrated medicine but did not mention health promotion. These are the three areas I listed in my op-ed piece “Health Bill or Rights- A holistic approach” (http://tinyurl.com/HealthRights).
I distributed to the Commissioners copies of my concept “Healthy People equals Affordable Health Care– A $1,500 evidence-based health program saves $11,000” http://tinyurl.com/Healthy108 I also gave them my piece “Reversing the Deficit by Keeping People Healthy- Save $10 Trillion” (http://tinyurl.com/HealthReversesDeficit).
The meeting was videotaped by Anne Galloway, VT Digger, who posted an excellent online article with video clips http://tinyurl.com/HCRC01
After the meeting Dr. Hsiao said he had referred my “e-mail on Transcendental Mediation®” to his staff. I had sent my concept piece to him the day before and also to the other two consultants on the team, Dr. Jonathan Gruber and Steve Kappel.
Vermont Vedic Health- Thomas’ Blog-
Integrating Knowledge from All Proven Prevention Approaches http://www.VermontVedicHealth.org
Professor Thomas Hall, ret,
BSEE Electrical Engineering, MS Nutrition and Biochemistry
Founder
Vermont Vedic Health
161 Austin Dr. 38
Burlington, VT 05401
802-999-1651
ThomasHall@alum.mit.edu
http://www.VermontVedicHealth.org
You might find these web sites interesting, as I do
http://www.TM.org
http://www.MUM.edu
http://www.DoctorsOnTM.org
http://www.DavidLynchFoundation.org
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“Not a right – not in my Constitution or Bill of Rights”
What was it in that preamble to the constitution, something about promoting the general welfare of its citizens? If health care is not part of promoting general welfare, than what is?