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Be
Skeptical!
For-profit Health Insurance Lobby (AHIP) seeks to Protect
Profits by convincing you they can solve nation's health
care crisis!
Big
insurance promised in 1993 that they could solve the
problem, but they only made the nation's problems worse
with skyrocketing premiums and rising numbers of uninsured.
REALITY
CHECK: $1,000 per year of the premiums paid to
for-profit United Healthcare to insure a Rhode Island
family of four goes to profits not healthcare!
Recent DOH report fiinds that United's profits are 57%
higher than N.E. Average! Read
more.
More
than 20 HCAN RI members protested outside AHIP's special
invitation "consumer listening session"
in Providence, raising a red alarm to AHIP's counter-reform
proposals that would protect for-profit insurers.
Read
Coverage of the HCAN action here.
Across
the nation, American's are voicing deep skeptisim about
AHIP's launch of a counter-campaign to real healthcare
reform.
The
last time the nation debated health-care reform in 1993,
insurers shot down the reform plan led by then-first
lady Hillary Clinton, using such expensive tactics as
their "Harry and Louise" ads. And so, skeptism
of AHIP's counter-campaign to Health Care for America
Now is warranted. The practices of big insurance
that put profits before people mean every-day Americans
are denied coverage, and even those with coverage can't
get the care they need because of claims denial practices
and other schemes to avoid payouts for needed health
care.
Big
insurance promised in 1993 that they could solve the
problem, but they only made the nation's problems worse.
Today premiums continue to skyrocket and even
more Americans lack the coverage they need to stay healthy.
Big insurance failed because they put billion dollar
profits and huge CEO mult-million dollar compensation
before the health and wellbeing of Americans.
It's
time for American's to take control of our health care
system and say NO to insurance company rules that continue
to put profit before people!
At
a special invitation listening session in Ohio, physicians
questioned the insurance organization's motives.
"We can't help but wonder where the industry has been
for the past 20 years," said Warren F. Muth, president
of the Ohio State Medical Association. "While physicians
and patients have been struggling to maintain access
to quality care, health plans have focused on protecting
their profits. Are they as serious about reform as they
say they are? Only time will tell."
Here
in New England, UnitedHealthcare of New England's profits
climbed by double digits between 2004 and 2007 even
as its membership declined as documented in the report,
“Insuring Health or Ensuring Profit?” by the Northwest
Federation of Community Organizations. The report shows
how the insurance industry's skyrocketing profits are
being skimmed from health insurance premiums paid by
consumers. In fact, $1,000 per year paid to United
in premiums to cover a Rhode Island family of four goes
to profit, not healthcare!
There
is a huge divide between the insurance companies' plan
for healthcare reform and the need to take profit out
of healthcare to make sure every American gets quality
coverage at an affordable price.
Documentary,
"Diagnosis Now" Rhode Island premiere a SUCCESS!!
More
than 20 people came out to Blue State Coffee on Sunday
September 14 to see and discuss the first public screening
of "Diagnosis Now", the new 9-minute documentary
on the health care crisis and the role of the insurance
industry.
click
picture to watch the 9 minute film
Viewers
were surprised to learn from the documentary that half
of all bankruptcies in the US come from medical bills,
and three-quarters of those dealing with medical bankruptcy
face it even though they do have insurance.
The
screening was sponsored by OSA and the Brown Chapter
of the American Medical Students Association.
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Diverse
Group of Women Gathered to Discuss Health Care for America
Now
On Sunday, September 14th, a
diverse group of women gathered to have a conversation
about the future of health care in Rhode Island and
the country and to learn more about how we can work
together to achieve access to quality, affordable health
care for all.
The house party conversation was facilitated by Dr.
Dannie Ritchie, Clinical Assistant Professor, Family
Medicine for Brown University Center for Primary Care
and Prevention and the Director of the Transcultural
Community Health Initiative.
Sunday's party was organized specifically as a way to
bring women together to talk about health care, but
we are working to engage both women and men all over
the state for future house parties to build our movement.
If you are interested in hosting your own Health Care
for America Now house party or attending one in your
part of the state -
CONTACT:
Victoria Picinich at 401-463-5368 or via e-mail at victoria.picinich@gmail.com.
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Small
Businesses for Health Care Reform!
Small
businesses are the backbone of Rhode Island 's economy
and the heart of communities across our state. Small
businesses create jobs, deliver essential goods and
services, and build local assets.
Despite
these contributions, small businesses across Rhode Island
are among the hardest hit by the escalating crisis in
our nation's health insurance system. As small business
owners, we believe this system is fundamentally broken.
It's time to take action to fix it – for us, our families,
our employees, and the communities we serve.
When
it comes to health care, we cannot go it alone. We must
stand together. We support a government guarantee of
quality, affordable health coverage with good benefits
and equitable access to health services for everyone
in our nation.
We
call on our state and federal governments to enact reforms
that promote the health of small businesses and our
communities by building a health care system that fulfills
these principles:
Everyone
In, No One Out:
Our
health insurance system should cover everyone. No one
should be left behind.
Quality
Coverage We Can Count On:
Our
insurance should deliver security by covering what we
need, when we need it. No one should lose coverage when
they get sick, change jobs or decide to start a new
business.
Equitable:
Everyone
should have good health coverage, regardless of whether
we run a small business or a Fortune 500 company.
Affordable
: Our
health care system needs fair, broad-based financing,
and we need stable and predictable costs we can budget
for. Everyone should contribute to health care costs
based on their ability to pay.
Sustainable:
The
system must be efficient, focusing on prevention and
wellness, including cost controls and incentives for
improved health.
Accountable:
The
health care system should be transparent and accountable
to the public. It should be designed to prioritize our
health, not maximize industry profits.
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