Saturday, April 18, 2009
Guest Authors
Our guest authors include Matthew (patient), Brittany (worker), Scott (student) and Coach Showen (worker). Coach Showen's opinion can be viewed in various "comments" sections throughout our blog.
Thank you.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Medicaid & Access to Dental Services
As a BadgerCare Plus Outreach Specialist, I witness firsthand how healthcare reform could greatly benefit members I work with everyday. Imagine telling a single working mother that the only way she is able to obtain regular dental care is by driving over two hours one way to receive care, or listening to a member describe how his oral health pain became so severe that he extracted his own tooth with everyday tools laying around his house, all without anesthesia. While the Medicaid program in Wisconsin has been touted as one of the best, there are also many gaps, sadly due to financial issues. Members of BadgerCare Plus receive two cards once they have been enrolled in the program: one is their HMO card stating which HMO they are a part of and the other is the ForwardHealth card which is what members use for prescriptions, chiropractic care and dental services. However, when BadgerCare Plus members call the long list of dentists in their community, they hear a repetition of “no, we do not accept the ForwardHealth card,” leaving many Medicaid members without regular dental care for extended periods of time until emergency services are demanded due to pain, infections and reduced quality of life. Oral health care is extremely important for children, pregnant women and adults alike, all across the life span for many reasons. According to the National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center, individuals from low income families face a twelve times higher rate of missing school or work due to dental problems compared to those from families with higher incomes. Early tooth loss caused by tooth decay may result in impaired speech development, absence from and difficulty concentrating in school, and decreased mental and social well being at school all of which in turn negatively affects the child’s self esteem and success later in life. In addition, a child who is experiencing dental pain or missing teeth may have to limit their food choices due to chewing problems which can result in nutritionally inadequate diets. It is also extremely necessary for pregnant women to receive regular dental care as pregnant women experience increased hormone levels making them more susceptible to oral infections which may result in pregnancy complications. There are several dental issues that pregnant women are more prone to develop including periodontal disease, pregnancy tumors, and pregnancy gingivitis.
The goal of BadgerCare Plus was to guarantee 98% of Wisconsin children health insurance, however if the oral healthcare needs are being unmet by a large number of Medicaid members, has the state of Wisconsin really fulfilled that need? Serious healthcare reform must take place in order to solve this dental access issue for BadgerCare Plus members. While it is true that some communities have attempted to combat the issue by establishing free or reduced price dental clinics, those clinics are forced to install parameters stating they will see only children under the age of 12 or emergency dental issues only otherwise the clinics would be flooded with individuals. One solution to the problem would be to increase the Medicaid payout to dentists. Currently the Medicaid rate for dental health care is 34 cents to the dollar, the reason dentists refuse Medicaid patients. Dentists do not want to perform a service for which they are underpaid compared to commercial HMO members. However, with the state of Wisconsin’s budget, finding extra money to dole over is not a very likely happenstance. Another solution would be for the state to mandate that every practicing dentist in the state has to see at least 10 Medicaid patients – that would greatly help to solve the problem.
The need for oral health care is the most prevalent unmet need among children and adolescents. A state Medicaid program targeting children and their caregivers that cannot guarantee dental services provides grossly inadequate services to its members.
Let's Minimize the Profit in Healthcare
On the other side, however, are the right-wing zealots who scare citizens into believing that any government-initiated remedy to our broken, needlessly expensive, and anti-democratic health care system would mean less access, less choice, and a lower standard of care.
Apparently, many people trust that their insurance company, the faceless financial behemoth that collects the premium money from them and their employers, will take better care of them than their government will.
Given the deregulation of the corporate and financial world over the past 30 years and the booms and busts that have left a wake of economic decay and demoralization for the majority of Americans, I don't think it's wise to entrust life and death decisions of health care to corporate boardrooms and Wall Street traders. For example, when I learn from 60 minutes that health corporations grant bonuses for denials of service to patients who pay their hefty premiums on time, that is the clearest evidence that this system is beyond reform. Such appalling corporate conduct is the best argument for removing private insurance companies from health care.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Reform Proposal 4
Reform Proposal 4-Quality
Molly Teska-Maroon Group-Finance
For the most part, Americans receive high quality health care services everyday, but there is always that risk that someone will not receive the best quality in their healthcare services (medical errors, patients receive care that they don’t need; patients receive wrong type of care). The truth is Quality of healthcare services depends on where you live, who you are, and how much is known about treating your condition. Some believe that we as Americans are not receiving the quality we should be for as much as we are paying. The
http://www.wsbtv.com/health/18991527/detail.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/search/?keywords=health%20care%20quality
Monday, March 30, 2009
Reform Proposal 3- Access
Reform Proposal 3- Access
Maroon-Finance, Written by Jessica Wysocki
The Obama administration has many plans to change the health care system so every citizen has access to the care they need. The key points are to expand the Medicaid program, mandate coverage for all children, create a “National Health Insurance Exchange” plan, provide subsidies to lower-income individuals and small businesses to help lower the costs of purchasing insurance, and taxing larger firms that will not provide their employees with health insurance coverage. Obama plans to create a system that will cover everyone, opposed to a system run by the government because some Americans still approve of their private insurance plans, and changing to a single government-run plan is such a drastic change that some Americas are not ready for.
By expanding the Medicaid program, or by creating a program similar to the current Medicaid program, it would be available to individuals who do no have access to an employer insurance plan or for those who do not qualify for existing government programs. By expanding/creating this program, it will allow more citizens who are not currently eligible for Medicaid to receive health care coverage. In addition, all children who do not qualify for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), will also be covered.
As for insurance companies, they will be required to cover pre-existing conditions so that all Americans can receive coverage regardless of their health status. By doing this insurance companies cannot pick and choose whom they will cover based on health conditions, thus everyone has the opportunity for coverage. Part of the plan is to also prevent insurers from overcharging doctors for their malpractice insurance and invest in strategies to lower preventable medical errors. The “National Health Insurance Exchange” is a government run organization that would sell insurance plans directly to those who do not have an employer plan or public coverage. This would also require employers to either provide health insurance to their employees or contribute funds towards the cost of a public plan.
To finance these changes, money will come from the changes to Medicare, an expected $316 billion in the next decade, combined with $318 billion that will be generated from a tax increase on families earning more than $200,000 or more, equaling $634 billion allowed for the expansion of health coverage to all of the uninsured Americans. Money will also come from a program that will help small businesses to provide affordable health insurance to their employees, by requiring large employers that do not offer coverage to their employees to contribute a percentage of payroll toward the costs of their employee’s health care. The Obama campaign is attempting to change to United States Health Care system so that every citizen can have access to affordable and equitable health coverage. By expanding or creating a new Medicaid program, making companies that do not offer health insurance coverage to their employees pay money to support a public health plan, and creating a “National Health Insurance Exchange”, are all steps towards creating changes in the current health care system.
Sources:
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/
http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/05/obama-healthcare-plan-forbeslife-cx_rr_1105health.html
http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/03/obama-health-plan-lifestyle-health_obama_health_budget.html
http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2008/03/a-detailed-anal.html
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Arnst, Cathy. "Health-Care Reform: McCain vs. Obama." Business Week. 13 Oct. 2008. 14 Mar. 2009
BOROSAGE, ROBERT L. "Comes the Change." Nation 288.11 (23 Mar. 2009): 3-4. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Oregon Public Library, Oregon, WI. 16 Mar. 2009
"Dr. Obama's Waiting Room." New Republic 240.4 (18 Mar. 2009): 1-1. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Oregon Public Library, Oregon, WI. 14 Mar. 2009
"Healthcare Heats Up." Nation 30 Mar. 2009: 3+. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Oregon Public Library, Oregon, WI. 14 Mar. 2009
"Mr. President, Here's Another Thing to Change." Advocate (Apr. 2009): 22-22. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Oregon Public Library, Oregon WI. 14 Mar. 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Reform Proposal 1
There are a number of things which will be changed by this legislation, including changing the uninsured status of millions of citizens as well the overall amount of expenditures in the health care arena annually. Because the dollars to fund health insurance are received, primarily, from the government and employers, they are considered the main financiers of the health services delivery. It is quite obvious, with the economy in a tragic state, that the financial aspect of a health care reform plan is a bar above any others. How exactly will the new financing system work? First off, the expansion of the Medicaid program will extend eligibility to millions of Americans, as well as eliminate the disparities between which sick children are allowed to see a doctor and which aren’t by mandating that all children be covered. In turn, lower income families and small businesses would be provided subsidies to help control costs. Also, medium to large size companies who refuse to insure employers will face a slight tax increase. In line with this, any consumer who is currently content with their own coverage status would face no changes. These marginal changes in the spending of money will, hopefully, help shift the escalating cost of medical services away from the individual, and also help contribute to a national exchange.
Under this reform proposal lowering costs, improving access, and ensuring quality seem to be an equal three-legged stool. Costs will be lowered as a shift to preventative medicine helps in early diagnoses and a strengthening of public health will increase the knowledge of consumers on health care issues. Reducing administrative costs by preventing errors will be another key component to this proposal. Access will be improved greatly, as millions more Americans will potentially have access to the system. The voluntary system of health care, which results in a vicious cycle, will be no more. Raising the bar on quality will force competition between hospitals, and the care facilities which can produce better outcomes shall prevail. Quality will then be ensured through availability of providers and standards of medicinal practices.
Written by Jessica Showen
Citations:
Shi, Leiyu, and Douglas A. Singh. Delivering Health Care in America. 4th ed. Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2008.
Laszewski, Robert. "A Detailed Analysis of Barack Obama's Health Care Reform Plan." The Health Care Blog. 26 Feb. 2009 http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2008/03/a-detailed-anal.html.
Ruiz, Rebecca. "What Obama's Health Care Plan Means For You - Forbes.com." Business News and Financial News at Forbes.com. 26 Feb. 2009 http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/05/obama-healthcare-plan-forbeslife-cx_rr_1105health.html.
"Barack Obama and Joe Biden: The Change We Need Health Care." Welcome to Obama for America. 26 Feb. 2009 http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/.
"Healthcare Platform Highlights: Barack Obama." Who Will Save Health Care? 26 Feb. 2009