Milwaukee Forum Offers a Prescription for Health Insurance Reform

Editor’s Note:  Please be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post for photo information.

On December 2, the Milwaukee Area Labor Council (MALC) hosted a unique forum on health care.  A diverse panel of elected officials, health care providers and community leaders were invited to listen as community members shared their personal health care stories.   Participants expressed their frustrations with the health care system as well as their hopes for reform.

Gerry Gunderson of USW told the story of Skip Porter, a steadfast union brother, who died on November 28th.  Porter was deeply involved in the struggles of working people and was an advocate for a single-payer health care system.   While working as a millwright in the Carpenters Union, Porter was diagnosed with lung cancer three years ago.  Insurance covered the removal of his lung, but he was unable to continue working and went on disability.  His disability compensation made him ineligible for insurance coverage through Medicare or Wisconsin’s Badger Care program.  Porter exhausted his savings on his ongoing health care needs.  When his oncologist ordered further diagnostic testing earlier this year, Porter simply didn’t have the money to pay for it.  He had to wait until November, when he became eligible for Medicare to have the tests prescribed by his doctor.  By then it was too late, and the new tumors that were discovered were inoperable. 

It is not certain that Porter would have survived even with timely health care access, but the delay denied him a fighting chance. 

Theresa Skrzynski has Crohn’s disease, a debilitating condition in which the body's immune system attacks the gastrointestinal tract.  She is unable to work, and in the past four years, she has undergone five major operations.  Those procedures were covered by Badge Care.  Skrzynski is currently in need of another operation to restore her vision, but her future treatment is in doubt.  Her 18 year old daughter recently moved out on her own.  Without a dependent child, Skrzynski no longer qualifies for Badger Care; her coverage is set to expire at the end of this month.  She has been told that she must wait for her coverage to expire and then apply to a waiting list for the state’s Badger Care Core Plan.  

Skrzynski, who has been forced into bankruptcy by her medical situation, chose to participate in the MALC Health Care Forum and share her troubles publicly for one simple reason.   “I just hope that my story will help get this public option through and that people in my situation will be able to get the health care that they need.” 

These are just two of the many medical stories shared at Wednesday night’s meeting.  The MALC Health Care Forum left little doubt that the American health care system is sick, perhaps even terminally so.  “We have gone from mission driven health care to market driven health care,” lamented Sandy Pasch, registered nurse and State Representative. 

The prescription set forth by the panelists listening to these horror stories is activism.  “Storm Washington with our phone calls and letters,” said Vivian Beck, retired nurse and member of the Alliance for Retired Americans.  “If you’ve made a phone call already, God bless you, but that’s not enough.  You’ve got to write letters and make phone calls and tell your friends.”

Although there was broad support for immediate passage of a health care bill with a strong public insurance option, many forum participants expressed concern over a provision in the Senate proposal which would tax middle class health care benefits.  “I don’t mind paying my fair share,” said Lyle Balistreri, President of the Milwaukee Building Trades and Construction Council.  “But as working people we need a break.  In this country the people who need to pay for reform are the people who have mad billions and billions of dollars off of this flawed health care system [referring to the insurance industry].”

WFNHP-AFT President Candice Owley suggested that a fair way to fund reform would be through an employer health insurance mandate.  “One of the reasons that our employers are paying so much is because they are covering spouses who work for companies that will not provide insurance.”

Panelist Susan Giaimo, Ph.D., visiting Assistant Professor at Marquette University, offered words of encouragement to those who are frustrated by the slow and uneven pace of reform.  "Yes, there is there is a lot wrong with the health care system.  However, we can't afford not to fix it. We may not get exactly what we want, but it [the senate bill] is a start." Giaimo, who has studied health care systems around the world, added, "No country that passed health care reform started with a perfect system; it took time to prefect it."

“We get people elected, and then we have to get them to do what we elected them to do,” concluded MALC Secretary-Treasurer Sheila Cochran.  By the end of the forum, 113 people had signed a health care petition to be delivered to Senators Kohl and Feingold.  MALC members adjourned the meeting with a renewed commitment to write letters and make phone calls in order to keep their elected officials focused on creating quality affordable health care for all. 

Video of the entire MALC Health Care Forum can be found in the archives of Wisconsin Eye Television (scroll down to 12.2.09): http://www.wiseye.org/wisEye_programming/ARCHIVES-forums.html#2906

(Photo 1: Clarissa Barnes, a student who lost her health insurance because she was too sick to attend class fulltime.  Photo 2: Michael Garver of WFNHP-AFT is on the frontlines of health care delivery in his position as a Patient Care Assistant.  Photo 3: Kevin Her can no longer get health insurance due to hunting accident injuries. Photos 4: Dr. Fredrick DeBoe, a general practitioner for 27 years, says that the health care delivery system needs an overhaul.  Photo 5: JoAnn Anton, from the office of Senator Kohl.  Photo 6: Lois O’Keefe from the office of Rep. Moore.  Photos 7 & 8: Audience at the MALC Health Care Forum.  Credit for All Photos: Justin Geiger.  For more pictures, visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wisaflcio/sets/72157622803484609/.)

Comments

[Gill Taxi]

For most recent infordmation you have to visit the web and on the web I found this web page
as a most excellnt weeb page for latest updates.

[sbobet]

Wow, wonderful blog layout! How long have you
been blogging for? you make blogging look easy.
The overall look of your web site is fantastic, as well as the content!

[How to get rid of Dandruff naturally]

An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a colleague who has been doing a
little research on this. And he in fact bought me
breakfast due to the fact that I found it for him... lol.
So let me reword this.... Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending
the time to discuss this issue here on your web page.

[frankingmachine]

Take a look through several of the ads and get in touch with a small number of those companies to locate
one which suits your needs, and request a quote for all
your franking machine ink supplies.

[franking machines]

Apart from the maintenance cost, you must also purchase
consumables including franking ink and labels.

[sbobet]

You can definitely see your expertise within the work you write.
The sector hopes for more passionate writers like you who are not afraid to mention how they believe.
At all times follow your heart.

[vegina]

His daughter hits him up for a job after dropping out of
college but he is determined to make her work hard for the opportunity.
I have seen a dozen reviews of the PT where the motor
was criticized as weak, unable to rev and so forth. Picture happily
driving a car all-around within your fresh second hand car, and then end
up receiving which will sinking becoming when you realise that one thing
important has moved wrong with it.

[Malik]

This is the good time for you if you are planning for Canadian Immigration through express entry stream. Canada is allowing more and more immigrants to enter to boost its economy. More: PNP Canada

[aleks]

Сегодня посмотрел без рекламы "Красотки в Кливленде" и мне очень понравился!
Рекомендую всем для просмотра!
Смотрел на сайте http://films-pro.ru/serials/3135-krasotki-v-klivlende-2010-1-6-sezon-1-16-seriya.html ,кстати этот сайт без рекламы, что очень удивило и порадовало, т.к сейчас оч мало таких и обычно везде на фоне казино и ставки, а здесь нет вообще никакой рекламы!!!

[Alexa Bartel]

great post

[kaspermovies]

This post is brilliantly written. Our eyes are trained to start from the left. Short sentence strategy and enough white space helped me a lot to enjoy your writing. I’m struggling to adopt such a style.