Obama Cements His Legacy as Health Care Reform Bill Becomes Law

March 23, 2010

A little over a year into his Presidency and Obama has managed to do what none of his predecessors were able to do, overhaul the nation’s health care system. Since the days of FDR to Truman to Clinton and almost every President in between all have attempted to improve the country’s health care system and all have failed, until now.

The desire to provide affordable coverage to all Americans has been on President Obama’s agenda since the very beginning of his campaign for the Presidency. In a dramatic Sunday vote, the House approved 219 to 213 a bill identical to one already passed in the Senate and cementing Obama’s legacy as the President who managed to get health care reform. The historical legislature, which was signed into law by the President today is meant to provide coverage for approximately 32 million of the nation’s uninsured.

It is no secret that health care costs have sky rocketed in the last decade with no apparent signs of slowing down. This was definitely the time for health care reform. With many Americans still out of work as a result of the poor economic times, many individuals forego health coverage because they cannot afford it. When having to choose between putting food on the table and having health insurance the latter takes a back seat. Yet, there are others who have been dropped by their carriers because of pre-existing conditions or because the treatment of the disease has reached its coverage cap. The new bill prevents insurance companies from such practices. On Sunday evening, the President sought to place the day in perspective.

“In the end what this day represents is another stone firmly laid in the foundation of the American dream,” the president said after the legislation passed. “Tonight, we answered the call of history as so many generations of Americans have before us. When faced with crisis, we did not shrink from our challenges. We overcame them. We did not avoid our responsibilities, we embraced it. We did not fear our future, we shaped it.”

With the passing of the Health Care Reform bill, President Obama did what he set out to do. He has ensured that health care for every American is a right and not just a privilege for those that can afford it. While he still faces critical backlash from many Republicans, it is important to remember that the number of uninsured individuals in the country does put a financial burden on the nation as a whole. Is the bill expensive? Yes. Will it take years before we start realizing any savings in health care? Yes. But to sit back and not do anything is the way of the cowardly. Sometimes one has to do what is necessary and not what is popular.

Puerto Rico Issued Birth Certificates Soon To Expire

Starting July 1, 2010 any one with a Puerto Rico issued birth certificate will have to apply for a new birth certificate. Puerto Rico’s governor, Luis Fortuño, recently signed a law making all old birth certificates processed prior to December 2009 not valid in any federal agency. It is the government’s effort to reduce and prevent all identity theft cases reported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the past year.

According to the governmental agency, a Puerto Rican birth certificate can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 on the black market. Given that anyone born in Puerto Rico is also a United States citizen it is no wonder that there have been high incidences of fraud reported. Many Puerto Rico birth certificates have been stolen and sold to individuals seeking to obtain social security numbers, U.S. passports and other United States benefits.

MyFoxNY.com reports that the government admits that hundreds of thousands of original birth certificates were stored without adequate protection, making them easy targets for theft. About 40 percent of the passport fraud cases involve birth certificates of people born in Puerto Rico.

The Vital Statistics Record Office will begin issuing new birth certificates incorporating what it calls “state-of-the-art” technology to limit the possibility of forgery. The new birth certificates will cost $5. Citizens born in Puerto Rico but residing elsewhere may obtain a copy of the new birth certificate by filling out a Birth Certificate Application form from the Puerto Rico Vital Statistics Record office on or after July 1, 2010.

In my opinion, not much awareness has been given to this new change in law and considering that there are about 300,000 Puerto Ricans residing in New York alone this law may very well impact a great number of individuals. For those residing on the island this may not be a big issue for them as they may have been aware of the new law as soon as it took effect.

According to the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration website the following are a list of requirements for applying for a new birth certificate:

1. Applicants residing outside of Puerto Rico may mail the completed application to the following address: Puerto Rico Vital Statistics Record Office (Registro Demográfico) P.O. Box 11854 San Juan, PR 00910

2. Include a photocopy of a valid government issued photo identification document. A passport or drivers license may be used; all other forms of government issued photo I.D. will be subject to approval.

3. Include a $5.00 Money Order payable to the Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico.

4. Include a self-addressed envelope with paid postage

For more information, call (787) 767-9120 ext. 2402 or visit the Web site of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration at www.prfaa.com

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Really????

If you saw President Obama’s State of the Union address last week then you are fully aware of his position on the current Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. The 17 year old policy that was put in place by President Clinton is the current topic of debate among government officials.  President Obama has vowed to repeal this policy and his current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen  agrees with him.

According to a statement, Adm. Mullen says “It is the right thing to do… No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me, personally, it comes down to integrity — theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.”  While many disagree with his statement, I agree whole heartedly. Gays should not have to lie about who they are in order to defend their country. Some may want to debate the moral issue about homosexuality but that is a separate and apart from forcing people to lie about who they are. It’s wrong plain and simple. And personally I feel one is born gay but like I said that’s a separate issue.

We can ask these individuals to put their lives on the line for their country but yet their country will not accept them if they are gay. Seriously??? Is that the world that we live in today?  I thought the days of bigotry and civil rights violations are long gone. What happend to “all men are created equal”? There should be no reason that a country that prides itself in being the leader of Democracy and equality is allowing such a policy. It’s absurd and it should be repealed.

I know some of you may feel it is necessary to keep such a policy in place but as an educated latina woman I can not comprehend how any civil rights violation is acceptable. If we keep this policy in place we are opening up the flood gates for violations of other civil liberties. No one should be allowed to tell us who we should be or that who we are is wrong. This is a country where it was once acceptable to own human beings, to segregrate people because of the color of their skin, that made abortion illegal and a crime. All laws established by white men. I really hate to bring race into this but it is what is. It’s all a part of the history of this country and we have come a long way since then.  So what if other soldiers may feel uncomfortable serving with someone that is openly gay. That’s their problem. Why do gay people have to pay for someone else’s discomfort. Give me a break. Are we pre-schoolers that to be coddled or grown adults that should be able to interact with one another in a cordial and respectable way despite our differences? What do you all think? Do you agree with “Dont Ask, Don’t Tell”?

The Health Care Debate…Will It Ever End???

During his Presidential campaign health care reform was on the top of President Obama’s agenda. One year later since being sworn into office it is still a hot topic of debate amongst democrats and republicans. Both parties agree that health care reform is needed but they disagree on how it should be done. 

The President promises affordable health care for every American & promises that those with existing health coverage can keep what they have. The problem with the current health care system is that it is expensive. Therefore, the main question on everyone’s mind is, “If the current system is expensive how can we provide  health coverage for all americans at a lesser cost?” 

What many don’t realize is that most of the idiosyncrasies of this current system are a result of the values and beliefs underlying the American culture.

The current delivery of health care in the United States is chiefly driven by the medical model. This model emphasizes illness rather than wellness and is characterized by a patchwork of subsystems developed either through market forces or the need to take care of certain population segments.  

Furthermore, the health care delivery system in this country is predominantly private. As a result of this private delivery and financing system, the majority of hospitals and clinics operate independent of government involvement. President Obama’s health care plan challenges this type of system by giving government more power and thus taking that power away from insurance plans and drug companies. He argues that more government involvement will stop practices such as denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions and also drive health care costs down.

Cost containment is a major policy concern because a substantial portion of national income is spent on health care. It is important to look at the concept of supply and demand in health care because it plays an integral role in cost. Health care is one of the few services for which a third party, not the consumer pays the greater part for most of the services used. As a result, the traditional rules of supply and demand don’t apply.

For example, conventional economic principles are based on various factors, one of which is perfect competition. A perfectly competitive market has a multitude of buyers and sellers and no particular driving force directing the exchange of goods. In perfect competition “there is a fully defined system of property rights in which ownership of all products and productive resources are assigned”. (Scott et al, 2001 Vol. 7, No.2)

To have a perfectly competitive market 3 things must exist:

1. There must be a homogeneous product that cannot be modified or altered by individual producers in an effort to charge a higher price must exist.

2. There are no barriers to entry.

3. There must be readily available market information that allows market players to make educated decisions about their choices. 

The characteristics in health care differ from those described above, thus making health care an imperfect market.

For example, health care is a heterogeneous product where the patient can experience an array of different results. Secondly, insured patients are covered by third-party payers that are responsible for covering the direct medical expenses of the patient.

In a free market, the patient would be responsible for bearing the cost of the services received.  In health care there is no set market price that is indicative of the value of the resources used. If there were, patients would be able to shop around for the best price thus forcing health care providers to keep services at an affordable price. 

In a free market, patients should be able to choose their provider based on price and quality of services. Patient choice would then determine prices by the unencumbered interaction of supply and demand. In health care however, theoretically speaking, prices are negotiated between payers and providers and because in many cases the payer is not the patient but a Managed Care Organization (MCO), Medicare, or Medicaid the traditional relationship of supply and demand does not apply.

 

Since prices are set by agencies external to the market, they are not freely governed by the forces of supply and demand. Thus, resulting is sky high premiums, deductibles, and co-pays. Moreover, as health care costs continue to increase and as more and more Americans lose their jobs, it is likely that the number of uninsured individuals in the United States will continue to grow.

 

The uninsured population has an enormous impact on society and there is a public cost to large numbers of people without insurance. The uninsured often turn to publicly supported hospitals and clinics for help. They delay care and have more acute health care needs when they show up. They go to hospital emergency rooms because they worry that they will be turned away if they try to get care in other settings.

 

The cost of providing health care services for the uninsured, when they access it, is borne by the government, health care professionals, and the insured population. This results in increased insurance premiums and higher health care costs. Given these facts, would a national plan that promises to cover every American really be a bad idea? Or would a national plan limit access, deny necessary diagnostic tests, and affect quality? 

Health care providers, patients, health care administrators, payers, the government, and the local community are all stakeholders when it comes to health care access and delivery. Each group has its own interest but all groups must work together in order to provide health care. When it comes to providing health care to the under and uninsured everyone agrees that it is important not only for the health of the individual but for the overall health of the country. Healthy people put less of a strain on the already strained health care system. The big debate is who will pay for the services provided to these individuals? But the reality is that in the end we all pay one way or another.

Haiti’s Child Slave Trade: In the midst of destruction & chaos, what will happen to the children?

Couple anxiously await word of Haitian adoptees Jan. 14: Kendra and Brett Schlenbaker adopted two children from Haiti last summer, but their arrival to the U.S. was delayed by paperwork.

 

When I got to work this morning, I settled in my office, checked some e-mails and got on the internet to read any updates on the situation in Haiti. I came across an article on msnbc about a couple,  Kendra and Brett Schlenbaker, who are in the process of adopting siblings from Haiti. With what has happened there in the last couple of days it wasn’t shocking to read that the couple from Bellingham, Washington were concerned about the well-being of their soon-to-be-adopted children.

With all forms of communication currently down in Haiti there was no way for the couple to know if their children survived the earthquake. They awaited anxiously to hear word that their kids were safe and on Wednesday evening their prayers were answered. They got the news indirectly from a church member, who was visiting the orphanage. They were told the orphanage suffered some damage but that all 90 orphans at the New Life Children’s Home, near the city’s airport, survived the earthquake.

While Kendra Schlenbaker is thankful that her children survived she is painfully aware of the devastation in Haiti.  Having visited Haiti so often, she is especially concerned about the future of a country whose 9 million residents are already so desperately poor. “It weighs heavily on my mind. There are going to be orphans all over the place,” she said. “What’s going to happen to all those children?”

I have the very same thoughts and concerns. What will happen to all those orphaned children? It’s a difficult question to answer but a very real one. In the midst of so much destruction and devastation how will the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere not only begin to rebuild its infrastructure but also begin to take care of all the survivors. Many have lost their homes, their jobs, their place of worship but most importantly many children have lost their parents.

I keep seeing images on the news and on the internet of the dead bodies that lay in the streets of Port-Au-Prince. I see images of children covered in debris, with tears in their eyes, and a look of sadness and fear that breaks my heart. These children are lost, alone and scared with no one to take care of them. With the horror stories that I have heard about child slavery, and child trafficking in Haiti it pains me to think about the future that may be in store for some of these children.

A while ago I saw a special on ABC’s Nightline News, How To Buy A Child in 10 Hours (click on the link to read the transcript),  about the child trafficking trade in Haiti. What I was hearing and seeing was horrifying. Children being bought, sold, and traded, as if they are livestock. The selling families claiming that they can not support the children and the buyers claiming that they can provide the child a better life and better opportunities. Children being sold to Americans, with the promise from the sellers that they can provide the “proper papers” to get the child back into the United States. Enticing them by telling the prospective buyers that once they buy the child they can use them for whatever they want. Some children sold for as little as $150. The more I saw the more disgusted I became.

(Above) Onise, 8, was given away to a family that was slightly less poor than her own. She was promised an education but instead works as a laborer in her new home.(ABC News)

In most cases, families in Haiti give (not sell) their children away because they are to poor to take care of them. The prospective owners, usually a family a little less poor, makes promises to take care of the child and to educate them. While we may take for granted getting an education, in Haiti, it is coveted. In a country, that for the most part has no public schools, parents make great economic sacrifices to give their children an education. The promise of school is like dangling a diamond necklace in front of them. Hence, making the decision to give them away easier.

However, many of these promises are often made in vain and quickly disappear when the owners get the child into their custody. Every day when the owners’ other children head off to school the slave child is forced to stay behind to do the household chores and to run errands. The slave child isn’t treated as family but is abused and mistreated. They are treated as inanimate objects used solely for the owners’ own selfish needs. These children aren’t loved or cared for and they are given the very minimum of necessities to survive. According to UNICEF, there are an estimated 300,000 child slaves in Haiti.

I can’t help but wonder where is their sense of humanity? How can these families treat children this way? Why does the Haitian government allow this? Well, the answer is simple. This is allowed because it is a way of life in Haiti. Although, it is unheard of and unacceptable here, it is a perfectly normal way of life in a country that is desperately poor. Poverty, can make the most viscious of acts seem normal. It’s survival of the fittest. One has to do what ever is necessary in order to survive.

It is very easy to turn a blind eye to these atrocities when they aren’t occurring in your own backyard. But why do we allow this?  Why isn’t there more of an effort from countries around the world to end such horrendous acts. Aren’t we all a part of  the human race? Since when has it been ok to allow such treatment of a human being? If we don’t allow slavery in our country why would we allow for it to be acceptable elsewhere?  These helpless children shouldn’t be forced to endure such cruelty and abuse. The events of the past couple of days has made re-evaluate my own life and purpose. It has forced me to ask myself the question “What can I do to help these children?” 

My sister and I were talking about this yesterday and almost as if  struck by an epiphany we both felt compelled to do something. We realized that although we can not change the life of every child we may be able to change the life of one or two. We realized that we are blessed and because God has blessed us we want to share those blessings. We both decided that we want to look into adopting a child and giving that child a life that they probably wouldn’t have.

We should all take this as an opportunity to re-evalute our lives and be thankful for everything that we have and also be thankful for the country that we live in. Children are the world’s most valuable resource and whether they are Americans or not, the really are our future.

Click HERE to learn more about what you can do to help end child slavery.

The 2010 Census: Black, African-Am., or Negro???

Every 10 years, as required by the United States Constitution, the Census Bureau takes on the daunting but very important task of determining how many people reside in the country. The data collected aids in determining every states representation in the House of Representatives. Additionally, it helps determine how many federal dollars will be allocated to communities to spend on building and improving things such as roads, schools, parks, housing and public safety.

2010 is a census year and in March the Census Bureau will begin sending out census forms to each and every American household. Some of you may be surprised and even a little offended by question #9 on this year’s census form. Question # 9 relates to race, and asks:

“What is person 1’s race?” with one of the selections being “Black, African-Am., or Negro.

The word “Negro” when used in America, the melting pot of the world, seems, antiquated, offensive, and downright insulting. For some younger people, like myself, the use of that term is almost a slap in the face especially when the leader of the free world is African-American. For some older Americans, however, the word isn’t offensive but rather “inclusive”.

According to Census Bureau spokesman, Jack Martin, “Many older African-Americans identified themselves that way, and many still do. Those who identify themselves as Negroes need to be included” (McFadden et al). While I can understand the reasoning behind including that term I don’t agree that it should be used. We are a nation that has come a long way from the days of slavery, segregation, and Jim Crow and by allowing that term to appear on a formal U.S. government form it is giving the perception that it is an acceptable and tolerable term to use.

The fact that a handful of Americans identify with the term “Negro”, does not make the use of it acceptable. It is a word much like the other “N” word that is rooted in hate and conjures up images of inferiority and inequality in most of our minds. To say that it is being used as an inclusive term seems spurious but if it is genuine then why stop at “Negro” and not add “Boy”, “Colored”, “Coon”, and all those other outdated and racists terms that some others may identify with. I am in awe that some individuals in a country that has come so far feel that the use of that term is acceptable. What do you all think??

McFadden, K. & McShane, L. (2010). Use of word Negro on 2010 census forms raises memories of Jim Crow. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2010/01/06/2010-01-06_census_negro_issue_use_of_word_on_forms_raises_hackles_memories_of_jim_crow.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nydnrss%2Fhome+%28Home%29#ixzz0brkJ7JNt

Bush on Obama: “This Guy Has No Clue”

Posted: September 15th, 2009 06:01 PM ET

From CNN’s Lauren Kornreich

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former President George W. Bush “seemed to feel considerable unease” with John McCain as the Republican presidential nominee, according to ex-speechwriter Matt Latimer in his tell-all memoir on his days in the White House.

In Latimer’s new book, “Speech-less: Tales of a White House Survivor,” set to hit bookstores on September 22, he reveals Bush’s reactions to the economic collapse, the presidential campaign, and other memorable events. GQ published an excerpt from the memoir in its October issue.

Latimer said Bush liked Mitt Romney best and that he was “clearly not impressed with the McCain operation.” Latimer said the former president wanted to appear with McCain at a campaign event in Phoenix, but after he was told the then-Republican nominee couldn’t get enough people to show up, he called it a “cruel hoax.”

“‘He couldn’t get 500 people? I could get that many people to turn out in Crawford.’ He shook his head. ‘This is a five-spiral crash, boys.’”

Bush presumed Hillary Clinton would be the Democratic nominee, according to Latimer, and was extremely critical of Barack Obama. Latimer said Bush was “ticked off” after one of Obama’s speeches and he said the future president wasn’t “remotely qualified” for the challenges of the job.

“(Bush) came in one day to rehearse a speech, fuming. ‘This is a dangerous world,’ he said for no apparent reason, ‘and this cat isn’t remotely qualified to handle it. This guy has no clue, I promise you,’” Latimer said.

Latimer also made the controversial assertion that after Sarah Palin was tapped as McCain’s running mate, Bush reportedly asked whether she was “the governor of Guam” and said that she was “not even remotely prepared.” A former Bush and Palin aide has challenged the accuracy of the charge.

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I posted this article from CNN because I thought it was interesting how the “then” President Bush thought that Obama wasn’t  remotely qualified to be leader of the free world. What do you all think?