Despite teabaggers and Dick Armey’s freedomwork’s (deliberately lower case) shills recent victories. It is good to know that big populist states can still do the right thing. Granted, this is just one house of the state government it is still a good sign.

SACRAMENTO – To ecstatic applause from healthcare advocates, the California Senate today breathed new life into national prospects for fundamental health reform by passing on a 22 to 14 vote a major bill to guarantee healthcare in the state through creating a Medicare for all system that would cover every Californian.

I think this is a great idea. It would further create the atmosphere of an open government that the administration has been pushing.

The letter begins:

As your respective chambers work to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate health care bills, C-SPAN requests that you open all important negotiations, including any conference committee meetings, to electronic media coverage.

The C-SPAN networks will commit the necessary resources to covering all of these sessions LIVE and in their entirety. We will also, as we willingly do each day, provide C-SPAN’s multi-camera coverage to any interested member of the Capitol Hill broadcast pool.

From T.R. Reid’s new book.

“I will never be rich, ” Dr. Bonnaud told me, sitting at the simple wooden desk in his cluttered office. “in the States, I would make much, much more. But there I would be fighting always the insurance companies over what I can prescribe, what I can do for my patients. Here, we have freedom to do the medicine we think is right. And the patient, any patient, can get the treatment needed; the insurance, or the social security, will pay for it. I will never be rich, but I can look in the mirror in the morning and know that I am doing the best for my patients. For a physician that is a form of richness; it brings satisfaction.”

“I went to Howard University hospital on May 9, but did not go to surgery until May 11. I had DC Alliance insurance, but they would not do surgery on me that night or the next day. They waited until Medicaid kicked in on May 11. Man, I stayed fucked up for two whole days because of medical insurance. When I finally got Medicaid, I went to surgery and got back feeling in my right toe. We were celebrating, but I still could not walk so I had to go to therapy. But, God is good. They said he can make the paralyzed walk again and I am prime example. I was so determined that I wasn’t going to live my life in a wheel chair. I went through a lot, but I can smile about it now. I am happy this happened to me and not my twin. She would not have survived because I am much stronger than she is.

via People’s District.

For crying out loud. This woman had just been shot numerous times and our healthcare system has the audacity to make someone wait for surgery until Medicaid kicked in. Regardless of what caused the situation and who’s to blame,  no one should have to wait in a situation like this because of their health insurance. Our healthcare system is not the best in the world it is far from it.

She added: “But let me be perfectly clear. I am opposed to a new government-administered health care plan as a part of comprehensive health insurance reform, and I will not vote in favor of the proposal that has been introduced by leader Reid as it is written.” But Senator Lieberman, who voted to take up the health care bill, said he was still staunchly opposed to a government-run plan. It is “a terrible idea,” he said.

via Senate Votes to Open Health Care Debate – NYTimes.com.

If they are against publicly run health insurance for those who qualify. What do they want as an alternative for the 31 million Americans who are currently uninsured? If they want to rely on private industry they better damn be for some tough regulation.

For starters preexisting conditions must be a thing of the past. They must also look into the scheme that health insurance corporations have to deny as many claims as possible. Lastly, how is private industry going to insure that these 31 million people become insured? Wouldn’t the government have to provide some sort of subsidy either to industry or individuals? Or are we thinking along the line of a tax credit, which really would not work. Don’t even bring up healthcare savings accounts.

A rumor is making the rounds that the White House and Senator Reid are pursuing different strategies on the public option.  Those rumors are absolutely false.

In his September 9th address to Congress, President Obama made clear that he supports the public option because it has the potential to play an essential role in holding insurance companies accountable through choice and competition.  That continues to be the President’s position.

via The Public Option: Rumor Check | The White House.

I just saw this hit by feed reader. The White House posted this about an hour ago. I find it interesting that the White House felt it had to post something on the official blog about a rumor.

The public option never looked so good! I have to admit that I also personally have a mini-fascination with Ms. Graham. There’s just something about her

UnitedHealth is seen by many analysts as a bellwether for the managed care sector. It is the largest U.S. health insurer by revenue, and the first to report earnings each quarter.

For the full year, UnitedHealth said it expects to earn $3.15 per share, at the high end of its previous guidance. Analysts expect $3.09 per share, on average.

via Profits Rise at UnitedHealth Group – NYTimes.com.

They’re making a killing literally and figuratively! No wonder they’re throwing gobs of blood money to lobbying and astroturfing against healthcare reform. UnitedHealth Group makes me sick.

Government is good. I’m happy to see the FDA looking into things like this.

Spurred by complaints of adverse events, the Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday that they would launch a multi-year study to examine the potential impact on quality of life from Lasik laser-vision correction surgery. Lasik surgery permanently reshapes the cornea with a laser but consumers face a lack of reliable data about the frequency of troubling side-effects, such as dry eyes, halos, and blurry vision.

These are the reasons I’ve never seriously considered getting Lasik surgery done. As long as I can use eye glasses I’ll be fine with that. However, if the FDA finds that Lasik is safe for most people then that is still good for society as it upholds the constant progression of modern science.

I was reading this post on the AFL-CIO blog about all the young people under the age of 35 without health insurance. They are working mind you, but they are not insured. A couple of years ago I would have counted myself as one of them.

As the AFL-CIO report, “Young Workers: A Lost Decade,” recently found, some 31 percent of workers under age 35 have no health insurance–even if they have jobs. Millions more young workers have insufficient coverage. It’s a dangerous situation, and too many young workers would be left bankrupt if hit by an accident or unexpected illness.

Ari A. Matusiak, founder of Young Invincibles, a health reform advocacy group, says in a new AFL-CIO Point of View guest column that these young workers need health care reform now, and that they need to join together to fight for it.

They should be turning out en masse at any hearing on healthcare reform. The only reason teabaggers are attracting the attention they do is because they organized a little bit. I don’t care anything about the teabaggers, their opinions and views mean nothing to me, but what I do care about are these people without health insurance.