Alexis Stodghill
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Wow. When Victoria Rowell wore this "President Obama Dress" dress to the 2009 Emmy Awards, millions of people around the world probably uttered the phrase simultaneously: "What was she thinking?"
The actress who played the iconic character Drucilla Winters on 'The Young and the Restless' released a statement to tell us exactly what inspired this rather unusual gown. It is a personal story that touches on the issues of health insurance and universal access to health care. Rowell told Essence.com:
Continue reading Victoria Rowell Wears Obama Dress to Support Health Care Reform
A Reuters story posted yesterday serves up a shocking statistic: "Nearly 45,000 people die in the United States each year -- one every 12 minutes -- in large part because they lack health insurance and can not get good care, Harvard Medical School researchers found in an analysis released on Thursday."
These are human lives lost forever due to the inefficient and greed-infused management of our health care system. Suddenly, those resistant Republicans and Tea Party protesters seem like more than just vociferous, empty-headed ranters. Their tactics are also stalling improvements in health care access that could easily save people. This amounts to basically co-signing on each death that occurs every 12 minutes from a victim's lack of medical access.
They say statistics can lie, but facts don't. And the harsh face of death is the fact that this horrible statistic reveals. The rate of 45,000 people per year puts the health care industry's poor organization among the top ten causes of death in U.S. every year. TOP TEN.
Continue reading 45,000 U.S. Deaths Caused By Lack of Insurance? We Need to Do Something Now
Tagged as: health insurance, HealthInsurance
From The Huffington Post: "The South Carolina Supreme Court has ordered an insurance company to pay $10 million for wrongly revoking the insurance policy of a 17-year-old college student after he tested positive for HIV. The court called the 2002 decision by the insurance company 'reprehensible.'
"That appears to be the most an insurance company has ever been ordered to pay in a case involving the practice known as rescission, in which insurance companies retroactively cancel coverage for policyholders based on alleged misstatements - sometimes right after diagnoses of life-threatening diseases"
In the current health care debate, do common practices such as this spur you to get behind efforts at industry reform? Leave your thoughts below.
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Obama & Health Care
US President Barack Obama (L) shakes hands with members of the audience after delivering remarks on health care reform at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, September 17, 2009. Thousands of people turned out Thursday, some waiting for hours from before sunrise, to hear President Barack Obama speak about his proposed health care reforms. TOPSHOTS/AFP PHOTO/Jim WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images
AFP
Obamas Health Care Fight
US President Barack Obama (L) shakes hands with members of the audience after delivering remarks on health care reform at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, September 17, 2009. Thousands of people turned out Thursday, some waiting for hours from before sunrise, to hear President Barack Obama speak about his proposed health care reforms. TOPSHOTS/AFP PHOTO/Jim WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images
Security personnel escort a man after he shouted against US President Barack Obama's healthcare reform while Obama spoke during a rally on healthcare at the Comcast Center in College Park, Maryland, on September 17, 2009. Thousands of people turned out Thursday, some waiting for hours from before sunrise, to hear President Barack Obama speak about his proposed health care reforms. TOPSHOTS/AFP PHOTO/Jewel SAMAD (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images
FILE - In this May 11, 2009 file photo, President Barack Obama, center, speaks about health care in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. It was a watershed moment in this year's health care struggle: Leaders of the insurance, hospital and other medical industries stood with President Obama and promised steps to save $2 trillion over the next decade. From left: Cedars-Sinai Health System President Thomas Priselac; Merck CEO Richard Clark; Kaiser Permanente CEO George Halvorson; Obama; American Medical Association President J. James Rohack; SEIU Healthcare chair Dennis Rivera; and Edwards Lifesciences CEO Michael Mussallem. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, FILE)
AP
President Barack Obama greets the crowd at a rally on health care reform, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009, at the Comcast Center at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
AP
A man shouts from the audience while President Barack Obama delivered remarks during a health care rally at the University of Maryland in College Park., Md., Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009. The man was later removed by police. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)
AP
A police officer talks with a man who shouted while President Barack Obama, as he delivered remarks during a health care rally at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md., Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009. The man was later removed from the audience. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)
AP
President Barack Obama arrives at a rally on health care reform, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009, at the Comcast Center at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
AP
President Barack Obama delivers remarks during a health care rally at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md., Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)
AP
President Barack Obama talks on his cell phone in a loading area at the Comcast Center at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md., Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009, before he spoke at a rally on health care reform. At left is aide Reggie Love. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
AP
COLLEGE PARK, MD - SEPTEMBER 17: US President Barack Obama hugs cancer survivor Rachel Peck during a rally at University of Maryland Comcast Center on September 17, 2009 in College Park, Maryland. President Obama is trying to rally support for his health care insurance reform plan. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Rachel Peck;Barack Obama
Getty Images
Read the full story on The Huffington Post.
Tagged as: health insurance, HealthInsurance
The Root is reporting on the phenomenon of people heading to Mexico for significantly cheaper medical care -- even if they have health insurance here in the States. One man featured in the post states: "I pay $400 a month for my health insurance, and it's still cheaper to come to Mexico." Our system must really be broken if it is more cost effective for Americans with insurance coverage to travel hundreds of miles to a poorer nation for their medial, dental and/or prescription needs.
This certainly adds a new nuance to the health care reform debate. Does this revelation change the way you feel about the creation of universal health care in America? If President Obama is not able to pass a bill that provides all our citizens with comprehensive care, would you resort to traveling to Mexico -- or other "medical tourism" destinations -- if our system failed you?
Continue reading Even With Insurance, Many Go to Mexico For Their Health Care
Looking for a job, or perhaps a whole new profession? The National African-American Insurance Association is working now to recruit more blacks into insurance professions. Citing a well-known fact that in coming decades people of color will make up more than 50% of America's population, the NAAIA is working now to capitalize on this trend.Continue reading NAAIA is Recruiting Black Insurance Professionals
The Insurance Journal is reporting that the recent slump in the housing market is leading many homeowners to take a leap that many would not have imagined: "A growing number of homeowners who need to relocate for a job or other reason are renting out their homes instead of selling them so they can wait until the market improves. At the same time, investors are taking advantage of low prices to buy rental properties."
If a pressing need to move cannot be delayed, why not rent your home instead of selling at a loss, or ruining your relocation plans? This is a great way to retain the equity you have built up in your home, but it does require a change in your home insurance policy. According to the article:
Continue reading Can't Sell Your Home? Become a Landlord & Change Insurance
President Obama is engaging in a full court press in order to work through significant health care proposals by August. Usually a smooth operator who prefers diplomacy, Barack has finally decided it's time to ruffle feathers to push his reforms through. The president is plainly calling out all those who oppose his plan, stating:
"Deferring reform is nothing more than defending the status quo -- and those who would oppose our efforts should take a hard look at just what it is they're defending."
Those are fighting words for a man nicknamed "No Drama Obama."
Continue reading Obama on Health Care: Deferring Reform = Defending Status Quo
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