OBAMA’s Health Care Reform Plan & SURVEY

From Pat Wootan…

The plan is outlined below – please take our Health Care Survey

Barack Obama will make health insurance affordable and accessible to all:

The Obama-Biden plan provides affordable, accessible health care for all Americans, builds on the existing healthcare system, and uses existing providers, doctors and plans to implement the plan.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s Plan

On health care reform, the American people are too often offered two extremes – government-run health care with higher taxes or letting the insurance companies operate without rules. Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe both of these extremes are wrong, and that’s why they’ve proposed a plan that strengthens employer coverage, makes insurance companies accountable and ensures patient choice of doctor and care without government interference.

The Obama-Biden plan provides affordable, accessible health care for all Americans, builds on the existing health care system, and uses existing providers, doctors and plans to implement the plan. Under the Obama-Biden plan, patients will be able to make health care decisions with their doctors, instead of being blocked by insurance company bureaucrats.

Under the plan, if you like your current health insurance, nothing changes, except your costs will go down by as much as $2,500 per year.

If you don’t have health insurance, you will have a choice of new, affordable health insurance options

Obama will lower health care costs: Make Health Insurance Work for People and Businesses – Not Just Insurance and Drug Companies.

* Require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions so all Americans regardless of their health status or history can get comprehensive benefits at fair and stable premiums.
* Create a new Small Business Health Tax Credit to help small businesses provide affordable health insurance to their employees.
* Lower costs for businesses by covering a portion of the catastrophic health costs they pay in return for lower premiums for employees.
* Prevent insurers from overcharging doctors for their malpractice insurance and invest in proven strategies to reduce preventable medical errors.
* Make employer contributions more fair by requiring large employers that do not offer coverage or make a meaningful contribution to the cost of quality health coverage for their employees to contribute a percentage of payroll toward the costs of their employees health care.
* Establish a National Health Insurance Exchange with a range of private insurance options as well as a new public plan based on benefits available to members of Congress that will allow individuals and small businesses to buy affordable health coverage.
* Ensure everyone who needs it will receive a tax credit for their premiums.

The Obama plan will lower health care costs by $2,500 for a typical family by investing in health information technology, prevention and care coordination

All families will be required to provide health care for children from the many choices.

Health Care Community Discussion 12/28 & 12/30

Daschle & the transition team are suggesting local Health Care Community Discussions before 2009 –

http://change.gov/page/s/hcdiscussion

Health care is a top priority for President-elect Obama and for Senator Tom Daschle, Secretary-designate for Health and Human Services (HHS). They both are committed to health care reform that comes from the ground up — that’s why this holiday season, we’re asking you to give us the gift of your ideas and input.

Albert Cook, one of the founding members of New Paltz and Vicinity for Obama, has volunteered to host our local healthcare meeting. It will take place on SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28 at 10:30AM at the Plaza Diner in New Paltz. To RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gptccq

Pat Wootan, one of the founding members of Hudson Valley for Obama, has volunteered to host a discussion in Kingston, Tuesday December 30th 7-8pm. To RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/meeting/gptkdv

If these meeting dates are inconvenient for anyone, no worries- Shelley Fagiola will be hosting a second meeting in January.

We’ll provide you with a special Moderator’s Guide that will give you everything you need to get the discussion going. Secretary-designate Tom Daschle will even choose some discussions to attend in person.

He recorded this short message to talk a bit about why these discussions are so important. Watch the video and sign up to lead your own Health Care Community Discussion.

Medicare Plan D deadline looms (Dec 31st)

from the Woodstock Times
by Sigrid Heath

full article:
http://www.ulsterpublishing.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=472042

Open enrollment for the Medicare Part D prescription drug program began November 15 and will continue through December 31. More than 450,000 of New York seniors who are eligible for the program remain unenrolled. That’s a large number of Medicare beneficiaries who are without prescription drug coverage and don’t have to be. Are you among them?

…

There are a plethora of plans available to eligible Medicare recipients in Ulster and Dutchess counties. The official Medicare website, http://www.medicare.gov, has detailed information on them all. Click on “Medicare Prescription Drug Plans – 2009 Plan Data,” then using the navigation on the left, choose “Find and Compare Plans,” enter your county and click on the plan about which you’d like to read more.

Some plans carry a monthly premium, some have a deductible. If you have limited income and resources, you probably qualify for extra help that will result in Medicare covering all or almost all of your prescription drug costs. To find out more about this, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) or visit www.socialsecurity.gov.

If you don’t have access to the Internet or would prefer to speak with a living human being about Medicare coverage and prescription drug coverage, call the Ulster County Office for the Aging at 340-3456. If you are looking for help with Plan D specifically, ask for an appointment to discuss your Medicare prescription drug coverage plan. Kari Hastings, Medicare coordinator for Ulster County, says the ten volunteers are now taking appointments for mid-December, so don’t delay. People will be asked to bring their Medicare cards and a list of the prescription drugs they’re on. Hastings said hours will be extended as the deadline nears, but it takes about an hour to negotiate the different plans and find one suitable for the individual. A couple should plan for more than an hour.

Inauguration Day Event

Bardavon 1869 Opera House open to the public beginning at 11 am on Inauguration Day. Events from Washington will be broadcast via channel 13 HD TV on the big screen. Community groups will speak and have tables available for people to sign up for community service. Letters will be available for people to sign and send to our new President committing to a number of hours of community service to commemorate/congratulate Barack.

We would like to see this kind of event happening around the country. Ask your local theatres, etc. to host a similar event.

RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/communityservice/gptkcg

MoveOn Political Action Training, Jan 11, New Paltz & Kingston

Part of a nationwide coordinated effort by MoveOn, to push President-elect Obama’s “bold, progressive agenda through Congress.”

As President-elect Obama said on Election Night, his victory “is only the chance for us to make the change we seek”. Now, he’ll need a lot of help to push a bold, progressive agenda through Congress.
And that’s where we come in. In Washington, powerful interests — lobbyists for oil companies, drug manufacturers, and HMOs — are lining up to block Obama’s agenda. We’ve got to counter them and show Congress the overwhelming public mandate for change.
So we’re getting together on January 11th to kick off this big year with Congressional Action Trainings. We’ll learn and practice the most effective strategies for influencing Congress — and plan to pay a visit to our local congressional office in a few weeks.
You can sign up for the Congressional Action Training in New Paltz hosted by Women in Black at:
http://pol.moveon.org/event/actiontraining/87108
Here are the details of our event:
Congressional Action Training for a Progressive Agenda
Elting Memorial Library
93 Main Street
New Paltz, NY 12561
Sunday, 11 Jan 2009, 3:00 PM
We hope you’ll sign up.
Barbara and the members of New Paltz Women in Black

New Paltz Women in Black for Peace and Justice still stands every Saturday from 12:30 to 1:30 in front of Elting Library

Kingston Training

There will also be a Congressional Action Training at The Bunker in Kingston at 8pm

The venue is handicap accessible, and refreshements will be available for a nominal fee.

RSVP: Those interested in attending are asked to sign up at http://pol.moveon.org/event/actiontraining/87061

Cost: Free

Location:
The Bunker
15 Gage St
Kingston, NY 12401
Map and directions:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=15+Gage+St,+Kingston,+NY

Contact: The Bunker

Sponsored by: MoveOn, The Bunker