PeoriaStory

Health system reform: common sense

PEORIA -- The US House has passed a health system reform bill.  The US Senate has decided to debate its own bill, though passage is no slam dunk.  Now what?

Have they all gone mad? There are simple, common sense ways to reform the nation's disastrous health system. (The awful statistics can be found under previous posts in the category 'national politics.')

Here's a simple reform plan. It doesn't involve abortion politics or a new public option.

1.  MEDICARE:  Immediately expand Medicare eligibility back to age 60.  Make it voluntary to all, regardless of other insurance status or none. They pay what today's Medicare recipients pay.  Close the prescription drug gap. Negotiate drug prices. Pay for it by cutting out the excessive payments to Medicare Advantage. Let the insurance companies make up for the loss by expanding into the supplemental insurance market.  Impact:  millions will retire, opening up new jobs for the unemployed. Millions more will be covered at last.  Add dental coverage.

2. MEDICAID:  Expand eligibility as proposed in the US House bill, immediately. Expand federally subsidized clinics, which include dental now.

3.  INSURANCE COMPANIES:  Regulate their coverage on a national scale.  No exemptions for self-funded plans. No underwriting allowed to ban preexisting conditions, or to drop the sick, or discriminate against  women or older people. Standardize claim forms.  Cost?  Free to the government. Enforcement?  US Justice Department in federal court, civil and criminal penalties. (This might employ more lawyers until the companies see the government means it.) Require them to participate in a national exchange where anyone could buy a policy at group rates.

4. FINANCING:  Tax wealthy Americans. making more than $500,000 a year.  No taxes on so-called Cadillac policies or any other such nonsense.  No mandatory purchase of insurance policies or subsidies to pay for them. (If the Democrats enact that, they can expect to lose several future elections.)  

This is a great first start. It can be refined, as it plays out.  Case closed. Now on to global warming.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Health system reform event: news release

MEDICAL BANKRUPTCY—HEALTH CARE DEBT EVENT Wednesday, December 2nd, Noon   LEARN: LOCAL AGENCIES WILL DESCRIBE THE DEVASTATING IMPACTS OF HEALTH CARE BANKRUPTCY ON FAMILIES IN THE PEORIA AREA TO THE MEDIA AND THE PUBLIC   SPEAK OUT: THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO DISCUSS AND RECEIVE INFORMATION ABOUT LOCAL AGENCY SERVICES   At Noon, Wednesday December 2nd at the Contemporary Art Center, 305 SW Water St., Peoria (parking across the street and elevator to second floor), seven local Peoria agencies and individuals will speak out about the devastating impact that medical bankruptcy and debt has on area families.   YWCA of Peoria-- Pam Schubach, Executive Director.   Alzheimer's Association, Central Illinois Chapter -- Alisha Dault- Patient and Family Services Coordinator.   Mental Health Association of Illinois Valley  --  Katie Jones, Executive Director.   Peoria Friendship House of Christian Service -- Barb Hartnett, Executive Director   Liz Ann Gray, with a personal family story.   American Diabetes Association, Professional Representative   Campaign for Better Health Care --  Jim Duffett, Executive Director and Josie Underwood, Downstate Coordinator, as facilitator.   At this time when we have historic health care reform legislation before our U. S. Congress and Senate, we urge the public and media to share their concerns at this public event and news conference.  We know that about ten percent of individuals in our area are uninsured.  Nationally in 2007, about 62% of all bankruptcies were medical bankruptcies.   The Campaign for Better Health Care wants to inform the public about the real impact of the current health care system on people and the organizations that serve them.  We must all contact our elected representatives and urge them to pass real health care reform.   Join your friends and neighbors at Noon on December 2nd, to send a message to our elected representatives that it is time to stop playing politics and solve the health care crisis.   For more information contact:  Joyce Harant, 309-648-3035; jharant@cbhconline.org     Campaign for Better Health Care Central/Statewide 44 East Main St., Suite 414 Champaign, IL 61820-3642 (v) 217-352-5600 (f) 217-352-5688 e-mail: cbhc-cu@cbhconline.org Chicago 1325 S. Wabash, Suite 305 Chicago, IL 60605-2504 (v) 312-913-9449 (f) 312-913-9559 e-mail: cbhc-chi@cbhconline.org Helpline 1-888-544-8271 Website: www.cbhconline.org

Cirque Dreams: Illumination -- good show

PEORIA -- With a non-stop rock/jazz beat, the Broadway show Cirque Dreams: Illumination whirled through the Peoria Civic Center on Nov. 28, part of a national tour.  It's a terrific show, very slick and entertaining.

The Journal Star's preview story aptly described it.  At the same time, a mere newspaper story doesn't do it justice. You have to see the tricks and stunts to believe them. 

This is a 3-ring circus/vaudeville hybrid show, with comedy, magic, singing, dancing and music accompanying the daring acts. 

The evening show received a standing ovation, well deserved. The performances were flawless, the costumes and sets beautifully done. 

One flaw:  there were no programs to identify the fine performers.

And the pricey tickets no doubt kept away many people who would have loved this show.  The evening performance was not sold out.  It should have been.

Why doesn't the Peoria Civic Center offer discount tickets late in the day, as is done in Chicago and New York?  Special group rates also could be offered to groups that otherwise could not afford the tickets.  Children would like this show, but there were few in the audience.

The arts need to continually build audiences, and offering discount tickets is a fine way to encourage attendance.  My husband and I were once grad students, and we once needed discounted tickets to see arts events. Now we gladly buy the best seats.  Those discounted tickets helped us learn to love and appreciate the arts.

   -- Elaine Hopkins

Worthless crap -- just say no

PEORIA -- Here' a great, provocative piece for the start of the holiday buying season, from In These Times, as reprinted by Alternet. 

In essence, it says people should buy durable, repairable goods, not cheap stuff that breaks and must be thrown away, as an environmental statement. It takes more energy to manufacture new items than to repair the same items.  It looks at the downside of that approach, as well, given the realities of global capitalism.

My take: As I write this, my 40-year-old Maytag washing machine is faithfully doing another load. Yes, we bought it in 1970!  It was made in the USA.

No fancy electronics to break down. It has metal parts, not plastic. It just keeps going. It's been repaired maybe twice in 40 years, both times minor things. A repairman told me several years ago that this model is no longer manufactured, but is cherished by many. Including me.

After a bad experience with a Sears dryer, I have vowed never to buy another major appliance with electronic components. It failed completely in less than a year, was replaced under warranty, then the electronics failed again.  I keep using it, but cannot use all its expensive features such as timed drying.  It's a dog. The lint filter doesn't even work right. I'm hoping it will quit permanently, to be replaced.

I will look for a reconditioned older dryer without electronics. Just mechanical controls. Towels and other big items go to a wooden drying rack in the basement, where the dehumidifier is running. They dry overnight, as if they were outside on a clothes line. 

Computers and other electronics:  They break down regularly. I just spent almost $100 to have an older HP computer repaired (its power pack mysteriously quit -- why?), after some said it couldn't be fixed. Now it's doing well again. It's an extra, but useful at times as a backup.

I still have a 90's model Gateway that works fine, and has a couple of features such as a very small font that newer computers lack. It's also a backup. 

When my cell phone quit holding a charge, I replaced it for an upgrade, but did not replace my husband's phone, which is still working well, since he hardly ever uses it. Money and energy saved.

Bonus with electronics:  the time saved trying to figure out how the new ones work.

Vehicles:  We just paid a skilled mechanic over $1,000 to rehab a 2000 Toyota Avalon that we had given to our daughter and her family a few years ago. That's a great car, even at 150,000 miles. It should run another 100,000 miles, the mechanic said. Replacing it would cost many thousands. The repairs were a birthday present.  It's a big, safe car with airbags for teen drivers.

We learned long ago to keep vehicles until it costs more to repair them than replace them. We have given them to our daughter's family with two teenage drivers. We and they have saved uncountable dollars on that plan, as well as helping save the planet. 

The article makes the point that people need to learn new attitudes:  that 'fashion' need not be followed, that vintage quality clothing and other items, including solid furniture, show one's taste and concern for the environment.  

That's a lesson worth imparting for the holidays.

    -- Elaine Hopkins

Illinois has dirty air, group says

From a news release:

Chicago, IL — The Baldwin Energy Complex coal-fired power plant in Baldwin is the dirtiest power plant in Illinois based on carbon dioxide (CO₂) pollution, ranking it as the 30th dirtiest plant in the country for 2007, according to a new analysis of government data released today by Environment Illinois. 

“It's time for the oldest and dirtiest power plants to clean up their act,” said Environment Illinois Citizen Outreach Director Brandi Beals.  “Coal-fired giants have dominated our electricity for decades and have been allowed to pollute without license.  In order to stop global warming and reap all the benefits of clean energy, we must require old coal-fired clunkers to meet modern standards for global warming pollution.”

Coal is the dirtiest of all fuels, but it supplies more of America's electricity than any other source.  Coal plants currently do not have to meet any global warming pollution standard, meaning that they are an unchecked contributor to global warming.  In fact, coal plants are the nation’s single largest source of global warming pollution.  

The growing impacts of global warming will impose threats to our safety and immense financial cost on our society, and most notably for Illinois, more frequent and severe heat waves, which will increase the number of people who suffer heat stress and stroke.  To avoid the worst effects of global warming, the science shows that the United States must cut its global warming pollution by 35 percent by 2020.

The new report from Environment Illinois, “America's Biggest Polluters: Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Power Plants in 2007,” looks at carbon dioxide emissions from power plants across the country using 2007 data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; 2007 is the most recent year for which final data is available.  The report examines both age of and pollution from power plants to document the fact that we are reliant on an energy infrastructure that is both old and polluting.  The key findings include the following:

• Illinois ranked 6th nationwide for the most carbon dioxide pollution from power plants in 2007.
• Illinois is home to the 21st oldest operating power plant in the country.  The Havana plant in Havana (IL) has been operating for 60 years, built within a decade of the television first becoming commercially available.  Many of the plants in Illinois are decades-old.  In fact, 22 of Illinois’ 52 plants were built before 1980.
• The Baldwin Energy Complex power plant located in Baldwin in Illinois ranked as the 30th dirtiest power plant in the country in 2007 based on its carbon dioxide emissions.  The Baldwin Energy Complex plant has been in operation since 1970, before President Ford became President, and produces the same amount of global warming pollution in a year as almost two and a half million of today’s cars.

Nationally, the report shows that America's power is dominated by old and polluting plants, and that the oldest and dirtiest plants often go hand-in-hand.  Power plants built three decades ago or more produced 73 percent of the total global warming pollution from power plants in 2007.  Older power plants on average are dirtier per unit of energy than newer ones.

“America's power is both decades-old and dangerously polluting.  We’re reliant on technology that’s as old as the very first commercially available televisions.  Televisions have gone from black-and-white clunkers to super high-definition flat screens, but they’re still powered by the same dirty electricity,” Beals said.

“Clean energy holds the future of America—to make our nation energy independent, create millions of new jobs, and stop the worst effects of global warming.  In order to realize this clean energy future, coal plants must stop polluting with impunity,” continued Beals.

The U.S. Senate is slated to consider legislation in the next few months to establish the first-ever federal limits on global warming pollution and standards and incentives for clean energy.  In addition, EPA has proposed a rule to require coal plants and other large smokestack industries to use available technology to cut their global warming pollution when new facilities are constructed or existing facilities are significantly modified. 

However, the coal industry is fighting the transition to clean energy.

The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a coal industry lobby group, spent at least $40 million dollars in 2008 alone – more than $100,000 a day – on lobbyists and advertising on energy.  Earlier this year, they hired lobbyists who forged phony constituent letters to Congress opposing action on clean energy.

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Environment Illinois is a state-based, citizen-funded environmental organization working for clean air, clean water, and open space.

 

Fur free Friday Nov. 27

PEORIA -- Peoria Area Voices for Animals holds its annual fur-free Friday demo/protest on Friday, Nov. 27, from 1:30-2:30 pm at Brom’s Furs at the Metro Centre.  People are invited to join them.

"Signs will be provided or feel free to bring your own," an e-mail says. 

It continues:  "This is a great opportunity to speak on behalf of the millions of animals who suffer immensely and die horrific violent deaths just so heartless people can drape themselves in death.

"Fur coats are no longer popular among enlightened individuals, but the general public doesn’t seem to realize that the same suffering and death goes into the fur trim that so many people are wearing around their necks and wrists.

"Please join us and help educate the public about the inherent violence and cruelty of any amount of fur and help us urge everyone to shop compassionately this holiday season.

"Please don’t park in the Metro Centre as Peoria Police officers moonlighting as Metro Centre security will make you move your vehicle."

See http://www.AnimalRightsPeoria.org for information about this group.