Rep. Allen: Maine Senators 'May Have the Last Opportunity to Prevent Dange

[caligirl]

Rep. Allen: Maine Senators 'May Have the Last Opportunity to Prevent Dangerous Health Bill'
Congressional Desk
April 22, 2006

Says proposal "undermines the whole idea of insurance: that we share the risks of illness and injury".

Portland, Maine -- U.S. Representative Tom Allen, a member of the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today urged Maine's U.S. Senators to oppose S. 1955, The Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization Act. U.S. Senator Michael Enzi (R-WY) introduced the bill last fall. The bill passed out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee before the spring recess and the full Senate will likely vote on it in May.

"This bill undermines the whole idea of insurance: that we share the risks of illness and injury," Representative Allen said. "It overrides decades of carefully crafted state rules that oblige insurers to spread risks among all their beneficiaries. It allows the insurance companies to separate the young and healthy from the old and sick. It's a good bill only for people who are healthy today and know to an absolute certainty that they will never suffer accident or illness. In the real world, no one can know that. Today I'm urging Senators Snowe and Collins to vote against the Enzi insurance bill when it comes before the Senate. They may have the last opportunity to prevent this dangerous health legislation from becoming law."
>
Representatives from some of the more than 150 organizations in Maine and across the nation opposed to S. 1955 joined Representative Allen at his Portland press conference. Among the groups represented were AARP, American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, American Nurses Association-Maine, Maine Consumers for Affordable Health Care Coalition, Maine Peoples Alliance, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and Alpha One.

****"It's rare for me to speak on a bill before the U.S. Senate," Representative Allen said. "But abusive parliamentary maneuvering by the House Republican leadership will probably prevent the Energy & Commerce Committee, on which I sit, from considering the bill. If brought to the House floor as a conference report, we will have only one hour of debate on the bill with no opportunity for amendments. This bill needs to be stopped in the Senate."****

http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=8474

[Faygo Kid]

1. Rep. Allen is right. This is a bad, bad bill.

Once again, an effort is made to hurt the vulnerable among us. These guys are relentless. Oppose this bill.

[mvd]

15. Yep, they are getting more and more brazen

They want a corporate dictatorship.

[sidwill]

2. This bill is disastrous and only makes Ins. Companies richer

at the expense at all sorts of very vulnerable people.

Please check out this thread also and TAKE ACTION NOW!!!!!!!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x983527

[Judi Lynn]

7. Thanks so much for the link, sidwill. n/t

[sidwill]

9. thank you for taking action

Lets keep this thing rolling on this site and get our fellow DUers to help stop this thing.

[formercia]

3. This bill is barbaric

How could any caring human being even think of authoring this bill.

[ellenfl]

4. here's your problem . . .

How could any caring human being even think of authoring this bill.

you have forgotten who runs our congress.

ellen fl

[sidwill]

5. This board has to take action!!

This bill will strip ALL state mandates in regards to insurance regulation, it will adversely affect almost everybody by allowing insurers to weasel out of covering people they deem "health risks".

It's only function is to ensure even larger Insurance company profits, while slashing benefits.

Please take the time to contact your Senators AND the Maine Senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins (both Moderate Repubs).

This links to another thread that provides some avenues of activism.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x983527

[caligirl]

6. Several Du thread links to this subject lots of info if your catching up

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=983527&mesg_id=983527

The links are compiled in my first post to the thread.(post #10)

[Judi Lynn]

8. It's amazing how easy it is for a corrupt party to slide such wildly

destructive actions right by the public with very little notice.

Thank you for posting this thread. I'm horrified I hadn't even heard about this until a few minutes ago.

[Vinca]

10. The insurance companies already weasel out of covering

people. They tell you they don't, but I'm convinced there's a system of sharing information among the companies. Our insurance skyrocketed to unpayable amounts after my husband was diagnosed with a mild case of a chronic illness. Not a huge deal - or so we thought. We went to every other insurance company approved in our state and - surprise, surprise - the policies offered cost equal to or more than the one we had to give up. The whole thing is senseless. In the end, the uninsured get sicker and cost society a whole lot more than it would cost to expand Medicare or nationalize the VA system. I'll definitely fight anything that isn't universal care.

[sidwill]

11. A list of Citizens groups opposing this horrible bill

Organizations, Health Plans and State Officials Opposed to S. 1955, “The
Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act”

AARP
AFL-CIO
Academy for Eating Disorders
Alliance for Children and Families
Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness
Alliance for Justice
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
American Academy of HIV Medicine
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Academy of Physician Assistants
American Anorexia/Bulimia Association of Philadelphia
American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
American Association of Pastoral Counselors
American Association of People with Disabilities
American Association of Practicing Psychiatrists
American Cancer Society
American Chiropractic Association
American College of Nurse-Midwives
American Counseling Association
American Diabetes Association
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
American Federation of Teachers
American Group Psychotherapy Association
American Nurses Association
American Occupational Therapy Association
American Optometric Association
American Pediatric Society
American Podiatric Medical Association
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychiatric Nurses Association
American Psychoanalytic Association
American Psychological Association
American Psychotherapy Association
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Anna Westin Foundation
Anxiety Disorders Association of America
Arizona Business and Professional Women
Assistive Technology Law Center
Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare
Association for the Advancement of Psychology
Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs
Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
April 12, 2006
B'nai B'rith International
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Brain Injury Association of America
C3: Colorectal Cancer Coalition
Capital District Physician’s Health Plan
Catholics for a Free Choice
Center for Eating Disorder Recovery
Center for Justice & Democracy
Center for Women Policy Studies
Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyper-Activity Disorder
Citizen Action of New York
Clinical Social Work Federation
Clinical Social Work Guild 49, OPEIU
Communications Workers of America
Consumers for Affordable Health Care (Augusta, Maine)
Consumers Union
Dads and Daughters
Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
Disability Rights Wisconsin
Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy & Action
Eating Disorder Referral and Information Center
Empire Justice Center (New York)
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield
Family Planning Advocates of New York State
Families USA
Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health
Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights
Gail R. Schoenbach F.R.E.E.D. Foundation
Group Health Incorporated
Guttmacher Institute
Health and Disability Advocates
Helping to End Eating Disorders Foundation
HIP Health Plan of New York
Independent Health Association
Institute for Reproductive Health Access
International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
International Longshore & Warehouse Union
International Union of Painters and Allied Trades
International Union, United Auto Workers
Kristen Watt Foundation
Maternal and Child Health Access
Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee (Commonwealth of Massachusetts)
Michigan Association for Children with Emotional Disorders
MVP Health Plan, Inc.
April 12, 2006
NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals
NETWORK, a National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Association for Children's Behavioral Health
National Association for Rural Mental Health
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders – ANAD
National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors
National Association of Mental Health Planning & Advisory Councils
National Association of Social Workers
National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare
National Council on Independent Living
National Disability Rights Network
National Eating Disorders Association
National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association
National Health Council
National Health Law Program
National Hemophilia Foundation
National Mental Health Association
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Research Center for Women & Families
National Spinal Cord Injury Association
National Women’s Health Network
National Women's Law Center
New York Civil Liberties Union Reproductive Rights Project
Northwest Women's Law Center
Pediatrix Medical Group
Pennsylvania Educational Network for Eating Disorders
Philadelphia Coalition of Labor Union Women
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Public Citizen
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Remuda Ranch
Renfrew Center Foundation
Small Business Majority
Society for Pediatric Research
Suicide Prevention Action Network USA
Summit Health Institute for Research and Education, Inc.
The Arc of the United States
The Elisa Project
The Institute for Reproductive Health Access
Therapeutic Communities of America
Tourette Syndrome Association
United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices in the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry
United Cerebral Palsy
United Food and Commercial Workers
Univera Healthcare
United Steelworkers International Union (USW)
USAction
USAction Education Fund
U.S. PIRG (Public Interest Research Group)
U.S. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association
Voice for Virginia’s Children
Washington State Hospital Association
Women Work!
World Institute on Disability
John P. Crowley, Insurance Commissioner, State of Vermont
Matthew Denn, Insurance Commissioner, State of Delaware.
John Garamendi, Insurance Commissioner, State of California
Steven M. Goldman, Commissioner, Department of Banking and Insurance, State of New Jersey
Jorge Gomez, Commissioner of Insurance, State of Wisconsin
Christopher F. Koller, Health Insurance Commissioner, State of Rhode Island
Mike Kreidler, Insurance Commissioner, State of Washington
Kevin M. McCarty, Insurance Commissioner, State of Florida
Howard Mills, Superintendent, Insurance Department, State of New York
Alice A. Molasky-Arman, Commissioner of Insurance, State of Nevada
National Conference of Insurance Legislators
Mike Hatch, Attorney General, State of Minnesota
Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, State of California
Lisa Madigan, Attorney General, State of Illinois
Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General, State of New York
John H. Lynch, Governor, New Hampshire
Alexander B. Pete Grannis, New York Assembly Insurance Committee Chair
James L. Seward, New York Senate Insurance Committee Chair
Linda Gibbs, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, City of New York

[Gormy Cuss]

12. There is. The Medical Information Bureau.

If you ever listed this illness on an insurance application, there's a good chance that they have it.
This link is their spin page on how beneficial they are but look around and you'll see that as a consumer you can request a copy of whatever info they have on you.

http://www.mib.com/html/mysterious_mib.html

[Vinca]

13. Thanks for the info. I feel my blood pressure rising. nt

[caligirl]

14. kick, link for more activism, Oregon gov against Enzi bill

http://diabetesadvocacy.blogspot.com/

Unions against Enzi bill

ARLINGTON, Va., April 13 /PRNewswire/ -- A coalition of labor unions,
health care and consumer groups is urging Americans to join a grassroots
campaign to defeat a controversial health care bill scheduled for Senate
consideration in early May. The proposed legislation, S.1955, would
deregulate the health insurance market and gut state patient protection
laws - leaving millions of patients without crucial health benefits like
mammograms and prenatal care.
"A decision on this bill is only weeks away, so time is of the
essence," said Jerome McAndrews, DC, spokesman for the American
Chiropractic Association, a member of the coalition. "S. 1955 would thwart
years of state efforts to ensure that consumers have adequate health
insurance coverage - yet it has received surprisingly little attention and
many Americans have no idea how severely their health care benefits could
be affected. As important as expanding health insurance coverage is,
particularly in the small business market, it is also important for such
coverage to reliably secure patients' healthcare services."
The bill, also known as the "Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization
and Affordability Act" or HIMMA, attempts to expand health care access and
reduce insurance costs through the creation of small business health plans.
These plans, frequently called association health plans, offer insurance
coverage purchased through non-profit organizations on behalf of the small
businesses that make up their memberships.
However, if passed, the bill would take the unprecedented path of
preempting state insurance laws. As a result, insurance companies and small
business owners, rather than locally elected policymakers, would decide
which benefits consumers should have when they purchase health care. States
would have no recourse to protect residents and they would lose their
incentives to enact consumer protection laws in the future.
Moreover, S. 1955 also would preempt stronger state laws that limit the
ability of insurers to vary premiums based on health status, age, gender
and geography. For many older Americans and those with complex health needs
and disabilities, this would price them out of the health insurance market.
The diverse coalition opposing S.1955 includes groups such as the
American Diabetes Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the
American Cancer Society, the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers
and many others.
A list of coalition members opposing S.1955 can be found here:
http://acatoday.org/pdf/Groups-Opposed.pdf. For more information on S.1955,
visit the American Chiropractic Association's Web site at
http://www.acatoday.org.

[caligirl]

16. kick

[pokercat999]

17. First, kill all the CEOs.......nt

[yorkiemommie1]

18. kicking

and recommending