My email about health care to Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar

[Eric J in MN]

Feel free to write or phone their offices using some of my words.

Please pass a health care reform bill with a public option which pays Medicare rates and which is available to any employer.

If the public option pays doctors as much as private insurance and doesn't get taxpayer
subsidies, then the premiums will have to be almost as high as private insurance,
and the goal of significantly slowing the growth of premiums won't be achieved.

Also, a bill in the House stops companies with 25+ employees from choosing the public option, unless the company gets special permission. That restriction means less competition for private insurers, and therefore higher premiums.

Please get through the Senate a public option with Medicare rates and all companies eligible.

[glinda]

1. It is "always" about employees and employers though.

So what if you cannot work because you cannot afford the surgery to address your illness. But you cannot qualify for being handicapped.
Pickle for some of us isn't it? Otherwise good point. But I am personally tired of hearing "employees and families". And at 54, never hear a thing about anything that addresses people like me who shell out hundreds per month for something that doesn't help me enough.. Thank goodness my husband is at least on Medicare.

[Eric J in MN]

2. If your family is under 4x the poverty level, then you wll probably...

...qualify for subsidies to buy insurance under the House health care reform bill.

There is a Senate bill with subsidies for up to 3x the poverty level.

[glinda]

3. hahahahaha! Husband is retired and on meds and I cannot work. Guess we will get

soaked financially just like we already are. We would benefit apparently by being totally poor instead of barely not making it each month and facing loosing our home at any instant especially if we take his retirement to pay for me. In fact, we don't make it each month but are not 3x under the poverty level. This sucks.

[Eric J in MN]

4. The subsidies in the House bill are for up to 4x above poverty...

...in that Senate bill are for up to 3x above poverty.

When I wrote "under 4x the poverty level" I meant any amount of income up to 4x the poverty level, which is adjusted based on the size of the family. Take the poverty level, mulitply by 4, and anyone with less gets subsidies.


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/health/policy/27health.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

"Under the House bill and a similar measure approved by the Senate health committee, premium subsidies would be available to families with incomes up to four times the poverty level, or $88,200 for a family of four. With income at that level, a family could be required to pay as much as 12.5 percent of its income in premiums under the Senate bill and 11 percent under the House measure."

"....The Senate Finance Committee is considering proposals to limit eligibility for subsidies, a move favored by some fiscally conservative Democrats in the House Blue Dog Coalition. One proposal would bar subsidies for people with incomes over 300 percent of the poverty level ($66,150 for a family of four.)"

[dflprincess]

5. Pelosi has indicated a willingness to

lower the income ceiling for subsidies in the House bill - while at the same time saying she'd be open to raising the income limit for the tax surcharge. (Hardly surprising that those making more may be the ones who get the break).

I wouldn't tell anyone to be encouraged by the income limits currently in the House bill even if they stay the same, they aren't all that realistic. The limit for a single person is $43,000 gross. They don't give you any credits for taxes or other expenses and, to date, that $43,000 is the limit no matter where you live.

The out of pocket deductibles/copays (now called "cost-sharing") is $5,000 for a single making $43,000 or more (plus whatever they have to pay on their premium which can be up to 11% of income - more than $400/month). Even if you make less than the limit, you're out of pocket expense will increase with your income. Out of pocket expenses this high still puts medical care out of the reach of many - but we will be required to hand money over for insurance and most of us will have to pay that money to a private insurance company.

The bill in its current form requires "access" to insurance but does not necessarily improve access to health care. All it really does is guarantee that we will continue to pay more and get less.

[Lifelong Protester]

10. I'm with you there

why is it always about 'employers and employees', doesn't congress understand that a lot of people have gone from 'employee' status to 'unemployed' status? that more folks can fall into the latter camp? What if you don't have kids (like me?) and therefore none of this stuff about 'family of four at 4x the poverty level' means a damn thing to me.

As I have said many times, I am tired of this whole health care reform being done piecemeal: a little more of this group, a few more of that group covered. You have to wait to see if your 'status' comes up in the health care lottery, whether is be age, family make up, employment, what ever? It is crazy. The Congress is wasting a lot of time trying to make a crazy quilt out of all of these little patches, and it STILL won't cover everyone.

[Eric J in MN]

6. Kicking to encourage others to write or phone their offices. NT

NT

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. You can sign up for an office meeting, here:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/officevisit?office=564&source=office_lookup

I don't know whether this is with the actual Senator/Congresscritter or staff, but it might be worth doing. Unfortunately all the meetings are during regular business hours, which leaves out those of us who work during those hours, which sucks.

[dflprincess]

8. Why do they do that?

They're hardly going to get a cross section of opinions if they set these up so the majority of their consitituents can't make it. Hopefully, people who have lost their insurance because of unemployment will attend otherwise it will be a lot of older folks on Medicare announcing they don't need no stinkin' government health care.

I'll give them this, it probably is a good idea to make people sign up in advance given what's going on at town halls. But they could have had a couple evening sessions.

[DFLforever]

9. These aren't being set up by congress members but by OFA.

They are informal walk-in type encounters that are being organized by the Pres - not formal meetings. They want people supporting health reform coming into local congressional offices all day every day over the upcoming week. And they are asking people to sign up ahead of time so OFA can coordinate and communicate.

It's interesting to me that they selected Amy's rather than Al's or any other congressional office. I would much rather visit Betty McCollum than Amy Klobuchar but I expect Betty needs a lot less persuasion and encouragement than Amy.

I plan to present myself as a Medicare recipient who understands that Medicare is indeed a government program and who thinks it should be extended to the general population.

[dflprincess]

11. Does Franken have his local office set up yet?

From what I hear, he needs to hear from us as much as Klobuchar does - though I hope the people who show up think like you and push Medicare for All, not the private insurance plans currently floating around Congress.

[mascarax]

13. Franken's address & phone

Per Obama's Organizing for America (OFA), Franken's address is:

316 N Roberts St.
Suite 615
St. Paul

651-221-1016

Office hours: 8:30 - 5:30

I don't know why they're promoting visiting Klobuchar, but there's an option to 'find another', and he's listed.

[mascarax]

12. I signed up for Friday to visit Klobuchar (OFA)

see The Velveteern Ocelot's link above...

DFLForever, did you go yet?

Anyone else going? I decided it was worth the drive and time from work. Because if these wingnut racists are showing up, then I need to show up somewhere too (no town halls, as far as I know). I'm very tired of the focus on ~25% when 71% want health care reform.

2 more friends laid off today too. Sad.