$10 Billion More for Community Health Centers will Revolutionize Care (Bernie Sanders)

[MH1]

Looks like Sanders thinks the good outweighs the bad in the HCR bill.

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/12/19-0

WASHINGTON - December 19 - A $10 billion investment in community health centers, expected to go to $14 billion when Congress completes work on health care reform legislation, was included in a final series of changes to the Senate bill unveiled today.

The provision, which would provide primary care for 25 million more Americans, was requested by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

He said the additional resources will help bring about a revolution in primary health care in America and create new or expanded health centers in an additional 10,000 communities. The provision would also provide loan repayments and scholarships through the National Health Service Corps to create an additional 20,000 primary care doctors, dentists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and mental health professionals.

Very importantly, Sanders also said the provision would save Medicaid tens of billions of dollars by keeping patients out of emergency rooms and hospitals by providing primary care when then needed it.

[xchrom]

1. It's so hard to craft useful stuff like this?

He's making them all looklike ass holes.

[JDPriestly]

2. I don't understand what these are. Are they under the rural health provision?

[cali]

14. Here:

http://www.chcb.org/

http://www.the-health-center.org/

[JDPriestly]

16. Sounds like Kaiser except that I think Kaiser is doctor-owned and

run for the most part. Kaiser is an excellent system. It is big enough to provide all the care you need.

Unfortunately, the health care bill that is now proposed does away with Medicare Advantage so we probably won't be able to enroll in Kaiser any more. I'm really upset about that.

[Ozymanithrax]

3. Bernie Sanders is a progressive, and knows what is possible...

I admire that man, but hope he can dodge the bus.

[HughMoran]

4. Good for you Bernie

Get as many positive changes you can get before it's too late.

[gateley]

5. Well I'm a bit more optimistic (or maybe I should say less bummed) if Bernie

sees some good in this.

I'm so weary of the whole thing. I just want it to be done and over.

[rollingrock]

8. That's pretty much the Senate and lobbyist strategy

they will wear you down to the point that you accept virtually any watered-down turd they want to pass just to get it over with. it seems to be a very effective strategy.

[gateley]

11. Yeah, I get that, but when somebody I trust presents such a view, I'm willing

to give it some thought. (Not that it matters what I think, anyway.)

[rucky]

6. Bernie's in, Sherrod's in, Weiner's in

then I'm in.

[pleah]

7. Mandates and women's rights are the trade off?

oh, that's worth it. :eyes:

[MH1]

12. I feel much better about the Nelson "compromise" after I saw Coburn and Hutchinson

whining about it on c-span last night. They talked about all the "horrible" (read for us, good, or at least less bad) ways it reverses Stupak.

Of course the key takeaway from their raving was that even if the House puts Stupak back in, they still won't support the bill. In other words, Dems have nothing to gain by caving in conference on this.

Mandates - I feel better about those given:

* the reasonable subsidies make it less likely to be burdensome on most people (the remaining issue is that it is also subsidizing the insurance companies. But that's just another front in a battle that's been long ago lost in this country. See: Military Industrial Complex, Prison Industrial Complex, health insurance lobby in general ... just for starters.)

* that some differential based on age is allowed. This will reduce the cost to younger people, who are most likely to be affected by mandates. And as long as you follow an insurance model, it only makes sense that higher-risk populations should pay more. (Health care should NOT follow an insurance model in my opinion. But as long as it does and that part isn't going to change any time soon, we can improve the way that model works.)

* plus the cost-margin ratio or whatever the heck it's called being limited to 85% (not the 90 we wanted but a damn sight better than what it is today). This means that profits to the insurance companies are limited. So they will get more subscribers but not be able to make as much money off each subscriber.

[rollingrock]

9. This is what I don't get

from the article

"Open to everyone, the centers care for patients covered by Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance as well as those who have no insurance."

so I think the logical question becomes, why are there mandates to purchase private health insurance if anyone can get free healthcare at one of these community centers? can't you opt out of private insurance by simply taking advantage of one of these public facilities?

(I've never heard of these places myself. are they limited to rural areas? if so, they wouldn't be very helpful to the majority of us urban dwellers.)

[smalll]

10. That sounds great! $10 billion will provide primary care for 25 million Americans?

Why don't we spend somewhat over $100 billion dollars and invest in community centers to provide primary care to EVERY American??? The cost of this monstrous bill is supposed to be over $800 billion dollars.

Seems like we could actually provide REAL health care for Americans by DIRECTLY subsidizing health care centers, doctors, nurses, and other health care workers. Instead, we are going to funnel hundreds of billions of dollars to the goddamn "insurance" companies, so they can skim even more off the top.

[rollingrock]

15. It sounds great, but who wants to bet it will probably die in committee?

just as they killed the state single-payer option and killed the public option, and most recently the Medicare buy-in....whatever the liberal democrats start hyping up, eventually gets killed because they always ending up caving in. there seems to be a very distinct and utterly predictable pattern here.

[cornermouse]

13. Around here they have urgent care clinics.

Let me see if I have this right.

First stop - community health centers
Second stop - urgent care clinics
Third stop - ER
Fourth stop - inpatient

It seems to me that there is a little bit of redundancy involved here...