Band-aids for Healthcare
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Happy Friday Advocates
I would like to encourage comments and suggestions from you if you have time. If there is a special topic you’d like to see please let me know. Please use the comment button below. By the way lots of deep breaths help.
Healthcare Band-aid
I know we are. running towards the government shutdown cliff and that’s eating up all the oxygen to discuss anything else. But there is something else. I have my eyes open and I know that we have a little way to go to get enough Universal Healthcare votes this week. But in the meantime, 30 million of us live in medical deserts, places where there is one doctor for every 10,000 people or worse. That includes so many rural communities and help is needed.
Monday I wrote about a new bill in the Senate, sponsored by Senator Sanders (Vt) and Senator Marshall M.D. (Ks) to build more facilities in rural areas, provide more services, like vision, dental and mental health, and to get 60,000 nurses trained and 2000 doctors. Here is a link to the article so you can read all about the bill. It is now S. 2840, Bipartisan Primary Care and Health Workforce Act.
ACTION
Let’s let our senators know it is there and that we want them to support it. If you told them before you can tell them again with the bill number S. 2840. Here is their contact info.
Here is a sample script - you can send it via RESISTBOT from your cell phone by texting SIGN PZLYVA to 50409.
“I am your constituent, [name], in [zipcode].
Senator Sanders and Senator Marshall M. D. have reached a deal on landmark legislation to address the primary care crisis in America. It is S. 2840, The Bipartisan Primary Care and Health Workforce Act. It addresses the major shortages of nurses, primary care doctors, and other important health care jobs across the country. It will increase critical funding for community health centers, the National Health Service Corps, and Teaching Health Centers. I want you to cosponsor it and actively work to support it. It will help make sure that we eliminate the medical deserts that 30 million of us live in. Thank you.”
Health Claims Denials
We have reported previously that it is difficult to get state level data. From a consumer awareness point of view it would be nice to know the rate at which each health insurance company licensed in your state denies claims, and maybe the average cost of each denial. I have tried to get this data from a number of states and either they aren’t collecting it or aren’t sharing it.
Utah however does collect and publishes that data in the interest of consumer awareness. Here is a link.
Today I called the consumer affairs division of the Washington Attorney General’s office and recommended they collect and publish such data so we can all be better consumers. I included the link to the Utah data as an example. If you have a few free moments perhaps you’d like to do the same in your state.
EXTRA CREDIT ACTION
Contact your state’s consumer protection office (here is a link to find it) . Ask them to capture and publish health insurance claim denial rates, average value of each denial. You can send a link to Utah’s data as an example
RESOURCES
Healthcare Advocacy (Us)
Website
Our Newsletter resources including reproductive healthcare
Healthcare Advocacy Reading List
Find My Elected Officials
Contact the White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Contact State and Federal Representatives
https://www.commoncause.org/find-your-representative/addr/
Important Healthcare Resources
League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit
Organizations to Contact
National Nurses United Medicare4All
Physicians for a National Health Plan
Reproductive Health
NARAL - Pro Choice America
Charley. NARAL’s abortion resource
Planned Parenthood
Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has references about where to procure abortion medications. They also assist women in the process of self managed abortion or miscarriage by phone or text and will respond in an hour. Details and hours of operation at their website.
United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.
Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.
If you need financial help with an abortion try abortionfunds.org