Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan is a group
of Indiana citizens who support a publicly
financed, privately delivered (single payer)
universal health plan at the state and national
level. HCHP is working to educate the public and
the legislature about the benefits of a single
payer plan. We are seeking individuals and groups
who have an interest in helping achieve this goal.
The U.S. spends twice as much as other
industrialized nations on health care, yet it ranks
only 39 among nations in terms of health outcomes
and we have 46 million without health coverage and
millions more with inadequate coverage.
Private insurance bureaucracy and paperwork consume
31 percent of every health care dollar.
Streamlining payment though a single nonprofit
payer would save more than $350 billion per year
nationally, enough to provide comprehensive,
high-quality coverage for all Americans.
HCHP is a state affiliate of Physicians for a
National Health Program and supports its goal of
national single-payer health insurance. PNHP Mission
Statement
This is Karen Green Stone.
Indiana stands to gain health insurance coverage for up to 363,000 lives if we participate in the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. According to a Harvard study on preventable deaths due to lack of health insurance, that number translates into 363 Hoosiers per year or 1 person a day who would be saved from a needless preventable death.
In my work toward a national health program, I've heard far too many people say that they are afraid to see a doctor because they can't afford health insurance.
The Indianapolis Business Journal reported November 26 that new projections from the Kaiser Family Foundation estimate that expanding Medicaid coverage as called for in the Affordable Care Act would cost Indiana less than $54 million per year on average over the next decade—far lower than projections issued by the actuarial firm hired by Gov. Daniels' administration. Additionally, Indiana would qualify for a $1.7 billion annual Federal contribution once the state made its own $50-60 million investment in the Medicaid expansion.
Close to half of Indiana's 800,000 uninsured may be eligible for coverage. Right now, according to current guidelines posted on the Indiana Medicaid web site, the income limit for a family of 4 is $346.50 a month or $11 per day. $11 per day income for a family of 4! That's scandalous.
As of January 2014 under the ACA, with Medicaid expansion, that income limit soars to over $30,000 for a family of 4 – two adults working full time @ minimum wage.
If Indiana doesn't sign on, it will be a public health and financial disaster for the state, and our Federal tax dollars will go to other states that do.
Rejecting Medicaid would be huge blow to Indiana, and our hospitals would take the largest hit. If Hoosiers are serious about "right to life", it begins with caring for the living, saving 363 lives every year.
Address why, not how, of health costs by
Jonathan D. Walker
Politicians and special interest groups are
always trying to control the debate over
health care. But there is one undeniable
fact: we are paying more for health care than
we ever have before.
People offer lots of explanations for this:
malpractice, fraud, private insurance,
obesity. All these problems contribute to the
rising cost of health care. However, the
primary reason is that there has been so much
money sloshing around our health care system,
and so many fragmented, for-profit entities
getting that money, that prices keep climbing
at a higher rate than almost anything else in
the economy. Read the full
editorial . . . .
Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne
Affordable health care is necessity and
public good for all Americans
By Edith Kenna - Edith Kenna is a resident of
Fort Wayne.
Why did Rep. Marlin Stutzman schedule his
health care forum on a Monday from 3 to 5
p.m.? Is he trying to avoid people who work
for a living? Is he just talking to the
corporate-level big shots of hospitals,
insurance and pharmaceutical companies? I
think he may be trying to avoid the folks
most affected by the passage of the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) -
the American citizen. Read
the full editorial
Paul Krugman,
Professor of Economics and International
Affairs at Princeton University is a
columnist for the New York Times. He won
the Nobel Prize in Economics in
2008.
ACTION NEEDED!
To the Indiana Congressional Delegation,
Representatives and Senators:
We the undersigned residents of Indiana
petition the Congress of the United States to
oppose Representative Ryan and the House
Budget Committee who have proposed ending
Medicare as we know it and replacing it with
a voucher program, a huge taxpayer subsidy to
the private insurance industry. The proposal
includes ending any Federal role in
overseeing the Medicaid program, freeing
states to balance their budgets by cutting
medical care to the disabled and poor.
Healthcare costs are a serious problem, but
cutting Medicare and Medicaid won't help.
Instead, we need to take the corporate greed
and waste out of our healthcare system, and
make healthcare a human right by extending
Medicare to everyone, Improved and Expanded
Medicare for All.
A MUST VIEW - 30 seconds with Ernestine:
Blind? Read the fine print! (Lily Tomlin as
Ernestine)
Comment: We have been saturated with
commentary since the passage and signing of
the trillion dollar Private Insurance
Industry Stimulus legislation. Lily Tomlin
provides us with a much needed break as she
reminds us, in her own incomparable style, of
the industry that Congress and the President
have so richly rewarded.
Check out the Huffington Post article and
click to "Become a Fan". Please
give this a read and if you are so moved,
post a comment and/or send the link on to
anyone you know who might be interested.
Group Says It's Fed Up With
Greed
POSTED: 12:07 pm EDT April 7, 2010
UPDATED: 7:36 pm EDT April 7, 2010
INDIANAPOLIS --They admit it's a tall
task, but a handful of WellPoint shareholders
held a news conference on Wednesday to push
the company to return to nonprofit status.
Dr. Rob Stone, an emergency room doctor in
southern Indiana and a backer of Hoosiers for
a Commonsense Health Care Plan, said that as
shareholders, they are fed up with rate hikes
and the company's profits. Read the full article.
"The Antidote to Despair is
Action"
Pushing WellPoint Back to Nonprofit?
By LINDA GREENE
When it comes to health care reform,
single-payer advocate Rob Stone, M.D., says,
"We're still for it, and we're
not done yet."
The need is undeniable. Over 46 million
Americans are uninsured, and a recent study
reported in the American Journal of Public
Health showed that 45,000 die each year
because they lack health insurance. Tens of
millions are underinsured, able to afford
coverage only with policies with gigantic
deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses. Read the full article.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A group of angry
shareholders have launched a campaign against
Indianapolis-based WellPoint. The small
coalition of groups gathered Wednesday. They
say WellPoint's "lust for
profits" is the problem and they want
the company to go "non-profit." But
the underlying issue for the group is more
reform. Specifically, they feel the health
care reforms just signed into law don't
go far enough. Read the full article.
Indiana Busines Journal - April 6, 2010
Shareholder group wants WellPoint to become
not-for-profit April 6, 2010
Saying WellPoint Inc. has failed to live up
to its commitment to provide "the best
healthcare value" for customers, three
shareholders of the Indianapolis-based health
insurance giant want it to convert to a
not-for-profit organization.
They have proposed that the company study the
feasibility of such a conversion. The
proposal will be voted on at WellPoint's
annual meeting of shareholders in
Indianapolis on May 18.
The proposal was disclosed Friday in
WellPoint's proxy statement. The three
shareholders-Rob and Karen Stone of
Bloomington and Julia Vaughn of
Indianapolis-will stage a press conference
about the proposal Wednesday morning in front
of WellPoint's Monument Circle
headquarters. Read the full article
OpEd by Dr. Rob Stone
Sent to the The Herald-Times, Bloomington, IN
Mr. Obama, "A Better Approach"
"If anyone from either party has a
better approach that will bring down
premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the
uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors,
and stop insurance company abuses, let me
know." In his State of the Union address
Wednesday night, the President admitted that
his plan for healthcare reform has run into
trouble. Read
the full Op Ed
We have the opportunity of a lifetime right
now to achieve universal health care in the
United States. While the economic recession
is making things worse for everyone, it is
also making it clearer that solving our
health care problem is a crucial part of
economic recovery. Right now is the time to
speak up. Our elected leaders need to hear
from us. We can be a part of the change we
want to see happen!
HCHP BLOG
For more information, links, and the opportunity to
share your ideas, please visit the HCHP
Blog.
The link to stay connected with the Health Care
Crisis and Reform initiatives!
Mission: Hoosiers for a Commonsense
Health Plan is a group of Indiana citizens
who support a publicly financed, privately
delivered (single payer) universal health
plan at the state and national level. HCHP is
working to educate the public and the
legislature about the benefits of a single
payer plan. We are seeking individuals and
groups who have an interest in helping
achieve this goal.
Protect, Improve and Expand Medicare
Petition.
