WISCONSIN (The Tomah Journal) - It's been 19 years since Marie was cancer free. And it has been 19 years since she had health insurance. Doctors tell her at 19 years of survival, she has the same life expectancy of a nonsmoker her age without cancer.
But don't tell the insurance companies. She has tried dozens of times and can't get insurance. The state's high risk health insurance pool won't work either.
"I don't mind paying for health insurance," she told me one beautiful day in May. "But the state's high risk pool would take more than half my income. And the Well Woman Program only does mammograms and pap smears. I am more than that."
It is National Women's Health Week. The United States Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Women's Health is encouraging women to make their health a top priority. One goal is to encourage women to get a regular check up and preventive care.
But having no health insurance is a major barrier to meeting this goal. And not taking time to take care of ourselves is a problem many women face.
Ignoring a woman's health comes at great peril to the woman and her family. The number one killer of women in the U.S is cardiovascular disease. The most common first symptom of heart disease among women is death. Only 13 percent of women see heart disease as a serious threat. There is a great deal of education to do.
Getting health education, a check up and preventive care starts with having health insurance. Frequently those without health insurance delay needed care until problems become very serious.
"If I had health insurance, I would have gone to the doctor quite a bit sooner," said Marie. Her cancer responded to six rounds of chemotherapy -- something she described as a "little death."
Cancer is second only to cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of death for both women and men in Wisconsin. The earlier cancer is diagnosed, the more likely the patient will survive.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Wisconsin women. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women with most, but not all, lung cancer deaths related to smoking.
"People who don't have health insurance don't treat minor symptoms and don't go to the doctor till they become catastrophic," said Marie. Yet, early diagnosis and treatment is the key to survival.
Some of the most serious health problems women face are not ones that usually come to mind. The leading cause of injury among women ages 15 to 44 is not car accidents, rape or muggings. Even combined, those three would not equal the number of women injured by domestic violence.
In 2005, nearly seven thousand Wisconsin women received refuge in a domestic violence shelter. That is an eight percent increase over the year 2000. The same year almost 1,500 people were turned away from Wisconsin shelters because no space was available. That is a 27 percent increase since year 2000.
Frequently domestic violence programs compete with roads, prisons, and education and health programs. Many health programs offered by the state are limited to women with children.
"I could get pregnant, be nursing or have a child under five and get health insurance; I could be a criminal and go to jail and get health insurance." Marie told me. "If I worked for a big company and was part of a big pool, I'd be covered. But I run a small business. I have 20 employees and can't get health insurance for any of them. I am an entrepreneur. I pay all sorts of taxes. And I'm being punished for running a small business."
Finding solutions to affordable health insurance for small business owners -- women and men alike -- is the focus of my and others legislative work this summer. The answers are not easy and will involve the cooperation and commitment of many.
The urgency of the situation is clear. The lives of woman and men are at stake. And the long term costs for all of us will be lower if we can bring people into our health care system for preventive care and early diagnosis and treatment.
Take time this week to care for the women in your life -- encourage them to take time for health. For women like Marie, it will take all of our efforts working together to find solutions that make health insurance affordable so she and thousands like her can meet the goals of Women's Health Week.
Democrat Kathleen Vinehout, Alma, represents the 31st state Senate District.
As published by Kathleen Vinehout on The Tomah Journal
http://www.tomahjournal.com/articles/2008/
05/26/opinion/02vinehoutcolumn.txt
TALLAHASSEE (Daytona Beach News-Journal) - With families and businesses struggling to afford health care, Gov. Charlie Crist and Florida lawmakers are moving forward with proposals that would allow people to buy cheaper, stripped-down insurance.
The proposals would reduce or eliminate required types of coverage that insurers and business groups have long argued drive up the costs of health policies.
Instead, people could choose policies that would provide fewer benefits at a lower cost. A Senate committee passed a Crist-backed proposal Tuesday that supporters say would cost about $150 a month for individual coverage.
Jim Cameron, a vice president of The Chamber, Daytona Beach/Halifax area, said the proposals could help as businesses struggle to deal with steadily increasing costs for health insurance.
"It's not a pretty picture," said Cameron, who lobbies for the chamber. "More of our businesses -- especially small businesses -- are having a difficult time in maintaining the health insurance as a benefit for their employees."
But Rep. Joyce Cusack, D-DeLand, said she is concerned that people could buy the stripped-down policies and later find they don't have the types of coverage they need for health problems.
"When they need it, they don't even know what they've got," said Cusack, a nurse who is a member of the House Healthcare Council.
With an estimated 3.6 million people lacking health insurance in 2006, Florida has one of the highest rates of uninsured people in the country.
Nationally, about 46.5 million lacked insurance, with the problem particularly affecting people such as young adults, minorities and low-wage workers, according to a 2007 Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation report.
A lack of insurance can cause people to forgo preventive health care, expose them to potentially devastating medical bills and send them to hospital emergency rooms for relatively routine care.
The legislative proposals focus, at least in part, on reducing about 50 requirements -- known as "mandates" -- that dictate benefits in health-insurance plans. The mandates cover a wide range of health issues but include such common things as covering mammograms and diabetes treatment.
The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee on Tuesday approved Crist's proposal that would create a system allowing people to buy coverage from two types of scaled-back plans. The coverage would be available to people ages 19 to 64 who are uninsured.
The plans would keep a handful of mandates, including preventive care such as mammograms and prostate screenings. One plan would provide catastrophic coverage including hospital stays, but the other would not.
Crist's proposal also would allow more families to insure children through the state's KidCare program. That program is largely designed to provide subsidized coverage to low-income families, but the proposal would increase the number of other families who could buy into the program without receiving state subsidies.
While senators moved forward with Crist's proposal Tuesday, the House likely will offer a plan in the coming weeks that would be more far-reaching.
House Healthcare Chairman Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, said that plan would eliminate mandates and allow consumers to pick and choose the types of benefits they want -- a concept he calls the "farmer's marketplace."
Depending on the types of coverage chosen, those policies could be cheaper than the plans sought by Crist. But Bean said he will work to reach agreement with the governor on a final proposal.
As published on Daytona Beach News-Journal
FLORIDA (Sun-Sentinel.com) - Evol Higgins, 28, can't wait to vote in the presidential election in November.
She says this country is ready for change, and she's eager to see reform in one of the areas most important to her:
The nation's health care system.
As a freelance Web designer, she isn't covered by company health insurance, and her salary isn't enough to pay for an individual plan. Yet, in the past year, she has spent more than $2,000 on two emergency room visits and $1,500 on a root canal.
"It will affect my vote, most definitely," she said of the national debate on health care coverage and costs. "I'm supposed to be on medication right now, but I can't afford it."
According to one recent poll of voters 18 to 29 by American University students, health care ranks as the age group's third most pressing concern, surpassed only by the economy and Iraq.
Statistics from a 2007 census report show Americans ages 18 to 34 have the lowest rates of insurance in the country, with one of every three uninsured.
Presidential candidates know this and are reaching out to young voters.
Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are advocating broader health care coverage.
Clinton's plan would mandate coverage for all Americans.
Obama's would require coverage only for children. Obama promises to allow young adults to stay on their parents' insurance until age 25.
Clinton recently co-sponsored legislation that would allow ill college students to take a year off from school without fear of losing coverage. Many plans now require full-time college attendance to remain on a parent's insurance.
Republican Sen. John McCain does not support universal health care. Instead, he would offer individuals $2,500 tax credit to help pay for their own health coverage. Such a measure could help young people who frequently switch jobs.
Some young adults in South Florida look at such campaign promises with hope, others with cynicism, as they prepare to cast their votes this November.
Here are some of their views:
College student can't afford health insurance
Name: Aruna Khan, 19, of West Palm Beach
Problem: Khan said she supports herself and can't afford even low-cost health insurance. She is a full-time pre-med student at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and works part time at a nursing home for $9 an hour. When she broke a toe last year, she decided to endure the pain rather than pay $1,300 to see an orthopedist to have her foot put in a cast. Months later, she still cannot straighten her toe, she said.
Political views: Khan prefers Sen. Hillary Clinton's health care plan because she thinks it will better guarantee that all Americans get health insurance.
In her own words: "It is quite ironic [I can't afford insurance]. One of my reasons to go into medicine is because I know a lot of people who are uninsured and I want to help."
Future machinist thinks universal care will hurt working class
Name: Daniel Black, 20, of Coral Springs
Problem: Black worries that a universal care system would increase bureaucracy, raising taxes that working-class people would have to pay. A student at Atlantic Technical Center in Coconut Creek, Black thinks that after graduation he will operate powerful machinery to drill, press and mill objects for manufacturing, a type of work with a high risk of on-the-job accidents. He expects his future job to provide health coverage.
Political views: He plans to vote for Sen. John McCain, in part because he does not like the health plans of Sens. Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.
In his own words: "Universal health care seems socialist. If someone needed something extreme, he'd be put on a waiting list and probably die."
Freelancer's job has no health benefits
Name: Evol Higgins, 28, of Plantation
Problem: Higgins' work as a freelance Web designer doesn't provide health insurance, and her pay is sporadic, adding up to about $18,000 a year. She has thought about buying insurance, but she's worried she couldn't make the payments and would fall into debt. Only weeks ago, she landed in the emergency room after she had an allergic reaction to seafood and vomited so violently she cracked a rib. The stay cost her $1,500. She is supposed to take medication for the rib, but she has decided to endure the pain rather than spend money on pills.
Political views: Higgins favors Sen. Barack Obama's health care plan. She likes its provision that would allow young people to stay on their parents' plans longer and thinks Obama would be best able to make his plan a reality. A native of the British Virgin Islands, she grew up with socialized medicine. She doesn't want that system but said there has to be a compromise between providing quality care and ensuring affordable prices.
In her own words: "I remember going to school as a kid and every two months, there would be a bus that would pick us up and go to the dentist for free."
Insured, but medical bills in thousands
Name: David Pfeffer, 31, of Margate
Problem: Pfeffer, who is studying for a master's degree at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, bought a low-cost insurance plan, but he said the company has fought him at every step. The insurer has refused to pay thousands of dollars in medical bills related to his asthma, he said. Fearing more refusals to pay, he has delayed going to see a cardiologist that his primary doctor recommended.
Political views: Pfeffer supports universal health care and thinks the political will to pass such legislation is at an all-time high among people of various ideologies. He fondly recalls being a college student in Britain for two years and getting quality health care.
In his own words: "I know if I got off the plane in England, I'd be covered. But here, I have to fight for it. We're the richest country in the world, and I have to choose between medication and eating."
Business owner with illness worried about being denied coverage
Name: Brian Brunette, 31, of Miami
Problem: Brunette became seriously ill with gastrointestinal problems after quitting his job and starting his own custom furniture and woodworking company. Luckily, he had temporary insurance that covered almost $70,000 in hospital bills. But he worries that once the insurance expires in the fall, no company will cover him because of his past illness.
Political views: Brunette, who considers himself an independent voter, said he is too busy running his business to pay attention to politics. He doubts any of the candidates' proposals will help by the time his insurance expires in the fall. He is torn on universal health care — he likes the concept but worries it will end up costing too much. He is leaning toward voting for Sen. Hillary Clinton. He doesn't plan to vote for Sen. John McCain, but Brunette agrees with him that frivolous lawsuits are increasing health care costs and should be stopped.
In his own words: "In other countries with nationwide health care, like Switzerland or France, you pay 50 percent taxes. One way or another, you're still going to pay for it. But something needs to be done."
As published on Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/sfl-flbhealthprofiles0519sbmay19,0,3579522.story
LONDON (BBC News Online) - One in three of us will be diagnosed with cancer during our life.
The disease tends to affect older people - but can strike at any time.
Excluding certain skin cancers, there were more than 270,000 new cases of the disease in 2001 - and the rate is increasing by about 1% a year.
Some cancer, such as breast, are becoming more common, while new cases of lung cancer fall away due to the drop in the number of smokers.
However, while the overall number of new cancers is not falling, the good news is that successful treatment rates for many of the most common types are improving rapidly.
BBC News Online has produced, in conjunction with Cancer Research UK, a guide to some of the most common forms of cancer and the treatments used to tackle them.
To learn more about different types of cancer, and to read the experiences of patients, click on the links below.
Guides to cancer
'I survived cancer'
Guides to treatment
Other Links:
