“If John Campbell won’t give us a townhall meeting on health reform and the public option, we will bring one to him.” Boinus continued, “The Community is particularly incensed over Campbell wasting so much time over the ‘so-called’ ‘birther’ issue instead of engaging with his constituents about health reform.”
Congressmember John Campbell, (District 48 – South Orange County) has refused to listen to the voices of his constituents requesting a public townhall meeting on the issue of public option and health reform. Community leaders in South Orange County have organized to march on Campbell’s office in protest.
Alan Boinus, lead organizer from “Free Enterprise Advocates” said, “If John Campbell won’t give us a townhall meeting on health reform and the public option, we will bring one to him.” Boinus continued, “The Community is particularly incensed over Campbell wasting so much time over the ‘so-called’ ‘birther’ issue instead of engaging with his constituents about health reform.”
Organizers state that although Congressmember Campbell claims to represent what is perceived to be “conservative” Orange County, that in fact the Congressional district he represents voted for President Obama and the majority is clearly behind the idea of reforming health care.
If you’d like to attend, here is the event route map: Newport Center Dr & Santa Rosa Dr, Newport Beach, CA 92660
Link: <http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Newport+Center+Dr+%26+Santa+Rosa+Dr,+Newport+Beach,+CA+92660&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=30.268266,56.513672&ie=UTF8&ll=33.618068,-117.872379&spn=0.007755,0.013797&z=16&iwloc=A>
I think the cowardly car salesman is going to be a big no-show on Monday. Email me your photos of the event and we’ll do our darndest to post them at OJ! And remember to have fun while taking back democracy!
Here’s a map of the cities represented by the 48th District of California, FYI.
I’ll be the photographer for the MARCH and organizers…. I’ll send you the link to images on Monday evening.
Best –LOU
Lou,
Welcome to Orange Juice! We look forward to getting your event pictures. Please forward them to Art and myself.
apedroza@earthlink.net
rvixen@gmail.com
I wish you much success tomorrow. Thanks for standing up for the community and getting attention drawn to the very important issue of health care reform. It is absolutely important to hold our elected representatives accountable for the decisions they will make on our collective behalf.
Rv – –
I am a board certified emergency physician with 30 years of experience and have seen “America’s Emergency Safety Net” gradually erode. I have personally suffered episodic ill health due to work stress and am forced at the age of 56 to consider retiring from my specialty. Many of my colleagues are burned out and want to leave the specialty of Emergency Medicine. Government has mandated we see all comers but is reducing our compensation disproportionately.
Please help improve access to “real” emergency care and not increasingly overwhelm us more by your bureaucratic mismanagement.
While an Emergency Medicine Resident at Harbor-UCLA in Los Angeles County in 1982 I treated an overdose patient that was inappropriately transferred from a neighboring hospital. This case became one of the sentinel cases in California that resulted in anti-dumping statutes that later led to passage of Federal EMTALA in 1986. I worked on a California/American College of Emergency Medicine Committee with Michael Jay Bresler, MD, FACEP, who is given credit for establishing several legislative amendments during his tenure on the Cal/ACEP Board.
I therefore speak with some experience in helping to draft legislation to improve patient care outcomes when suffering emergencies.
Lets for a moment agree to disagree…
Having worked in an Urban ER for 7 years that serves primarily the indigent, I have seen that providing Managed-MediCal in no way guarantees access to care. Instead, it puts up more HMO barriers, and many frustrated patients have no alternative but to seek non-emergent and non-urgent advice at an Emergency Department.
I am afraid that the currently proposed AAHCA of 2009 (“America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009”) will guarantee coverage but does not guarantee timely access to care. Enrollees will be forced to stand in line at increasingly overcrowded ER’s.
My plan would be to provide vouchers for the patients declared “stable” by triage standard and who could be safely directed to affiliate-licensed Urgent Care Clinics for timely rapid evaluation and care.
The problem is, at present, this type of referral would violate EMTALA, and ER’s & Hospitals prefer the “bread and butter cases” waiting (for as long as takes) to fill in their “down-time”.
According to HealthDay News, patients on Medicaid already have difficulty accessing health-care providers, according to a recent national online consumer survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Health Research Institute. Nearly a third of Medicaid patients reported waiting 30 days or more or an appointment with a doctor. What’s
more, many Americans still use the emergency room inappropriately. According to PWC’s consumer survey, more than half of those who went to the emergency room in the last year did so for non-emergency reasons. http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20090807/hl_hsn/expandinghealthcoveragemaynotimproveaccess
Ten years ago and again last year, Harbor-UCLA ER (where I did my internship and residency) performed a study that showed that 10% of the LWBS (left without being seen) patients had significant morbidity and mortality within 24-72 hours of their initial attempted visit.
My plan would be to have these potential LWBS patients directed to the clinics for a timely evaluation.
The Canadian Plan is indeed an excellent plan for most patients. Problem is, doctors were guaranteed a significant salary increase by the government and they did indeed get it according to several Canadian friends I have spoken with.
No such plan seems to be feasible in the United States where there are no longer available financial resources short of increasing taxation. Instead, the present plan seems to further guarantee reduced reimbursement to US physicians.
This will not engender acceptance and may jeopardize real health care reform in the Unites States.
I DO believe there should be a National Health Care Plan.
I just do not agree that the present plan, as written, guarantees access to timely care… it is just false hope…
Respectfully submitted,
Mark S. Wagner, MD, FACEP
PO Box 338
Dana Point, CA 92629
310-218-3892
mswagnermd@cox.net
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