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  1. Marijane Harris from somebody who knows you. Your a whiner and a cry baby with the amount of money you took from.your dad with a power of attorney before he revoked it you should be wealthy enough to buy all kinds of health insurance.

  2. Your whining .Stop looking for a damn handout and pay for your insurance like everyone else has to
    Hell even people disabled on social security have to pay for thiers
    Damn I think the disabled and retired should if anyone get some kind coverage that don’t break them.

  3. OBAMA STOP THIS UNGODLY HEALTH CARE YOU ARE TRYING
    TO PASS. LISTEN TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, DON’T TRY
    TO RUN OUR LIVES. AMERICAN IS STILL A GOD FEARING
    NATION AND DO NOT TRY TO TAKE IT AWAY. ONE DAY YOU
    PEOPLE IN WASHINGTON IS GOING TO GIVE ACCOUNT WHAT
    YOU HAVE DONE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

  4. There is so much to say so I will stick to the broad strokes:
    * Cut the BS, listen to the Darmouth research and the Kaiser CEO, about 30% of current care is unnecessary and much of it dangerous.
    * Politicians need to keep asking themselves why comparable treatment in other countries is about 25% of the cost here. Maybe cars and healthcare shouldn’t be built or provided in America. There are too many pigs at the trough, provider heads need to shrink as well.
    Unfortunately people seem to what to talk about switching payors rather than the much more difficult questions.
    D.

  5. Neglect is the silent killer in our nation’s nursing homes. By some estimates, malnutrition, dehydration, bedsores and infection – caused by neglect – account for half of nursing home deaths and injuries.
    There would be a much higher level of care given to residents if adequate staffing were provided. But, for-profit nursing homes, the desire for profit margins translates into less staffing at nursing homes, less training for the staff that they do have, less food (or a lower quality of food) for the residents, and less management and oversight.
    A conflict arises between saving dollars and providing good care. Administrators benefit from the amount of profit generated by the nursing home they manage, usually paid annual bonuses based on bed-count. They must choose between increasing the profit margins of their individual facilities or supplying more support staff for the care of residents.
    Even nursing home abuse may occur because of the desire for profit. Caregivers who work in nursing homes are often stretched beyond their ability. They try to do the best job that they can, but the lack of additional support restricts what they can do to help residents.
    The House and Senate introduced the Nursing Home Transparency and Quality of Care Improvement Act of 2008. However, it is unlikely that this legislation will come before the chambers for consideratlion before the 110th Congress adjourns at the end of this year. Consequently, this bill needs to be reintroduced in the next 111th Congress and get this much needed legislation passed and implemented.
    The bill increases the transparency of nursing home ownership, ensures that residents and their families have information about the quality of care at these facilities, and strengthens enforcement of nursing home compliance with quality of care standards.
    The bill enables nursing home residents and government regulators to better know who actually owns the nursing home and who controls the decision-making that impacts the quality of care provided. In addition, the bill improves the reporting of information on staffing levels and direct patient care expenditures.
    In addition to increasing transparency, the bill takes additional steps to improve the quality of care. The bill puts patients first, by requiring advance notice of home closures, standardizing the nursing home complaint process, and establishing specific processes and consumer protections for complaint resolution.
    The bill also improves staff training to include dementia management and abuse training as part of pre-employment training. The bill improves accountability and enforcement by mandating that homes establish compulsory ethics and compliance programs, making civil monetary penalties more meaningful, and studying the feasibility of new independent monitoring requirements.
    While the bill proposes collecting accurate information about nurse staffing by comparing it with payroll records, mandatory staffing levels is not in the nursing home bill. Many states fought twenty world-wars to get mandatory staffing levels, even then, it was constantly being attacked. Without sufficient staffing levels, residents do not receive even basic humane care, which translates into even more taxpayer dollars down the drain.
    Federal law only requires nursing homes to provide sufficient staff and services to attain or maintain the highest possible level of physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of each resident, and we know this is insufficient. Minimum standards need to be raised because nursing home operate at just that level – minimum.
    There have been numerous federal bills requiring various mandatory staffing levels, only to be defeated or die on the vine. Now is the time for those mandatory staffing levels! There is a crisis in our nation’s nursing homes, and the residents there need our help!

  7. I am really concerned how chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardio-vascular diseases, lung diseases and others account for such a large part of the overall healthcare costs. Studies show that approximately $1.5 trillion out an over all $2 trillion is spent on chronic diseases. This is huge! I would really like Pres.-elect Obama’s healthcare plan to seriously address the issue of chronic but preventable diseases. It will be tough, I know; rest of America need do their part too, but preventive measure taken now will make Americans healthier and reduce the cost of healthcare overall. Chronic disease prevention has to be a major part of any health reform from the next administration.

  8. Dear Sirs,
    I am gravely concerned over the lack of health care for persons like me. I am a woman who is 62 yrs old I had to undergo spinal fusion serveral years ago, and now am having severe pain in the area. I do not have health insurance nor does my employer offer it. What am I to do now, I live paycheck to paycheck with no money for extras. I cannot afford to pay for surgery should it become necessary. I have to work I am single and have no means other than my job. Why in this country are people like me left to deal with these situations. With no insurance coverage, no doctors or hospitals will even deal with those like me and I’m sure there are many more like me.
    Sirs, we need help and not just more empty promises llike the last 8 yrs. I voted for you, President Obama, please, please we need help now.
    Thank you for your help and response
    Marijane D. Harris

  9. A RETURN TO COMMON SENSE WOULD DO THE USA AND THE
    WORLD SO MUCH GOOD
    THE WPA DID SO MUCH AND DID NOT APPEAR TO DEMEAN ANYONE…BRING IT BACK TO REPAIR AND REDO OUR NATIONAL
    SYSTEMS
    A TRAIN IS EASIER ON POCKETBOOK AND OZONE..BRING THEM BACK TOO.
    AGING POPULATION NEEDS CONSIDERATION LIKE BENCHES AROUND TOWN, AT BUS STOPS, MORE
    LIMITED BUSES SO IF GOING 30 BLOCKS YHOU DONT HAVE TO STOP AND RIDE 15 TIMES BUT 3. THEY SHOULD HAVE A SPECIAL COLOR STRIPE SO EASY TO DENOTE.
    IF COSCOS AND OTHERS CAN SELL DRUGS SO CHEAPLY THEN all drug MERCHANTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO SO TOO. IF IT IS A QUESTION OF VOLUME THAN HAVE COOPERATIVES DO THE BUYING AND DISTRIBUTION.
    THE VA SHOULD HAVE ON LINE PROGRAMS AND MEDICAL HOTLINES FOR DOCTORS IN NON METYRO AREAS SO THEY CAN SEE LATEST TREATMENTS FOR WAR RELATED CONDITIONS. DOCTOR IN kANSAS CAN FIX A TRACTOR
    INJURY BUT WHAT DOES HE KNOW ABOUT LAND MINES?
    DONT REINVENT THE WHEEL, ESTABLISHED ORGANIZATIOANS NOW KNOW HOW TO HANDLE ALCOHOLICS, DRUG ABUSE, KIDS WITH
    EDUCATIONAL DRAWBACKS, MAKE THEM STANDARD NOT EXCEPTIONAL
    PRACTICES IN ALL COIMMUNITIES. sERVICEING THE PEOPLE CAN BE DONE WITHOUT THE CHURCH/STATE STIGMA REARING ITS
    UGLY HEAD.
    ALL THE WISDOM OF AMERICA CAN RALLY AROUND IMPROVEMENT
    AND OH IF YOU HAD A 30 YEAR MORGAGE, MAKE IT A 40 AND PAY IT OFF.
    I AM SO PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN AND IF HALF OF WHAT WE SPEND AROUND THE WORLD GETS SPENT AT HOME HOW GREAT IT
    WILL BE.
    JE/NYC/SENIOR CITIZEN OF THE USA