As heard on NPR's All Things Considered.
Health care reform promises to make insurance more affordable, which is good news for 19-29 year olds. That demographic tends to earn the least money and have the fewest protections, making them the most uninsured group in the nation. Youth Radio talked to five uninsured young people from across the country, so called “Young Invincibles,” asking the question “what’s the first thing you’ll do, when you get health insurance?”
Voices Include: Molly Adams of Chicago, Il, Javier Cabral of Los Angeles, CA, Kayla Sloan of Whitesburg, KY, and Nathan Hadden of Oakland, CA.
A note of caution before sinking your teeth into the idea of expanded federally sponsored dental coverage. While more protections will be offered to those younger than 21, for everyone else, dental insurance will be available through state-by-state exchanges. This bill doesn’t mandate carrying dental insurance.
Special Thanks to the Appalachian Media Institute
By: Emily Beaver
If you dozed off during the endless debate over health care reform, it's time to perk up. Members of Congress are planning to make a decision on a health reform bill this week.
So what's happening now? After political changes in January stalled Democrats' efforts to overhaul our health care system, President Obama stepped in. After February's televised health care summit, Obama said it was time for Congress to stop the endless debate on health care reform and take action. Democrats are worried that if they don't pass a health reform bill soon, reform will lose momentum as members of Congress break for Easter recess.
Obama has gone on the road to push for health reform, making his first stop at Arcadia University to rally support for reform. The Democratic party's leadership is counting votes (they need 216 votes in the House and 51 in the Senate to pass reform) and trying to convince members of their party who haven't agreed to vote for reform. Obama even took Dennis Kucinich, a Democratic Congressman from Ohio, for a ride on Air Force One to persuade him to vote for the health care reform. Republicans are mounting their own campaign to get lawmakers to vote against healthcare reform. Interest groups are dropping millions on advertisements to pressure lawmakers into voting against (or for) the bill.
While this is a big moment for health care reform, what actually happens in Congress this week may not be dramatic. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has suggested that members of the House of Representatives may try to approve the bill without technically voting on it, using a legislative tactic called the "self-executing rule." If Congress passes reform, the way Americans access and pay for health care could change drastically. But this isn't our country's first attempt at changing our health care system. If Democrats can't get the votes they need --or find another legislative maneuver to pass reform--it's quite possible that we'll still have the same health care system we've been complaining about for years.
At times, the health reform debate has reminded me of the noise a refrigerator makes -- after a while, you get so used to the monotonous hum in the background you automatically tune it out. If Congress doesn't pass reform now, the health care debate won't vanish. It will just keep humming in the background.
[UPDATE: The White House has starting posting the video in chunks. Part one is up, with more to follow.]
Riveting at points, boring as all hell at others, today's Health Care summit is the kind of politics we haven't seen before. The whole health care debate has been ugly, sometimes quite literally so. While there's been a fair amount of disingenuous arguments made around that table the crazy beautiful thing that happened today is this: we got to see them sit around that table.
Oh sure we've had CSPAN for ages, but can you really count footage from an empty Senate chamber as a real look at democracy? And yes, the politicians gave speeches to each other. We have to be a little patient, they're politicians after all. Anyone whose ever sat in on a high school debate tournament will recognize that the kind of person who grows up to be a politician isn't really trained to listen for anything but some leverage to use against the other guy. So it will take some time before this kind of thing produces real, rational discussion, but here's to baby steps.
Here's to America coming of age.
By Emily Beaver
As most of us were sitting down in front of our TVs to watch the Super Bowl last weekend, President Obama announced he would hold a televised health care reform summit on February 25. The summit is aimed at bringing Democrats and Republicans back to the table to talk about health care reform. Reform has stalled since Democrats lost a Senate seat in January.
If you haven't been paying attention, it's worth tuning back into the health care debate. What Congress decides to do -- or not do -- about health care will have a big affect on young adults, who are more likely to be uninsured than any other age group.
Aaron Smith, a Georgetown University law student and one of the founders of Young Invincibles, the youth advocacy group that's worked to get young people involved in the health care reform debate, says it's been challenging to keep young people engaged during the long debate. Smith says he thinks young people are looking for a signal that Congress is going to move forward with reform.
Krisja Hendricks, a 28-year-old New Yorker, says she hopes members of Congress will be able to "put politics aside and focus on helping people get affordable health insurance."
Hendricks, who has struggled to get health insurance after suffering chronic illnesses, has been speaking out about health care reform since Rock the Vote asked its members to submit personal stories about health care last year. In October, she spoke in support of extending dependent health insurance coverage--the length of time young adults can stay insured under their parents' health plans--at a press conference held by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
With the Senate's one o'clock in the morning vote to pass their version of health care reform now history, the United States lurches forward on the path to some kind of major overhaul in health care. While the rules of the game will be changing soon, the basics look likely to stay the same in the years to come: finding health insurance is going to be just as confusing and daunting a task as ever.
To help those who are just entering into the health care market understand what they're in for, we assembled a panel of our newsroom interns and let them question former health care industry reporter Emily Beaver. In this edition of "Health Care Conundrums", Sarah Hamik asks if you need a job to get insurance coverage.
While we're on the subject... our friends at Oakland North has this meaty piece on the prospects of an overhaul of Oakland's public health care system in the style of the "Healthy San Francisco" program. Check out "A Tale Of Two Cities, Health Care Edition".
In this episode of Health Care Conundrums, Derek Williams and Andrea Hill hit our health care blogger Emily Beaver with a two for one: when should a teenager start looking for health insurance and what is a good deal on health care?
Emily Beaver has been blogging about health care issues for us as part of our Generation Invincible project. In this new series of videos Emily takes her experience working for a health care industry publication-- where she boiled down complex government policies for health care professionals-- and flips it. The newsroom interns got together their questions about how health care works, and Emily takes their questions head on.
As heard on NPR's Morning Edition.
By Brittany Hunsaker
My nineteenth birthday was a bittersweet occasion. That day, I officially aged out of Kentucky’s insurance program for low income youth.
As luck would have it, I developed a health problem almost immediately. Pain in my teeth spread to my head and neck. Headaches made it impossible to concentrate in my college classes. I couldn’t see well enough to drive. Going to the doctor or dentist costs more than my weekly paycheck from a fast food restaurant. I had to choose between oral surgery and textbooks that semester. Textbooks lost, but luckily I made it through that class.
When it comes to healthcare, I do have options. Just not good ones. In the rural county where I grew up, it’s not just young people who don’t have insurance. Adults, unemployed or underemployed in minimum wage jobs are also without coverage. You can get healthcare there if you’re in a dire situation…like if you’re pregnant or recovering from drug addiction. I know a few girls who got pregnant just to afford a doctor’s visit, or had another baby just to keep their health insurance.
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(download mp3)Emily Beaver has been blogging about health care issues for us as part of our Generation Invincible project. In this new series of videos Emily takes her experience working for a health care industry publication-- where she boiled down complex government policies for health care professionals-- and flips it. The newsroom interns got together their questions about how health care works, and Emily takes their questions head on.
In this episode of Health Care Conundrums, Venus Morris asks a simple question: why is it called a health care PREMIUM?
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By Emily Beaver
When it comes to the health care reform debate, the lingo keeps changing. One day, everyone's talking about the public option and the next day it's health care co-operatives.With so many different ideas and plans about how to change health care in Congress right now, it's hard to keep up with up with all of the health care terms in the headlines.
Here are ten more health reforms terms you need to know to follow the debate:
Read more...
By: Emily Beaver
If you've been skipping dentist visits to save some cash, you're not alone.
Recent surveys say that many Americans, even ones who have dental insurance, skipped dental care in 2009 to save money. And people who don't have dental insurance, which is usually sold separately from health insurance, are even more likely to skip dentist visits.
Young adults, in general, are less likely to have health insurance than older adults or children. Many aren't offered health or dental insurance benefits at work -- and even when they are offered dental insurance, some young people choose to skip the extra expense of dental insurance. The Affordable Health Care for America Act, the health care reform bill U.S. House of Representatives passed Saturday, requires everyone to have health insurance, but it doesn't require everyone to have dental insurance.
"People are more likely to spend money on health insurance and skip over dental insurance," says Keith Mendonsa, consumer expert at eHealthInsurance, a company that lets people search for and purchase individual health and dental insurance plans.
By: Emily Beaver
Maybe you've heard President Obama talking about reforming health care or seen TV news reports about people protesting recent town hall meetings. But if you think health care reform doesn't impact you, it's time to tune into the debate.
One goal of health care reform is making sure that everyone can get health insurance, including young people. About 30% of Americans ages 19-24 don't have insurance, and one in seven teens doesn't have insurance, says Claire Brindis, Director of the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at University of California, San Francisco.
Many young people aren't covered by their parents' health plans, don't get insurance at work, can't afford to buy insurance or simply don't think they'll get sick. But if you get sick or injured when you're uninsured, you might not get the medical care you need or you may go into debt because of medical bills.
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Emily Beaver has been blogging about health care issues for us as part of our Generation Invincible project. In this new series of videos Emily takes her experience working for a health care industry publication-- where she boiled down complex government policies for health care professionals-- and flips it. The newsroom interns got together their questions about how health care works, and Emily takes their questions head on.
In this episode of Health Care Conundrums, Venus Morris asks a simple question: why is it called a health care PREMIUM?
By: Jennifer DePaul
Until an affordable public health care option is offered, many young Americans remain uninsured and unable to pay the high cost of healthcare insurance. As youth scramble to find alternative healthcare options and steer clear of the doctor’s office, there is one option many may not be aware of—free/low-cost/sliding scale walk-in clinics.
There are 8,692 such clinics nationwide and approximately 4,000 more unaccounted for, according to the non-profit NeedyMeds. The organization which started in 1997 has an online database that provides a list of state and federal government sponsored clinics.
The National Association of Free Clinics, a non-profit organization, defines free clinics as ones that are volunteer-based, safety-net health care organizations that provide a range of medical, dental, pharmacy, and/or behavioral health services to economically disadvantaged individuals who are predominately uninsured.
“These clinics offer a range of services from basic and specialty care to a full spectrum of healthcare services,” said NeedyMeds President, Richard Sagall. A clinic’s volunteer base is often an indicator of the services provided.
Sagall said the demand for free clinics is growing. Some have been established for decades while others don’t survive more than one year. He said it’s hard to monitor the status of all of the clinics, but during the difficult economic period many are closing because of a lack of funding.
Most of the clinics are independently run and dedicate themselves to providing free or lost cost healthcare services.
“Others can be found in churches or existing hospitals where they are a training site for students,” Sagall said. Predominantly these free walk-in clinics are found in lower income areas of a city, he said.
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