Health Care Town Hall with Lisa Murkowski – Be There!
Tonight Lisa Murkowski will be having a Town Hall meeting on health care. Mark Begich has already done this. I attended his meeting before it became all the rage in Republican circles to show up and stop discussion about the most important domestic issue we face. The audience was overwhelmingly in support of a public option. That’s before the right wing was told how to think. This is one of those opportunities where progressives and sane people need to show up and support the public option.
If you need a pep talk to make it there at 5:00 today, click HERE.
If you feel like being a roving boots on the ground Mudflatter, you can write your experience in the comments or send me an email.
Health care reform is a generational change that is desperately needed. Senators like Lisa Murkowski and other moderate Republicans really need to hear where you stand. Tell her your stories, ask her questions, stand against those who are ill-informed and have succumbed to fear and participate in your children’s future.
I’ll be looking forward to hearing from those of you who attended. The Alaska bloggers in NYC are with you in spirit.
Town Hall Meeting on Health Care with Lisa Murkowski
Dimond High School, Anchorage 5:00pm-7:00pm
I’m with you in spirit.
Hm, someone is going to have to go and represent for all the AK Mudpups in whose towns she is apparently not going to have town hall meetings; pretty please?
(At least we’re finally getting our first ever Governor’s Picnic though. Gonna go and say thanks to him!)
Count me in.
PLEASE GO! Find or make a sign to hold to show you are in FAVOR of the health care reform bill. Let the media see that we are in the majority. Thanks!
InJuneau, you are REALLY excited about that picnic, aren’t you?! =)
back on topic, my sister is going and I hope to hear something back from her..
Lisa is in a delicate spot. She is on the verge of breaking into the club and needs to appease the big boy Repubs. On the other hand, I’ve always gotten the impression that she actually does have a conscience. She needs to know that (1) there’s no boogyman in the closet – nobody in the room advocates government controlling health care and (2) we likely all agree on the basic issue – everybody in the room likely wants all Americans to have access to adequate care. So, how is she going to get us there? Does she favor a ban on insurers rejecting applicants due to pre-existing conditions (which will raise their costs)? If so, how does she propose to stop the rise and then lower the cost of coverage? Access that is not affordable is not access.
Gryphen–when you go (thank you!), and if you make a sign, you can put on there that you’re speaking for the greater AKan Mudflats community in supporting reform of health care if you want. I’m sure we’d all be behind you on that (well, at least I know I would be!).
boodog–it’s just that we’ve never been graced with one in the 15 years they’ve been going on. Then again, we’ve always been able to somewhat interact with previous govs, because they actually lived here.
We have a litmus test. We need a majority spread of 1400 pro- Public Option Alaskans. That’s all. Senator Murkowski said some really nice things about Justice Sotomayor, but said she must vote against her confirmation because 1400 Alaskans expressed to her they were “troubled” by the nominee.
Rally in Anchorage for health care reform!!
Remember all the red shirts who showed their rancor at the anti-discrimination ordinance proceedings??
Don’t let them do it again with health care reform!
The majority of people are in favor of reform…..get out there, people. Don’t assume your neighbors will show up. Call your neighbors and car pool to the TH meeting. Blow Sen. Murkowski away with your strength and conviction in the need for reform. Filet the lies!
Time to stop shaking your heads dolefully about right-wing tactics and do something positive about it!
I dream of mudflaters with video cameras live feeding to us who cannot be there.
Thanks to those who can be there. Will watch here later for up dates.
On my way -
Fox is using this man Dr Brian Day, a Canadian Dr, to fight reform in the US Healthcare.This is a good read before you go to the meeting. Very interesting….
http://thetyee.ca/Views/2007/07/19/BrianDay/
I have to stay home tonight.
My mom was born in Alaska in 1925. She can’t find a doctor in Anchorage who will accept new medicare patients. She’s a retired school teacher. No doctors in Anchorage are accepting new medicare patients.
I suspect Anchorage is the worst medicare town in the United States. Fairbanks accepts patients, Wasilla and Palmer do, Kenai doctors do too, but no doctors in Anchorage are taking new patients. Hope I’m on topic tonight.
I am with you all in spirit. Wish I could be there in person!
This is being broadcast on AM 700 KBYR right now, so tune in if you can.
http://www.kbyr.com/
click on listen live. The Senator is speaking.
I just joined Lisa Murkowski’s FB page… you can also watch the Town Hall – Live… (I’m in the middle of fixing a vehicle, so couldn’t make it.-darn!)
Lisa Murkowski ON THE WEB: Sen. Murkowski’s health care town hall will be streamed LIVE at http://www.aknewsroom.com/. If you’d prefer to listen to audio only, it will be streamed at http://www.kbyr.com under the ‘listen live’ link.
Listening Live and Lisa is towing the party line.
Oh boy here we go with the Socialism comments
Lisa is sorta agreeing with the Socialism comment…she also got Booed!
Good for Al…he wants more working together.
Lisa, she is towing the party line, and I agree, she did say she’s concerned about socialism.
She hasn’t mentioned the “Pubic Option” (sic) yet. =)
guy in the brown shirt wants gov not to grow, and complaining about a guy from the UK that needed surgery but had to go to NYC to get the surgery.
I’m sorry they are complaining about gov’t spending, but what is coming out of the people speaking is they want health care, they just don’t think the govt can provide it.
ex-doctor talking about a co-op, non profit medical program
Senator wants tort reform, basing it on doctor’s doing extra tests so they won’t get sued later on.
LOL…good question from the lady who wanted to know WHAT this health care reform, co-op, Lisa kind of answered the question.
WOOWOO! My part of Pennsylvania on health care (still working with my House mbr – a Rep):
(BTW: Trisha Urban’s story made me weep and weep – same for all attendees)
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Bob Casey Jr. arrived in Cambria County this afternoon armed with a PowerPoint presentation, three panelists to tout health care reform and a copy of the bill passed out of his Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
But Mr. Casey didn’t need a ton of ammunition to win over the crowd at a town hall meeting on health care at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. In contrast to the raucous events Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., has held around the state, there were no disruptions at today’s event and most of those in attendance wore stickers or other paraphernalia announcing their support of reform.
Mr. Casey began with his panelists, including Trisha Urban, 33, of Hamburg, Berks County, whose husband died in February after the couple was dropped by their health insurance carrier and they could not get coverage because of his pre-existing heart condition.
The senator then gave a presentation that described the bill that passed from his committee — though he was careful to note it is far from the final version. The House has its own versions, and the Senate Finance Committee still must draft a bill. He also stressed the reforms aimed at insurance companies — making it illegal to impose a lifetime cap on health expenses, for example.
Mr. Casey then took a handful of audience questions, most of which were supportive of the plan. He took the opportunity to defend the “public option” — a government-run alternative to private insurers that citizens can buy into — despite concerns that it might not end up in the Finance Committee bill, and news reports this week indicating the White House might be willing to give it up.
“I’m listening to what Alaskans are saying to me” direct quote. We need to let her know.
Now . let someone answer this young lady’s question. Why were they not concerned with money spent on war but now its a big deal.
What a wonderful statement by that student!
What a pi** poor answer
Oh, brother, this old woman is reading from a Fox News talking points memo….ack!
Another Sarah Palin nobrainer
Keep waffling on a concrete answer for that nurse who’s been waiting for 16 years, Senator….
Sen. Murkowski, its been too dang long already. How much longer do you want to wait. They have been talking about it for years and your party still trys to stall it..
Huh? Is a Revolutionist” another name for a AIP member? That guy was about as articulate as a birther or one of those Medicare oldsters who want the government to keep hands off their Medicare!!
It was your party who cut it off. Say it like it is and speak the truth for once.
IO don’t know about the rest of you but all Sen. Murkowski has done since I have been listening is double talk. She hasn’t answered one question that I have heard with anything but spin. She doesn’t commit to one thing.
Wow that was depressing, really she seems to have no empathy,
Did you happen to notice it seemed like they were going from blue shirt to red shirt, I only heard one the lady in the black sweater. I thought the red shirt blue shirt thing was about another issue.
Ok all kidding aside, my connection kept skipping out did any of you hear them discuss pre-exhisting conditions?
I heard “oh here are somr charts” we have about the uninsured, though that does not answer the questions about the high cost for insurance.
@ 17 zyggy and @ 18 Polly
Thanks folks for the links, that worked great. While it’s great to get the feedback via these wonderful live feed bloggers, it’s sure easier to watch it in real time! I agree, Sen. Murkowski may be articulate but it sounded mostly like doubletalk.
I listened to the live feed for Lisa’s town hall A lot of questions came up and yes she did veer away from answering questions about why it has taken so long never saying directly that it was the republicans who shot down the Clinton bill at least for the most part.I noticed that she did not correct the man who said something about he did not want communist countries handling his meds or insurance.WTH is he talking about Canada,England and Australia are not communist as far as I know and those are maybe the three countries I have seen that will sell meds with a prescription..Lisa said nothing to correct this man.Personally I like my pharmacist and prefer to get my meds close by,but than I am not spending thousnads ,just about 250 a month for meds..At least no one bought up DP unless it was bought up before I got in.Night all
The “socialist” comments really make very little sense.
We have utilized programs in this country which are for the betterment of all. But using “social” programs will not make this country “socialist” because we will continue to elect our reps, senators, presidents, governors, mayors, etc.
As for LM in particular, she needs to decide whether she’s for America or the party of Grumpy Old Men. Once she makes the correct decision, then there’s hope that she might actually be a half-decent United States Senator. But until then… expect to often be disappointed.
jojobo1 Says:
August 20th, 2009 at 7:04 PM
I listened to the live feed for Lisa’s town hall A lot of questions came up and yes she did veer away from answering questions about why it has taken so long never saying directly that it was the republicans who shot down the Clinton bill at least for the most part.I noticed that she did not correct the man who said something about he did not want communist countries handling his meds or insurance.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I believe what he is referring to is the fact that many Pharmaceutical companies not only charge their own countrymen more for drugs, but don’t even manufacture those drugs in this country. They farm out the manufacturing to Eastern Europe. Thus we get a double whammy; high cost drugs and lost jobs.
Anybody who still believes that Insurance and drug companies give a rat’s patoot about any of us other than as contributers to their “bottom” line, is sadly lacking common sense!
Just got back from the health care forum. Lisa’s main comment “We need to wait, take more time, etc”. The Republican line, we don’t want to do anything. She didn’t have any specifics about what should be done, just what she didn’t want. She supported the idea that we should leave current health care alone, and just do something for those FEW people in the country who don’t have health care (only 11-12%) Not sure where she got her numbers. Nothing about the fact that our current health care system is bankrupting the country and is unsustainable. Some of the old people were real scary! She talked negatively about any government run program (VA, IHS, etc) as models of inefficiency, and was happy to spread stories about how bad the Canadian system is. One in particular, she talked about a man who was forced to wait 4 years for a knee replacement (till he was 60), because the knees only last 15-20 yrs and they didn’t want to do it twice. I hate to tell her, but the practice is the same here in the US. It is medically better to wait as long as possible because it really ISN’T a good idea to do it twice. In the meantime, you do treatments to reduce pain and improve function. Too bad spreading rumors and lies is so much more fun then the truth! There was only 1 racist type comment, from a LOL who apparently couldn’t afford her meds.
I was injured in an accident in November (a store nearby left the trapdoor to the basement open; I walked right into space & ended up headfirst on my back on the attached ladder/staircase). I paid for an orthopedic surgeon, X-rays, MRI, supplements, a prescription for pain meds (which I stopped after a week), and months of physical therapy. Even adding all of it up, and dividing by the number of months since the accident, what I’ve paid every month is far LESS than the cost of a meaningful individual insurance policy (I’m self-employed, so no employer-provided insurance for me for more than 20 years now). We need a public option NOW.
I hope it’s fruitful!
p.s. to above — Had I needed surgery (I did not), I might well have joined the legion of medical bankrupts. The orthopedist thought I might have folded the meniscus, but it was 3 torn ligaments (medial, ACL & PCL), multiple fractures of the tibia, and a severe bone bruise. I’m healing, but my bank account is running on empty. Thankfully, it could have been much worse. I was “Lucky.”
Hey, my take on “socialized” medicine is, it’s kinda in the bible, if you read the “which of these commandments is the greatest” portion. And the “who is my neighbor” part. Wicked people like to call us liberals bleeding hearts on this stuff, but we are ALL in it together, and we ALL have to help each other out, and that is what J E S U S taught–don’t be calling on God to do that which you can do for each other!
Amen. WWJD? He’d take out his whip and clear those halls of the hypocrits!!
Eyerollery and Headbangery for sure!!
I just got home and sat through the whole thing. My impressions are somewhat different than others here, I think. She started out by using her handouts to show on a graph why health care reform is absolutely necessary based on the increasing and unsustainable costs. She advocated for making sure that people in places like Alaska could actually get health care – saying that having a card that said you are entitled to care and having a health care provider are not the same thing. The card will do you no good if you live in rural Alaska and have no one to provide you with health care.
She talked about the great complexity of the problem, about different proposals that had been made, about the legislative process and never talked down to her audience or pandered to the negativity, though I agree that she could have corrected a couple of folks on some ridiculous comments, but she did keep to the topic of health care.
She advocated for incentives for more people to go into health care fields including nurse practitioners, nurses and others who fill the gaps in places like Alaska rural villages where no doctor is willing to work and live.
Bottom line for Murkowski seemed to be – we can’t ignore this issue or wait for it to go away – it has to be dealt with. Health care reform has to happen but is it just health insurance or is it also health providers, tort reform, increased reimbursements for medicare and other issues? And she says wants to take the time to do it thoroughly and so that it will benefit Alaskans and other rural states.
That was my take – and I have said before and will say again – I may not agree with her, but thank God for Republicans like Lisa Murkowski who has a brain and is willing to use it. I felt she was reassuring the more ‘conservative’ folks by listening to them while clearly conveying the message that health care reform is something that needs to happen for the good of the everyone – - one of the things she said was that it can’t be solved by the Democrats alone, because it isn’t a problem that only applies to Democrats – neither is it a Republican problem that needs a Republican solution. – I rather like that -
Writing from Alaska: Thank you for your thoughtful recap. Murkowski is correct that this is a complicated multifaceted issue. Someone put in the madashelldoctors.com link the other day. They have a video that does a great job explaining the issues. I highly recommend it.
@WFA: I did not listen to the session. She’s your Senator, not mine. I very much appreciate your commentary, but I have to say that it appears that Murkowski is spouting a standard version of “Oh it’s complicated, we have to take more time” … and then nothing will happen.
I certainly don’t mean to imply that it’s not complicated. Physical presence of health care providers in rural areas is certainly one problem. On the other hand, I would ask: if you were living in a rural area, and had no “card” that entiltled you to health care, would you rather have the “card” (although the nearest provider might be a long way off), or would you rather have a local provider and no “card”? I know what my choice would be.
Beyond that, the mechanics of encouraging healthcare providers to relocate to rural areas must occur on a longer timescale than, say, mandating universal insurance coverage. Indeed, the presence of lots of rural citizens with “cards” might well be an incentive for providers to move into the bush.
But, in any event, this is a matter that is on a different track from the core concepts of the current legislation — universal coverage and universal participation.
Similarly, tort reform and medicare reimbursement are almost details, compared to 50 million citizens without insurance. As it happens, despite being somewhat left of Nancy Pelosi, I think both of these are very important issues. But, like the problem of inducing providers to cover rural areas, they are largely disconnected from the crucial matter of providing coverage (at least theoretical coverage) for all.
Anyone who suggests, as does Murkowski, that legislation to provide universal access to insurance should wait until these other important matters are addressed is, in my opinion, just trying to run out the clock so that nothing will happen. This is especially obvious in cases where the staller (e.g., Murkowski) has not made any proposals regarding the issues being used as an excuse for stalling. It’s not like problems with the US health care system are news or anything.
She’s your Senator, so my opinion is irrelevant.
She says she wants to bring in more nurses, but it is well known all over the country there is a problem, a severe one, with workplace bullying here. Something has to be done about the sick serial bullying which goes on in the rural areas before nurses will come here in large numbers. The other thing is the board of licensing is not supportive of nurses. It was appointed by Palin. The director does not know what she is doing(I wonder what her relatioship to Palin is). There is a lot of stress in nursing and sometimes things happen such as drug diversion. In most states the nurse goes to counseling or treatment and the board monitors them for a period of time. In Alaska nurses get arrested and charged with felonies and go to prison. Also in the rural areas they practice nursing and medicine in a very backwards way. So, who the hell would want to come here if they know what it is like. They can only get the uninformed to go to the bush and most of them run screaming to the airport within three months.
I listened to part of the town hall meeting. What I heard sounded like the standard republican “no”. Take time to come up with reform? It was first proposed in 1945. Time’s up. Creeping socialism? Standard rightwing boogeyman. It’s been used to try to prevent school meals, social security, medicare, and Pres. Obama’s election.
Tort reform? The republicans try to tack that on to everything. Maybe 1/2 of 1% of medical costs relates to malpractice claims. (The human cost is very much higher!) Tort actions are the individual’s only power to fight back against corporations that factor your pain and suffering (and death) into their overhead costs.
Medical error is the 8th leading cause of death in the US. The amount of medical error is rising. It’s not about running more tests. It’s about washing hands, taking out the trash, and reading the bottle to make sure it’s the right medication. Maybe when medical personnel can get to know the patients and spend less time on insurance paperwork, they can return to the practice of medicine. And wash their hands. There is more information on this topic here: http://www.themudflats.net/forum/index.php/topic,7927.0.html
Lani said…Medical error is the 8th leading cause of death in the US. The amount of medical error is rising. It’s not about running more tests. It’s about washing hands, taking out the trash, and reading the bottle to make sure it’s the right medication. Maybe when medical personnel can get to know the patients and spend less time on insurance paperwork, they can return to the practice of medicine. And wash their hands.
When I worked in a bush hospital they did not have alcohol gel and the nurses rarely washed their hands. I asked the manager for alcohol gel and she got me a bottle. They would hide it from me several times a day. Cleaning equipment between patients was unheard of. They told me I had OCD. I tried to clean the med cart one day and someone yelled at me. When we got a MRSA patient I told them he needed to be in isolation. They told me we all already had it so isolation was not necessary. The craziest thing was they told me no patient ever died from it. I told them I had taken care of several people who had including two who died of MRSA pneumonia. I tried to get the doctors to write orders for isolation and they did not. It is in all the villages now. The quality of the nurses is directly correlated with the outcome. They are churning nurses out of programs which are just thrown together now. We call them cookie cutter nurses. They do not have the knowledge base to give quality care. There will always be errors when humans are involved, but research and education does reduce them.
CRFlats @ 9 comment is very important IMHO. It’s (similar to) the reason given by Dan Sullivan for his veto of the anti discrimination law. It’s the reason being given all across the US for going along with the minority public opinion.
When the minority emails, calls and yells the loudest they get their way and the majority gets screwed. Complaining about it after the fact does no good, the time to act is NOW. We need to encourage everyone to speak up.
And Lee323, I like your rallying efforts (o:
These are excellent points and I hope these comments make their way to Senator Murkowski’s office. It can’t hurt! She has a website where you can send in your input. I used it recently as well as Don Young’s and Mark Begich’s. Please send them your information and insight!
Thanks Gramian I never even thought about some of our drugs manufactured elsewhere,never gave it a thought that it was even done.Although I know some of the bigger drug companies are over seas.Still if you look at the cost in other countries than look at what those same drugs cost us in the US it is crazy.’Madeline My ex had the same thing happen,he had to wait 6 years before he could even talk about a knee replacement for the very same reason.His private,employer financed insurance said if he had it when he needed it he would have to have another before he died.They made him wait over 5 years barely able to walk and taking pain meds every day to get thru,That is also nuts. And Lisa M brings up another countries health system.We are not talking single payer insurance like Canada or England have .the Us Has to many people for that to work effectively.Now we have someone who worked effectively to shut down health care during the Clinton Administration doing the same thing now or at least trying,Jon S. put her in her place very effectively. IMO He showed that she did not know what she was talking about.I guess the same words mean something different in People opposed to any kind of reform.
Here’s a health-care-related “viral video” that I found a link to on HuffPo.
I guess it’s the answer to the well-heeled Betsy McCaughey, the majority of our paid-for-by-lobbyists elected representatives, and some of the noisiest of the astroturfers…