"Rx For U S Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the...

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Copyright © 2010, Trans-American Alliance for a National Consensus ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Please read our position paper at Please read our position paper at http://www.transamericanalliance.org http://www.transamericanalliance.org Beyond The CLOSED-FORUM in Congress Beyond The CLOSED-FORUM in Congress Healthcare Reform in America: Healthcare Reform in America:

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ONLY YOU, WITH YOUR CHECKBOOK$, CAN BRING ABOUT “TRUE” HEALTHCARE REFORM! A Proposal for a Consumer Union-like Approach to "Nonprofit Community Health Plans & Insurance" and An Independent “Nonprofit Health Insurance Exchange” to Operate Autonomously of the U.S. Government and Antitrust-Exempt “For-Profit/Big Health Insurance” Monopolies Dear Fellow Americans & Concerned Healthcare Reform Advocates: After following this year-long, on-again/off-again Congressional legislative process for Healthcare Reform, I’m guessing like many of you — fellow Americans — the level of frustration, anxiety and lack of utter empowerment leaves us wondering what was the entire point of this CLOSED-DOOR/CLOSED-FORUM Congressional “exercise in futility” all about from the beginning? Is this 1994 all over again, with the collapse of the Clinton Administration’s own, largely internalized Healthcare Reform initiatives? Actually, this deliberate Rat Hole-like maze stonewalling of Healthcare Reform goes back over 100 years and has emboldened For-Profit/Big Health Insurance for nearly the last 65 years of the antitrust-exempt status that the federal government bestowed upon them to “institutionalize” the criminality of our “Have or Have-Not Healthcare” patchwork quilt. And now, Republicans and some “Blue Dog” Democrats want to scrap the eight or so Byzantine draft healthcare reform bills and head “back to the table” with a new “Healthcare Summit” later this month — with all of the ground rules and major negotiating points “entirely” framed by our elected representatives, all of whom have been long-time beneficiaries in millions of dollars of Big Healthcare contributions. Something seems rigged here, again, unfortunately. Haven’t we been down this road far too many times and for long enough? Today, our small grassroots Citizens Advocacy and Direct Democracy organization would like to present to you, all Americans, a proposal to take back the Healthcare Reform process “externally” with a “Consumer Union”-like movement towards shifting consumer and group employee-business dollars to “ethics-based” Community NONPROFIT Health Plan/Insurance Organizations. There are currently over 150 community-based NONPROFIT Health Plans/Insurance Organizations (and affiliates) operating in about 45 states of the Union and the District of Columbia offering LOWER-COST premiums, along with BROADER COVERAGE MENUS and CARE SERVICES — than what the antitrust-exempt For-Profit/Big Health Insurance carriers have been whittling away in their “punitive, profit-obsessive” business practices. The only way to break this century-old pattern of this “Live-or-Let-Die,” systemically institutionalized DENIALS- and RESCISSIONS-based For-Profit/Big Health Insurance (claiming an estimated 44,800 needless American deaths annually, according to a recent Harvard Medical study) is for consumers to take action with their checkbooks, working outside of Big Healthcare’s criminally complicit federal government by shifting your much-deserved business and health insurance coverage to “ethics-based” NONPROFIT Health Plans. For those reasons, I would like to invite you to check out a video presentation and/or position paper, "Rx for U.S. Healthcare Reform," authored by our Citizens’ Advocacy organization, Trans-American Alliance for a National Consensus (TANC), for your consideration. The “standard” abridged version of the presentation advocates a dual "Consumer/Business-driven Movement for Nonprofit Healthcare,” which is available for streaming video viewing on your computers at the hyperlink below. It expresses in some detail the massive differences between "ethics-based" Nonprofit Health Plan/Insurance Organizations versus the government-sanctioned, antitrust-exempt For-Profit/Big Health Insurance carriers monopolizing and artificially-inflating pricing on premiums in ma

Transcript of "Rx For U S Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the...

Page 1: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

Copyright © 2010, Trans-American Alliance for a National ConsensusALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Please read our position paper at Please read our position paper at http://www.transamericanalliance.orghttp://www.transamericanalliance.org

Beyond The CLOSED-FORUM in CongressBeyond The CLOSED-FORUM in CongressHealthcare Reform in America:Healthcare Reform in America:

Page 2: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

Copyright © 2008 Michael A. FreemanALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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The Faces of Uninsured Americans Desperately Seeking Affordable CareThe Faces of Uninsured Americans

Desperately Seeking Affordable Care

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Copyright © 2008 Michael A. FreemanALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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What the “Huddled Masses” Could NOT Get at Hospitals and Family Clinics

What the “Huddled Masses” Could NOT Get at Hospitals and Family Clinics

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Copyright © 2008 Michael A. FreemanALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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NONPROFIT-based Health Insurance/Care Plans are the BEST WAY to Reverse the Artificially High Pricing from

the Antitrust-Exempt, For-Profit Insurance Carriers

NONPROFIT-based Health Insurance/Care Plans are the BEST WAY to Reverse the Artificially High Pricing from

the Antitrust-Exempt, For-Profit Insurance CarriersStart by Finding a LOWStart by Finding a LOW--COST Community Health Provider atCOST Community Health Provider at……

Go toGo to www.communityplans.netwww.communityplans.net to find local carriers!to find local carriers!• AANHC represents over 30 nonprofit state/community health plans. Visit www.nonprofithealthcare.www.nonprofithealthcare.orgorg for a list of plans and hyperlinks to their websites.• 83% of nonprofit-based health plans, according to a J.D. Powers survey1, had above-average customer satisfaction scores — compared to a 47% satisfaction score for For-Profit/Big Health Insurance plans.

J.D. Powers survey

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Copyright © 2008 Michael A. FreemanALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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NONPROFIT-based Health Insurance/Care Plans are the BEST WAY to Reverse the Artificially High Pricing from

the Antitrust-Exempt, For-Profit Insurance Carriers

NONPROFIT-based Health Insurance/Care Plans are the BEST WAY to Reverse the Artificially High Pricing from

the Antitrust-Exempt, For-Profit Insurance CarriersStart by Finding a LOWStart by Finding a LOW--COST Community Health Provider atCOST Community Health Provider at……

Go toGo to www.communityplans.netwww.communityplans.net to find local carriers!to find local carriers!• ACHP represents over 16 nonprofit state/community health plans. Visit www.achp.orgwww.achp.org for a list of plans and hyperlinks to their websites.• 11 of 16 ACHP member community nonprofit plans ranked in the Top-10 in each of the Commercial, Medicare and Medicaid categories of healthcare, as measured by NCQA in 2006.*

* National Committee of Quality Assurance, in association of the U.S. News & World Report

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Copyright © 2008 Michael A. FreemanALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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Low-Income Families Who Qualify for Medicaid Coverage Can Also Find Higher Quality Coverage in

Nonprofit Community Health Plan Organizations

Low-Income Families Who Qualify for Medicaid Coverage Can Also Find Higher Quality Coverage in

Nonprofit Community Health Plan Organizations

The Association for Community Affiliated Plans offer:

Start by Finding a LOWStart by Finding a LOW--COST Community Health Provider atCOST Community Health Provider at……

Go toGo to www.communityplans.netwww.communityplans.net to find local carriers!to find local carriers!

• ACAP represents 45 not-for-profit health plans in 24 states• Six member community health organizations were voted “America’s Best Health Insurance Plans” in an annual ranking report completed by U.S. News & World Report and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)

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TANC is Now Offering a NATIONAL DATABASE of Nonprofit Insurance Organizations

TANC is Now Offering a NATIONAL DATABASE of Nonprofit Insurance Organizations

Featuring an online database/directory of over 130 Nonprofit Health Insurance Organizations to locate and hyperlink to in your state for LOWER-COST and BROADER COVERAGE health plans.

http://www.transamericanalliance.orghttp://www.transamericanalliance.orgTransTrans--American Alliance for a National Consensus (TANC)American Alliance for a National Consensus (TANC)

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“Social HMOs” are the Best-Kept Secrets as LOW-COST Nonprofit Health Insurance for Seniors and Exemplary Models for the Entire U.S. Population

“Social HMOs” are the Best-Kept Secrets as LOW-COST Nonprofit Health Insurance for Seniors and Exemplary Models for the Entire U.S. Population

““Medicare Advantage Prescription DrugMedicare Advantage Prescription Drug”” (MA(MA--PD) Social HMOsPD) Social HMOs::

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Congress Created & Fostered Nonprofit-based “Social HMOs” a Quarter-Century Ago!

Congress Created & Fostered Nonprofit-based “Social HMOs” a Quarter-Century Ago!

The creation of Social Managed Care Plans (aka “Social HMOs”) was enacted by Congress under the Federal Deficit Reduction Act of 1984.Although a tiny niche of the Senior health insurance system, thehandful of “Social HMOs” have been operating as a sub-classification of the Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MA-PD) program —helping to relieve Medicare of the logistical and financial costs of managed senior care.Among the “Social HMO” roster, leading the nonprofits is SCAN Health Plan of Southern and Northern California, Elderplan of the 5 boroughs of New York City and Kaiser Permanente of the Northwest (Oregon and Washington state).

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* SCAN Health Plan has a contract with Medicare to bill for the “standard” base-rate premium deduction ($96.40 per month in 2009) automatically deducted from the individual’s Medicaid/Medicare account; additional monthly charges might be incurred, including for “Special Needs Patients.”

Select SCAN Coverage Areas & Monthly Rates/Co-Pays for Seniors

Select SCAN Coverage Areas & Monthly Rates/Co-Pays for Seniors

Benefits Overview

$0-$10 Co-Pay on Generics$30 Co-Pay Brand Drugs

Contracted Pharmacy Prescriptions: 1-31 days

$0-$5 Co-Pay on Generics$28 Co-Pay Brand Drugs

$0 Co-PayDiagnostic Tests, X-Rays & Lab Services

$0 Co-Pay

$0 Co-Pay: All DaysIn-Patient Hospital Care$50 Co-Pay: Days 1-8$0 Co-Pay: Days 9-90

$0 Co-Pay Per PCP $0 Per Specialist

Doctor Office Visits$5 Co-Pay Per PCP$10 Per Specialist

$0 Per Month *Monthly Plan Premium$0 Per Month *“Classic” Plan Benefits/Services In-Network “Options” Plan

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* Elderplan has a contract with Medicare to bill for the “standard” base-rate premium deduction ($96.40 per month in 2009) automatically deducted from the individual’s Medicaid/Medicare account; additional monthly charges might be incurred, including for “Special Needs Patients.”

Select Elderplan Coverage Areas & Monthly Rates/Co-Pays for SeniorsSelect Elderplan Coverage Areas & Monthly Rates/Co-Pays for Seniors

Benefits Overview

$0 Per Month *Monthly Plan Premium$0 Per Month *

$0 Co-Pay on Generics$25 Co-Pay Brand Drugs

Contracted Pharmacy Prescriptions: 1-31 days

$0 Co-Pay on Generics$25 Co-Pay Brand Drugs

$0 Co-Pay$80 Co-Pay Radiology

Diagnostic Tests, X-Rays & Lab Services

$0 Co-Pay$80 Co-Pay Radiology

$100 Co-Pay: Days 1-7$0 Co-Pay: Days 8-90

In-Patient Hospital Care$100 Co-Pay: Days 1-7$0 Co-Pay: Days 8-90

$0 Co-Pay Per PCP $0 Per Specialist

Doctor Office Visits$5 Co-Pay Per PCP$20 Per Specialist

“Elderplan Classic I” Plan Benefits/Services In-Network “Elderplan Classic II” Plan

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* Kaiser Permanente has a contract with Medicare to bill for the “standard” base-rate premium deduction ($96.40 per month in 2009) automatically deducted from the individual’s Medicaid/Medicare account; in addition to charging additional monthly charges, including for “Special Needs Patients.”

Select Kaiser Permanente of the Northwest (Oregon and Washington state) Coverage

Areas & Monthly Rates/Co-Pays for Seniors

Select Kaiser Permanente of the Northwest (Oregon and Washington state) Coverage

Areas & Monthly Rates/Co-Pays for SeniorsBenefits Overview

$99 Per Month *Monthly Plan Premium$39 Per Month *

$10 Co-Pay on Generics100% Co-Pay Brand Drugs

Contracted Pharmacy Prescriptions: 1-31 days

$10 Co-Pay on Generics100% Co-Pay Brand Drugs

$0 Co-PayDiagnostic Tests, X-Rays & Lab Services

$0 Co-Pay

$200 Co-Pay: Days 1-4$0 Co-Pay: All Other Days

In-Patient Hospital Care$250 Co-Pay: Days 1-4$0 Co-Pay: All Other Days

$20 Co-Pay Doctor Office Visits$30 Co-Pay

“Senior Advantage Basic” Plan Benefits/Services In-Network “Senior Advantage” Plan

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How SCAN Makes “Dollars and Sense” as a Nonprofit “Social HMO”

How SCAN Makes “Dollars and Sense” as a Nonprofit “Social HMO”

SCAN has a contract to bill the Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MA-PD) program and is reimbursed at the $96.40 per-month/per-individual “Medicare-minimum”base rate (normally deducted from “standard” premiums).

With SCAN serving over 110,000 Senior Citizens in Southern California (and recently expanding into Northern California and the Phoenix, Arizona region), Wikipedia.org estimates SCAN earns $1.3 billion in reimbursements translating to roughly $98.48 per-month/per-person rate — or $1,181 per-person for a year.

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Escalating Single Individual & Family Health Insurance Coverage Costs

Escalating Single Individual & Family Health Insurance Coverage Costs

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation/HRET Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Benefits, 1999-2009

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Spiraling Worker and Employer Insurance Contribution Costs

Spiraling Worker and Employer Insurance Contribution Costs

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation/HRET Survey of Employee-Sponsored Health Benefits, 1999-2009

Page 16: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

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What Would NONPROFIT Health Insurance Savings Translate to for Individuals & Employers?

What Would NONPROFIT Health Insurance Savings Translate to for Individuals & Employers?

Today, an overall $9,000 annual average for Health Insurance coverage (from “individual” and “family” premiums) to insure 160 million Americans translates to roughly $1.4 trillion in health insurance expenditures annually.The $3,000 or so per-year overall premium average with nonprofit “Social HMOs” health insurance would conversely translate to a $480 billion annual national expenditure.Nonprofit-only insurance would SHAVE two-thirdsoff today’s $1.4 trillion in national Private/For-Profit insurance expenditures.

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Copyright © 2008 Michael A. FreemanALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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Like Consumers & Employers, the U.S. Government is Getting HOSED, Too!

Like Consumers & Employers, the U.S. Government is Getting HOSED, Too!

Page 18: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

Copyright © 2008 Michael A. FreemanALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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For-Profit/Big Health Insurance’s Looting of Medicare, Seniors & All Taxpayers!

For-Profit/Big Health Insurance’s Looting of Medicare, Seniors & All Taxpayers!

Page 19: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

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A Result of the “Antitrust-Exempt Status”: Half of the States are Monopolized by 1 or 2 BIG Health InsurersA Result of the “Antitrust-Exempt Status”: Half of the States are Monopolized by 1 or 2 BIG Health Insurers

Page 20: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

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U.S. Healthcare Spending vs. Six Other “Developed” Nations

U.S. Healthcare Spending vs. Six Other “Developed” Nations

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U.S. Health Spending is DOUBLE and QUADRUPLE Versus Upper- to Lower-Income Nations

U.S. Health Spending is DOUBLE and QUADRUPLE Versus Upper- to Lower-Income Nations

Page 22: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

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Fat Profits for “Big 6” of Health Insurance, Even in a Down Economy

Fat Profits for “Big 6” of Health Insurance, Even in a Down Economy

Page 23: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

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Your Premiums Pay for These Bloated CEO Salaries & PerksYour Premiums Pay for These Bloated CEO Salaries & Perks

Page 24: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

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Big Health Insurance’s “Maximizing Profits & Minimizing Risks” Business Model = Many Unnecessary DEATHS!

Big Health Insurance’s “Maximizing Profits & Minimizing Risks” Business Model = Many Unnecessary DEATHS!

A recent Harvard Medical Study (Sept. 2009) cited 44,800 Americans unnecessarily DIE due to inadequate or no health insurance coverage.In 1997, a New England Journal of Medicine had estimated 100,000 needless American deaths for citizens lacking quality insurance coverage and none at all.

Page 25: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

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“Bonuses” for Rescissions/Cancellations of Health Insurance Policies, Yes!

“Bonuses” for Rescissions/Cancellations of Health Insurance Policies, Yes!

Page 26: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

Copyright © 2008 Michael A. FreemanALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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Maintaining Profits, Minimizing Risks, Inflating Prices, and Shifting Co-Pay/Deductibles, and meeting Wall Street

Earnings/Profit Estimates – An Exploitive, Criminal Marriage

Maintaining Profits, Minimizing Risks, Inflating Prices, and Shifting Co-Pay/Deductibles, and meeting Wall Street

Earnings/Profit Estimates – An Exploitive, Criminal Marriage

Page 27: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

Copyright © 2008 Michael A. FreemanALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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“DENIALS” on Medical Claims: Meet Sarah Palin’sTrue “Death Panels” — Big Health Insurance!

“DENIALS” on Medical Claims: Meet Sarah Palin’sTrue “Death Panels” — Big Health Insurance!

Nataline Sarkisyan

PBS’s Bill Moyers’ interview with former CIGNA executive Wendell Potter, a whistleblower who speaks in detail of Big Insurance industry practices, offered the most riveting and shocking behind the scenes details about CIGNA’s foot-dragging and long-standing DENIALS on medical claims, including the circumstances involved with the death of Nataline Sarkisyan.

Page 28: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

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Even Cuts in Federal/State Medicaid Agencies Can Lead to Policy Rescissions

Even Cuts in Federal/State Medicaid Agencies Can Lead to Policy Rescissions

Page 29: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

Copyright © 2008 Michael A. FreemanALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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Melanie Shouse, A Healthcare Reform Advocate, Died Denied Chemotherapy Claims by Anthem

Melanie Shouse, A Healthcare Reform Advocate, Died Denied Chemotherapy Claims by Anthem

Page 30: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

Copyright © 2008 Michael A. FreemanALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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Of the 50 million-plus Americans* without Health Insurance, High-Population States Hit Hardest

Of the 50 million-plus Americans* without Health Insurance, High-Population States Hit Hardest

* Estimates of remaining uncovered Americans, based on U.S. Census Bureau data (Sept. 16, 2009), stood at 46.3 million uninsuredAmericans. However, with an estimated 14,000 Americans losing coverage every day, the ongoing, most up-to-date calculations from the Center for American Progress is that the total of uninsured Americans is around 51.5 million people as of January 9, 2010.

Page 31: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

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Up to 70 Countries with Forms of “Universal Healthcare” — not in the U.S. though!

Up to 70 Countries with Forms of “Universal Healthcare” — not in the U.S. though!

Single-Payer Universal Healthcare SystemsOther, Various Forms of Universal Healthcare SystemsNo Forms of Universal Healthcare or No Data Available

Universal Healthcare world map courtesy of Wikipedia.org (through December 2009)

Page 32: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

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America’s CENTURY-LONG Struggle for a National “Universal Healthcare” System

America’s CENTURY-LONG Struggle for a National “Universal Healthcare” System

Page 33: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

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Today’s Congress: A Byzantine, Arcane Closed-Door Legislative Process On HCRToday’s Congress: A Byzantine, Arcane

Closed-Door Legislative Process On HCR

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The “Worst” Congress that Big Healthcare and Insurance Contributions Can Buy

The “Worst” Congress that Big Healthcare and Insurance Contributions Can Buy

TOTAL HEALTH LOBBY CONTRIBUTIONS (1989-2010)

Page 35: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

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Political Satirists’ Weigh-In On Sarah Palin’s “Death Panel” Visions

Political Satirists’ Weigh-In On Sarah Palin’s “Death Panel” Visions

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A Befuddling Array of Congressional Healthcare Reform Bill Proposals — All Leaving BIG HEALTH

INSURANCE’s Monopoly Intact!

A Befuddling Array of Congressional Healthcare Reform Bill Proposals — All Leaving BIG HEALTH

INSURANCE’s Monopoly Intact!“Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (S. 3590)

“Affordable Health Care Act” (H.R. 3962, Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich.)

“America’s Healthy Future Act” (S. 1796, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana)

“America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009” (H.R. 3200)

“Healthy Americans Act” (S. 391, Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, Robert Bennett, R-Utah)

“The Medicare for All Act” (H.R. 676, “Single-Payer Bill,” Rep. John Conyers, D-Ohio)

“Access to Insurance for all Americans Act” (H.R. 3438, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.)

“Patients’ Choice Act” (H.R. 2520, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc.)

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Two Remaining Senate & House Proposals to be Reconciled for Congressional Passage?

Two Remaining Senate & House Proposals to be Reconciled for Congressional Passage?

Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962):

5.4% surtax on incomes over $500,000 for individuals and $1 million for families.Public Option coverage for low-income Americans. Medicaid expanded to 150% of the Federal Poverty Level.Single National health insurance exchange with both private and Public Option plans; States can run their own exchanges under federal guidelines.CBO Cost Estimate: $1.050 trillion over 10 years.Proposes covering 29 to 30 million Americans, but could leave over 20 million uninsured. *

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (S. 3590):

Increases Medicare payroll tax from 1.45% to 2.35% on incomes over $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for families.No public option. But, Medicaid expanded to 133% of the Federal Poverty Level.Instead, Feds mandate newly-created State Insurance Exchanges to include at least two “national” health plans — one of those being a private NONPROFIT plan.CBO Estimate: $871 billion over 10 years.Proposes providing “loan assistance” on health insurance policies to 31 million Americans, but no actual “Public-Option”aid.

* Estimates of remaining uncovered Americans, based on U.S. Census Bureau data (Sept. 16, 2009), stood at 46.3 million uninsuredAmericans. However, with an estimated 14,000 Americans losing coverage every day, the ongoing, most up-to-date calculations from the Center for American Progress is that the total of uninsured Americans is around 51.5 million people as of January 9, 2010.

Page 38: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

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Arrests of Single-Payer/Universal Healthcare Advocates During DC’s CLOSED-FORUM Hearings

Arrests of Single-Payer/Universal Healthcare Advocates During DC’s CLOSED-FORUM Hearings

Advocates of a “Single Payer” and “Universal Healthcare” had to make their feelings known quickly as Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of Senate Finance Subcommittee holding hearings on Healthcare Reform, had security officers quickly escort them out due to the CLOSED-DOOR nature of the HCR debate.

Page 39: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

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A Closed-Forum/Closed-Door Health Reform Process in Washington

A Closed-Forum/Closed-Door Health Reform Process in Washington

Page 40: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

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PRIORITY: Repeal of the ANTITRUST-EXEMPT Status for Monopolistic, Big Health InsurancePRIORITY: Repeal of the ANTITRUST-EXEMPT Status for Monopolistic, Big Health Insurance

Support Congressional passage of Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-Vt.) proposed bill, “The Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act,” for the immediate repeal of The McCarran-Ferguson Act – a 65-year-old “antitrust exemption” bestowed upon the Health Insurance industry.

Central to Leahy’s bill is stripping Health Insurance and Medical Malpractice Insurance companies of their monopoly powerscondoning “flagrant antitrust violations, including price-fixing, bid rigging, and market allocations.”

Potentially shift or amend regulatory oversight of Health Insurance/Medical Malpractice Insurance from state insurance commissions to federal oversight – making sure our “elected”representatives and the federal courts live up to their Constitutional law obligations.

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PRIORITY: A “Consumer-Driven” Movement Towards NONPROFIT Health Insurance

PRIORITY: A “Consumer-Driven” Movement Towards NONPROFIT Health InsuranceIntroduction and launch of “Americans Uniting for an Independent Nonprofit Health Insurance Exchange” as an entirely autonomous, consumer-run, national nonprofit insurance authority.

With an online database and participation of over 150 nonprofit-based “Health Insurance Organizations” (HIOs) across the United States, the newly-formed Americans Uniting for Nonprofit Health Insurance(AUNHI) association will look to be a “clearinghouse/exchange” for LOWER-COST health insurance available to both consumers and businesses of all sizes.

Short of the federal government agreeing to enforce Constitutional laws, AUNHI will look to represent consumers in setting “Uniform Billing/Claims”practices and a standardized/industry-wide “Personal Electronic Medical Record-Keeping” system with participating Health Insurance and Healthcare Providers.

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Two Scenarios: A Consumer/Business-Only Movement or Consumer/Federal Government Movement

Two Scenarios: A Consumer/Business-Only Movement or Consumer/Federal Government Movement

Scenario 1 — A Consumer/Business-Only Movement for Nonprofit Health Insurance Organizations:

Consumers opt for Nonprofit-based Health Insurance by searching through an “Americans Uniting for an Independent Health Insurance Exchange” database system.Locate and secure community-based nonprofit Health Insurance Organization coverage in urban or rural centers around the country.Consumers and businesses would be able to negotiate greatly discounted, “Medicare-minimum” base-rate premiums with individual nonprofit carriers.A 10-20% add-on monthly premium charge could help to subsidize an aid program for low-income, uninsured Americans to obtain temporary, 1 year transitional term health insurance coverage – placed under renewal review on a year-to-year basis.A set of “standardized” by-laws to be established between the Consumer Union and Nonprofit HIOs to establish a “Uniform Billing & Claims Processing System” and potentially a “Personal Electronics Medical Records” system with participating nonprofit HIOs and other healthcare/medical providers.

Scenario 2 — A Consumer/Business and Federal Government Union for Nonprofit Health Insurance:

Consumers & businesses would be able to search through a federally-endorsed “Nonprofit Health Insurance ExchangeThe federal government could levy a new corporate surtax on “Unhealthy/Addictive Consumable Products” (i.e. tobacco products, fastfood chains, etc.), raising between $25-$50 billion annually to offer “Public Option”-like subsidization of low-income Americans who can’t afford regular coverage.Potentially, a 1-2% “general” surtax on all other corporations could raise between $140 billion to $280 billion in new tax revenues, which could be utilized for the “startup” cost to create other new nonprofit Health Insurance Organizations and partially subsidize a Public Option subsidy plan as well. A federal bond-issue program, under a bannered “Federal Nonprofit Insurance Conversion Corporation,” could also be formed temporarily to finance the “Buyback of outstanding public shares in the established Private/For-Profit Insurance Corporation –effectively providing an avenue for Big Health Insurance companies to de-list from stock exchanges and become nonprofit orgs instead.

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Imagine if Producers of Unhealthy Consumables Pay a Special HCR Tax

Imagine if Producers of Unhealthy Consumables Pay a Special HCR Tax

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Copyright © 2008 Michael A. FreemanALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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Imagine the Creation of THOUSANDS of New Nonprofit Health Insurance Administrator Jobs!

Imagine the Creation of THOUSANDS of New Nonprofit Health Insurance Administrator Jobs!

Multiplying the number of new nonprofit, Multiplying the number of new nonprofit, ““ethicsethics--basedbased””Health Insurance Organizations will have many Health Insurance Organizations will have many

tangible/intangible benefits for the U.S. economy.tangible/intangible benefits for the U.S. economy.

Page 45: "Rx For U S  Healthcare Reform": A Proposal for a  "Consumer-driven" Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare - Full Presentation

Copyright © 2008 Michael A. FreemanALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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Leaders from All Religious Faiths Back “Accessible” Universal Healthcare

Leaders from All Religious Faiths Back “Accessible” Universal Healthcare

"To be without health insurance in this country means to be without access to medical care. But health is not a luxury, nor should it be the sole possession of a privileged few. We are all created b'tzelem elohim — in the image of God —and this makes each human life as precious as the next. By 'pricing out' a portion of this country's population from health care coverage, we mock the image of God and destroy the vessels of God's work.“ — Rabbi Alexander Schindler, Past President, Union of American Hebrew Congregations (1992)

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Leaders from All Religious Faiths Back “Accessible” Universal Healthcare

Leaders from All Religious Faiths Back “Accessible” Universal Healthcare

"Every person has the right to adequate health care. This right flows from the sanctity of human life and the dignity that belongs to all persons, who are made in the image of God... Our call for health care reform is rooted in the biblical call to heal the sick and to serve 'the least of these,' the priorities of justice and the principle of the common good. The existing patterns of health care in the United States do no meet the minimal standard of social justice and the common good." — Resolution on Health Care Reform, U.S. Catholic Bishops, 1993.

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Leaders from All Religious Faiths Back “Accessible” Universal Healthcare

Leaders from All Religious Faiths Back “Accessible” Universal Healthcare

“The health of a society is truly measured by the quality of its concern and care for the health of its members... The right of every individual to adequate health care flows from the sanctity of human life and that dignity belongs to all human beings... We believe that health is a fundamental human right which has as its prerequisites social justice and equality and that it should be equally available and accessible to all.” — Imam Sa'dullah Khan, The Islamic Center of Southern California

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Leaders from All Religious Faiths Back “Accessible” Universal Healthcare

Leaders from All Religious Faiths Back “Accessible” Universal Healthcare

“Of all forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.” — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1966)

"One of the central public policy questions for U.S. citizens today is whether the richest nation on earth will continue to allow millions of poor people to exist without health insurance. To do so violates biblical justice. How can any Christian read what the Bible says about the poor and what Jesus says about the sick without hearing a divine call to demand that every person in this nation, starting with the poor, have access to health insurance?" —from "Just Generosity" by Ronald Sider, founder of Evangelicals for Social Action

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Copyright © 2010, Trans-American Alliance for a National ConsensusALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Please read our position paper at Please read our position paper at http://www.transamericanalliance.orghttp://www.transamericanalliance.org

A “Consumer-Driven” NONPROFIT Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare

A “Consumer-Driven” NONPROFIT Movement to Break the Century-Old Criminalization of Healthcare

Healthcare Reform in America:Healthcare Reform in America: