Healthcare is a Human Right Concert, June 7

State board member Mike Stout (pictured below) and the Human Union Band will be holding a Health Care is a Human Right concert on June 7. The press release is below with a preview of their new song.

PRESS RELEASE: Legendary Rock Concert for Social Justice in
Pittsburgh!
Mike Stout & The Human Union in Concert to
debut song “Health Care is a Human Right” (previewed below)
and shine a light on the single-payer movement
8:30pm on June 7th 2014 @ First Unitarian
Church of Pittsburgh
605 Morewood Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
$15/ticket

______________________________________________________________________
"In the Woody Guthrie tradition, his songs reflect contemporary issues without resorting
to journalism. They're more like partisan op-ed columns that grab political opponents by
the throat and don't let go." - John Hayes, Pittsburgh Post Gazette
______________________________________________________________________
On Saturday, June 7th, 2014, the legendary rock band, Mike Stout and the Human
Union, will perform a politically-charged show at the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh.
Known for drawing large crowds to Pittsburgh venues such as Club Cafe and Frick Fine
Arts, he also tours internationally to festival-sized audiences. On the evening of June
7th, he’ll debut a special song to his hometown crowd entitled, “Health Care is a
Human Right.”
The song is perhaps the world’s first single-payer universal health care anthem and
appropriately, all proceeds of the show go to Health Care 4 All PA – a nonprofit devoted
to achieving a single-payer health care system in PA. The group has been recognized
nationally for their promotion of a PA single-payer system in places such as Huffington
Post and The New York Times.
Stout’s June 7th concert will also premiere a brand new music video for the featured
song at the start of the show. Other songs performed will include social justice anthems
around anti-fracking, jobs, and peace.
______________________________________________________________________
For advanced tickets, reservations, or inquiries, contact Mike Stout at:
(412) 461-5650 or mikestout619@comcast.net

**Update**

You can see Mike Stout and the Human Union Band performing a tribute to the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1913.

 

A Nous la Liberte

Each week, Dr. Aaron Carroll, one of the bloggers at The Incidental Economist, releases a 5-10 min video called "Health Care Triage," in which he discusses current issues in health. This week's installment will be of special interest to single payer advocates, since it concerns the French health care system, which he considers the best in the world. You may not know whether to laugh or cry.

In previous weeks, Dr. Carroll has also discussed the Canadian system--not as good as France's, but much better than ours. He often discusses empirical issues, such as whether organic food is better for your health. If you sign up, You Tube will send you an e-mail each time a new video in this series is released.

You may also be interested in reading:

Conceptualizing Health Care Policy

Recent Uninsured Trends and the ACA

The Gallup Organization has produced quarterly national estimates of the uninsured rate to assess the impact of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare).  It suggests that the rate is at the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2008, before the recession began in earnest.  

The graph below, not surprisingly, shows that the rates are lower for the states that are expanding Medicaid.  The rates are also decreasing at a faster rate for Medicaid expanding states (15.4% in Q4 2013 to 12.45% in Q1 2014) compared to those who are not (19.6% in Q4 2013 to 18.1% in Q1 2014)

MotherJones has printed this table with projections for future costs and coverage under the ACA.  These projections are always based on assumptions which may or may not be reasonable.

A harder thing to measure is the number of underinsured under the ACA relative to the time before the law was passed.  The way in which the word underinsured is defined makes all the difference.  It is much easier just to ask survey respondents whether they have insurance or not that to ask them extensive questions about the type of coverage they have and whether it is adequate for their medical needs.

I have reported extensively on Census Bureau Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE)  because they provide a more local picture of trends in the uninsured.  When they are discordant with uninsured rates, the rates of medical bankruptcies could suggest troubles with underinsurance.  Getting access to these statistics is difficult however.  PNHP has conducted a study on 2007 data found 62.1% of all bankruptcies were the result of medical expenses but new studies will need to be done to assess the impact of the ACA.  States with improved uninsured rates but little change in the number of medical bankruptcies could have issues with underinsurance.

**Related Posts**

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Medicaid Expansion at a Crossroads

On Monday there will be a Rally for Medicaid expansion in Harrisburg.  There will be a  meeting with Legislators at 11:30 followed by the Rally in the small rotunda in the Capitol Building near the Cafeteria. Along with Iowa, Arkansas, and Michigan, Pennsylvania is now proposing it's own version of expansion.  Utah is still undecided as can be seen in the map below.

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Gov. Corbett has proposed an expansion of Medicaid which differs from other states because it adds additional requirements such as a job search requirement and adding premiums and cutting services.  For a year, his administration has been in negotiations with the Federal Department of Health and Human Services to accept his plan but they appear to be foundering with a rejection of the plan likely.  Iowa's and Arkansas' plans have been approved by the Federal Government.


Via: The Advisory Board Company

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No Medicaid Expansion = Higher Health Insurance Premiums

 

Tom Corbett to PA's Working Poor: “Drop Dead!” (Part 1) (See all four parts.)

Medicaid Expansion Update