Health & Healthcare
Medicaid versus the Kindness of Strangers
Published August 28, 2009 @ 08:48AM PT
In the wake of Ted Kennedy's death, healthcare reform is getting another look. That look may or may not mean a renewed sense of progress come September, when Congress resumes what is sure to be a contentious debate. But it's clear that the kind of government role Kennedy believed in, on healthcare and other issues, will not be forgotten soon.
Acting on that vision, and getting meaningful reform for the consitencies Kennedy advocated for most, will not be easy, and in some ways got much harder with Kennedy's deterioration and death.
Ted Kennedy & the Future of American Liberalism
Published August 27, 2009 @ 02:31PM PT
In Boston, local news channels have been running live coverage of Senator Ted Kennedy's death since it was announced. A motorcade from Hyannisport through Boston has just wrapped up; Kennedy's body will lie in repose until tomorrow evening. President Obama will speak at the Senator's funeral on Saturday; all former Presidents will attend. This ceremony, in its pomp and public draw, is Reaganesque. And like Reagan's passing for conservatives, Senator Kennedy's death signals, I fear, the end of an era. As I watch, I wonder if we're also witnessing American liberalism's funeral.
How Many Calories Does $1 Buy?
Published August 27, 2009 @ 06:00AM PT
The answer depends largely on what type of food you're purchasing.
As I was reading through the recent TIME Magzine cover story on the real price of cheap food, I came across reference to a study conducted by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The study examined how many calories, of certain kinds of food, one dollar can buy you. They determined that:
A dollar could buy 1,200 calories of potato chips or 875 calories of soda but just 250 calories of vegetables or 170 calories of fresh fruit.
Yeah, you read that right. A dollar can buy you almost 10 times more calories from potato chips than it can from fresh fruit. Is it any wonder that obesity and food security are so intricately tied to income level in this country? I think not.
This statistic has a lot to do with why many people who do not have adequate access to healthy foods are often unhealthy and overweight. Really, it's all about the energy density of the foods we eat. Let me explain.
R.I.P. Ted Kennedy: Justice, Fairness & Opportunity
Published August 26, 2009 @ 06:50PM PT
Justice. Fairness. Opportunity.
Those are the values by which he fought his whole, privileged life. It was his mandate, in a wealthy, famous family, to fight for those with less, on behalf of those with less. And throughout his professional life, Senator Ted Kennedy, D-MA for 47 years, did exactly that. At this late hour of the day, I can't possibly add any new insight to the eulogies and obits and memoriams that are circulating. But I do remember campaigning for Hillary Clinton in San Antonio, and being struck by the # of people who asked me why I was supporting Clinton if Kennedy had endorsed Obama. I was surprised by how popular and revered he was beyond the borders of Massachusetts. I really never realized how far his legacy reached.
Change.org bloggers have paid tribute to the "liberal lion" of the Senate throughout the day. Check out how Kennedy backed our fights for social justice - to stop genocide and homelessness and poverty; to promote human rights, environmental sustainability (Cape Wind notwithstanding, ahem), LGBT equality, and women's rights (ok, in his personal life he was working on this); to strengthen global health and, of course, health care.
Please, in memoriam, help us finish Sen. Kennedy's job to bring universal health care to all Americans.
(Photo of Ted Kennedy at ELAC by xavierla)
Meet the Uninsured
Published August 24, 2009 @ 06:00AM PT
At our Universal Health Care blog, Tim has an entire category concerning the uninsured and underinsured. (You need to be reading his blog.) But for those of you with little time to familiarize yourself with the 47M or so Americans estimated to lack adequate health insurance, the New York Times this weekend offers a handy little summary of just who these folks are:
- The working poor are the majority, at about 30M people.
- The "better-off", as judged by total household income of up to $75k per year. Includes roommates, non-family households, etc. D'oh!
- Young adults - this is the mythical group who rejects health care right before they go bungie jumping and compete in a triathalon. Irrepressible youngsters! Turns out most are poor. See the first bullet.
- Medicaid-eligible poor, who are not enrolled for one reason or another. This is the most popular crew featured in the "all their emergency room care is bankrupting us!" storyline.
- The underinsured - crazy deductibles and restrictions make health insurance theoretical.
- Non-citizens.
The NYT points out which potential reform bills would help who, but ends on this sharper point: "Any nation as rich as ours ought to guarantee health coverage for all of its residents."
1 in 5 Americans are Poor
Published August 22, 2009 @ 11:34AM PT
As summer melts away and non-profit organizations gear up for a difficult fall, anti-poverty activists need an accurate picture of just how tough it is out there. Following up on Greg's great post from Thursday that captured the growth of hunger nationwide, we offer now a quick summary of the latest recessionary figures:
- 37.3M people were living below the official poverty line in 2007; 2008 should see another 1.5M added, for a statistically significant growth to 12.7% of the population. Experts anticipate an even worse result by the end of '09, and estimate we could hover around 15% of the population officially considered living in poverty. Even acknowledging how outdated this poverty measure is, we have not counted 1 in 7 people living in poverty since the recession of the early 1990s. And if historical census figures that include the "near poor" are anything to go by, we can expect 1 in 5 people, or 20% of Americans, to be living in or near poverty by the end of this year.
Empower Women, End Poverty
Published August 21, 2009 @ 11:00AM PT
If you haven't yet read the series on women and poverty at The New York Times, I highly recommend adding it to your weekend reading list. The paternalistic on-line title notwithstanding, the collection of articles details the collective economic improvements in poor communities and households resulting from investing in women's and girl's education, health, bodily safety and autonomy, and work opportunities. The focus of the issue is mainly on the developing world, where the majority of the world's poor - and poor women - live. This is always somewhat frustrating for domestic anti-poverty activists, as if our nation is a haven of gender equity and parity. Nonetheless, there's some important lessons on education, policy and power for those of us fighting for equality and an end to poverty stateside.
