"Healing Health Care: A special evening program"

Featuring a panel of local conventional and alternative medical practitioners discussing a wide range of health and wellness approaches. It is free with coffee, tea and dessert provided; brown-bag dinners are welcome.

November 12, 2009 ~ starting at 5:30 P.M.

YWCA Ballroom ~ 1026 N. Forest St. ~ Bellingham, WA 98225

Co-sponsored by the YWCA and the League of Women Voters of Bellingham/Whatcom County.

Candidate & Ballot Measure Forum Today!!

REMINDER!!

The School Board Candidate forum begins at 10 AM this morning followed by the Pros & Cons of Initiative 1033 and Referendum 71. We will also hear about the Whatcom County Library Levy. This meeting is open to the General Public and is at the Senior Activity Center at 315 Halleck Street (just off Cornwall Ave near Woodsmiths)

We look forward to seeing you there!

Refreshments will be served.

Warm regards,

Tanya

Tanya Baumgart, 1st VP, Communications Director
League of Women Voters of Bellingham/Whatcom County
PR@LWVbellinghamwhatcom.org 360-734-2366
www.LWVbellinghamwhatcom.org

General Election Candidate Forum

Mark your Calendars!

September 30, 2009

6:30 - 9:15 PM

at the Bellingham City Council Chambers, 210 Lottie Street

Come early - space is limited!

Will be aired live on BTV10

Primary Election Candidate Forum

The League of Women Voters of Bellingham/Whatcom County sponsored a Candidate forum for the Port of Bellingham Commissioner, Bellingham City Council, and Whatcom County Council Primary races on July 17th. This forum is being broadcast by BTV10 (Channel 10) on Fridays at 7 PM, Sundays at 9 AM, and Wednesdays at 1:30 PM. Please tune in and Please VOTE on August 18th, 2009.

Resolution of Health Care by the League of Women Voters of WA State

The following Resolution on Health Care was passed at the State Convention by the delegates to the League of Women Voters of WA 2009 State League Convention in May of 2009.

1. Whereas, the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS) Position on health care calls for a health care system that is universal, comprehensive, equitable, and affordable both to individuals and to the nation;
2. Whereas, the LWVUS Position, adopted in 1993, supports a national health plan financed through general taxes in place of individual insurance premiums; and
3. Whereas, a single payer health care plan (publicly financed, privately delivered) can best fulfill these criteria;

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the League of Women Voters of Washington, meeting in Convention, May 2009, send a letter to the LWVUS board within one month, urging that:

• the LWVUS actively support the principle of single-payer national health insurance by vigorously advocating that a single payer legislative proposal be included in deliberations of health care reform by Congress and the Administration; and that
• side-by-side comparative analyses of single payer proposals with other proposals for health reform be part of these deliberations.

League Hosts Primary Election Candidate Forum

The League of Women Voters of Bellingham/Whatcom County is sponsoring a candidate forum for the 2009 primary election on Friday, July 17 at 7 pm. It will be held in the City Council Chambers at Bellingham City Hall (210 Lottie Street). Seating is limited, so please come early. The forum will feature the contested election races for the Port of Bellingham Commission, Ward 6 of the City of Bellingham Council & the Whatcom County At Large Council Seat. Live coverage of the forum will be broadcast on Bellingham TV Channel 10, and then aired regularly up to the election.

For more information:

http://www.lwvbellinghamwhatcom.org/ or http://www.lwvbellinghamwhatcom.blogspot.com/

Contact-Elsie Heinrick@ 671-9534 or league@LWVbellinghamwhatcom.org

Study: Medical problems linked to 2/3 of bankruptcies

Breaking news alert from PNHP!

A new study by PNHP co-founders Drs. David Himmelstein and Steffie Woolhandler showing that 62.1 percent of all bankruptcies in 2007 were linked to medical bills or illness (up from 49.6 percent in 2001) is coming out in today's American Journal of Medicine (also known as "the Green Journal").

Most of those bankrupted were well educated, middle-class homeowners and three-quarters had health insurance at the time illness struck. The study and a fact sheet are available on-line in addition to the press release, below.
Activists are encouraged to forward the press release to their media contacts, colleagues, and members of Congress. The study has already been covered by BusinessWeek, the LA Times, and Reuters, but deserves much wider coverage.

The study's findings have huge implications for the health care debate going on in the Congress now. Incremental reforms that retain a central role for the private insurance industry won't work. We need single payer national health insurance, HR 676.
In that vein, see below for a report from PNHP President Dr. Oliver Fein on the meeting yesterday between single payer advocates and Senator Max Baucus. Although Baucus admits he made a mistake in excluding single payer from hearings, he doesn't plan (at this writing) to correct it. (In contrast, due to public pressure, a hearing on single payer is scheduled for the House Education and Labor Committee for June 10. It's a small but encouraging step.)

Dr. Fein writes that "all the advocates urge continuing pressure on members of Congress, not only in D.C., but also in their districts and states. Medicare for all, we believe, has the potential to become the civil rights issue of the 21st century."

Thank you for your continuing support and especially your priceless efforts for reform,

Yours truly

Ida HellanderExecutive Director
Mark AlmbergCommunications Director

EMBARGOED until:
Contacts:
June 4, 2009, 12:01 a.m. EDT
David Himmelstein, M.D.
Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., M.P.H.
Elizabeth Warren, J.D.
Deborah Thorne, Ph.D.
Mark Almberg, (312) 782-6006, mark@pnhp.org

Illness and medical bills linked to nearly two-thirds of all bankruptcies

Harvard study finds 50 percent increase from 2001Most of those bankrupted by illness were middle class and had insuranceMedical problems contributed to nearly two-thirds (62.1 percent) of all bankruptcies in 2007, according to a study in the August issue of the American Journal of Medicine that will be published online Thursday. The data were collected prior to the current economic downturn and hence likely understate the current burden of financial suffering. Between 2001 and 2007, the proportion of all bankruptcies attributable to medical problems rose by 49.6 percent. The authors' previous 2001 findings have been widely cited by policy leaders, including President Obama.

Surprisingly, most of those bankrupted by medical problems had health insurance. More than three-quarters (77.9 percent) were insured at the start of the bankrupting illness, including 60.3 percent who had private coverage. Most of the medically bankrupt were solidly middle class before financial disaster hit. Two-thirds were homeowners and three-fifths had gone to college. In many cases, high medical bills coincided with a loss of income as illness forced breadwinners to lose time from work. Often illness led to job loss, and with it the loss of health insurance.

Even apparently well-insured families often faced high out-of-pocket medical costs for co-payments, deductibles and uncovered services. Medically bankrupt families with private insurance reported medical bills that averaged $17,749 vs. $26,971 for the uninsured. High costs - averaging $22,568 - were incurred by those who initially had private coverage but lost it in the course of their illness.

Individuals with diabetes and those with neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis had the highest costs, an average of $26,971 and $34,167 respectively. Hospital bills were the largest single expense for about half of all medically bankrupt families; prescription drugs were the largest expense for 18.6 percent.

The research, carried out jointly by researchers at Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School and Ohio University, and supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is the first nationwide study on medical causes of bankruptcy. The researchers surveyed a random sample of 2,314 bankruptcy filers during early 2007 and examined their bankruptcy court records. In addition, they conducted extensive telephone interviews with 1,032 of these bankruptcy filers.
Their 2001 study, which was published in 2005, surveyed debtors in only five states. In the current study, findings for those five states closely mirrored the national trends.

Subsequent to the 2001 study, Congress made it harder to file for bankruptcy, causing a sharp drop in filings. However, personal bankruptcy filings have soared as the economy has soured and are now back to the 2001 level of about 1.5 million annually.

Dr. David Himmelstein, the lead author of the study and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard, commented: "Our findings are frightening. Unless you're Warren Buffett, your family is just one serious illness away from bankruptcy. For middle-class Americans, health insurance offers little protection. Most of us have policies with so many loopholes, co-payments and deductibles that illness can put you in the poorhouse. And even the best job-based health insurance often vanishes when prolonged illness causes job loss - precisely when families need it most. Private health insurance is a defective product, akin to an umbrella that melts in the rain."

"For many families, bankruptcy is a deeply shameful experience," noted Elizabeth Warren, Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard and a study co-author. Professor Warren, a leading expert on personal bankruptcy, went on: "People arrive at the bankruptcy courts exhausted - financially, physically and emotionally. For most, bankruptcy is a last choice to deal with unmanageable circumstances."

According to study co-author Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard and primary care physician in Cambridge, Mass.: "We need to rethink health reform. Covering the uninsured isn't enough. Reform also needs to help families who already have insurance by upgrading their coverage and assuring that they never lose it. Only single-payer national health insurance can make universal, comprehensive coverage affordable by saving the hundreds of billions we now waste on insurance overhead and bureaucracy. Unfortunately, Washington politicians seem ready to cave in to insurance firms and keep them and their counterfeit coverage at the core of our system. Reforms that expand phony insurance - stripped-down plans riddled with co-payments, deductibles and exclusions - won't stem the rising tide of medical bankruptcy."

Dr. Deborah Thorne, associate professor of sociology at Ohio University and study co-author, stated: "American families are confronting a panoply of social forces that make it terribly difficult to maintain financial stability - job losses and wages that have not kept pace with the cost of living, exploitation from the various lending industries, and, probably most consequential and disgraceful, a health care system that is so dysfunctional that even the most mundane illness or injury can result in bankruptcy. Families who file medical bankruptcies are overwhelmingly hard-working, middle-class families who have played by the rules of our economic system, and they deserve nothing less than affordable health care."
*****
A copy of the study is available at http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=cyCOPlo%2B8IuyyLZIpC4n5LMsVyjLRdTe or through the American Journal of Medicine, ajmmedia@elsevier.com, (212) 633-3944. The authors have also prepared a supplementary "Fact Sheet" and a "Q&A" on medical bankruptcy, both of which detail the study's methods and findings. See same link above.
"Medical bankruptcy in the United States, 2007: Results of a national study," David U. Himmelstein, M.D; Deborah Thorne, Ph.D.; Elizabeth Warren, J.D.; Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., M.P.H. American Journal of Medicine, June 4, 2009 (online).
Physicians for a National Health Program (http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=13oKHa9L5pBn%2Fcryc4MuWnKBQc44b9gb), a membership organization of over 16,000 physicians, supports a single-payer national health insurance program. To contact a physician-spokesperson in your area, visit http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2BA5kzE%2BOE5TWRvlgPTwB9nKBQc44b9gb or call (312) 782-6006.
Report on Meeting with Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT, Chair, Senate Finance Committee)
by PNHP President Dr. Oliver FeinJune 3, 2009

Senator Max Baucus, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, met with single payer representatives today.

The meeting had been brokered by Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont, author of S. 703, a single payer bill. Besides Senator Sanders, single payer advocates were represented by Marcia Angell, M.D. (former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine), Rose Ann DeMoro (vice president of the AFL-CIO and executive director of the California Nurses Association), Geri Jenkins, R.N. (co-president of the California Nurses Association), David Himmelstein, M.D. (associate professor at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program), and myself (Oliver Fein M.D.) president of Physicians for a National Health Program.

Senator Baucus led off the meeting by implying that he was not ideologically opposed to single payer. In fact, during the 1993-94 Clinton health reform debate, he had visited Canada and was impressed by their system. He recalled that the Canadian hospital he visited had only one room devoted to billing, whereas the comparably sized hospital in Montana had a whole floor concerned with billing. The problem with single payer was that it was not politically feasible in the present Congress.

During the 30 minute meeting, we presented a vigorous case for single payer. Our specific asks included holding a full Finance Committee hearing on single payer; requesting a side-by-side Congressional Budget Office (CBO) comparison of single payer with other Congressional health reform bills; and inclusion of a state single payer option (like the Sanders bill 703) in health reform legislation. At the conclusion of the meeting, Senator Baucus said he felt he had made mistake in excluding single from the Finance Committee hearings. However, he thought it was too late to hold hearings now. When Senator Sanders said that the Senate HELP Committee might schedule such a hearing and asked if Senator Baucus would support a joint hearing, Senator Baucus indicated he would think about it. Similarly, he made no commitment to request a CBO comparison of single payer or to include a state single payer option in the Senate Health Reform. Finally, we asked that charges be dropped against the 13 single payer activists, including physicians and nurses, who had been arrested when they tried to offer testimony at the Finance Committee hearings in May. Senator Baucus agreed.

All the advocates urge continuing pressure on Congress, not only in D.C., but also in their districts and states. Medicare for all, we believe, has the potential to become the civil rights issue of the 21st century.

Physicians for a National Health Program29 E Madison Suite 602, Chicago, IL 60602Phone (312) 782-6006 Fax: (312) 782-6007http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=zchQlBT9rPIrYeo9WLduT3KBQc44b9gb info@pnhp.org© PNHP 2009If you no longer wish to receive alerts from PNHP, please email us

League Legislative Priorities: Climate Change and Health Care

Dear League & Community Members,

There have been some important developments in Washington DC on League priorities. On Thursday, May 21 the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed America's Energy and Climate Security Act. The bill passed by the committee is weaker than the original legislation but is still an historic step. Earlier that week, the League sent a letter to members of the committee urging them to support a strong bill. Now it is important that Congress hear from constituents that the legislation should be strengthened.

Health care legislation is also coming. Recent reports suggest committee votes could be scheduled as early as June. The League has sent letters to both the House and Senate, urging lawmakers to pass strong and effective health care legislation. The League is working to support comprehensive reform, including universal coverage, cost containment and quality.




President Mary Wilson urges state and local Leagues to contact their Representative and Senators during the Congressional recess for Memorial Day, which will end on June 2. This week provides a great opportunity to contact members of Congress. Click here to tell your Senators and Representative that America needs strong climate change legislation and here to tell your Senators and Representative that America needs effective health care legislation. It is important to take advantage of the congressional recess and to build support for these two critical issues through the month of June.


In league,


Tanya Baumgart


VP of Communications,
LWV of Bellingham/Whatcom County

Check out our Issue Poll!

Just posted - a new poll to help us better meet the needs of community and league members. Please fill out the poll to the left with your top five picks!

In league,
Tanya
VP of Communications
LWV of Bellingham/Whatcom County

Action Needed!

Dear Leaguer,

The following letter came via the advocacy listserv from National League of Women Voters President, Mary G. Wilson. I post it here for your information and interest. Please take the appropriate action on areas that are most important to you.

Warm regards,
Tanya Baumgart,

VP of Communications

LWV of Bellingham/Whatcom County

From Mary G. Wilson:

This week provides a great opportunity to contact members of Congress. Senators and Representatives will be visiting their districts for the Memorial Day recess which will end on June 2. Please let your members know that the time is right to contact their Senators and Representatives.

There have been some important developments in Washington on League priorities. On Thursday, May 21 the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed America's Energy and Climate Security Act. The bill passed by the committee is weaker than the original legislation but is still an historic step. Earlier last week, the League sent a letter to members of the committee urging them to support a strong bill. Now it is important that Congress hear from constituents that the legislation should be strengthened.

Health care legislation is also coming. Recent reports suggest committee votes could be scheduled as early as June. The League has sent letters to both the House and Senate urging lawmakers to pass strong and effective health care legislation. The League is working to support comprehensive reform, including universal coverage, cost containment and quality.

Your Representative and Senators need to hear from you and your League members on these two critical issues. Please send these action links to your membership. And please use these links to send an official message on behalf of your League to Congress.

1. Visit www.lwv.org/climatechangeaction to tell your Senators and Representative that America needs strong climate change legislation.

2. Visit www.lwv.org/healthcareaction to tell your Senators and Representative that America needs effective health care legislation.

If you or your members would prefer to call your Senators and Representative, use the Capitol Hill switchboard at 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121. Here are the talking points to use:

The League supports strong climate change legislation that:
· Enacts a cap on greenhouse gas emissions for the year 2020 that is at least 25 percent below 1990 levels and a cap for the year 2050 that is 80-95 percent below 1990 emissions. The best available science indicates these reductions will be needed to stop the damage from getting worse.
· Assists poor people in developing countries who are already struggling to deal with climate change by providing funding to help them adapt. With this funding, vulnerable communities can diversify their ways of earning a living, and plan and budget for disasters.
· Assists developing countries to reduce their own emissions through clean energy technologies.
· Establishes policies to ensure that those who produce greenhouse gases will contribute to help the poor deal with the effects of climate change both here and abroad.

The League supports effective health care reform legislation that:
· Guarantees quality, affordable health care for all U.S. residents.
· Ensures that comparative data on treatments, benefits packages and medical outcomes are made publicly available so that individuals can make informed health decisions.
· Reduces the costs of health care for individuals, businesses and communities. Cost containment measures must take place in the context of equitable distribution of services and overall reform.

It is important to take advantage of the congressional recess and to build support for these two critical issues through the month of June. Additional information on League action issues can be found at http://www.lwv.org/. Please contact Christina Vamvas, LWVUS Grassroots Lobbyist at (202) 263-1328 or cvamvas@lwv.org if you have any questions.

Thank you.

Mary G. Wilson

WA State Rep Kelli Linville reports at League Annual Meeting on Budget

WA State Representative Kelli Linville presented a succinct overview of the state budget at the League of Women Voters of Bellingham-Whatcom County's Annual Meeting, May 16th 2009. Linville, whose position as Chair of the Ways & Means committee and long time Appropriations committee member, expressed the pain this year's budget cuts caused everyone.

One of the most brutal cuts was the 40,000 people that will be cut from our state health care plan - The Basic Health Plan of Washington. During a time when people are losing jobs, and losing health benefits, our state is in a position where it has to reduce the help it gives its people. There is just something wrong with that.

The League of Women Voters of WA has a position on Health Care. We believe in taking action to control total system expenditures and to provide universal access to affordable health services with seamless coverage regardless of one's health status. Our total system expenditures are excessive in the United States. 22% of our health care dollars go toward administrative costs. We pay far more than any other industrialized country for our health care, but according to the World Health Organization we are ranked 37th for overall health as a nation. We believe that we can do better!

Another area of budget cuts is Education. The largest cuts came in the college education area with over 9000 spots for students cut, as well as potential rate increases of up to 14%. Rep. Kelli Linville shared that they worked hard to contain the cuts to the K-12 level as much as possible, and that they did not cut the early childhood education programs. Early Childhood Education was the subject of a state wide league study this year, and we are very grateful that the legislature was at least able to protect the level that we currently have.

Transportation issues weren't really discussed, but Linville did mention that funding for the Neah Bay oil spill tug boat has been secured by a bill passed the WA legislature. A full-time rescue tug has been funded by taxpayers since July of 2008 to stand by at Neah Bay. However, on June 30, 2009, this funding will end. The oil, cargo and cruise industries will now be required to contract with approved rescue capable tug boat operators to be escorted to and from the area. This is precautionary to ensure safe entry & exit, as well as a quick clean-up response if an accident should happen. The League applauds the protections this legislation puts in place to help protect our marine waterways.

Tax reform came up during the question and answer period after Linville's presentation. We are primarily reliant upon sales and business excise taxes for funding our services. This creates a boom and bust effect on our state budget. WA State B&O tax is punitive to small businesses and reduces incentive for businesses to base their home here. There are many ways to fund our government. The League of Women Voters of WA believes in action to obtain a balanced tax structure that is fair, adequate, flexible and has a sound economic effect. Tax reform should be considered to keep our society on a more stable course.

We are grateful to WA State Representative Kelli Linville for taking the time to share her insights with our league and the general public. Thank you for your hard work on behalf of our community!

WA State Representative Kelli Linville, 42nd District speaks on “Balancing the Budget in Olympia”

You’re invited to...

The League of Women Voters of Bellingham-Whatcom County’s
Annual Meeting Luncheon

Saturday, May 16, 2009
12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m.

Starring our Special Guest Speaker
WA State Representative Kelli Linville, 42nd District

“Balancing the Budget in Olympia, 2009”

WA State House Representative Kelli Linville, 42nd District, with over 16 years of legislative experience and serving as the current Chair of the Ways & Means Committee, will share her insights on the trials and tribulations of the State’s budget crisis. Linville’s position as Ways & Means Committee Chair gives her a unique perspective of the big picture with regards to the state budget. The House Ways and Means Committee considers the operating budget bill, global fiscal issues such as pension policy and compensation, and bills with larger fiscal impacts.

Details:
Where: YWCA 1026 North Forest Street, Bellingham, WA 98225
Menu: A delicious assortment of salads, sandwiches, dessert provided by Avenue Bread and Deli
Cost with Lunch: $15.00 (Includes tax and gratuity)
Cost without lunch: Free to League Members, $5 for Non-Members. But of course you can join at the door.


RAFFLE! If you renew your League membership at or before the Annual Meeting your name will be entered in a drawing for a beautiful basket of local delectables. The drawing will be held at the Annual Meeting.