When the buzz around Sarah Palin settles, we at Healthcare United will bet that voters will primarily be concerned with one thing: where does she stand on the issues? As our focus here is on healthcare, we thought we'd take a look at Sarah Palin's healthcare record in order to see what her influence in this area might be if she and John McCain get to the White House.

Due to her relatively short term as a governor, there's not a ton to sift through, and analysts are doing a good bit of reading in between the lines.

One conclusion is that between her record and public statements, Palin is, according to Robert Laszewski of The Health Care Blog, "staunchly free market." Laszewski bases his conclusion mainly on an opinion piece written by Palin and published in the Anchorage Daily News.

A Washington Post article on Palin and healthcare reform she pushed in Alaska says it was "an aggressive, uncompromising and, to date, unsuccessful push to promote competition -- an effort consistent with her free-market ideals, but also welcomed by the medical groups that helped finance her 2006 campaign and an industry lobbyist who served as a top political adviser." (Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/04/AR2008090403253_pf.html)

An analysis by Joe Paduda at Managed Care Matters says "the short take (is that) she has no clue what she's talking about."

He continues:

"Here's the net. Palin's doctrinaire position on health care is in lock-step with the GOP - it relies on an unfounded and unsupported faith in the free market's ability to somehow reduce health care costs and increase quality, despite all evidence that there is no such linkage.

What does this mean for you?

As John Wennberg and others have demonstrated conclusively, the more supply there is, the higher costs are. Health care is not like other economic goods, no matter how much Palin et al may want it to be. If you are looking for solutions you'll not get any examining Palin's record on health care."

Link: http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001282.html

Sarah Palin does have a concrete record on health care for children. As governor of Alaska, she signed legislation limiting the eligibility level for Alaska's State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to families living below 175 percent of the poverty line -- among the lowest eligibility of any state in the nation. Palin did not support legislation to expand eligibility to higher levels. (Link: http://thinkprogress.org/palin-digest/#healthcare)

As more information about Sarah Palin comes out, we'll be informing all of you here on the Healthcare United blog. We also look forward to covering the issue as the election season rolls on and the debates are held.

 

We’d like to share the latest update from Mara Kieval, RN, who's working with several dedicated RNs and healthcare professionals in Salem, Oregon:

"This morning in Salem, Oregon, we held a Mandatory Electoral Mobilization meeting. At the beginning of the meeting, Sen. Kurt Schrader, the State Senator running for the open seat in the House, stopped by to speak with us, and, more importantly listen to our concerns as healthcare professionals. Then, he signed the Healthcare for America Now! pledge. It was an important moment for our activists to witness the power of lobbying their elected officials.

Immediately following Senator Schrader's visit, we got down to business. Using the fantastic new training packets put together by Healthcare United's western regional team, we broke out a calendar and each of the 15 attendees signed up to work scheduled phone banks over the next two weeks. We offered Tuesday night, Thursday night and a Saturday morning shift for them to choose from and they all had to choose two shifts each. The comprehensive training materials, the comparison piece, the polling data on nurses, and "the most well written phone banking script I have ever seen" (said one seasoned political activist) was more than enough to mobilize the caregivers present to take responsibility for this election and what they can do to impact the outcome. By standing up for our patients and our profession, we can change healthcare in this country!"  

If you're in Oregon and would like to join other caregivers in calling voters this Election season, check out the Oregon state page.

Healthcare United organizers and supporters joined with Health Care For America Now! in hosting several screening parties for the new Robert Greenwald documentary, Diagnosis: NOW!

You can now watch the short film in its entirety. Check it out:

From the Health Care for America Now! website:

  "Our health care system is broken. While the insurance industry rakes in profits hand over fist, hard-working people are left without the coverage they paid for. This must change"

The presidential election is clearly starting to affect the medblogging community.  Over the last week, I’ve begun to see even the most apolitical bloggers suddenly take up the all-important issue of deciding their presidential candidate preferences.

1) Juliaink, a psychiatrist over at the spectacular Mothers in Medicine blog, began mapping out some issues that she wishes were addressed.  True to the subject matter on the blog, she talks about issues relating to women in the health care workplace.  Says Juliaink:

“A friend of mine in Hawaii wrote to me that blue cross/blue shield in her state requires women to pay higher premiums than men--and gets away with it! Yes, women have expenses related to reproductive care that men don't, and yes, we live longer. But the whole idea of health insurance is to spread risk fairly through a population.”
…
“Beyond reproductive health care services like abortion and contraception, adequate insurance for the elderly, including nursing and other support services, are also "women's issues." When insurance fails to cover services, it is typically women--wives and daughters--who pick up the responsibilties of caregiving. When insurance does not pay for services for children, it is mothers who step in fill the vacuum. Now that women are more productive in work outside the home, the economic costs of us having to cut back our own work to become caregivers are huge, and rarely acknowledged.”

You can check out the rest of Juliaink’s blog post here: http://www.mothersinmedicine.com/2008/09/elephant-in-room.html

2) May over at About A Nurse also took up the election issue, in a refreshingly candid way.  May, admitting that she’s generally apolitical, used her blog as a way to solicit resources to help her decide which candidate is the strongest on healthcare issues.  May says:

“Let’s put it in perspective that I have only been here for over 6 years, and to be honest, I still have no concrete idea what the real difference between a Republican and a Democrat is. What I should focus on is what these candidates have done in the past, and what is it that they have that will make them the best leaders in the future? And that, I just do not have time to do yet. I am getting into it, and will eventually make a decision.”

True to the strength of the medblogger community, May received plenty of comments directing her to resources that can help her make her decisions.  You can check the blog post and the discussion out here: http://www.aboutanurse.com/2008/09/the-election-debate.html

3) Kevin, MD has written an open letter to both Senator Obama and Senator McCain, taking a fairly critical and substantive look at both of their proposals.  Says Kevin:

“As a primary care doctor, it comes as no surprise that I have focused on your proposals to reform our healthcare system. I applaud both of your efforts, and they could not be more different. The election will truly be a referendum on whether the country will endorse the left's focus on universal coverage, or the market-based solutions of the right.”

Kevin also reminds us that Senator McCain, while campaigning, missed a crucial vote:

“Senator McCain, first let me say that your absence in July's vote on the Medicare bill to repeal physician payment cuts was disappointing. Choosing not to support physicians will certainly linger in my mind on November 4th.”

As a primary care physician, he urges both Obama and McCain to take a strong look at how any plan may affect the future of primary care:

“The simple fact is that unless you solve the primary care issue, neither of your plans will be successful.

I look forward to listening to any proposals you may have to address the primary care crisis. I also wish both of you the best of luck as we come down the home stretch of a grueling campaign season. You don't need me to tell you that every vote counts.

Mine's up for grabs.”

You can read the rest of the article here: http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/09/open-letter-to-barack-obama-and-john.html

-----

The debate will most certainly grow stronger, and it’s inspiring to see the medblogger community begin to discuss the issues.  You, yourself, can join in by writing about the election on your blog, commenting on blog posts written by other medbloggers, or even joining in on discussions on healthcare forums, much like Mother Jones, RN has done on NursingVoices (check it out over here: http://www.nursingvoices.com/politics-debates/665-obama-biden-vs-mccain-palin.html)

Oral health is a part of total optimum health. Recent publications have disclosed the relationship between oral health and diabetes, heart disease, low birth weight/ premature babies and lung diseases. As a dental hygienist for over twenty years I was able to see these connections first hand. I was able to see how removing the debris in the patients' mouth would improve their total health. For one uncontrolled diabetic patient I personally treated, I was able to see first hand how once the infection that was destroying the gums and the underlying bone was cleared up, the diabetes became more stable. The care I provided for the patient was not complicated from a dental hygiene treatment standpoint, but the periodontal status was seriously compromised due to the diabetic condition. Often the services provided by dental hygienists are often seen as a luxury and only those who have "dental insurance" are able to take advantage of this type of care. This patient had not been afforded routine dental hygiene care throughout his life to prevent the complications in the first place.

Our health care system in the United States is the greatest in the world in my opinion. It is just very broken with too many entities determining how care should be provided, delivered and compensated. In dental hygiene there is no consistency in the type or manner our care can be provided. It was only recently that dental hygienists in Virginia were granted authority, under the supervision of a dentist, to provide pain management with nitrous oxide sedation and administration of local anesthesia, while dental hygienists in other states in have been providing this service for over 30 years! How are those in one state different than those in another who have to go through the rigorous educational standards as well as national and clinical board examinations?

I am joining the movement of Healthcare United because anyone can make a difference. As a citizen of the United States of America, we must be willing to take the time to understand the issues our country is facing. In 1992, the candidates campaigned for healthcare reform and the country became aware of the issues Americans were facing. Americans are still facing these same problems, only we now know more about how preventive oral health care can make all Americans healthier. This election is already proven to be one of historic proportions. Historic changes are going to be made, the question is, are you going to be a part of those changes or let others make the decisions for you?

Having traveled to Denver last month to meet with key decision-makers in Congress, it’s clear to me that our stake in the presidential election this fall is especially high. We need to be as informed as possible this election – so we can make the right decisions for our families, our patients, and our profession.

Healthcare United has compiled the candidates’ plans and their voting records on healthcare. We’ve found, as you can imagine, that Barack Obama and John McCain have different records on health care – and very different plans for the future of the system.

Our comparison chart covers the candidates’ voting records on key healthcare issues, showing the types of legislation that they’ve sponsored and how they’ve voted on issues like staffing and professional development, healthcare for children, system and prescription drug costs, women’s health, healthcare for seniors and people with disabilities, healthcare for low-income families, and veterans’ health care. 

For example, here’s our comparison on “Healthcare for Children”: http://healthcareunited.org/index.php/candidates/issues/healthcare_for_children/

Obama:
•    Voted for legislation last year to expand health coverage to nearly 4 million more uninsured children through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). [H.R. 976, Vote #307, 8/2/07]
•    As a state senator in Illinois, supported the KidCare program that covers children of low-income families. [Public Act 93-0063, 6/30/03; The State-Journal Register, 10/29/2004]

McCain:
•    Voted against legislation last year to expand health coverage to nearly 4 million more uninsured children through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Advocated for President Bush’s veto of the legislation. [H.R. 976, Vote #307, 8/2/07; CNN, 10/17/2007]
•    Since 1997, voted six times to reduce or restrict health insurance coverage for low-income children and pregnant women. [SCR 27, Vote #76, 5/21/97] [S 949, Vote #149, 6/27/97] [HR 4810, Vote #204, 7/17/00] [H.R. 976, Vote #307, 8/2/07] [S 3, Vote #45, 3/11/03] [H.R. 3963, Vote #401, 10/31/07]
•    In 1998, introduced a bill to increase the accessibility of Medicaid for children [S. 2382, 7/30/98] and in 2001 co-sponsored legislation to give states the option to cover certain legal immigrants under SCHIP. [S. 582, 3/21/01]

We’ve also conducted an analysis of the candidates’ healthcare proposals and position statements: http://www.healthcareunited.org/candidates/issues/overall_healthcare_plan/

For example, here’s both Obama and McCain’s plans on pre-existing medical conditions:

Q. What about people with pre-existing medical conditions or who become sick or high-risk?

BARACK OBAMA
•    Will stop all insurers from using pre-existing conditions as a reason for denying enrollment, dropping coverage, or charging higher premiums.  Also will limit insurers’ ability to drop coverage when someone gets sick or becomes high-risk.
 
JOHN McCAIN
•    No changes proposed to stop insurance company discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions or who become sick or high-risk. Will allow insurance companies to base their operations from a state with very few or no consumer protections and sell their policies nationwide.

Take a look here, and let us know what you think by leaving a comment on this blog post!

We couldn't pass up the opportunity to spotlight a few more of the excellent, thoughtful responses from Healthcare United supporters to the article on Huffington Post (see previous post). Many of the responses came from nurses with decades of experience. Check these out:

"I am a nurse of 25 years with 20 plus years being in the Emergency Department. Let me tell you from experience that in no way is coming to the Emergency Department going to count as health care. Yes, we see everyone who comes to see us and yes, we have a large number of indigent patients. The problem is that there is never any health care given to these people before they become so critically ill and have to be admitted to the hospital. When they are discharged who do they see afterwards for follow up care? How do they get the medicine they need? By just changing numbers and terminology to facts given because you don't like what they say, isn't going to change the fact that a very large number of people do not have insurance or medical care..." - oldnurse

"As an RN with 25 years of experience, and as the spouse of a cancer patient who was told [to] "Come back to us when you have insurance and we will treat you." I have a great deal of problem with the idea that there are no uninsured. ...I also know people are dying unnecessarily due to inability to pay for good medical care. This situation is a national disgrace and must be remedied, and not by sticking our heads in the sand and denying that there is a problem."- Mrinur

"The reason so many hospitals have had to close over the past decade is because the emergency rooms were overwhelmed by uninsured citizens with ailments that could have been prevented or significantly mitigated if the individual had had insurance and been able to see a physician earlier- and outside the treatment of last resort. I've worked in the Emergency Room and nothing comes closer to disaster medicine than a waiting room packed to the gills with folks in various states of injury and pain. "Everybody's covered"? How stupid. It takes money to pay the staff, obtain and maintain equipment and provide medication. Hospitals should not have to go begging for the fraction of cost they will get for uninsured patients... " -babette40

This nurse at a children's hospital had some particularly strong words for Goodman:

To comment on this story, click here.

As part of the Healthcare for All Now! (HCAN) coalition, Healthcare United is participating in several screening parties throughout the U.S. for the new documentary by Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films, Diagnosis NOW!

Are you interested in watching this film with other healthcare professionals? If so, check out your state and find an event near you.

I've enjoyed reading the fantastic comments posted by Healthcare United supporters on a recent Huffington Post article.

The article, which was sent to our subscribers yesterday, reports on recent statements made by Sen. John McCain's healthcare advisor, John Goodman. Goodman said, "The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American...as uninsured."  He continued, no one is really uninsured because they can always just go to an ER to get treatment. We suspected that, like me, other healthcare workers would have plenty to say in response to Goodman's "expert" analysis. Furthermore, it's clear that healthcare workers needed to be part of this online debate--for we have the actual experience of being on the frontlines of healthcare in this country.

Join the conversation here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-rosenbaum/john-goodman-think-tank-h_b_122168.html

Here's a few of our favorite comments:

"I am OUTRAGED! I am a Registered Nurse living in a medium sized city. Our ER wait times are terrible. They are overrun by parents bringing their kids in with pink eye, seniors needing their blood pressure meds refilled, and even parents coming in to have their kids vaccinated. All of these visits, that would be handled by a primary care provider if the person had insurance, serve to clog our ER's and delay care for EMERGENCIES. They also cause the cost of care in the ER to rise astronomically...." - KristieShannonRN

"As an emergency physician, I can tell Mr. Goodman from personal experience that "no one is uninsured because they can all go to an ER for care" is a ridiculous statement. The emergency department is not the place for providing primary (including preventive) care. Emergency departments are for acute care, but are already over-crowded with both acute and a substatnial number of non-acute patients. This leads to long wait times, boarding of patients in the hallways, and other situations not conducive to optimal patient care and safety. Not to mention that the emergency department is not set up to do routine physicals in the midst of all the patients needing immediate attention. Are we to do Pap smears with follow-up, prostate exams (and what if we find a nodule?), sigmoidoscopies or referrals for colonoscopy (no insurance for screening colonoscopy, remember)? The whole idea of the emergency department as the designated site for care for the uninsured is mindbogglingly myopic." - ljlmd84

"I work at an acute care inner city hospital that is not for profit. I get to see all the uninsured patients that he says does not exist. I can also tell you that an emergency craniotomy after a traumatic head injury and the care that MUST come after that does not happen in the ER and is not paid for except by my hospital cutting money from the budget. On an average day I see 8-12 patients and of those over half are uninsured. Just this week a woman on a trip, had a massive stroke w/ no movement on one side, and is now in our city and now sits in our ICU and will be here for awhile until she can handle a plane or car trip home. Her state is not going to send us a check for taking care of their uninsured... At present they are breathing and struggling to get better, but the future uninsured may not be able to come to our doors as we will have shut down when we run out of money and energy trying to keep our heads above water."- nimornam

"Hearing Mr. Goodman's statement about the non-existent uninsured really floored me. As an EMT I see people every day who do not seek treatment directly because they know they cannot afford a trip to the emergency department. They do not take their prescribed medication because they cannot afford the meds AND food. They do not get diagnosed of treated for diabetes, cancer, any other life-threatening disease because they cannot find a doctor who will treat them without insurance and the ER does not diagnose until they are at a crisis they may never recover from. Don't tell me that Americans are not in a health care crisis. Take a look." - greymoon

 

Let's keep the conversation going. Visit the article and post a comment now: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-rosenbaum/john-goodman-think-tank-h_b_122168.html (Note: Registration required) 

An article posted today on Alibi.com profiles Healthcare United activist Dr. Elizabeth Burpee and the Healthcare United campaign in New Mexico. In light of recent comments made by Sen. John McCain's healthcare advisor, John Goodman, on the availability of the ER for persons without insurance,  Burpee's story seems particularly relevant:

Elizabeth Burpee's daughter was trying to scream, but she couldn't because her tongue was swollen. In the pediatric ER two weeks ago at UNM Hospital, the girl was having a life-threatening allergic reaction to an antibiotic. Burpee is a doctor at the hospital, but that night, she was there as a mom. "I went out to get a nurse, and the nurse was too busy to come right away," Burpee says. UNMH was on code purple status, she says, which means a message was sent to all health care providers in the hospital saying the ER was crowded, the hospital was full and patients needed to be discharged as fast as possible so ER patients could get into beds. "That's a product of our failed health care system," Burpee says. "People have to use the ER as their primary care facility. That's a huge problem and incredibly dangerous."

Days later, she would be traveling with 28 nurses and doctors from New Mexico to the Democratic National Convention, where Burpee would speak about the ailing health care system in the United States. The group was part of the state's chapter of Healthcare United, an organization of doctors and nurses seeking a voice in the national debate about health care. Watching her daughter catch her breath after finally receiving the treatment she needed, Burpee marveled at the situation. "I was thinking to myself, This is crazy. This is stuff that I talk about, and this is happening to me right now.

Dr. Burpee and other Healthcare United activists spoke at a rally in Denver on Wednesday, August 27th in support healthcare reform. In addressing the audience, Dr. Burpee explained the importance of Healthcare United's constituency: "If you put a reform package together without the expertise of doctors and nurses, it would be disastrous," she says.

 

Read the full article: http://alibi.com/index.php?story=24471&scn=news

With the next president and Congress likely to act on health care after the election, we know that the decision healthcare workers make about whom to elect could be the decision of a lifetime. That's why it's critically important that we look at the candidates' records and their plans for the future of a system that we work in every day.

Healthcare United is launching an easy-to-use, online comparison of Sen. John McCain's and Sen. Barack Obama's records and views on healthcare in America. 

• Preview the online comparison, here.
• You can download a PDF version of the full report today.

 

This web page is paid for by SEIU COPE (www.seiucope.org) with voluntary contributions from SEIU members and their families and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

On Sunday, August 31, the night before the start of the Republican National Convention, Republican members of the Service Employees International Union gathered in St. Paul, Minnesota. This group of union members included healthcare professionals concerned about the state of the healthcare system. Foremost among these was Larry Schindler, a surgery technician at Unity Hospital in Fridley, MN, who volunteered to present Healthcare United’s Prescriptions for Change to the Republican elected officials in attendance.
 
Larry delivered the huge stack of “prescriptions” to Senator Paul Koering, the State Senator from Minnesota’s District 12. As he did so, Larry pointed out one of the submissions that closely matched his own experience as a healthcare professional in Minnesota. Senator Koering listened closely as Larry related his experiences and agreed to deliver the Prescriptions for Change to the RNC.
 
Thanks to all of those who submitted “prescriptions” and to the efforts of people like Larry, the voice of healthcare workers has reached the conventions of both major political parties. Now it’s time for us to raise that voice even louder and let all the decision makers know that the time for change in healthcare is NOW!

Three major studies were just released chronicling how hospital staffing has an impact on the quality of patient care. The results were not entirely surprising—at least not to the millions of frontline healthcare workers caring for patients under these conditions.

One study demonstrates that a higher nurse-to-patient staffing ratios led to shorter hospital stays and lower rates of urinary tract infections, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, pneumonia, and cardiac arrest.

Another portion of the study looked at surgical patient outcomes in 168 different Pennsylvania hospitals. The hospitals ranged in nurse-to-patient ratios from 5:1 to 7:1.  According to the study, by adding one patient to each nurse load, the probability of nurse burnout increased by 23% and patient mortality by 7%. Yikes!

Reasonable nurse-to-patient ratios definitely have a profound effect on nursing satisfaction. It’s time that our Presidential candidates began addressing the problem of unsafe staffing in our nation’s hospitals, and how this practice can have serious consequences for patients and the workforce.

For complete article: http://gastroenterology.jwatch.org/cgi/content/full/2002/1228/12

Last week, at the Democratic National Convention, I joined with roughly 30 fellow RNs in sitting down with Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-9), who's a member of the House Subcommittee on Health and is a key member of the House Nursing Caucus. Our meeting took place in an unusual setting--on chairs in the grass in Denver's Sunken Gardens Park. The casual meeting space allowed for a more open dialogue between RNs and one of our biggest champions in Congress, Rep. Schakowsky.
First, Rep. Schakowsky explained why she strongly championed the bipartisan federal legislation on nurse staffing (H.R. 1222 and H.R. 2123). She related to the difficult working environment we find ourselves in, and how nurses are leaving the profession due to the lack of safe staffing. We talked about how H.R. 1222 and H.R. 2123 would not only can address the issues affecting RNs, but would ensure the safety of patients. It's become commonplace for families to stay at the bedside of a loved one to ensure that they receive proper care, and we all agreed that is a sign of a system in trouble.

As a strong advocate for Sen. Barack Obama's bid for the presidency, Rep. Schakowsky closed by sharing her experience working with Sen. Obama while he was in the Illinois state legislature, and how his current healthcare plan ensures accessibility, affordability and quality. She reminded us of how vitally important our RN voices are in developing and ensuring the passage of lasting healthcare legislation that puts patients and quality front and center.
 
Many questions were asked during the discussion, and it was a personal thrill when many RNs in attendance asked the Congresswoman how they could get involved to affect change for our patients.  I'm proud to say that each of those RNs signed up to join the movement for quality, affordable healthcare for all through Healthcare United!

Overall, it was a great day for nurses at the Democratic National Convention, and we were honored to have Congresswoman Schakowsky share it with us!

All morning I've been glued to my PC, watching the live-stream Webcast of the Healthcare Forum in Denver. I've been applauding and yelling Yes Yes Yes. My dog Buzz is getting nervous. He keeps scrambling to get in my lap.

I was applauding when Dr. Toni Lewis, Healthcare United lead advocate, stepped up to the podium. Yes Yes Yes. I was applauding and wishing I were with her, out there in Denver. (Of course, through Healthcare United, I actually am with her, in more important ways than live-stream!)

Here's something Dr. Lewis recently wrote on these pages: "Inspire by example. Ask people to get with this movement! Give simple steps."

I've been thinking about that. I've been thinking about it a lot.

On Saturday morning, as Dr. Lewis was probably getting ready to head for Denver, I was upstairs in my home in Baltimore, preparing to do the laundry. My husband John was downstairs in the kitchen, talking on the phone to an elderly relative from his side of the family.

"Hey Madeleine!" John called up the stairwell. "Could you pick up the phone?"

John knows I try to avoid those 3-way phone conversations. I get so impatient, straining to hear what the far-away people are saying, while the person on the other extension (John himself) always seems to be shouting. But this time I could hear the urgency in his voice, so I picked up right away, no argument from me.

Turns out that the elderly relative's wife has been having trouble with her heart, and he just needed to talk about it: what the doctor was saying, what the nurses were saying, and how he himself was coping while the love of his life was in the hospital, hooked up to a monitor.

If you've read my posts here before, you might be expecting that this story is a hook into discussing yet another failure in the healthcare delivery system.

Not so this time. This time I'm just thinking about the phone call itself. The way John asked me to pick up the phone, and the way he thanked me afterwards. John said it meant a lot to the elderly relative that I was listening in, because I was "the medical person in the family."

If you are the "medical person" in your family (or in your circle of friends, your church, your neighborhood), then you know what I'm talking about. People keep telling you about their "medical" experiences, right? Why is that? It seems to me that they don't always want our advice. It seems they simply want to run things past us. They see us as "insiders" in the confusing, frightening world of sickness. They find it comforting and reassuring to talk to us because we are in the know.

Simple steps: Inspire by example. Ask people to get with the movement.

For me, the lesson of Saturday morning in our house is that we "medical persons" need to take those simple steps now. Sometimes it's only appropriate to just listen in, to be that comforting, reassuring "medical person" in the family (or neighborhood, or circle of friends). But there are other times when we need might speak. What if all the "medical persons" set the example, and spoke the truth about America's broken healthcare system to friends and relatives and neighbors, and asked them to get with the movement? Yes. Yes. Yes.

Simple steps = Huge Change. And you don't even have to travel to Denver!