Citizens' Oversight Maryland---Maryland Progressives
CINDY WALSH FOR MAYOR OF BALTIMORE----SOCIAL DEMOCRAT
Citizens Oversight Maryland.com
  • Home
  • Cindy Walsh for Mayor of Baltimore
    • Mayoral Election violations
    • Questionnaires from Community >
      • Education Questionnaire
      • Baltimore Housing Questionnaire
      • Emerging Youth Questionnaire
      • Health Care policy for Baltimore
      • Environmental Questionnaires
      • Livable Baltimore questionnaire
      • Labor Questionnnaire
      • Ending Food Deserts Questionnaire
      • Maryland Out of School Time Network
      • LBGTQ Questionnaire
      • Citizen Artist Baltimore Mayoral Forum on Arts & Culture Questionnaire
      • Baltimore Transit Choices Questionnaire
      • Baltimore Activating Solidarity Economies (BASE)
      • Downtown Partnership Questionnaire
      • The Northeast Baltimore Communities Of BelAir Edison Community Association (BECCA )and Frankford Improvement Association, Inc. (FIA)
      • Streets and Transportation/Neighbood Questionnaire
      • African American Tourism and business questionnaire
      • Baltimore Sun Questionnaire
      • City Paper Mayoral Questionnaire
      • Baltimore Technology Com Questionnaire
      • Baltimore Biker's Questionnair
      • Homewood Friends Meeting Questionnaire
      • Baltimore Historical Collaboration---Anthem Project
      • Tubman City News Mayoral Questionnaire
      • Maryland Public Policy Institute Questionnaire
      • AFRO questionnaire
      • WBAL Candidate's Survey
  • Blog
  • Trans Pacific Pact (TPP)
  • Progressive vs. Third Way Corporate Democrats
    • Third Way Think Tanks
  • Financial Reform/Wall Street Fraud
    • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau >
      • CFPB Actions
    • Voted to Repeal Glass-Steagall
    • Federal Reserve >
      • Federal Reserve Actions
    • Securities and Exchange Commission >
      • SEC Actions
    • Commodity Futures Trading Commission >
      • CFTC Actions
    • Office of the Comptroller of the Currency >
      • OCC Actions
    • Office of Treasury/ Inspector General for the Treasury
    • FINRA >
      • FINRA ACTIONS
  • Federal Healthcare Reform
    • Health Care Fraud in the US
    • Health and Human Services Actions
  • Social Security and Entitlement Reform
    • Medicare/Medicaid/SCHIP Actions
  • Federal Education Reform
    • Education Advocates
  • Government Schedules
    • Baltimore City Council
    • Maryland State Assembly >
      • Budget and Taxation Committee
    • US Congress
  • State and Local Government
    • Baltimore City Government >
      • City Hall Actions
      • Baltimore City Council >
        • Baltimore City Council Actions
      • Baltimore Board of Estimates meeting >
        • Board of Estimates Actions
    • Governor's Office >
      • Telling the World about O'Malley
    • Lt. Governor Brown
    • Maryland General Assembly Committees >
      • Communications with Maryland Assembly
      • Budget and Taxation Committees >
        • Actions
        • Pension news
      • Finance Committees >
        • Schedule
      • Business Licensing and Regulation
      • Judicial, Rules, and Nominations Committee
      • Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee >
        • Committee Actions
    • Maryland State Attorney General >
      • Open Meetings Act
      • Maryland Courts >
        • Maryland Court System
    • States Attorney - Baltimore's Prosecutor
    • State Comptroller's Office >
      • Maryland Business Tax Reform >
        • Business Tax Reform Issues
  • Maryland Committee Actions
    • Board of Public Works >
      • Public Works Actions
    • Maryland Public Service Commission >
      • Public Meetings
    • Maryland Health Care Commission/Maryland Community Health Resources Commission >
      • MHCC/MCHRC Actions
    • Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition
  • Maryland and Baltimore Development Organizations
    • Baltimore/Maryland Development History
    • Committee Actions
    • Maryland Development Organizations
  • Maryland State Department of Education
    • Charter Schools
    • Public Schools
    • Algebra Project Award
  • Baltimore City School Board
    • Charter Schools >
      • Charter Schools---Performance
      • Charter School Issues
    • Public Schools >
      • Public School Issues
  • Progressive Issues
    • Fair and Balanced Elections
    • Labor Issues
    • Rule of Law Issues >
      • Rule of Law
    • Justice issues 2
    • Justice Issues
    • Progressive Tax Reform Issues >
      • Maryland Tax Reform Issues
      • Baltimore Tax Reform Issues
    • Strong Public Education >
      • Corporate education reform organizations
    • Healthcare for All Issues >
      • Universal Care Bill by state
  • Building Strong Media
    • Media with a Progressive Agenda (I'm still checking on that!) >
      • anotherangryvoice.blogspot.com
      • "Talk About It" Radio - WFBR 1590AM Baltimore
      • Promethius Radio Project
      • Clearing the Fog
      • Democracy Now
      • Black Agenda Radio
      • World Truth. TV Your Alternative News Network.
      • Daily Censured
      • Bill Moyers Journal
      • Center for Public Integrity
      • Public Radio International
      • Baltimore Brew
      • Free Press
    • Far Left/Socialist Media
    • Media with a Third Way Agenda >
      • MSNBC
      • Center for Media and Democracy
      • Public Radio and TV >
        • NPR and MPT News
      • TruthOut
  • Progressive Organizations
    • Political Organizations >
      • Progressives United
      • Democracy for America
    • Labor Organizations >
      • United Workers
      • Unite Here Local 7
      • ROC-NY works to build power and win justice
    • Justice Organizations >
      • APC Baltimore
      • Occupy Baltimore
    • Rule of Law Organizations >
      • Bill of Rights Defense Committee
      • National Lawyers Guild
      • National ACLU
    • Tax Reform Organizations
    • Healthcare for All Organizations >
      • Healthcare is a Human Right - Maryland
      • PNHP Physicians for a National Health Program
      • Healthcare NOW- Maryland
    • Public Education Organizations >
      • Parents Across America
      • Philadelphia Public School Notebook thenotebook.org
      • Chicago Teachers Union/Blog
      • Ed Wize Blog
      • Educators for a Democratic Union
      • Big Education Ape
    • Elections Organizations >
      • League of Women Voters
  • Progressive Actions
    • Labor Actions
    • Justice Actions
    • Tax Reform Actions >
      • Baltimore Tax Actions
      • Maryland Tax Reform Actions
    • Healthcare Actions
    • Public Education Actions
    • Rule of Law Actions >
      • Suing Federal and State government
    • Free and Fair Elections Actions
  • Maryland/Baltimore Voting Districts - your politicians and their votes
    • 2014 ELECTION OF STATE OFFICES
    • Maryland Assembly/Baltimore
  • Petitions, Complaints, and Freedom of Information Requests
    • Complaints - Government and Consumer >
      • Sample Complaints
    • Petitions >
      • Sample Petitions
    • Freedom of Information >
      • Sample Letters
  • State of the Democratic Party
  • Misc
    • WBFF TV
    • WBAL TV
    • WJZ TV
    • WMAR TV
    • WOLB Radio---Radio One
    • The Gazette
    • Baltimore Sun Media Group
  • Misc 2
    • Maryland Public Television
    • WYPR
    • WEAA
    • Maryland Reporter
  • Misc 3
    • University of Maryland
    • Morgan State University
  • Misc 4
    • Baltimore Education Coalition
    • BUILD Baltimore
    • Church of the Great Commission
    • Maryland Democratic Party
    • Pennsylvania Avenue AME Zion Church
    • Maryland Municipal League
    • Maryland League of Women Voters
  • Untitled
  • Untitled
  • Standard of Review
  • Untitled
  • WALSH FOR GOVERNOR - CANDIDATE INFORMATION AND PLATFORM
    • Campaign Finance/Campaign donations
    • Speaking Events
    • Why Heather Mizeur is NOT a progressive
    • Campaign responses to Community Organization Questionnaires
    • Cindy Walsh vs Maryland Board of Elections >
      • Leniency from court for self-representing plaintiffs
      • Amended Complaint
      • Plaintiff request for expedited trial date
      • Response to Motion to Dismiss--Brown, Gansler, Mackie, and Lamone
      • Injunction and Mandamus
      • DECISION/APPEAL TO SPECIAL COURT OF APPEALS---Baltimore City Circuit Court response to Cindy Walsh complaint >
        • Brief for Maryland Court of Special Appeals >
          • Cover Page ---yellow
          • Table of Contents
          • Table of Authorities
          • Leniency for Pro Se Representation
          • Statement of Case
          • Questions Presented
          • Statement of Facts
          • Argument
          • Conclusion/Font and Type Size
          • Record Extract
          • Appendix
          • Motion for Reconsideration
          • Response to Defendants Motion to Dismiss
          • Motion to Reconsider Dismissal
      • General Election fraud and recount complaints
    • Cindy Walsh goes to Federal Court for Maryland election violations >
      • Complaints filed with the FCC, the IRS, and the FBI
      • Zapple Doctrine---Media Time for Major Party candidates
      • Complaint filed with the US Justice Department for election fraud and court irregularities.
      • US Attorney General, Maryland Attorney General, and Maryland Board of Elections are charged with enforcing election law
      • Private media has a responsibility to allow access to all candidates in an election race. >
        • Print press accountable to false statement of facts
      • Polling should not determine a candidate's viability especially if the polling is arbitrary
      • Viability of a candidate
      • Public media violates election law regarding do no damage to candidate's campaign
      • 501c3 Organizations violate election law in doing no damage to a candidate in a race >
        • 501c3 violations of election law-----private capital
      • Voter apathy increases when elections are not free and fair
  • Maryland Board of Elections certifies election on July 10, 2014
  • Maryland Elections ---2016

BEWARE......MARYLAND HEALTH CARE FOR ALL IS SIMPLY A JOHNS HOPKINS ORGANIZATION CREATED TO CO-OPT THIS ISSUE.....HOPKINS FIGHTS FOR PRIVATE HEALTH SYSTEMS AND AGAINST UNIVERSAL/PUBLIC HEALTH CARE.!!!!!



Posted on: Thursday, March 1, 2012 Financing a single payer system in Maryland Financing the Maryland Health Security Act By Gerald Friedman, Professor of Economics, The University of Massachusetts at Amherst
February, 2012

This policy memo explores the economic implications of enacting the Maryland Health Security Act (MHSA) and establishing the Maryland Health System Trust (MHST) a single-payer system to finance health care in Maryland. The proposed trust would finance virtually all necessary medical care including hospital care, doctor visits, dental care, mental health, prescribed occupational and physical therapy, prescription drugs, medical devices as well as medically necessary nursing home care and home health care. Medical care would be financed through the MHST without co-payments or deductibles.

The MHST will finance medical care with substantial savings compared with the existing multi-payer system of public and private insurers. Some of these savings would be used to extend coverage to the 15 percent of nonelderly adults in Maryland without insurance and to improve coverage for the growing number with inadequate coverage. In addition to improving access to health care, the MHST would reduce economic inequality by replacing the current regressive system of health insurance finance with progressive and proportional taxes. By reducing administrative and other waste, the MHST would increase real disposable income for most Maryland residents while reducing the burden of health care on Maryland businesses.

Financing the Maryland Health Security Act (31 pages):
http://www.md.pnhp.org/docs/Maryland-single-payer-study.pdf

House Bill 1035 - Maryland Health Security Act of 2011:
http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/billfile/hb1035.htm

Comment:  By Don McCanne, MD

Many proposals have been advanced and bills introduced for single payer programs. Perhaps the most frequent question asked is, "How would you pay for it?" The general answer is easy. You simply use progressive tax policies to fund a universal risk pool that pays for all appropriate care for everyone. Most people want specifics. In this report, Professor Gerald Friedman describes a financing proposal for the Maryland Health Security Act of 2011, a single payer model of reform.

As with all other single payer proposals, he reaches the conclusion that the substantial savings of the single payer model could be used to extend coverage to the uninsured and to improve coverage for the growing number with inadequate coverage. This would increase disposable income for most residents and reduce the burden of health care costs on Maryland businesses.

Friedman also provides a graph projecting three scenarios for Maryland health expenditures for the next decade: 1) the existing health care finance system, which we all know is terribly inflationary, 2) growth under the Affordable Care Act, which is much worse (since this is the most expensive model of reform), and 3) growth under single payer, which is dramatically reduced - bringing cost escalation down to tolerable levels - truly "bending the curve."

One important footnote in his report should be mentioned: "We assume that all necessary federal waivers are granted and legislation is enacted to allow the incorporation of existing federal programs into the MHST (Maryland Health System Trust), including Medicare, Medicaid, and the Veteran’s Administration." We might add to that legislation addressing the preemption clause for self-insured, employer-sponsored plans under the federal Employee Retirement and Income Security Act of 1974 (mentioned in the fiscal and policy note for HB 1035).

Activists should continue to support state efforts for single payer reform while simultaneously supporting enabling federal legislation, for the reasons mentioned. The former is not possible without the latter. A far better option would be to enact a national single payer program, but until we can bring sanity to our political process, state single payer reform should be pursued.



__________________________________________________________________________
The official blog of
BLOG PNHP WEBSITE ABOUT PNHP SINGLE PAYER RESOURCES 

Is the Basic Health Program option a good idea?

Posted by Don McCanne MD on Thursday, Apr 19, 2012 This entry is from Dr. McCanne's Quote of the Day, a daily health policy update on the single-payer health care reform movement. The QotD is archived on PNHP's website.

The Role of the Basic Health Program in the Coverage Continuum: Opportunities, Risks and Considerations for States By Deborah Bachrach, Melinda Dutton, Jennifer Tolbert and Julia Harris
Kaiser Family Foundation, March 2012

The Basic Health Program (BHP) is an optional coverage program under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that allows states to use federal tax subsidy dollars to offer subsidized coverage for individuals with incomes between 139-200% of the federal poverty level (FPL) who would otherwise be eligible to purchase coverage through state Health Insurance Exchanges. States can use the BHP to reduce the cost of health insurance coverage for these low-income consumers, a highly price-sensitive population with high rates of uninsurance. Depending on how it is designed, the BHP also can help consumers to maintain continuity among plans and providers as their income fluctuates above and below Medicaid levels.

As states weigh whether to implement a BHP, they face significant questions and challenges. Critical among these are how to design the BHP to enhance continuity of coverage as people move among Medicaid, the BHP, and coverage through qualified health plans (QHPs) in the Exchange; how to assess the BHP’s impact on the viability and effectiveness of state Exchanges; and how to estimate revenues and costs to evaluate the financial feasibility of the BHP.

Conclusion

Federal officials have yet to provide details about how the program will be financed, administered and certified, and states are struggling to evaluate the BHP’s impact on the viability and effectiveness of state Exchanges. Federal regulations will inform state deliberations, but are unlikely to fully resolve the complexity or eliminate the risk. Ultimately, states that opt for a BHP will want to design BHP programs so as to minimize the state’s financial exposure and address any negative impacts on the Exchange. States in which a BHP is not a viable option may want to consider alternative strategies to advance affordability and continuity goals.

http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/8283.pdf

The Basic Health Program is designed for individuals with incomes between 139-200% of the federal poverty level – a population that otherwise would be very vulnerable to cost sharing provisions of purchasing and using plans in the state insurance exchanges.

This report explains the moving levers that are required to construct such plans while being sure that benefits are adequate while costs are controlled for both the beneficiaries and the state and federal governments. With eligibility frequently shifting between Medicaid, the Basic Health Program, and the state exchange plans, it is clear that stability cannot be achieved. It is highly unlikely that plans can even be constructed that would meet the various goals for the patients, providers and state and federal governments, and, regardless, they would create an administrative nightmare.

Since the purpose of the Basic Health Program is to remove financial barriers to care for this vulnerable group, it only seems logical that this highly flawed plan should be discarded and replaced with an administratively simplified plan that removes access barriers not just for them, but for everyone – an improved Medicare for all.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.