Comments on: ELIMINATING HEALTH DISPARITIES…CREATING HEALTH EQUITY by Elmer R. Freeman

By: yvonne Bronner

yvonne Bronner — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:00:32 +0000

This is very interesting. more later

By: reporter

reporter — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 03:58:49 +0000

MCC is a tax:

The only people celebrating the second anniversary of this wasteful and punitive nightmare are the arrogant powerbrokers and politicians who are trying to save face while this bloodsucker goes down in flames.

Is this so-called health care reform a success when many residents are being harmed? Deval Patrick, when asked this question on the March 13 statewide NPR call-in, stated that it’s not good even it if hurts ten people, but he managed to double talk his way out of that about one sentence later.

Is it honorable to use people as unwilling test subjects in an experiment that hurts them? History tells us that this is a crime, but powerful people will try to get away with just about anything until the lawyers step in. Then the fun is over.

Coercion is deliberate violence and is inhuman. It also ends in chaos.

By: Ronald White

Ronald White — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:55:28 +0000

It is critical to achieve the correct budgeting and distribution of our attention, commitment, and energy to both advance the cause of health care in the commonwealth and to simultaneously achieve a one payor national system.

By: MCC is a tax

MCC is a tax — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:01:21 +0000

Don’t ya just love it when the people who helped create Chapter 58 and health care reform refer to it as “experiment.”

“As we get ready to “celebrate” the second anniversary of the Massachusetts health care experiment,”
Elmer Freeman

Aren’t experiments done on lab animals, like mice and monkeys?

By: Ann Malone, RN

Ann Malone, RN — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:30:03 +0000

Beverly, thank you for pointing out what most in power know but do not act upon, yet, and that is: “At present there are no mechanisms to promote the health equity which we all deserve. Excellent – and accessible – health care must be viewed and treated as a right – not a priviledge!” You are right on. We need an executive branch office to provide leadership and accountability for reforms that will advance health equity in the Commonwealth.

I’m a nurse and health reform activist who works with people in moderate and low income urban populations in MA. I cannot begin to describe the urgency of enacting SOCIAL INSURANCE FOR ALL in order to prevent yet another early death or permanent disability that I and other health professionals bear witness to on a regular basis. Where’s the outrage? Healthcare injustices disproportionately affect people of color. Where’s the action?

These extreme events of tens of thousands of preventable deaths and disability annually go hand in hand with immense preventable suffering that is endured by patients and their families, in addition to driving up costs (One person’s cost is another person’s profit in our market-driven system, I suppose. How immoral is that?).

I, and many others, believe that we can build the broad political movement required to enact state and national level reforms for Improved Medicare For All with everybody in and nobody out — health care policy the civilized way!

Everyone is invited to participate in a Day of Health Reform Activism in Boston on Monday April 28, 2008. Here’s the Press Release for the events:

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR: Monday, April 28, 2008
Contact: Rand Wilson, 617 803-0799
Alanna Sobel, 202 7897751
Bryan Buchanan, 202-789-7783

***GREAT VISUALS***

On 2-Year Anniversary of MA Health Bill Passage,
Activists Rally Against Mandates, For Universal Health Care

Health care activists from around the country and state will hold a forum in Boston on Monday, April 28 to analyze the failures of the individual mandate approach Massachusetts adopted last year through the Chapter 58 health care law.

A morning panel featuring health care professionals, experts and testimony from individuals hurt by the mandate system will highlight the problems of trying to achieve broader access through individual insurance mandates.

Later, hundreds of people are expected to rally for a “Medicare for All” approach to achieving affordable health care reform. The rally will be at 4:30 PM on Boston Common. There will also be special showing for state legislators of Michael Moore’s documentary SiCKO at the Massachusetts State House at 1:30pm.

WHEN: Monday, April 28

WHERE: Forum at 9:00 AM, Marriott Courtyard, 63 R Boston St., South Boston

SiCKO screening at 1:30pm, Massachusetts State House, Gardener Auditorium

Rally at 4:30 PM, Boston Common, Parkman Bandstand, with music by Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine. Tom is joining us at the Rally as part of his national Justice Tour!

By: Beverly A. Soares

Beverly A. Soares — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:29:52 +0000

As an African-American woman with many health issues, I am one of the thousands of people who are victims of health disparities. Funding for an Office of Health Equity will provide the resources
to assist in promoting health reform. At present there are no mechanisms to promote the health equity which we all deserve. Excellent – and accessible – health care must be viewed and treated as a right – not a priviledge!

By: Katharine London

Katharine London — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:59:55 +0000

The Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council just released its first Annual Report, which identifies specific strategies designed to improve health care quality while containing costs. The full report is available on the Council’s website at http://www.mass.gov/healthcare.

The Council adopted six health care quality improvement goals that are intended to lower or contain the growth in health care costs while improving quality and reducing racial and ethnic health disparities. These goals address health care cost control, patient safety, chronic care management and prevention, end of life care, racial and ethnic disparities, and transparency. This report discusses each of these goals in detail, along with the Council’s recommended strategies for attaining them.

The Council is also working to promote access to high-quality, efficient care through the development of a consumer-friendly website that provides information about the quality and cost of health care services in Massachusetts. This website will be available in June 2008.

Katharine London
Executive Director
Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council