HCCD Report Oklahoma 74058

KEN B. PRIVETT Attorney At Law

Pawnee, Oklahoma

December 31, 2008

Memorandum To: Senator Tom Daschle

From: Ken

Date: December 31, 2008

Re: Health Care Report-Community Meeting

We held the meeting on December 22, 2008 in Pawnee, Oklahoma. A summary of the meeting is as follows, to-wit:

We had eight participants. Active and strong discussion ensued. Everyone weighed in on his or her opinions.

In essence, we need to keep health care as a priority. We want to maintain the urgency of this mission. The government has neglected the health, healthcare, and welfare of its citizens-the common man-in order to pursue needless foreign military adventures, maintain needless troops and bases around the world (275 bases), to fatten the corporate tills, to submit to and be behooven to the military, congressional, and industrial complex, and to bailout its richer citizens and still richer corporations. The shills have hit the tills. They have bankrupted the country. Our healthcare needs are unmet. We the people have been forgotten. We do not like it at all. Our Country has lost its way. The safety net has been torn to shreds. The situation is dire. The health care professionals have grown fat and rich.

Rising costs, no money or resources, bloated hospital infrastructure, poor service, medical malpractice, no health insurance, lack of investment-these are the problems. So, how do we fix the problems? We must come together and pool our ideas. Let’s eliminate the outmoded, old ways of doing business in health care. We must become lean. We must provide some market incentives for change, in addition to some government mandates. Profit is good and all right, too much profit from healthcare is immoral. 

We are in Indian country here in Pawnee, Oklahoma. The Pawnee Indian Tribe is headquartered here. Indian health services are run poorly. Here, we have a new clinic that is unable to afford band-aids for the lab. The Indian population needs are not being met. Overnight hospital stays are very difficult to arrange and gain approval. There are six dental chairs and one dentist to man the clinic. Lack of money is a problem.

We should require every employer to insure himself and all of his full-time employees. This would be supplemental insurance based upon income. Make this on a sliding scale. Richer employers/employees would pay more that less wealthy employers/employees. Pay as in 20% out of pocket-80% out of the business for the less wealthy group. And, reverse this % for the wealthier. If a person has a vested interest, perhaps they would be more careful on health care usage and costs. We do not suggest an employer paying 100% of health care costs. Those of us who take care of our health should be given a break. Health care insurance should pay for Preventive care as mammograms, prostrate exams, dental care/checkups, and pap smears. The insurance companies could give partial credit on insurance premiums for full physicals performed yearly-that checked blood pressure, heart checks, cholesterol-thereby catching problems before they grew.

One key issue to us is to eliminate the concept of pre-existing conditions and the penalties therein-in order to buy new health insurance and on current health coverage, so long as everyone is required to purchase health insurance.

Another concept is to allow local community health coops-wherein a group may come together and pool their premium dollars, form a new legal entity, establish an in-house medical and dental team, and build reserves for longer term medical stays. These could be public or private. This coop could contract out its extreme liability needs and/or buy catastrophic insurance for its members. Ease of entry and maintenance and reporting will be important here. Allow the members to have a voice-a vote-control over their health affairs, on the local level. The national government and state governments could provide seed money to establish trial runs to put the ideas to the test, and then get out of the way. Local health coops could mushroom all over the country. Give people options-either/or vs. you do this or else.

We need to impose a higher tax on unhealthy products, foods and alcohol/tobacco.

We perceive that one of the bigger problems in health care is constantly raising premiums once you are in private group coverage. There is no mandate from government to tamp down this issue. Make health care insurance like a state utility, where rate increases are examined by examiners, costs are scrutinized and salaries are reviewed.

We say yes to change. Yes to new ideas. Yes to new energy. We are behind you and with you.