The U.S. health care system is in crisis. I know this from personal experience as a cancer patient and from my time as a cancer outreach worker, long hours spent listening to extraordinary working Americans with serious health concerns. I had the eye-opening experience of touring the country as a cancer outreach specialist. I learned, much to my dismay, that hundreds of thousands of families across this country are forced to make incredible sacrifices in order to afford necessary medical attention. But actually, it's worse than that.
The Problem -- Plain Evidence: Most analysts now recognize what working Americans and health care professionals have known for years: the U.S. health care system is in a sorry, dysfunctional state. Just two facts illustrate the point, and make the scope of the problem painfully clear:
Uninsured children: Nearly 10 million American children have no health insurance at all.
High infant mortality: Rates in the U.S. are near the bottom among industrialized nations, ranking just above Latvia; within the U.S., rates among the poor and minorities are much worse, at third world levels.
Many of us are one serious illness, or injury, or job change away from bankruptcy and disaster. This situation is unnecessary and unacceptable. It's also a moral issue, inconsistent with traditional American values.
The Cause: We're in this mess for one reason. The current system has been designed by insurance and pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists, in collusion with Congress and the Administration. And one thing is for sure: this unholy alliance isn't in business to serve the interests of average working Americans.
The Solution: The American health care system desperately needs an overhaul. We must move immediately to provide access to decent healthcare for all Americans.
Get the right people in Washington. The discussion about how to fix the system, or how to design a new one, never even got started in the 2000-2006 Republican Congress. As long as insurance and pharmaceutical lobbyists control Republicans in Washington this will never happen. It's going to take a strong, motivated Democratic FDR Majority in Congress to make health care reform happen.
Establish a single payer system that provides universal coverage. I support the idea of a single-payer health care system in which the doctor-patient relationship remains personal and private, but costs and payments are centrally managed. We can reduce overhead and operational costs. Such a plan would encourage preventive health care and dramatically simplify paperwork and reimbursement processes.
Aim for 3 strategic goals. We need more changes than just a single payer system to fix our health care problems. We should pursue three key strategic goals:
Focus on Prevention and Early Diagnosis. Early diagnosis and management of conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes can reduce health complications and costs significantly.
Aim for efficiency. Technology like electronic medical records, computer-aided decision tools for providers, and reminder systems for patients can streamline health care delivery. Whatever form the new system takes, there is no place for ideological agendas and collusion. Our primary goal should be a system that works.
Do the Right Thing. A system that is both morally just and viable must provide access to quality health care for poor and minorities in an organized, humane, equitable way -- not at the Emergency Department.
It's about jobs, too. We should keep in mind that health care is also a jobs issue. In June 2005, Toyota chose to locate a new auto assembly plant (and 1,300 new jobs) in Ontario, Canada, over several southern states that had offered multi-million-dollar incentive packages. One of the two big reasons? U.S. health care costs. For the other, see my Education platform.
A well-functioning health care system that provides coverage for all Americans is one of the smartest investments in our community that we can make. Good health care is not only a right, and the right thing to do; it's better for our economy. My promise: a sane, fair, efficient health care system will be my number one priority.
Articles
SCHIP plan doesn’t survive House votefrom Messenger Post Newspapers on Jan 23
By Bryan Roth, staff writer
Washington, D.C. - Chili resident Tiffany Love knows how hard it is to provide health care for her children Jason, 17, KeAuna, 13, and Kimmyah, 6. All three are enrolled in Child Health Plus, a state insurance plan for kids of needy families, which waives the usual required co-payments for the family's visits to the doctor and dentist.
For Love and many other parents around the country, that situation won't be getting much better. On Wednesday, Jan. 23, the House failed to garner enough votes to override a presidential veto that would have expanded the State Children's Health Insurance Program -- Child Health Plus is New York's version of the program -- to about 4 million children. The final vote was 260-152, falling 15 votes short of a necessary two-thirds majority. Along with Democrats, 42 Republicans voted to override the veto.... Full Story
POLITICS: Massa to Kuhl: Override S-chip vetofrom Other on Jan 22
Rochester City Newspaper By Jeremy Moule
Democratic Congressional candidate Eric Massa has a simple question for his counterpart: Which is worse, costlier cigarettes or leaving millions of children without health insurance?
On January 23, the House of Representatives will decide whether to override President Bush's veto of a bill expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program (S-chip), the states' health insurance programs for children. If the veto is rejected, the program would expand to cover more low- and middle- income children. It would be funded through a new tobacco tax.
"Getting a child to see a doctor should not be a political decision," Massa said during a January 22 press conference. He challenged Republican Rep. Randy Kuhl, his potential opponent in the November election, to vote for a veto override. (Kuhl has not yet announced whether he will seek re-election.)
In previous statements, Kuhl criticized the expansion bills, saying they didn't meet the needs of low-income children first before extending coverage to children in middle-income families. He voted against the bills and also to uphold vetoes against them.
S-chip was set to expire last year, but Congress passed a bill extending it until March 31, 2009. Kuhl voted for the extension.
First off, I want wish a Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there. I spent the morning quietly celebrating this day with my lovely wife Beverly and two of our three children. The love between a parent and a child is sacred, and I believe that we owe it to all children to always strive to make this world the best it can be. One way to do this is to take a hard, honest look at our broken healthcare system and then dedicate ourselves to making sure all families have quality, affordable healthcare.
This past week, I announced my Declaration of Rights Which have Been Denied. This Declaration of Rights Which Have Been Denied is my way of expanding upon the Rights listed in FDR's 1944 State of the Union message to Congress, which I have mentioned before here and here. I believe, and polls support this belief, that the way forward for the Democratic Party is to confront President Bush and the Rubber Stamp Republicans for selling out to Corporate Interests and denying the People important Rights. This occasionally puts me at odds with some Beltway Insiders. But I'm not running to work for Beltway Insiders. I'm running to work for the People.
This past Saturday I celebrated my 47th birthday. It was a birthday I wasn't supposed to have. When I was 38 doctors told me that I would never celebrate my 40th birthday. I beat the odds and that helped inspire me to run for Congress. But along the way I got a chance to see just how broken our health care system is. When I retired from the Navy with a diagnosis of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, I had the eye-opening experience of touring the country as a cancer outreach specialist. I learned, much to my dismay, that hundreds of thousands of families across this country are forced to make incredible sacrifices in order to afford necessary medical attention. One recent estimate says that there are 46.6 million uninsured people in the US. But actually, it's worse than that one statistic alone indicates.
CORNING, NY - Earlier today, 24 year retired Navy Commander Eric Massa announced his full support for Senator Jim Webb's updated version of the Montgomery G.I. Bill. Massa also announced that he will be standing with Veterans advocacy group Operation Firing for Effect (OFFE) in Washington on Tuesday. Massa and the leaders of OFFE will be meeting with Congressional and Senatorial leaders to discuss how we can institute mandatory full funding for the V.A. system. This meeting will occur on Tuesday, April 15th at 1pm at the Cannon Office Building # 334 in Washington, D.C.
"As a Veteran, I know how important the Webb bill and mandatory full funding for the V.A. are, and that is why I am standing with our Veterans," said retired Navy Commander and Congressional candidate Eric Massa. "Right now we are seeing the highest level of returning Veterans since the Vietnam era, and we as a Nation must fulfill our end of the deal. We must help Veterans gain a higher education and institute mandatory full funding for our Veterans services at the V.A. We can accept nothing less."
CORNING, NY - Yesterday, Randy Kuhl voted against the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007 in yet another lock step Bush vote. Earlier this year, Kuhl stood against SCHIP health care for millions of children on four separate occasions, and now he stands against helping families receive access to critical mental health and addiction treatment. Kuhl, who has received thousands of dollars from insurance lobbyists, has a long history of standing with big business and against families of Western New York.
"The Wellstone bill is one of the most important mental health bills ever to pass the House, but once again Randy Kuhl has decided to stand against families," said Congressional challenger Eric Massa. "If this legislation had been in place a few years ago, it's quite likely that the tragedy of Virginia Tech could have been averted. New Yorkers don't deserve to have a Congressman who consistently puts the priorities of George Bush and insurance lobbyists over those of our own families. Mr. Kuhl stood against our children four separate times during the SCHIP debate and now he stands against those that need our help the most. The working families of Western New York want a Congressman who will represent their values in Congress, not insurance lobbyists, and that's exactly why I am running."
CORNING, NY - Following his fourth vote against children's health care, Republican Congressman Randy Kuhl issued yet another negative, personal attack against retired Navy Commander and Democratic candidate for Congress in New York's 29th Congressional District, Eric Massa. At a press conference on Tuesday, Massa called on Kuhl to explain his expensive, taxpayer funded mailer claiming support for SCHIP despite his repeated votes against it. Rather than coming clean with voters about his lock step, George W. Bush voting record, Kuhl decided to cite false information and attack Massa personally. Kuhl also challenged Massa to debate SCHIP. Attached is a fact sheet refuting Kuhl's "facts" on SCHIP.
"Randy Kuhl clearly can't explain his rubber stamp voting record, so he'd rather distort the facts and issue false, malicious attacks against me," said Democratic Congressional candidate Eric Massa. "I accept Randy Kuhl's challenge to a debate the facts of SCHIP anytime. The working families of Western New York deserve to know the truth about why Randy Kuhl continues to vote for Washington lobbyists and against our children. Working families demand accountability from their elected officials, not more false, Karl Rove style negative campaigning."
In accepting Kuhl's challenge, Massa also issued a point by point document rebutting all of Kuhl's false accusations on SCHIP (you can view it here as a PDF).
ROCHESTER, NY - Earlier today retired Navy Commander and Congressional challenger in New York's 29th District, Eric Massa demanded that his opponent, Randy Kuhl, vote to override George Bush's veto of children's health care on Wednesday. Surrounded by dozens of supporters, Massa addressed the media in his largest press conference thus far in the 2008 cycle.
"It's clear that working families are tired of roadblock rubber stamps in Congress denying health care to children," said Eric Massa after the press conference. "It is very disturbing that Randy Kuhl has no problem sending out a taxpayer funded mailer announcing his support of SCHIP as he prepares to turn around and vote against it for the fourth time in a year. While I sincerely doubt that it will happen, I hope Mr. Kuhl has a change of heart and votes to support children rather than tobacco lobbyists on Wednesday."
CORNING, NY- For more than a week now, the families of the 29th Congressional District have been bombarded with Randy Kuhl's deceitful George Bush talking points on the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Kuhl, who has repeatedly defended the Tobacco Industry instead of protecting children, is now attempting to take credit for supporting SCHIP, despite the fact that he's voted against it three times in the last year. In his most recent effort to mislead the public, Randy Kuhl sent out a taxpayer funded mailer boldly proclaiming that "No child in New York should ever have to live without health coverage"--an ironic observation indeed, considering the fact that he actively fought to prevent over 50,000 children in the 29th District from receiving access to private health care.
CORNING, N.Y. - Today, Eric Massa, Congressional candidate for New York's 29th District, held his opponent accountable for his loyalty to the tobacco industry. Massa's opponent, Randy Kuhl, has received at least as $17,000 in campaign contributions from tobacco lobbyists before voting to sustain the President's veto against children's healthcare. Acting as a loyal rubberstamp for big tobacco and George Bush, Kuhl has directly stated that he's opposed to any increase in the price of tobacco products. In addition, it was recently revealed that Randy Kuhl has been involved in a delegation of Congressional Republicans who have been lobbying pro-SCHIP Republican Senators to remove the tobacco funding for the bill.
CORNING, N.Y. - Retired Navy Commander and Congressional candidate for New York's 29th District, Eric Massa, blasted his opponent for voting to sustain President Bush's veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) today. Kuhl, who took an additional $1,000 from tobacco giant RJ Reynolds just one week before the initial vote, voted to block approximately 10 million children in low income families from receiving access to private healthcare, including approximately 10,000 in the New York's 29th District. As noted by the American Cancer Society, this vote against kids could cost around 900,000 lives.
CORNING, N.Y. - Retired Navy Commander and Congressional candidate for New York's 29th District, Eric Massa, made a final personal appeal for his opponent, Randy Kuhl, to reconsider his vote against the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Kuhl, who took an additional $1,000 from tobacco giant RJ Reynolds just one week before the initial vote, has vowed to sustain George Bush's veto during the override vote scheduled for today. The American Cancer Society, the foremost authority on cancer legislation, has denounced the efforts of a handful of Congressmen, including Randy Kuhl, for protecting tobacco lobbyists above children. Below is a statement from the American Cancer Society regarding the SCHIP vote:
CORNING, N.Y. - As George Bush's Congressional rubberstamps prepare to block privately administered health insurance for more than 4 million children, including approximately 10,000 kids right here in New York's 29th Congressional District, working families all around America are holding their breaths and watching. Randy Kuhl, who voted against the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) after taking thousands of dollars from tobacco lobbyists now faces a second opportunity to do the right thing. Kuhl has dished out all kinds of excuses as to why he has and will reject SCHIP, including that it is too expensive. Randy Kuhl didn't consider the impact of voting against SCHIP on our property taxes however.
Massa to Kuhl "If you want to debate character with me, in the words of your own party, 'Bring it on'"
CORNING, N.Y. - In a Monday, October 15th interview aired on WLEA 1480 am, Randy Kuhl made a vicious assault on Retired Navy Commander Eric Massa's "character." Kuhl's charges stem from his accusation that Massa was not vocal enough in his opposition to the "General Betray Us" ads written by Moveon.org. Massa recently was quoted in the Hornell Evening Tribune (Oct 12th) and the Corning Leader (Oct 13th) opposing the Moveon.org ad.
Rather than discuss the influence of his own corporate financiers, Kuhl wants to distract the public away from the thousands of dollars he's taken from Big Tobacco (including $1,000 from RJ Reynolds just one week before the SCHIP vote) and his George Bush rubberstamp voting record by attacking Massa's "character." Below is a transcript of Randy Kuhl's comments on WLEA:
CORNING N.Y. - Today, Retired Navy Commander and Candidate for New York's 29th Congressional District Eric Massa defended children's health care and went on the offensive against his opponent Randy Kuhl. This past week, Kuhl voted against the SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) Bill in Congress which would extend health coverage to millions of children in low income families. This is the second SCHIP Bill this year which Kuhl has opposed and even though this Bill is the result of bi-partisan compromise, which has been supported by conservative Republican Senators such as Charles Grassley (Iowa) and Orrin Hatch (Utah), Randy Kuhl and President Bush oppose it.
Neighbor 2 Neighbor
Judith Bennett
6/18/2007
Our image worldwide is based on pop culture, bad TV and violent movies.:: More...Dan Maloney
6/17/2007
He will stand up for American industry, creating American jobs.:: More...Patrick Christopher
6/17/2007
He is the best person we can count on in congress.:: More...Eileen Spence
6/17/2007
The country is in peril as is the population.:: More...Paul Stuart
6/11/2007 9:49:25 AM
Eric Massa's mind is a comprehension of contemporary issues.:: More...
Upcoming Events
Jasper Town Hall Meeting
Join Eric Massa for an open community discussion of the important issues facing the 29th district and this country at the Jasper Town Hall. Fri. May 16 - 7:00 PM
Olean Workers' Memorial Day
Eric will join the labor community in remembering workers who have been injured or killed on the job. Sat. May 17 - 10:00 AM
Massa In the Morning
Listen and call in every Sunday from 10-noon on WKPQ 105.3 FM and WHHO 1320 AM. Sun. May 18 - 12:00 AM
Massa In the Morning
Listen and call in every Sunday from 10-noon on WKPQ 105.3 FM and WHHO 1320 AM. Sun. May 25 - 12:00 AM
Join the 29th Congressional District travel team to Netroots Nation in Austin. This is the premier national blogger convention and promises to be full of Presidential politics, national media and a panel discussion by Eric. Last year in Chicago Eric presented a solo challenge to Bill O'Reilly entitled "U talking to Me Bill O'Reilly?"!!!! You can find that on you tube to get an idea of what is to come. Click here to visit the Netroots Nation web site and see you in Austin, Texas. Thu. July 17 - 12:00 AM
