AND THE WINNER IS!!!!!!!

This article was forwarded to me. I still cannot believe that it is for real.


"Oregon Holds Health Insurance Lottery"

"By Sarah Skidmore, Associated Press writer"



"The state will start drawing names this week for the chance to enroll in a health care program designed for people not poor enough for Medicaid but too cash-strapped to buy their own insurance.


More than 80,000 people have signed up since registration for the lottery opened in January. Only a few thousand will be chosen for the program.


"It's better than nothing, it's at least a hope," said Shirley Krueger, 61, who signed up the first day.


It's been more than six months since she could afford to take insulin regularly for her diabetes. That puts her at higher risk for a number of complications, such as kidney failure, heart disease and blindness.


Her part time job leaves her ineligible for her employer's insurance plan and with too little income to buy her own.


"I'm worried about it. I know it's a death sentence," Krueger said.


An estimated 600,000 people in Oregon are uninsured, according to the Oregon Department of Human Services.


Those selected in the lottery will be eligible for a standard benefit program, which was once a heralded highlight of the Oregon Health Plan...."


The article goes on to say that the plan covered 132,000 in 1995 but budget cuts in 2004 forced a cutback. I can well imagine how these budget cuts came about. After all we can't take care of our citizens and keep a war going at the same time, can we?


This plan will cover medical, dental and vision needs at little or no cost. Wouldn't it be wonderful if this was available to everyone who is uninsured or under insured?


Readers, please weigh this topic carefully when choosing a presidential candidate to support. People are dying for lack of health care and this is a disgrace for our country.

KEEPING NEW ALBANY BEAUTIFUL

Mayor England appears to be committed to keeping one of his campaign promises according to the front page of today's Tribune. Many of us had complained about the terrible conditions of the streets and today he promised to repair the potholes that threaten to swallow our cars. I don't know what kind of "creative financing" he has in mind but hopefully he can pull a rabbit out of his hat.

Another article featured Carl Malysz's visit to the S. Ellen Jones Neighboorhood Association meeting. I am glad that he is taking the citizens concerns seriously, a sentiment which I know is shared by many others. At last it looks like the code enforcement laws will have the government to back them up. Now if we could just get the city to start a program for rental property. We need inspections for rental property with minimum standards for upkeep and fines for non-compliance. If we had such a plan and enforced it, the fines would go far to help clean up and fix up our city.

Speaking of beautification, it was sickening to read that some ignorant bums are trying to destroy our Greenway before it is even completed. I hope the increased security will stop this. I can't understand why some people always seem to want to destroy something beautiful. Hopefully the weather will change soon and more people will visit the Greenway. If there are enough witnesses the degregation will have to stop.

Hang in there New Albany, better days are ahead.

THE HEALTHY INDIANA PLAN

The Tribune published an article about the State Government's plan to help uninsured citizens. It is called the Healthy Indiana Plan or HIP. This plan is funded by a 44 cent cigarette tax and federal dollars.


HIP was designed to cover lower income people aged 19 to 64 who are ineligible for Hoosier Healthwise. This sounds great on the surface but there are restrictions. If an employer offers insurance coverage at any price the individual does not qualify. Additionally the cost is $80.00 per month per person. To me this seems a little steep for someone making less than $20,000 per year, but I'm sure it is less than what many insurance companies charge.


As I said earlier, there are restrictions, they are listed below:

• You have not had health insurance in more than six months.
• You do not have access to health insurance through your employer.
• You are not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid.
• You are between the ages of 19 and 64.
• You are a legal resident of Indiana.
• MAXIMUM annual household income is equal to or less than:

1 person in household; $20,400

2 people in household; $27,360

3 people in household; $34,320

4 people in household; $41,280

5 people in household; $48,240

To learn more about the Health Indiana Plan, and for more information on whether or not you may qualify, you can visit the Web site at http://www.in.gov/ or call 1-877-GET-HIP-9

SOURCE: New Albany Tribune

This is a start but I believe the Federal Government needs to provide healthcare for all US citzens without these restrictions

THE "NEW EXPANDED MEDICARE" BILL

There is a growing grassroots movement regarding health care. This is known as The Citizens Alliance for National Health Insurance and the group is working to pass HR676. This is an idea which is long over due. Everybody deserves affordable health care. They are distributing a very informative flyer which is reprinted here:

What ID National Health Insurance (NHI)?

To begin with, it is NOT "Socialized Medicine", far from it in fact. Also it does not mean that our medical system will be taken over by the government and run like the post office as many of our opposition friends would mistakenly have you believe.

Basically, House Resolution (H.R.) 676, the "New Expanded Medicare" bill now in sub-committee in the House of Representatives simply creates a new and far more functional "single payer" method of paying for medical services while leaving the medical system itself completely alone and intact. This will eliminate the hundreds of complicated and redundant payment plans currently imposed on the system by private "for profit" health insurance companies and save literally BILLIONS of dollars every year by eliminating such wasteful duplication. This will allow your doctors offices and hospitals to function much more efficiently and serve your needs much more effectively as well. Just imagine what huge benefit this will be!

Taxes: We all know that nothing of any real value is ever free, but if you think of the taxes that will be required to support national health insurance as simply a lower cost alternative to the staggering private health insurance premiums that most of us already have to pay but will be totally eliminated under the new system, then it becomes immediately clear that this could be a really good deal after all.

Check out some of the tremendous benefits that NHI will bring and see what you think:

• Every citizen of the US will be covered from birth to death.
• No more pre-existing conditions be be excluded from coverage.
• No more expensive deductions or co pays.
• All prescription medications will be covered.
• All dental and eye care will be included.
• Mental health and substance abuse care will be fully covered.
• Long term and nursing home services will be included.
• You will always choose your own doctors and hospitals.
• Costs of coverage will be assessed on a sliding scale basis.
• Tremendously simplified system of medical administration.

Existing Medicare benefits for those over 65 will remain the same of be vastly improved in many cases.

The real irony is that this new system will be a lot less expensive and provide much better services than the largely dysfunctional system currently in place and still leave us with the best health care system in the entire world, only with the New Medicare it will be even better!

Don't be put off by all of the misleading and often inaccurate rhetoric that you so often hear about changing our system. For example uninformed critics will ask "Do you really want your medical decisions made by some government bureaucrat in Washington?" Well, the truth is that with NHI just about every medical decision will be made privately by you and your doctor. But ironically, under the current system, many medical decisions about what's best for you are now being made by some corporate bureaucrat working for a private insurance company whose main concern is making larger profits by denying your claims. How exactly does that work out to be better for you??

Change is indeed often a very scary thing to most people, but when the need is so great and the proposed changes are so much better than the status quo, maybe changing to a NHI system in the USA is something that we can all think about supporting, whether you are a moderate, liberal or conservative, after giving it a lot of careful study and thought. Please call your congressperson and let them know what you think. They really need to hear from you.

Personally, I can't wait until this bill is passed. It will help so many people who are delaying medical treatment because they cannot afford it. An American citizen should not have to choose between food and medicine. This is a disgrace to our country.

MARIA GRANGER FOR FLOYD SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE

I met Maria Granger a couple of years ago at a "Meet The Candidates" dinner at the Knights of Columbus Hall. I was very impressed by this friendly vivacious person with a ready smile. She told me that she was there with her husband, Steve Mennemeyer, who was running for a seat on the County Council at the time. I thought to myself what a great addition she made to this large and wonderful family.


Last year she told me that she was planning to run for Judge on the new Floyd Superiour Court. My first thought was what a fine judge she would make. It doesn't matter if you are rich and powerful or poor and powerless, Maria is no snob. In her court everyone would be treated fairly. She is brilliant but she has common sense. She is compassionate but she can be tough when it is necessary.


Maria told me that she was not born to a wealthy family. Her parents both worked and provided a home with good family values.

It should be no surprise to anyone that Maria was a gifted student. She was also a leader at an early age and became an officer on her student council board. Additionally she is a gifted pianist and singer, and even a talented athlete. Truly a Renaissance Woman. After high school she enrolled at IU and carried a full load while working a full time job. She graduated early with a BS in Secondary English Education. After that she attended law school at the IU School of Law in Indianapolis and even won a felony case as a 3rd year student.

During these busy years Maria married and gave birth to her son, Drake, who is now in the 8th grade. After that marriage ended she remained single for several years raising her son, working and serving as a volunteer for various local community organizations.

I think Maria can speak best in her own words:


Floyd County is my home. I choose to live her, and I love living here. It is the community where my husband, Steve Mennemeyer, and I raise our family. It is here the entire Mennemeyer family is rooted in Floyd County values. It is also where I have enjoyed a long career serving as an attorney, professor and appointed judicial officer. And is the community where my husband continues to serve, after 25 years in the U.S. Army, assisting families of our National Guard soldiers who will be fighting for us in the Iraq war.


Steve and I share a deep commitment to public service and live by the powerful words of Winston Churchill, "you make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give". As a Gold Star family whose lies have been forever changed by the sacrifice of our son's life for the good of our world. We accept the duty to serve with honor. My family and I support veterans and military families, the poor and disadvantaged, our youth, minority interests and diversity, and law enforcement. Public service is more than what we do, it is who we are.


Let's build our new court on a strong record of public service and a foundation of integrity, fairness and respect. Please encourage your family to vote for me. I ask for your vote during the primary election on May 6, 2008.


Sincerely,


Maria Granger


Please visit Maria's website, http://www.grangerforjudge.com/

A WELL DESERVED REWARD

There was an article in today's Tribune about a New Albany citizen who received an award this past Tuesday. The honoree is former City Councilman Bill Schmidt.

Mr. Schmidt was awarded for his service with the Solid Waste Board. He served on this board from it's beginning in 1992 until December 2007. Executive Director Warren Nash said that to his knowledge no other board has had a member who has served the entire tenure of the board.

This is just one example of Bill's loyalty. He has served with numerous organizations for many years and deserves awards from each of them. Our community is lucky to such a citizen.

I am truly honored to call Bill Schmidt my friend.

RALLY IN INDY 1/15/08

Our friends over at Freedom of Speech have an article about the State of the State address that Governor Daniels will be giving tomorrow evening at 7:00 at the Capital.

Many Hoosiers will again be making the trek up I65 to tell Gov. Daniels and other state officials how they feel about our property tax crisis. I will not be able to join my fellow Hoosiers but my thoughts and prayers are with them. I hope that the readers of this blog feel the same way. These people are representing the rest of us. They are taking time away from work and other obligations to be present at this event.

If anyone in this area is able to join this group please do so. We taxpayers need all the help we can get.

My sincere thanks to everyone who will be attending this rally.