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CONTACT: US Senator Bernie Sanders Michael Briggs cell (202) 557-1935 |
$10 Billion More for Community Health Centers will Revolutionize Care
Primary Health, Dental Care for 25 Million More Americans
WASHINGTON - December 19 - A $10 billion investment in community health centers, expected to go to $14 billion when Congress completes work on health care reform legislation, was included in a final series of changes to the Senate bill unveiled today.
The provision, which would provide primary care for 25 million more Americans, was requested by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
He said the additional resources will help bring about a revolution in primary health care in America and create new or expanded health centers in an additional 10,000 communities. The provision would also provide loan repayments and scholarships through the National Health Service Corps to create an additional 20,000 primary care doctors, dentists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and mental health professionals.
Very importantly, Sanders also said the provision would save Medicaid tens of billions of dollars by keeping patients out of emergency rooms and hospitals by providing primary care when then needed it.
Sanders worked with House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) to include $14 billion in the House version of the legislation.
Sanders is also working with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to improve language already in the bill to provide waivers for states that want to provide comprehensive, affordable health care and curb rapidly-rising costs for money-making private health insurance companies. The waivers could clear the way for a state-run, single-payer system.
For the health centers, the $14 billion in the bill that the House of Representatives approved on Nov. 7 would increase the number of centers from 20 million to 45 million over the next five years.
The investment would more than pay for itself by saving Medicaid $23 billion over five years on reduced emergency room use and hospital costs, according to a study conducted by George Washington University.
The system of Federally Qualified Health Centers began four decades ago under pioneering legislation by the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Community health centers now provide primary health care, dental care, mental health counseling and low-cost prescription drugs for about 20 million Americans. The centers offer basic services like prenatal care, childhood immunizations and cancer screenings. Open to everyone, the centers care for patients covered by Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance as well as those who have no insurance.
Dan Hawkins, senior vice president of the National Association of Community Health Centers, testified before Congress earlier this year that the cost of care at health centers is 41 percent less than what is spent to care for patients elsewhere. The savings would grow if health centers were expanded to serve more patients, according to Hawkins.
6 Comments so far
Show AllBuckle You, Fernie!
We really need a Healthcare System.
In fact, Howard Dean and others who'd opposed the bill before these recent improvements now support it. Thank heavens for progressives like Sanders who've fought against both the right and "Blue Dog" Democrats to keep this a true health care reform bill. Bernie's not shown the system to be corrupt, the system isn't...a lot of the people behind it are, but this is one time where the good guys, like Senator Sanders, have done excellent work and while I hear this used to defend real junk, in this case "compromise" worked very well.
We don't need to knock the system, the excellent Democratic progressive leaders, or at this point really even the Blue Dogs like Nelson. The guys who deserve our disgust are the Republicans who've used obstruction and deeply unethical tactics to try to preserve the system which puts profit ahead of human life. The single most disgusting example is Tom Coburn of my beloved home state of Oklahoma, who's done everything he can to kill health care reform, even though as an M.D. Coburn has sworn to "first, do no harm." He's attempted to do great, great harm to America's needy all in the name of profit.
This reminds us that progressives attacking our two-party system aren't helping. We belong in the Democratic Party, warts and all. When we leave, and bash, the Democratic Party we're helping Tom Coburn and the rest of the GOP. Yes, Ben Nelson and Ike Skelton are wrong quite often, our cause isn't to destroy the Democratic Party, but to work from within to get the Party to realize it's true values and be what it can and should be, the party of the people.
I ALREADY HAVE government-mandated insurance with benefits controlled by a private insurance company. That company REFUSED to pay for my needed $20,000 orthopedic surgery. And, all the laws, regulations and rules could do nothing to rectify that.
It's called Workers Compensation insurance, and thousands of people with work-related injuries and illnesses are denied the benefits "provided" by it every week, all across the country. Workers' Compensation is a disaster for the people, but a gold mine for insurance companies and their contractors.
Imposing a health insurance system on all Americans that is modeled after this horror show is despicable. As long as benefits are controlled by private companies with a profit (or bonus) motive, those companies will lawyer, lobby, manipulate, deceive, threaten and use any and every tactic available to deny health care to their insureds, and maximize profits and bonuses.
American Dental Association Being Held Accountable for Greed
Republican Senator Charles Grassley’s (R-IA) call for a financial discloser from the American Dental Association (ADA) along with other medical groups is just a start of holding corporate ADA accountable for the money it wastes and spends as a nonprofit suppressing and pushing out competition. The American Dental Association lobbies federal and state legislators to disregard legislation that would regulate the denturist profession in many states that include Kentucky and Wyoming. The ADA spends money to persecute denturists.
The ADA lobbied for exclusion of language to expand the dental health aide therapists programs to states other than Alaska in the recent U.S. Senate Bill 1790. The American Dental Association, wasted money fighting Alaska and lost; trying to prevent dental health aide therapists from providing dental services to Natives of Alaska living in remote areas. The American Dental Association lobbies to suppress dental hygienists from having independent boards and practices.
The American Dental Associations total lobbying expenditures as of October for 2009 was $2,110,000.00 reported by opensecrets.org. The ADA’s self-serving political agenda is hurting consumers by suppressing qualified competitors that provide oral health services to those with disparities. The American Dental Association works against its very own vision and mission statement by suppressing competition that has been trained and educated in providing oral health care services to those that are unable to pay the high prices charged by dentist leaving Americans without needed dental care.
Many people do without needed dental care because of high prices charged by dentist and not being eligible for Medicaid, low income programs and not having dental healthcare insurance. Corporate ADA has the power and money to change the current dental care delivery system for the better if the American public would speak out against the American Dental Associations deceiving and pacifying public relations campaign for a better public image.
Gary W. Vollan L.D.
State Coordinator, Wyoming State Denturist Association
P.O. Box 332, Basin, Wyoming 82410
307-568-2047
www.wysda.org
References:
137th APHA Annual Meeting (November 7-11, 2009): Denturists: Alternative healthcare providers for oral health screenings and referrals
http://grassley.senate.gov/news/Article.cfm?customel_dataPageID_1502=24413
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/health/policy/08grassley.html?scp=2&sq=grassley&st=cse
http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?year=2009&lname=American+Dental+Assn&id=
Considerably, the article on community health centers is in reality the greatest on this noteworthy topic. I agree with your conclusions and will eagerly look forward to your next updates.
dental hygienist requirements
http://www.dentalhygienistemployment.org/dental-hygienist-requirements.php