Showing posts with label health care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health care. Show all posts
Faux News
"Having failed electorally and failed in the courts, Republicans are hell-bent on destroying the Affordable Care Act in Americans' minds. A document circulated among House Republicans (revealed in today's NY Times) contains talking points to be repeated continuously: 'Because of Obamacare, I Lost My Insurance.' 'Obamacare Increases Health Care Costs.' 'The Exchanges May Not Be Secure, Putting Personal Information at Risk.' Fox News and right-wing radio amplify them. The mainstream media reports them as news.
"Admittedly, Obama played into their hands by botching the roll-out of the Act. But keep in mind the larger reality: Private for-profit insurers have wrecked the American healthcare system. Ours has been the only system in the world designed to avoid sick people. A single-payer system would have been preferable, and we'll eventually get there. But the Affordable Care Act at least sets minimum standards, requires insurers to take people with preexisting conditions, bars them from dropping coverage of people who get sick, and extends insurance to the poor and working class. These are huge accomplishments relative to where we've been. Initial problems with the website, and cancellations of some policies by insurance companies that can't meet the standards, are small potatoes." -- Robert Reich
Discuss:
"Neither spending more nor taxing less will help the country pay its bills. What it can and must do is radically simplify its tax, health-care, retirement and financial systems, each of which is a complete mess. But this is the good news. It means they can each be redesigned to achieve their legitimate purposes at much lower cost and, in the process, revitalize the economy."
U.S. Is Bankrupt and We Don’t Even Know It by Laurence Kotlikoff (Bloomberg)
Health Insurance: Long-term care
The Next Big Health Care Reform Fight
What finally kills people -- financially, physically, psychologically, metaphorically -- is trying to figure out how to pay for long-term medical expenses. According to the government, one year of care in a nursing home, based on the 2008 national average, costs over $68,000 for a semi-private room. A year of home care, assuming the need for
periodic personal help from a home health aide (the average is about three times a week), costs almost $18,000 a year. While conservatives have been preoccupied with saving Americans from having socialized medicine foisted on them by Commissar Obama, it hasn't completely escaped their attention that an even more nefarious insurance program -- a plan to create public insurance for long-term care that would have the government interceding to prevent citizens in long-term care from being driven bankrupt or crazy by medical bills -- has been sneaking through Congress.
(Okay, I'll do it: $68,000/yr. comes to a little less than $5,700/mo. $75/day adds up to roughly $2,250/mo. Rounding off generously on both ends, you still end up with a gap of $3,000/mo or $36,000/yr. Considering that the annual median household income is around $50,000 -- and much lower for many seniors and anyone unable to work because they're in need of long-term care, under the best of circumstances the program isn't going to head off a lot bankruptcies).
The rest of the story: Proposed long-term insurance program raises questions by Lori Montgomery (Washington Post 2009-10-27)
What finally kills people -- financially, physically, psychologically, metaphorically -- is trying to figure out how to pay for long-term medical expenses. According to the government, one year of care in a nursing home, based on the 2008 national average, costs over $68,000 for a semi-private room. A year of home care, assuming the need for
periodic personal help from a home health aide (the average is about three times a week), costs almost $18,000 a year. While conservatives have been preoccupied with saving Americans from having socialized medicine foisted on them by Commissar Obama, it hasn't completely escaped their attention that an even more nefarious insurance program -- a plan to create public insurance for long-term care that would have the government interceding to prevent citizens in long-term care from being driven bankrupt or crazy by medical bills -- has been sneaking through Congress.The proposal is known as the CLASS Act, short for Community Living Services and Support. The idea has been around for years, and the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) pushed to have the measure included in the health-care overhaul package that passed the Senate health committee in July. A similar measure was also adopted by voice vote in one of the three House committees handling health care.This diabolical, morale-destroying scheme would be, get this, "available to anyone, including those who are already disabled." Similarly to Comrade Reid's public option plan for the states, people would be strong-armed into the program automatically, unless, of course, they themselves chose to opt out, and would pay a premium in exchange for insurance against "the cost of home care, adult day programs, assisted living or nursing homes after they had been enrolled for at least five years. Premiums and benefit levels would be set by federal health officials," you know, bureaucrats, "but advocates predict that the program would provide beneficiaries with a minimal sum, around $75 a day" (you do the math).
(Okay, I'll do it: $68,000/yr. comes to a little less than $5,700/mo. $75/day adds up to roughly $2,250/mo. Rounding off generously on both ends, you still end up with a gap of $3,000/mo or $36,000/yr. Considering that the annual median household income is around $50,000 -- and much lower for many seniors and anyone unable to work because they're in need of long-term care, under the best of circumstances the program isn't going to head off a lot bankruptcies).
The proposal has gained momentum in recent days as Democrats in both the House and Senate cast about for cash to help finance a final health package. Because the program would begin taking in premiums immediately but would not start paying benefits until 2016, congressional budget analysts have forecast that it would generate a nearly $60 billion surplus over the next 10 years, cash that would help the larger measure's balance on paper.Predictably, the usual antis -- "including the Congressional Budget Office and the American Academy of Actuaries," a group I know I rely on for political judgments, especially around Halloween -- have popped up with dire warnings about spiraling costs. Descending into self-parody, Sen. Kent Conrad called the CLASS Act "a Ponzi scheme of the first order, the kind of thing that Bernie Madoff would have been proud of," and he vowed to block its inclusion in the Senate bill. As befits a member of the people's house, Rep. Earl Pomeroy, also a Blue Dog Dem, admitted there is a problem that needs addressing, but warned the solution would require some tough decision-making, of which he avowed he is capable, "not some provision cooked up by advocacy groups at the last hour" (see, "idea has been around for years," above).
"It is not a Ponzi scheme," said Larry Minnix, president of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, which represents nonprofit providers and is one of more than 200 consumer and other groups supporting the legislation. "It is a consumer-funded insurance pool that provides people a cash benefit to help with simple chores of daily living so they can remain independent."Oh, sure. Who're you going to believe, some non-profit consumer activist Little Goody Two-Shoes or a seasoned, tough decision-making legislative adept beefed-up like Popeye on the carloads research spinach trucked in to Washington every day by the insurance industry out of the goodness of their hard little hearts?
The rest of the story: Proposed long-term insurance program raises questions by Lori Montgomery (Washington Post 2009-10-27)
Health Care Insurance Reform: To do it right will require raising revenues
In order to bring the cost of health insurance reform below the $900 billion limit imposed arbitrarily by the White House, the House of Representatives may have to cut government subsidies for low- and middle-class families unable to afford the mandated insurance. The amount of coverage that people will be required to buy may also have to be reduced. In other words, the mandated insurance would be less affordable and less effective than is called for now. If coverage is to be truly universal and affordable, finding new revenues makes more sense than raising the cost and lowering the coverage for those the legislation is intended to help. The House bill as it stands is about $1.2 trillion. Some House Democrats think a windfall profits tax on the revenue boost insurance companies will get from the bill would be only fair. Others want to raise taxes on people making more than $300,000 a year to help pay the bill's costs. Either is a better idea than cutting subsidies or limiting benefits.
Clip File: The brutal truth about America’s healthcare
An extraordinary report from Guy Adams in Los Angeles at the music arena that has been turned into a makeshift medical centre from The Independent
They came in their thousands, queuing through the night to secure one of the coveted wristbands offering entry into a strange parallel universe where medical care is a free and basic right and not an expensive luxury. Some of these Americans had walked miles simply to have their blood pressure checked, some had slept in their cars in the hope of getting an eye-test or a mammogram, others had brought their children for immunisations that could end up saving their life.The rest of the story: The brutal truth about America’s healthcare (The Independent 2009-08-15)
In the week that Britain's National Health Service was held aloft by Republicans as an 'evil and Orwellian' example of everything that is wrong with free healthcare, these extraordinary scenes in Inglewood, California...provided a sobering reminder of exactly why President Barack Obama is trying to reform the US system.
The LA Forum, the arena that once hosted sell-out Madonna concerts, has been transformed – for eight days only – into a vast field hospital. In America, the offer of free healthcare is so rare, that news of the magical medical kingdom spread rapidly and long lines of prospective patients snaked around the venue for the chance of getting everyday treatments that many British people take for granted.
In the first two days, more than 1,500 men, women and children received free treatments worth $503,000 (£304,000). Thirty dentists pulled 471 teeth; 320 people were given standard issue spectacles; 80 had mammograms; dozens more had acupuncture, or saw kidney specialists. By the time the makeshift medical centre leaves town on Tuesday, staff expect to have dispensed $2m worth of treatments to 10,000 patients.
The gritty district of Inglewood lies just a few miles from the palm-lined streets of Beverly Hills and the bright lights of Hollywood, but is a world away. And the residents who had flocked for the free medical care, courtesy of mobile charity Remote Area Medical, bore testament to the human cost of the healthcare mess that President Obama is attempting to fix.
Information Is Power: RAND congressional reports
As a quasi-public institution, the Rand Corporation makes much of its research public, especially that produced on behalf of the government. Some of this data, packaged as periodic reports to Congress, is available to you via email (see below*). You can subscribe at http://www.rand.org/congress/subscribe.html.
* Monthly Review – monthly on the 18th; Banking & Financial Services – periodically; International Affairs – quarterly; Child Policy – quarterly; National Security – monthly on the 1st; Education – tri-yearly; Safety & Justice – tri-yearly; Energy & Environment – tri-yearly; Small Business – periodically; Gulf States Policy Institute – periodically; Terrorism & Homeland Security – quarterly; Health – monthly on the 15th.
* Monthly Review – monthly on the 18th; Banking & Financial Services – periodically; International Affairs – quarterly; Child Policy – quarterly; National Security – monthly on the 1st; Education – tri-yearly; Safety & Justice – tri-yearly; Energy & Environment – tri-yearly; Small Business – periodically; Gulf States Policy Institute – periodically; Terrorism & Homeland Security – quarterly; Health – monthly on the 15th.
The most important politician in America?: It's not Barack Obama
It is the junior United States Senator from New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The Obama presidency will be measured by the success or failure of the next congress in delivering universal health care. Not only will national health incalculably improve the lives of most Americans and rescue literally millions of retiring baby boomers from spending their declining years in poverty, but also it will change forever the nature of the debate over the proper role of government.
Republican balderdash about the dangers of "socialism" has traction only because Americans think they have no experience with it. If you want an idea of what it will be like when our medical system is "socialized," ask any die-hard Republicans over 65 two questions: First, what is their opinion of the proposal to establish national health coverage? In most cases, mention of national health will lead to railing about the predations of big government and the imminent arrival of Fidel Castro. Then, after the spittle stops flying, ask them what they think about Medicare? Socialist medicine, you will discover, is not so bad after all.
If the Obama administration indeed inaugurates a new progressive era, it will because real health care reform was delivered during its term. In the House of Representatives, health care is a done deal; all that needs to be worked out is whether it is single-payer or if some portion of overhead will be reserved to guarantee the profits of insurance companies. But the Senate is another matter. I am second to none in my admiration for Ted Kennedy; but in a lifetime in Congress, he has failed to deliver national health -- not without good cause, but there is little reason to think that the addition of a few moderate senators to the majority will be enough to make a difference.
As Kennedy is fully aware, the Senate needs someone of Hillary Clinton's stature, clout, expertise and ambition to make the passage of universal health care a certainty (see, Ted Kennedy asks Hillary Clinton to head Senate healthcare team). Once she wins the health care fight, who thinks she won't run for majority leader, and win.
It's hard to see that Clinton has any particular qualifications to be secretary of state, other than her travels. Please don't think I'm advocating this, but if Obama wants to appoint a strong woman with lots of foreign policy expertise, why not choose California senator Dianne Feinstein who has displayed keen interest in foreign affairs, trade, defense and security matters throughout her congressional career. There are thousands of others in government, politics, business and academia who also have more executive experience and far more knowledge about international affairs than Clinton.
On the other hand, there is no one in political life who has thought longer and harder about health care.
It isn't hard to figure out what Obama is up to. By choosing Clinton, he neutralizes a possible rival power center; offers a gesture of conciliation to those Hillary supporters still unreconciled to his victory; sidelines Bill Clinton; and makes an appointment that will be greeted with general approval (except, maybe, in New Mexico).
But what can Hillary be thinking? Politically, she will be much weakened -- cabinet members are not called secretaries for nothing. In the Senate, still hidebound by seniority, she is known to be frustrated by that junior business. But if she doesn't like standing a few steps behind Chuck Schumer, wait'll she has to take instructions from some junior aid in the west wing.
Getting something done in the Senate will require hard work. But she made a promise to the people of New York to work for them. Nobody said it was going to be easy.
Some wags are saying she wants to complete the collection of visited countries she started as first lady, but come on. Was she so busy running for president that no one had time to fill her in on junkets? She could legitimately visit every country in the world that delivers national health, which, come to think of it, is pretty much all of them.
The rap against the Clintons is that they have always put their own interests ahead of People and Party. During her run for senator, she was charged with being motivated by no more than ego and ambition. Were those of us who favored her election as senator naive in believing that she truly wanted to serve? If she still does, she should stay in the Senate and fight for single-payer universal health care. She will make a difference in our lives in a way no one else can; she will give support to an administration every patriotic American hopes will bring real change; and she will alter the future forever.
Today she is Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Senator from New York. Tomorrow, does she really want to be Madeleine Albright instead?
The Obama presidency will be measured by the success or failure of the next congress in delivering universal health care. Not only will national health incalculably improve the lives of most Americans and rescue literally millions of retiring baby boomers from spending their declining years in poverty, but also it will change forever the nature of the debate over the proper role of government.
Republican balderdash about the dangers of "socialism" has traction only because Americans think they have no experience with it. If you want an idea of what it will be like when our medical system is "socialized," ask any die-hard Republicans over 65 two questions: First, what is their opinion of the proposal to establish national health coverage? In most cases, mention of national health will lead to railing about the predations of big government and the imminent arrival of Fidel Castro. Then, after the spittle stops flying, ask them what they think about Medicare? Socialist medicine, you will discover, is not so bad after all.
If the Obama administration indeed inaugurates a new progressive era, it will because real health care reform was delivered during its term. In the House of Representatives, health care is a done deal; all that needs to be worked out is whether it is single-payer or if some portion of overhead will be reserved to guarantee the profits of insurance companies. But the Senate is another matter. I am second to none in my admiration for Ted Kennedy; but in a lifetime in Congress, he has failed to deliver national health -- not without good cause, but there is little reason to think that the addition of a few moderate senators to the majority will be enough to make a difference.
As Kennedy is fully aware, the Senate needs someone of Hillary Clinton's stature, clout, expertise and ambition to make the passage of universal health care a certainty (see, Ted Kennedy asks Hillary Clinton to head Senate healthcare team). Once she wins the health care fight, who thinks she won't run for majority leader, and win.
It's hard to see that Clinton has any particular qualifications to be secretary of state, other than her travels. Please don't think I'm advocating this, but if Obama wants to appoint a strong woman with lots of foreign policy expertise, why not choose California senator Dianne Feinstein who has displayed keen interest in foreign affairs, trade, defense and security matters throughout her congressional career. There are thousands of others in government, politics, business and academia who also have more executive experience and far more knowledge about international affairs than Clinton.
On the other hand, there is no one in political life who has thought longer and harder about health care.
It isn't hard to figure out what Obama is up to. By choosing Clinton, he neutralizes a possible rival power center; offers a gesture of conciliation to those Hillary supporters still unreconciled to his victory; sidelines Bill Clinton; and makes an appointment that will be greeted with general approval (except, maybe, in New Mexico).
But what can Hillary be thinking? Politically, she will be much weakened -- cabinet members are not called secretaries for nothing. In the Senate, still hidebound by seniority, she is known to be frustrated by that junior business. But if she doesn't like standing a few steps behind Chuck Schumer, wait'll she has to take instructions from some junior aid in the west wing.
Getting something done in the Senate will require hard work. But she made a promise to the people of New York to work for them. Nobody said it was going to be easy.
Some wags are saying she wants to complete the collection of visited countries she started as first lady, but come on. Was she so busy running for president that no one had time to fill her in on junkets? She could legitimately visit every country in the world that delivers national health, which, come to think of it, is pretty much all of them.
The rap against the Clintons is that they have always put their own interests ahead of People and Party. During her run for senator, she was charged with being motivated by no more than ego and ambition. Were those of us who favored her election as senator naive in believing that she truly wanted to serve? If she still does, she should stay in the Senate and fight for single-payer universal health care. She will make a difference in our lives in a way no one else can; she will give support to an administration every patriotic American hopes will bring real change; and she will alter the future forever.
Today she is Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Senator from New York. Tomorrow, does she really want to be Madeleine Albright instead?
2008: Romney, Clinton health care plans similar, say the experts
Those of us who argue that the Hillary Clinton administration, should it come to be, will be a continuation of the Reagan-Bush I-Clinton I policies -- militarist, corporatist, anti-middle class -- have new evidence in Hillary's vaunted "universal" health insurance plan, like the proposal she backed during Bill Clinton's term, essentially health care for insurance companies.
Mitt Romney loves to take swipes at Democratic front-runner Clinton, Reuters says, calling her plan, which would require every American to have health insurance, "European-style socialized medicine" inspired by "European bureaucracies."
But experts say Clinton's plan borrows heavily from one Romney signed into law when he was governor of Massachusetts, making the state the first in the nation with near-universal health insurance.
"Hillary's plan is just like the Massachusetts plan. There's not a whole lot of difference," says Jonathan Gruber, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology economics professor who was an adviser to Romney on the state's health care reform law.
And, what do you know, as it did with the Bill Clinton campaign, corporate money is flooding Senator Clinton's coffers. Perhaps it won't come as a complete surprise to the Hillary-the-inevitable crowd, then, when progressives, labor activists and the peace movement start shopping around for a third party alternative a year from now.
The rest of the story: Reuters
See, also: Are Clinton, Obama, Edwards All The Same?: Despite What Fans Say, Differences Between Top Three Dems Aren't Clear by Katha Pollitt
Mitt Romney loves to take swipes at Democratic front-runner Clinton, Reuters says, calling her plan, which would require every American to have health insurance, "European-style socialized medicine" inspired by "European bureaucracies."
But experts say Clinton's plan borrows heavily from one Romney signed into law when he was governor of Massachusetts, making the state the first in the nation with near-universal health insurance.
"Hillary's plan is just like the Massachusetts plan. There's not a whole lot of difference," says Jonathan Gruber, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology economics professor who was an adviser to Romney on the state's health care reform law.
And, what do you know, as it did with the Bill Clinton campaign, corporate money is flooding Senator Clinton's coffers. Perhaps it won't come as a complete surprise to the Hillary-the-inevitable crowd, then, when progressives, labor activists and the peace movement start shopping around for a third party alternative a year from now.
The rest of the story: Reuters
See, also: Are Clinton, Obama, Edwards All The Same?: Despite What Fans Say, Differences Between Top Three Dems Aren't Clear by Katha Pollitt
Scientific Evidence of the Health and Fitness Benefits of Hot Tubs
“Not only does swimming slow down the aging process – by upwards of 20% in some cases -- in terms of respiration, muscle mass, bone density, cardiovascular activity and neurological function, but there’s also evidence to suggest that it increases mental health and even spiritual and social health.” -- Dr. Joel M. Stager, Medical Director, St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute, Spokane Washington
DIMENSION ONE SPAS AQUATIC EXERCISE MACHINE FOR THE HOME
16 TO 19 ft Swim-in-Place Workout Pool Offers Multi-Taskers Multi Benefits Making the Most of Exercise Space and Time
What is more efficient than a swimming pool, more sophisticated than a hot tub and safer than a backyard playground? Dimension One Spa’s revolutionary Aquatic Fitness Systems® is an aquatic exercise machine for the backyard where you can safely swim, walk, run, stretch, row, strength train and relax!
The line’s flagship model -- the AquaFit® 19 Dual Temp – is the ultimate hybrid of fitness and hydrotherapy.
This unique 19-foot high-tech tub makes it possible to swim stationary laps; row for a robust upper body and arm workout; attach specially designed bands for resistance training; run or jog in place for cardiovascular conditioning – all in cooler water. Then when your routine is done, muscles can be soothed with a relaxing hydrotherapy body massage in the hot tub section of the pool. This watery workout is an ideal environment for low impact exercises to tone, shape and enhance flexibility, while the body is suspended in buoyant security. Ideal for weekend warriors; aging boomers; overweight exercisers and athletes needing rehabilitation, D1 offers three models of the pool -- the AFS 16, 19 and 19 DT – and their retail price ranges from $29,000 to $39,000.
Superior to a traditional “swim spa” because of its multiple functions and sophisticated design, the AFS has garnered substantial industry recognition. The Society of Plastic Engineers granted the AFS a “People’s Choice Award,” Consumer’s Digest designated the AFS the “Best Buy in Portable Spas” in the Premium Products Category and the Robb Report included the pool in a “Best of” issue.
Effective and efficient, the D1 Spa’s AFS swim spa takes up less space than a conventional pool and can be installed inside or outside the home. The pool’s
Ultralife slip-resistant interior is surrounded by a durable, all-weather exterior, making the tub adaptable to either above ground or below ground installation. High volume swim jets are positioned to provide lift as well as current. The 100% insulated tub uses a stainless steal heater—the most reliable on the market – providing optimal heat recovery and lower energy consumption. And, pure, clean water year-round is easily achieved with an E-Z Lock filter cartridge and the ozone purification system, allowing the owner to use fewer chemicals than most competitive products.
Mary E. Sanders, PhD Professor at the University of Nevada’s School of Medicine and Public Health is known in fitness circles as the “water fitness guru.” The research her team has done with groups of aquatic exercisers over the years underscores the fact that water can be used as a liquid weight machine with unique benefits. “Water’s buoyancy reduces impact and supports the body for increased range of motion,” she explains. “And, the natural resistance of water (the harder you press the harder, the water presses back) provides an individualized personal training environment. Water’s viscosity or “thickness” -- being about 800 times greater than air – makes it an effective exercise environment in which to build muscular endurance. And using resistance tethers, like those featured in the AFS pool, provides additional core stabilization work.”
D1’s founder, Bob Hallam, is clear about his target market for AFS: “Baby boomers are the most health & lifestyle conscious group of people in history. They spend more on working out, plastic surgery, health care and vacations than any other generation. And now with options like the AFS, they can achieve wellness efficiently and safely, in their own backyards.”
Hallam also notes that his customers are choosing priorities carefully. “One couple who bought an AFS from us lives in a mobile home near a beautiful apple orchard in Northern California,” he says. “They told us they invested $30,000 in this pool because of the real and essential relief using it brings to the husband’s chronic back condition.”
When it comes to getting the most out of your exercise space and time, the AFS just makes sense. Dr. Joel M. Stager, Medical Director of the St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute in Spokane Washington, who has studied the effects of aquatic activities among athletes and people in need of recovery from injuries or ailments for the past 30 years said it best: “Simply being submersed in water up to the neck increases cardiac output by more than 30 percent in a sedentary individual. So, just by sitting in water, the hydrostatic pressure on your body and being in a buoyant state benefits the body.” How much more beneficial would using an aquatic exercise machine at your own home be?
Dimension One Spas® (D1®) was founded in 1977 in Vista, California by Bob and Linda Hallam. By combining innovations in materials science and water handling technology, D1 has set an industry benchmark and today is the leader in designing and manufacturing luxury home hydrotherapy and aquatic fitness products. The family-owned business is dedicated to bringing customers the most advanced spas in the world -- engineered to rejuvenate both body and mind.
D1 spas and aquatic fitness products are now sold through a network of more than 200 dealers in the United States and 450 dealers worldwide in 35 countries. The company's four product lines include a selection of home hydrotherapy (ranging from $5,000-$18,000) and aquatic fitness products (ranging from $29k-$39k) that meet a variety of consumer needs and budgets: D1 Reflections®, D1 Bay Collection®, AFS- Aquatic Fitness Systems® and @ Home Hot Tubs®.
Holding more than 30 patents – more than any other company in the industry – D1 has earned accolades and awards from Consumer’s Digest, Robb Report, Poolandspa.com, Quality Buy and more, and in 2004 Bob Hallam was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. D1 proudly supports Vision of Children, a national organization dedicated to the eradication of blindness and vision disorders in industrialized nations. For more information about Dimension One Spas, its hot tub products and practices for health, fitness, swimming and romance, please visit DimensionOne.com.
# # #
FINDINGS ON THE BENEFITS OF AQUATIC EXERCISE:
Total Wellness: Aquatic exercise is a medically proven solution to boosting one’s mental, physical and emotional well-being. Scientific studies reveal many impressive health benefits of exercise, which include healthier bones and muscles, a leaner body, radiant skin, a strong immune system, fast recovery from illness, and a higher quality of life.
Cardiovascular Health: Water Fitness Guru Mary E. Sanders (PhD, University of Nevada’s School of Medicine and Public Health) deems water an effective and safe liquid weight machine whose thickness and natural resistance reduces impact during activity while increasing range of motion and promoting muscular endurance.
Extensive studies by Dr. Joel M. Stager (Medical Director, St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute in Spokane, Washington) reveal that the hydrostatic pressure and buoyant state of being submersed in water increases cardiac output in a sedentary person by more than 30 percent.
Arthritis: New research by Marlene Fransen, PhD, explains that water therapy alleviates joint pain and directly improves one’s physical performance and function. The Arthritis Foundation, in fact, endorses water exercise as an ideal way to relieve arthritis pain and stiffness without harming joints. The Aquatic Fitness System drastically reduces excess strain on joints and muscles, and offers soothing therapeutic treatments provided by state-of-the-art massaging jets.
Diabetes: A recent study by SoJung Lee suggests aquatic activity can help lower the risk of deadly diseases by 44 percent through exercise that increases the vitality of the heart and lungs. Findings show that a fit heart and lungs decrease one’s chance of acquiring diabetes and related maladies, and further reflect low blood pressure and high HDL “good” cholesterol.
Sleep: Soaking in warm water is a natural, safe way to enhance deep sleep and ease sleep-related problems, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Water’s relaxing properties of buoyancy help promote sleep through the alleviation of pressure on joints and muscles, and by the creation of a peaceful, weightless sensation. Unlike sleeping aids, warm water is an organic and healthy remedy for sleep deprivation.
Weight Management: A recent study titled “Effects of Aquatic Exercise and Walking in Sedentary Obese Women” (published in the February 2007 launch of the International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education) examines weight loss resulting from a separate aquatic and land-based walking program. Participants in both the water and land-based groups significantly improved their total body weight, cardiorespiratory fitness, flexibility, strength and quality of life. The aquatic walking group, however, recorded slightly higher body weight losses, improvements in flexibility and greater attendance rates.
Back Pain: A study by Gerhard Strauss-Blasche, PhD, published in the Clinical Journal of Pain, finds exercise therapy to be an effective treatment for chronic back pain. Water exercise specifically prevents and reduces back pain by relieving the weight-baring effects of gravity on the lower extremities and spine. The built-in massage jets of the Aquatic Fitness System further reduce pain with varying bursts of water that offload the spine and buffet the body’s soft tissue.
Depression: Improved mental health is directly linked to the performance of fitness activities, including those done in water, according to a recent study called “The Influence of Exercise on Mental Health” by Dr. Daniel M. Landers (PhD, Arizona State University). An important conclusion of the study is that exercise is powerful in reducing mental ailments such as anxiety and depression.
Prenatal Health: A Journal of Perinatal Education study reports that aquatic exercise during pregnancy benefits both mother and baby, as psychological stress levels can lower and thus reduce complications including adverse fetal outcome.
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Submitted by
Mary E. Sanders, Ph.D., FACSM
Associate Professor, Division of Medical Nutrition
Dept. of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine
Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health
University of Nevada, Reno
Director, WaterFit/Wave Aerobics
www.waterfit.com
Exercising in water improves respiration performance because the breathing mechanism must work harder when immersed, respiratory strengthening occurs. (Becker & Cole, 1997)
Effects on the circulatory and autonomic nervous systems facilitate improvements in muscle blood flow and increase the rate of removal of metabolic waste and injury products from deep within muscle tissues so normal and exercising muscles and ligaments experience beneficial effects (Becker & Cole, 1997).
Effects of immersion promote the excretion of metabolic wastes; assist with regulation of sodium, potassium, and water; and generally can lower blood pressure. (Becker & Cole, 1997).
Participants with chronic low back conditions, reported less pain after water training, with improvements in the quality of life for ADL (Ariyoshi et al., 1999; Landgridge & Phillips, 1988; Smit & Harrison, 1991).
Running in shallow water is rated in the “top 12” most strenuous exercises in terms of number of kcal expended per minute: Running in shallow water, 1.3 m depth, no buoyancy vest, maximal effort expends approximately 17.1 kcal/minute. (MacArdle, Katch, & Katch, 1999) Sports & Exercise Nutrition, Baltimore, LWW).
Women aged 55 and older improved their land-based functional skills such as stair climb, agility, sit-to-stand, speed walking, flexibility, and balance skills after only 16 weeks of water exercise training in shallow water. Participants also significantly improved strength and educed body fat with the training (Sanders, M. 1998 &2006).
Ten weeks of progressive aquatic resistance training targeting the lower body (using equipment for overload), resulted in significant improvement in muscular strength/endurance for 24 women, average age 34 years (Poyhonen, T., et al, 2002).
Older adults (age 60-75 years, average age 68 years) experienced a 6% improvement in back extension strength after 12 weeks, 3 days a week, 60 minutes per session by performing self- paced, vigorous shallow water exercise that included walking backwards. Additionally, their subjects improved significantly in cardiorespiratory endurance and body composition, muscle power for knee extension/flexion, vertical jumping, side step agility (Takeshima, N., M.E. Rogera, E. Wantanebe, W. F. Brechue, A. Okada, T. Yamada, M. M. Islam, J. Hayano 2002) Water-based exercise improves health-related aspects of fitness in older women Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 33(3), pp. 544-551)
Combining Turf & Surf for Weight Management: During another study, Nagle and colleagues (2003) combined diet plus water exercise and walking for a weight loss program. Forty-four obese, sedentary women with a BMI of 34.9, (mean age: 40 years), were randomly assigned to an aquatic exercise + walking on land group or a land walking only group for 16 weeks. The combined group (water exercise + land walking) participated in 2 shallow water exercise classes per week and the walking only group participated in 2 supervised walking classes per week. Both groups performed 3 sessions of land walking per week at home. According to Dr, Nagle, the pool exercises targeted cardiorespiratory training, were self-paced, and progressive with average intensity equivalent to walking about 4 miles per hour, or faster on land (moderate to vigorous). Sessions progressed from 20- 60 minutes over 16 weeks. Diet was controlled for reduced energy intake.
Both groups decreased body weight: combined water + land lost approximately 6.8 kg or 14.9 lbs while and land only group lost 5.6 kg or about 12.3 lbs. Both groups also improved in flexibility, lower body muscular strength and cardiovascular endurance. (Nagle, E.F., A.D. Otto, J.M., Jakicic, R.J. Robertson, F.L. Goss, J.L. Ranalli (2003) Effects of aquatic plus walking exercises on weight loss and function in sedentary obese females. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 35(5), May, S136, Abstract 753)
Trunk Core Training: During a study by Masumoto and colleagues (2003), participants who walked backwards, were measured using electromyography. Groups included walkers: on land, in water (xiphoid depth) without current and with a current applied (flume). Levels of muscle activity for the paraspinal muscles (erector spinae) while walking backwards with a current in shallow water were significantly greater when compared to walking on land. Water walking backwards, can possibly provide effective training for healthy backs and improved posture. (Masumoto, K., S. Takasugi, N. Hotta, K. Fujishima, Y. Iwamoto, Electromyographic analysis of walking backward in water. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 35(5), May, Abstract 1356, S141.)
DIMENSION ONE SPAS AQUATIC EXERCISE MACHINE FOR THE HOME
16 TO 19 ft Swim-in-Place Workout Pool Offers Multi-Taskers Multi Benefits Making the Most of Exercise Space and Time
What is more efficient than a swimming pool, more sophisticated than a hot tub and safer than a backyard playground? Dimension One Spa’s revolutionary Aquatic Fitness Systems® is an aquatic exercise machine for the backyard where you can safely swim, walk, run, stretch, row, strength train and relax!
The line’s flagship model -- the AquaFit® 19 Dual Temp – is the ultimate hybrid of fitness and hydrotherapy.
This unique 19-foot high-tech tub makes it possible to swim stationary laps; row for a robust upper body and arm workout; attach specially designed bands for resistance training; run or jog in place for cardiovascular conditioning – all in cooler water. Then when your routine is done, muscles can be soothed with a relaxing hydrotherapy body massage in the hot tub section of the pool. This watery workout is an ideal environment for low impact exercises to tone, shape and enhance flexibility, while the body is suspended in buoyant security. Ideal for weekend warriors; aging boomers; overweight exercisers and athletes needing rehabilitation, D1 offers three models of the pool -- the AFS 16, 19 and 19 DT – and their retail price ranges from $29,000 to $39,000.Superior to a traditional “swim spa” because of its multiple functions and sophisticated design, the AFS has garnered substantial industry recognition. The Society of Plastic Engineers granted the AFS a “People’s Choice Award,” Consumer’s Digest designated the AFS the “Best Buy in Portable Spas” in the Premium Products Category and the Robb Report included the pool in a “Best of” issue.
Effective and efficient, the D1 Spa’s AFS swim spa takes up less space than a conventional pool and can be installed inside or outside the home. The pool’s
Ultralife slip-resistant interior is surrounded by a durable, all-weather exterior, making the tub adaptable to either above ground or below ground installation. High volume swim jets are positioned to provide lift as well as current. The 100% insulated tub uses a stainless steal heater—the most reliable on the market – providing optimal heat recovery and lower energy consumption. And, pure, clean water year-round is easily achieved with an E-Z Lock filter cartridge and the ozone purification system, allowing the owner to use fewer chemicals than most competitive products.Mary E. Sanders, PhD Professor at the University of Nevada’s School of Medicine and Public Health is known in fitness circles as the “water fitness guru.” The research her team has done with groups of aquatic exercisers over the years underscores the fact that water can be used as a liquid weight machine with unique benefits. “Water’s buoyancy reduces impact and supports the body for increased range of motion,” she explains. “And, the natural resistance of water (the harder you press the harder, the water presses back) provides an individualized personal training environment. Water’s viscosity or “thickness” -- being about 800 times greater than air – makes it an effective exercise environment in which to build muscular endurance. And using resistance tethers, like those featured in the AFS pool, provides additional core stabilization work.”
D1’s founder, Bob Hallam, is clear about his target market for AFS: “Baby boomers are the most health & lifestyle conscious group of people in history. They spend more on working out, plastic surgery, health care and vacations than any other generation. And now with options like the AFS, they can achieve wellness efficiently and safely, in their own backyards.”
Hallam also notes that his customers are choosing priorities carefully. “One couple who bought an AFS from us lives in a mobile home near a beautiful apple orchard in Northern California,” he says. “They told us they invested $30,000 in this pool because of the real and essential relief using it brings to the husband’s chronic back condition.”
When it comes to getting the most out of your exercise space and time, the AFS just makes sense. Dr. Joel M. Stager, Medical Director of the St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute in Spokane Washington, who has studied the effects of aquatic activities among athletes and people in need of recovery from injuries or ailments for the past 30 years said it best: “Simply being submersed in water up to the neck increases cardiac output by more than 30 percent in a sedentary individual. So, just by sitting in water, the hydrostatic pressure on your body and being in a buoyant state benefits the body.” How much more beneficial would using an aquatic exercise machine at your own home be?
Dimension One Spas® (D1®) was founded in 1977 in Vista, California by Bob and Linda Hallam. By combining innovations in materials science and water handling technology, D1 has set an industry benchmark and today is the leader in designing and manufacturing luxury home hydrotherapy and aquatic fitness products. The family-owned business is dedicated to bringing customers the most advanced spas in the world -- engineered to rejuvenate both body and mind.
D1 spas and aquatic fitness products are now sold through a network of more than 200 dealers in the United States and 450 dealers worldwide in 35 countries. The company's four product lines include a selection of home hydrotherapy (ranging from $5,000-$18,000) and aquatic fitness products (ranging from $29k-$39k) that meet a variety of consumer needs and budgets: D1 Reflections®, D1 Bay Collection®, AFS- Aquatic Fitness Systems® and @ Home Hot Tubs®.
Holding more than 30 patents – more than any other company in the industry – D1 has earned accolades and awards from Consumer’s Digest, Robb Report, Poolandspa.com, Quality Buy and more, and in 2004 Bob Hallam was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. D1 proudly supports Vision of Children, a national organization dedicated to the eradication of blindness and vision disorders in industrialized nations. For more information about Dimension One Spas, its hot tub products and practices for health, fitness, swimming and romance, please visit DimensionOne.com.
# # #
FINDINGS ON THE BENEFITS OF AQUATIC EXERCISE:
Total Wellness: Aquatic exercise is a medically proven solution to boosting one’s mental, physical and emotional well-being. Scientific studies reveal many impressive health benefits of exercise, which include healthier bones and muscles, a leaner body, radiant skin, a strong immune system, fast recovery from illness, and a higher quality of life.
Cardiovascular Health: Water Fitness Guru Mary E. Sanders (PhD, University of Nevada’s School of Medicine and Public Health) deems water an effective and safe liquid weight machine whose thickness and natural resistance reduces impact during activity while increasing range of motion and promoting muscular endurance.
Extensive studies by Dr. Joel M. Stager (Medical Director, St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute in Spokane, Washington) reveal that the hydrostatic pressure and buoyant state of being submersed in water increases cardiac output in a sedentary person by more than 30 percent.
Arthritis: New research by Marlene Fransen, PhD, explains that water therapy alleviates joint pain and directly improves one’s physical performance and function. The Arthritis Foundation, in fact, endorses water exercise as an ideal way to relieve arthritis pain and stiffness without harming joints. The Aquatic Fitness System drastically reduces excess strain on joints and muscles, and offers soothing therapeutic treatments provided by state-of-the-art massaging jets.
Diabetes: A recent study by SoJung Lee suggests aquatic activity can help lower the risk of deadly diseases by 44 percent through exercise that increases the vitality of the heart and lungs. Findings show that a fit heart and lungs decrease one’s chance of acquiring diabetes and related maladies, and further reflect low blood pressure and high HDL “good” cholesterol.
Sleep: Soaking in warm water is a natural, safe way to enhance deep sleep and ease sleep-related problems, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Water’s relaxing properties of buoyancy help promote sleep through the alleviation of pressure on joints and muscles, and by the creation of a peaceful, weightless sensation. Unlike sleeping aids, warm water is an organic and healthy remedy for sleep deprivation.
Weight Management: A recent study titled “Effects of Aquatic Exercise and Walking in Sedentary Obese Women” (published in the February 2007 launch of the International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education) examines weight loss resulting from a separate aquatic and land-based walking program. Participants in both the water and land-based groups significantly improved their total body weight, cardiorespiratory fitness, flexibility, strength and quality of life. The aquatic walking group, however, recorded slightly higher body weight losses, improvements in flexibility and greater attendance rates.
Back Pain: A study by Gerhard Strauss-Blasche, PhD, published in the Clinical Journal of Pain, finds exercise therapy to be an effective treatment for chronic back pain. Water exercise specifically prevents and reduces back pain by relieving the weight-baring effects of gravity on the lower extremities and spine. The built-in massage jets of the Aquatic Fitness System further reduce pain with varying bursts of water that offload the spine and buffet the body’s soft tissue.
Depression: Improved mental health is directly linked to the performance of fitness activities, including those done in water, according to a recent study called “The Influence of Exercise on Mental Health” by Dr. Daniel M. Landers (PhD, Arizona State University). An important conclusion of the study is that exercise is powerful in reducing mental ailments such as anxiety and depression.
Prenatal Health: A Journal of Perinatal Education study reports that aquatic exercise during pregnancy benefits both mother and baby, as psychological stress levels can lower and thus reduce complications including adverse fetal outcome.
###
Submitted by
Mary E. Sanders, Ph.D., FACSM
Associate Professor, Division of Medical Nutrition
Dept. of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine
Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health
University of Nevada, Reno
Director, WaterFit/Wave Aerobics
www.waterfit.com
Exercising in water improves respiration performance because the breathing mechanism must work harder when immersed, respiratory strengthening occurs. (Becker & Cole, 1997)
Effects on the circulatory and autonomic nervous systems facilitate improvements in muscle blood flow and increase the rate of removal of metabolic waste and injury products from deep within muscle tissues so normal and exercising muscles and ligaments experience beneficial effects (Becker & Cole, 1997).
Effects of immersion promote the excretion of metabolic wastes; assist with regulation of sodium, potassium, and water; and generally can lower blood pressure. (Becker & Cole, 1997).
Participants with chronic low back conditions, reported less pain after water training, with improvements in the quality of life for ADL (Ariyoshi et al., 1999; Landgridge & Phillips, 1988; Smit & Harrison, 1991).
Running in shallow water is rated in the “top 12” most strenuous exercises in terms of number of kcal expended per minute: Running in shallow water, 1.3 m depth, no buoyancy vest, maximal effort expends approximately 17.1 kcal/minute. (MacArdle, Katch, & Katch, 1999) Sports & Exercise Nutrition, Baltimore, LWW).
Women aged 55 and older improved their land-based functional skills such as stair climb, agility, sit-to-stand, speed walking, flexibility, and balance skills after only 16 weeks of water exercise training in shallow water. Participants also significantly improved strength and educed body fat with the training (Sanders, M. 1998 &2006).
Ten weeks of progressive aquatic resistance training targeting the lower body (using equipment for overload), resulted in significant improvement in muscular strength/endurance for 24 women, average age 34 years (Poyhonen, T., et al, 2002).
Older adults (age 60-75 years, average age 68 years) experienced a 6% improvement in back extension strength after 12 weeks, 3 days a week, 60 minutes per session by performing self- paced, vigorous shallow water exercise that included walking backwards. Additionally, their subjects improved significantly in cardiorespiratory endurance and body composition, muscle power for knee extension/flexion, vertical jumping, side step agility (Takeshima, N., M.E. Rogera, E. Wantanebe, W. F. Brechue, A. Okada, T. Yamada, M. M. Islam, J. Hayano 2002) Water-based exercise improves health-related aspects of fitness in older women Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 33(3), pp. 544-551)
Combining Turf & Surf for Weight Management: During another study, Nagle and colleagues (2003) combined diet plus water exercise and walking for a weight loss program. Forty-four obese, sedentary women with a BMI of 34.9, (mean age: 40 years), were randomly assigned to an aquatic exercise + walking on land group or a land walking only group for 16 weeks. The combined group (water exercise + land walking) participated in 2 shallow water exercise classes per week and the walking only group participated in 2 supervised walking classes per week. Both groups performed 3 sessions of land walking per week at home. According to Dr, Nagle, the pool exercises targeted cardiorespiratory training, were self-paced, and progressive with average intensity equivalent to walking about 4 miles per hour, or faster on land (moderate to vigorous). Sessions progressed from 20- 60 minutes over 16 weeks. Diet was controlled for reduced energy intake.
Both groups decreased body weight: combined water + land lost approximately 6.8 kg or 14.9 lbs while and land only group lost 5.6 kg or about 12.3 lbs. Both groups also improved in flexibility, lower body muscular strength and cardiovascular endurance. (Nagle, E.F., A.D. Otto, J.M., Jakicic, R.J. Robertson, F.L. Goss, J.L. Ranalli (2003) Effects of aquatic plus walking exercises on weight loss and function in sedentary obese females. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 35(5), May, S136, Abstract 753)
Trunk Core Training: During a study by Masumoto and colleagues (2003), participants who walked backwards, were measured using electromyography. Groups included walkers: on land, in water (xiphoid depth) without current and with a current applied (flume). Levels of muscle activity for the paraspinal muscles (erector spinae) while walking backwards with a current in shallow water were significantly greater when compared to walking on land. Water walking backwards, can possibly provide effective training for healthy backs and improved posture. (Masumoto, K., S. Takasugi, N. Hotta, K. Fujishima, Y. Iwamoto, Electromyographic analysis of walking backward in water. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 35(5), May, Abstract 1356, S141.)
Business As Usual: Officials deny there's a link of gaining lobbyist access by giving to top lawmakers' cause (Sacramento Bee)
According to a report in the Sacramento Bee, health industry-related organizations have contributed at least a half a million dollars this year to a ballot initiative intended to ease term limits. It probably comes as no surprise to you that the beneficiaries of this largess are the very lawmakers in charge of the health care overhaul under consideration in the capitol.
Hospitals, drug companies, doctors, dentists and others with a stake in the health care debate, according to the Bee, have put up about a fifth of the roughly $2.6 million collected by those advocating a change in the 1990 term limits law. The measure, if passed by voters Feb. 5, would lower from 14 to 12 the total number of years a lawmaker could serve, but also would allow Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata to remain in their leadership posts for up to six and four years, respectively, beyond 2008.
Even though the don't officially support the measure, some donors from the health care industry are giving directly to the term limits committee, which is run by Núñez's top political adviser.
One donor admits his organization gave to guarantee access to the top players in health care reform. "The whole system of campaign fundraising is such that you have a (political action committee) because you want to get access to people," said Gary Robinson, the executive director of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, which gave $5,000 to the term limits measure in late June. "I think everybody's contribution relates to the ability to go to the fundraisers and meet the staff and the members," Robinson said.
Team Núñez, on the other hand, doesn't see a problem.
Hospitals, drug companies, doctors, dentists and others with a stake in the health care debate, according to the Bee, have put up about a fifth of the roughly $2.6 million collected by those advocating a change in the 1990 term limits law. The measure, if passed by voters Feb. 5, would lower from 14 to 12 the total number of years a lawmaker could serve, but also would allow Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata to remain in their leadership posts for up to six and four years, respectively, beyond 2008.
Even though the don't officially support the measure, some donors from the health care industry are giving directly to the term limits committee, which is run by Núñez's top political adviser.
One donor admits his organization gave to guarantee access to the top players in health care reform. "The whole system of campaign fundraising is such that you have a (political action committee) because you want to get access to people," said Gary Robinson, the executive director of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, which gave $5,000 to the term limits measure in late June. "I think everybody's contribution relates to the ability to go to the fundraisers and meet the staff and the members," Robinson said.
Team Núñez, on the other hand, doesn't see a problem.
Health Care: Michael Moore’s “Sicko," a review
By Gary Gordon
It is difficult to review a Michael Moore film without reviewing Michael Moore. He is the upstart troublemaker, activist, trickster, vaudevillian, the sore spot on the ass of the official story; celebrated, vilified, studied by anthropologists. Oh, and he’s popular.
In “Roger & Me,” he documented the economic collapse of Flint, Michigan as General Motors reorganized and the local Chamber of Commerce simultaneously denied the collapse and concocted bizarre and unsuccessful plans to revitalize the place.
In “Fahrenheit 9/11,” he argued that the “war on terror” and the invasion of Iraq were based on lies.
Now, in “Sicko,” he declares the healthcare system in the United States is broken, owned and operated by a greedy and often corrupt insurance industry and their servile politicians in both major parties, and there has to be a better way.
Through heartbreaking interviews with healthcare system victims, including 9/11 heroes who worked ground zero, and those in middle-management who once perpetuated the system and have since defected, Moore clearly documents the problems created by the for-profit health industry.
Through interviews with citizens of Canada, England, France and Cuba, Moore presents exciting aspects of their national health systems and maintains this kind of socialized approach is a solution for us to grab. To detractors of socialized systems, he points to long-socialized American institutions: medicare, our police and fire departments, our post office, public schools and libraries.
Critics of Moore often pick over his films the way vultures devour roadkill, finding fault and what they argue is deception and manipulation. Unfortunately, by some reputable accounts, Moore leaves himself open to these attacks because there are times when his use of narrative and moving images slights the truth of a more complex situation. His celebration of then-First Lady Hillary Clinton’s health care plans, as if her call for a national health plan was not a colossal deception designed to maintain the insurance industry’s grip speaks to his occasional naiveté. To his credit, he points out her rank as senator and presidential candidate among recipients of health insurance industry donations: she is number two.
The thing is, Flint, Michigan’s economy did collapse when General Motors shifted facilities and tens of thousands of jobs to Mexico and the Chamber’s schemes flopped, the “war on terror” and the invasion and occupation of Iraq were and are based on lies, and the US healthcare system is broken.
In other words, despite Moore’s faults and his critic’s best efforts, Moore gets it right.
CBS Anchorman Walter Cronkite once observed that anyone who got their news solely from him was a fool, that many sources should be sought and considered.
Moore’s is not the first nor final word on the healthcare debate, but his film “Sicko” is a brilliant, devastating and at times an oddly entertaining and humorous portrait of a sick system and a poignant draft of a possible solution.
Activist and singer-songwriter Gary Gordon is the creator of The Fictional Times.
----------------
Michael Moore Rips Into CNN's Wolf Blitzer
Sicko director Michael Moore gives host Wolf Blitzer and resident MD Dr. Sanjay Gupta a dressing-down in a must-see live TV moment (watch until the end to see CNN try to put Moore back in place before the next segment).
- Watch the clip here:
<http://youtube.com/watch?v=6TR1SG8WDbU>
- Watch Sanjay Gupta's 'Sicko Reality Check' here:
<http://www.crooksandliars.com/>
- Read Moore's point by point rebuttal to the 'Sicko Reality Check' here:
<http://www.michaelmoore.com/>
It is difficult to review a Michael Moore film without reviewing Michael Moore. He is the upstart troublemaker, activist, trickster, vaudevillian, the sore spot on the ass of the official story; celebrated, vilified, studied by anthropologists. Oh, and he’s popular.
In “Roger & Me,” he documented the economic collapse of Flint, Michigan as General Motors reorganized and the local Chamber of Commerce simultaneously denied the collapse and concocted bizarre and unsuccessful plans to revitalize the place.
In “Fahrenheit 9/11,” he argued that the “war on terror” and the invasion of Iraq were based on lies.
Now, in “Sicko,” he declares the healthcare system in the United States is broken, owned and operated by a greedy and often corrupt insurance industry and their servile politicians in both major parties, and there has to be a better way.
Through heartbreaking interviews with healthcare system victims, including 9/11 heroes who worked ground zero, and those in middle-management who once perpetuated the system and have since defected, Moore clearly documents the problems created by the for-profit health industry.
Through interviews with citizens of Canada, England, France and Cuba, Moore presents exciting aspects of their national health systems and maintains this kind of socialized approach is a solution for us to grab. To detractors of socialized systems, he points to long-socialized American institutions: medicare, our police and fire departments, our post office, public schools and libraries.
Critics of Moore often pick over his films the way vultures devour roadkill, finding fault and what they argue is deception and manipulation. Unfortunately, by some reputable accounts, Moore leaves himself open to these attacks because there are times when his use of narrative and moving images slights the truth of a more complex situation. His celebration of then-First Lady Hillary Clinton’s health care plans, as if her call for a national health plan was not a colossal deception designed to maintain the insurance industry’s grip speaks to his occasional naiveté. To his credit, he points out her rank as senator and presidential candidate among recipients of health insurance industry donations: she is number two.
The thing is, Flint, Michigan’s economy did collapse when General Motors shifted facilities and tens of thousands of jobs to Mexico and the Chamber’s schemes flopped, the “war on terror” and the invasion and occupation of Iraq were and are based on lies, and the US healthcare system is broken.
In other words, despite Moore’s faults and his critic’s best efforts, Moore gets it right.
CBS Anchorman Walter Cronkite once observed that anyone who got their news solely from him was a fool, that many sources should be sought and considered.
Moore’s is not the first nor final word on the healthcare debate, but his film “Sicko” is a brilliant, devastating and at times an oddly entertaining and humorous portrait of a sick system and a poignant draft of a possible solution.
Activist and singer-songwriter Gary Gordon is the creator of The Fictional Times.
----------------
Michael Moore Rips Into CNN's Wolf Blitzer
Sicko director Michael Moore gives host Wolf Blitzer and resident MD Dr. Sanjay Gupta a dressing-down in a must-see live TV moment (watch until the end to see CNN try to put Moore back in place before the next segment).
- Watch the clip here:
<http://youtube.com/watch?v=6TR1SG8WDbU>
- Watch Sanjay Gupta's 'Sicko Reality Check' here:
<http://www.crooksandliars.com/>
- Read Moore's point by point rebuttal to the 'Sicko Reality Check' here:
<http://www.michaelmoore.com/>
2008: The case for John Edwards' universal health care plan
Of the Democratic candidates, John Edwards has offered the most thorough (this is drawn from a piece by Timothy Noah in Slate, with which I agree) -- and the most progressive -- program for achieving universal national health.
Paul Krugman, who showed in an essay in the New York Review of Books ("The Health Care Crisis and What To Do About It") how far the current health-care debate misses the mark, gave Edwards' health-care plan thumbs up in a February column in the Times ("Edwards Gets It Right").
When the Democratic presidential candidates gathered in Las Vegas in March to debate health care, Marc Cooper of The Nation reported that Edwards' speech was the standout (see also, Impractical Proposals, 2008: Seven Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate Health Care), showing up both Clinton's program to save the insurance industry and Obama's bland assurances that something would be done (Obama's eventual proposal, while an admirable effort at political counter-punching, is not very well thought out; meanwhile, the only candidate who actually endorses single-payer, the commonsensical approach to providing health care of our international rivals, is Dennis Kucinich, who typically is short on the nuts and bolts of making it work).
William F. Buckley doesn't like Edwards' plan, a further indication that Edwards is on to something.
With his focus on poverty, universal health care, and immediate and complete withdrawal from Iraq, Edwards is well to the left of the other major contenders for the Democratic nomination; this is why, I'm guessing, his is virtually the only name I hear when ordinary citizens discuss politics out here, 3,000 miles from the Beltway and the Manhattan media; the situation strikes me as very similar to 2004 when one candidate (Kerry/Clinton) had been anointed by the Democratic establishment because he/she "can win" (momentum? moderation? money? -- I forget now what the reason was) and another (Dean/Obama) had captured the imagination of the romantics in the party because he promised change without pain.
(While there's no likelihood Obama will implode in a fit -- of passion, exaltation, outrage or any other emotion -- as Dean did, he is also about as likely to become president as Kucinich; out here in the boonies, take it for what it's worth, there is a strong feeling that Sen. Clinton -- momentum, moderation, money and whatnot notwithstanding -- cannot win; it's not that we wish her ill -- we're as stupified as you are by the prospect that the Oval Office might next be occupied by Newt Gingrich or someone of his ilk; on the contrary, we long with all our hearts for a real Democrat, at long last; it's just that we think it has been clear since Reagan beat Carter that, with the exception of charismatic Bill Clinton's runs -- Elvis Presley cast against the political equivalents of Dennis Weaver and Walter Brennan, the Democrats can't win as GOP lite.)
Asides aside, when it comes to health care, Edwards' liberalism, in addition to the nostalgic bonus of causing Buckley, the WSJ, Forbes, et al, to see "Red," is good for the campaign. As Noah writes, this is one debate that needs to shift leftward.
Despite the fact that it will probably be seen only by Democratic primary voters -- if nothing else, that may have the benefit of making it harder for Sen. Clinton to bloviate about the issue, despite its merits Michael Moore's Sicko by itself won't be enough to do the job of forcing the next Congress to take up universal health care (partly because the movie doesn't engender sympathy for the program's natural political allies in the business community).
But at least Moore's movie will help to keep the issue percolating through November 2008. And it should help to forestall efforts by "moderates" in Congress to pass an industry-backed "reform" of the current health-care setup as a way to block the adoption of a truly universal single-payer system.
To get back to specifics, then, how does the Edwards plan measure up? Here, in Edwardscare: A Trojan Horse, is what Noah finds.
Paul Krugman, who showed in an essay in the New York Review of Books ("The Health Care Crisis and What To Do About It") how far the current health-care debate misses the mark, gave Edwards' health-care plan thumbs up in a February column in the Times ("Edwards Gets It Right").
When the Democratic presidential candidates gathered in Las Vegas in March to debate health care, Marc Cooper of The Nation reported that Edwards' speech was the standout (see also, Impractical Proposals, 2008: Seven Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate Health Care), showing up both Clinton's program to save the insurance industry and Obama's bland assurances that something would be done (Obama's eventual proposal, while an admirable effort at political counter-punching, is not very well thought out; meanwhile, the only candidate who actually endorses single-payer, the commonsensical approach to providing health care of our international rivals, is Dennis Kucinich, who typically is short on the nuts and bolts of making it work).
William F. Buckley doesn't like Edwards' plan, a further indication that Edwards is on to something.
With his focus on poverty, universal health care, and immediate and complete withdrawal from Iraq, Edwards is well to the left of the other major contenders for the Democratic nomination; this is why, I'm guessing, his is virtually the only name I hear when ordinary citizens discuss politics out here, 3,000 miles from the Beltway and the Manhattan media; the situation strikes me as very similar to 2004 when one candidate (Kerry/Clinton) had been anointed by the Democratic establishment because he/she "can win" (momentum? moderation? money? -- I forget now what the reason was) and another (Dean/Obama) had captured the imagination of the romantics in the party because he promised change without pain.
(While there's no likelihood Obama will implode in a fit -- of passion, exaltation, outrage or any other emotion -- as Dean did, he is also about as likely to become president as Kucinich; out here in the boonies, take it for what it's worth, there is a strong feeling that Sen. Clinton -- momentum, moderation, money and whatnot notwithstanding -- cannot win; it's not that we wish her ill -- we're as stupified as you are by the prospect that the Oval Office might next be occupied by Newt Gingrich or someone of his ilk; on the contrary, we long with all our hearts for a real Democrat, at long last; it's just that we think it has been clear since Reagan beat Carter that, with the exception of charismatic Bill Clinton's runs -- Elvis Presley cast against the political equivalents of Dennis Weaver and Walter Brennan, the Democrats can't win as GOP lite.)
Asides aside, when it comes to health care, Edwards' liberalism, in addition to the nostalgic bonus of causing Buckley, the WSJ, Forbes, et al, to see "Red," is good for the campaign. As Noah writes, this is one debate that needs to shift leftward.
Despite the fact that it will probably be seen only by Democratic primary voters -- if nothing else, that may have the benefit of making it harder for Sen. Clinton to bloviate about the issue, despite its merits Michael Moore's Sicko by itself won't be enough to do the job of forcing the next Congress to take up universal health care (partly because the movie doesn't engender sympathy for the program's natural political allies in the business community).
But at least Moore's movie will help to keep the issue percolating through November 2008. And it should help to forestall efforts by "moderates" in Congress to pass an industry-backed "reform" of the current health-care setup as a way to block the adoption of a truly universal single-payer system.
To get back to specifics, then, how does the Edwards plan measure up? Here, in Edwardscare: A Trojan Horse, is what Noah finds.
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