July 7, 2010 (San Diego) -- Congressman Brian Bilbray (R-San Diego) has introduced the Medical Device Tax Repeal Bill, H.R. 5615, designed to repeal the medical device manufacturing tax that was passed with President Barack Obama’s health care insurance bill earlier this year.

 
 Device helps prevent blindness in patients with age-related macular degeneration
 
July 6, 2010 (Washington D.C). -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced it has approved the Implantable Miniature Telescope (IMT) to improve vision in some patients with end-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
 
Surgically implanted in one eye, the IMT is a small telescope that replaces the natural lens and provides an image that has been magnified more than two times.

 
July 6, 2010 (Washington D.C.) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on July 1st unveiled an innovative new on-line tool aimed at helping consumers take control of their health care by connecting them to new information and resources to access quality, affordable health care coverage.
 
Called for by the Affordable Care Act, www.HealthCare.gov is the first website to provide consumers with both public and private health coverage options tailored specifically for their needs in a single, easy-to-use tool.

Affordable Care Act Program provides temporary coverage for Americans without insurance due to pre-existing conditions through 2014 when new insurance exchanges are established; Californians may apply starting in August


July 5, 2010 (Washington D.C) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on July 1st the establishment of a new Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) that will offer coverage to uninsured Americans who have been unable to obtain health coverage because of a pre-existing health condition.

By Bill Pogue

May 2, 2010 (La Mesa) -- Mike Justo, representing the Better Business Bureau, led a discussion at the William C Herrick Medical Library in La Mesa last week on medical and health scams and frauds. The event was cosponsored by the library and Grossmont/Sharp Hospital.

The recently passed national health legislation has already prompted fraudulent vending of health policies to “cover the holes,” the BBB warns. Consumers are advised to view any door-to-door health salespersons with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Justo enumerated several other common scams in our community.

March 17, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) –California’s healthcare crisis has dramatically worsened. From 2008 to 2009, nearly 2 million people in our state lost their health insurance amid recession and layoffs, according to the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. That’s a 28% jump over the prior year. Nearly one-quarter of all adult Californians lack health insurance.

In San Diego yesterday, approximately 200 people held a rally downtown calling on Congress to enact healthcare reforms to assure coverage for all Americans and halt insurance industry abuses that deny people affordable care.

By Sylvia Hampton

March 7, 2010 (San Diego)--When the health reform discussion turned into a three ring circus last summer on the wave of words and statements like “death panels will kill granny,” an important fact got lost in the shuffle. The idea for family counseling programs with doctors on end-of-life care was brought forth by the insurance companies and added to the mix by a Republican congressman. It made so much sense to the Democrats that they included it in the bill.

By Masada Disenhouse

November 9, 2009 (La Mesa) -- As an East County resident I was very disappointed, though not surprised, that my Congressperson, Duncan Hunter, voted against the best interests of his constituents when he voted no on the House of Representatives healthcare bill. Though the bill is not perfect, still giving too much to insurance companies and too little to citizens, it would be a step forward.

 
By Miriam Raftery

August 25, 2009 (Rancho Sa Diego/El Cajon)—The setting was serene, but the political exchanges were rocky at “Politics in Paradise,” a community legislative forum sponsored by the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce Friday evening at Cuyamaca College’s Water Conservation Garden.
 
“Welcome to East County’s first town hall yelling match on healthcare reform,” emcee Barry Jantz quipped, though the forum covered a broad range of issues. Congressmen Bob Filner D-San Diego) and Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine) took center stage (photo, above) in a rare dual appearance, along with Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) and supervisor Diane Jacob.  (Assemblyman Marty Block (D-Lemon Grove) and State Senator Denise Ducheny (D-San Diego) were unable to attend the evening of impassioned discussion about issues impacting East County businesses and residents.

 
August 21, 2009 (Washington, DC) – The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) of the House and Senate has just released a new report detailing how our current health care system isn’t working for women and the drastic number of women who have lost their health care coverage in the current economic crisis.
 
“This report underscores the urgent need to reform our health care system. Every day that we focus on disruptive town hall meetings or the gross misinformation being generated in this debate, is a day crucial facts are not heard,” said Congressman Bob Filner (D-Chula Vista), whose district includes southern portions of East County. “The facts are staggering: over a million American women have lost insurance during this recession because their husband lost his job; three out of four women between age 55 and 64 report delaying health care because their own coverage was jeopardized by a spouse’s transition onto Medicare; and a full 28% of women under age 25 have no insurance at all – in the richest country in the world.”

By Miriam Raftery
 
August 6, 2009 (San Diego) – Violence, arrests and racial slurs have disrupted town hall meetings on healthcare reform in Florida, Pennsylvania and other states, where mobs opposed to healthcare reform attempted to shout down and drown out supporters.
 

San Diego’s Diamond Neighborhood Family Health Care Center will benefit from Thompson Program
 

August 2, 2009 (San Diego) – Assemblymembers Mary Salas (D-San Diego) and Hector De La Torre (D-Los Angeles) announce permanent funding of $1.6 million annually to the Steven M. Thompson Program, which encourages doctors statewide to serve in low-income rural and urban communities . On August 4, the Assemblymembers and community leaders will welcome Dr. Bahghi Keflezighi to the Diamond Neighborhood Family Health Care Center as a participating doctor in the Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program, which was created to address physician shortages in low-income communities throughout the state.

"It would make little sense for the federal government to assume responsibility for the 300 million Americans who are able to fend for themselves."

By Jim Stieringer

June 15, 2009 (San Diego’s East County)--Health care in the United States is not “broken”. We need merely address the 15% not currently covered by some form of health insurance. California is both economically and politically “broken”. However its health system currently covers 24 million of its 30 million citizens. This is a remarkable achievement. A new government program need merely address the needs of those 50 million American citizens (6 million of whom reside in California) who are not currently covered by any form of insurance.

June 11, 2009 (La Mesa)--The public is invited to attend the 9th annual Summer Healthcare Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, June 13, at the Grossmont Center shopping mall, 5500 Grossmont Center Dr., La Mesa. Free health screenings will include diabetes, blood pressure and stroke prevention.

COLUMN: THE WILL POWER REPORT: Nothing but the Truth!
*Restrictions May Apply


June 6, 2009 (San Diego)--The US Private Health Insurance companies have started their TV blitz to stop government health care. Do we have the political will to defy these clowns?