National Health Insurance

Make medical care available for all I agree with Thomas Sowell that people should take responsibility for how they use health care dollars and insurance and for how they care for themselves and use medical facilities, including ERs ("Let's not confuse lack of insurance with lack of care," Opinion * Commentary, Sept. 5). I also see his point that national health insurance would not be free. However, Mr. Sowell notes that in the past he was "lucky enough not to have any heavy duty medical expenses that would have required major operations or a long-term hospital stay."

Dr. Frank Folke Furstenberg, a retired allergist and Sinai Hospital official and founder of Pets on Wheels Inc., died of Parkinson's disease Tuesday at his Guilford residence. He was 92.Dr. Furstenberg went to work for Sinai Hospital in 1946 as director of the medical care clinic, which served public assistance clients, and retired in 1984 after holding positions including director of the outpatient department and associate director for program development.He also closed his private practice in 1984.

The Medicare program, budget deficits and maneuvering for the next presidential race have once again come into intense and very public conflict. The partisan fight has left the country bewildered by a mix of crisis talk, fact-throwing and ideological name-calling.In May, President Clinton publicly rejected the suggestion of House Speaker Newt Gingrich that Medicare's forecasted budget be reduced substantially (about $270 billion) to "save" the valued but beleaguered program. The president also has rejected the "remedy" of a bipartisan national commission proposed by Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, an announced contender for the Republican presidential nomination.

I'D BEEN invited to Australia to help launch a new government policy on age and to talk about my book, "The Fountain of Age." But since I am also known as an American feminist, I was asked by women in Sydney and Melbourne, "What on earth are they doing to Hillary in your country?"I was myself unable to figure out why it had suddenly become a crime for an American to have made $100,000 on the commodities market 17 years ago -- this is a capitalist nation, after all -- though some men may still resent that a woman acting on a smart tip could turn $1,000 into $100,000 in that high-risk market.

Health care insurance reform may be an idea whose time has come, but it is not a new idea. Nor is it an American idea. National health insurance has existed in Europe since the late 1880s, when it was put in place in response to pressure from an activist labor movement. Germany was the first country to have a national health insurance plan, and the other European countries followed.As this country moves forward in the examination of our latest health insurance reform proposal, it is helpful to look at the history of this effort in the United States.

WASHINGTON -- At the same time the administration i planning to do away with federal employees' health insurance program, one of Washington's most influential think tanks is touting it as a model health care system.The President's Task Force on National Health Care Reform, which is crafting a national health insurance strategy, is likely to propose dissolving the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan and folding its 9 million participants into the new system, says task force spokesman Robert Boorstin.

Palo Alto, California. -- From the White House to Main Street the focus is on managed competition as the answer to the U.S. health-care system problems.Missing in this rush to judgment, unfortunately, is any serious consideration of national health insurance.Proponents claim managed competition will make insurers, hospitals and doctors more innovative. There will be incentives to form new health-care networks competing for patients through the better quality at lower cost they offer. Consumers' bargaining power will increase as they can shop around for alternatives if they are not satisfied.

Manchester, N. H.-- WHEN Sen. Bob Kerrey launched his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination, his supporters billed him as the next John F. Kennedy, complete with charisma. He was young, 48, boyish-looking and a Vietnam war hero whose exploits were at least a match for the PT-109 saga.In the following weeks, however, he seemed to turn the charisma spigot on and off, sometimes impressing crowds, more often leaving them lukewarm as he struggled to produce an effective message.

Health system in Canada a model for U.S.I am writing to express great disappointment in your editorial, "Presidency on the line" (Jan. 29). You very accurately noted that President Bush, in his State of the Union message, spurned the "pay or play" plan for national health insurance in favor of a tax credit plan. You also correctly quoted the president as saying that Americans will reject "a nationalizing system which will restrict patient choice in picking a doctor and force the government to ration services arbitrarily."

Robert M. Heyssel has spent two decades at the helm of the Johns Hopkins Hospital.He came from Vanderbilt in 1968 as associate dean of the medical school, worked on community health issues and was involved in the origin of the concept of the health maintenance organization in the then-new city of Columbia.He became executive vice president and director of the hospital in 1972, then gained the title of hospital president in 1982.Dr. Heyssel, who will be 64 this week, will retire July 1, to be succeeded by James A. Block, who comes to Hopkins from the University Hospitals in Cleveland.

We need a public option The issue of national health insurance reform can be accurately explained in complex detail or simply and conceptually. Either way, economists, experts, business leaders, the AARP and most doctors, nurses, hospitals and American citizens agree - reform legislation must be signed into law this year or the economic consequences will be dire for our country, for businesses and for American families. Additionally, real improvements in quality health care, such as prevention, will only come if there's reform.

Nearly a century has passed since initial discussions began in the United States about the need for national health insurance - and we're still talking about it. Now, President Barack Obama and House leaders have committed to a July 31 deadline for moving a health reform bill through the House. This bill focuses on three core principles: reducing rising health care costs, allowing Americans the ability to choose their own doctors and their own plans, and ensuring quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

Michael Moore's film Sicko gave a big boost to the movement for single-payer national health insurance this year. But even those turned off by Mr. Moore's less-than-subtle style will find many reasons to support a single-payer system. As the number of uninsured and underinsured Americans continues to rise and medical costs spiral out of control, these reasons are increasingly compelling. As doctors at an urban hospital, we see uninsured patients in the emergency room with serious illnesses that easily could have been prevented with appropriate preventive care.

Make medical care available for all I agree with Thomas Sowell that people should take responsibility for how they use health care dollars and insurance and for how they care for themselves and use medical facilities, including ERs ("Let's not confuse lack of insurance with lack of care," Opinion * Commentary, Sept. 5). I also see his point that national health insurance would not be free. However, Mr. Sowell notes that in the past he was "lucky enough not to have any heavy duty medical expenses that would have required major operations or a long-term hospital stay."

ABOUT 42 million Americans - 600,000 in Maryland - have no health insurance, either because they have no jobs or jobs with no health benefits, they can't afford it, or they don't think they need it. Nationally, the number is increasing by about 1 million annually. Citizens can bring these figures to zero by voting into office leaders who will enact national health insurance. We know that our health insurance is only as good as our economy and job. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently reported that sometime during 2001 and 2002, 30 percent of 74.7 million Americans under 65 were uninsured.

Dr. Frank Folke Furstenberg, a retired allergist and Sinai Hospital official and founder of Pets on Wheels Inc., died of Parkinson's disease Tuesday at his Guilford residence. He was 92.Dr. Furstenberg went to work for Sinai Hospital in 1946 as director of the medical care clinic, which served public assistance clients, and retired in 1984 after holding positions including director of the outpatient department and associate director for program development.He also closed his private practice in 1984.

The Medicare program, budget deficits and maneuvering for the next presidential race have once again come into intense and very public conflict. The partisan fight has left the country bewildered by a mix of crisis talk, fact-throwing and ideological name-calling.In May, President Clinton publicly rejected the suggestion of House Speaker Newt Gingrich that Medicare's forecasted budget be reduced substantially (about $270 billion) to "save" the valued but beleaguered program. The president also has rejected the "remedy" of a bipartisan national commission proposed by Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, an announced contender for the Republican presidential nomination.

I'D BEEN invited to Australia to help launch a new government policy on age and to talk about my book, "The Fountain of Age." But since I am also known as an American feminist, I was asked by women in Sydney and Melbourne, "What on earth are they doing to Hillary in your country?"I was myself unable to figure out why it had suddenly become a crime for an American to have made $100,000 on the commodities market 17 years ago -- this is a capitalist nation, after all -- though some men may still resent that a woman acting on a smart tip could turn $1,000 into $100,000 in that high-risk market.

Health care insurance reform may be an idea whose time has come, but it is not a new idea. Nor is it an American idea. National health insurance has existed in Europe since the late 1880s, when it was put in place in response to pressure from an activist labor movement. Germany was the first country to have a national health insurance plan, and the other European countries followed.As this country moves forward in the examination of our latest health insurance reform proposal, it is helpful to look at the history of this effort in the United States.

WASHINGTON -- At the same time the administration i planning to do away with federal employees' health insurance program, one of Washington's most influential think tanks is touting it as a model health care system.The President's Task Force on National Health Care Reform, which is crafting a national health insurance strategy, is likely to propose dissolving the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan and folding its 9 million participants into the new system, says task force spokesman Robert Boorstin.