Town Hall On Health Care Set
Public encouraged to share views
By Nancy Gross
Kristofer Young invites all of the Ojai Valley to attend a town hall meeting on Health Care Reform because he can see no reason that Ojai should not participate in this nationwide exchange of ideas. “First and foremost, this is about democracy, in the sense of an informed public.” The meeting will be held Friday at 7 p.m. at Chaparral Auditorium, 414 E. Ojai Ave.
His forum’s view is that “we cannot go on paying double for second-rate health care in this country,” but he encourages people to come who have differing views, as well as those who have no well-defined position on whether health care in the United States ought to be changed or left as it is.
Young is the lead organizer for Citizens for Peaceful Resolutions, Ojai Peace Coalition, Organizing for America, and Health Care for America Now. “I am a doctor. I know enough about how critical health care reform is. We have to change this,” Young says. But he believes another part of this process is simply showing up, standing up, and being counted among the community sharing in the democratic process.
As facilitator, Young will deliver the introductory remarks. He intends to ask participants what kind of forum they would like to have, as well as where they are from. Town hall meetings in other parts of the country that have turned disruptive and violent, and where some protestors have arrived by bus from other areas seemingly to create these disruptions, is something he is on the lookout for.
Young would like to hear any peaceably presented views about why health care reform is not important to some people. He hopes to provide a review of what is in the works in Washington, D.C., and to try to tease apart the real issues from the gossip and scare statements that have been circulating.
Ojai’s mayor, Joe DeVito, has been asked to attend, as has Rep. Elton Gallegly. Young has encouraged these officials to send someone else on their behalf if they cannot attend. He hopes all the following groups will have members present: Ojai City Council, Board of Education, Food for Thought, the Green Coalition, and every organized faith in the valley.
Young expects to be able to set up a lottery format that will give some participants the opportunity to speak briefly. Presenters may include physicians who reside in the area. Young, a holistic chiropractor, sees health itself as very important to the democratic process, and not only the other way around: “Healthy citizens are more productive and cooperative.”
Because of the tense nature of some of these meetings, Young is inviting the Ojai Police Department to be in attendance.
Young’s hope is that this discussion will “shake it up peacefully,” and only peacefully.
NS= Shoot from the hip expert on everything except reality.
I’d rather have ANYONE at all besides an insurance company deciding what’s best for me!
If you file a claim, your rates go up. If you file a large claim, you may be dropped, as my neighbor was when someone was injured on their property. With health insurance, you may be dropped if you are diagnosed with a chronic illness, which no new insurance will cover, because it is preexisting. This system is not fair to the policy holders.
Nicolaus Sommer,
Regarding your assertion:
“our Health Insurance System has failed in the free market as an consumer orientated Insurance System”
Failed how?
I am bombarded by auto insurance commercials from various companies all vying for my business and promising great rates. I get a good-driver discount and discount for being a home-owner. I think I would get even lower rates if there were tort reform. Although they’re never fun to deal with, I’ve never had too much trouble filing claims.
What we need in the health insurance sector is more private competition, not more government interference. Let’s add incentives for competition, a tax voucher for health insurance, and tort reform. Then let’s figure out how to fix medicaid/medical to provide insurance for those 10-15 million Americans who can’t pay for but need insurance.
Obama is a puppet as was bush 2 and bush 1,
they are all puppets and don’t give a rats behind about you,you’re family,me or my family.
The left/right paradigm is just to distract and divide us same with the current immigration situation.
I agree with Nick Sommer. To some extent.
Hey Lawrence – we all know why you voted for Obama, he’s much better looking. Sommer how can you blame the media? The media bias heavly favors Obama, and treat him completely different then they treated Bush.
Bunch of kool-aid drinking clowns! Parent, probably bows at the picure of Obama, and for the woman you know who has babies at home, probably an illegal immigrant.
Parent,
The Emergency Rooms are highly misused, therefore the wait time is outrages … and the hospitals make the handling of the ER as unattractive as possible because they are sick and tired of being misused as general doctors office for the uninsured.
The current system is broken, YES, and needs a TOTAL makeover. I’m not so confident anymore, if I will see changes in my life time … Obama seem to be kept in hostage by the big money and most of the members in Congress & Senate don’t see the problems, since they are covered by a European style full coverage – no co-payment – no restriction – insurance.
We, the taxpayer are exposed to profit sharks with no intention to reform a corrupted and for the patient nonfunctional system.
Keywords like “socialistic”, “liberal”, “endless wait time”(dah…?), “government driven” are spiced up with flat out lies, rumors and extreme right wing propaganda and being flooded into the mass media – with only one goal: Hurt Obama as best as possible and keep the non functional but very profitable system up and running.
Maybe Ojai Grad hasn’t been to an ER in Ventura lately. I took my mother for a cut she got in a fall to CMH and we were there from 3 until 10 PM. Not a big injury at all, but the wait was awful and unnecessary. Also, there are many hard working people who cannot afford health insurance. I know a woman who has her babies at home because they cannot afford a hospital and when one had complications and they had to go to the hospital, they were happy that the baby was born on the way. And these people have jobs and pay taxes. This system is broken and needs a lot of changing and Obama can do it.
JUSTICE
If your screen name means anything, then do your self a favor and don’t play the smart ass here.
You should know, that you can claim almost everything, because the insurances rather settle than risking a trail. Milking the insurances is the specialty of many lawyers and a perfect income for people who are not involved in the case except milking money.
an Ojai Dad:
“…where in the constitution it mandates or permits the federal government to provide public health care?”
You already know the answer … don’t you
I believe nobody really wants a government driven health system …
The “private” and mostly profit oriented Health Insurances can’t live up with their promises, and in case you get really sick and you can’t effort a lawyer, the current insurances playing the game cat&mouse with you and you can’t win.
You can say more or less to the point – our Health Insurance System has failed in the free market as an consumer orientated Insurance System. As a cash cow for some investors, it has worked perfect so far, that’s why they have almost endless funds to make sure everything stays the same as it is … misinformation in the main stream media is outrageous …
So, in my opinion we have no other chance then a highly government regulated Insurance Industry.
Yanking a man out of office is not very American ,All American. We voted out guy in. Your guy lost. I couldn’t stand Bush either but I couldn’t yank him. I think Obama is doing a great job. He is making wise decisions about Iraq. If there is a fragile democracy there then we have to be ready to help. Obama is doing a great job as President. Health care is just one facet of being President. He’s running into trouble here. So what? If McCain was President the troubles would be far worse thats why we didn’t vote for him. Our standing has actually improved in World since Obama has become pres. If there was an election today, Obama would still win with you guys that hated him from the get go screaming and yelling like you’ve done all along.
Can any of the constitutional scholars on this blog please explain where in the constitution it mandates or permits the federal government to provide public health care? (please don’t cite the Elastic Clause)
The same question may be asked of many government programs of the last century but those aren’t relevant to the topic at hand.
Hey Lawrence, you would still vote for Obama considering what has taken place early into his administration? are you still waiting for the change he promised? Don’t get me wrong I respect the office of the President, but I don’t want the Government running every aspect of my life, it seems to me this guy is on a power trip. Oh I know why you voted for him because he said he would bring the Troops home, what ever happened with that, there are more Troops getting killed in Afgan now then ever before but you never hear about it. Yes we can! yes we can! yes we can ! what? and about this health care, whats the rush in trying to get this passed, when we have Politicians that don’t even read the bill, why wait to vote them out, to bad we can’t pull a Trump on them and just say YOUR FIRED!
Anonymous, at the onset of the election I felt pretty good. I was going to vote Obama because I’m a Democrat but I like John McCain a lot and felt comfortable either way. Then he made his extreme right wing choice for VP to satisfy the religious core and with all due respect it was like the collective intelligence of the Republican party took a nose dive. He even seemed proud of himself that he picked a Vice President with such a fine butt. I hope that answered your question.
an Ojai Teacher,
What other developed country should we look at regarding health care? do you mean there is better care elsewhere? and I agree to the comment made regarding the the higher costs , however I would disagree about the waiting until the conditions are much more serious, have you visited an E.R. room lately, I did and sitting there for 5 hrs. you witness what really is happening, parents bring in there children you don’t know which one is being treated, they go to the vending machine get some cheetos & soda, kids crawling all over the furniture, parents texting or on the cell phone, its like a normal office visit for them, being treated for a common cold or flu like symptoms, what a joke.
What kind of damages can you collect?
Everybody in the health system can be sued … and this seem to be our favorite hobby anyways.
Let’s cap liability like in the rest of the civilized world and the problems will drop dramatically. We just need to send the lawyers on vacation while this most important law is being passed.
The risk of being sued for ridiculous reasons is in my opinion one of the major road blocks for a healthy middle class coming back on it’s feet.
Why having government employees (living on the tax dollar) an Europe style full coverage plan and the rest of us can’t even get a plan like it?
Is this the way how insurances corrupting our governments.
JUSTICE,
A private insurance company could be sued for any number of reasons e.g. an insurance company that routinely declined coverage where coverage was due could be subject to a class action lawsuit. This is a distinction I drew with a public insurance provider — it would be much more difficult to sue the federal government.
Hey Lawrence why did you vote for Obama? and what do you admire about him, the only thing I’ve observed he has no problem throwing away tax payers money, and he talks well in front of his tele-prompter, are you drinking the kool-aid?
Ojai Dad,
You can sue your employer-provided healthcare provider? For what?
I voted for Obama but I think he tried to do too much too fast. Since we are in a recession and he spent all that money bailing out the banks I don’t think now is the best time to ask for more money to reform health care. I agree to some extent with Ojai Dad. I think if you are an American citizen and you are out of work and need health care there is always Medical or Medicare. Thats what its there for. Don’t get me wrong, I admire our President and would vote for him again in a heart beat, I just question this big health care reform at this time.
cannot understand why anyone would oppose improving our healthcare system
Ojai teacher, how about some references for the statistics you quote?
I have employer provided health insurance. The insurance company does tell me what they will or won’t pay for, but I can always cancel my policy and go elsewhere. I can also sue them if they violate the terms of any agreement. Would I be able to sue a government health care?
With respect to the “comparatively large number of people who do not have access to care”. How many people exactly is that? How many of those people are ‘undocumented immigrants’? People between jobs? Or young healthy people who decline health insurance?
The majority of Americans are happy with their health care. Let’s find a solution that addresses only those Americans who don’t have any healthcare. Oh wait, that’s what Medical/Medicaid are for.
Your insurance company (assuming you have insurance) already tells you what doctor you can see, and what treatments you may or may not receive. A public option is another CHOICE. While we do not have “second-rate” care here, we also do NOT have the best. The outcomes here are not as good as in other developed countries, and the cost is much higher. One reason for this is that we have a comparatively large number of people who do not have access to care, or for whom treatment is so costly, they wait until the condition is much more serious (and more costly to treat, and less likely to be successful). For all of you “right to life” people, this is an issue for the unborn as well. The U.S. has higher infant mortality rates than other developed countries, likely due to lack of prenatal care for too many women.
Ow. My tin foil hat makes my brain hurt.
The health care system needs to be changed however our health care as stated above is not ‘second rate’. Everyone should read the bill as currently written. It is wrong and the government has no right to tell me what Dr. to see or make any decisons about my health care. READ IT!!! We can not afford any more debt and either can our children, grandchildren and their grandchildren. This bill is being shoved down our throats and I for one am totally against spending my money. Our government is broke and we are going to end up with higher taxes, higher interest rates and in debt forever. This is not something we should do overnight which is exactly what Obama wants us to do. I doubt he has read it.
To all ACORN workers, the check is in the mail! just show-up and spread the lies.
ACORN = American Coalition of Real Nuts.
National Health Care = National Death Care. Wake up we need to get rid of the offshore bankers that have taken over our country. Its time to end the Federal Reserve You will never get quality health Care until this maggit sucking tapeworm is gone. With the Money we no longer have to pay them to borrow our own money we could have health care for all. Think long and hard about it.
THERE IS ONLY ONE PROBLEM THAT NEEDS TO BE FIXED:
1. Allow people that have had benefits denied by h.m.o. to sue the h.m.o. for damages other than just receipt of benefits and attorneys fees (ERISA). Put some teeth in it, punitive damages, and that will make the h.m.o. accountable.
your work here is done, sally, move on. no one can deny that our healthcare system needs improvement.
I wonder if some people are going to bring guns. Or is that only to the ones where Obama shows up.
Is organizing for America in any way associated with ACORN? IN ANY WAY?!? I was a Democrat..no more. Looking at other Countries we have the best health care…why call it ‘second-rate’. Seems more people come here for health care from other countries because they can’t get the care in their own country.
Also I do believe the bus loads I read about were Acorn buses. This is America…land of the free and it should stay that way.