🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <346F8974.58D@earthlink.net>, Mark Gaines
<dansegypsy@earthlink.net> writes:

> Lobbyists Mobilizing to Kill Patient Protection

And they should be.  But perhaps not for all of the confusing statements
in this article.

Please go to the web site for the President's Task Force and to the web
site for Justace for All.  Families USA may also have some info on this, I
haven't yet checked their site.  The National Multiple Sclerosis Society
has info on their government issues pages at http://www.nmss.org.

The Patient Bill of Rights is being put together by unions, HMOs,
insurance companies other than HMOs and care providers (as in large
conglomerates or hospital facilities) and lawyers.  Where is the consumer
voice in all of this?  There is one consumer advocate on this advisory
committee.

Another group is putting together a bill to change Medicare.  It will not
only decrease services and increase cost to patients but will decrease
payment for services rendered as it is now proposed.

Are we, as nurses, patient advocates?  Do we follow the positions and
fiscal policies of the institutions we work for?  It is my beleif that we
have to do some of both.  

But we must be informed.  We can't make decisions on what our nightly news
2-3 minutes) and our print media (a couple of inches of column) tell us
reguarding what takes the legislators weeks and sometimes months
(occasionally years) to develop.  They are not thorough enough.  If you
truely have interest in these matters, you must read the bills (tedious
sometimes) or at least their summaries.  And we must find sites on the net
that give us opinions from all sorts of groups including the consumer of
health care.  Don't forget, that is sometimes you or members of your
family.  You must have interest in the Medicare issues because it affects
your parents (or soon will) and eventually you and your children.

             L
          L

Advocacy on disability issues:
http:/www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/3318

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