Tag: Health Care Reform

Chamber of Commerce Attacking Legal System through Radio Ads

In this country, we all have the right to hold another person or party, or even corporation responsible for their acts of negligence, malpractice and other cases of harm. Recently, the Chamber of Commerce has entered the radio advertisement arena in an attempt to protect its high standing members from these lawsuits and claims of negligence. They claim that this is to protect people from meaningless lawsuits, but these ad campaigns are supported by the same people that the Chamber of Commerce is trying to protect, including oil, tobacco, and insurance companies. It seems to like the Chamber of Commerce does not really care about proper care and practices for individuals and Americans, it seems like they care more about protecting their highest paying and loyal supporters. Once again money is put before rights and in this country people have fought for those rights and they deserve the chance to exercise them when the situation calls for it. People’s rights and needs should come first before money, but once again, this is not the case. If people listen to the ads of the Chamber of Commerce than people will not be able to sue for neglect or abuse of a loved one in a nursing home, or a injury due to a product defect or the injuries that can error due to improper label of products. If the members of the Chamber of Commerce were injured due to malpractice they would want to have the right to sue, so other people deserve this right as well.

For additional information on the Chamber of Commerce radio campaigns, you may visit:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28211.html

 

If you or a loved one feels you have been injured due to medical negligence, please contact a malpractice attorney right away. They will help you get your voice heard and your rights protected.

Needed Nursing Homes Struggling to Stay Open

When our loved ones are no longer able to take care of themselves and we have tried but we do not have the right medical care or the time to give them the assistance they need, nursing homes are where we turn. We depend on nursing homes to take care of our loved ones in the best way possible. We expect our loved ones to be treated well, with compassion and to be given the proper medical care as well. Due to the national recession and health reform cuts of $16 billion in Medicare plans, there are many nursing homes struggling to stay open. The nursing homes that are able to avoid bankruptcy and other problems have to make cuts on staff and proper training which leads to nursing home abuse, bed sores, and other types of neglect. We need a place for our elderly loved ones to feel safe and cared for without having to worry about their health and proper medical care. Even states that have been given extra funding for nursing home care are soon going to run out. It is important that we recognize that there is still a need for nursing homes and that we do something to save them and provide better medical care and services in them as well. Our loved ones and their lives may depend on it the way they depend on us.

If you would like to do something to save the nursing homes, you can write a letter to your congressman or attend a local town meeting and tell people how you feel and the importance of nursing homes.

For more information on nursing homes that are struggling, you may visit this web.

If you feel that your loved ones are a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, contact a nursing home abuse lawyer right away. They will help you get the rights and care for your loved one that they deserve to have.

New Health Legislation may not provide Coverage for Everyone

The health legislation concerns still keep going and going. The Democrats have celebrated that the bill created in the Senate Finance Committee would not increase the deficit, but it may not actually provide coverage for every American as previously promised. Yes, the bill will cover the expensive and possibility the sickest patients, but it will pose an insurance risk to other people by making them pay even more in health care coverage. This will lead to people once again not being able to afford coverage and then again having not everyone receiving health insurance coverage. The health care reform was supposed to provide health care coverage for as many if not all Americans. This does not seem to be the case since health insurance will increase their costs for those with insurance making those with insurance unable to afford it. This means less injuries and health problems for those that are covered by the new health care reform and unaffordable insurance and more injuries and problems for people that already had health insurance. This seems like the bill will not actually be able to deliver what was once promised. Patients and proper health care should come first, but yet again, money and profits are still being put first. When will our system get up to speed to places like Europe where if you have an ehic card, that’s probably all you are going to need for coverage. We need to make sure that not only is every American able to afford coverage but that this coverage will provide proper medical care and less malpractice and injuries for patients.

For more information on the new health reform debate, you may visit: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/08/AR2009100801732.html

 

If you or someone you love feels like you have not received proper medical care, please contact a malpractice lawyer right away. They will help you advocate for your rights to receive proper medical care.

Nursing Homes in Danger of Disappearing

According to a report from Connecticut, many nursing homes and their staff and services are in serious danger of being cut and even closed completely due to Medicare rate adjustments and other cuts as part of the health care reform. The president of the American Health Care Association even sees many nursing homes closing because of these cost cuts. The U.S. Census Bureau shows that 1.85 million people are now being taken care of in the nation’s 16,000 nursing homes and this is up from 1.79 million in 2007. This is clearly not the time to be cutting nursing home funding and closing nursing homes. Despite these figures though, many nursing homes, including twenty-four in Connecticut are being cut and closed due to rising costs and the challenge to keep big nursing homes running. Many people that are getting older, are disabled, and need the nursing home care are now turned away because of heavy debts and other problems. Many businesses are struggling due to the recession, but it may not be the best idea to include these types of cuts in health care reform especially since more people than ever need the care.  We need to still remember people first and money second. If we do not help this long term care crisis, there will more injuries, problems, and improper health care not only now but every day all over the U.S. long into the future.  

For more information on this nursing home crisis, you may visit this page.

If you feel that your loved ones have been the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, please contact a medical malpractice attorney right away. They will help you advocate for the rights and care of your loved ones and help you get them what they need.

Film about Health Care Reform and What Went So Wrong

There has been so much debate about health care reform, that now there is even a film about it. This film will be called Money Driven Medicine and is produced by Alex Gibney and is based on a book also called Money-Drive Medicine by Maggie Mahar. This film will show that the U.S. has spent more on health care when it becomes an emergency situation and less money on how to prevent diseases and sicknesses in the first place. It will talk about how we might receive more medical care, but not necessarily better medical care. Based on how the Health Care reform debate is going on now, this may be right. This country has many resources and all the technology for good medical care, but it seems as though we wait to use it until patients come in seriously ill with chronic problems or illness. If we spent more time preventing the abuse and injuries going on in nursing homes, or with consumer products, or even with driving safety than maybe we would not have to spend so much about expensive medicines and technology and there may not be as many medical malpractice lawsuits. So instead of focusing on more care, maybe the debate needs to focus on ways to prevent injuries, abuse, and sicknesses in the first place. If this country did that, maybe we could save enough money to get everyone health care and proper medical care. We need to focus more on patients and less on expensive medicines and equipment and how to cut costs. Without patients to care for, we won’t need all that, so patients need to come first. They should always be the first concern.

For more information on the film Money-Driven Medicine, you may visit: http://www.moneydrivenmedicine.org/about-mdm

If you feel that you or a loved one has been the victim of abuse or an injury that could have been prevented, please call a malpractice attorney right away. They will advocate for your rights and those of your loved ones to help you get proper medical care.

Tort Reform is Hurting More Than Helping

As the health care debate continues, so does tort reform. While some efforts have been made to help protect patients and their rights, there is still tort reform that is trying to cut costs and because of this there are still many people that are unable to get proper medical care and unable to fight for their rights to it. If tort reform continues the way it has, it is hurting more people than it is or will help.  Cutting costs and providing coverage for everyone is a great idea, but it is only great if it actually helps people to get the care they need and to have the services they need to fight for proper medical care if it is not given.  They are still many people being injured daily because of medical errors and malpractice. They are still many elderly being abused in nursing homes due to improper medical care. It is great that programs are trying to be put in place to cut down on medical malpractice lawsuits but what about just cutting down on the actual malpractice? If patients receive proper medical care, including checkups, treatments, evaluations and more, then we can worry less about lawsuits because the medical care will be better. Until medical errors are dramatically reduced and programs are put in place for more adequate medical care than people still need malpractice rights and lawyers to help them advocate for their rights to proper medical care. Tort reform may try to cut costs all it wants, but people still need their rights and one of these rights is their right to sue for medical malpractice. These rights are there to help those hurting.  Tort reform has only hurt more and not helped.

If you would like more information on the health care debate and tort reform, you may visit:

This link.

If you or someone you loved has been injured or denied proper medical care, contact a malpractice lawyer right away. They will help you fight for your rights and get your voice heard to help those you love.

Health Care Reform versus Medical Malpractice Rights

There continues to be much debate about health care reform and how to achieve it for everyone. There have been people talking about and trying to push aside medical malpractice rights in favor of other medical rights and reform. The truth is that is two different topics and should be given two seperate debates. Health care reforms main goals are to make sure every person in this country has affordable health care coverage. That is great and even wonderful if it can happen, but it should not come at the expense of taking away other much needed rights of the same Americans we are trying to get medical coverage. If we get medical coverage for every person, but then take away their rights to file a complaint if injured while receiving  that medical care what are we as a country saying? Are we saying you can go to any hospital or doctor you want now because you are covered with insurance but we do not care if you are injured or we do not care how good that medical care is? This country needs medical coverage for everyone, we really do, but we also need to keep protecting the rights of those injured by medical errors and malpractice every year. Thousands of people with medical coverage still not receive proper medical care, due to errors, injuries, malpractice, and abuse. We as a country need good medical care, but we also need to protect our rights to voice our opinions and let them be heard if we are injured by a medical error. If health care reform pushes aside medical malpractice rights then we will just have yet another crisis on our hands. We need to think of people first and foremost and profits second. Medical coverage will not matter if the medical care is not good. This is why medical malpractice rights are still very important and cannot be pushed aside.

If you want to do your part to protect medical malpractice rights, write a letter to your congressmen or your editor and get the word out about how we still need these rights and they should not be taken away.

For more information on the health care reform and medical malpractice rights you may visit: www.peopleoverprofits.org

Patients should not have to Choose

Health care reform and what rights will be given and which ones will be pushed aside has been the subject of much public debate for many months now. One of the most recent concerns is that the Obama Administration may push aside malpractice reform and rights in order to push for other health care reform that may be more favorable to more people. This does not seem right. People should not have to choose between one of their rights to make room for another.

They should have their voices heard and their rights protected no matter where they are or who they are. There are millions of people that suffer each day in nursing homes from malpractice, abuse, neglect, and much more. They deserve to have their voices heard and rights protected as much as anyone else. If we choose to take away one very necessary right to make room for another, what are we saying to those nursing home patients and their loved ones?
Is this country saying that it does in fact care more about profits than people? If so, then something must be done to change this and make more voices heard. This is America where the rights of the people are supposed to come first before profits.

If you feel that health care reform is pushing malpractice rights aside to make room for other rights and want to do something about it, take action and write a letter to Congress and make your voice heard. Tell them that patient care and rights should not take second place to other rights. Speak up for your loved ones suffering from nursing home abuse and neglect.

If your loved ones have suffered from nursing home abuse and neglect and you want their rights to be protected and heard, contact a nursing home lawyer right away and let them help you get your voice heard for your loved one.

For additional information about health care reform and malpractice reform and to take action, you may go to this site.

New Jersey Senator Lends an Ear to the Victims of Insurance Company Tactics

“As far as Kia Moore is concerned, the health insurance system miserably failed her and her 20-month-old son. Xavier Hylton was born at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden with two malfunctioning kidneys and requires daily dialysis treatments as he awaits a transplant. He had grown enough to medically qualify for that transplant by March, but Moore said the procedure was delayed at least six months by a struggle over insurance coverage. Today, she said, her son should already have a functioning kidney and be on his way to living a near-normal life.” (Maryann Spoto, The Star-Ledger)

Last week, citizens of New Jersey who have fallen victim to the ruthless tactics of insurance companies were given time to fume their anger to US Senator Bob Menendez. The stories Senator Menendez would hear would appall him, and only add to his arsenal to bring to Washington with the hopes of sparking health care reform. Although invited, no representatives from the insurance agencies were present for the meeting.

“It’s no secret to anyone that our health care system is badly in need of reform,” Menendez said. “There are few things more important to the families in this state than fixing it, making sure in this great nation of ours that no one goes to sleep without health coverage, that no one has to choose between paying for heat in the winter and paying for medication that keeps them alive.”

Senator Menendez called the meeting in light of a new health care system proposal authored by Senator Max Baucus of Montana. Central to the Baucus proposal is the creation of a Health Care Exchange composed of a nationwide group of private insurance companies that would be prohibited from discriminating against pre-existing conditions.

Currently, under the existing set up, patients who visit emergency rooms due to lack of coverage end up being burdens of the tax payer. In Camden alone, more tha $460 million has been spent over the past five years on charity cases. Because the proposal would require every resident to obtain health insurance, it also provides for federal subsidies for families and small businesses unable to afford coverage through the exchange.

This new proposal has received the plaudits of Jeffery Brenner, a local Camden physician. Brenner advocates a system that brings those emergency room patients into the system for follow-ups so they can receive the appropriate care and are less of a financial drain on the system.

“Somehow we lost sight of the fact that the purpose of the home-care delivery system is to heal the sick, care for wounded and prevent illness,” he said. “It’s not to make physicians wealthy or pharmaceutical representatives wealthy or stockholders or insurance companies wealthy. The patient should be at the center of the system and indeed should be our top priority.”

Until serious reform has occurred however, the best ally a patient can have when dealing with their insurance carrier is an experienced attorney.

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