The New Decade: Personal Update on How 2010 is Coming Along

At the beginning of the year, a new decade, I put to paper not so much of a list, as some random thoughts, observations, expectations and realities of the upcoming decade. Not many specific definable goals were found here. There were a couple, but not many. There were a few things I'd like to see or do.

Places I'd like to visit. A plan to walk at least 500 miles, and recumbent cycle 500 miles each year until twenty-twenty.

A realization that during the next decade I would likely experience significant losses in the two generations ahead of mine in our families. People still wear out and pass on to the next plane, remaining in our memories, our hearts, and the fabric of our being.

Two days later my father was in the hospital in terrible condition, and went to skilled nursing, followed by a nursing home a week or two ago.

Two weeks into January, my inlaws both required hospitalization and skilled nursing care.

My grandmother who will be 100 on the last day of this year has been in a group home for the last few years. She has good days and bad days. This week she had a couple very poor days.

My husband and I have learned more about Medicare, Medicaid, nursing care and assistive devices for the elderly than we could have imagined. We have learned that our particular elderly folks are extremely hard-headed, strong-willed, and not easy to manage. We have learned that plans to walk at least 500 miles and recumbent cycle 500 miles each year are even tougher under these conditions. Only last week did I get to the gym to renew my membership, and it has been a struggle and a challenge to get there 3 of the last 7 days (and that's assuming I make it there today).

I have watched Keith Olbermann and the Healthcare Reform Debate, and his specific issues with his father's medical care, and those people he met along the way that are less fortunate financially and with healthcare insurance than he. It has been painful and heart-wrenching. We have talked with our elderly folks about their wishes. My parents have put their wishes to paper. My husbands have not. I wish they would. We at least know what they wish.

Have we put our wishes to paper? Not yet. I'm still having trouble wrapping my brain around what I really would want. Would I like to donate anything I have that is usable? Yes. That said, I want someone, several someones, to make damned sure that I'm really, really DEAD. Very DEAD. Never coming back kinda DEAD. Worse are the decisions about what specific kinds of life support I may or may not want. A lot would depend on what condition I'm in and what the prognosis for recovery and quality of life would be. What will be the state of medical technology when all this will happen? These decisions are revocable and changeable, as long as you take care of it while you are still competent. I think, at present, if several competent doctors deemed that I was in great pain that could not be managed, and was terminally ill (with a guestimate of less than 3 months remaining), I would opt for no feeding tubes, no CPR, and no life-saving gestures, but as much morphine or other narcotics as they could legally pump into me. If I were in a persistent vegetative state, and several competent doctors certified that there would be no return, I would opt for no feeding tubes, no CPR, and no life-saving gestures, but as much morphine or other narcotics as they could legally give me to make me comfortable until the end. Other than those specific conditions, I think I would prefer for all possible life-saving measures to be utilized.


I also am committed to making specific plans about living arrangements as we age. Our present home is fairly ideal for the next 10 to 15 years, after which something much smaller and without yard care is in order. The time to start paring down and preparing for that is now. Our home was built in the mid 80s. It's a slab ranch, one-story, in great shape. The roof is good for 30 more years, the windows need replacing and some solar upgrades and neutralizing of décor would be useful. As the entire population is aging, it might be wise to invest in railing in the baths, and perhaps renovate the bathrooms and the kitchen.....replacing cabinetry, counters and appliances, showers and bathtubs. We're accomplished do-it-yourselfers with plenty of practice, so this will give us something meaningful to do with retirement.

And still, by the time 2020 rolls around, my present grand kids will be adults. I will be eligible for Medicare, and ALL senior discounts will apply. My kids will both be in their mid 40s. The best thing I can do for all concerned is get into better shape and make going to the gym a commitment. The last thing I want is for my kids to be having to deal with my deteriorating health between 2020 and 2030.


And still, some of the general things I'd like to see our world working on:
desalination plants and wind farms along our vast coastal regions,
greater use of cisterns for water supplies to use in swimming pools, yard watering, car washing, etc
use of more drought resistant plants in our landscaping that are consistent with and suited to their local climates
greater recycling
increased use of solar panels, solar roofing and solar-siding on homes to generate personal electricity and heat

What after all, are the really important things in life:
clean water
clean air
available food supplies
shelter
love
a sense of peace, and freedom from fear.
I would like to see people making rational decisions which are
information and fact-based,
which assist in preserving life, health and well-being of selves and others,
which reduce unnecessary conflicts,
and are not based on exaggeration or magical thinking.
Let's all work on these important things.

HEALTH CARE REFORM FIRE-DRILL INTERACTIVE EXERCISE

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 2010
MODERATOR: DONNA MARIE MILLER ELLINGTON
HEALTHCARE REFORM INTERACTIVE EXERCISE

I was excited to be moderating the lively discussion that took place at Democratic Headquarters in North Charleston. It was a Congressional Healthcare Reform Fire Drill! All of us in that room WOULD PASS A HEALTHCARE REFORM BILL ON THAT DAY IN THAT ROOM! This WAS a very participative exercise: fun, energizing, exasperating, and will gave us all some insight into the process our elected officials are going through as they try and push the elephant out of the way, and herd the wayward donkeys along the path to a bill for the President's desk!

Republicans and Independents were welcome and were assigned to the House or Senate.

The Executive Branch, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid were allowed contact their members with proposals for merging the Senate and House Bills ahead of Saturday's date. All options for Passing Healthcare Reform were on the table, EXCEPT FOR NOT PASSING IT!

The Final Healthcare Reform Bill had to be passed before the end of the one hour session. Everyone came prepared to participate and have a good time! FIRED UP! YES WE DID!

PROPOSED SCHEDULE
2:00 Introduction

2:15 Senate and House will convene separately to strategize
2:30 Senate and House will hold joint session and make a decision to A1-A3, B, C, D, E



2:55 BILL READY FOR SIGNATURE AND CONCLUDING COMMENTS
3:00 ADJOURN WITH READY TO SIGN BILL



ASSUMPTIONS FOR THE EXERCISE:

Senator Scott Brown has not yet been seated

Simple majorities will be required in both houses to pass legislation

1.Be careful not to monkey around too much with the monetary parts so we can assume that the CBO will continue to find the plan budget neutral, because we don't have time to actually mock the CBO process. In other words, you may pass monetary issues thru reconciliation, but please make every effort to intuitively guesstimate that any changes you make in these areas will be approximately equal to whatever you have changed.

All options for Passing Healthcare Reform are on the table, EXCEPT FOR NOT PASSING IT!
A. Merge the bills and repass in both the Senate and House
1)with 60 votes required
2)with nuclear fillibuster reduction to require only a simple majority.
3)With a change in the number of votes required to fillibuster.
B. Pass the Senate version of the Bill in the House, with some fix it later agreements
C. Quickly pass a simple, clean, and easy to explain expansion of Medicaid/SCHIP/Medicare using reconciliation. Tell voters you’ve heard them and made the bill simpler while still helping 30 million Americans.
D. Create a sugary sweet reconciliation sidecar measure with as many popular ideas as possible to fix the Senate bill (include a public option, Medicare buy-in, and drug re-importation, eliminate Nebraska’s special deal, and fix or eliminate the excise tax).
E. Pass both bills on the same day. Finally, run against Joe Lieberman and the Senate for messing things up, while pointing to how you did everything you could to stand up to the evil insurance companies, and managed, with hard work, to salvage a very decent health care reform package.
The Final Healthcare Reform Bill must be presented and passed by 3:00. Everyone come prepared to participate and have a good time! YES WE CAN! FIRED UP! YES WE WILL!

Thus, the exercise was set up. The day was a rainy one, and the prior sessions of the day's “Say Yes to Rational Discussions, Say No To Fear” events , had been well attended, and discussion had been productive, and thus the day was running longer than expected. Our exercise began about the time we had been scheduled to end. The moderator (me) had preassigned roles to the people on the RSVP list who said they either would be coming or might be coming to the event. Well, you know how the RSVP business goes....people don't always RSVP, and when they do, they don't always show up. Additionally, sometimes they show up, and don't like their assigned roles. All of the above happened. Being the flexible and good-humored person that I am, accomodations were quickly made so we could get on with the exercise.
Shawn Mitchell and I represented the Executive Branch of government for the purpose of the exercise. Other participants were assigned or chose roles in either the Senate or the House. One brave member chose the role of Olympia Snowe. Another refused the role of Joe Lieberman, was given another identity, and then ultimately decided not to participate. It had been 25 or more years since I last taught Human Relations at Trident Technical College, and I had forgotten just how much some adults dislike this sort of participative exercise. Others, thankfully, relish the opportunity.
Two notebooks contained the President's Healthcare Plan, a short summary of the House Bill, and a short summary of the Senate Bill. One notebook was available for the use of the Senators and one notebook was available for the use of the House. Additionally, all participants were provided with paper copies of the aforementioned documents. The participants chose paper and pencil over the use of the notebooks, given the time constraints. For anyone who might like to set up a similar exercise, I'd certainly recommend letting participants choose their own roles, and also allowing about 2 and a half hours for the exercise.

The Senate and the House were each called to order. They both opened this session of Congress by setting the rules of the Senate and House to allow a simple majority to be required for passing legislation and removing filibuster. Each chamber discussed a way to reconcile the Bills in the hour allotted. Reconciliation with Amendments proposed by the House to the Senate Bill were chosen as the method to get the job done. The Senate was concerned about the possibility of a challenge of legislation to the Supreme Court, if States' Rights were not considered in the passage of the legislation. The Senate therefore chose to include an opt-out provision for the states after a mandatory period of two years of participation in the plan. The House crafted provisions for the Senate to add to their bill through reconciliation amendments which: required that 90% of any insurance company premiums be dedicated to patient care, and allowed only 10% of premiums to be used for profits, added a “people's plan” which would incrementally extend medicare coverage to people lowering the age at which people could buy in, until in 2030, eligibility would be extended to people of all ages who choose to buy-in. Additionally, tort reform was added to help bring down medical costs. The Senate passed the revised Bill and passed it on to the House. The House considered asking the Senate to change the 2 year mandatory participation to 5 years. After negotiations, the House passed the Senate's Bill with the Amendments (including a 2 year mandatory participation period by the states before they could opt-out).
I was extremely pleased with the outcome of the exercise. It was not a resolution that I could have predicted. Our Senator who chose the role of Olympia Snowe voted with the democratic majority to pass the bill, even though under the rules of the day, her vote was not required for passage. I did not imagine that the House would craft such an ingenious “people's plan” that dove-tailed well with the mandatory 2 year mandatory participation requirement prior to opt-out crafted by the Senate to preclude a possible appeal of the legislation to the Supreme Court. I was happy to see the provision of tort reforms.
http://tinyurl.com/ykjmgjg Google Doc of Obama's Healthcare Plan
http://tinyurl.com/yjmcmu7 Google Doc of House Healthcare Bill
http://tinyurl.com/ykl3f7e Google Doc of Senate Healthcare Bill
YES WE CAN! FIRED UP! YES WE DID! PASS HEALTHCARE REFORM!

REFLECTIONS ON THE PAST DECADE, AND THE UPCOMING ONE HAPPY TWENTY-TEN!

REFLECTIONS ON THE PAST DECADE, AND THE UPCOMING ONE

HAPPY TWENTY-TEN!

When the last decade rolled around, I was too wrapped up with working, trying to design an exit strategy to retirement, and a new grand baby, to really reflect much on the end of one millennium and the beginning of the next. I didn't think much about the new decade or any of the hoopla that was a constant noise revolving around what was for me an anti-climactic Y2K. I didn't write any lists or resolutions. I try not to do too much of that sort of thing anyway.

The last memorable list of that type, I committed to paper as a 17 year old. I didn't keep the list. I lost track of what became of it over 20 years ago. I still remember much of what I wrote, and surprisingly accomplished much of the list over time, not always in the ways originally imagined. But DONE is DONE!

This isn't so much of a list, as some random thoughts, observations, expectations and realities of the upcoming decade. Not many specific definable goals will be found here. There will be a couple, but not many. There will be a few things I'd like to see or do.

Places I'd like to visit include: Hawaii, the Canadian Rockies, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and the Galapagos Islands. I'd like to revisit Europe and see Germany, Luxembourg, the UK, Ireland, Scotland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Italy. I'd like to see Turkey and Greece. I'd like to go on a photo-safari in Africa.

For the next year, I do plan to walk at least 500 miles, and recumbent cycle 500 miles. That would be something specific I plan to do each year until twenty-twenty.

During the next decade I will likely experience significant losses in the two generations ahead of mine in our families. People still wear out and pass on to the next plane, remaining in our memories, our hearts, and the fabric of our being. By the time 2020 rolls around, my present grand kids will be adults. I will be eligible for Medicare, and ALL senior discounts will apply. My kids will both be in their mid 40s.

Some of the general things I'd like to see our world working on:

• desalination plants and wind farms along our vast coastal regions,

• greater use of cisterns for water supplies to use in swimming pools, yard watering, car washing, etc

• use of more drought resistant plants in our landscaping that are consistent with and suited to their local climates

• greater recycling

• increased use of solar panels, solar roofing and solar-siding on homes to generate personal electricity and heat

What after all, are the really important things in life:

• clean water

• clean air

• available food supplies

• shelter

• love

• a sense of peace, and freedom from fear.

• I would like to see people making rational decisions which are

  • information and fact-based,

  • which assist in preserving life, health and well-being of selves and others,

  • which reduce unnecessary conflicts,

  • and are not based on exaggeration or magical thinking.

  Let's all work on these important things.

HEALTH CARE REFORM NOW......OR ELSE!

Last night I was lying in bed watching Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow, and in particular, the discussions on where health care is stuck at the moment.

After all the other nasty, vile things that I was thinking, I became peaceful and thought:

WE MUST SUCCEED ON THE BASIC POINTS OF THE PRESIDENT'S PLAN. THAT'S ALL. THAT HAS TO BE GOOD ENOUGH FOR NOW. HERE'S A REFRESHER ON THE BASIC POINTS:

More Security and Stability
If You Have Health Insurance, the Obama Plan:

* Ends discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions.
* Limits premium discrimination based on gender and age.
* Prevents insurance companies from dropping coverage when people are sick and need it most.
* Caps out-of-pocket expenses so people don’t go broke when they get sick.
* Eliminates extra charges for preventive care like mammograms, flu shots and diabetes tests to improve health and save money.
* Protects Medicare for seniors.
* Eliminates the “donut-hole” gap in coverage for prescription drugs.


Quality, Affordable Choices
If You Don’t Have Insurance, the Obama Plan:

* Creates a new insurance marketplace — the Exchange — that allows people without insurance and small businesses to compare plans and buy insurance at competitive prices.
* Provides new tax credits to help people buy insurance.
* Provides small businesses tax credits and affordable options for covering employees.
* Offers a public health insurance option to provide the uninsured and those who can’t find affordable coverage with a real choice.
* Immediately offers new, low-cost coverage through a national “high risk” pool to protect people with preexisting conditions from financial ruin until the new Exchange is created.


Reins in the Cost of Health Care
For All Americans, the Obama Plan:

* Won’t add a dime to the deficit and is paid for upfront.
* Requires additional cuts if savings are not realized.
* Implements a number of delivery system reforms that begin to rein in health care costs and align incentives for hospitals, physicians, and others to improve quality.
* Creates an independent commission of doctors and medical experts to identify waste, fraud and abuse in the health care system.
* Orders immediate medical malpractice reform projects that could help doctors focus on putting their patients first, not on practicing defensive medicine.
* Requires large employers to cover their employees and individuals who can afford it to buy insurance so everyone shares in the responsibility of reform.

SO, PEOPLE.....FORGET WHETHER JOE LIEBERMAN IS BEING A TOTAL ASS! FORGET ALL THE SEMANTICS AND RHETORIC OVER PUBLIC OPTION, SINGLE-PAYER, MEDICARE FOR ALL. FORGET EVERYTHING EXCEPT WHAT IS COVERED ABOVE. SEND THIS TO YOUR CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS BY EVERY MEANS AVAILABLE, TODAY! TELL THEM TO GET THIS THING PASSED, OR GET OUT OF DODGE. IF THEY DON'T, TELL THEM NEXT TIME THEY COME UP FOR ELECTION, YOUR VOTE WILL NOT BE THEIRS, IF THEY HAVE NOT SUPPORTED YOU ON THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE OF THIS CENTURY! PERIOD.

PERFECT SOLUTION TO THE PUBLIC OPTION!

Dear Congressional Leaders, Senators and Congressmen, Democrats and Republicans. Regarding the Public Option: Regardless of which side of this issue you happen to be on, this is the winning strategy:
Include a robust public options that REQUIRES voters in each state, by REFERENDUM to give the PUBLIC OPTION an UP OR DOWN VOTE in APRIL of 2010, with IMPLEMENTATION by JANUARY of 2011.

FOR GOD'S SAKE, JUST DO IT! IF YOU DON'T THINK AMERICANS ARE BEHIND IT, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT.

IF YOU DO THINK AMERICANS ARE BEHIND IT, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT.

Issues in Health Care for the Mentally and Physically Challenged

October 12 at 11:03pm
Senator Cantwell,

The current economy has me concerned because I have a mentally and physically handicapped sibling who is dependent on state and federal funds. Although Senator Deccio created a bill that guaranteed her support with her family and in her community, she has been moved 4 times, from bellevue to redmond to sammamish to woodinville. Each tme, her programs are cut, and it is 3 to 6 months to find something, even 2 hours a week.

The staff/agency who "provides" care has also undergone name changes and staff turnover and multiple moves...not to mention a 75% turnover, on the average, every year.

The health care program definitely affects her, and it is for her that I, and my siblings pay our property and income taxes. I don't have children, but I am grieved by the utter lack of any programs whatsoever, and in the course of this decade of "care" she has lost her speech, her ability to walk, and her ability to toilet herself. All under "state certified care."

Please ensure the voiceless are not overlooked in the health crises and economic crises. She is LAST MAN in the chain of services, and what is documented as services by the caregiving agency does not change the fact that edema and muscle atrophy are the least of her physical concerns. Her body is bruised, and DSHS and police have been notified repeatedly. The "documentation" may cite a bruise, a cut, but never mention the cause.

I don't need more money for management, for state overseers. I need the funding to get to her, to her programs. To a concerted walking and swimming program that isn't repeatedly canceled or delayed because of funding cuts, staff turnover, or whatever may be going on inside the politics of Olympia.

Sincerely
Your constituent (person signed the letter, but I will not disclose the name)

DO UNTO OTHERS: LET'S GET SOME HEALTHCARE FOR ALL AMERICANS AND CHANGE OUR ATTITUDES

MY POST: DO UNTO OTHERS: LET'S GET SOME HEALTHCARE FOR ALL AMERICANS AND CHANGE OUR ATTITUDES
This was one of the scriptures that has been hanging in my mind since Ted Kennedy's funeral where it was read.....possibly not from the King James version, but a version of this text was read....and I couldn't help thinking about the right-wingers who keep hollering that we the people (government) are not our brothers' keepers.....and I wonder how they reconcile that with their religious beliefs....
Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy[c] angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44 “Then they also will answer Him,[d] saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”



FB READER Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell amoung thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him and departed, leaving him half dead. (31) "Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. (32) "likewise a Levite when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. (33) "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. (34) "So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. (35) "On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, "Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.' (36) So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?" (37) And he said, "He who showed mercy on him" Then Jesus said to him. "Go and do likewise.

This is to illustrate that this was done via Compassion (Deep awareness of the suffering of another.) and Charity (Help or relief given to the poor.). It is easy being righteous (Morally upright; just) with OTHER PEOPLES MONEY. The Roman Gov't didn't force the Samaritan to help this person, He did it out of the goodness of his own Heart. Maybe Faith Based/Charitable Insurance Co-ops should be set up for the Health Care needs of uninsured Americans.

So who are the Goats and who are the Sheep?

MY RESPONSE The goat and sheep issue is not for me to decide. Faith Based/Charitable organizations already help with the health care needs of the uninsured. It simply is not enough. As a democracy, we are the government, and we can choose to tax ourselves (out of compassion and charity) to do what is morally right for the least among us, just as we would do unto Jesus.