/news/ en CWA Health Care Voices Copyright 2008 2008-08-27T15:57:00-05:00 http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/universal_coverage_by_2117/ http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/universal_coverage_by_2117/ The good news:  The number of uninsured in the country was down last year for the first time since the year 2000, to 45.7 million from 47.0 million, the Census Bureau reported today. 2008-08-27T15:57:00-05:00 http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/medical_debt_soars_as_economy_sours/ http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/medical_debt_soars_as_economy_sours/ The already-frayed U.S. health care system has unraveled even more under pressures of a tough economy.  That’s been made clear in two surveys reported this week. 2008-08-22T17:38:00-05:00 http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/health_issue_resonates_with_swing_voters/ http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/health_issue_resonates_with_swing_voters/ As we recently told you here, polls are showing that health is shaping up as a key election issue, with voters telling pollsters the system needs fundamental change. 2008-08-19T14:39:00-05:00 http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/universal_health_care_why_not/ http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/universal_health_care_why_not/ Universal health care clearly is affordable, because other developed nations already afford it, says Paul Krugman in [this column] from the New York Times. And it’s politically popular – including Medicare, a government program which all workers support through taxes and which covers all people over 65.  So why isn’t it happening in the United States? 2008-08-15T14:07:00-05:00 http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/more_popular_barely_than_oil_companies/ http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/more_popular_barely_than_oil_companies/ Are Americans happy with the health care system they have?  Apparently not, according to this survey by the polling firm Harris Interactive. 2008-08-13T21:33:00-05:00 http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/i_fell_for_his_blue_eyes_and_his_blue_cross/ http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/i_fell_for_his_blue_eyes_and_his_blue_cross/ It’s not like we need more reasons to support universal health care.  For union members, it’s a way of getting our most difficult issue off the bargaining table, letting us focus on wages, job security and other vital needs of our members and retirees.  And for all of us, it’s morally right; we don’t like to see any Americans who can’t get the care that they need. 2008-08-13T20:07:01-05:00 http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/analysis_compares_candidates_health_plans/ http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/analysis_compares_candidates_health_plans/ Barack Obama wants to cover more of the uninsured by offering subsidies to help people afford policies.  John McCain wants to make policies more affordable by offering tax credits to people who buy them, but would start taxing employer-provided benefits. 2008-08-11T19:00:00-05:00 http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/survey_says_time_for_serious_health_system_change/ http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/survey_says_time_for_serious_health_system_change/ A survey of more than 1,000 adults finds more than 8 in 10 think the American health system needs fundamental change or needs to be rebuilt completely, according to a report today from the Commonwealth Fund, a foundation which studies health issues. 2008-08-08T19:23:00-05:00 http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/refusing_to_pay_for_medical_mistakes/ http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/refusing_to_pay_for_medical_mistakes/ When your dry cleaner messes up a garment, you expect them to clean and press it again – for no additional charge. 2008-08-08T17:18:00-05:00 http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/many_with_chronic_diseases_are_uninsured_go_untreated_driving_up_costs/ http://healthcarevoices.org/news/articles/many_with_chronic_diseases_are_uninsured_go_untreated_driving_up_costs/ Many Americans with chronic diseases aren’t getting treated because they don’t have health insurance – that’s according to a study in the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine. 2008-08-06T13:53:02-05:00