HEALTH CARE COVERAGE FOR ALL DELAWARE CITIZENS

   Our Delaware Unified Civic/Political Association's single payer nongovernment run Delaware Health Security Act is undoubtedly one of the most important, proven program and cost effective legislative acts ever presented our elected state level decision-makers. It is the ultimate LITMUS TEST for every candidate seeking elective office in both executive and legislative branches of OUR state government. Any incumbent or challenging candidate for any state level office in 2008 that doesn't bother to accept our offer to help her/him become credibly informed and does not sign off on supporting this legislative act SHOULD NOT RECEIVE ANY VOTES except those from citizens who have also not become informed about what this act will do for them and their family members. After candidates have ignored or completed our Association's Candidate Survey Form, we will disseminate to citizens which candidates have competently learned our best knowledge information on all civic/political issue areas we cover on our web site (deinformedvoters.org) and have signed off on supporting our recommended reform changes at our state government level. Our nonprofit unified Association is dedicated to identifying, enlisting and supporting informed, committed, credible state level candidates (regardless of political party affiliation) who will vigorously fight for the program and cost effective benefits listed on this Health Care page. If our 2008 candidates for state level offices don't support our LITMUS TEST health care reform act, we should put prioity on enlisting candidates who understand and commit to its enactment. We urge you to share this Health Care page with those on your email address list and download and share it where indicated. We ask that you inform your family members, friends and other Delaware citizens about our web site (deinformedvoters.org) and all civic/political issue areas we cover, especially our single payer Delaware Health Security Act explained on this page.

   There is some very rewarding update information to report. Eighteen of our Delaware state legislators have signed on to co-sponsor and re-introduce our research-proven program and cost effective single payer Delaware Health Security Act in the 2008 session of the state legislature. After our Association's Act is re-introduced in the 2008 legislative session as Senate Bill 177, citizens can obtain a copy, free of charge, in the following manner: Use their toll-free number (800-282-8545) and ask the Legislative Council to mail you a copy of Senate Bill 177; or access our state's web site (legis.delaware.gov), and using the Bill Search section on the left side of the screen, type in the Bill title and number, then scroll down to read or download the Act. Our Association's growing number of informed, supportive individuals and organizations (listed on this Health Care page) will continue to enlist candidates for and incumbents in decision-making state level elective offices who will support passage of the ultimate LITMUS TEST represented by this Act. Poll after poll, at both state and national levels, show an average of 70% of citizens polled want single payer, nongovernment run health care system reform. At the official Delaware legislative committee hearing on our act, approximately 75% of the individual and organization representatives who spoke supported our Act. The state legislatures in California and Maine have passed their excellent state single payer reform acts and a number of others are nearing passage of their single payer reform acts. Every one of the other 29 developed, industrialized nations in the world provide comprehensive health care coverage to all of their citizens via a single payer or modified single payer health care system. They do this at approximately one-half the funds our nation spends for health care.

   Our single payer Delaware Health Security Act is structured and will operate like our very successful single payer Medicare/Medicaid Act and program. A major difference is that savings by our Delaware single payer Act will provide more than enough funds to properly compensate health care providers for their services. Our Act will cause the provision of a single form for all health care providers to use as they both provide and bill for services rendered Delaware citizens and eligible Delaware workers who live out of our state. Hospitals in our state will receive a yearly block grant allotment of funds under a capitation arrangement. Each year the Act's Health Security Authority will negotiate with organizations representing all health care providers to establish prices for every health care service and expense. Then one form is submitted for payment as done in the single payer Medicare/Medicaid program. The administrative/overhead cost in the single payer Medicare/Medicaid program is 1.5% (facts available from the National Medicare Center) compared to a Harvard University Research Team national study (and there are others) that shows 33% of our health care funds are wasted by administrative/overhead costs of health insurance company brokers. Our Act will eliminate these totally unnecessary brokers and their waste caused by tons of unnecessary paperwork, huge profits, saturation advertising, lobbying and other broker expenses. Our Act, in eliminating these brokers, will also eliminate the many costly hours that physicians and other health care professional continuously have to waste helping office staff try to interpret the small print exclusions and other requirements of insurance company brokers. Add to this civic/political/economic insanity the requirement that physicians and other health care professionals have to waste additional time asking permission (or be denied) for some health care service decisions from these brokers' bottom line profit protectors. Each elected office holder in our state and every citizen should ask this profound, revealing question: What does a health insurance company broker (middleman) contribute to a physician's office, hospital, laboratory, long-term care program or any part of our health care system? Absolutely nothing! Not even a band-aid. Everyone reading this information, if they haven't seen it, should rent Michael Moore's excellent documentary movie "Sicko" and show it to family members and friends. This recent movie helps explain that we're the only developed, industrialized nation among 30 that still allows these unnecessary health insurance company brokers to waste and steal approximately 40% of our state and nation's health care funds.

   Our single payer Delaware Health Security Act will be administered by a Delaware Health Security Authority. The Authority will be placed within the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services but will operate as an independent body and program. The State Authority's 15-member ruling board will be selected and appointed from the following sources: five from elected state officials via two from the House Committee concerned with health care, two from the Senate Committee concerned with health care and the Secretary of Health and Social Services representing the Governor's office; five representatives from different Delaware organizations representing health care professionals; and five members from Delaware consumer organizations (or State affiliates of National organizations) that have endorsed single payer health care reform at least five years before the enactment of this single payer Act. A list of these endorsing state/national consumer organizations is given on this Health Care page. The Delaware Health Security Authority will hire an Executive Director who will work with and through the Authority and the following interactive Divisions: Administration; Planning; Benefits; and Quality Assurance. The responsibilities of the Authority, Executive director and the four Divisions are explained in the body of the Act. Our Act includes the creation of County Advisory Councils in each of our three counties. County Advisory Council membership will be from the same sources and in the same numbers as membership on the ruling State Authority. These County Advisory Councils will be grass roots operations interacting with individuals and organizations in each county and involved in all aspects of county/state planning, implementation and evaluation of health care as required by the Delaware Health Security Act. There will be a close reciprocal working relationship between these County Advisory Councils and the Act's State Authority, Executive Director and four Divisions at the state level. State and national single payer leaders who critiqued our Act before its final composition highly praised the provision of these grass roots involved County Advisory Councils

   Other important, documented research findings emphasize the urgency that we unify and change the low level of our state's political culture in our nation and the civilized world. First, keep in mind that all of the other 29 developed, industrialized nations in the world provide comprehensive health care coverage for all of their citizens via a single payer or modified single payer health care system.  Comparative studies have been done over the years on how Delaware ranks among our other 49 states on important health care indicators such as infant mortality (well babies), women's health care, cancer incidence, deaths from breast cancer, most dangerous understaffed nursing homes, and monitoring and resolving physician mistakes. Although we rank from 5th to 7th from the top state in comparative income available, Delaware usually ranks between 45th to 50th from the top state on the above listed health care indicators. Our Association has copies of these representative research studies conducted by national organizations which include the American Cancer Society, General Accounting Office (GAO), the Institute for Women's Policy Institute, our national HEW and Public Citizen. The very credible World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland accomplished a comprehensive comparative study on health care system indicators and ranked our nation 37th among other nations. This ranks Delaware behind the other 29 developed countries and also behind 7 undeveloped nations.  

   This Health Care page will now give a list (not covering smaller organizations) of state and national organizations that have studied, endorsed and support single payer health care reform similar to our Delaware Health Security Act  These organizations seeking single payer health care reform include the following: AFL/CIO (practically all member units); Alliance for Retired Americans (formerly the National Council of Senior Citizens); American College of Physicians (second largest organization of physicians in our nation with 124,000 members); American Medical Student Association; American Medical Women's Association; American Nurses Association; A Phillip Randolph Institute; Delaware Citizens' Coalition for Tax Reform; Consumer's Union (publishes Consumer Reports); Gray Panthers; League of Women Voters; NAACP; National Association of Social Workers; National Council of Churches (52 million members); National Education Association; National Organization for Women; Phoenix Community in Delaware; Physicians for a National Health Program; Public Citizen; and the Universal Health Care Action Network. There are 15 statewide Delaware organizations that have endorsed and support our Association's single payer Delaware Health Security Act. Not listed are a number of smaller local organizations and a long list of individual supporters. There have been many polls at state and national levels that show approximately 70% of citizens polled support single payer health care reform. Point this out strongly to political candidates for state and national elective lawmaking offices who claim a single payer health care system "isn't politically feasible."

   The savings realized by our state elected decision-makers passing our single payer act will provide a long list of benefits to every citizen and her/his family members, to a more robust Delaware economic/job development future and to strengthening and expanding our state's health care system. Instead of double digit annual health care cost increases in our future, additional savings will result from increases related only to the annual smaller percentage of inflation.

   Internalize these important Delaware health care coverage facts and share with all family members and friends. The list of benefits to be given below will be provided without the need for a penny out of one's pockets to pay for ANY other health insurance, co-payments or deductibles. Only a Delaware Health Security card will be needed by every current and future Delaware citizen and every person (and her/his immediate family) who works in Delaware at least 20 hours a week but lives in another state to obtain all needed health care service benefits listed below.

• Comprehensive health care coverage which will include all services of physicians (including specialists), dental care, hospital needs, laboratory services, all types of long-term care, mental/emotional health services, all pharmaceutical drugs, services to  victims like those with special afflictions such as AIDS or Alzheimer's disease, professional services of psychologists, social workers, nurses and all therapist disciplines, drug treatment for all drug addictions (including nicotine), all special health care equipment and aids (i.e., wheel chairs, eye glasses, hearing aids, special beds, breathing equipment aids), special services such as ambulance needs, comprehensive services for all disabled citizens, equal health care services to institutions such as juvenile and adult correctional facilities and special health needs hospitals/facilities and other health care needs such as nutrition education and weight reduction.
• Eliminate the Medicare requirement that one must give up savings and property before payment will be made for long-term health care needs. Think of this positive impact on our Delaware senior citizens' lives.
• Will eliminate ALL health care debt which now causes more than half our personal bankruptcies and is a major reason many citizens can't purchase homes.
• Will eliminate or greatly reduce the debilitating effects of chronic anxiety and stress that weighs heavily on our uninsured and underinsured. Stress causes some illnesses and lowers the effectiveness of immune systems in fighting off others.
• Single payer will allow program and cost effective comprehensive electronic individual health care record keeping and quick transmission of these records to any health care practitioner or program in our nation or other nations when needed.
• Will allow emergency rooms to be used strictly for emergency health care needs. Huge savings in health care costs.
• Will enable all citizens to realize better health and quality of life by providing timely prevention and intervention health care which will also help reduce future health care costs.
• Will very simply solve the medical liability insurance coverage problem for physicians and other health care professions by self-insuring through the Act's Delaware Health Security Fund at a fraction of the rates charged by insurance companies.
• Some surplus funds saved could be used to provide needed funding for organizations and their wonderful volunteers who help feed our state's hungry and house our homeless citizens or try to meet other human services needs. Our individual and collective humanity demands of us as a caring, civilized society that we try to not LET A SINGLE CHILD or other human being try to enter sleep at night while hungry and/or homeless. These fellow humans have horrendous physical, mental and psychological health care needs.

   The following is a list of important contributions our Association's single payer Delaware Health Security reform act will make to our state's future economic and job development. Why our state's Chambers of Commerce and business community have not become informed and supported passage of our single payer act brings forth an apt belief, "The only difference between a rut and grave is depth."

• As shown by the Solutions for Progress research study, our act would have saved citizens approximately $1 Billion personally in 2007, which could have been spent in our state's economy. In 2008, these savings would have provided a minimum of $90 per month to every one of our approximately 850,000 Delaware citizens. For example, a family of four would have $360 added each month to their family budget to help cover living expenses.
• Saved funds enabled by our act would cover all private and public retirees’ health care needs, thus not requiring employers to set aside huge amounts for this coverage. What a boost this would be for private businesses, especially large ones like DuPont and General Motors. This would save these funds from our state government's coverage responsibility and allow them to be used for other purposes.
• Workers Compensation insurance rates are one of the fastest increasing cost burdens for private businesses and public employers. Our act will reduce these costs by approximately 40%. The act would also reduce the cost of all automobile and other vehicle insurance by eliminating the liability health care coverage component. Same reduction would be realized for all kinds of home and business property/operations insurance.
• Our act will stop the annual double digit health care cost increases as only the smaller rate of inflation will apply.
• Will help Delaware businesses be more competitive in the global economy. For example, because of their reformed health care system, the Japanese can build a vehicle for $1200-1300 LESS per vehicle, the Canadians for $1500 less and the Germans for $3000 less than we can in Delaware or other states. We've lost Chrysler and do we think GM will stay here faced with this competitive reality plus our health care costs increasing annually by double digits?
• Will solve the medical liability problem very simply by self-insuring through the act's Health Security Fund at a fraction of the rates now charged by the insurance industry.
• Will eliminate all collective bargaining over health care coverage benefits between employees/retirees and both private and public employers.
• All payments to health care providers will be made within 10 to 14 days whereas some now wait much longer periods for payment.
• Our state's smaller businesses will have less employee turnover caused by employees leaving for jobs that provide health care.

   Important information to know is how our Act will be funded. The first important understanding is that by eliminating the totally unnecessary insurance company brokers, we will save at least 30% of our total funds by eliminating these brokers' administrative/overhead costs. Another minimum of 10% will be saved by fully implementing the proven 7-step plan to eliminate health care fraud explained by our nation's recognized authority on health care fraud, Dr. Malcolm Sparrow, in his publication "License to Steal." These savings will reduce the amounts needed to fund our act from various taxes (70%), private businesses (10%) and citizens' pockets (20%) by approximately 40%..

   Our Act will establish a Health Security Authority Fund into which health care funds from all sources will be continuously deposited. These sources include the following:
   . All monies the state currently appropriates to pay for health care services or health insurance premiums for state, counties, cities, towns and other government subdivisions;
   . All monies the state receives from the federal government to pay for health care services or health insurance premiums. Waivers will be obtained as our Delaware Health Security Act and Authority can easily prove our Act will not only cover all benefits and services these federal programs and funds cover but will add more comprehensive health care coverage;
   Private individual and employer health insurance payments and out-of-pocket health care expenses will first be reduced by saving the aforementioned 40% no longer lost to insurance company brokers and will be replaced as follows:
      . All self-employed (single employer) businesses are exempt from this payroll tax;
      . 4 percent for employers with from 2 to 9 employees;
      . 5 percent for employers with 10 to 24 employees;
      . 7 percent for employers with 25 to 49 employees; and
      . 9 percent for employers with 50 or more employees.
      . This payroll tax may be shared by employers and employees.
      . Every cent an employer spends for employees' health care coverage, plus the employer's administrative cost of providing coverage, is tax deductible.
      . Our Act's savings will enable those businesses now providing employee coverage to pay less for comprehensive employee coverage under our Act in the future.

   All head of households and persons subject to Delaware's income tax shall pay a Health Security income tax of 2.5% of net income (after all deductions) taxable income;
   Persons filing a Delaware income tax return shall pay an additional income surtax of 2.5% on net taxable income in excess of $250,000. Married couples filing a Delaware joint income tax return shall pay an additional income surtax of 2.5% on net taxable income in excess of $500,000;
   At a number of meetings discussing our Act, those in attendance were asked to list and total their annual personal/family out of pocket expenses for all health care costs and compare that total annual cost with the total of 2.5% of their annual net state income tax. Everyone asked reported their tax under our Act was less.

   Our Act will save and provide much-needed funds to strengthen and expand health care facilities and services throughout Delaware. Funds saved will help provide health care clinics, other facilities and staffing to provide quick, easy access to health care services in every part of our state. Funds will be available to help train more qualified professional health care staff our current and future health care system needs. But one of the most important contribution this Act will make to our health care system and state is to respectfully return control and decision-making responsibility to physicians and other health care professionals while eliminating the totally unnecessary controlling health insurance company brokers. Our current condition is causing many physicians, nurses and other health care professionals to leave the field of health care and is discouraging others from wanting to pursue careers in health care. We need a Hall of Shame in Dover for the names of all state elected decision-makers who fail to understand the information our Association offers them and refuse to join our current state legislators who now co-sponor our litmus test reform Act.

   Our current Delaware special health care interest driven nonsystem is one of the biggest cash cow rip-offs in our state's history and it will increase probably by double digits annually in our future. The key dishonest, deceptive propaganda weapon these special interest propagandist's, their lobbyists, aligned politicians and other "go-along-to-get" parasites use is to try and portray single payer reform as "socialized medicine and health care" or "government run health care." They wear asbestos pants. They want citizens to believe our single payer system will allow some government bureaucrat to decide how their childrens' tonsils will be removed. Our Act does not include any government regulation that interferes with health care decisions by any health care provider. Our current status quo broker insurance company controlled nonsystem now requires physicians and other health care professionals to get permissions from their bottom line profit protectors even on some life or death health care decisions. Talk about insanity plus! Our single payer Delaware Health Security Act will return ALL decision making to physicians and other health care professionals and every covered citizen will have complete freedom to choose every single health care provider and service. Another repeated ploy that needs a pants fire extinguisher is that our current rip-off, inhuman system is "the market place at work." This writer has taught Doctoral level courses in 6 of our nation's universities. Go into any Freshman class course in Economics 101 and seriously ask them to believe this scenario: A broker company takes approximately 40% of the total funds of the enterprise, doesn't contribute anything back to the enterprise, controls the jobs, careers and some decisions of the enterprise's staff, and causes double didgit cost increases annually in the enterprise. Tell these young students that's an example of free enterprise and I'll gurantee laughter for at least 3 minutes. 

   There is only one downside to implementig our single payer Delaware Health Security Act and that is a temporary one. Many office workers handling the massive flow of paperwork will not be needed. Based on some European countries and Canadian Province's experience in implementing their single payer systems, there was approximately a 5% increase in utilization of health care services. This was primarily caused by covered citizens going in for previously uncovered preventive and interventive health care services. Our Delaware Act and other states' single payer acts sets aside funds to offer training and economic support to these displaced office workers if they choose to remain in the health care field and become trained and qualified to fill these additional needed health care positions. Our Delaware Act has a built in provision of training funds for three years to support displaced office workers who choose to stay in our state's single payer health care system in service positions.

   A final bit of information should help every informed citizen have added motivation to join our unified Association's efforts to have our 68 elected decision-makers in our state's executive and legislative branches of government understand and support our single payer Act. First read the Oath of Office each swears to that is given on our web site's (deinformedvoters.org) Oath of Office page. Then seriously ponder this final information we provide which directly relates to the future of every citizen and her/his family members. Using findings from the comprehensive Delaware research study on single payer program and cost effectiveness accomplished by the prestigious Solutions for Progress research organization and from other research sources, approximately 90% of our Delaware health care funds are provided by hard-working Delaware citizens. This includes approximately 70% from taxes and approximately 20% from citizen out-of-pocket expenses. Still using and extrapolating the Solution for Progress' findings, in 2007 we lost approximately $8 MILLION EACH DAY of our Delaware health care funds because of special interests controlling our health care system. Approximately $7 million per day wasted/stolen in 2007 (it'll increase by probable double digits in 2008 and subsequent years) came from citizens' pockets. Among the 68 elected state officials who can pass our Act and let our citizens' health care funds be used to provide them and their families (and every human being in our state) comprehensive health care coverage, only 18 have signed on to enact this legislation. And as we enter 2008, these same citizens' tax funds provides and offers all of these 68 and their immediate family members a comprehensive health care coverage benefit package. And for our 62 state legislators, this coverage provided and offered is for part-time work. Join our Association! We're working for you and your loved ones; for a stronger Delaware economic/job future; and for strenthening and expanding our state's health care facilities, programs and services.

.   Our nation's most informative resource on the single payer health care system is the Physicians for a National Health Program. To become competently informed and continuously updated on single payer systems in our states and nation, access their web site at pnhp.org. Be sure to type in the Search window " What would a single payer system cost?"  and either scroll down or download summaries of 6 national and 13 state single payer research studies documenting the program and cost effectiveness of single payer reform. The eighth study summary from the top is about the Delaware study accomplished by the Solutions for Progress research organization. Leadership of the PNHP were among some state/national single payer leaders who critiqued and praised our Delaware single payer act before it was written in final form. Two publications are recommended to have a more informed understanding of how important single payer health care reform is to our state's future. One is Critical Condition: How Health Care in America Became Big Business and Bad Medicine by Pulitzer Prize winners Donald L. Bartlett and James B. Steele. The other is License to Steal: How Fraud Bleeds America's Health Care System. The author is our nation's recognized authority on health care fraud, Dr. Malcolm K.Sparrow, professor in the School of Government at Harvard University. This writer didn't know how many ways there were to steal until reading this publication.

  The Issue Area Facilitator for this issue area is Dr. Floyd E. McDowell, Sr., 11 Dover Court, Bear, DE 19701. His phone number is (302) 832-2799 and email address is flydmcdwll@comcast.net. As with all other Issue Area Facilitators, he is available for all inquiries, input, comments, etc. and will welcome invitations to visit meetings of organizations as a presenter/discussant on our single payer reform act.