Kathleen Sebelius: How the Affordable Care Act empowers states

The Affordable Care Act puts states in the driver's seat because they often understand their health needs better than anyone else - and that is why it is so frustrating to hear opponents of reform falsely attack the law as "nationalized health care."

The truth is that states aren't just participating in implementation of the law; they're leading it.

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Sebelius: Public Health Care Option "Not The Essential Element"

This is what happens when you begin your negotiations with your "line in the sand" position. Democratic activists, HCAN, MoveOn and others who abandoned Single-Payer (Medicare for All), as being unfeasible will be responsible for our not getting even a strong public option if that is how it plays out.

Apparently ready to abandon the idea, President Barack Obama's health secretary said Sunday a government alternative to private health insurance is "not the essential element" of the administration's health care overhaul.

The White House indicated it could jettison the contentious public option and settle on insurance cooperatives as an acceptable alternative, a move embraced by some Republicans lawmakers who have strongly opposed the administration's approach so far.

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If you want to save the Public Option, you need to switch gears right away and start lobbying for Single Payer. HR-676 will be allowed a vote on the floor of the House. It will not pass, but getting a strong vote helps move the debate so that reform might actually help citizens.

Email from Kathleen Sebelius - Department of Health and Human Services

Friends,

Too many Americans are suffering under a health care system that does not work for them. Americans in minority communities have higher levels of disease, fewer medical options, and worse outcomes. That’s why, today, I will be at the White House participating in a Health Care Stakeholder Discussion, focusing on how health reform can reduce health disparities and fix the status quo.

You can watch the event live today at 12:00 PM EDT by visiting www.HealthReform.gov. While you are there, you can also read a new report being released by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Disparities: A Case for Closing the Gap.

The findings in the report are disturbing. The new report highlights the effects of a health care system that does not work for millions of Americans. Under the status quo:

• 48% of African-American adults suffer from a chronic disease compared to 39% of the general population
• 15% of African Americans, 14% of Hispanics, and 18% of American Indians suffer from adult onset diabetes, compared with 8% of the white population
• 20% of low-income Hispanic youth have gone a year without a health care visit – a rate three times higher than that for high-income whites

As Congress considers health reform legislation this summer, these statistics should remind us that reform cannot be postponed another year. Please join me in working to reduce health disparities in America. Join the conversation by visiting www.HealthReform.gov and sharing your story or idea about the importance of passing health reform this year.

Thank you for your commitment and support as we work towards creating a health care system that better serves all Americans.


Sincerely,

Kathleen Sebelius
Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services