SB810 California Healthcare Bill

http://ca.lwv.org/lwvc/action/call/2010-01-19sb810.html

January 19, 2010
The renewed push to pass Senator Mark Leno’s SB 810, the California Universal Health Care Act, begins with deadlines that must be met this month. SB 810 must be voted on by the Senate Appropriations Committee by January 22 and by the full senate by the end of January.
SB 810 is nearly identical to former Senator Sheila Kuehl’s landmark bill (SB 840) to establish a single payer health insurance system for California. It would provide fiscally sound, affordable health care to all Californians, provide every Californian the right to choose his or her own physician, and control health care cost inflation.
SB 810 was passed by the Senate Health Committee last April but was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee’s “suspense file” last May, along with a majority of other Senate bills that had a fiscal impact. Further action was postponed to this month. And now it’s time to act! Tell your state senator to vote YES on SB 810 when it comes up for a vote.

SB 810 will not only provide high quality, affordable, guaranteed health care to all Californians, it will save the state billions of dollars in health care costs. At a time when the state budget deficit threatens to exceed $20 billion, and millions of Californians are without jobs and healthcare, the need to pass real health care reform in our state is greater than ever.

Action Needed: Contact Your State Senators

First step: Take action with the Senate Appropriations Committee.
If your senator is on the Appropriations Committee (Senators Kehoe [chair], Cox [vice chair], Alquist, Corbett, Denham, Leno, Liu, Price, Walters, Wyland and Yee), contact him or her NOW by phone, fax, or e-mail. Urge him/her to vote SB 810 out of committee.
Next step: Contact all other senators.
Assuming that SB 810 will be taken from the suspense file and passed out of the Appropriations Committee, we need to lobby all remaining senators to pass this crucial bill.
Find contact information for your state senator at www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html.
Local League and ILO presidents: Please send an official letter from your League to the senators in your League’s jurisdiction. Forward this alert to your members and colleagues and urge them to take action.

League members and others: Please call, fax, or e-mail your senator, acting as an individual. Share this e-mail with your friends and colleagues to encourage them to take action.
Use the points to make and/or the sample letter below to send the message that SB 810 is a critical reform California’s people need. While the nation is mired in the health care reform debate, California can lead the way with a system of affordable, quality care accessible to all
Californians.

Action Needed: Contact Your State Senators

First step: Take action with the Senate Appropriations Committee.
If your senator is on the Appropriations Committee (Senators Kehoe [chair], Cox [vice chair], Alquist, Corbett, Denham, Leno, Liu, Price, Walters, Wyland and Yee), contact him or her NOW by phone, fax, or e-mail. Urge him/her to vote SB 810 out of committee.
Next step: Contact all other senators.
Assuming that SB 810 will be taken from the suspense file and passed out of the Appropriations Committee, we need to lobby all remaining senators to pass this crucial bill.
Find contact information for your state senator at www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html.
Local League and ILO presidents: Please send an official letter from your League to the senators in your League’s jurisdiction. Forward this alert to your members and colleagues and urge them to take action.
League members and others: Please call, fax, or e-mail your senator, acting as an individual. Share this e-mail with your friends and colleagues to encourage them to take action.

Sample Letter (personalize this letter if you can)

The Honorable [first name, last name]
California State Senate
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Senator [last name]:
I urge you to vote YES on SB 810 (Leno) when it comes before you for a vote this month.
SB 810, the California Universal Health Care Act, will provide every Californian the security of comprehensive, quality health care benefits in a system that gives everyone the right to choose his or her own physician and controls health care cost inflation.
SB 810 makes good fiscal sense. It combines the federal, state and local funds already spent on health care with affordable insurance premiums that replace all the premiums, deductibles, out-of-pocket payments and co-pays now paid by employers and consumers. It limits the amount that can go to administrative overhead to five percent of our health care dollars, avoiding the huge waste in our current system.

Escalating health care costs are a burden to all Californians personally as well as to state and local governments that are major employers and safety net providers. With our state budget facing another $20 billion-plus deficit, and with millions of Californians without jobs and health care, we must take the important step of passing REAL health care reform. Please support SB 810.
Sincerely,
[your signature]

My first day volunteering at the infusion center, UCI was a success. I talked with a couple of people and told them my story...they told me theirs. I also served them coffee, juice and brought heated blankets....once a waitress always a waitress! I go back Wednesday.
Eat your fruit & veggies!   xo Inge

I drank my first cup of coffee in eleven months yesterday. Yum! I stayed away from it before so my intestines could heal. Before I got sick I had been drinking coffee forever. It's nice to have some of my "normal" routine back.

Monday I start at UC Irvine Medical Center as a volunteer. I will report to the infusion center. Got my badge and uniform :)

Eat your fruit & veggies!    xo    Inge

If you have to be hospitalized for something catastrophic like cancer always designate someone to be your spokesperson. Put them on your Advance Directives paperwork, BUT that paperwork is not enough. It says they are in charge of your medical care, BUT it is so much more than that. When you are in the hospital you will probably be on lots of pain meds...doctors will come in to see you when you are half asleep and ask you questions that you won't remember later. Try to always have someone staying in your room, especially when the doctors show up. When you are 1st admitted to the hospital is the most critical time. Lots of doctors come and go...insurance papers need to be dealt with, especially if you are applying for Medical. I recommend you put your important papers in 1 folder now so you or the person you choose to handle these things can find it fast. I'm talking about, rent stubs, mortage statements, marriage license, pay stubs, bank statements, etc. The faster these things are turned the faster you get approved and treated. When I got sick and went to the emergency room, I was admitted because I was bleeding out and was high risk for stroke or heart attack. I was given blood and loads of tests to find out why I was bleeding. Then I was kept in because I needed liver surgery, the cancer has spread but I was lucky and only lost 10%. While this was going on my son, James had to learn the "system" in order to get my insurance approved quickly. We were first told it could take a minimum of 6 months to get approval. I did not have 6 months to wait. James had to be persistant and literally beg to have things move faster to save my life. What I am saying is be careful who you choose to make decisions for you. Hospitals and insurance are complicated, but there are always loopholes. Choose someone who has the patience and determination to get things done. There will always be some clerk who says no. They need to go over her head and push things through. You know the saying about the squeaky wheel? It's true. Your life depends on it.

 

Eat your fruits & veggies!    xo Inge

I saw an oncology orthopedist today. I was referred to him because I had an MRI about a week before my ostomy surgery and it showed I have chronic fractures in my pelvic bone. How did this happen? The prime suspect is radiation. I didn't know what chronic fractures were until today. My doctor said its like a cracked windshield, it will continue to crack unless its fixed. Bummer. He gave me a refe...rral to an orthopedic surgeon. I asked if this would fix my walking problem and he said probably not but it should keep my pelvic bone from cracking anymore. So for now at least I have to use a walker when I go outside the house. Without it I walk like I'm drunk....maybe if I started drinking I would walk normal :D

Eat your fruits & veggies!   xo  Inge

 

 

I was having trouble with my stoma bag yesterday. It is  was leaking AGAIN. It leaked Wednesday so I changed it and then Thursday afternoon it leaked again in the same place, so I called the home healthcare agency to get some advice. I guess its hard to troubleshoot that sort of problem over the phone, but the nurse told me she would get me some help. I had only one bag left and my supplies won't be here for at least one more week, so I thought I might have to use a ziplock baggie and duct tape for awhile. About an hour later my  home healthcare nurse called and told me she would come over Friday morning. Then a friend dropped off some extra stoma bags a few minutes later. Whew!

 

 

My nurse came over this morning to help me with my leaky bag. I was up most of the night checking it and putting more tape on it. I didn't want to change it though because I wanted my nurse to see where it was leaking. I'm glad I didn't because she had to take pictures of the area. When I did take off the bag I noticed my abdomen around the stoma had changed. I think it was swollen from surgery and now it's returning to normal, so I now have "dimple" near the stoma and exactly where my bag leaks. The ring used to sit flush on my skin but now there is an area where there is a very small space that stool can seep through. I called my doctor's nurse and she gave me a some paste that will fill in that area. Good thing because I was going to go visit the hardware store and buy some plumbers putty :O

Eat your fruits & veggies    xo Inge

I got an email when I was in the hospital telling me there was a volunteer orientation meeting Monday at UC Irvine Medical Center. At the time I did not know if I would be well enough to attend, but I was and I went...John drove me since I can't drive. Long story short, I got a tb test today and then in about 2 weeks I will be seeing patients in the infusion center...in case you don't know what that is - it's a place in the hospital where patient's spend one to six hours a day receiving chemo. I will provide emotional support. I am excited about it!
Eat your fruits & veggies!     xo   Inge

I am back in my own bed...I was released yesterday afternoon. I feel so much better than I did a few days ago. I haven't had a real bowel movement yet. I'm taking Vicadin for pain and that will constipate people. It's nice to be home. My critters were so happy to see me, especially Jinx...he must have meowed for 10 straight minutes. I can eat most foods now, but I have to stay away from gas causing ones for a while though. I plan to make lots of smoothies and juicing. I have to change the way I take meds and vitamins now. Did you know alot of these pills are digested in the intestines? I thought they were in the stomach. The vitamins and herbs I take now are in capsules so I will break them open and add them to my smoothies. If I need antibiotics I will need them in liquid form. This change will be forever. I will also need to eat smaller more frequent meals and drink more water.
I had a small scare this morning at 6am. I woke up and went to the bathroom to pee and my pullup had diarrhea mixed with blood in it. I thought at first that my stoma bag leaked, but that was secure. It definitely came out of my rectum and small fresh drops of blood continued to come out. I also had cramping and pain all over my abdomen, not just my incisions, so I called the emergency room nurse to see if I should come in, she told me they were slammed with trauma patients....its Saturday night and lots of shootings (my personal comment) but that I could come in to get checked out. I decided to wait for the "rush" to get over and go back to sleep.  I got up 3 hours later, nothing in my pullup now and my abdomen feels better. I will wait and see. If there is something wrong it should leak out of my rectum again. If it does I will go to emergency and get it looked at.
It will take practise to get this changing my stoma bag down. There are lots of steps. I can only change it 2-3 times a week...I will only get enough supplies for that amount.  The supplies will run total about $300 a month! Emptying the bag will be ok. I will rinse it out with my squirt bottle to keep any odors to a minimum. I have to admit my stoma looks weird...it is actually my intestine sticking out of my skin, luckily it does not have nerves. It looks like a fat tongue and sticks out about 1/4 of an inch. Look it up on google image under colostomy and stoma if you are curious. I was going to post a photo of it on my blog but I figured it might gross some people out. It sure will be nice to have the freedom to leave my house earlier and not poop my pants anymore.

Eat your fruits & veggies!   xo  Inge

Well, I made it through surgery. I was in recovery sleeping quite nicely when I woke up to someone hooking me up to the ekg machine, apparently my heart rate was too slow. I guess its better than too fast. They must have cleared up the problem because I am here typing. I spent the rest of the evening dry heaving. The anesthesia did not agree with me and retching after colon surgery is not fun. I was up most of the night, I was either trying to find a comfortable way to sleep...I like sleeping on my side but it was too painful so I used lots of pillows...and the rest of the time the nurse came in to draw blood or take my vitals.
I need help getting out of bed and I have a portable potty next to me. I can't walk because it is too painful, but I can sit in bed with lots of pillows to support my back. I haven't eaten since and Sunday night. Monday I only drank clear liquids and sat on the toilet all night. Today I am back to clear liquids but only after bugging my doctors for hours. Hopefully I can eat solid food tomorrow.
You know whats weird? I feel like I need to poop but the urge is down by my rectum. I guess my brain doesn't know I had my plumbing changed yet. I wonder if it is like ghost pains, like when someone has their leg amputated. I was just informed that my diet will change...it will be a low residue, whatever that means. I can still drink my smoothies and juice still.

Eat your fruits & veggies     xo Inge

What a busy week this is! I had my MRI today and it went well. This week I have to get blood work down, get tattooed where my bag will be, and stock up on groceries. I went to the beach on Sunday and there was group of people drumming. They show up every week and all are welcome. I had fun watching them and even danced a bit with aid of my walker. How lucky I am to live in Southern California! The weather is always great :) Eat your fruits & veggies! Inge http://youtu.be/c2PK56N8EIw

I saw my surgeon yesterday and I am scheduled to have surgery October 18th. He will install a colostomy bag for me. I have mixed feelings about that but I really do not have a choice. My body is pretty much healed and my sphincter muscles are shot. There is no reconstructive surgery for that. At least I will not be stranded at home in the mornings anymore. I will be in the hospital for about 4 days and healing for 6 weeks. I will not have to lose my colon, and the surgery will be done laparoscopically.

Tomorrow I see my oncologist, hopefully she has some information from the nerve testing I did a few days ago. Then I go back to the food stamp office and see if I qualify for help. I am not happy going to these agencies and I know I blogged about that before. I guess sometimes we have to do things we don't like in order to get where we want to go.

Eat your fruit& veggies!   xo  Inge

Well, I feel better today than yesterday. I did some thinking and came to the conclusion that my depression came from losing my power. When I became sick earlier this year my life was controlled by doctors, social service, and family. I literally slept from January to May. I was only awake to eat, use the bathroom, trips to doctors, and radiation treatments. I knew I was getting better when I wanted to go outside the house and for short car rides. I worked hard to be able to drive myself around. Fast forward to now and I want to get out of the house more. I want a job, a purpose. When I saw myself sitting in the social security office yesterday, I felt sick to my stomach. The more I talked with the social worker, the sicker I felt. My life was now going to be controlled by the government. They would decide how much money I would live on for the rest of my life. This was not going to work for me. I have always been active and working. Soooo, last night I told James about my fears and he told me "Mom, the perfect job for you might be staring you right in the face and you don't see it. You have been an inspiration to others who have followed your story since your diagnosis. Go out to colleges, churches, etc. and ask them if you can speak about your journey. There are people who want to hear it. They need hope."

So I decided to look at my situation as temporary. For now I can offer my services for free or donation and see where it takes me. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. So I will put together an outline for a speech and practise on my pets. I have my POWER back!!!
Eat your fruit & veggies!   xo  Inge

This has been a rough week for me...family squabbles...money issues...I am definitely not in the vortex. I got a letter from disability informing me that my funds are...as they put it... exhausted. I didn't know that they could get exhausted. Apparently, everyone is paid different amounts, depending on how much they put in. It's like a piggy bank. I put a certain amount in each month, which is determined by "them" and when I need to use it, I get a certain amount a month which is determined  by "them". When the money runs out...its gone.  I have been putting money in for 37 years and all I get is $13,300?? I get a better return saving through the Christmas Club. Remember when banks offered that service? When I return to work, I put money back into the piggy bank. My piggy bank at the moment is empty. Sooooo...I had to apply for social security. I went to the local office and was given a pamphlet and told to apply online. I went home, went online and 3 hours later I was done! 3 hours???? And I had the information they wanted at my fingertips, and I am not a slow typist. I had to give information about my past 5 jobs, W2s from 2010, names of all my doctors - with phone numbers, addresses, dates of tests and office visits, medications and on and on. My brain was exhausted just like my disability payments. Then on the last page it read "average time to get a decision is 120 days" WTF!!!

I went back to the ss office today and it was packed...yesterday, there was a handful of people. I wanted to bring my medical release paper in person so I could maybe expedite the process. I also brought my W2s, proof of citizenship, the disability letter stating I am done with them... oh, Hell! I brought everything with me in case they asked and they did. The social worker said that I maybe qualified but I will have to see their social security doctor as well. I qualified for social security benefits early due to my disability to the tune $848 a month.

I was then sent over to another social worker to see if I qualified for ssi benefits ( I thought that is
what I was asking for anyways, but who can keep track.) I did not qualify because I own 2 cars and the 2 of them combined are worth more than $3,000. Apparently that makes me rich! I do have a chance at the $848 a month...my disability checks were $1400 a month. That is quite a hit in the pocketbook. I was given the name of an agency that is in charge of food stamps. Food stamps? That hit me like a ton of bricks! I did not bust my ass all my life to end up like this. I refuse to spend the rest of my life in the poorhouse. I am also very independent...ambitious and not used to "handouts". For me it's all about the quality of life and I do not want to spend it watching tv. I want to experience new places, open my thrift shop, mix it up in protest marches. I want to feel alive! And I can't do that on $848 and food stamps, while some government agency makes sure I don't earn anymore money than I am allotted. I am starting to sound like Ron Paul and I don't want to be like him either.

I want to stay positive because if I get on the pity train I will get sick again...negative energy = stress and stress = equals sickness. I have to find a way to get myself out of this...but for now I cannot walk right, my balance is shit and I poop my pants. I cannot work like that and no one will hire me in this condition. I am good at not letting people know when I don't feel good but I am not that good! I will have to look at this a a temporary thing or I will get myself into a depression. I don't like feeling bad...I want to be happy.

Then I went to the neurological center to get the nerves in my legs tested. That was soooo painful!! At one point I asked if Dick Cheney created this test...whats next water boarding?... and then I cried. I couldn't help it...the doctor needed to get the shock to a 10 but I couldn't take more than a 6. It hurt the worst behind my knee caps. Then she stuck needles in me connected to the shock machine and as if that was not enough she twisted the needle in my leg. I almost went through the roof. I know people could hear me yell at times. When I was done, I had to have help walking...my left leg was too weak. I knew I would fall down. Luckily, James went with me...I had planned to drive myself but I could never have driven home. About 40 minutes later I felt better.

So here I am now...back home...blogging. I think I am really getting everything out and hope that I can snap out of it and come up with a plan to make my life better. I am grateful to be alive...I just want to LIVE while I am alive. Well, enough of that! I want a green smoothie...
Eat your fruit & veggies!   xo   Inge

Today is my birthday! How blessed and lucky I am! I want to thank all the people who prayed for me, my doctors, my nurses, social workers, friends and family. I was thinking about what Hillary Clinton said when she was talking about children....it takes a village. Well, the same idea works with taking care of a sick person. It isn't just one person who heals the patient...there are countless people involved from the ones who implement the health care to the ones who carry the plan out. I am grateful to all of them. When I was in the hospital, there were a couple of nurses who nurtured me and made me feel loved. I believe that is not taught in nursing school, it comes naturally.

I believe I have been given a second chance and I do not want to take that for granted. I am not the same person I was before I got sick. I am actually the person I was over 20 years ago. Back then I was politically active, and opinionated, so now that I find myself with more time on my hands I am naturally drawn back into  that. I want to make this place a better place for future generations and for now exposing companies that are doing harm in the name of profits is where I will focus my attention. I want to follow in the footsteps of Ralph Nader, Mario Savio, Keith Oberman, Anderson Cooper (Keeping them honest), and my college professor, Jim Higgs. It takes a village to make change...

Eat your fruits & veggies!   xo  Inge

One of my doctors called today. She is my gp and gave me the pap test...twice. She could not get healthy cells from my cervix again because as she put it "my cervix is fried" Well, that isn't a selling point for me. Since my cervix has a lot of scar tissue it will never return to normal. I can get my yearly check ups but the only way to tell if I have any issues down there will be from visible inspection or if I start bleeding. Oh, well. I knew I would have a laundry list of side effects. Its  still worth the price to be alive today.  Tomorrow I see my neurologist to talk about my balance and neuropathy.

Eat your fruits & veggies!   xo Inge

I saw my physical therapist today for the consultation visit. He also believes the chemo messed up my nervous system and affected my balance, because he has seen other cancer patients with the same issue. Only time will tell how much it will return to normal. My goal is to walk around without a walker. I drove myself...yay! but had to get myself to the 2nd floor to make an appointment back at UCI.  I can't walk upstairs by myself so I had to suck it up and ride the elevator. That is something I have been afraid to do for a few months. I made it and did not feel anxious. Now I have to gear myself up for the PET/CT scan in two weeks.
Eat your fruit & veggies!   xo Inge

Inspiring story

http://katrinagarcia.wordpress.com/2011/08/20/when-life-throws-you-a-sucker-punch-you-get-even/

I just got off the phone with Errol at www.brevilleusa.com. They make the BEST juicer for an affordable price!!! I mentioned in an earlier post that I bought this juicer because Kriss Carr from http://crazysexylife.com/about/ raved about it.  I bought mine from Amazon because at the time I could not get around to shop for one in a store and they were selling for only $89  plus shipping. I don't know if you ever priced juicers but they can be pricey to say the least. Anyway, back to my story, we moved a few months ago and the pulp container got cracked...never let your helpers drink beer while they are moving you, they must wait until they are done. Oh yeah, I'm off subject again. Well, today I called customer service to order a new one and let me tell you...THEY GIVE EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! I am excited because these days customer service is almost non existent.  Errol told me they give a one year warranty on the motor but not on parts, but since I only had the juicer a few months, he was sending me the part free of charge!!! That is unheard of! Thank You Errol!!! If you want a juicer, I highly recommend Breville. My name is Inge and I approve this message

Whats up with the FDA???

http://www.lef.org/featured-articles/Walnut_Grower_Capitulates_to_FDA_Censorship.htm

Tell me with a straight face, these pictures aren't racist?

I didn't want to jump into this political hotbed but since Jimmy Carter had the courage to give his opinion. I decided I will do the same. I worked on the Obama Presidential campaign last year. I live in California supposedly a liberal open minded state, but from my experience during the campaign, I witnessed and heard racial slurs regarding Obama on a daily basis. There were times that people used code words like Muslim, and there were a few times they just referred to him with the N-word. At the time I was working in the neighborhood restaurant and that is when I heard those type of remarks. Unfortunately I was not able to tell these bigots what thought of them because I was working. Fast forward to today and look at some of the signs that are clearly racist. Just listen to the crap that comes out of the mouths of Limbaugh and Beck, two over paid blowhards, whose job it is to inflame the fears of those narrow minded bigots. Do you think people would have had the nerve to bring weapons to health care meetings where the president was present, back when Bush was in office? I seriously doubt it.

There is definitely a group of people who are angry a black man is President and they will hate him no matter what he tries to accomplish.

I also am shocked at the amount of rudeness that is in society today. I don't know if it is a symptom of all these reality shows where rudeness is the norm... have you seen those spoiled rude girls, the Kardashians? But rudeness today is rampant whether it is the politicians or protesters or shock jocks or at the MTV awards. Have you heard the phrase, United we stand, divided we fall?

I think it's time to bring back Miss Manners and learn to have a civil discussion and stop the bullying and plain bullshit or we should prepare for a huge fall!

Don't forget to laugh out loud, especially when watching those narrow minded, ignorant jackasses make fools of themselves!

xoxo Inge