American Morning
Edie Falco: Health care reform can't wait
Editor's Note: Edie Falco is an Emmy Award-winning actress best known for her character "Carmela Soprano” in the groundbreaking HBO series "The Sopranos." She is now starring in the new series "Nurse Jackie" that premiered on Showtime in early June 2009.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/06/25/edie.falco.getty.art.jpg caption="Actress Edie Falco arrives at the 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards September 16, 2007 in Los Angeles, California."]
By Edie Falco
Special to CNN
Health care is something that affects everyone in America, and I am glad that we are having a national conversation about it. I am supporting Health Care for America Now because we are at a moment in time when we can actually make change that impacts peoples’ lives in a very real way.
We have got to fix health care, and we have got to do it right now. Health care reform cannot wait.
As a struggling artist, I spent many years without health coverage. I know the feeling of hoping your symptoms go away before you have to get money together to see a doctor. I know worrying about it makes it even harder to get better. I still have friends and family in this position.
It’s true, I have health care now. I have good doctors and I'm treated very well, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am for this. But I believe no one person is any more worthy of such treatment than any other person who may be sitting at home right now worried about their own health or the health of a loved one, knowing they don't have the money to take care of it. With all of the wealth and ingenuity in our country, I know we can do better. We can fix this.
I am here in Washington, DC with Health Care for America Now today because together we are going to let Congress know that we will not wait another moment to fix our broken health care system. We have a plan that makes health care affordable to individuals, families, and businesses. If you have insurance that works for you, you can keep it. You will also have a guaranteed backup plan. It's quality, affordable health care no matter what. It’s the peace of mind that people have been looking for. It’s also the plan that President Obama is fighting for.
During my time here, I am meeting with people all around the country who are affected by our current health care mess. They will tell their stories at our rally today and they will be meeting with their members of Congress. I hope that I can help make sure that their voices are heard. We are all fighting for them and for the hundreds of thousands of people in America who need a guarantee of quality, affordable health care we all can count on.
My hope is that Congress will hear our message loud and clear: Health care can’t wait!
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Edie Falco.
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Oh yeah Dr. Harrison. Your an idiot as well! I see you are so quick to attack someone practicing their freedom of speech and voice their opinion. I pray someday when your old and require medical assistance you don't get it. If we had the proposed healthcare that the government wants then Sen. Teddy Kennedy would be dead right now and denied treatment. Yet since he is a congress memeber he get special healthcare. keep watch the liberal media Dr. H and don't do your homework.
I always love when one of the Hollywood elites open their mouths, it just goes to show the real difference in America. Those that follow every word of these overpaid, self-absorbed, intellectual neophytes, are the main reason we elected an inexperienced community organizer as President. These self-proclaimed scholars bank more in one movie that any CEO. Where is the outrage for their salaries?
I would be more comfortable with the programs being suggested if I knew that the tax money wasn't being used for health care for illegal aliens- which I know it will be since they flood the emergency rooms for most urban public hospitals. How do you address that?
How do you keep fraud out of the system like there is in Medicare and Medicaid- ( they arrested 50+ which is the tip of the iceberg- in the last 24 hours for Medicare fraud- it is rampant ) how do you reconcile the problems in the VA system- like the vets who went in for routine colonoscopies and, because they equipment had not been handled properly, were exposed to HIV and Hepetitis? How do you address that? Throwing money at the problem is not the answer. I think the government has to prove it can handle this kind of program before we let it fly- it's our health, our childrens' health, our parents and friends. It's all well and good for well-off celebrities to espouse these things-they can afford to get whatever care they need. We don't have that luxury. I have the for-profit insurance industry- but I am fearful of what the US governemt woud do, in light of our experiences with Medicare and the VA, with a single payer system.
The illegal immigrants get free health care so why shouldn't we ensure that all Americans have health care. If we send them home, then we can afford to insure all Americans.
So, because Edie Falco says she and her friends have gone without health insurance over the years, I have to turn over my hard earned money to ensure that they do? How about getting a job with health insurance..how about getting a second job to pay for individual coverage?? We have all been there people.
This is just garbage that hard working resourceful people have to foot the bill for those that are not.
Edie is a C-list celebrity and her opinion means squat. Why CNN posts this junk, I have no idea.
@ LYNN –
good point, however, Obama's healthcare reform is a ruse; it's all about power with him. If he cared, about healthcare and it's affect, he would start with the insurance companies.....it's all about votes and getting more power....Obama's the worst thing to happen to this country since the New Deal.
Makes no sense that the US would be unable to afford quality Universal Healthcare. The only obstacles are priorties and business interests, and, fear or ignorance.
Who is Edie Falco? And why does her opinion warrant attention? I do not want socialized medicine! I do not want England or Canada. I do not want to be persecuted for making $250K.
A solution to health care needs to take into account cost, accessibility, quality, and who pays? This is not a 6 month or year issue. It needs to be carefully mapped out and honest. Honest meaning that everyone will not have the same coverage or access, but a minimal access. The gov't should ensure children 18 and under are covered. After that be responsible for yourself! Get out of the ivory tower on this issue and be realistic.
How do we keep progressing in health care quality and technology and not regressing? There is a cost to this and we cannot lose site of it.
She should get some bumper stickers made that say, "I'm Mad Too, Eddie!" I'd buy a dozen, but it's been done.
I keep hearing comments that this is a government takeover and that a public option would doom the private companies. Most republicans think the industry should continue the way it does because it fosters competition. But the only competition I see as a payee is in profit margins. How much more can a given insurance company make if they reduce operating costs and/or make filing claims more complicated with condistions and red tape.
The way I see it, adding a public option "is" competition for the insurance companies. They will need to think out of the box, band together to reduce costs, and offer higher value in services to keep their customers. Their argument that a public option will steal away their customers is only true if the don't intend to change a thing.
I think this is the escence of the Oboma policy.
I find it quite ironic that a woman who's starring in a show that openly and flagrantly denigrates the nursing profession feels that she now has the right to speak out about healthcare. She doesn't work in healthcare and never has so she's far from an expert. I agree that our healthcare system needs to change but it needs to be a very well thought out plan. Those of us in Massachusetts are now suffering from a well-intentioned but not well-planned insurance for all initiative. My opinion is that if you really want to make a difference in the healthcare system for the consumer, you've got to address what's going on in the insurance and drug industries. They're getting away with murder (sometimes, literally) and making a killing in the process.
Yes, by all means, lets protect the people who made bad life choices. We can pay for their alcoholic's anonymous, diabetes because they are too fat, methadone for their drub habit. Oh yes, let us not forget the miliions of illegal aliens who have drained this system to the point of no return. You think it's bad now? You ain't seen nothing yet. yes by all means lets have the government pay for all medical care. What's that you say? You need an operation that's not life-threatening yet it's painful? Be prepared to wait an additional 12 – 18 months to get it taken care of. Don't like being taxed? Be prepared to spend at LEAST another 20 percent in payroll taxes. What's that? You thought it would be free? LOLOLOLOLOLOL Sorry, the system may have it's problems but I don't think having the government taking over the healthcare system is the way to go. It would be a disaster. And as usual I doubt that CNN (Communist News Network) will let me submit this. they are a little to left-leaning to put up anything sensible in here.
Well I for one am sure glad that this GOVERNMENT plan has HOLLYWOOD support. Thank you so much for enlighenting us with your courageous wisdom Eddie!
Government ran healthcare is not the answer. When was the last time you went to the DMV? That is what your local doctor’s office and hospitals will look like. Long lines and dirty with under paid over worked employees who hate their jobs. The only way the government can subsidize the cost for universal healthcare is to lower the wages of Doctors, nurses, office workers technicians and everyone else that works in the field. That is one the reasons Canadians come to the U.S for services. Since all Doctors are paid the same no matter their specialty, why would one spend the extra time in school to become a brain surgeon when you can become a general practitioner? This process leads to a lower number of doctors to service 100% of the population. We have the best system in the world. I had no healthcare for about 5 straight years and still would not give up the rights we have to choose our service based on our own needs. Healthcare is a service that one pays for not a god given right
Who cares what she and liberal hollywood says. Is she going to pay for it...of course not. The government controlling my healthcare is a disaster waiting to happen. The only thing obuma knows how to do is spend our money foolishly.
Nice way to promote to the new show!
LYNN,
Not true. Here is where individuals need to understand personal accountibility. Does an insurance company tell the member that they cannot speak to their doctor or ask questions related to costs and recommended treatment? What a novel idea, people asking their providers "How much will this cost me and or my insurance company?" Being in the industry I have never had a single member (of the several thousands that I have worked with) tell me that they could not ask their doctor about cost or recommended treatments. Our behavior has taught us that most services may cost $10, $20 or $100 for each time that I go in and seek treatment. Let me ask another question, when you as an insured member received what is call an EOB (Explanation of Benefits), how many people actually read it and look at what the provider charges the insurance company? You will be astonished my friends as to what costs are involved with doing business with providers.
For those of you who want to follow king Obamas health plan, your idiots. thousand upon thousands of jobs will be lost because of it. These people with out healthcare are the same people who have a cell phone, cable TV, etc. They don't want health care because they know the tax payers cover them. We should do, what they did in Massachusetts. Everyone must have healthcare or they are fined. Do your homework people.
Victoria Nikolov, please stop spewing unsupported facts. Canada has almost the exact same cancer survival rates as the US, in some instances they are lower. Our infant mortality rate is lower. As for waiting – yup sometimes we do – but at least no one can drop our insurance – it will always be there for us. The government doesn't tell us which doctors we can see (unlike so many of your HMOs). My doctor left Canada to make the big bucks in the States and came back because he couldn't/wouldn't play the insurance games in the US, and also because the hospital/clinic he was associated with ordered unncessary tests – why? Because they are trying to turn a profit. So to say that the private pay system is more efficient and better is ridiculous – you spend more of your GDP on healthcare than any other country but your mortality rates are higher than many "socialist" countries.
Yes, "we are at a moment in time when we can actually make change that impacts peoples’ lives in a very real way." We can bankrupt the country by spending money we don't have. We who actually work for a living can have our lives diminished because we're being robbed to pay for the medical care of complete strangers. We can watch as doctors abandon a profession that it no longer pays to practice and as younger people refuse to enter a profession with no future other than overwhelming volumes of regulation and paperwork.
Victoria:
You are missing the point about Obama's healthcare plan. You can keep your health insurance if you so choose. You are not forced to enroll in Government plan. However, if you lose your job, you may also lose your employer provided healthcare plan. If you go out and try to get another, you better have no pre existing conditions. They will refuse you. Then you can fall back on Governemnt plan as it does not reject anyone for any reasons.
If people like you show some understanding about 46 million of our less fortunate country men, women and children who have no healthcare, we will be a better country. Do not listen to the GOPers talk about how we are socializing the healthcare. That is what they said about Social Security and Medicare. Are these programs any problems?
You're kidding, right? Healthcare for all? That's Canada's answer. I have a friend with permanant knee damage because she had a ski accident in Canada and couldn't get adequate care for a week. Finally, she came home to the US, only it was too late to completely repair the damage. The social healthcare system did not work!
Fix medicare. Change the rules for coverage, if necessary.
My mother was unemployed, divorced and had no credit when she had her heart attack. And she was too young for medicare at the time. Thankfully, she lived in the US. Hospitals are REQUIRED to care for indigents. Sure, maybe not the same care if she were paying for adequate coverage, but she received care. AND, it was by staff and physicians competent and able to provide that care, because the private insurors compensated the other costs well enough to allow the hospitals and clinics to provide indigent care.
To those that say America has the BEST health care in the world, here is a FACT..WE ARE RANKED 37TH IN THE WORLD!!! We are in no way, shape or form the best. And those that say "worry about the 20% that dont have it and leave me who does alone". DId you know that, that 20% that dont have medical coverage actually do more damage to those that do? In order to cover for those that dont, YOU who does pays out more either per month or by YOUR insurance increasing YOUR premium to make up for the cost . For those that say taking away private will make them unable to compete...if Blue Cross can compete with so and so, who may have less a premiuim that they do for the same coverage..why cant Blue Cross compete with another group (public)? One of the offers on the table is to have an option for those unhappy with their coverage to go with a public option, simiar if not identicle to the one our very own rich congressmen and woman have for themselves and their family. Not one sigle congressmen has reliquished their coverage to go to say Blue Cross. They happliy take the gov'ts option of health care. So why would offerring that to the American people be such a horrible thing? My mother hadCancer, her employeer covered everything, every treatment, hospital stay, etc for a year. Just for my mom's curiosity, she wanted to get a quote from another insurance carrier to see what she would have had to pay. They would have denied everything, because she had cancer stemming from endometrosis, endometriosis that was treated by a hystorectemy done 25 yrs ago. She asked her boss recently what would they do if Obama's plan came to fruition..they said..nothing. "Your coverage will be the same as it was last year and the year before" "We will pay all medical for our employees"! And those that say "they will take away my heath care".. How much clearer does this have to be "IF YOU LIKE YOUR COVERAGE, KEEP IT. IF YOU DONT HERE IS AN OPTION TO CHANGE IT".
Hope you enjoy high taxes Eddie but Im sure you have a shifty accountant that finds ways out of it for you.......
Edie- I respect your voice and opinion. However, it might be wise to stick with your respective field. Health care reform is something beyond your craft....
Just because she plays a nurse on TV she is not a health care expert. I grew up in a country with socialized medicine and I do not wish it to anyone. Ironically there is a big push to privatize it now, because it sucks. I remember how certain tretaments were noty allowed due to age, etc. Is rthat what everyone wants? The US has by far the best health care ever. True, it is not accessible to everyone. We should help those people to be able to get insurance, but it should not influence the rest.
This is a country where firefighters spend hours to get a stranded cat down froma tree. How will we accept a ruling by some democrat that grandma can;t have the kidney transplant because it is expansivee and she is too old anyway?
Also, the uninsured is a diverse population. I know many young people who chose not to get helath insurance because they have money, they healthy, if they have minor isues it is easier for them to pay cash. Not everyone needs the same coverage. If you bare in good shape, age of 20, you can have a catastrophic coverage because chances are you won;t have regular expenses that you can't afford.
And don't believe the myth that prevention saves money., It saves lives but it costs more. All the mammograms, coloncopies, etc. are very costly. They should continue, but expanding it won't lower the overall price.
My only request to American celebrities or anyone else ready to jump on the universial healthcare bandwagon is to do a little research first. Here in Canada my wife waited four months for a MRI test until we decided to fly to Phoenix and got one on our own. Six months of pain and waiting, the not knowing is the hardest part.
Our provincial and federal budgets are being burried by health care costs and here in Alberta it is nearly 40% of the yearly budget.
Slow service, Doctor shortages and rising costs are some of the things you could be looking forward to...
Victoria, I can tell you have never went without insurance in your life. I have been unemployed for a year and a half, my unemployment is $275 a week. My cobra for my last job was 492.00 a month. You figure it out. I need surgery and finally I have been accepted into the charity program of a large teaching hospital. There is a state of the art cancer treatment center opening in Gainesville FL this week. Too bad people like me will never get to use those facitlites. I have worked all my life, this is the first time I have ever been unemployed. May you continue to be blessed.
Edie,
Why don't you stick to acting (which you do very well) and stay out promoting the Socialist agenda of our government? If you still have friends and family that lack health insurance why don't YOU give them money for it? I and the rest of the overburdened and disappearing middle class can't afford to pay higher taxes to buy health insurance for other people. Because any government health plan involves forcibly taking more money from me (and the rest of the people of this country via taxes) to pay for it, it's wrong. But, if wealthy and successful people like you want to sponsor the health insurance of those less fortunate than you are, that would be most generous and I am sure would be quite appreciated. Set an example and see if you can make a difference by helping people directly instead of asking the rest of us who are already overburdened to do it for you.
Kittie
People are talking as if health care is a right. It is a responsibility just as auto insurance is. You get what you PAY for. Can't pay for it. Then you don't have it.
Everyone seems to think that the government is the provider of last resort. Can anyone tell WHO is going to pay for national health care?
BTW: we already have universal health care. It's called MedicAid/MediCare. Those two programs are going bankrupt now. Want to add another one that will make it happen sooner? And anyone can get health care at any hospital. Our courts have dictated that a person can not be refused medical care regardless of ability to pay.
So lets create another government beauracry that will devour taxpayer dollars. YOU CAN NOT BE SERIOUS.
And what is that "democratic ideology", huh? Screw the majority of people to make sure we're all equally poor off?
What goes around comes around. We are preparing the next generation to put forth minimal effort, because there's just no incentive to try hard anymore. The government is the great equalizer and working hard only means you're first in line to pay more taxes and support more of the inept vacationers.
Medicaid and Medicare, BOTH are facing $12 TRILLION deficits and these Demonrat socialists actually believe that they can CONTROL COSTS ???!!! Are you people congenitally STUPID !!!???
She's not a nurse, but she plays one on TV.
You've got to be kidding me. You were a "struggling artist" and we are supposed to sympathize with your situation?
The rest of us, while you were off in Hollywood fantasy land trying to make it big (which you inevitably did, congrats, by the way), were working hard and putting ourselves through school so we could afford our own good health care options. It's not a liberty, it's not guaranteed by the Constitution. It's guaranteed by our own effort and our own hard work.
Enough of this whining for the "unlucky". 80-90% of the country is covered. Of the few that aren't, most of them are either illegal immigrants or people that haven't worked hard enough for it.
Stop criticizing me because I tried in school, I tried in my career, and I tried in life.
We need health care reform. The cost of insurance is out of control.
The problem is health insurance in the first place. Another problem is attorneys being able to pursue malpractice lawsuits without limit and discretion. The entire health insurance industry, including Medicare and Medicaid, only serves to confuse the public and grease palms along the way. Costs are driven upward because no one knows how much they are paying for exams and procedures. Why wouldn't someone have something done if they aren't directly paying for it? This obviously can have no other effect than to increase health insurance premiums. If people paid only cash for most health care, and had catastrophic health care insurance, the costs would abate. Increasing the nationalization of health care will only exacerbate the problem. Did anyone ever think that people are using the medical profession as a crutch to live unhealthy lifestyles?? After you smoke for 30 years and weigh 300 lbs is a bad time to realize you aren't healthy.
If health care is a basic human right, is it a basic human right that i pay for other peoples health care? Go take a ride into the Ghetto sometime, you'll see people choosing cell phones, drugs, rims, expensive clothes, nails etc. over even attempting to go to work or buy health insurance.
I challenge the goverment to perform an expirement pick any inner city, provide the familys with a non taxed debit card in the amount of the average health care plan for a family of 4 tell them they can buy whatver they want with it. Continue providing welfare, food stamps, housing etc... NOT ONE of those people will but health care with it.
Dr. Harrison,
Keep your judgments to a minimum unless you have something creditable to add. In the case that you are a "Dr." – what insight can you provide that is worthy of listening to?
sorry for typos
I am a firm believer that some plan for health care should be available to all Americans. None of our citizens should go without some kind of coverage – and they should not have to worry about it. I do get concerned about the following issues – though with enough time and less of a stress time line, I'm sure our Congress could find ways to deal with them:
1.) Our government has a terrible track record running most everything, especially when it comes to health care. Surely there must be a way to insure all Americans without involving our government in every step?
2.) Our health care has evolved over the past 45-50 years by an employer provided insurance plans. The system has not broken down, but the insurance plans have. Insurance companies need more regulation than the banking industry ever did. Why we have not done anything to regulate them is beyond me. But I fear if you tear down the private infrastructure, you will end up with way too many holes for the government to fill – certainly not in a timely manner. We cannot hope to mimic a European-like plan (certainly not overnight) – as our starting point is totally different than any of them had ever experienced.
3.) Whatever we do as a country – it needs to be carefully planned and implemented after we have all the potential pitfalls thought out. I don't think any major change could be effectively "rolled out" in one implementation. The most effective way to do this is to plan any transition over a few years.
4.) Politics cannot be a part of this process. There are too many politicians posturing themselves for their own political agenda – not just for reform's sake. President Obama clearly has political motivations as well. This is all the more reason to effect incremental change and examine its performance at every juncture.
Health care shouldn't wait. But it should not be a political football either. We have the potential to enact programs that could fail and make the system even worse than it is today. Incremental change – whether in the public or private sector, is our best insurance against failure. For some reason, most likely due to the American political system's nature to "grandstand" public issues, we have not even put incremental change out on the table.
Given that we are in dire straits financially as a country – it couldn't hurt to get it right the first time and avoid terribly costly and heartbreaking mistakes.
To Victoria Nikolov
I think u talk too much but know nothing about healthcare systems somwhere else. Lets face some facts obout US healthcare. Where did u here it is the best healthcate in the world?? You must be living on another planet. So learn something:
– 50 mil us citizens have no insurance ( those who have it are faced with high premium, co payments and deductibles.
– Us has highest new born death approx. 7.5 per /1000( 2x as much as European average). Just before Mexico
– Less live span then Canadians or Europeans
– 60% personal bankruptcy (out of them 75% people have so called health insurance)
– ½ mil. Us citizens seek treatment abroad because it does not exists in us or it is too expensive – Data is based on AARP bulletin
– According to WHO us healthcare ranks 37 place in the world
– It is 2x more expensive than in Europe and only 40% effective
– We all still remember flue ferries to Canada
– 120 000 us cit. dies from preventable death and 22 000 due to the of lack of insurance every year
– Existing bureaucracy through reinforcement HIPPA,COBBRA, HECRA,DECRA ,enrolment , acknowledgement etc. etc
So pul out your head from the sand and smell reality.
I lived in many countries including Canada. I am glad to have option retire there or in Europe. Us healthcare system id the worst I have experienced in my life.
Ms. Falco,
Perhaps the exremely well-paid actors in Hollywood should contribute to the actor's union in order to subsidize health insurance for the young "starving artists". It seems that there are few professions where there exists such a great disparity in income within their own ranks. Even professional athletes have a reasonable league minimum salary. Then, wealthy celebrities would be subsidizing the healthcare of 'their own' - rather than the rest of the country. Most of us are hard at work with our less glamorous jobs while others pursue their dreams of fame.
It is all about the will to have everyone covered. The rich Republicans who oppose a nationalized health plan should stop and ask themselves if they truly want everyone on our country to be covered. Do they really think the poor deserve to be covered? I doubt the country will ever have the national willt to have everyone insured. People are just so afraid that we will all turn into communists is this happens. Please wake up and notice why the rest of the world is appalled at the state of our medical system. Most nationalized systems will even help pay for visiting non-citizens that need medical care. I am sorry to say it but I don't think enough Americans see a problem with this for it to change.
If universal health care is passed, do we all drop our insurance ( and of course the high premiums ) and get on board the freeeeeeeeeee train????
Yes, something has to be done about health care, but must we rush into passing a bill so quickly? Our country is in a dire financial condition right now. Please, please let's take our time and build a bill that is thoroughly planned and thought out. I also resent our President telling us last night that "I will be allowed to keep my same doctor". Allowed!? And is anybody concerned about the vote taking place on Cap and Trade in Washington? If it passes, watch your utility bills skyrocket, watch many seniors and others on fixed incomes start being unable to pay their bills.
Thank you Edie for your commentary! Yes, you are right, health care reform needs to be a priority. Having been an RN for 26 years, I have seen health care change, and it hasn't been a positive change. I am unsure whether the government should control health care completely, but I do know that the health care industry needs the same kind of "intervention" that the automakers and banks have received over the past several months. Thank you for your advocacy and you are awesome as "Nurse Jackie"!
Lynda Gage, RN, BSN
We have had medicaid in the US for years. Acceptance into the program has always been based upon income. Why not just make the only requirement be that you don't have any other type of coverage available? We don't have to reinvent the wheel here. If you don't have coverage through your employer you will have medicaid. Just that simple. That way the tax payer will only have to pay the bill for those that are not insured by employers, not the whole country.
I am a health care professional. I agree 100% we need a change in our health care. BUT, why not start with the insurance companies first. They are the ones that dictate how a patient is treated. A person should not be able to sue a doctor on a whim. There should be a change in the insurance system first. Then, it will be a lot easier to change health care so everyone is covered.
Thanks Eddie for your comments on something you know nothing about and have no way to pay for without breaking the back of the taxpayer.
What amazes me even more than a "credible" news source using an ACTRESS to opine on the need for unviersal healthcare, is the flocking of the lemmings to agree with her and tout her courage and wisdom for being "right on" and "rock"ing on the issue. Follow this up with these same commenters regurgitating those "facts" they've heard on their favorite website/"news" channel as gospel and you have a clear picture of the state of "education" in America today. Bravo to all the useful tools of the left; your willing self-destruction is the fuel for their corrupt engine.
Would Ms Falco abandon her million dollar health-care policies for Obama-care?
Highly doubt it.
and for crying out loud, good job CNN, we get scathing moronic ramblings from Matt Damon during the campaign, Health care reform by Ms. Soprano. These people are actors without a clue how the real world works and CNN uses them to promote Obama every chance they get.
Why do I need to pay more taxes to buy health care for hookers, drug dealers, and everyone else who actually makes more money than I do, but chooses not to buy health insurance? I don't understand where this "reform" movement is really coming from. And if Edie Falco couldn't afford health insurance when she was a struggling actresses, she should have gone on Medicaid, which provides health care to poor people, sought out a charity, or taken a loan. Don't expect me to finance her career, I've got my own family to support.
Victoria Nicolov,
Enough with the republican talking points. In fact, I suggest you immediately seek Psychiatric care as you are obviously mentally disturbed. Listening to Rush & Hannity will do that to you. It is simple, you have a private plan option as well as government option. If you like what you got then zip it. Those that don't have insurance, have an option. Those who's insurance are very high and don't have funds..have a choice. I thought competition is a good thing? Why are the private copmanies afraid? Why do the republians support them? Don't you get the connection or are you just dumb? I live in other countries that have this insurance, there are pros/cons but not the doomsday you state. Do you think, for a second, that there are people that have nothing right here and right now? I guess you don't care becuase it does not affect you.
Victoria Nikolov go to one of your Medicare doctors (Medicare that I'M paying for by the way) and get a prescription for lots and lots of V-A-L-I-U-M.
No one is going to take away your benefits. No one is going to let old people die. I don't know who you were listening too, but it wasn't President Obama. Calm down.
We should all understand that helping others in need is and always will be a priority. I am fortunate enough to have healthcare, but at any time I could lose my job as so many of us have in this country and be without. What OUR wonderful President is suggesting is change. What we have is not working and if we change it and it doesn't work, we will change it again. President Obama is actively improving so many things, the point I would like to make is that he is trying, his motives are positive. His intentions are not to take away from others or create adversity in anyones life but to help those in need.
Oh Edie when you put it that way it makes SOOO much sense. But in reality, One group of people will be providing health care for another group of people. One pays the bill, gets worse service and the other group does nothing and gets free health care, along with their free housing, food and education.. Where is the incentive to work or improve yourself or have responsibility for your actions?
It amazes all these hollywood types, rich beyond belief, have no trouble telling the middle class they have to pay the bill for all the losers in society. I guess if I had a couple 10 million in the bank I wouldn't see the hypocrisy either
Being in the healthcare industry I can understand the importance of health insurance. I will say that however, behaviors of the average American citizen have truly impacted the evolution of healthcare. Fact is – nearly 75% of the illnesses that people are suffering are considered preventable (Health, United States, 2006; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm). Think about it – healthcare is costing our country more than $2.3 trillion dollars annually and we can trim that down significantly through the promotion of preventative services. The behavior as Americans for so long is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality – and when the bubble finally bursts, the cost is tenfold. True reform begins at the citizen level – not the government and until Americans can stand up and say "I will begin to take control", there will never be reform.
Thanks Edie! A lot of young people (including me when I was young) go without health insurance and hope that everything is ok. A good friend of mine died a few years ago because he had no insurance and he ignored his symtoms. He finally got insurance and it turned out that he had colon cancer. He was dead within 6 months. He should never have had that dilema!!
Victoria, please do some reading to educate yourself, no one is talking about eliminating or changing the plans people already have. I watched the Pres on ABC and didn't hear him say to let elderly people die instead of treatment, that is misinformation. Those decisions are being made all the time by doctors and families today. If you have not had any health care coverage challenges, then I think it's difficult for you to speak to the issues accurately. I have always had excellent coverage for my family, but have been stunned with the increases over the last 5 years in premiums, prescriptions, and co-pays. I work for a major corp (300,000 employees), and they pick up a huge portion of the premiums – and our out of pocket and other costs have sky rocketed. We now have to meet a family deductible of $3,500 before anything non-routine is paid for. A co-pay on prescriptions that are NOT available generically have gone from $10 to between $50 – $100 depending on the drug. We sit here and analyze things until we are in a state of paralysis, while people suffer so greatly. We have 2 large western countries (Canada and France) to evaluate as a "test market" and we still don't make decisions that see obvious to so many. A big criticism is the "wait time" to see a doctor under "socialized" plans...try making an appt with a specialist under some plans here in the U.S – it's been 4 – 8 months for me sometimes. Please folks, don't just react to politically motivated ideological talking points – do your homework!
why does ANYBODY care what Edie Falco thinks about the health system? she PRETENDS to be a nurse. doesn't anybody at CNN get that? however, her ACTING like a medical provider does make her slightly more qualified to comment on it that obama. obama should be president of L.A. so all these uneducated actors can live under his nutty policies and they can leave the rest of us alone.
Edie- Thank you for the commentary. I, too, am glad we are having a serious debate about the health care crisis in America. It is way past time to fix this, and it will take EVERYONE to make sure it gets fixed correctly and includes everyone.
I know many people who have jobs, but no access to health care.
After watching the special on ABC with the President, I think what he is proposing is a step in the right direction. It is up to the American people to voice their concerns in a constuctive manner so that when decisions are made, all the information is on the table.
Some people just dont get it. Health Care Reform will destory most americans health care benifits. Why would you put your trust in someone who said, we need to pass the stimulus package to create and save jobs. Last, I heard umemployment is still rising. That should have been your first clue! Someone should have asked President Obama, if he will dump his private insurance and hop on the band wagon with his own health care reform. Oh yeah...I forgot he, and congress is exempt on his own plan. Nice try, Mr. President.
With Americans paying more per person and for less coverage than any one else on Earth, with 46 million still uninsured, and with medical bills causing 60% of all bankruptcies, please explain how this can possibly be the world's best health care system.
Victoria, I grew up in Canada. Stop making stuff up just to suit your Republican agenda.
And btw... the US has waiting lines too. I live in New Orleans now and I'll tell you that, in Canada, I was never worried that I was going to die from the incompetance of the doctors and nurses like I am here.
I am absolutely terrified of getting sick in this country because you people are so selfish that you just want your money, my health doesn't matter.
Edie's absolutely right. Every citizen deserves health care. I support the Obama administration on this100%!!!!
Also, Edie you're doing a great job on Nurse Jackie. You remind me of Anna, an old girlfriend that's an RN. I'll bet she's doing a lot of the same things as Nurse Jackie!
She's on a show about the medical field. She's clearly the most credible and luminous individual to comment on this issue. Thank god for Hollywood.
Just a side note for Judy, Stay away from Cobra plans, they are quite often twice to three times the cost of comparable individual Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans.
Wow a liberal actress what a suprise
I agree. Too bad the Republicans don't care and would rather play obstructionist than fix anything just because its a Democrat thats President.
Fantastic, she has zero credibilty on anything. Shes an idiot actress performing in little girls plays. Where is the world thinker Sean Penn? Only a high school drop out loser like he could really shed light on the subject.
Isn't she just an actress? I mean really? We are listening to her about health care? This letter is news according to CNN? Wow.
Oh Edie thanks so much for your insight into the Health care issue. I never knew you had a background in public policy or healthcare. Oh wait, you don't have a public policy or health care, you just play a pill popping nurse on a bad Cable TV series. Quit being another celeb mouthpiece for the biggest star in the world, POTUS B.O..
CNN Editors: Please let people who know what they are talking about do the commentary instead of some C-List celebrity who plays a health care professional on one of your sister networks comment. This seems like the shameless self-promotion that one would expect from FOX.
I guess because she plays a nurse on TV that makes her an expert!!
Our economy is going down fast! How can tax payers, (which by the way are becoming fewer and fewer), going to pay for this now?
Do the math! It cannot happen. This administration is going to run this country in to the ground!
Adopting what has been proposed is a big mistake. Maybe health care needs to be reformed but government control or government intervention in the free market place is not intelligent.
I spoke with my own primary care physician about this. He claims change is needed because the insurance companies are the only winner today (he drives a brand new Escalade and lives in an exclusive neighborhood, oh well.). He also says under the current proposal he will make more money. He further said there will not be enough primary care physicians to handle the influx of people. That sounds like a problem.
I am unable to understand how intelligent people knowing the horror stories of those countries now with socialized medicine could support the same mistake here.
This is just incredible!
Why do they always find the rich and famous among us who have enough money to deal with the extra taxation that will be required to fund such a huge burden to support these ideas.
My family certainly can't afford any additional taxes of any kind. My state and local income and property taxes are being eyed up for increases as we speak. I can’t even imagine what we will have to cut back on.
Quite simply, this is oppressive not progressive thinking.
Instead of being a struggling artist, why didn't you get a job that could support you? I shouldn't have to pay for your health care because you can't make any money in your chosen profession.
I lost my job, was offered COBRA, could not afford, I got a new job, but part time, could not find anything else, I am trying everyday. The part time job does not offer me benefits, still cannot afford the "Subsidized" COBRA, cannot afford my own plan, I have to pay rent, car note, student loans, gas. What does someone like me do?
I definitely empathize with those who struggle to control personal medical costs; however, I don't believe that the solution is putting healthcare under the control of the same people who run Post Offices. As long as the Democratic party is tied to trial lawyers and other groups that contribute to artificially inflated healthcare costs, we cannot expect to see any improvement in our health care during the Obama administration.
Why not ask the ones in Washington if they are going to give up their golden parachute health care for the health care they are trying to trap the American people in. I lay you a bet giving odds that our supposed to be representatives will not opt out of their current coverage.
Why is Edie Falco's opinion of merit on this particular subject? Any reason over the other 45 million uninsured?
Obama has been told by Iran to "not interfere". We may not like seeing how these Iranians are treated; however, it is not our call.
Health Care should be enforced the correct way – for those that are in need of it. By taking away medical coverage for those who have it, is not a CHOICE. By depriving Americans of their medication that they need is not a democracy! By this direction of Health Care being "shoved down everyone's throats", is BREAKING THE LAW and infringing on Americans' RIGHTS! We don't need the idiots in Washington to CONTROL OUR HEALTH AND TELL US WHEN TO TAKE MEDICATION – PERIOD!!!
Is not a matter of money is a matter of awaking to systems that are working better than ours around the world. We'll always have to put out more and if you're unsure just ask your parents how much they paid for a Coke in their earlier days. GUYS! we have to pass this reform NOW!!, there's people dying in our cities because we are not willing to give something to the community. That's a fact! Please let's support this....
Edie, You are beautiful and a wonderful actor, but a bit naive. In this country money dictates law and the money is against changing a broken system that makes billions in revenue. The key is to somehow make the health industry less profitable. For-profit corporations care more about profit than the welfare of people. That's why we have a problem.
There has been no "DEBATE" so stop using that word. Debate means that you should hear both sides. Republicans have been left out of the Debate, so where is the inclusion. There has been none. Lies, lies, with everything being done in Congress and Senate, they lie to us. Do some investigative reporting for a change. You have all been a cheering section for this lie, cheating, corrupt administration. More corrupt then I have ever seen. Worse than Boss Tweed. These are the people you want to run the best health care system in world.?
It figures that CNN will censor comments like mine and make a decision not to post that people under government care get sub standard and life threatening decision making. This is a disgrace. Kill the masses for the few who may OR MAY NOT chose to be with no health care. Some do chose to have no health care. Those who have an emergency, must be treated. That's the law.
If I had to wait to see a neurologist and brain surgeon and get the MRI and MRA that I had all in one week. I had an aneurysm, I knew nothing about, that would have burst within weeks. I didn't have those weeks to wait for each doctor. Because we have a free enterprise system, I had my surgery three days after seeing the neurosurgeon. Under any government run system, it is a FACT I would have died waiting.
This is a passion of my because of my experience with government run health care. I am originally from Slovakia, my husband from Bulgaria. My uncle lives in Canada and another in England. No one with government controlled health care is covered for everything and many die becaue they have to wait so long for care. A friend in Croatia waited two years for a knee replacement. Stop the maddness. Private enterprise and profit broght us the best health care system in the world. People come here for their care. Those who are here, get live saving care immediately. Not for long, however. If you get your way.
Edi doesn't know what she's talking about. Try living in Canada and being told you have to wait to have a lump removed from your breast. People in Canada are now worried, where will they go to get great care if America goes the way they did? Old people will be told to die. That's what Pres. Obama said last night. "Why keep them alive?" Give debit cards to the 20% not covered and leave the rest of us alone.
No one escapes to a socialist country. We have the best health care in the world because we have competition and profit. The government wil discourage those two things eventually and we too will have care just like in other government run health care. Government needs to stay out of our lives. Do you want the government to have access to your health records to decide who lives and who dies. That's the plan.
My husband is from Bulgaria. While visiting my mother in law with my small children years ago, my four year old daughter was coughing a lot. I took her to three doctors. Finally someone scheduled an X-ray, but it was for three weeks later. I was not going to wait three weeks for my daughter to have an X-ray. I booked a flight and went home the next day. I was at the airport by 3 and in the doctors office by five and had her X-ray. The doctor put my daughter in the hospital.. She was there with pneumonia for almost two weeks. If she had to wait three weeks for an Xray, she would have been dead. SHAME ON ALL OF US if we let government run our life and death care.
I applaud Eddie Falco for promoting universal healthcare . As an American who worked in the healthcare field I've seen first hand the damaging effects on the uninsured.
Edie Rocks!!! As do all the people fighting for Health Care for America. I was homeless and without medical coverage for years and now I'm on SSI for osteo arthritis and can't tell you what it means to be on medi-cal and be able get my medication. With Calif. in a financial crisis, there have been cuts to our monthly checks. I want to see our state back on track and helping to lead the country so money out of my check I can live with. I would be in a terrible bind if my medical was cut. We need to help everyone get comprehensive health care coverage. Please listen congress.
The health care "mess" as you choose to call the greatest health care system in the world, needs to be left alone. People come here, from the very countries that have government controlled health care. Government will not take care of us from cradle to grave. It will put us in the grave sooner. Alarming numbers f women in Canada die from breast cancer because women have to wait for exams, then again for treatment. By the time they get treated, it's too late. All cancer is not treated in any timely manner, because it can't when there are so few doctors. We will have even fewer doctors. Why should people go into health care if they can't earn a good profit. There is no mess yet, but there will be if government runs it.
Issue debit cards to the 20% of those not coverd, and leave everyone's health care alone. The government can't even run medicare without it going bankrupt. Social Security will go bankrupt and young people today, won't be able to get their own money back when they retire. The whole idea of freedom in America was built on self determination. The written word is PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE,. YOU PEOPLE WANT TO CHANGE IT TO, "PROVIDE" THE GENERAL WELFARE". It can't work here, never worked in any country tried. The doctors will be fewer and fewer and even those who come here from other countries to practice medicine, will stop coming, if they have to work for the oppresive government. That's right, government needs to get out of the way and let free enterprise do its job in the private sector, just like Doctors Without Borders does.
I believe those who oppose public healthcare are the 60% of Americans who have great employer sponsored healthcare and are so self-involved, they have no idea how the rest of the citizens live. I am self-employed. When my husband lost his job we thought we would just purchase a policy from the most competitive carrier as COBRA seemed too expensive. What we learned was that middle aged people who are healthy for their age have difficulty purchasing healthcare for a reasonable price. I was shocked when carriers rejected our applications or increased their quote when they responded. I am certain that those who have or have had serious illnesses are getting rejected by most carriers or can't afford the increased premiums of those who will cover them.
In talking with friends and relatives, I have learned that people don't know how fragile their healthcare coverage is. We must get the word out to those who take their employer sponsored plans for granted!
Why are you so quick accept ruining everyones health care, including your own, at the expense of 20% of Americans. If you want to rally, do so for the 20% uncovered. Give them a voucher or debit card to be used when they need it and leave everyone elses health care alone. Especially senior citizens. Obviously you don't have parents on Medicare. Your president wants to take away coverage they have now. Hip and knee replacement. Life saving chemo therapy, etc. He even said last night we are wasting medicare money on surgeries for the elderly and he would move to let them die. What's wrong with you. Because you may not depend on medicare now, doesn't mean you won't be there one day. Of course you have money. I don't. My insurance covers everything medicare covers. If medicare doesn't cover it, my insurance won't pay for it. So NOW I WILL NOT BE COVERED. Thank you very much Eddie (take my coverage) away to pay for yours,) Falco. We do not need Universal or National health care. We only need to cover the few who have no coverage. Leave everyone else alone. Doctors have already told me if government control comes in, they will not take medicare. Doctors will still have to earn enough to first pay for their mal practice insurance, out of pocket for them one hundred thousand dollars to start. They have to staff their office, maybe pay off loans pay for equipment, and they want to make a good home for their family, as you do. The government will control their income, by reducing cost of health care providers. Let's control how much an actress or actor can earn. This way movie ticket prices might come down and more people who can't afford entertainment to make them feel good, could go to a movie with their family. You people in the entertainment enjoy uncontrolled income, yet you want all kinds of benefits on the backs of people who really have to fight to keep that income so they could pay their employees a fair wage. COVER THOSE NOT COVERED AND LEAVE THE 80% OF US WHO CHOSE TO BE COVERED ALONE.
forgive any typo errors, I didn't re read to check this and you have no spell check.
Victoria Nickolova
Having lived in both Canada and France, where universal healthcare has been the norm for many years, I'm amazed that we're even having a debate on this. The American people are usually very generous, yet in not passing a universal health care plan, we are denying an enormous number of people a basic human right. For those who fear "socialized medicine" because of an occasional delay in service (which I personally never experienced in either Canada or France), they should ask themselves how many Canadians or French have lost their homes or jobs due to exorbitant healthcare costs. My only problem with President Obama's plans are that they don't go far enough, but at least it's a step in the right direction.
I caught Edie's interview on CNN and she was right on! I went to this site and read her message and applaud her for her activism and the clear, concise, and direct way she expressed her position in both mediums. We need health care reform NOW especially to help our fellow Americans who are uninsured and suffering because THEY have NO health care!
Thank you so much for helping those of us who get up everyday hoping that something will be done for those of us who have no health insurance after working all our lives and now cannot afford to go to a Dr. because we have no health insurance. There is a big gap with people who are over 60 but not old enough to get medicaid but cannot afford healthcare and have worked all our lives to now be in pain and cannot do anything without the money to pay for it. Keep fighting for us.
Thanks, Edie, for your comments and your help on this issue. I am an RN, living in Italy, and I know very well what the differences are in the private vs. public health care plans. Although many seem to be content with their own coverage, we must as a community, as a nation, also provide for those who are uninsured. It is unconscionable that this country, at this time has this kind of system still in place. It flies in the face of human rights and the democratic ideology.