Health Insurance

Robert Buniatyan vaguely accuses supporters of health-insurance reform of turning capitalism into a villain (“Health and capitalism,” Oct. 15). In fact, it is Buniatyan who vilifies regulation, making the wild assertion that “the only thing government has achieved in health care is distortion of price signals, inefficiency and shortages.” In fact, health-care programs treat millions of Americans every year. Medicare extends treatments, it doesn’t create shortages.

GLENDALE — There were roughly 23,000 uninsured children in the two Congressional districts that include Glendale and Burbank in 2007, according to a report released Wednesday. The report from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research found that 6.8% of children in Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Brad Sherman’s districts were without health insurance in 2007. And that “snapshot” in time, researchers warned, had likely worsened in tandem with the falling economy, since recent layoffs had undoubtedly cut more families off from employee health benefits.

Gretchen Hoffman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Glendale) and local officials will be walking door-to-door Saturday to hand out information about California's Healthy Families program and Schiff's upcoming Children's Health Insurance Fair. Schiff will be joined by Councilman Frank Quintero, school board President Chuck Sambar and board member Pam Ellis at 10 a.m. Saturday as he walks from the Glendale Unified School District headquarters to the neighborhood around Horace Mann Elementary School.

Karen S. Kim GLENDALE -- A bill by state Sen. Jack Scott (D-Glendale) that would require health insurance companies to include coverage for hearing aids for children was passed by the Senate on Thursday. Under the bill, costs of hearing aids up to $1,500 per child would be covered through health insurance policies. The cost of batteries and cords would not be included. Scott was motivated to introduce the legislation when a Burbank constituent told him her insurance provider would not cover hearing aids for her two deaf children, he said.

Glendale-based DineEquity Inc., the owner of IHOP Restaurants and Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar, threw its weight against proposals for health-care reform Wednesday, sending representatives to Washington to lobby against the White House-backed bills. DineEquity, the world’s largest full-service restaurant company, has argued that health-care-reform bills awaiting reconciliation votes in Congress could weigh down businesses with added expenses, stifling growth and prompting layoffs.

Karen S. Kim GLENDALE -- March of Dimes, actress and singer Vanessa Williams and Glendale Kmart are teaming up to educate the community Saturday about free and low-cost children's health insurance. For "Make a Difference Day," Williams, celebrity spokeswoman for March of Dimes, will sign autographs and distribute information with volunteers about state and federal health insurance programs for children. The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to prevent birth defects and infant mortality by funding research, community service, education and advocacy programs.

Karen S. Kim GLENDALE -- Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Glendale) announced Friday that he has introduced HR 3040, a bill that would provide health insurance for laid-off workers and their families at 50% of the cost. Under the federal COBRA program, laid-off workers can remain covered under their employer's health insurance plan for up to 18 months after termination if they pay the full premium for the plan. Schiff's legislation would provide a 50% tax credit toward COBRA coverage for laid-off workers for up to 18 months.

Ryan Carter Local children are missing out on basic health services because of an inability of local agencies to access federal funds in the midst of the state's budget crunch, officials said Friday. That was the message as a group of local lawmakers held a press conference at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena to call for the Bush administration to expand children's health insurance programs. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Glendale) and Assembly members Carol Liu (D-La Canada Flintridge)

Ryan Carter Legislation requiring businesses to pay health insurance for their employees has passed through a conference committee led by Assemblyman Dario Frommer (D-Glendale) and is headed back to both state houses for review. Frommer's six-member committee of legislators agreed late Tuesday on the bill. If it passes the Legislature by the end of its session Friday, it will go to the governor's desk. In a landmark bill, opposed by the California Chamber of Commerce, employers would either pay into a state health-care fund to cover their employees or they would pay for health insurance packages directly, according to a summary of the draft that cleared the committee.

Eighteen years ago, the community of Glendale recognized a need: There were children who had no insurance and parents who had no means to provide medical or dental care. So the “virtual clinic” of Glendale Healthy Kids was created, and annually has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars of services, and kept a yearly average of 35 kids out of costly emergency rooms. With no government funding, and providers who generously donate most services in their offices, we have provided help that allowed kids to return to school quickly and parents back to work.

The rate of smoking in the greater Glendale area has dropped to below 10%, according to a new study released this week. The Glendale Community Needs Assessment, required by law every three years, identifies health trends to help Glendale Adventist Medical Center, Glendale Memorial Hospital, Verdugo Hills Hospital and nearly two dozen healthcare and social service agencies better tailor their services to local needs. Many of the main service providers comprise the Glendale Healthier Communities Coalition, which heard the report on Tuesday.

Glendale's Pacific Community Center became a doctor's office Saturday as hundreds of people had their eyes, blood and balance checked at the inaugural Glendale Health Festival. People from around the region filled the gym as doctors, nurses, physical therapists and others offered their services for free. Dr. Vicken Sepilian, chair of the event, said he was pleased with the support of local hospitals and doctors, as well as the enthusiasm of the public. "We have a great turnout," he said.

Six months ago in Washington, there was a fierce battle over health-care reform and today is the day that several major insurance changes go into effect. As a mother of a young child with hydrocephalus, a lifelong, life-threatening medical condition, all I can say is "Hallelujah!" Here are some of the key changes that will directly affect our family: Coverage expansion for adult dependents until age 26: We hope and pray that Josh will go to college and get a good job, just as we expect for his sister, but we know that he could have major complications and surgeries in his future, which might mean he needs to stay home with us longer.

About a month ago, my sister got laid off from her job with one of the country's largest telecommunication corporations. After more than 20 years it was, "Thank you very much, but your services are no longer needed." Actually, there was no thank you. Her immediate supervisor may have expressed some regret, but that was it. To the larger megacorp, she was just a name on a list and a dollar amount on a spreadsheet. She now has two choices. She can look for another job, which will likely pay significantly less than she was making and may or may not have health insurance, or she can "retire" in her early 50s and wait more than 10 years to collect Social Security and tap into her 401(k)

In the March 26 letter “Bill takes away freedoms,” the Glendale letter writer regurgitates the same money-grubbing rhetoric of health-care-reform opponents who over the decades reduced our nation’s health-care standards nearly to the level of Third World countries. Turning truth on its head in an Orwellian fashion employed by North Korea, President Obama’s welcome relief for the less-rich becomes, according to the writer, a loss of freedom for the wealthy.

In response to Robert Buniatyan’s March 26 letter, “Bill takes away freedoms,” he writes, “nowhere in the Constitution is insurance mentioned as a right.” The Constitution doesn’t mention health insurance because it grants us greater rights and powers. Health insurance reform helps us fulfill these major constitutional goals: establish a more just America, promote our general welfare, insure tranquillity and secure our liberty. Buniatyan speculates the law will make insurance more expensive.

The passage of a national health-care-reform law this week will benefit residents and could provide momentum for progress on other legislative efforts, local members of Congress said, although Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas) continued to question the bill’s cost and public support. Democratic and Republican representatives agreed the new law, signed by President Obama on Tuesday, will provide valuable and immediate benefits, including the opportunity for parents to buy insurance for their children, regardless of whether they have preexisting conditions, or protection from insurance companies who might rescind coverage for people who get sick.

Glendale-based DineEquity Inc., the owner of IHOP Restaurants and Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar, threw its weight against proposals for health-care reform Wednesday, sending representatives to Washington to lobby against the White House-backed bills. DineEquity, the world’s largest full-service restaurant company, has argued that health-care-reform bills awaiting reconciliation votes in Congress could weigh down businesses with added expenses, stifling growth and prompting layoffs.