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Daschle Withdrawal Won’t Stop Health Reform

February 5, 2009 By Jacqueline Laurette Jones Leave a Comment

Tom Daschle’s withdrawal from the process to become Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) won’t stop the health care reform train. That train left the station long before President Obama tapped the former senator to become the conductor.

The feedback Daschle received as he met with concerned citizens across the country underscores the urgency of the situation. Everyone is tired of supporting a system that doesn’t work.

The system doesn’t work because the way we live doesn’t support good health. Stress-filled lives that limit time for healthy practices are causing an epidemic of chronic illnesses that is bankrupting the system and those who depend upon it.

Spiraling costs will undermine the effects of the stimulus if we don’t implement a practical plan for addressing these issues. The head of HHS and/or the White House Office of Health Care Reform must understand what practical steps we need to take.

Joseph E. Pizzorno, Jr., founding president of Bastyr University, is uniquely qualified to develop such a plan. Students at Bastyr receive training to address the whole person, not the just the disease.

During Pizzorno’s tenure as president of Bastyr, the university received funds for alternative medicine research from the National Institutes of Health. He was appointed to the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy by President Clinton and to the Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee by President Bush.

Pizzorno’s experience makes him uniquely qualified to work in an administration committed to major changes in public policy. If he is not willing or able to serve, he may know a colleague who is. Click here to read more about his accomplishments.

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Jacqueline Laurette Jones is author of Unmasking a Diagnosis: How to get Help for a Confusing Chronic Illness Without Filing for Bankruptcy.

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Filed Under Economics/Politics Tagged With , , , , , , , , ,

Bill Promotes Economic, Physical Health for All

January 29, 2009 By Jacqueline Laurette Jones Leave a Comment

I never knew public policy could be so much fun. The summary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009 that passed the House of Representatives is more exciting than any of my favorite movies.

This bill shows an amazing grasp of the complexities of the current economic crisis. It addresses immediate needs and makes a down payment on long term goals while reducing the stresses that can lead to chronic illness and higher health care costs in the future.

Implementation of this bill could substantially reduce entitlement spending in several areas and reduce the burden for all taxpayers by addressing the following issues:

  • The increases in food stamps and food services for the elderly will promote better nutrition to reduce health care costs
  • Vocational rehabilitation and public service opportunities will allow the disabled and the able seniors to reduce their reliance on public aid
  • Increases in unemployment insurance, Medicaid, and COBRA insurance for those who have lost their jobs will help them meet basic needs, maintain their health, reduce costs associated with advanced stages of disease that result from lack of treatment, and preserve some jobs in the retail and health care sectors
  • Funds for job retraining, work study, Pell grants, and research will prepare the country and its citizens for the jobs of the future
  • Infrastructure projects and loans will create new businesses and help existing ones retain current employees and hire displaced workers from the housing and auto industries and other sectors who have transferable skills
  • Green jobs will create a healthier environment and reduce the pollution that contributes to chronic disease while reducing the need for assistance with energy bills
  • When basic opportunities are available and basic needs are met, expenses for the criminal justice system are reduced.
  • Funds to train primary care workers will avert the consequences of a shortage when they will be needed to provide care that reduces the cost of chronic diseases
  • When basic opportunities are available for the strong and basic needs are provided for the weak, fewer people enter the criminal justice system and related expenses are reduced

The bill reduces waste by utilizing public and non-profit organizations that are experienced in meeting the challenges we face and have accountability procedures in place. It also preserves jobs in those sectors and provides protection for whistleblowers who wish to report fraudulent use of taxpayer dollars.

By providing economic opportunities for a broader cross-section of society, this bill can broaden the tax base, help reduce chronic illness, and reduce dependence on entitlement programs. That can lower the tax burden for all if coupled with a more judicious use of military force. The financial sector will only return to health when the people can afford their services.

The Republican response to the bill is an example of why they don’t need to be in charge of the country’s business anytime soon. Their ideas are based on the myth that everyone can pull themselves up from their bootstraps. They don’t understand the impact of unfair public policy on average citizens. Unless they gain an understanding of the issues that face common people, they will remain the party of a vanishing breed: people who are actually thriving under their policies.

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Jacqueline Laurette Jones is author of Unmasking a Diagnosis: How to get Help for a Confusing Chronic Illness Without Filing for Bankruptcy.

Filed Under Economics/Politics Tagged With , , , , , , , ,

Use Multiple Sources for Caregiving Help

January 21, 2009 By Jacqueline Laurette Jones Leave a Comment

Middle class families usually don’t qualify for much help with caregiving. Home health agencies teach you how to do your part more efficiently. That won’t help if there aren’t enough people in your family or hours in the day to perform necessary tasks.

The rules for additional help don’t usually make allowances for real life circumstances. If all members of a family of three have chronic illnesses, they may need more assistance.

What do you do if you need and don’t think you qualify for help? Where can you turn if placing your loved one in a nursing home isn’t a wise option?

The first place to turn is your Area Agency on Aging. The staff may know about resources in your area. You may not qualify for much, but a few hours of housekeeping and respite care are much better than none.

Next, spend some time searching your budget for ways to trim household spending. This may yield enough money to hire additional help for a few hours each week.

Though friends and family may be too busy to help with remaining tasks on a regular basis, most will have a few minutes or hours here and there. Keep a list of everyone who volunteers to help and what they are willing to do. Some may be able to help with specific tasks for short periods on a regular basis. Others will be willing to help during emergencies.

When people say they are willing to help, take them at their word. You’ll ruin your health if you try to do everything by yourself.

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Jacqueline Laurette Jones is author of Unmasking a Diagnosis: How to get Help for a Confusing Chronic Illness Without Filing for Bankruptcy.

Filed Under Caregiving Tagged With , , , , , , ,

Health Care Changes are Within Our Grasp

January 21, 2009 By Jacqueline Laurette Jones Leave a Comment

Tears filled my eyes as I watched the inauguration of Barack Obama. At last there is a friend of the chronically ill in the White House.

If you’ve attempted to get help for a chronic illness through our dysfunctional health care system, you know that help can be hard to find. When you find it, you may not be able to afford it.

Those who doubt the new president’s ability to lead us toward reform have forgotten these important factors:

  • He understands the issues
  • He has proven his ability to communicate his vision for change to people with conflicting views
  • His choice to lead health reform, Tom Daschle, is a seasoned politician who understands the complex nature of the challenges ahead and has hit the ground running
  • Insurers, medical professionals, and consumers alike are aware that the system will collapse without radical change

The legislators who won this past election are well aware that they no longer have the luxury of taking our votes for granted. There are more voters in this country than lobbyists in Washington.

We can can see many of the changes we need in our lifetime. If we continue to pressure our leaders to work toward creating a system that works, and support those who have workable ideas and clear vision, we can see those changes sooner rather than later.

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Jacqueline Laurette Jones is author of Unmasking a Diagnosis: How to get Help for a Confusing Chronic Illness Without Filing for Bankruptcy.

Filed Under Economics/Politics Tagged With , , , , , , , ,

Universal Care Requires Personal Responsibility

November 6, 2008 By Jacqueline Laurette Jones Leave a Comment

Compassionate people around the world are outraged that the richest country on earth doesn’t use its wealth to provide health services for its own citizens. I join them in celebrating Barack Obama’s victory on Tuesday because he understands that these conditions must change. But as we celebrate, let’s remember that his acceptance speech included a call to personal responsibility.

The United States is the only wealthy industrialized nation that doesn’t provide universal health care for its citizens. Some European countries have replaced government-run plans with programs that combine government and private coverage. Obama’s plan takes the latter approach one step farther. Its focus is preventive care, an essential component of any plan to reduce expenditures for the chronic illnesses that plague our nation.

Preventive care will require us to take responsibility for our own health. This is our duty to the nation and to our families. Neither the government nor private insurers can afford to pay for the results of undisciplined or self-destructive behavior. Our families also need us to help care for them and reduce their need for government assistance.

If we all vow to take charge of our health, we can help rebuild this nation with the strength we gain and the money we save.

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Jacqueline Laurette Jones is author of Unmasking a Diagnosis: How to get Help for a Confusing Chronic Illness Without Filing for Bankruptcy.

Filed Under Health Issues Unmasked™ Tagged With , , , , , , , , ,

Radical Change Can Save Medicare, Medicaid

October 9, 2008 By Jacqueline Laurette Jones 1 Comment

Updated 10/17/08

The next president of the United States must address the challenge of trimming Medicare and Medicaid costs. The vast baby boom generation has just begun to require services. Young and old citizens alike are succumbing to chronic diseases that can require years of expensive treatments. Many enter the system years ahead of schedule because of partial or total disability.

As a person living with and caring for someone with chronic illnesses, I want to share the following strategies that could greatly reduce the costs associated with these and related programs.

Redistribute a large portion of the funds now set aside for nursing home care into agencies that provide home care, day care, and respite services. The current regulations are absurd. Many caregivers provide full-time care for their loved ones because they can’t afford to send them to nursing homes or because most nursing homes have such bad reputations. The stress of attending to someone around the clock can lead to disability, premature death, or an illness that requires both the caregiver and patient to be admitted to a nursing home, in spite of the caregiver’s heroic efforts.

In addition to the in-home medical care and health education now provided, caregivers need help with bathing their patients two to three times a week and cleaning their homes once a week. Sitters and overnight respite care should be available as necessary. If based on individual family circumstances and guided by practical regulations, these services could help to reduce the number and length of nursing home admissions and create new jobs.

Require certification of non-medical home care agencies and training for their personnel. The pay is often so low that many of the workers don’t take their jobs seriously. Requiring certification and training would justify higher fees and wages and attract more responsible individuals into these positions.

Simplify paperwork for medical professionals. The amount of required documentation increases the cost of medical care and frustrates providers. The number of providers who will accept new Medicare patients in my city shrinks almost every month.

Reimburse non-traditional services provided by practitioners of functional medicine (FM). Unlike mainstream or allopathic medicine, functional or systems medicine addresses the causes of disease. FM practitioners focus on prevention as well as treatment of chronic diseases.

Give enough in food stamps to cover the cost of nutritious meals. Malnutrition leads to disease. Most people I know who are on food stamps run out of food long before the end of each month. A friend of mine, who is disabled, receives $10 a month. That won’t buy enough food to keep a cat healthy.

Ask recipients and providers how to improve these programs. Participants understand the weaknesses and strengths of the system.

For more on elder care issues, read my next three posts, “Elder Law Can Interfere with Good Care,” “Never Assume Anyone Thinks Like You,” and “Blog Offers Thanks for Spotlight on Elder Abuse.”

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Jacqueline L. Jones is author of Unmasking a Diagnosis: How to get Help for a Confusing Chronic Illness Without Filing for Bankruptcy. The book is available through Lulu.com and soon will be available through Amazon.com and other online book retailers.

Filed Under Caregiving Tagged With , , , , , ,

Find Support for Your Invisible Chronic Illness

September 4, 2008 By Jacqueline Laurette Jones 2 Comments

I am honored to announce that next week I will be giving an online seminar as part of National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week.

My seminar, “Secrets of Paying for Health Care,” will start at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time (7:30 p.m. Central Time and 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time) on Monday, Sept. 8.  It will last approximately 45 minutes and include new information not found on this blog or in the latest version of my book, Unmasking a Diagnosis: How to Find Help for a Confusing Illness Without Filing for Bankruptcy.

National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, Sept. 8-14, is a secular event sponsored by Rest Ministries, the largest Christian organization that serves the chronically ill. Activities for the week will take place on the event’s web site, http://www.invisibleillnessconference.com/. Registration information can be found on the site.

The focal point of the week will be 20 online seminars, from Monday through Friday, which will cover a variety of subjects. The seminars are open to anyone, including those who have loved-ones with chronic illness.

Seminars topics include:

  • Assess Yourself: Find the Job You Desire and Can Do Despite Illness Limitations
  • The Civil Rights of Patients with Invisible Chronic Illnesses
  • Overcoming Self-Defeating Behaviors
  • How to Get Paid to Blog
  • After the Diagnosis: The Journey Beyond

The theme this year is “Hope Can Grow From The Soil of Illness.”

According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which is dedicated to improving the health and health care of all Americans, nearly 1 in 2 people in the United States live with a chronic illness.

So why is it that most of us don’t even know when a friend or co-worker is dealing with diabetes, heart disease, lupus or chronic fatigue syndrome? Because, according to the U.S. Census, about 96% of these people have invisible illnesses.

Lisa Copen, 39, began National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week in 2002 as she continuously witnessed hundreds of people emotionally hurting just because they felt as though no one “got it.” Lisa has lived with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia for fifteen years and understands how validating it can be to just have one friend who you don’t have to explain everything to.

“Though there are hundreds of illnesses represented, and large differences in symptoms and pain levels, none of that matters more than feeling like someone understands you. When our best friends and family members are skeptical about our disease, it can be that last straw that sets us off into a spiraling depression.”

She says, “We plan to unite the millions of people who live with chronic pain and illness by offering an oasis of hope and understanding, as well as (provide) helpful information and practical tools to live the best life possible.”

In addition to the seminars, guests will be able to access daily guest bloggers, dozens of articles, ideas to get involved in the outreach, and goodies to help promote awareness, from silicone bracelets to brochures. If you’re tired of those looks when you park in a handicapped spot, be sure to pick up a license plate or bumper sticker.

Read posts by guest bloggers and receive daily updates at http://www.invisibleillnessblog.org

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Jacqueline L. Jones is author of Unmasking a Diagnosis: How to get Help for a Confusing Chronic Illness Without Filing for Bankruptcy. The book is available through Lulu.com and will be available early next year through Amazon.com and other online book retailers.

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Filed Under Chronic Illness Tagged With , , , , ,

Doctors Lack Sufficient Knowledge of Body

March 21, 2008 By Jacqueline Laurette Jones 1 Comment

Until yesterday, a friend of mine constantly chastised me for being disillusioned with the U.S. health care system. “We’re the best in the world,” he said. “You turn people off by being so negative. Doctors are only human.” One of my concerns now has come to roost on his own doorstep.

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Filed Under Health Issues Unmasked™ Tagged With , , , , , , , , , ,

Putting It All Together

February 1, 2008 By Jacqueline Laurette Jones Leave a Comment

Updated 7/27/08

My first book, Secrets of Getting a Diagnosis Unmasked (now titled Unmasking a Diagnosis), is my attempt to help others avoid many of the mistakes I made when seeking answers for my own chronic illness. I spent too much money and did too much unguided research followed by two decades of trial and error.The good news is I may have come to the end of my search. On Tuesday I shared the excitement of finding a new practitioner near my area who understands the complex nature of chronic illness. Then I realized I don’t need him.

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Filed Under Chronic Illness Tagged With , , , , , , , ,

Government Can Afford Natural Care for All

January 15, 2008 By Jacqueline Laurette Jones Leave a Comment

by Jacqueline L. Jones

The evidence is clear. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), people with chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease account for more than 75% of the nation’s $1.4 trillion in medical care costs each year. That figure could jump 42 percent by 2023, according to an Oct. 2007 report by the Milken Institute, a think tank in Santa Monica, Calif.

As the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), and practitioners in emerging and ancient disciplines report positive results in fighting these illnesses, the path to reducing health care costs seems clear. Equal access to disease prevention services and effective natural treatments could reduce costs for all.

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Filed Under Health Issues Unmasked™ Tagged With , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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