Unmasking Health, Faith, & Life for People with Chronic Illness
Updated September 29, 2009
Try to picture the American economy permanently stuck in the same place it is right now or in worse condition. That’s what could happen if extremists on either side of the health care debate have their way. [Read more...]
Welcome back. Don't forget to subscribe if you haven't done so already. Come back again.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.
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 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.
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.
Corrected 11/19/08
Most people in America understand that radical change is overdue in this country. The votes they cast in the last election signaled this basic understanding. Few people who cast those votes understand how much change is needed to save the U.S. economy and economies around the world.
Low wages don’t leave room in family budgets for health care expenses. Inflexible work schedules and long hours don’t leave time for workers to do what it takes to prevent disease. The resulting chronic illnesses make workers less productive and increase health care costs for employers.
Employers reduce expenses by slashing some jobs, moving others to foreign countries, and cutting work hours for remaining employees. That leaves employees without the means to pay for retraining programs that can prepare them to find better jobs. They stop making payments on second mortgages and credit cards that have helped them live beyond their means.
Unemployed and underemployed workers apply for public assistance as the tax base that pays for the assistance shrinks. People who once supported non-profit agencies that help the needy now seek help from those agencies. The agencies must turn people away.
Next add to the mix students who have borrowed heavily to prepare for jobs that aren’t there and now can’t repay their loans. This leaves lenders reluctant to lend money to anyone. Businesses that depend upon credit lay off more workers or close their doors. Tax revenues decrease even more, which leads government officials to slash budgets and lay off still more workers.
The list of people who have been reduced to buying just necessities, when they can afford them, is growing daily. When we stop buying, people in other countries who grow or manufacture many of the goods we used to buy make less money. They, in turn, purchase fewer products from us.
The country has not faced this many challenges since the American Revolution, says Nouriel Roubini, Associate Professor of Economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business and former adviser to the U.S. Treasury Department.
In a consumer-driven society, there can be no stability on Wall Street without stability on Main Street. In spite of this fact, most of the aid in this economic crisis has been directed toward the financial services industry. The new man in town promised to change all that, and the people voted to let him try.
Reports are circulating that President-elect Obama’s advisers are weighing the political consequences of pushing incremental versus rapid changes. In a democratic society, the people must be willing to come along for the ride, but they will only continue the journey if they see results.
Effective solutions will involve careful planning that addresses short-term, intermediate, and long-term needs. Here are my suggestions for the next phase of the new American Revolution:
Meet again with lenders to develop and enforce a mandatory plan for restructuring mortgages. The new loans should be closer to 30 percent of an applicant’s available income. That was the accepted standard before the housing crisis began. The plan announced earlier this week will allow buyers to pay up to 38 percent of income. It also reduces the lending rate for only five years before it begins to slowly climb again. Both Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and Bruce Marks, head of the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA), have said the new plan is not good enough.
Rewrite new mortgages to include penalties for anyone who abandons a home. Some mortgages include “no recourse” provisions. Many lenders are waiting for a government bailout, and more people are shirking their responsibilities every day. The government can’t continue to reward bad behavior. City and state officials also need to know how much tax revenue they will have to meet their obligations.
Recognize that we have a housing crisis, not a mortgage crisis. Allan Meltzer, economist and professor of Political Economy at Carnegie Mellon University, says housing prices won’t stop falling and credit won’t ease until the excess supply of homes decreases and the balance sheets at financial institutions stop shrinking. Meltzer proposes a tax credit through the end of next year for those who purchase homes that have already been foreclosed. This move will kick start the slumping construction industry as well.
Merge General Motors with one of the other “big three” automakers, then allow the remaining companies to reorganize under bankruptcy protection. This idea came from both Bill Ackman, CEO of hedge fund management company Pershing Square Capital Management, and Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize winning economist and professor. U.S. automakers aren’t prepared to meet the challenges of today or those of tomorrow. Bankruptcy will force them to develop long-range strategies.
Recognize that we have a service-based economy. Our economy is imploding because we have forgotten a basic principle of good business–find a need and fill it. Low-, medium-, and high-skilled workers are needed in all areas. Craftsmen, accountants, educators, writers and editors, engineers, and people with other transferable skills are essential.
Move displaced workers into similar jobs rebuilding the infrastructure and building a “green economy.” Infrastructure projects can build and repair roads and bridges and expand public transportation. Overlap them with public and private “green” construction projects that rebuild communities affected by disasters. Retrofit buildings that don’t meet energy efficiency standards. By doubling our current rate of recycling, including waste from these construction projects, we could replace almost every job that has been lost this year. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author, and columnist Thomas L. Friedman says “green” projects can employ workers with diverse skills.
Subsidize or give tax credits to organizations that hire displaced workers. Those who move into related positions may even be able to start immediately and train on the job. Workers who have good jobs are less dependent upon government assistance and can afford to stay healthy.
Without changing the policies that created this mess, we will not see the end of the downward spiral or avoid creating another one. My next post will address strategies for making intermediate and long-term changes that address both domestic and foreign policy issues.
The second sentence in the eighth paragraph has been corrected to end with financial services industry instead of businesses. The word occupants has been changed to anyone in the first sentence of the twelfth paragraph.
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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.
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:
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.
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.
Friends, relatives, neighbors, and people in your local congregation of faith can be a great source of help with caregiving. As I stated in an earlier post, my friends and the few family members in the area are unable to help much. A member of my church recently volunteered to fill in the gap. What a difference her help made!
I’ve never enjoyed entertaining at home. When visitors come, I feel like an animal in the zoo facing observation for a scientific study. The inhabitants of this apartment go into extreme cleaning mode as the observation date approaches. [Read more...]
