Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays from the Stand Up For Healthcare Family

This year we've made it even easier to send your friends your wishes for a happy and healthy holiday and new year. Let your loved ones know that high quality health care is the gift they deserve this season.

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Give the gift of healthcare this holiday season


12.23.2008

'Tis the season to be jolly! That may be how the song usually goes, but this year American families are singing a different tune. As the economic recession deepens, companies around the country are closing their doors or cutting back by laying off employees and millions of Americans are losing their jobs, salaries, and health insurance.

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12.22.2008

Obama wants your input on health care reform



What's on your mind this holiday season? Like millions of Americans, you and your loved ones may have been thinking about our nation's ailing health care system this year. Perhaps a family member is having difficulty paying skyrocketing health insurance premiums. Astronomical medical bills may have led to foreclosure on a neighbor's home. It's more than likely that someone spending the holidays with you is among the nearly 46 million Americans without health insurance. Now is the time to voice your concerns about the direction of our nation's health care system.

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12.19.2008

Insurance cos. profit from medicare



Insurance companies would never pocket extra money on the backs of Medicare beneficiaries. Or would they?According to a report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) last week, insurers that sell private plans to Medicare beneficiaries made a whopping $601.79 in profits per enrollee in 2006, a profit margin 65 percent higher than anticipated. Actual spending on non-medical expenses, such as administrative costs, was also substantially higher than projections, while spending on the delivery of care fell short of expected levels.

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12.18.2008

Neglected Infectious Diseases: Can we wait any longer?



African trypanosomiasis, Buruli Ulcer, Chagas disease, cholera, dengue, leishmaniasis, malaria, and tuberculosis. (Try saying that in one breath). We're all familiar with the devastating impact that poor health and poverty can have on a population. The eight diseases listed above are each debilitating and painful infectious diseases that affect millions of people in  impoverished and marginalized populations people around the world. Yet, as a new report  from Families USA shows, U.S. funding for research on those diseases is inadequate. As a result,With limited funds for research, many of these diseases are little understood, have no vaccines, and have treatments that are highly toxic, not very effective, or just nonexistent.  When lumped together, they are often referred to as "neglected infectious diseases."

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