Health Care – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

Slap in the Face of New Yorkers

David Posnett — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 20:07:35 +0000

Long Island needs a leader right now, not a rubber stamp for the Trump administration’s irresponsible policies and erratic procedures. That’s not how a member of Congress should act.

Congressional District NY-01 in Suffolk County should have a representative who will demand fairness for his residents. Instead, we have Lee Zeldin, who is too busy covering for Donald Trump’s antics and failure to respond responsibly to this crisis.

Recently, Congress passed a 3rd stimulus package with support from both parties. But guess what? New York State got short-changed and Zeldin did nothing, despite two important facts:

Our state has suffered more than any other state from the pandemic with 35% of confirmed Coronavirus cases and 42% of all the deaths in the US. The Trump administration has ignored our plight and decided to allocate hospital aid based on old data, instead of basing it on the number of Coronavirus cases. This decision will bankrupt our hospitals and leave healthcare workers to do without. It is a slap in the face to our heroes on the frontlines.
New Yorkers have the highest costs of living nationally, particularly in the New York Metro region. Yet we face the same financial criteria for direct cash payments as people from other parts of the country with a much lower cost of living.

These two problems that New Yorkers are facing must be addressed in the next stimulus package. Lee Zeldin should be doing everything in his power to make sure that our state gets the relief it needs. But he won’t. Instead, he will just raise his hand and vote however the leadership in his party tells him to. That’s unacceptable. A good member of Congress should fight for his constituents.

From Perry Gershon

Measles Epidemic

David Posnett — Mon, 20 May 2019 15:00:14 +0000

CDC: vaccines for your children.

As of April 29, 2019,

CDC (Centers for Disease Control) officials say measles cases have broken a 25-year-old record, with at least 704 sickened by the highly contagious disease

More than 500 of the people infected with the measles virus were not vaccinated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Sixty-six people have been hospitalized, and one-third of the cases are children under 5.

This year’s outbreak represents a huge setback for public health after measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000.

Think about this: “more than 500 (of 704) were not vaccinated”.

Think about the risk this represents to your children and grand children. Unvaccinated individuals represent a potential public health hazard no different than people infected with scary bugs like Ebola, or Marburg virus, or HIV, etc. When I was a kid in the 1950s our parents were scared of polio and small pox. They were more than eager to get everyone in the family vaccinated. They stood in long lines to get a polio vaccine.

Now we have an organized anti-vaccine campaign #anti-vax. It latches on to scary reports such as the myth that vaccines cause autism, a multiply debunked theory based on a fraudulent British report.

My ire is reserved for those that try to gain political followers/clout by gaming the anti-vaccine movement. Donald Trump is at the head of this list. Just follow his tweets on the subject, or watch this

“Trump claims vaccines and autism are linked but his own experts vehemently disagree”

Ofcourse he has modified his position most recently for political expediency.

Now, he claims, he is all for vaccinating kids, but not in a “single massive dose”…? When was the last time DT went to see a pediatrician? It is many visits, all spaced out to maximize the effect for each vaccine: the protection, and the safety to the patient. Donald should keep his ignorant mouth closed. I don’t tell my car mechanic how to fix my car and Donald should not tell an army of federally funded experts how best to immunize the population.

As an immunologist (with 40+ years of professional experience) I can attest that vaccines have arguably saved more lives than any other medical intervention in the history of medicine! Just think about eradicated scary diseases like polio and small pox. And, yes, measles too was declared “eradicated” untill the likes of DT and his #antivax friends. Their irresponsible tweets and messages are in part the reason why measles has made a comeback. Let them go live on an quarantined island far away, together with small pox, and polio, and measles and every other nasty bug.

The science of vaccines is best left to the experts. The pathogens are always evolving and changing. Take influenza for example, for which we get a new vaccine every year. Vaccine recommendations for children and adults are also constantly modified and it is challengeing for health care providers to keep updated. Politicians and political advocates such as #antivax ‘ers, have no role in this process.

Short Hospital Stocks!

David Posnett — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 16:36:14 +0000

I have been waiting for this: Wall street is jittery about Hospital stocks. Here is why:

(1) Investors are approaching hospital stocks cautiously

As Les Masterson has said:

“Some unfavorable financial trends and an air of uncertainty for healthcare’s future has led to an environment not particularly friendly for major investment…as hospitals continue to struggle with fewer inpatient admissions, lower reimbursements and potential increases in uncompensated care, investors are growing wary”

“The current environment caused disappointing second quarters and lower earnings projections for major for-profit systems like HCA, Community Health Systems (CHS) and Tenet Healthcare…. The results led stock prices to tumble.”

(2) Hospital Sector Slides:

The Financial Times notes that US hospital operators‘ stock prices are sliding down following a report that President Donald Trump will sign an executive order this week to withdraw some insurance requirements laid out under Obamacare. Tenet Healthcare, Community Health Systems, Surgery Partners, HCA Healthcare, DaVita shares tumbled losing up to 10% in stock prices.

(3) some are suggesting “Checking in on the Canadian Healthcare Stocks“ Ha!

I wonder whether Donald Trump and the rest of his cronies have already sold their healthcare stocks? And how about Lee Zeldin’s “concern” (?) about the hospitals in Suffolk county. It is the biggest sector of the local economy.

Zeldin: AHCA Tax Credits but not for Vets

David Posnett — Thu, 25 May 2017 18:10:14 +0000

By Robert Wick, published as a letter to the Editor, East Hampton Star on May 25th, 2017

As a veteran myself, I’ve never particularly understood, why being a veteran makes one any more qualified to hold a public office than a non-veteran. Be that as it may, Congressman Zeldin proudly advertises his veteran credentials. So, I was very dismayed by his vote for the recent health bill passed by the House that threatens to strip tax credits from up to seven million veterans. The bill offers all of us tax credits that we can use to buy private insurance, but only if we are not eligible for other low-cost government health care options. So, here’s the catch for the estimated seven million veterans who qualify for VA health care benefits: If they elect not to take VA health care benefits, they would be ineligible for AHCA assistance.

Proponents of the AHCA conceded that the bill threatened veterans with the loss of health care coverage in this way, and so a provision had been inserted to exempt veterans. However, in the final bill, it was removed because its inclusion would have required Senate approval by 60 votes, something they apparently didn’t want to risk, instead of a simple majority. A bit of inside baseball – indeed; but the upshot for veterans is simple – the possible loss of tax credits for up to 7 million veterans, and yet Rep. Zeldin endorsed it. Who is Rep. Zeldin serving with this kind of vote? Certainly, not our veterans.