Democrats of the High Desert: News

Welcome to the

Democrats of the High Desert!

We are a Democratic club serving
the High Desert of the Indian Wells Valley, consisting of
Ridgecrest, Inyokern and surrounding areas.
The club was formerly known as
The Walter Stiern Democratic Club.

The Reformed Maverick

Only the Daily Show has the guts to tell the truth about him.

Get yer FREE Obama bumper stickers here

Please call Ralph Lachenmaier at 760-793-6524
or Jim Vijay at 371-9675
to get one for yourself
and one for a friend
and one for ...

Rachel Carver of the California Nurses Assn. to speak at July Brunch

We are honored to have Rachel Carver, of the California Nurses Association,
as our speaker at the July brunch. She will speak on the very important
issue of Universal Healthcare.

If you who are interested in changing the direction of the country and willing to work for a new administration, join us and help make that possible. We have lively discussions and share our hopes for our state and country.

The website for the California Nurses Association is http://www.calnurses.org/.
There you can sign on to help bring about affordable Healthcare for all.

They also maintain the website http://www.singlepayer.com, a critical resource in the fight for single-payer healthcare.

New Officers Installed

City Councilman Ron Carter (at right) installed the officers of the Club. The ceremony was held at Charlies (brunch) on January 26, 2008. From right to left are:

Councilman Ron Carter,
Ralph Lachenmaier (President),
Doris Bruce (Secretary),
Joy Parker (outgoing President), and
Jim Vijay (Vice President).

Not present were Mary Lewis (Treasurer) and Gordon Wilcher (Member at large).

All of us would like to express our deepest gratitude to all previous office holders, and especially to Joy Parker for doing such a fantastic job as President of the Club for over three years. Thanks Joy!!

Christmas/ Hanukkah/ Kwanzaa/ Winter Solstice / End of Year PARTY

On Monday 17 December 2007 at 5 PM

at Heritage Club, 425 North Heritage Drive, Ridgecrest, CA.
(Google Map link ).

This is a pot luck dinner.
Please call Joy Parker (375-3706) to coordinate what food/drink to bring.

But, in any case, bring yourself and lots of good cheer!

Joy Parker honored with Dorothy Donahoe Award

Our President, Joy Parker, received a "Good Donkey Award" at the annual Dorothy Donahoe Award ceremony held on 19 October 2007 at The Doubletree Hotel in Bakersfield.

Way to go, Joy!!

The picture above shows the other awardees (wearing corsages or boutonnières). Congressman Jim Costa, in the center, delivered the keynote addres. And Supervisor Michael Rubio (behind Joy) was the Master of Ceremonies.

Five of us from Ridgecrest accompanied Joy to the dinner. From left to right, Ralph Lachenmaier, Joy Parker, Mary Lewis, Mary Stites, and Jim Vijay. Cathy Stites, Mary's daughter, took the pictures.

Needless to say, we had a great time, and we are very proud of Joy.

To see other pictures Cathy Stites took, visit her gallery.

For more information and pictures, visit the webpage of the Kern Democrats
(http://www.kerndemocrats.com/), or call 661-322-7411.

We are Adopters (of a roadway)

Our club has adopted the section of Bowman Rd. between Norma and Downs in Ridgecrest.
The Ridgecrest City Parks & Recreation Dept has revived a citywide program to involve
businesses and non-profit organizations in the beautification of the city. We are one of
ten organizations that have stepped up.

Our first cleanup was on the 27th of July, 2007. Eight eager beaver members showed up

bright and early on Saturday to beat the heat. We collected about 7 large bags

of trash, and then posed victoriously over them.

The picture shows (L-R) Jim Vijay, Barbara Vijay, Ralph Lachenmaier, Linda Robinett,
Joy Parker (seated), Linda Bozack, Pat Andrews, & Mary Lewis.

Tom Bozack and Barbara Vijay took many more pictures. They can be seen at our
photo album at http://www.flickr.com/groups/democratsofthehighdesert/

Brunch with Candi Easter, Imelda Ceja-Butkiewicz, & Nick Altian

Our three guests at the Saturday Brunch (30 June 2007) gave us more, even, than we could have wished. They were

Candi Easter, Chair of the Central Committee in Bakersfield (at left in the pic above);
Imelda Ceja-Butkiewicz, dynamic President of the Democratic Women of Kern (men can attend, too); and
Nick Altian, President of Tehachapi Democrats.

All talked at length about how they did things, how we could do things, and all kinds of valuable information. We should have taped it! They were generous with information and equally generous in answering questions from attending members. It would be difficult to say whether they, or we, enjoyed the visit more.

An Eye Opening Account of Our Healthcare Mess

As the extended title says, this book is "The Untold Story Of America's Health Care Crisis -- And The People Who Pay The Price".

There are several good reviews of the book online.

In “Sick,” Jonathan Cohn, a senior editor at The New Republic, lucidly shows how America’s system for financing medical care helps determine who gets proper medical attention — and who doesn’t. He tells this story through the experiences of ordinary people...

-- NY Times review (8 April 2007)

At the end of the MSNBC/Newsweek interview, Cohn discusses possible solutions:

If you study other health-care systems in Europe and Japan, they all have managed to give insurance to everybody and at the same time spend less money than we do—so, right off the bat, they're accomplishing something that we're not. And while the health statistics vary, overall the medical care seems as good if not better. People cherry-pick certain cancers that the U.S. is better at treating, but I could pick out three or four other diseases, other cancers, or transplants, where other countries are better, including France. The high-end care in Paris is just as good as the best hospitals and doctors in New York City. And you always hear about waiting lines with universal health care—Britain has them, Canada has them. But other countries with universal health care don't seem to have systematic waiting-line problems. And France is one of those.

The book is available through our Public Library.

OneCareNow Ridgecrest Chapter's Health Fair Booth

OneCareNow, Ridgecrest Chapter helped spread the word about SB 840's universal, single-payer health care on April 21, 2007 at the Ridgecrest Health Fair. Lots of folks stopped by the booth, signed the petition, and learned about this California Senate bill which will provide comprehensive health care for all California residents. Although this isn't one of the activities sponsored by Democrats of the High Desert, many members of the democratic club are involved in the OneCareNow effort.

SB 840 will establish a statewide insurance system covering primary care, dental, vision, mental health, prescriptions, medical equipment, hospital, hospice care, emergencies, and more. It will be funded from several sources, including federal and state funds already going to health care, premiums paid by employees in proportion to their income, and employer premiums in proportion to their payrolls. All claims will be paid from one statewide nonprofit trust fund. Everyone will have free choice of health provider, and no one will be turned away due to pre-existing conditions. And, it will save money by drastically reducing administrative costs. (And, it will practically eliminate the paperwork-induced stress we all experience with every doctor's visit.)

Take a moment to learn more about SB 840 by going to OneCareNow.org, where you can sign the online petition and find information about how to contact your state representatives and governor. You can also contact OneCareNow, Ridgecrest Chapter co-chair Linda Bozack at mailto:LBozack@gmail.com.

Initiation of Club Officers

Initiation of 2007 Club Officers

Ridgecrest City Councilman Dan Clark performed the initiation ceremony for the officers of the Democrats of the High Desert for 2007. The ceremony took place at our monthly brunch at Charlie's at The Carriage Inn in Ridgecrest on the 24th of February, 2007.

From left to right are, Councilman Dan Clark, Sam Ghaleb (Treasurer), Joy Parker (President), JoAnn Dickey (Vice President), Mary Lewis (Secretary), and Jim Vijay (Member at Large).

Welcome to our new website!

A Comparison of

Schwarzenegger’s Healthcare Plan

with Single-Payer

Saturday, February 3rd, 2007 by Peter Conn, HCA-Santa Barbara

This chart compares Governor Schwarzenegger’s healthcare plan with
a comprehensive single-payer healthcare plan.
It was adapted from a Health Access chart by Peter Conn, HCA-Santa Barbara:

The Governor’s Healthcare Plan Comprehensive Single-payer Healthcare Plan
1. Purchase of health insurance from private firms is REQUIRED if not eligible for a public program. 1. Health insurance for all guaranteed through a single public agency, prepaid, like Medicare. Premiums collected via tax system.
2. Health insurance is NOT universal because not everyone will comply. (Auto insurance is mandated but 25% of drivers in California are uninsured). 2. Health insurance IS universal. All who live in California AUTOMATICALLY eligible in a single state insurance plan.
3. Minimum coverage excludes important services–no dental, eye care, mental healthcare, home healthcare, etc. 3. Coverage is comprehensive for everyone, and includes, dental, vision, prescription drugs, mental health, home health, dialysis, therapy, substance abuse, elderly daycare, hospice care, preventive care, etc.
4. Insurance companies decide how much to charge. 4. Independent panel works out equitable and affordable funding structure.
5.Insurance plans for non-public programs may charge high deductibles and co-pays, with no limits on premiums. 5. No deductibles or co-pays for first two years, with premiums linked to income.
If needed after year two, they will not be required for preventive care and provide for waivers for low income families.
6. Doctors and Hospitals pay a percentage of their revenue to subsidize the uninsured. 6. System financed by premiums based on income and payroll. Doctors and hospitals reimbursed fairly and adequately for services. Physicians administrative costs reduced by 30%.
7. Insurance companies may not exclude people with pre-existing conditions, but will be allowed to determine their own rates based on gender, age, and region. 7. Premiums vary according to income and payroll amounts, not by risk factors of individuals or geographic location.
8. Businesses with more than 10 employees must pay only 4% of payroll for health insurance, as opposed to more than 8% for those who currently provide coverage. Businesses with less than 10 employees (80% of businesses in California), and regardless of amount of payroll, don’t have to pay anything—coverage is up to individuals. 8. Businesses including those with 10 or fewer employees will likely pay a payroll tax based on wages paid to all employees, whether full time or part time. Every business will pay a fair, affordable share.
9. People with incomes up to 250% of the poverty level ($50,000 for a family of four) get subsidies but will be spending up to 6% of their income on mandated insurance. 9. Total cost to all families would be around 4% of income. Currently insured or not, families with incomes below $150,000, will pay less than now. Costs to employers who now insure their workers will DECREASE by 16%. Costs to the state to insure public employees will DECREASE by $900 million the first year.
10. The Federal government must increase subsidies by $5.4 billion for medical care under the Medicaid and SCHIP program. No guarantee this will happen. 10. The current funding streams for all public programs, State and Federal, remain the same.
11. Money currently paid to hospitals to care for the indigent will go to insurance companies to cover the indigent. At least 15% will be lost to overhead. No decrease in hospital administrative costs. 11. Hospitals are guaranteed payment for all needed care for all patients, based on a global budget of costs. Hospitals save 22% on their administrative costs.
12. Insurance companies’ overhead is capped at 15% of premiums, but the premiums they may charge are unlimited. 12. Overhead is capped at 10% for first year, decreasing to no more than 5% by the 10th year. Increase in premiums linked to growth in GDP.
13. Insurance companies can dictate which doctors and hospitals patients may use. 13. Patients may choose any doctor, hospital, or healthcare provider they wish.
14. No controls on the cost of care. 14. Costs controlled by limiting increase in overall costs to demographic changes, emergency needs (earthquake, epidemic, e.g.), and GDP growth. Negotiating rates for drugs & durable medical equipment saves billions of dollars. Capital improvements are limited to need, so we don’t pay for excess capacity.
15. No controls on the cost of insurance premiums. 15. Insurance premiums based on income, and limited by global budget.
16. No requirement for electronic record keeping. 16. Encouragement of secure electronic health records available to all licensed providers.
17. No allocation for seismic retrofitting of hospitals. 17. No allocation for seismic retrofitting of hospitals.
18. Incentives for quality care only for Medi-Cal and public plans 18. Incentives for all providers to offer quality care.
19. No provision for fraud prevention. 19. An Inspector General to prevent fraud.
20. Increases reimbursement rates for services to Medi-Cal patients, but then taxes hospitals and doctors to pay for it. 20. Doctors, hospitals and other healthcare providers are fairly compensated for all of their services to all people and are not required to pay a kickback into the system.
21. No boards created to evaluate system. 21. Boards of health professionals and the public to evaluate needs by region, adjust benefit package, develop best practices, etc.
22. Overall health care spending increased by unknown amount, as most of the additional costs will be borne by individuals. 22. Overall health care spending decreased by $8 billion in year one. Projected cumulative savings after 10 years:
$343 billion.

This chart was adapted from a Health Access chart by Peter Conn, HCA-Santa Barbara.

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