Why I support a different health care system:

For starters, I’m a Realtor, an independent contractor, so I don’t have an employer to help pay for my health care. Sure, the National and California Association of Realtors have group insurance options and they are about as reasonable and confidence-inspiring as those programs that come unsolicited through your fax machine. My husband and I pay over $1,000 per month for a Health Savings Account high-deductible Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan. About 6 months ago, the monthly premium jumped up from about $800 to this over $1000. Our insurance agent’s response? “Yes, mine did too.” That was helpful.

Just so you know, my husband and I are amazingly healthy even though we are over 60. I take one generic brand of blood pressure medication and have for over 20 years with no other issues at all. We have regular checkups which we always pass with flying colors. We exercise, don’t eat or drink to excess, take lots of vitamins—we are just about boringly health conscious. We get immunizations, we get tests, we occasionally get a cold or flu. Pretty minor health risks, I would say.

So why do we pay over $13,000 per year for a $5,000 deductible health insurance policy? So why would we have any interest in opposing a public option health care system? Why can’t we have universal coverage health care? I’ll bet that if we did we would have better coverage for less money. What do you think?

Which one? I think I would be happy with either one of these choices:

1. The one that members of Congress have:
As soon as members of Congress are sworn in, they may participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). The program offers an assortment of health plans from which to choose, including fee-for-service, point-of-service, and health maintenance organizations (HMOs). In addition, Congress members can also insure their spouses and their dependents.
Not only does Congress get to choose from a wide range of plans, but there’s no waiting period. Unlike many Americans who must struggle against precondition clauses or are even denied coverage because of those preconditions, Senators and Representatives are covered no matter what - effective immediately.
And here’s the best part. The government pays up to 75 percent of the premium. That government, of course, is funded by taxpayers, the same taxpayers who often cannot afford health care themselves.Read more: http://public-healthcare-issues.suite101.com/article.cfm/health_care_for_the_us_congress#ixzz0QeavWnQP


2. The French system:
The French can choose their doctors and see any specialist they want. Doctors in France, many of whom are self- employed, are free to prescribe any care they deem medically necessary. "The French approach suggests it is possible to solve the problem of financing universal coverage...[without] reorganizing the entire system," says Victor G. Rodwin, professor of health policy and management at New York University.
France also demonstrates that you can deliver stellar results with this mix of public and private financing. In a recent World Health Organization health-care ranking, France came in first, while the U.S. scored 37th, slightly better than Cuba and one notch above Slovenia. France's infant death rate is 3.9 per 1,000 live births, compared with 7 in the U.S., and average life expectancy is 79.4 years, two years more than in the U.S. The country has far more hospital beds and doctors per capita than America, and far lower rates of death from diabetes and heart disease. The difference in deaths from respiratory disease, an often preventable form of mortality, is particularly striking: 31.2 per 100,000 people in France, vs. 61.5 per 100,000 in the U.S.

To grasp how the French system works, think about Medicare for the elderly in the U.S., then expand that to encompass the entire population. French medicine is based on a widely held value that the healthy should pay for care of the sick. Everyone has access to the same basic coverage through national insurance funds, to which every employer and employee contributes. The government picks up the tab for the unemployed who cannot gain coverage through a family member.SAFETY NETBut the French system is much more generous to its entire population than the U.S. is to its seniors. Unlike with Medicare, there are no deductibles, just modest co- payments that are dismissed for the chronically ill. Additionally, almost all French buy supplemental insurance, similar to Medigap, which reduces their out-of-pocket costs and covers extra expenses such as private hospital rooms, eyeglasses, and dental care.
In France, the sicker you get, the less you pay. Chronic diseases, such as diabetes, and critical surgeries, such as a coronary bypass, are reimbursed at 100%. Cancer patients are treated free of charge. Patients suffering from colon cancer, for instance, can receive Genentech Inc.'s (DNA ) Avastin without charge. In the U.S., a patient may pay $48,000 a year.
France particularly excels in prenatal and early childhood care. Since 1945 the country has built a widespread network of thousands of health-care facilities, called Protection Maternelle et Infantile (PMI), to ensure that every mother and child in the country receives basic preventive care. Children are evaluated by a team of private-practice pediatricians, nurses, midwives, psychologists, and social workers. When parents fail to bring their children in for regular checkups, social workers are dispatched to the family home. Mothers even receive a financial incentive for attending their pre- and post-natal visits.
From: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_28/b4042070.htm

The President gives his speech on health care to Congress today. I am expecting that he will bow to the influence of the insurance money fighting universal health care. We need to stand up and speak our minds. Who among us really has health coverage we are pleased with?

My Plan for How to Hike Half Dome Successfully. This plan incorporates the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains, so it is for you if you live in the Northeast Los Angeles/San Gabriel area, no matter what kind of shape you’re in.

I am not athletic. Until the last few years, I’ve only exercised because I had to. Here’s the truth: I always felt like if I could just get in shape, I’d be good and I could go back to my slacker ways but still look ok. Let’s face it, many of us feel that way. It’s why we “diet.” We think, if I could just get down to my ideal weight, I can go back to eating whatever I want and still be ok.

So now I’m 60. It was just in the past couple of years that I truly realized that life just doesn’t work like that. If you want to look good and feel good most of the time, you have to eat right and exercise most of the time. And you might as well get used to it and make it a habit, or else you are going to get fat and feel creaky and develop preventable health problems and that’s all there is to it. Believe me, I’ve tried all the other ways, and the only way to feel healthy, slim and good is to eat and exercise healthy and good every day. Sorry folks, there is no magic pill. Some people appear to be naturally slender and fit. It’s a lie. They work at it. It’s really rare that someone doesn’t exercise or eat right and AT THE AGE OF 60 still looks, feels, and is healthy and fit. Yes, at 20, even 30, they can fool you. Not at 60. This is where the truth comes out, folks.

So here’s my plan for hiking Half Dome, no matter what shape you are in right now. It’s simple, but it’s not easy.
1. Hike from the top of Lake Avenue, Altadena, from the Cobb Estate up to Echo Mountain. It’s 2.75 miles to the top. Hike it until it’s easy and you can do it in under 2 hours.
2. Hike from the Cobb Estate up past Echo Mountain to Inspiration Point. This is about 4.75 miles one-way. When you can hike this and it feels easy and you can do it in under 4 hours, you’re ready for the next step.
3. Hike from the Eaton Canyon Nature Center up to Mt. Wilson and back. This is about 11 miles one-way, which is further than the round trip hike to Half Dome, but at much lower elevation. If you can do this in one day and live to tell the tale, you can hike Half Dome and feel fine. And you will be one step closer to living forever. Go for it!

**Thanks to the Station Fire, there's no telling when the trails I've talked about will be open again. But they will eventually. In the fullness of time.

Tips: This is my personal list. You might be someone who needs a big breakfast of bacon and eggs before you go on a long hike. I have always found that I do better with a banana.
1. Drink lots of water. I love my Camelbak pack. I just bought one designed for women and it is the first pack I’ve ever had that was comfortable. It’s a miracle.
2. Eat a banana before you start.
3. Take granola bars, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, trail mix with chocolate in it.
4. Remember, we are minutes from the city, but there are snakes, coyotes, mountain lions, and steep hillsides to trip you up. Pay attention to what’s around you.
5. Take a cell phone, but sometimes it doesn’t work.
6. You don’t need heavy hiking boots. The lighter, the better for a day hike, really. REI has a good selection and mine were under $75.00.
7. Trekking poles are great, especially if you have balance or leg or ankle strength issues. I don’t know if I would have made it back off Half Dome if I hadn’t had them.
8. The best cure for tired sore muscles is a Chinese foot massage right after your hike. There’s a place in Eagle Rock that does them for $19.95 for a half hour, or you can trek down to San Gabriel and pay even less. I love LA!