This past Saturday I attended a Live Action Camp in North Dakota about health care reform. It was a great experience and I learned a lot about health care reform. The speakers were very informative and the group had some good discussions regarding the issue. It is something that is on a lot of our minds and is definitely a concern to many of us. If the current system is going to be overhauled, it is important to be informed about the possible changes. And events, like a Live Action Camp, are perfect for updating your knowledge.
Specifically, we learned about the types of reform, like the public option and single payer plan, and even about the Medicaid Waiver and the important part it can and does play in health care. We also learned about Planned Parenthood’s priorities when it comes to health care reform since they have always been a strong voice for women’s rights. Prevention, affordable, high-quality health care for all, and choice of health care provider should be guarantees when it comes to our health care.
The second half of the camp was about getting your own voice out there, whether through personal letters to the editor or by contacting your legislators. Letters to the editor are often short, but precise in what you want to convey to the public, and a great way to voice your thoughts and opinions. Contacting your legislators is much easier and more effective than many people often think. If we all come together and utilize our individual voices, I think we can make a major impact on the outcome of health care reform.
So overall, I was very glad I make the trip up north. Everyone I met was very nice and friendly and had legitimate concerns about health care reform. I would also encourage anyone to attend a Live Action Camp, if given the chance, because of the great experience I had.
Showing posts with label health care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health care. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
My First Live Action Camp
This Saturday, I have the opportunity to attend my very first Live Action Camp in Fargo, North Dakota. I have been looking forward to this experience for weeks now, ever since I was invited to attend it. This should be a great addition to my internship experience and I look forward to attending and helping out the North Dakota division of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota.
This particular Live Action Camp is going to have a health care reform focus. There will be speakers to explain the background, the public-option proposal, and how Planned Parenthood’s priorities are affected or could be affected by health care reform. Then to top off the day, North Dakotans in attendance will be making calls to their congressman, documenting their own personal health care stories, and drafting potential letters to the editor.
I am looking forward to the speakers because even though I hear and receive a lot of information on health care reform, it still can be very confusing and overwhelming. I hope the knowledge and insight I gain will help me to make more sense of everything, and therefore I can be a better-informed intern.
The action portion in the afternoon should be fun also. Actually taking your own knowledge and opinions and publicizing them can be a very powerful thing. We all tend to want to be heard and calls to your Legislators and letters to the editor are great ways to get your voice out there. The more people who speak up, the louder the voice and I think that is exactly what needs to be done when it comes to health care reform.
Please stay tuned for an update next week about my trek up north and my experience from my first, and probably not last, Live Action Camp.
This particular Live Action Camp is going to have a health care reform focus. There will be speakers to explain the background, the public-option proposal, and how Planned Parenthood’s priorities are affected or could be affected by health care reform. Then to top off the day, North Dakotans in attendance will be making calls to their congressman, documenting their own personal health care stories, and drafting potential letters to the editor.
I am looking forward to the speakers because even though I hear and receive a lot of information on health care reform, it still can be very confusing and overwhelming. I hope the knowledge and insight I gain will help me to make more sense of everything, and therefore I can be a better-informed intern.
The action portion in the afternoon should be fun also. Actually taking your own knowledge and opinions and publicizing them can be a very powerful thing. We all tend to want to be heard and calls to your Legislators and letters to the editor are great ways to get your voice out there. The more people who speak up, the louder the voice and I think that is exactly what needs to be done when it comes to health care reform.
Please stay tuned for an update next week about my trek up north and my experience from my first, and probably not last, Live Action Camp.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
National Men's Health Week
June 15th through the 21st is National Men’s Health Week. Men's Health Week is celebrated each year as the week leading up to and including Father's Day. Sometimes on this blog it seems like men’s health can be put on the back burner compared to our discussion women’s reproductive health. But, obviously affordable reproductive health care for both women AND men is imperative to our overall health.
And now for some interesting tidbits on men’s reproductive health: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s study ‘Fertility, Contraception, and Fatherhood: Data on Men and Women From Cycle 6 (2002) of the National Survey of Family Growth’, adolescent men (15–19 years old) were more likely to report receiving a health service (72 percent) than adult men (51–53 percent). They were also more likely to report a testicular exam (57 percent) than older men (35–37 percent). Services like checkups for reproductive or sexual health problems, routine physical exams, testicular and prostate cancer screenings, to name a few, are very important to the overall health of men of all ages.
Additionally, the life-expectancy gap between men and women has decreased; still it is clear that there is much room for improvement. Men tend to smoke and drink more than women. They do not seek medical help as often as women. For more info, check out this cool test from the CDC to test your knowledge about men’s health here.
Many of the major health risks that men face can be prevented and treated with early diagnosis. Screening tests can catch diseases early, often when treatments are more successful. This is a good reason that shows the importance for all men to have regular checkups and screenings.
Men and women both deserve health services and to have affordable access to testing and education options readily available to them. Planned Parenthood offers a wide array of health services for men.
For more information and event ideas for National Men’s Health Week, click here.
And now for some interesting tidbits on men’s reproductive health: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s study ‘Fertility, Contraception, and Fatherhood: Data on Men and Women From Cycle 6 (2002) of the National Survey of Family Growth’, adolescent men (15–19 years old) were more likely to report receiving a health service (72 percent) than adult men (51–53 percent). They were also more likely to report a testicular exam (57 percent) than older men (35–37 percent). Services like checkups for reproductive or sexual health problems, routine physical exams, testicular and prostate cancer screenings, to name a few, are very important to the overall health of men of all ages.
Additionally, the life-expectancy gap between men and women has decreased; still it is clear that there is much room for improvement. Men tend to smoke and drink more than women. They do not seek medical help as often as women. For more info, check out this cool test from the CDC to test your knowledge about men’s health here.
Many of the major health risks that men face can be prevented and treated with early diagnosis. Screening tests can catch diseases early, often when treatments are more successful. This is a good reason that shows the importance for all men to have regular checkups and screenings.
Men and women both deserve health services and to have affordable access to testing and education options readily available to them. Planned Parenthood offers a wide array of health services for men.
For more information and event ideas for National Men’s Health Week, click here.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Women Struggling to Afford Care
From Tuesday's Argus Leader
By Shannon Stevens
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently released a new report placing a spotlight on the impact that the nation's health care crisis is having on women, particularly women of childbearing age.
The report, titled "Roadblocks to health care: Why the current health care system does not work for women," states that "women are more vulnerable to high health care costs ... (because) women's reproductive health requires more regular contact with health care providers, including yearly Pap tests, mammograms and obstetric care."
The report from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius underscores the real need to ensure that women have access to quality, affordable reproductive health care as part of any health reform effort. The findings of the report reaffirm what we see firsthand at Planned Parenthood health centers every day when women turn to us for affordable, accessible, high-quality preventive care.
Planned Parenthood health centers in our region are seeing an increase in patients who have lost their jobs or their health insurance or who no longer have the money to pay for lifesaving medical care. Some women are deferring annual exams, including preventive cancer screenings, and buying fewer cycles of contraception.
To get a sense of how widespread the need for health care reform is, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Commonwealth Fund say there are 45.7 million Americans without health insurance and an additional 25 million who are underinsured.
On top of that, one in five nonelderly women is underinsured, and more than 17 million women need publicly supported reproductive health care, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Guttmacher Institute.
According to the Women's Research and Education Institute, women of childbearing age spend 68 percent more in out-of-pocket health care costs than men in part because of reproductive health-related supplies and services. A recent survey conducted for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found that women are delaying their annual exams as a result of the economic downturn.
Here in South Dakota, having a job doesn't mean having health insurance. In fact, 72 percent of the uninsured are employed. According to the Center for American Progress, only North Dakota and New Hampshire have higher rates of workers without health coverage.
As health care providers, we know firsthand that women are disproportionately affected by the economic downturn and in tough times will put many things before their own basic health care.We know sexually transmitted infections continue to pose a serious public health threat in the country, particularly to young women. Without detection and treatment, these infections can lead to serious short- and long-term health consequences, including infertility.
The demand for health care is urgent, and the value of prevention, a cornerstone of Planned Parenthood services, is self-evident.As state and federal governments consider reforms to our health care system, we all have a critical interest in not only maintaining access to quality health care services for our patients but also in expanding access to all in need of comprehensive health care in order to build healthier, stronger families.
Additional Facts
MY VOICE
Shannon Stevens, 32, of Sioux Falls is the South Dakota public affairs manager for Planned Parenthood Minnesota/South Dakota.
By Shannon Stevens
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently released a new report placing a spotlight on the impact that the nation's health care crisis is having on women, particularly women of childbearing age.
The report, titled "Roadblocks to health care: Why the current health care system does not work for women," states that "women are more vulnerable to high health care costs ... (because) women's reproductive health requires more regular contact with health care providers, including yearly Pap tests, mammograms and obstetric care."
The report from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius underscores the real need to ensure that women have access to quality, affordable reproductive health care as part of any health reform effort. The findings of the report reaffirm what we see firsthand at Planned Parenthood health centers every day when women turn to us for affordable, accessible, high-quality preventive care.
Planned Parenthood health centers in our region are seeing an increase in patients who have lost their jobs or their health insurance or who no longer have the money to pay for lifesaving medical care. Some women are deferring annual exams, including preventive cancer screenings, and buying fewer cycles of contraception.
To get a sense of how widespread the need for health care reform is, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Commonwealth Fund say there are 45.7 million Americans without health insurance and an additional 25 million who are underinsured.
On top of that, one in five nonelderly women is underinsured, and more than 17 million women need publicly supported reproductive health care, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Guttmacher Institute.
According to the Women's Research and Education Institute, women of childbearing age spend 68 percent more in out-of-pocket health care costs than men in part because of reproductive health-related supplies and services. A recent survey conducted for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found that women are delaying their annual exams as a result of the economic downturn.
Here in South Dakota, having a job doesn't mean having health insurance. In fact, 72 percent of the uninsured are employed. According to the Center for American Progress, only North Dakota and New Hampshire have higher rates of workers without health coverage.
As health care providers, we know firsthand that women are disproportionately affected by the economic downturn and in tough times will put many things before their own basic health care.We know sexually transmitted infections continue to pose a serious public health threat in the country, particularly to young women. Without detection and treatment, these infections can lead to serious short- and long-term health consequences, including infertility.
The demand for health care is urgent, and the value of prevention, a cornerstone of Planned Parenthood services, is self-evident.As state and federal governments consider reforms to our health care system, we all have a critical interest in not only maintaining access to quality health care services for our patients but also in expanding access to all in need of comprehensive health care in order to build healthier, stronger families.
Additional Facts
MY VOICE
Shannon Stevens, 32, of Sioux Falls is the South Dakota public affairs manager for Planned Parenthood Minnesota/South Dakota.
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