Ignored By Cable News:"We shouldn’t have to hold a bake sale in this society to pay for healthcare."

[TomCADem]

These are the stories that appear in local papers througout the U.S., which are conspicuously ignored by the major networks in lieu of stories about right wing people screaming "socialism" or "fascism." Are journalists simply that incompetent or are the corporate networks sitting on these easily discovered stories?

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/jul/16/cancer-fight-seen-as-battle-for-insurance/

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When Sharin Muskrat’s employer terminated her health insurance coverage because she was no longer considered a full-time employee, the 24-year-old graduate student “blew it off.”

“I wasn’t sick, so I put it on the back burner,” said Muskrat, a former Hickman High School athlete who is enrolled in the University of Missouri-Kansas City satellite pharmacy program on the MU campus.

Then Muskrat began experiencing health problems — minor at first but worsening. Planning to see a doctor about what she thought were allergies, Muskrat dug up old insurance papers and discovered she had one day remaining to pick up insurance under COBRA. Muskrat met the deadline and made three months’ worth of back payments to enroll.

A few weeks later, Muskrat was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer that has attacked her heart. “I got coverage by the hair of my chinny chin chin,” she said yesterday.

COBRA, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, gives people who have lost employee’s health insurance a chance to stay in a group plan if they pick up the payments.

Muskrat said her monthly premium is just less than $250. She has a $2,500 deductible, and the insurance will cover 80 percent of her health care costs with preferred providers. She expects to have chemotherapy treatments at least until December.

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Alyce Turner, whose son attended school with Muskrat, plans to urge organizers to contact their federal legislators and ask them to support Obama’s health care plan. “We shouldn’t have to hold a rummage sale or a bake sale in this society to pay for health care,” Turner said.

While there are no statistics, Watson said people facing long-term illnesses often have to rely on family and friends to supplement insurance. “We have surveyed hundreds of Missouri residents about how they pay for medical care,” she said. “Talking to consumers about how they pay medical bills, they all tell us first they spend their savings, then they turn to family, friends and churches. We consistently hear that they use up everything they have and then turn to family and friends.”

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[Hansel]

1. This is exactly where the media falls on its face.

Instead of running footage of the town halls and pretending like they are trying to figure out what's really going on (like they don't know) they should be running non-stop stories about the horrors of the current health care system in the United States and how the changes the WH and congress are proposing might impact them. These town halls are full of uninformed people because the media sucks.

Health care reform is about addressing a need, not about rude people. The media's role is to investigate and provide objective information on what the government proposals on the table, what need they are serving and if it makes sense to do what they are trying to do. Get the damn information out there in an non-slanted and realistic way. Stop interviewing politicians and start bringing on objective professionals. In other words, they need to do their job.

[depakid]

3. The corporate media in the states prefers WWF to factual reporting- when it suits their interests

On the other hand, when their bosses want- they're happy to overload the airwaves with (often manufactured) factual reporting and tragedies.

No different in the abstract, than any other de-regulated industry. Wall Street- insurers- car manufacturers, all of them will run headlong toward disaster if we let them.

Sadly, most Americans don't know any better or any different.

Must be the best of all possible worlds, then.

[smalll]

2. To be fair to the media, and its indifference here, your "bake sale" soundbite is old hat.

People used to say that at least back in the 80s, when Reagan was spending hundreds of billions on armaments, and people would complain, in contrast, about having to have bake sales to fund education.

A good sentiment, but not exactly newsworthy.

[TomCADem]

4. This "Soundbite" Is Not "Newsworthy"? It Is Not A Soundbite, Its Real People

If even a liberal is dismissing these stories that go on everyday, which affects real people, as a "soundbite" that is not "newsworthy," then we have already lost the debate. You have Republicans claiming that we have a the best healthcare system in the world. You would think that the prevalence and frequency of these stories would be "newsworthy" because it shows that such claims are a lie. You also have people citing stats suggesting that most people are happy with their health insurance. Well, they should really focus on people who are actually using their health insurance.

When news ignores the substances, dwells on "setbacks" in reform, and focuses on the namecalling, then I think it is time to reconsider what should be considered "newsworthy." Also, these stories are not soundbites. They are people struggling to make ends meet, literally struggling to stay alive in the United States of America.

You may call the story below a "soundbite" that is not "newsworthy." I see a family at risk of losing their home, trying to keep their little boy alive, and resorting to bake sales to pay their medical bills even though they have health insurance.

If these stories do not form the foundation of the healthcare debate, then I am not sure what the point is.

http://www.nj.com/warrenreporter/index.ssf/2009/08/warren_county_organizations_te.html
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At just nine years of age, White Township resident Matthew Bell has been fighting cancer for two-thirds of his young life.
First diagnosed with leukemia at age 3 and then with brain cancer at age 8, Matthew has had two bone marrow transplants and two tumors removed from his head. Surgeries, radiation and chemotherapy treatments have sent Matthew's cancer into remission several times. But in April 2009, Matthew's leukemia returned again, this time in his central nervous system.

Last month, surgeons again removed a brain tumor, and today Matthew has a neuro-port in his head, which is used to administer treatments. Matthew struggles with leg pain, headaches, fatigue and stomachaches. He sometimes has trouble breathing and problems sleeping. Scans, MRIs, spinal taps, blood draws and other uncomfortable, painful procedures are all too familiar to Matthew, a much-loved kid who simply wants to go to school and sleep in his own bed every night.

Like many kids his age, Matthew loves to play with Legos and Bakugans. He has a vast collection of shark teeth, as well as rocks, arrowheads and fossils. Matthew dreams of swimming with sharks and educating people of the importance of sharks to our oceans' ecosystems. He would love to visit California's Lego Land and his dream job is to be the person who creates new Lego kits. Matthew also has his own real-life hero: his little brother, Joshua, who has donated his bone marrow to his big brother twice now.
Matt's parents, Carenna and Brian Bell, do their best to hold it all together by keeping a four-person household up and running while dealing with an overwhelming years-long battle filled with fear, worry and anxiety for their oldest child.
"As parents of a very sick child we struggle with the fact that one day the hospital will say that there is no more they can do," said Carenna. "We struggle with the fact that all we think about is being with Matthew, but we also have to work when we can. We worry that as time goes on, if things get worse, we could lose our house."
At the same time, Matthew's parents are incredibly thankful that, with the community's help, they've so far been able to keep their house, which Matt's dad grew up in. They are very grateful to their friends, neighbors, and even strangers, who have surrounded Matt and his family with love, support and donations for the last several years. Medical expenses have mounted quickly despite the family's insurance coverage, and the community has rallied with various fundraising events, from golf events to bike-a-thons, to raise much-needed funds for the family.
This month, members of the Mansfield Masonic Lodge, White Township Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO), and the Belvidere High School Girls Soccer team will join together to hold a car wash and bake sale, with proceeds of the event going to the Bell family.
Michael Iannitelli, who is helping to organize the effort, explained, "After seeing many events take place to assist the Bell family, our secretary James Taylor suggested that we hold a car wash to benefit Matthew Bell. We decided to maximize the effort by also having a bake sale. Knowing that the White Township PTO has held many events for Matthew and is quite familiar with the situation, we reached out to them and they were happy to take part in the bake sale."
Another member of the Masonic Lodge, Thomas Hallowell, has daughters on the soccer team. When he asked them to help, they were eager to participate. The girls will help wash cars the day of the event.
The car wash and bake sale will be Saturday, Aug. 22 (rain date Aug. 23), from 9 a.m. to 3 pm, at the Mansfield Lodge #36, 275 State Route 31 North, Washington. Cars are $5 and SUVs, vans, and light trucks are $7. Various fresh-baked goods and treats will be available as well.
Supporters can send cards and well wishes to Matthew Bell at 39 Titman Road, Belvidere, NJ 07823

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