Bonnie Weyer's Blog Post as a Physical Education Teacher

I am a physical education teach at Greenwood School District in Greenwood, Wisconsin. I teach physical education to Kindergarten -6th grade. In Greenwood elementary students have daily physical education. The activities that the students do have an element of physical fitness. I try to reinforce this on a daily basis. Due to the changes in life styles I see this as being an important component of physical education. In the thirty years I have taught, students lead a less active life style. They are still are living in a very rural area but no longer are required to help with daily chores related to agriculture. Students go home and spend a great deal of time in front of a screen instead of helping the family or playing outside. The obesity rate is a problem due to diet and lack of activity. This continues to plague our population and then more health care is needed as my students mature. I work much harder to tell students why we need to lead a healthy life style. I also show them what it takes to maintain the healthy life style. I use the Physical Best Activity Guide to teach students the components of being physically fit. We use step counters, heart rate monitors and Fitnessgram to make the students and parents aware of what it takes to stay fit. I am definitely in the business of prevention.

To improve our health care in United States we need to address the fitness of our youth. Daily physical education should be required. Teachers would then have the opportunity to impact the fitness of their students. As a result they would become educated consumers, hopefully resulting in a person who values fitness. Many of our health issues today are a result of inactivity. Students need to learn activities that they can do for the rest of their lives.

As a patient, I am fortunate enough to have health care through my parents. Currently I spend about $50 a month on medication I need daily for a sleep disorder. Without insurance, the cost would be well above $1,200. When I think about my future career path, I consider health insurance one of the top most important factors.
I think it's important to concentrate on preventing diseases rather than treating diseases, which ends up costing more.

I am currently on the waiting list for nursing school in Madison WI, the waiting list is so long that I have decided to move to Michigan to attend a college there. Luckily I got accepted, and I will begin this fall. While I have been on the nursing school waiting list I have been working at a homeless shelter for people with mental illness for the last three years. Working at a homeless shelter has opened my eyes to some of the problems facing the American health care system. The people that we serve are homeless for many reasons, including mental illness, drug and alcohol problems, criminal history and many other socially related problems. Due to all of the problems that our clients have they tend to greatly neglect their health. Most of our clients do not have any form of health insurance, so they will not get any kind of preventive cares done, and will end up going to the ER when something major happens, leaving the taxpayers to cover the insanely large cost of the ER visit. Unfortunately this happens a lot, hospitals and taxpayers get stuck with the bills and the people who are going to the ER for major medical care never get any preventive care and keep ending back up at the ER. If this country had some sort of national health care system we could greatly reduce the cost of health care over all by more people getting preventive cares before their health issues become an emergency for everyone to pay for.

Living Without Access to Health Care - by Kathy Utley

Not have having access to health care for the past 8 years has changed the way I look at my own health issues. Because I do not have access to health care I am much more careful about being well!

I have taken responsibility for my health and well-being. I have lost weight and eat as much locally grown organic foods as I can afford. Thank goodness I live in a community that has many of these resources available to me. I quit smoking years ago and five years ago quit drinking alcohol. I walk about three miles everyday and do not eat fast foods or processed foods at all. I have quit consuming dairy and do not eat peanut products or foods with wheat gluten.

I pray and meditate on a daily basis and attend support groups to deal with my personal growth issues. I make sure that I have healthy social outlets and maintain quality relationships with my family and friends. I have had to educate myself about wellness and occassionally have had to treat myself either through homeopathic means or over the counter drugs at the drug store.

I truly practice preventive medicine. The result of all of this is that I feel great and look healthy too. I have a higher energy level and a better outlook on life. I think that the current health care system causes unhealthiness and even encourages unhealthy practices. There are little to no incentives to practice prevention.

Because our current health care system in based on a capitalist or material model, there is a bottom line and a reason to have sick customers. I do not have the means to shop at their store or belong to their system. The result has made me happy, healthy and content!

Reform Proposal 4

One of the main tenets of the Obama-Biden plan for health care reform is to “Make Health Insurance Work for People and Businesses -- Not Just Insurance and Drug Companies (whitehouse.gov).” Our groups’ beliefs are also in line with these goals. As we have previously stated, many Americans are without health insurance, to the tune of 46 million people. With the nature of our health care system today, no concerned human being can agree that our current for-profit system is ethical with all the uninsured that need care in the United States. Health care costs are rising, yet “Managed care plans earn higher margins today than they ever have before, and operate at lower medical loss ratios than at any time in their history (Carl McDonald, Verden Report).” We feel that this system is not one that is conducive to providing Americans’ with the best health care possible. From 2003 to 2007, the costs of premiums fell as an overall percentage point. This correlated with health insurers spending less on health care. In the last couple of years though, premiums are raising again while insurance companies are continuing to spend less on health care. What this means is that the cost of health care is getting shifted from the companies to the enrollees.

“Health insurance expenses are the fastest growing cost component for employers. Unless something changes dramatically, health insurance costs will overtake profits by 2008. The average employee contribution to company-provided health insurance has increased more than 143% since 2000. Average out-of-pocket costs for deductibles, co-payments for medications, and co-insurance for physician and hospital visits rose 115% during the same period (Verden Report, 2007).” These are yet more stats that drive home the point that health care costs are getting out of control, and reform needs to happen to control said costs. What is truly disheartening about these stats is the fact that the money doesn’t make its way back to the enrollee. “Contrary to claims about making health care more affordable for all, the money is simply going to Managed Care Organizations bottom lines as profit (Verden Report, 2007).” We believe that Managed Care Organizations should operate with the consumer foremost in their minds, not the companies’ bottom line. It would be in the best interest of the consumer/enrollee if laws were passed that ban cost shifting whenever said company is in the black (aka making money).

One reform that can really help to control consumer/enrollee cost would be to require insurance companies and managed care organizations to “cover pre-existing conditions so all Americans regardless of their health status or history can get comprehensive benefits at fair and stable premiums (whitehouse.gov).” Unexpected costs place too large of a burden on the consumer. Laws such as the following can go a long way to keeping prices at a stable level, because no consumer should have to worry about unexpected health care costs destroying their financial stability. Consumers currently have to sign up for a contract to receive health insurance. Because the nature of a contract is a long-term one, insurance companies and managed care organizations should be beholden to offering a fair, stable rate for the coverage that they provide. Shifting costs to consumers while companies profits goes against everything health care should be in a country like ours.

Health Care Reform 3

“Managed Care is a system to integrate the delivery and financing of comprehensive health care services to covered individuals by means of arrangement with selected health care providers; explicit criteria for the selection of health-care providers; significant financial incentives for members to use providers and procedures associated with the plan; and formal programs for quality assurance and utilization review. Providers of managed care include health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and preferred provider organizations (PPOs), as well as traditional insurance companies” (Chippewa County-Montevideo Hospital and Medical Clinic ). So understanding that a Managed Care system is not run by the government, it is competitive with other organizations for customers, and provides options of financing and the access to health care. The goal of managed care systems is to reduce the costs of providing health benefits and improve the quality of care. The down fall of Managed Care systems is that the criteria chosen by certain people will not always sit well with the consumers. A way to improve the HMO’s is to analyze the legitimacy of the goals of the Managed Care systems, and give more control to the public to form policies with accessing quality health care.


Who needs to act to reform the goals of the HMO’s? I feel that it needs to be a joint effort between the HMO’s and the consumers. As human beings we like to be in complete control, which sometimes can hinder us because we are not all health care specialist and do not understand the complexities of health care. Everyone strives for a better solution and the authority that HMO’s have of deciding our fate can be threatening to people’s ideas. The public, patients, and clinicians have to entrust that the moral authority that the Managed Care systems possess are going to benefit them. The HMO’s have a great task of distributing health care. Our group really supports the idea of universal health care. According to Deloitte Development increasing taxes to help provide health insurance coverage for the 47 million is opposed by 43%, 32% is mixed, and only 25% is in favor of increasing taxes (LLP, 2009). So this is a bit disheartening because most people are not willing to part with their money, even if it will be saving us money in the long run. According to USA TODAY the National spending grew a projected 7.8% in 2003, down from 9.3% in 2002. The country spent on the average of $5,805 per person in 2003. This amount is much higher than the per capita amount spent in other industrialized nations. (Appleby, 2004 )The consumers job is to very boldly announce their expectations of the HMO’s and if their needs are not being met to voice their opinions and demand change.

What ways can we improve the communication between HMO’s and the people buying their coverage? Laws could be passed by Congress that force the HMO’s to take more public surveys to get input from the public so their plans of coverage are the most cost efficient and the highest quality. On the other side of that coin is educating the public of heath care coverage. It is so easy to throw in your disappointments with a program and how it’s not helping you but if all you are doing is complaining then really what right do you have? You are not bettering yourself or others if you just get on your soap box and complain. Action is key, lobbying for changes and advocating are positive ways to get the same disappointments across but in a productive way.

By taking these steps to better both sides hopefully the access, quality, cost, and overall communication will improve. Being optimistic is a huge advantage because it’s not being oblivious to problems, but by having a different attitude much more is accomplished. “The United States spends at least 40% more per capita on health care than any other industrialized country with universal health care” (John R. Battista, 1999). Even though this talk occurred in 1999, the argument still stands strong we are paying too much money and there are too many people uninsured in the United States. When are we going to get off our high horse and look at other nations who are thriving because of Universal Health Care? It is about time we step up our game and help the 46 million people who are uninsured. (WOODRUFF, 2009) By picking apart HMOs’ we can reduce the cost, increase access, and also quality because we will know what the consumers need.


Works Cited
Appleby, J. (2004 , Febuary 12). Almost $1.7 trillion spent on health care in '03. Retrieved March 30, 2009, from USA TODAY: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2004-02-12-healthcosts_x.htm

Chippewa County-Montevideo Hospital and Medical Clinic . (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2009, from Health Care Terms: http://www.montevideomedical.com/Pages/Page_05.htm

Daniels, N. (1998). The Ethics Of Accountability In Managed Care Reform. Retrieved March 27, 2009, from Health Affairs: content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/17/5/50.pdf

John R. Battista, M. a. (1999, June 4th). The Case For Single Payer, Universal Health Care For The United States. Retrieved March 30, 2009, from Connecticut Coalition for Universal Health Care : http://cthealth.server101.com/the_case_for_universal_health_care_in_the_united_states.htm

LLP, D. (2009, March 16). Health Care and Public Policy: What Do Americans Really Want? Retrieved March 27, 2009, from Deloitte.: http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/article/0,1002,sid%253D80772%2526cid%253D242408,00.html

WOODRUFF, J. (2009, Febuary 11). The Uninsured in America. Retrieved March 30, 2009, from The Online News Hour: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/health/uninsured/

Reform Proposal 2

The United States spends more on health care than any other nations, yet, in 2004, 41.6 million Americans under the age of 65 were uninsured. This accounted for about 16-17 percent of the total population. (Shi & Singh) “In 2008 health care spending in the United States reached $2.4 trillion”. (National Coalition on Health Care) These numbers represent a system that is far from the ideal health care system. Too many people are living without health insurance, and many of those with health insurance are paying too much while the quality of care remains unbalanced. It is unlikely that many would argue with the fact that change is needed, however, few would agree on how to go about doing this. Our group agrees with the Obama-Biden team and feels that in order to head toward a change that is positive, we must look at current systems and work on improving on them. An example of one of these systems is Managed Care Organizations (MCOs).

Some may disagree with the idea that MCOs should be the focus of a health care reform, stating it is just a small part of the system and it doesn’t even cover all Americans. However, MCOs are a large and vital part of our current health care system and could have a direct or indirect impact on many different areas of the health care; including inpatient, long-term care, finance and special populations making it a crucial part of the health care system. MCOs emphasize primary care, which is a great way to save the health care system money. MCOs also offer health care to a variety of people and works to keep costs down using a prepaid system. One of these systems is Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs). Like the Obama-Biden team we believe Managed Care Systems such as HMOs are beneficial to our health care system and using the HMO model to move toward a health care system that is universal is an important step in improving our health care system. However, before this can occur, changes to the current system need to be made.

Change can begin with the restructuring MCOs. This would be done by creating a well organized information system that remains consistent across the nation, with minor changes from state to state. We feel it is important for these systems to remain consistent, but understand that different areas consist of populations that differ in their needs and should have a health care system that best fits their specific needs. We believe there should be a push for an upgrade and integration of information to be part of the integrated delivery network. We also believe these systems should be fair so, reasonable prices should be set and standardized for all procedures making it affordable to all. These standard prices would then be enforced through the MCOs. This standardization would put an end to unnecessary high costs and allow the focus to be put on improving the quality of care.

We feel that if these changes are made to MCOs, the nation would benefit greatly. People would be more likely to focus on preventative care, allowing them to be healthier, stronger and more productive; which is a great benefit to the economy and saves the health care system money. We would have less uninsured Americans skipping out on regular checkups and avoiding hospital visits which often end up costing more in the long run and remain unpaid by the patient, leaving the burden on others. Standardizing prices would also promote competition, causing more of the patients to base their health care decisions on quality instead of price, which would in turn push physicians and hospital to strive for better quality of care.

By Becky Zay

Health Care. Retrieved March 1, 2000 from http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/health_care/

Kongstvedt, Peter (2008). Managed Care: What it is and How it Works. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartletts. (2008/12/9). Managed Care. Retrieved February 27, 2009, from MedlinePlus Web site: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/managedcare.html

National Coalition on Health Care. (2009). Health Insurance Cost. Retrieved February 26,2009, from http://www.nchc.org/facts/cost.shtml

Shi, L, & Singh, D (2008). Delivering Health Care in America: A Systems Approach.Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.