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Waiting For Health Care: Doctors and patients need state action on health and malpractice insurance

  By Health Care

I wrote this for Dr. Valerie Arkoosh to sign. It was published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on April 16, 2008 I am a physician. And like so many other physicians in Pennsylvania, I’m waiting for the General Assembly to restore the MCare abatement program. MCare was set up to reduce medical malpractice premiums, which had risen to the point that physicians were leaving the state in droves. Since 2002, physicians in Pennsylvania have purchased half of their required malpractice insurance from the MCare program and the other half from private insurers. Most physicians get back half of their MCare costs while those of us in high-risk specialties receive a full abatement. But the abatement program expired in December and bills for MCare are due at the end of this month. While we doctors wait for our abatements, about 750,000 adults in Pennsylvania, most of whom work full time, also are… Continue reading

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Small Businesses and Health Care

  By Health Care

I wrote this piece for two small business owners to sign. It was originally published on 2008-04-02 in the Philadelphia Daily News By PETER HANDLER & KAREN SINGER NOBODY will benefit more from HB 2005, the health-insurance reform bill now wending its way through the state Legislature, than the commonwealth’s small businesses. Yet the official lobbyists in Harrisburg for small business – the Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Businesses – are fighting to block it. Continue reading

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Help get health care moving in Harrisburg

  By Health Care

The members of the Pennsylvanian’s United for Affordable Health Care and the Pennsylvania Health Access Network met with policy staff of the Rendell Administration and the policy chair of the Democratic caucus, Todd Eachus last week. From what we heard, the administration and the caucus are working together to forge a bill to extend health insurance to most of those with out it. The bill has a chance of being passed by the House of Representatives this year—that’s right, before the session ends on December 19. What that bill will look like in detail is still up in the air. In broad outline in will follow the Cover All Pennsylvanian’s part of Governor Rendell’s Prescription for Pennsylvania. (Another part of the RxPA, which will regulate the insurance industry so as to reduce inflation in health care costs, is in HB 2005, which was recently passed by the Insurance Committee of… Continue reading

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The sound you heard on the El today was the fat lady singing

  By Transportation

The transfer issue is finally, totally over. Today was the last day for SEPTA to file an appeal of last month’s Commonwealth Court decision that kept transfers in place. (Technically the Commonwealth Court declared that SEPTA’s appeal of Judge DiVito’s decision to block it from eliminating transfers was moot because SEPTA had already adopted a different fare plan, one that kept transfers.) SEPTA did not appeal. I don’t know why SEPTA made this decision, since they typically play everything out to the end. I suppose one reason is that they saw that they were unlikely to prevail. But I’m going to be an optimist today and hope that SEPTA’s decision is a sign that SEPTA is going to be a better partner for the city and for transit riders. There is no reason SEPTA shouldn’t be. There are a lot of people in this city who really believe in public… Continue reading

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Save the Broad Street buildings

  By Philadelphia, Urbanism, Zoning

Yesterday, the State Department of General Services (DGS), which is building the Convention Center Expansion, ignored a ruling by the State Historical Commission, and started demolishing two historic buildings that stand in the path of the new building. This is doubly disappointing. It is important that we save these buildings. And the way in which the DGS, and our political leaders, are acting is truly despicable. Evidently it was too expensive to violate the trust of the people the way we usually do them in this state–which would have meant that the demolition would have started at 2 am. Instead, the state has acted at the next most nefarious time, when the holiday season is upon us and we were celebrating, among other things, a decision that we thought would protect these buildings. The whole story is below. Read it. And then email Governor Rendell and ask him to order… Continue reading

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The labor dispute at the convention center

  By Labor, Philadelphia

The city woke up to some good news in the Inquirer—Governor Rendell is evidently going to try to broke a compromise on the Convention Center labor dispute. So Council is not likely to adopt Frank DiCicco’s proposal to open the expansion of the Convention Center to non-union contractors This is a tough issue for those of us who are both pro-labor and pro-minority. There is no question that many of the building trades have fewer minority and women members than they should, given the demographics of the city and region. And there is no question that racism is a main reason for these low numbers. And yet, while I don’t doubt the good intentions of Frank DiCicco and the other supporters of this proposal, opening work at the Convention Center to non-union contractors is not a good solution, for many reasons. Continue reading

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Inclusionary housing update

  By Housing, Philadelphia

Not long ago, we held an interesting debate here about Inclusionary Housing with some of us (including me) seeking a bill that directs most of the money to those with the lowest incomes in the city and others (including Ray) worried about the difficulties for those in the middle of the income scale. The wonderful world of Philadelphia politics has brought us a compromise to please everyone. The Philadelphia Coalition for Housing Justice has reached an agreement with Councilman Clarke on a an IH bill. We were concerned that Clarke’s bill would mainly serve middle class Philadelphians, rather than providing affordable housing for those who needed it most. But now Clarke has amended his bill require that half of the on-site units would sold or rented to families earning between 0 – 80% of AMI Clarke agreed that 50% of all on-site units should serve people between 0 – 80%… Continue reading

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Neighborhood Networks holiday party

  By Philadelphia, Progressive Politics

A year and a half ago, a small group of people, chastened but activated by the result of the 2004 election and by our frustration with politics in Philadelphia, called a meeting to start a new group, Neighborhood Networks. To our surprise, over two hundred and thirty people attended our inaugural event. Since then, we have played a critical role in enacting ethics reform charter changes and in pushing for gun control. We helped lead the fight to raise the minimum wage and we supported a slate of progressive candidates in the 2007 Democratic primary. We have been a mainstay of the Philadelphia Campaign for Housing Justice and we have called for an end to the war in Iraq. We have fought against casinos and for the Cohen wage tax rebate. We have, in other words, won some battles and lost some battles. But we have made a difference in… Continue reading

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Why you should care about the inclusionary housing hearing on Wednesday

  By Housing, Philadelphia

This Wednesday, November 28th at 11:00am in Room 400 of City Hall, a critical hearing on Darrell Clarke’s deeply flawed Inclusionary Housing bill will be held. The Philadelphia Campaign for Housing Justice urges all progressives and community activists to attend the hearing To learn more about how Clarke’s bill differs from the bill drafted by the Philadelphia Campaign for Housing Justice (PCHJ), and why the PCHJ bill is superior to Clarke’s please visit our website. http://www.philahousingjustice.org. For a little broader view of the importance of Inclusionary Housing in the context of the growing problem of gentrification in Philadelphia, read on. (Note: I am a member of the Philadelphia Campaign for Housing Justice and the webmaster of our site. However, what follows is my own view and is probably not shared by every member of the PCHJ. In addition, while both SEIU Local 32BJ and SEIU Local 1199p have played a… Continue reading

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The citizen’s agenda: begetter of dreams

  By Philadelphia, Progressive Politics

I’ve probably attended more events held by the Great Expectations project than anyone other than the folks from the Inquirer and University of Pennsylvania’s Project on Civic Engagement who have been running it. I started by attending about 25 of the early events at which groups of citizens could come together to discuss their hopes and fears for the city and to put forward ideas to move the city forward. I’ve gone to other events since and recently took part in the forum for citizen leaders organized by the project. (I’ve blogged about my take on the new deal citizen leaders would like to create between the city and its neighborhoods, which is to create a relationship of no deals.) I’ve learned a great deal along the way. Many of the ideas I put forward during my campaign for city council and on my blog germinated or were shaped by… Continue reading