Video from CareNet Press Conference
14 Jan 2008
Normally it’s quiet in the lobby of One Government Center, today there was some type of a meeting/group being held on the other side near the Commissioner’s Hearing Room and Christmas Decorations were being taken down. All resulting in less than stellar audio for this video when compared to my first one. However, you can hear quite a bit as to what was said by Councilman Mike Craig, Jan Ruma, State Representative Peter Ujvagi, Larry Sykes and Councilwoman Wilma Brown and you’ll have the same experience as if you would have been there with me…
I agree with Carty. Let the hospitals fund this with their high profits. And the notion of taking it out of capital improvements is questionable at best. This is just political posturing.
January 14th, 2008 at 5:43 pmThe City when Jack Ford was Mayor helped to create CareNet, if it is the desire of the City Administration and a majority on City Council to stop funding, they should do this with some type of warning as opposed to last year once again unanimously voting to fund then going through this yearly threat of a veto under Mayor Carty Finkbeiner.
Considering people die every day in this country due to lack of health care, there should be a better way for people to have access to the regular care they need. There are many things I feel are un-necessary that our tax dollars are spent on, CareNet is one of those that I think is worth it. If the City did not intend to participate every year they could easily create some type of a scheduled spend down. When you agree to enter a partnership with someone, if you do truly want to be business friendly if things change you make an upfront plan to change things rather than to abruptly drop your participation.
Nothing has really changed from last year when all of Council supported this, except the power struggles within Council, people’s health should not be some type of a game.
January 14th, 2008 at 6:33 pmWell said. The question should be whether this is the business of the city anyway in the beginning but its too late now. It’s still worth the fight to get the people with deeper pockets to pay for it.
January 14th, 2008 at 6:50 pmI don’t disagree with that theory, just in the manner it’s being suggested, if you created a good plan with a set spend down the organization would know each year what it could expect in funding in advance and then be able to solicit the difference. Or even if our contribution stayed the same but the other organizations increased their level of spending…there are lots of ways this could be done if we concentrated on a long term plan for these types of situations. (Yes, I know I’m preaching to the choir on the need for long term planning
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January 14th, 2008 at 7:12 pmI heard Tom Waniewski on WSPD this afternoon and he said he’s working on getting private money to fund it. I hope he can do it. The city should not be in the business of funding this program, worthwhile that it is.
January 14th, 2008 at 8:48 pmCareNet should be privately funded by area hospitals and medical systems as others have mentioned. There is already a large portion of my tax that pays for welfare when does the “hand-outs” ever end? It’s time to start graduating these life-long welfare recepients and get them to retrain for the new job market or go to college.
January 15th, 2008 at 6:19 amSixty percent of CareNet members have some high school education or have graduated from high school, and 44% are employed at least part time. It’s really unfair to label them as life long welfare recipients.
January 15th, 2008 at 8:30 amI’m not trying to cast a stone here, but people today especially in a globalization era needs to go to college (associate, bachelor, masters, etc) in order to survive in the work world and it should be mandatory. I’m tired of people not changing their lifestyle especially in their work and education experience in order to enhance their quality of life. But by receiving hand outs such as welfare, CareNet, or other government hand-outs does not improve the community especially to those who are burdened with high taxes.
January 15th, 2008 at 9:38 amI know of several people on CareNet, who are working and going to school to try to create a better future who’s current employers do not provide health care. One of my own daughters was briefly enrolled in CareNet since her father dropped her from his health insurance and we had to wait for the yearly open enrollment period to add her to my husband’s. As a waitress she could not afford the health care she needed when she became ill. There are alternatives such as the Health Department if it’s something like strep throat, but if it’s a more involved problem the cost of trying to go to an urgent care center or an Emergency Room is prohibitive.
One other young mother that I knew had health insurance for her child from Healthy Start but she had no insurance at all until I told her about CareNet. She became ill and did not go to the doctor ending up with pneumonia, with no health insurance and would have lost her job had she not been able to get the medication and care she needed. I saw her trying to work while this ill and that’s when I told her about CareNet.
People who have lost their jobs and can not afford to pay to continue their insurance through COBRA have used CareNet as a temporary situation until they find employment that offers health insurance.
I don’t disagree at all with the belief that if alternative funding exists it should be identified, but I do feel that this should be clearly outlined rather than going through this every year.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:41 amI heard a little snip oon the radio from Carty saying that this money can be used for hiring a park worker or even an officer. Well does he plan on bringing this money up each year to vote on it so that those individuals that got hired under this money/cost can continue to have a job?
January 15th, 2008 at 11:57 amIt amazes me how this administration can deem “emergencies” in a blink of an eye for beauty improvements but when it comes to money being used for true and more meaningful issues there has to be a concerned vote and maybe a possible veto from the great one because he doesn’t agree that the city should continue funding this program while on the other side of his mouth he feels it necessary to keep the Erie Stree Market on life support.
(Deep Sighs)
F*$%ing politics…