Obama's plans for US and global health, The Lancet, Volume 372, Issue 9652, Pages 1797 - 1798, 22 November 2008
Tough economic times will hamper the ability of Barack Obama, USPresident-elect, to deliver on his many domestic and global health-carep roposals. But experts still see ways for him to quickly make his mark on health policy. Nellie Bristol reports from Washington, DC.
Expanded health coverage for children, reversal of the Bush Administration'spolicies on stem-cell research, and the removal of funding restrictions forinternational family-planning agencies are among health policies likely to be enacted quickly by Barack Obama when he takes office in late January,2009, say experts.
Although Obama campaigned on a promise to expand health-care coverage tomost of the 45 million Americans without insurance, fiscal realities willlikely slow progress on his plan, which some estimate would cost the federalgovernment more than US$75 billion a year. But health policy andcongressional experts see the expansion of the State Children's HealthInsurance Program (SCHIP) as immediately feasible. Both houses of Congress passed expansion bills last year, but they were vetoed by President Bush.
The bill likely to pass next year would be based on legislation that would increase funding by $35 billion over 5 years to a total of $60 billion. Thebill would be paid for through an increase in cigarette taxes. It wouldcontinue coverage for the 6 million children currently enrolled and add 5·8million more children by raising the income eligibility level to 300% of thepoverty line, or $51 510 yearly for a single parent with two children and$61 950 for a family of four. Children make up 20% (8 million individuals)of the uninsured population, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Karen Pollitz, of Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute, alsocalled for better insurance access for young adults aged 19—29 years, whomake up 29% of uninsured people and often lose coverage when they becomeineligible for their parents' plans.Other domestic health-care initiatives likely to be enacted early in the newadministration include reversing a federal ban on stem-cell research—a moveObama can make through an executive order.
The Bush Administration limited research to existing stem-cell lines but Obama has been a strong supporter of expanding research.
On Nov 9 Obama's transition team leader John Podesta said that thePresident-elect is reviewing all of Bush's Executive Orders and that therestrictions on stem-cell research will be reconsidered. "There's a lot thatthe President can do using his executive authority without waiting forcongressional action and I think we'll see the President do that to try torestore…a sense that the country is working on behalf of the common good",Podesta told *Fox News*.
Another executive order that could be subject to quick reversal in theso-called Mexico City policy. Instituted by President Reagan in 1984, thepolicy requires non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to "agree as acondition of their receipt of federal funds" that they will neither "perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations", according to White House documents. The policy, also known as the global gag rule, was rescinded by President Bill Clinton in one of his first acts when he took office in 1993. It was restored by President Bush in 2001.
Other possible legislative moves early in Obama's administration include theestablishment of a comparative effectiveness mechanism for medical care anda revamping of the Medicare system for physician payment. Throughout hiscampaign, Obama supported establishment of an independent institute to guidereviews and research on the effectiveness of treatment. Gail Shearer,director of health policy analysis for the Consumers Union, said theinstitute could work similarly to the UK's National Institute for Health andClinical Excellence, which provides national advice and guidance onpublic-health technologies and clinical practice.Although the current fiscal crisis will be an issue, policy experts say alarger overhaul of the US health-care system may fare better this timearound than it has in the past. Several previous attempts at reform wentfamously flat, including a 1992 effort by the Clinton Administration.Working to Obama's advantage are his ties to Capitol Hill. "Obama is goingto relate to the Hill presumably better than his two Democratic predecessors neither of whom had set foot on the Hill as a member of Congress", said EdHoward, executive vice president of the Alliance for Health Reform. BothClinton and the previous Democratic President, Jimmy Carter, came to the office as governors whereas Obama served on Capitol Hill as a Senator from Illinois.
Congressional support for health-care reform is essential since it has to beenacted via legislation. The Clintons hampered their effort by developing acomplex proposal mostly with White House input. Although expected oppositionwas mounted by conservatives and the health insurance industry, essentialsupport from the Hill was lacking because lawmakers felt they had noownership of the plan.
Details of Obama's plan, which pledges to reduce health-care costs through better preventive care and more widely disseminated health informationtechnology, are scarce. For coverage expansion, it would rely principally onthe current system of employer-provided health benefit: employers wouldeither have to contribute to their employees' coverage or towards the costof a public plan. Other people would have access through a National HealthInsurance Exchange.
Despite a host of other pressing issues and lack of funding, pressure tomove on health-care reform is likely to be intense. Four key groupsrepresenting business interests, unions, and older Americans, announced a $1million media campaign on Nov 10 encouraging elected representatives to"keep their campaign promises, break Washington's gridlock and solve ourhealth care and financial security crises". As the US sheds jobs and relatedemployer-based insurance, a sharp increase in the number of uninsured couldalso add impetus for action.
Obama also will face intense pressure to live up to his promises on globalhealth, but fiscal realities are likely to impinge on these programmes too.Vice President-elect Joe Biden commented in October that Obama's promise todouble foreign assistance to $50 billion a year would be slowed givencurrent economic conditions. Global-health experts comment that although newmoney may not be available for programmes, the most important priority is tofully fund the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
Although 5 year funding of $48 billion was authorised by Congress for PEPFARand malaria and tuberculosis programmes, actual funding levels aredetermined on a year by year basis through a separate Congressional process.Advocates are pushing hard for full funding of the bill and use of funds toaddress broader health issues, such as food security and health-systemstrengthening, efforts that are supported by Obama. "President-elect Obamarecognises that HIV efforts in the long run aren't going to be sustained ifwe don't continue to build the broader health infrastructure and look atsome of the other issues like maternal and child health", said Helene Gayle,president and chief executive officer of the international NGO CARE and aformer official of the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.Nonetheless, she added, "It's going to be a difficult period to balance thekey economic priorities that face the country along with the things that hewould want to do more broadly."
The Obama Administration also may respond to strong bipartisan calls toreform US foreign assistance structure—a move that would signal a newemphasis in the area without spending a lot of money. A group of highpowered development and humanitarian aid experts calling itself theModernizing Foreign Assistance Network is working on a detailed plan tobring all US development and global-health entities under a commonleadership. The group and other global health and development advocates arepushing for a high-level foreign assistance leadership in theAdministration, a reinvigorated USAID, and better coordination and alignmentof global health and development policies.
"There needs to simply be true comprehensive global-health coordinationrather than disease specific programmes with different reporting mechanisms,different lines of authority", said Laura Barnitz, director of policycommunications for the Global Health Council.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Long-delayed update
My apologies to people who read my blog on a regular basis! I know I said I'd update regularly in Atlanta....and I didn't. Hopefully, as I sort out med school stuff (blogging about it will probably help me make my ultimate decision I think), I'll update more frequently.
So I got back from Atlanta last weekend and have been home for a week. I'm home for one more week before heading back up to Austin. My internship was everything I wanted it to be, and probably one of the more awesome things I've gotten to do in my life. If you want specifics, ask me about it. I could probably talk at you about it for hours. I'm good at that anyways. I definitely miss it, the city, and all the people I've gotten to know, even if I did come home a little heartbroken, disillusioned, and let down, feelings which should soon pass I hope. After this summer, I will have seen or met all three Clintons, Barack Obama, Bush, and Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter in one year. That's hard to believe.
I'm sitting in the loft of a cabin in Tucson, where I'm with the familia for the weekend. The scenery is beautiful and the place is so peaceful. My dad and I are going hiking in some canyon really early tomorrow morning, and I'm looking forward to that. He's one of the best people to hike with, and I haven't done anything very outdoors-y all summer, which is making me crave a good day-long hike through desert and mountain. I always find hiking kind of cathartic, and I've always had an affection for desert thanks to El Paso I suppose.
Back home, I've seen some friends, and gotten a few secondaries in, but have so much left to do. I already have three in-state interviews scheduled for September, and they are ridiculously all within the span of one week (Friday Sept 6th, Monday Sept 8th, and Friday Sept. 12th) Yikes. Southwestern is the first one, and I wish it wasn't. UTSW is a big deal, and it would have been nice to have an interview or two before that for practice. Oh well. If I start getting some out of state ones, I can really start celebrating. But I have to get secondaries out first and that's definitely kind of stressing my face off a little cause I want them out before I hit Austin so I can go in with a clear conscience. It probably won't happen as much as I'd like it to. I've applied to too many schools. Some just because I like their school of public health a lot. Others for the normal obvious reasons. One just for location (Georgetown). I would never consider going to Georgetown if it weren't in the DC area. I have no idea where I want to go or what my top is or how competitive I am for some of these schools. I'll just have to find out. I might cut schools if I get a chance to really think about a few of them.
I'm really looking forward to traveling on weekends. It's going to be fun, and it'll keep things constantly interesting, although it's not like they wouldn't be otherwise. Senior year is going to be fabulous, I feel it. I have big plans for DS (and have a feeling that will take up a lot of my time). Then there's OJs and other orgs I've somehow gotten sucked into taking exec positions for, my 21st birthday, med school interviews and (hopefully!) jet-setting some, thesis stuff (which I really am looking forward to just sitting down and writing), taking Hindi (!!) for real, having a nicer courseload than I've ever had at UT, and just hanging out with friends for this final year. I want to have next summer figured out (it's way early of course), but I am thinking about doing Texas4000. It's just a thought right now, and I need to really sit down and evaluate stuff before deciding on anything.
It's good to have my career sort of lined out, degree-wise. And to know exactly (or somewhat exactly) what I want to do with those degrees. It's a good source of peace of mind, and drive. And it's comforting to have that figured out, especially while it seems as though a lot of other things in life have no such stability.
Well, hopefully I'll get stuff done while I'm home. I'm so ready to get back to Austin in the meantime. It will be worth the wait though, as long as I'm productive here and able to sort of block out all the criticism my mom seems to enjoy throwing at me lately...
Peace.
So I got back from Atlanta last weekend and have been home for a week. I'm home for one more week before heading back up to Austin. My internship was everything I wanted it to be, and probably one of the more awesome things I've gotten to do in my life. If you want specifics, ask me about it. I could probably talk at you about it for hours. I'm good at that anyways. I definitely miss it, the city, and all the people I've gotten to know, even if I did come home a little heartbroken, disillusioned, and let down, feelings which should soon pass I hope. After this summer, I will have seen or met all three Clintons, Barack Obama, Bush, and Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter in one year. That's hard to believe.
I'm sitting in the loft of a cabin in Tucson, where I'm with the familia for the weekend. The scenery is beautiful and the place is so peaceful. My dad and I are going hiking in some canyon really early tomorrow morning, and I'm looking forward to that. He's one of the best people to hike with, and I haven't done anything very outdoors-y all summer, which is making me crave a good day-long hike through desert and mountain. I always find hiking kind of cathartic, and I've always had an affection for desert thanks to El Paso I suppose.
Back home, I've seen some friends, and gotten a few secondaries in, but have so much left to do. I already have three in-state interviews scheduled for September, and they are ridiculously all within the span of one week (Friday Sept 6th, Monday Sept 8th, and Friday Sept. 12th) Yikes. Southwestern is the first one, and I wish it wasn't. UTSW is a big deal, and it would have been nice to have an interview or two before that for practice. Oh well. If I start getting some out of state ones, I can really start celebrating. But I have to get secondaries out first and that's definitely kind of stressing my face off a little cause I want them out before I hit Austin so I can go in with a clear conscience. It probably won't happen as much as I'd like it to. I've applied to too many schools. Some just because I like their school of public health a lot. Others for the normal obvious reasons. One just for location (Georgetown). I would never consider going to Georgetown if it weren't in the DC area. I have no idea where I want to go or what my top is or how competitive I am for some of these schools. I'll just have to find out. I might cut schools if I get a chance to really think about a few of them.
I'm really looking forward to traveling on weekends. It's going to be fun, and it'll keep things constantly interesting, although it's not like they wouldn't be otherwise. Senior year is going to be fabulous, I feel it. I have big plans for DS (and have a feeling that will take up a lot of my time). Then there's OJs and other orgs I've somehow gotten sucked into taking exec positions for, my 21st birthday, med school interviews and (hopefully!) jet-setting some, thesis stuff (which I really am looking forward to just sitting down and writing), taking Hindi (!!) for real, having a nicer courseload than I've ever had at UT, and just hanging out with friends for this final year. I want to have next summer figured out (it's way early of course), but I am thinking about doing Texas4000. It's just a thought right now, and I need to really sit down and evaluate stuff before deciding on anything.
It's good to have my career sort of lined out, degree-wise. And to know exactly (or somewhat exactly) what I want to do with those degrees. It's a good source of peace of mind, and drive. And it's comforting to have that figured out, especially while it seems as though a lot of other things in life have no such stability.
Well, hopefully I'll get stuff done while I'm home. I'm so ready to get back to Austin in the meantime. It will be worth the wait though, as long as I'm productive here and able to sort of block out all the criticism my mom seems to enjoy throwing at me lately...
Peace.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
It's going by too quickly.
Summer has been SO much fun so far, I am loving every single second of work and things non-work and all the awesome people here.
I need to decide ASAP if I'm going to DC for a conference next week right before the Plains trip next weekend...and anyone who knows me knows how indecisive I am. Then the weekend after that is Hilton Head in South Carolina.
Which means...I need to work on apps like a madwoman this weekend and make sure I have things solid because I definitely do not right now. Time to freakin work my ass off, for real, even though all I wanna do is play. Ah well. Life is still pretty awesome.
Peace out.
I need to decide ASAP if I'm going to DC for a conference next week right before the Plains trip next weekend...and anyone who knows me knows how indecisive I am. Then the weekend after that is Hilton Head in South Carolina.
Which means...I need to work on apps like a madwoman this weekend and make sure I have things solid because I definitely do not right now. Time to freakin work my ass off, for real, even though all I wanna do is play. Ah well. Life is still pretty awesome.
Peace out.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Rejection from Dr. David Satcher, but otherwise a good day.
A while ago while I was in one of my crazy neurotic modes, I sent an email to the office of Dr. David Satcher, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Satcher, Surgeon General appointed by Bill Clinton, basically my hero), to see if he would be interested in speaking at UT for DLSC, and I got my sad rejection letter today. It was super sad. But CRAZY because HE'S currently in Atlanta at Morehouse and I'M in Atlanta and he's done stuff with The Carter Center in the past before, and I was like, whoa, mad coincidence, because I think I sent him that email BEFORE I even knew I was going to be here. But yeah this email titled "From the Office of David Satcher," popped into my mailbox, and you can tell I freaked out a lil.
The sad, sad, letter:
Anywho, today was a fabulous day. I spent the day in a session with my staff to pick the Rosalynn Carter Journalism Fellows in Mental Health. It was a blasty blast. I met a this very genial professor on staff at the Rollins School of public health at Emory, an MD/MPH, he practices clinically, teaches, AND specializes in health policy, and I was just like, dude. I want to be you in ten years please. He gave me his card, so IF I get into Emory Med/Rollins, he's the first guy I'm contacting. oh myjeezy.
I feel like I'm finally getting into the groove of things with work, I just really need to get my ass into gear with med school apps. Good.ness. It's really starting to stress/freak me out. And it's like my internship is a constant reminder of why I'm applying to med/grad school in the first place and then I get home after work every day and I'm like, crap I should be working on med school apps, but I am sooo freakin lazy and they are taking me forever and my personal statement is nowhere near what I want it to be. Ugh. I'll get it done if I keep hacking at it, is what I tell myself over and over. And I think it's kind of nice that I'm working on apps while I intern, because this internship is seriously ALL the motivation in the WORLD to do these applications really well. I think I actually enjoy filling them out once I get in one of my neurotic "fill-this-out-NOW-because-you-want-to-change-the-world" kind of moods, and knowing that these things are just the first step in the long process of getting me started on working on the kinds of things I want to work on for the rest of my life.
___________________________________
Quick EDIT:
I would like EVERYONE to know that according to my staff director at TCC, (who was an officer in Health and Human Services when Bill Clinton was president and Hillary Clinton tried to get universal healthcare in 1993), told me his expert opinion on her healthcare plan yesterday. He said that hers was one of the most well-thought out, well-formulated plans ever, and that it had some of the brightest minds in this country working on it. And the only reason it failed was not because of the plan itself, but rather because it did not get the political support or public support that it needed. Just like it is today where you have major health industry players like insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies lobbying SO HARD against getting these kinds of plans implemented, on top of conservatives who sadly love calling universal healthcare "socialized medicine" and giving it that kind of reputation. So in summary, its failure really had little to do with Clinton or her way of handling things, but more to do with a lack of support politically and from the public.
Just had to put that out there. Even though I totally support Obama for the good he's going to do in improving the image of the U.S. abroad, Clinton had some of her domestic policies straight.
The sad, sad, letter:
June 10, 2008
Ms. Richa Gupta
Junior, The
B.S. Biology Honors
B.A. Plan II Honors
Dear Ms. Gupta:
First, our sincere apology for the time it has taken for this office to reply to your request. Thank you for the invitation to Dr. Satcher to be the Speaker at your Dean’s Scholars Program. Dr. Satcher unfortunately regrets that he will not be able to honor this request.
Dr. Satcher is trying to finish a book and develop the Satcher Health Leadership Institute here at Morehouse School of Medicine requiring him to take a sabbatical from speaking except to raise funds for SHLI.
Thank you again for the invitation.
Sincerely,
C.C. Matthews
C.C. Matthews
Program Assistant II
The Satcher Health Leadership Institute
at
Email: ccmatthews@msm.edu
Anywho, today was a fabulous day. I spent the day in a session with my staff to pick the Rosalynn Carter Journalism Fellows in Mental Health. It was a blasty blast. I met a this very genial professor on staff at the Rollins School of public health at Emory, an MD/MPH, he practices clinically, teaches, AND specializes in health policy, and I was just like, dude. I want to be you in ten years please. He gave me his card, so IF I get into Emory Med/Rollins, he's the first guy I'm contacting. oh myjeezy.
I feel like I'm finally getting into the groove of things with work, I just really need to get my ass into gear with med school apps. Good.ness. It's really starting to stress/freak me out. And it's like my internship is a constant reminder of why I'm applying to med/grad school in the first place and then I get home after work every day and I'm like, crap I should be working on med school apps, but I am sooo freakin lazy and they are taking me forever and my personal statement is nowhere near what I want it to be. Ugh. I'll get it done if I keep hacking at it, is what I tell myself over and over. And I think it's kind of nice that I'm working on apps while I intern, because this internship is seriously ALL the motivation in the WORLD to do these applications really well. I think I actually enjoy filling them out once I get in one of my neurotic "fill-this-out-NOW-because-you-want-to-change-the-world" kind of moods, and knowing that these things are just the first step in the long process of getting me started on working on the kinds of things I want to work on for the rest of my life.
___________________________________
Quick EDIT:
I would like EVERYONE to know that according to my staff director at TCC, (who was an officer in Health and Human Services when Bill Clinton was president and Hillary Clinton tried to get universal healthcare in 1993), told me his expert opinion on her healthcare plan yesterday. He said that hers was one of the most well-thought out, well-formulated plans ever, and that it had some of the brightest minds in this country working on it. And the only reason it failed was not because of the plan itself, but rather because it did not get the political support or public support that it needed. Just like it is today where you have major health industry players like insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies lobbying SO HARD against getting these kinds of plans implemented, on top of conservatives who sadly love calling universal healthcare "socialized medicine" and giving it that kind of reputation. So in summary, its failure really had little to do with Clinton or her way of handling things, but more to do with a lack of support politically and from the public.
Just had to put that out there. Even though I totally support Obama for the good he's going to do in improving the image of the U.S. abroad, Clinton had some of her domestic policies straight.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Revelation/Life Goal #652
On top of everything else I want to do with my life in the years after my education (having a practice, doing global epidemiological/public health field research, working on policy, staffing for an NGO, and teaching/lecturing), it would be my dream to also go into medical journalism of some sort.
Friday, May 30, 2008
november nervousness
So every time I read a bio about John McCain, I have this crazy reaction to him. I get this new kind of respect for the guy and then all of a sudden get this rush of feelings and feel really sorry for him. He was such a tough guy, going through everything he went through in Vietnam. That's had to have left some sort of serious emotional trauma on him....
We were talking about wars and such in my office today when I had lunch with my staff (my director was drafted during Vietnam, served as a medic). But with this whole McCain thing, I mean you have a man who's seen what war is like, (especially as atrocious as it must have been in Vietnam. It has scarred the man both physically, and I'm sure, mentally/emotionally). And YET even though you have this guy who's been through all of this, you have to stop and ask yourself how the hell he's so committed to let Iraqfiasco continue! I can't understand it! And I think a big big big reason why people are buying into his argument that we should be in Iraq still, and why people are kind of legitimizing it in their head and supporting McCain for this, is because they've read this about McCain's background and about his OWN experiences with the war. And they think that if a man who's gone through so much suffering in a Nixon war says that we should continue with this Bush war, then he's the best person to say we should do it because he knows what it's like on front lines. He is John McCain, toughguy, macho, war hero extraordinaire.
And that is SO totally WRONG. I also get the feeling that he's doing this just to save face with the Republican party, because he does depart from Republican ideals in a few other areas, despite his generally rugged Conservatism.
I need the Democrats to win in November. I don't care if it's Hillary (it won't be). I don't care if it's Obama. I just want blue in the White House. Enough is enough. We have so many other priorities that this government is not addressing, including the disastrous state of healthcare, America's schools, this economy, and much more. Healthcare right now in the U.S. has gone to shit. And private insurance companies are eating people alive. EATING. And rolling disgustingly in a sick amount of profit.
Speaking of healthcare, the more and more I read about healthcare in America, the less and less optimistic I am about either Hillary or Obama's health plans. The more I read, I realize how unfeasible BOTH of them are in today's America. I think part of the reason the United States hasn't achieved universal health care is because it's so quirk-ily capitalistic, if that makes sense. But anyways, the important thing is that even though their plans are unrealistic, both of them are progressive steps in the right direction. The distinctions between them will ultimately not matter (because I'm sure both will fail), but both candidates will make it a point to give this country's healthcare system the kind of funding it means so more people are insured, health plans are more comprehensive, and quality of care doesn't suffer. And that is definitely what we need right now. Not a president who's willing to continue to minimally fund healthcare, and to continue to let insurance companies that have become so "corporate-ized" dictate who gets insurance, who doesn't, and who gets to pay an arm and a leg to get the care they need.
We were talking about wars and such in my office today when I had lunch with my staff (my director was drafted during Vietnam, served as a medic). But with this whole McCain thing, I mean you have a man who's seen what war is like, (especially as atrocious as it must have been in Vietnam. It has scarred the man both physically, and I'm sure, mentally/emotionally). And YET even though you have this guy who's been through all of this, you have to stop and ask yourself how the hell he's so committed to let Iraqfiasco continue! I can't understand it! And I think a big big big reason why people are buying into his argument that we should be in Iraq still, and why people are kind of legitimizing it in their head and supporting McCain for this, is because they've read this about McCain's background and about his OWN experiences with the war. And they think that if a man who's gone through so much suffering in a Nixon war says that we should continue with this Bush war, then he's the best person to say we should do it because he knows what it's like on front lines. He is John McCain, toughguy, macho, war hero extraordinaire.
And that is SO totally WRONG. I also get the feeling that he's doing this just to save face with the Republican party, because he does depart from Republican ideals in a few other areas, despite his generally rugged Conservatism.
I need the Democrats to win in November. I don't care if it's Hillary (it won't be). I don't care if it's Obama. I just want blue in the White House. Enough is enough. We have so many other priorities that this government is not addressing, including the disastrous state of healthcare, America's schools, this economy, and much more. Healthcare right now in the U.S. has gone to shit. And private insurance companies are eating people alive. EATING. And rolling disgustingly in a sick amount of profit.
Speaking of healthcare, the more and more I read about healthcare in America, the less and less optimistic I am about either Hillary or Obama's health plans. The more I read, I realize how unfeasible BOTH of them are in today's America. I think part of the reason the United States hasn't achieved universal health care is because it's so quirk-ily capitalistic, if that makes sense. But anyways, the important thing is that even though their plans are unrealistic, both of them are progressive steps in the right direction. The distinctions between them will ultimately not matter (because I'm sure both will fail), but both candidates will make it a point to give this country's healthcare system the kind of funding it means so more people are insured, health plans are more comprehensive, and quality of care doesn't suffer. And that is definitely what we need right now. Not a president who's willing to continue to minimally fund healthcare, and to continue to let insurance companies that have become so "corporate-ized" dictate who gets insurance, who doesn't, and who gets to pay an arm and a leg to get the care they need.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Day 1
The first day of my internship is over. It was both fabulous and overwhelming. It's weird to be living alone in a completely strange city, but I think this kind of experience will be a good thing for me, even if I do miss Austin and home and Texas and everyone there. I'll be plenty busy. And I'm going to try to make sure I keep this thing up while I'm here.
I'll have so much to work on at the office, from new global health initiatives in Africa, to helping fact-check/edit Rosalynn Carter's new book, to planning a mental health symposium for the Fall, to working on White House initiatives for mental health insurance (apparently Bush has promised to veto the bill that my office is trying to get passed that provides more equity in mental health care. Ted Kennedy's newly discovered glioma is a huge problem because he was originally the Democrat in the Senate spearheading the effort to get that bill passed, and now he's going to be MIA. And even though Rosalynn Carter got Pelosi to get the bill on the ground, it hasn't gotten very far....politics is always like that. I remember back when literally a majority of the bills I worked on in Shapleigh's office in Austin didn't even make it to the freakin floor...).
I spent most of the day after my orientation reading applications for a Journalism Fellowship/grant that the program provides to journalists and freelance writers to cover mental health issues and reduce stigma. It was interesting.
I feel like I've learned a ton in just one day.
The Carter Center and the Presidential Library/Museum that joins it are absolutely beautiful. The Carters' offices are stunning. The artwork is ridiculously awesome (President Carter was bff with Andy Warhol!) The gardens are magnificent. The foreign dignitary meeting room is probably my favorite room. The staff I work for is wonderful. The director of my program (former assistant surgeon general might I add) is my new hero, I met with him for something like an hour today and we just talked. The other interns seem amazing, so much more well-travelled and culturally literate than I am... seriously. I have a ton of respect of Rosalynn Carter. I learned today that Jimmy Carter won a Grammy (what!), which is on display in one of the halls, among a hodgepodge of numerous other random Carter memorabilia. Holla.
I'll have so much to work on at the office, from new global health initiatives in Africa, to helping fact-check/edit Rosalynn Carter's new book, to planning a mental health symposium for the Fall, to working on White House initiatives for mental health insurance (apparently Bush has promised to veto the bill that my office is trying to get passed that provides more equity in mental health care. Ted Kennedy's newly discovered glioma is a huge problem because he was originally the Democrat in the Senate spearheading the effort to get that bill passed, and now he's going to be MIA. And even though Rosalynn Carter got Pelosi to get the bill on the ground, it hasn't gotten very far....politics is always like that. I remember back when literally a majority of the bills I worked on in Shapleigh's office in Austin didn't even make it to the freakin floor...).
I spent most of the day after my orientation reading applications for a Journalism Fellowship/grant that the program provides to journalists and freelance writers to cover mental health issues and reduce stigma. It was interesting.
I feel like I've learned a ton in just one day.
The Carter Center and the Presidential Library/Museum that joins it are absolutely beautiful. The Carters' offices are stunning. The artwork is ridiculously awesome (President Carter was bff with Andy Warhol!) The gardens are magnificent. The foreign dignitary meeting room is probably my favorite room. The staff I work for is wonderful. The director of my program (former assistant surgeon general might I add) is my new hero, I met with him for something like an hour today and we just talked. The other interns seem amazing, so much more well-travelled and culturally literate than I am... seriously. I have a ton of respect of Rosalynn Carter. I learned today that Jimmy Carter won a Grammy (what!), which is on display in one of the halls, among a hodgepodge of numerous other random Carter memorabilia. Holla.
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