Ohio Doctors Urge Boehner to Stop Medicare, Medicaid Cuts
TROY, OH —Today, Doctors for America members hosted a press conference and delivered a petition to Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) of over 1,550 physicians and medical students opposing cuts to Medicare and Medicaid that would take away access to health care from the most vulnerable Americans – seniors, children and the disabled.
“As physicians on the front lines of our health care system, we understand that the rising cost of health care puts burdens our patients, our health care system, and our country,” said Dr. Vivek Murthy, President of Doctors for America. “However, we are concerned about proposals to cut Medicare and Medicaid costs that would shift the burden to those that can least afford it – seniors, children, the disabled, and the poor. We believe the right way to address health care costs is to focus on making our delivery system more efficient, improving the quality and consistency of care, strengthening the workforce, and developing payment systems that fairly reward valuable care."
There are over 2 million Medicare beneficiaries, 1.8 million Medicaid enrollees, and 265,000 children in the Children Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in Ohio. If billions are cut from Medicaid, states like Ohio will be forced to cut benefits or eligibility, causing those most in need to lose access to care. These proposed cuts have been projected to double the costs for Medicare beneficiaries and force over 44 million people nationwide to be dropped from Medicaid over the next 10 years.
“Medicare and Medicaid are there to protect our most vulnerable populations” said Ohio State Director, Dr. Don Nguyen, who delivered the petition. “The proposed cuts make affordable healthcare inaccessible to millions of low-income families and the elderly in Ohio. By shifting costs to patients, we burden those who already face significant financial difficulties. To obtain true savings, we must look to innovate within the system using different models of delivery and care.”
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Lisa Winton
My name is Lisa Winton, and I am the Ride for World Health CEO for 2012. We are a cycling team and 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based out of Columbus, OH, comprised of people from around the country with a common vision to make strides in improving both domestic and international healthcare. Our team is currently recruiting portions riders, who are welcome to join us for as little as one day, up to six weeks, as well as looking for sponsors interested in donating to our organization. Any help that can be provided in this effort would be appreciated.
The mission of R4WH is to address domestic and global health disparities by focusing on education, advocacy, and fundraising, which are attended to by utilizing a national cycling event as a vehicle for change. Each year, our Coast-to-Coast Lecture Series initiates meaningful dialogue throughout communities along our 3,700 mile journey. Through our efforts, we raise significant funds to support non-profit organizations whose goals are consistent with our vision, and empower our audience to become informed and active global citizens. The beneficiaries named for the 2012 R4WH are MANA, Louie's Kids, and SOIL.
While education is fundamental to our efforts; education alone is insufficient to generate the change we hope to see here in the US and around the world. We believe that there is a disparity of resources affecting access to basic healthcare at home and abroad. We believe this gap can be bridged through monetary support. Each rider participating in R4WH is responsible for generating funds sufficient to cover the logistical cost of traveling cross-country. Therefore,individuals or companies who chose to sponsor our ride and organization will have 100% of their contribution forwarded to our beneficiaries. In addition, sponsors receive a significant amount of advertising and marketing throughout the planning process and during our cross-country trip. A summary of the complete sponsorship packet explaining the details of the R4WH, donation levels, and our beneficiaries has been attached. If you would like a complete packet, we would be happy to mail one out with any other information you request.
The leadership team for the 2012 R4WH has been established, and our route from San Diego, CA to Washington DC has been solidified (see attachment). We are setting our goals high, hoping to recruit about 50 riders from across the nation. While the majority of our riders are typically in medical school, the R4WH is open to all those interested in joining us. Riders can join us for as little as one day, up to the entire two months, and fundraising goals are pro-rated based on the amount of time each rider participates (see attachment). If anyone in your company may be interested in participating, please let us know.
Someone from our team would be happy to sit down and talk over potential sponsorship or fundraising ideas. We would also be delighted if you would be willing to let us post information about R4WH. If anyone in your company would be interested in riding, please have them emailr4wh.recruitment@gmail.com.
If you have any further inquiries, please see our website www.rideforworldhealth.org, email or call me at (440)864-8292.
Thanks,
Lisa Winton
CEO Ride for World Health 2012
Ohio State University College of Medicine
lisa.winton@gmail.com
(440)864-8292
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