This is NOT what Jesus was talking about, folks

The more I talk to people about Michigan SB 136, the “Religious Liberty & Conscience Protection Act,” the more I see that I’m not alone in my serious concerns about this bill. Not even close.

As I wrote in my guest post here last week, the bill would give everyone involved in healthcare broad rights to make care decisions based on religious or moral views — everyone, that is, except for patients.

Much more after the jump.

We’re on a roll with guest posts here at Eclectablog this week. Today we have a terrific essay by Amy Lynn Smith, a Michigan-based writer and communications strategist who frequently covers healthcare, government and issue advocacy. She’s writing about Senate Bill 136, legislation that is touted as giving healthcare providers a right to decline to provide or pay for certain healthcare services that they find “objectionable”. As you’ll soon see, this bill is dangerous and there is far more to it than first meets the eye. Fortunately it has not yet passed in the Senate or the House so there is still time to contact your legislator and urge them to vote against this odious, discriminatory bill.

Amy comes to me highly recommended as a writer. In addition to her writing, she served as Deputy Digital Director for Obama for America-Michigan in 2012. You can read more from her at www.alswrite.com and you can find her on Twitter at @alswrite. Please welcome her to Eclectablog. Her piece is after the jump.

Keep following the money, folks

Second in a series on the ballot proposals on Michigan’s November 6, 2012 ballot. Read them all HERE.

Proposal 4 — the Keep Home Care a Safe Choice ballot initiative — is all but a no-brainer for me. It will protect both patients and those who care for them. It goes without saying that our home health care providers are doing yeoman’s work caring for our most vulnerable citizens. These unsung heroes do the hard and indescribably valuable and necessary work to keep patients receiving home care comfortable and able to stay in their own homes. Not only that, they do it for a relative pittance while saving our health care system an enormous amount of money.

Details on why you should VOTE YES! ON PROPOSAL 4 ON THE NON-PARTISAN SECTION OF THE NOVEMBER BALLOT after the jump.

In a rather stunning rebuke this week, the Obama adminstration, through the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services denied an effort by the Republican Snyder administration in Michigan to thwart part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The federal government has denied a request by the […]

More “We can’t wait” goodness from the Obama adminstration today. The White House today will announce new rules proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor that would provide minimum wage and overtime protections for nearly two million workers who provide in-home care services for the elderly and infirmed. Many of these workers provide critical in-home health care services such as […]

I like this: We Can’t Wait: Health Care Innovation Challenge will improve care, save money, focus on health care jobsNew funding available for next generation of health care innovations WASHINGTON, DC — Up to $1 billion dollars will be awarded to innovative projects across the country that test creative ways to deliver high quality medical care and save money. Launched […]

Last month, I wrote about an attempt to privatize the nurse aides at a veteran’s health care facility in Michigan. A plan to privatize nurses aides at a state-run veterans health care facility is drawing sharp criticism from unions as well as patients at the facility. At a Michigan Civil Service Commission (MCSC) hearing this week, Commissioners heard from a […]

A plan to privatize nurses aides at a state-run veterans health care facility is drawing sharp criticism from unions as well as patients at the facility. At a Michigan Civil Service Commission (MCSC) hearing this week, Commissioners heard from a variety of speakers asking them to reverse their decision. Don Slocum sought relief from the heat in the shade of […]

This is absolutely fabulous news: The [Vermont] state Senate gave preliminary approval Monday to health care legislation that is a key part of Gov. Peter Shumlin’s agenda. The bill, a version of which already has been passed by the House, would put Vermont on a path toward what it calls a “universal and unified health system” and what the Democratic […]

A federal judge today ruled in favor of a Virginia law that declares part of the newly-enacted health insurance reform law unconstitutional. The specific part of the new law in question is the individual mandate that requires all Americans to have a minimum level of health insurance or face a tax penalty. It will likely be decided by the U.S. […]

You have got to be kidding me. This cannot be real. Sadly, it is: Maryland physician Andy Harris (R) just soundly defeated Frank Kratovil, one of the most endangered Democrats on Capitol Hill going into the November election. And he did it in large part by railing against ‘Obamacare’ and pledging to repeal Health Care Reform. But when he showed […]