West Virginia
West Virginia Information
Contact Information
Mountain State PNHP
Website: http://mountainstatepnhp.com/
E-mail: mountainstatepnhp@citynet.net
Media Contact
Elizabeth Kurczynski
304-388-1540
ekurczynski@hsc.wvu.edu
Dr. Kurczynski is a professor of pediatrics at West Virginia University, Charleston She is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin.
Local Unions Endorsing HR676
- Local 995, United Steelworkers (USW), Follansbee, WV
- West Virginia AFL-CIO
- West Virginia Brooke-Hancock Central Labor Council
- Local 5668, United Steelworkers (USW)
February 11, 2008
Universal health care: U.S. could outdo Canadians
By Elizabeth Kurczynski and Allen Chauvenet | West Virginia Gazette
As physicians who treat children with blood diseases and cancer at Women and Children’s Hospital, we frequently see families with either inadequate insurance coverage or no coverage at all. These are almost always working families with one or both parents who have a steady job. These families are part of the 47 million Americans and the 322,000 in West Virginia with no health insurance coverage. Even families with “good” coverage are paying more per year with much higher co-payments and deductibles, since the cost of health insurance for a family is now over $12,000 per year.
December 13, 2007
Single-payer plan helps all
Richard Iammarino, M.D. | The Charleston Gazette
In medical care, most charges are not related to cost. This is an important point. There have been many attempts to tie charges to cost. As health-care bills go up, it is clear that these are not working. It is in this area that a single-payer plan makes sense and will save money. A single-payer plan is the most effective way to help charges relate rationally to cost. The reason is the ability to be effective in negotiations.
August 29, 2007
‘Profit equation’: Health-care plan should not be financially motivated
Terry Gossard | The Charleston Gazette
The pursuit of profit has always been the principal motivating driver that sustains the American economy. Few would argue this because it strives to provide an economic lifestyle essential to America’s work force, small businesses and large corporations and the overall viability of local, state and federal government. However, the delivery of basic health care to all Americans should be removed from the “profit equation” at least as we relate it to the corporate bottom line.
August 12, 2007
Health-care system: Single payer is the way to go
By Hedda Haning | The Charleston Gazette
Co-payments and deductibles raise consumers’ out-of-pocket costs substantially higher. Claims are denied. Many insured do not get the care they need, and the uninsured are totally out in the cold, but often invisible to the community.