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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Supreme Court Decision On Health Care Would Create Ripple Effects

A new Associated Press poll  shows that while only a third of Americans support President Obama’s health care law, 75 percent want Congress and the President to replace it with something else. In fact, 60 percent of people who identify with the Tea Party movement, want Washington to work on a new bill.

The Supreme Court is expected to decide as soon as Thursday on the law. The justices could strike down the whole thing, parts of it or uphold the law.

Guest:

  • Pam Belluck, New York Times health and science reporter and author of “Island Practice“
Other stories from Wednesday's show

We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

  • Keepinitreal

    Consider this fact:  62% of all personal bankrupties are due to medical expenses.  What’s even more alarming is that 78% of all filers had some form of health insurance. 

    The eople most opposed the Affordable Health Care Act have either never been without insurance or more likely, never tried to make a claim for anything significant.  Poor souls… one major illness away from bankruptcy and they don’t even know it. 

    • https://openid.org/oregon_stream Oregon_Stream

      And what they often don’t get is that either way we pay. Unless we’re going to let the sick and injured just suffer & die in a “civilized” society, people will keep getting expensive hospital care they (or their ‘affordable’ plan) can’t pay for, and that will be passed on to everyone else. Then there are those who pay through the nose for coverage (like my sister, who had to join a state risk pool because asthma and a joint surgery made her deniable). They are more likely to end up on Medicaid (again, unless we’re going to leave people to rot). Getting people covered and into earlier treatment makes sense, even if the new law is less than ideal.

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Thursday, May 16, 2013
Morehouse College President Talks Controversies, Challenges
Dr. John S. Wilson, Jr. is president of Morehouse College in Atlanta. (Morehouse College)

President Obama delivers the commencement address this weekend at Morehouse College, the all-male historically black college. The school’s president discusses recent controversies and challenges.

1 Comment | more »
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Jails Become De Facto Psychiatric Wards
Mark with Houston at Houston's high school graduation in 2009. (Courtesy of Mac McClelland)

Failures in mental health care mean that often the only way to get help for a loved one is to call the police. We speak with a journalist about the tragic consequences for her family.

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Thursday, May 16, 2013
‘Here & Now’ Interview Inspires Hit Country Song
"I Drive Your Truck" screenshot.

In 2011, a Nashville songwriter heard Alex Ashlock’s interview with Paul Monti, who lost his son in Afghanistan. It inspired her to write “I Drive Your Truck.”

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