Come to our discussion group on how the crisis of poor health and costly health care is exacerbated by inaction on climate change, climate denial, poor air quality, fossil fuel dependence and forced car dominance, especially in low income areas and communities of color.
Need more incentive to stand up for better treatment in the workplace and worker's rights on a wide range of issues? How about the dismal state of affairs in worker treatment and protections being a major contributing factor to poor health, including public health and safety, and higher health care costs. Discuss how chronic, costly and often serious health conditions (ie: heart disease, diabetes, etc), as well as injuries (esp. auto accidents and workplace related) are exacerbated and made more common as a result of lack of worker protections, lack of paid sick and maternity leave, overwork and poor work/life balance and hostile work environments.
We all know what a huge rip off our health care system is. But aside from just the extortion level pricing, the system is rigged so well it is nearly impossible for even a prudent and well informed consumer to navigate and avoid nasty billing surprises. Just a few examples: You make an effort to go to an in-network hospital and receive one or more out-of-network bills from doctors or other hospital staff, often for astronomical sums of money, and were given no warning of such. You receive over a dozen different bills from one hospital stay in our fragmented system, and they keep you in limbo for months, sometimes even a year or longer, after your procedure/discharge, not knowing if you will receive another unexpected bill. It is rare that any medical provider will disclose prices for a procedure, etc. beforehand, and often will not make clear whether or not it is covered by insurance. Come to our gathering, vent your frustrations, and tell your horror stories, or those of a family member or friend, in dealing with the shenanigans of our health care system, and then lets discuss how we can fight back.
Come mingle with Healthcare for All Texas members, newbies welcome! Watch funny videos of comedians mocking U.S. Healthcare system and related social justice issues and try your hand at trivia for prizes. Learn about actions, meetups and activities we are planning for next year and enjoy fabulous pizza!
For this month's gathering, we will discuss a few interrelated themes, starting with labor and worker rights, hostile work environments, lack of work-life balance, and its effect on health and health care costs.
