Skier's Death Shows Lack of U.S. Healthcare Coverage (for 1/30/12)

Sarah Burke, a famous skier from Canada, died on January 19th from injuries in a skiing accident nine days earlier in Utah. If her accident occurred in Canada, it would have been covered. Canada has universal coverage, otherwise called single-payer healthcare. Therefore, it was not covered. She received donations of over $300,000 from fans worldwide to cover her medical bills of around $200,000. Medical bills annually bankrupt 700,000 American families, who often lose their homes in the face of serious illnesses or a catastrophic injury like Sarah Burke's. Healthcare reform curbed some of the worst insurance company practices, such as denying people insurance on the basis of pre-existing conditions. But, it did not deliver single-payer healthcare necessitating donations like Burke received. http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/30/10274212-iconic-skiers-death-points-out-us-health-gap

Boehner: Lobbied for Keystone XL, Invests in Oil (for 1/24/12)

Speaker of the House John Boehner looks out for the desires of his biggest campaign donors, especially oil and gas companies, when he casts his votes on bills. Citizens United has highlighted this problem that exists in too many lawmakers in Washington, D.C. by now allowing unlimited spending by corporations in political campaigns. Boehner has also paid back oil and gas companies by investing in them. He pushed the Keystone XL Pipeline while holding investments of $10,000 to $50,000 each in seven companies involved in extracting oil from Canada's tar sands. When President Obama said TransCanada cannot yet build the pipeline, Boehner's spokesperson falsely accused Obama over the number of jobs lost on this denial. http://www.politicususa.com/en/john-boehner-keystone-xl