Techno-Savvy - Or Not?

In chatting with a friend this week, our conversation shifted to the topic of health care reform. “Have you read my recent T-G column on that?” I asked. No, she hadn’t seen it; she doesn’t take the newspaper. “Well, just check it out on-line,” was my response, to which she replied, “I don’t do computers.” Oh. While I know my 90 year old mother doesn’t use the computer, is it possible, as CNN reported last year, that 1 out of 5 adults in America don’t use the Internet, aren’t turning daily to a computer as a lifeline to the world of information?

I do understand. Even though I’ve used a computer since the late 80’s, I still have personal pockets of resistance. Here’s one example. I finally threw away my adding machine the other day. I didn’t use it often, but I’d pull it out at tax time and check my math (although purist that I am, I have to do the addition and multiplication on paper first). So why discard the adding machine? Because I finally figured out how to use the calculator function on my computer. Maybe next year I’ll even skip the thrill of the last-minute dash to the post office and submit the whole tax return on-line.

It’s only been within the last few months that I’ve paid a few bills on-line, but it still makes me nervous. I watch my son deposit checks by taking photos with his cell-phone, and I shake my head in wonder. So far, I’ve refused to go to total on-line bill payment because I’d be putting one more bill-envelope opener/processor – and mail-carrier - out of work.

I’m not about to discard my grease-splattered Betty Crocker and Good Housekeeping cookbooks for the convenience of recipes on Facebook or Pinetrest, although I did check on-line for a knock-off recipe for Cracker Barrel’s hashbrown casserole the other day. If I did have a smart-phone (which I don’t, as I still carry a dumb phone), given the state of the stuffed cabbage recipe page in my cookbook, I‘d be smart to keep the phone miles away from the kitchen counter.

And I’m still resisting the use of the Kindle I received as a Christmas present, because I love the feel of books in my hand, and the thrill of walking out of the library book sale with a bag full of books. However, I have published most of my books in the e-book format as well as in paperback, a smart business decision but also a sign that I want to keep a foot in both camps of life.

If Rip Van Winkle had gone to sleep just ten years ago and woken up this morning, he’d have no idea what I’m talking about. On-line bill payment, Kindle, e-book, Facebook, Pinetrest, smart phones – the world of computers has given us a brand new and ever-evolving vocabulary to match the strides in technology.

It is distressing to note that our increasingly techno-savvy world, while seen by some as a great leveler, can also increase the divide between age groups and economic classes. Access to a computer, the Internet, and even a smart phone is becoming essential for living, especially if telephone land-lines are discontinued. That simply may not be economically possible for many people, requiring a trip to the library to submit a job application or to conduct other business. Others, according to the Pew Research Center, say that the main reason they are not on-line is "because they don't think the Internet is relevant to them -- often saying they don’t want to use the Internet and don’t need to use it to get the information they want or conduct the communication they want."

That may have been valid reasoning even five years ago, but with fewer books printed, and page counts of magazines. Journals, and newspapers rapidly decreasing, the world of information transfer as many of us have known it is dwindling away. If knowledge is power and information is liberating, should we be concerned that at least some of our oldest, wisest and/or poorest citizens are out of the communication and knowledge-sharing loop? Just wondering . . .

Equitable and Affordable Health Care - Really??

My friend Maxine tells a great story about health care “back in the day.” Her older brothers had been ill with sore throats, so the doctor made a house visit to remove the offending tonsils, right on the dining room table. After he finished, he looked around and saw 5 year old Maxine watching with wide eyes and said, “Come on, Maxine. Hop on up here. We might as well take your tonsils out too.” That’s one way to save on medical costs.

That’s what health care looked like in the early decades of the twentieth century, and people paid for doctor’s visits, usually in cash, but sometimes with chickens or produce. Progress came with sickness insurance, an early form of disability insurance, then Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and finally health coverage as a benefit of employment.

There have been many efforts to provide universal coverage over the years, but none succeeded. Perhaps the most bizarre episode in health care reform occurred in the Nixon era, involving Wilbur Mills, whose House Ways and Means committee seemed to be making progress towards that goal. However, Mills was pulled over by the police at 2 a.m., and his passenger, a stripper known as Fanne Foxe, jumped into the Tidal Basin –wrecking Mills’ career and ultimately knocking healthcare reform off the table.

Now, almost 40 years later, we have the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. Like most Americans, I am confused and concerned. How will this legislation affect the bottom line of the national budget and impact those who struggle to access health care?. But, like most Americans, I also want to know the impact on the bottom line of our household budget and access to medical care for my family.

My husband and I currently have health coverage through his employer, and Obamacare has mandated the coverage be extended to our son who is under 26. So far, so good. If we need to pick up health coverage between now and Medicare eligibility, as a self-employed person I should qualify for insurance through one of the exchanges starting in 2014. That’s good news for us, because in our current income bracket, we’ll only pay less than 10% of our income for health insurance (through tax credits).

What about our 30 year old uninsured son who works full-time for a local restaurant that doesn’t offer health benefits?  If they have less than 100 employees, then the exchange program will be available to them.  if they have 100+ employees, they will have to make health coverage available, or pay fines. But what exactly does that mean? Is there anything to stop the employer from assessing a large percentage of the insurance premium to their low wage employees?

That’s what’s happening to son number 1. Because his workplace offers medical coverage to its employees, he won’t qualify for insurance under the exchanges. The way he sees it, he and his wife are stuck, because according to former CBO director Doug Holz Eaken, “Under the Affordable Care Act, if a low income household is offered qualified coverage by their employer, they are automatically ineligible for additional federal premium assistance (this is the so-called “firewall” rule aimed at creating a barrier against mass migration out of employer-sponsored insurance).”

Aye, there’s the rub, as Shakespeare was known to say. If I understand the Affordable Care Act (not an easy thing to do), if you work for Company A, and they offer healthcare insurance, you have to take that – you can’t opt out, look for a better deal, or go without unless you want to pay a penalty. So, because his company offers it, my son must continue to pay more than 50% of his bi-weekly wages for healthcare while those who qualify to use the exchanges will  pay a much smaller percentage – and those who qualify for Medicaid will pay nothing.

My friend Maxine and I are both glad that medical care in America has progressed past tonsillectomies on the dining room table.  But the Affordable Care Act hasn’t convinced me that it will truly make medical care affordable to all Americans. I hope I’m proven wrong on this one.    

 

We Are the Champions!

We spent the Easter weekend playing Upper Upper with the nephews near Buffalo, and during our return home, the alleged experts from one of Cleveland sports talk radio stations spent a couple of hours predicting that the Cleveland Indians will end their 2013 season at .500, the Cavs may make it to the end of their season with enough players to take the court, and the Browns – well, who knows how they will do. They touched briefly on the Columbus Blue Jackets’ possible appearance as the 8^th team in the playoffs for the NHL, and lamented the demise of the Buckeye’s basketball team in the elite eight. Based upon the sportscasters’ analysis and prognostications, 2013 doesn’t look like a championship year for Ohio sports teams. As my friend Gomer Pyle used to say, “surprise, surprise.”

Finally, I lifted my face from my book and bellowed at the radio – “Hey guys – take a peek down I-71 – you’ve got a national champion in your backyard – why don’t you talk about winners for a change?” They may have started out the day gushing about the Lady Eagles from Ashland University, but I kind of doubt it. Why talk about this amazing championship team when you can talk about the potential tribulations of the Tribe?

Just in case you haven’t heard, the Ashland University women’s basketball team has made it possible for us to say, “We’ve won the national championship!” Do you know how long I’ve waited to say those words? It’s been almost 50 years since the Buffalo Bills won the pre-Super Bowl AFL title game in 1964. Except for the 2002 Ohio State football championship, when the Buckeyes managed to win on the big stage, my teams have needed the Heimlich maneuver in the worst way. The four consecutive Buffalo Bills Super Bowl losses were probably the worst, but being two outs away from a World Series victory in 1997 takes a close second, and let’s not talk about the lack of a ring for LeBron and Company.

 I know – this column is running a week after the championship game – can we stop talking about the national champion Ashland University women’s basketball team and get on with life? The answer is “no.” We live in Northeast Ohio – who knows how long before we’ll be able to utter the words “national” and “champion” in the same sentence again.  I for one am going to savor this moment for a long time.

But it’s not just about the victory - here’s why I really want to keep talking about the Lady Eagles. It’s how they got there. They have so much class. After a heart-breaking overtime loss last year, they could have come home and gone back to life as usual, but they didn’t – they had unfinished business in San Antonio. Their intensity and their energy has been amazing – just as evident when they worked with the Special Olympics basketball team as when they took the court at Kates Gymnasium or in San Antonio.  

While I can’t say they’ve inspired me to shoot hoops every day, they are definitely inspirational to our community. The next time the lovely Madelyn Simone comes to visit, we’re not watching the Bubble Guppies – we’re watching the highlight video from the NCAA National Championship game that the AU Journalism and Digital Media department posted to YouTube – I want my granddaughter to know that whether as an athlete or a sportscaster, or as a mascot, musician or mother, she can reach for the stars and achieve her goals.

And, might I say it one more time – the willingness of these young women and their coaches to speak openly and powerfully about their faith has been absolutely breath-taking. The video clip from the pre-game press conference says it all. There was a common ground in Texas – not just basketball, but that of a life of faith.  

So, Ashland, while the final game is now history, let the celebration continue. Page through Wednesday’s congratulatory  insert in the T-G. Wear purple and gold. Watch the highlight videos and cheer out loud (thanks, JDM). And head over to the AU stadium on April 18^th as we collectively proclaim: We are the champions!   Woohoo!