LETTER: Health care reform needed, not government mandates
Published: November 30, 2009
Most responsible Americans who are following the Health Care Reform issue would agree that change is needed. However, government mandates are NOT the answer. Whatever you choose to call it:
socialized medicine — co-ops — a public option — individual or employer mandates — it’s “BAD MEDICINE“.
Reducing health care quality, increasing costs, limiting choice of doctors and increasing the federal deficit limit the options for freedom to choose YOUR doctor and YOUR health plan. In addition, freedom
to spend YOUR health care dollars as YOU choose along with making YOUR medical decisions are in peril under the current plan proposed by both the House and the Senate.
Articles’ appearing in the News & Messenger praise elected officials for their stance on the issue, but of particular importance is the two-faced or better yet hypocritical approach demonstrated by
Congressman Connelly. Specifically, in town hall meetings — to which most of us were not invited, but reported in the news, and in a teleconference call which I signed up for but was not allowed
connectivity — Congressman Connelly went on record to espouse that senior citizens would be protected from the outcome of his vote. However, his vote in favor of HR 3200 (Americas Affordable Health
Choices Act of 2009) is in direct opposition to his promise.
The bill has seniors nervous — for good reason. Over $500 billion is targeted to be eliminated from Medicare over the next decade which, for seniors, translates to: “longer wait times at hospitals and
doctors offices, less money for new treatments, restrictions on care, prescriptions…” (60 Plus Association).
Not since the great Claude Pepper (D-Fla.), who established a reputation for looking out for seniors, has another legislator taken a leadership roll in doing the same. If you care about your moms, dads
and others who fall into the senior citizen category, contact your elected officials and defeat this dastardly approach in “Screwing Our Seniors.”
Full disclosure — I’m a senior citizen.
A. Vic Poillucci
Woodbridge
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Reader Reactions
BullRunPC - the questions you ask are, admittedly, tough. I agree we need health care reform. Here’s my gripe - the Congress is going to “debate” a one trillion dollar healthcare bill in only a few months and expect to pass something that will work? Read that out loud to yourself and see if it makes sense. One trillion dollars! Put aside the tear jerking questions for a second and just ask yourself the question. You’ve seen how Congress “debates” things. Watch CSPAN - either house - is there real debate. The debate takes place in the back rooms where the votes are traded. On something as crucial as healthcare, for one trillion dollars, they can do better than that!
samstoycam1:
I can take criticism, but I think you are totally mixed up on my posts. The fact is I have posted NOTHINGS concerning health care issues, regatrdless of who made them.
I do have several posting where is have said:
1. that there is nothing specific or concrete (i.e. passed), so what is there to comment on?
2. those fighting reform most likely eat off the present industry in some way
3. the govt can run a program as well as private industry
4. Regarding tort, we hear only about HUGE settlements but not the others of less
5. The Repubs aren’t interested in reform, as shown by “just say no” and lockstep voting
Maynbe there are a couple more…but the hard fact is that I have NOT develed into any reform topic, coverage, costs, etc. If you disagree, then please cite them.
Why do you dikslike someone stating the obvious?
samstoycam1,
“If this bill is so great, why won’t your democratic congress include themselves in it? Why do they exempt themselves? “
The bill passed by the House includes a provision that all members of Congress use the health care options provided in that bill.
BullrunPC and PHdee, as with most liberals, don’t know what they’re talking about. It’s all about emotion and government dependence. Here’s how it works. My fiancee is a critical care nurse in the CCU of the number 1 hospital in the U.S. The staff treats the richest in New York City and the homeless, literally one room apart. Insurance or not. So don’t continue on with the BS about the number of people dying without insurance. Do we need reforms? Yes. Do we need an overhaul? No. The same mentality that seeks to “equal the playing field” in every aspect of life will render our health care system to mediocrity as we’ve seen in our public education system and everything else the government touches. It never ceases to amaze me the lengths that some will go to remove personal choice and personal responsibility and interject government control. Another personal ancedote. I know a business owner, artist. Pays what he feels is a lot for health insurance but doesn’t want to “make more art” to get better insurance. His choice but IT’S A BAD SYSTEM. Question to PHdee Diddy. If this bill is so great, why won’t your democratic congress include themselves in it? Why do they exempt themselves? You tell me Doctor…you tell me. So let’s hear your usual smart retort Pee Dee.
Yes we pay for that insurance so we should have some say in that insurance, not some government wonk who thinks he knows best.
Mr. Poillucci parrots arguments previously raised by Rush Limbaugh and others on the far right. Nothing new here.
Also, on this matter of insurance “mandates”—doesn’t the government mandate that you have liability insurance if you intend to drive a car, workers’ compensation insurance for your injured employees, etc.? We seem to live with that okay, don’t we?
The only ones taking advantage of emergency rooms are those who are not entitled too. Phdee back from your bender.
Republicans, Conservatives, Independents, Liberals, Democrats, and many others are not against Health Care Reform.
Health Care Reform is needed because the current system is broken and needs to be fixed.
The opposition to the current bills passed by the House and the Senate has occur ed for many reasons:
1) They are not viewed as fixing the problems.
2) They are too complex and various parts need to be considered separately in different bills.
3) They do not address what the electorate wants. They were crafted without consideration of the concerns of the electorate.
4) The bills are so lengthy that most congressmen and their constituents cannot read, comprehend, and intelligently debate are the various provisions.
Without the various reforms that people wants that these bills do not address, and provisions in these bills that will make Health Care worst there is no way that this bills will fix the system. More likely they will make it worse.
Congressman Connelly is in a very bad position. This is the first term he has been elected to as a Representative and he has faced a steep learning curve. Not wanting to rock the boat he has taken the easy way out and blindly voted with his fellow Democrats on these far left bills. Was he right in doing so or wrong? Can he explain to his constituents how each of the provisions in these bills would make Health Care meets their concerns?
While Health Care Reform is needed, I opine that these bills will do more damage to the system resulting in fewer health problems being successfully addressed.
Contact Congressman Connelly and let him know what you think of this bills.
BullRunPC:
None of the posters here will come forward and answer your question. In their heart, at least some of them, they know they are wrong…but they are selfish and greedy.
When you give a dog a warm bowl of milk, he will sup it, and then go lay down and lick his underside.
fordham - who gets hurt? Everyone with insurance who picks up the tab when you go to the emergency room.
The only questions I want answered are these:
1. Which anti-healthcare poster here will volunteer to tell the uninsured parent their children don’t deserve treatment?
2. Which of you wants to justify allowing 45,000 citizens a year die for lack of insurance?
3. Which of you wants to explain to the 83% of uninsured that are working why they don’t deserve affordable healthcare?
How about the health insurance employee who couldn’t even afford coverage for herself?
What about the woman attending a free clinic and seeing a doctor for the first time in years because she has no coverage who gets told she has stage 4 breast cancer and is going to die?
You are so concerned about the deficit you loose sight of what is really important - lives. You are prepared to let your fellow citizens die for lack of care rather than pay a little more in taxes or force the greedy insurance industry to change their ways.
The deficit is roughly 10% of GDP. As the economy recovers it becomes less and less a percentage. If you owe $100,000 and make $200,000 it’s a big deal. If you make $1,000,000 its not such a big deal.
The Republicans who now gripe about deficits had no problem funding Iraq and Afghanistan off budget, with no plan to pay for it.
And anyone who claims we have the best healthcare in the world! ONLY IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT!
Patrick Swayze and Farrah Faucet did not have to beg an insurance company for experimental treatments and they outlived the typical patient by a wide margin. They were rich. The rest of us DO NOT GET the best healthcare in the world.
WE GET THE BEST CARE OUR INSURANCE COMPANY WILL ALLOW.
Tell me about the insurance company in NY that cancelled an entire class of polices because one client was too expensive. They decided his life wasn’t worth the costs. Yeah we got the best care alright. liberaliesd - you want to tell the kid he was going to die? Want to explain to him why his life is too expensive to support? Only when the Attorney General and the media brought it to light did they back off.
Seems to me the only rationed care is the insurance companies rationing. The only death panels are insurance companies deciding when your life is cutting into their profits too deeply and they pull the plug not the Obama administration.
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