Health Care Rationing May Be Our Future

During the health care debate the public expressed concern that the health care bill would result in rationing and bureaucrats denying health care because it deemed that care to not be cost effective. We were told by politicians that we were being foolish and that that would never happen.

NOW let us look at the man that President Obama has nominated to head Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). What are the beliefs and policies advocated by Donald Berwick? CMS is the world’s second largest health care insurance provider - only Great Britain’s NHS is larger. Currently the CMS covers over 98 million Americans and has a budget of around 800 million tax payer dollars. It provides health care coverage for almost one-third of our population.

Donald Berwick is a big supporter of the rationed British system. He has stated, “I am romantic about NHS. I love it.” He has also said, “Any health care funding plan that is equitable civilized and humane must, must redistribute wealth from the richer among us to the poorer...Excellent health care is by definition redistributional.” He believes we should have a socialized health care system like that found in Great Britain. Of course, their survival rate for nearly every disease is significantly lower than ours.

The British rationing system (NICE) denies treatment if they deem this treatment to not be cost effective. Berwick supports this cost cutting rationing saying, “NICE is extremely effective.” I’m sure that the people who die because their treatment is denied, don’t appreciate this cost effectiveness.

The health care bill that Congress passed, against the wishes of the American people, has placed an unbearable burden on our health care system. We do not have the money to pay for it and we do not have enough medical providers. We will have another EMERGENCY. Isn’t it fortuitous that last year Congress established the Comparative Effectiveness Research panel (CER)? What a coincidence! We already have a bureaucratic panel that will determine who is “cost effective” and may receive medical treatment. If Donald Berwick’s nomination is approved he can approve and administer this health care rationing. He has already praised the British rationing system and would support it in this country. When asked if CER would lead to rationing he replied, “The decision is not whether or not we will ration care. The decision is whether we will ration with our eyes open.”

This sounds like a “Death Panel” to me. The question is whether Congress will allow Donald Berwick, a health care rationing enabler, to be appointed to run the CMS.

Signed,
The Electorate

People's Options: Health Care

To Congress,

People have still not forgotten the health care bill. It is still the topic of public daily conversation. We did not want this bill. We did not like this bill. People are unhappy that their opinions were ignored by Washington. We think the bill will personally harm us and harm the country as a whole.

I received your E-mails praising the virtues of the health care bill. Your arguments are weak and unbelievable. Facts do not support your statements. Even government agencies are stating that this bill will not accomplish what Congress said it would. The price of health care will go up not down. Many people will not be able to keep their insurance that they like, because companies will find it more cost effective to just pay the finds. Eventually private insurance companies will be driven out of business.

Congress passed this bill and now the public has to deal with it. In November of 2010 and 2012 we can thank you for this disaster. Twenty states have currently filled suits against the provisions of this bill. Thirty-nine states are considering or already implementing legislation to curtail the bill. A state amendment will be placed on the Florida ballot this November allowing Floridians to express their opinions of this bill. How can not purchasing a commodity be interstate commerce?

The first step to repealing and replacing this bill can begin this November. If the people can regain control of even one house, funding for the bill can be blocked. It can be repealed after the election of 2012. Most provisions of this bill will not go into effect until 2014 anyway. In the meantime we can hope that the courts will make the right decisions and declare the bill unconstitutional – which it is. Congress was not given this power.

My personal choice of solutions is to convince two-thirds of the state legislatures to call for a Constitutional Convention to precisely and limitedly define the phrases “to regulate Commerce...among the several states” and “promote the general Welfare”. Doing this would rectify this problem and prevent future problems.

Signed,
The Electorate

Health Care: Impossible Claims

Washington is making impossible claims as it seeks to convince the American people that the proposed health care bill will be good for us and the country. They ask us to abandon all reason and believe the impossible. I would like to list a few of these claims.

The government will provide higher quality health care to more people at a lower cost.

The same government that bankrupted social security and Medicare will run this new program so efficiently that the deficit will be reduced by their health care plan.

Medicare can be cut by over 500 billion dollars and the quality and quantity of senior care will not be affected.

The Medicare cuts will save Medicare even though the money saved will be spent to fund health care to other people.

A finite number of health care providers can treat 30 million more people and maintain the same quality of care.

The bill will not cause health care premiums to go up.

The bill will not cause middle class taxes to go up.

The health care bill will not exceed estimated costs. When has any government program not exceeded estimated costs?

Ten years of taxes to pay for the program is truly the equivalent of an average of five years of received benefits. Compare apples to apples and not apples to oranges.

This health care bill will not cause the national debt to soar and bankrupt our country. Out of control spending is destroying the country.

The government can fairly decide what treatment individuals are eligible to receive. Allowing a “cost effectiveness” panel is health care rationing.

Washington knows what is best for us. The American people are too dumb to know what they really want or need.

Americans do not believe these impossible claims. We are not gullible. That is one of the reasons we oppose the bill. We also do not trust our government to fairly control our health care. The government should not be able to determine how “cost effective” our lives are.

We, your constituents, do not want you to vote for this health care bill – no matter how the vote is hidden. Vote “NO” on the health care bill and “NO” on any self executing rule.

Signed,
The Electorate

Are you "undecided" Suzanne Kosmas?

Last November you voted “No” on the health care bill. Now you are under great pressure from party leadership to change your health care vote. You were summoned to the White House to discuss the issue. The President has promised that he will reward those who support him. However you do not work for the President.

You work for the people of your district. You were elected to represent your constituents. For months we have been expressing our opinions. Have you heard us? You know where we stand. Will you keep your promise to represent us?

Your health care vote is currently listed as “undecided”. What has happened to your “No” vote? After a year’s debate you must know where you stand. The question is do you stand with your constituents or do you stand with your party?

Signed,
The Electorate

Health Care: Represent Us

For a year Democrats have pushed for their version of health care reform. The more that the American people learned about the bill, the more the people opposed it. The bill would have been passed last July if the American people were not so vehemently against the bill.

Eight months later Democrats are still seeking to pass their bill. They will use any means available – no matter how devious – to do this. The American people DO NOT want this bill. The Democrats are fighting against the American people. They are supposed to represent us, but instead are turning deaf ears to our voices. Eventually they will have to stand before us and our voices will be heard.

Moderate Democrats can still save themselves and their party. All they have to do is say, “I have heard the American people. I will stand with them.” Then they must vote against this unwanted health care bill. They will start over and write a new bill which will improve our health care system instead of destroying it.

Signed,
The Electorate

Do Politicians Support the Constitution?

The House is seriously considering a devious way to pass the health care bill without a recorded vote. No one wants to go home and tell their constituents that they voted for this terrible health care bill. The House’s answer is to pass it without actually voting for it. The method they seek to employ is called the self executing rule.

The self executing rule (Slaughter Solution) would “DEEM” the health care bill to have been passed and vote on amendments to the bill. If they approved the amendments rule, they would consider that the House passed the health care bill – without a vote. This is politics as usual in Washington – another dirty trick. It is unconstitutional to pass this bill without a recorded vote.

Article I, Section 7 of the United States Constitution states, “...the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively.”

This method has been used in the past on small matters. It was unconstitutional then – It was just not challenged. Now House leadership is seeking to change one-sixth of our economy and our very lives using an unconstitutional ploy.

The American people would go ballistic if this unwanted bill were to be passed in this manner. We are very tired of the corruption in Washington and all the “special” deals and dirty tricks that politicians employ. It is time to change Washington. Are you part of the solution or part of the problem?

Signed,
The Electorate

Slaughter Solution: Another Cheap Health Care Trick

Just when we think that Congress could not possibly sink any lower, they astonish us with their ingenuity in circumventing the laws governing them and the Constitution. Now it is being suggested that the House use the “Slaughter Solution” to pass the health care bill.

This bill is already tainted with backroom deals and threats of using reconciliation. Now they seek to provide a method that will allow House members to pass this unwanted bill without going on record as voting for it. If any member is so ashamed to vote for this bill that they don’t want their name associated with its passage, he or she should vote against it.

The Slaughter Solution was devised by Representative Louise Slaughter, the House Rules chairman. Its purpose is to avoid a recorded vote on health care. This rules change would declare that the House “deems” the Senate version of health care to have been passed by the House. Members of the House would then vote on whether to accept the new rule. There would be no real vote on the bill. This would allow members of the House to go home and claim that they only voted for the rules change and not the actual health care bill.

This is nothing but another cheap lawyers trick. If you vote for the rules change, you DO VOTE for the health care bill. You are merely parsing words. If you vote for this government take-over of health care have the guts to say “I voted for this bill”. Your unwillingness to do this proves that you know how bad this bill is and how much the American public is opposed to it.

Listen to your constituents. Scrap this bill; start over; and do it right!

Signed,
The Electorate

Health Care: Behind Closed Doors

Again Democrats are meeting behind closed doors trying to find a way to pass this terrible health care bill. Moderate Democrats will be pressured to vote for a bill that they know their constituents do not want. They will be threatened. They will be offered bribes of special pet projects. Some will even be offered appointments if they lose their seat in their next election. All this desperation just underlines how bad this bill is.

Some Democrats say this bill should be passed because it is historic. The bubonic plague was historic. The Spanish Inquisition was historic. Historic does not mean desirable. Sometimes historic is really bad!

In the past months I have enumerated the many reasons this bill would be disastrous for this country. The economic havoc it will wreak should be reason enough to vote against this bill. You have already heard the reasons why the American public is against this bill. Is ideology the only reason it is being pushed so hard?

Don’t go down in history as someone who voted for this bill that will inflict so much misery on the American people. Don’t make the November election be about who will pledge to repeal the unwanted health care bill.

Signed,
The Electorate

Health Care: Let The People Decide

On Saturday the President said that “we owe the American people an up or down vote on health care”. WHAT a marvelous idea it would be if the AMERICAN PEOPLE could actually vote on the health care bill! This bill affects one-sixth of the American economy and our very lives. Remove politics and party loyalty from the equation and let the people decide if they want this bill.

Representative democracy only works if the representatives actually represent the opinions of their constituents. The American people feel ignored. We are the forgotten souls in this debate.

For over a year the Administration and Congress have focused on health care when their primary attention should have been on jobs. Ideology has trumped need.

Most people receive health care insurance at work. Since the beginning of the recession we have lost 8.4 million jobs. If you allow three family members per job that equals about 25 million people who have lost health care insurance because they have lost their jobs. Ironically this is close to the number of people the Washington proposes to provide health insurance for in their multi-trillion dollar bill. If Washington would focus on job growth, these people could receive health care insurance from their employers at a much lower cost.

In reality the health care debate is more about the federal government securing more power and authority over our lives than it is about more people obtaining health care. Time and time again the American people have told Washington that we want limited, incremental changes to our health care system. We do not want the government to take over health care. What do we have to do to get Congress to listen?

Signed,
The Electorate

Are You With The People?

This health care bill costs too much – both in money and liberties lost. The federal government is becoming a bloated monster that seeks to control all aspects of our lives. To quote Thomas Jefferson: “A government that can give you everything, can take everything away.”

Party leadership is desperate to pass the health care bill. There is nothing that they will not do or say to accomplish this. They will threaten to withdraw their support in the next election. They will promise that any pet pork project that you desire will be included in a future bill.

In the end voting for this bill will cost you more than anything you might gain by voting for it. No reward they promise will compensate for what you lose. The vast majority of the American people are strongly against this health care bill. Voting for it will cost you the support of your constituents. The politicians supporting this bill are fighting the American people.

It will take a very strong person to stand up to the pressure being exerted by party leadership. Will you stand with us or stand against us?

Signed,
The Electorate

Still A "Bad" Bill

Adding a few pages of watered down Republican suggestions to a 2700 page bill does not turn a bad bill into a good bill. It does not turn it into a bipartisan bill. The blame will not be spread around. It will rest solely on the shoulders of those who wrote and supported it. It is still an ugly bill that will produce dire consequences.

The federal government will still be able to determine what treatment is allowed and who can receive this treatment (Comparative Effectiveness Research panel).

This bill will bankrupt the country. It is Medicare and Medicaid on steroids. We already can not pay for them. Ten years of full implementation of this plan will cost well over two trillion dollars.

A portion of the bill is funded. It cuts over 500 billion dollars from Medicare (those pesky old folks) and creates 500 billion dollars of new taxes. Who in their right mind thinks it is wise to raise taxes in a recession?

The bill will force all people to buy health care insurance – whether they want it or not. Never in the history of our republic have citizens been required to buy something just because they were citizens. This is probably unconstitutional.

Public tax dollars can be used to fund abortion. Should people, who consider abortion to be wrong, be forced to pay for it? Also there is no conscience cause for health care providers.

These are only a few of the undesirable provisions of this bill. It will create a larger more intrusive government that seeks to control our lives. It will lower the quality and quantity of our health care. It will bankrupt this country as it bankrupted the nations of Europe who have socialized (universal) medicine.

We have the best health care system in the world. Why are Congress and the Administration trying to destroy it? The system should be improved not replaced by a system that has been proven not to work.

Congress knows the American people do not want this bill. If this bill is passed, the Fall election will be decided by who voted for the bill and who will vote to repeal it.

Signed,
The Electorate

We Do Not Consent!

Congress has a comprehension problem. For many, many months the American people have been telling Congress that we do not want these health care bills that you are trying to push down our throats. We do not want the federal government to run or control our health care. In great detail we have expressed a plethora of reasons why we do not want these bills. There is so much to dislike about these bills. Can Congress not hear our voices! Congress is either not listening to their constituents or they just don’t care what our opinions are. In their arrogance they say that they know what is best for us. They infer that we are so stupid that we do not know what we really need.

Congress is supposed to govern with the consent of the governed. You do not have our consent. I will speak as clearly and concisely as I can. I will speak slowly and use small words.

SCRAP. THE. BILLS!

START. FROM. SCRATCH!

Signed,
The Electorate

Health Care Through Reconciliation

Apparently Democratic leadership has decided to try to push this unwanted heath care bill down the throats of the American people using reconciliation. Reconciliation would require the House to pass the exact bill that the Senate passed. This bill could then be signed into law by the President without returning to the Senate for another vote. Then the House could amend the health care bill. The amendments would be attached to a budgetary bill. This second bill would then be passed in the Senate using reconciliation. Only 51 votes would be needed for this process. Reconciliation can only be used for budgetary bills. Health care is not a budgetary bill. The reasoning behind this maneuver must be: If you can’t do it legally, then cheat.

The Senate bill is a monstrosity filled with corrupt deals that were crafted behind closed doors. The quality and cost of the health care you receive depends on where you live. In Florida we retain Medicare Advantage. In Nebraska the state will not have to pay new Medicaid costs. Connecticut and Louisiana received “special” deals. Americans should be treated equally no matter where they live.

The proposed program will be paid for by cutting 500 billion dollars from Medicare as more and more people enter Medicare. Some are even foolish enough to claim that cutting Medicare expenses will save the program. This money is not being saved. The federal government is using this money to pay for health care for others.

The plan is also being paid for by a bevy of new taxes. Congress proposes raising taxes in a recession. This can only prolong and deepen the recession. “Cadillac” plans – most plans received at work – will be taxed at forty percent. We are already drowning in taxes.

The language in the Senate bill will allow tax dollars to be used for abortion. People who believe that abortion is morally wrong should not be forced to pay for abortion for others.

This is the bill that House leadership will ask you to vote for. It is an ugly bill and will greatly exceed its estimated cost of just under a trillion dollars. This bill will affect one-sixth of our economy and the daily lives of all Americans. It should not be passed in such a devious manner.

You will face huge pressure to vote for the Senate health care bill. I hope you are strong enough to stand up to this pressure and stand up for the people you represent.

Signed,
The Electorate

Health Care 3.0

Health care is like a bad horror movie. No matter what happens it keeps coming back to life. It will not go away. The American people keep telling Washington that they do not like or want these bills. What part of “no” does Washington not understand? The explanation of the health care bills is not the problem. It is the substance of the bills.

The Administration has posted an eleven page outline of its health care bill. This supposedly “new” bill is mainly the Senate version of health care with a few House provisions included in it. It may be the worst of all three bills.

The federal government will regulate any health insurance price increases. The states already do this. I’m sure federal price fixing of health care insurance is just what this country needs.

The bill still creates a board which would decide what treatments can be provided and who would be eligible for these treatments. Life and death health decisions should not be in the hands of bureaucrats. Treatment decisions should be between the patient and their doctor.

All states would now receive the Cornhusker Kickback and Louisiana Purchase. The federal government would pay 100% of the costs of new Medicaid recipients until 2018. This can only be funded by new taxes, more printing, or more borrowing. This is irresponsible. After 2018 the states would be responsible for their share of these Medicaid costs. At that time it becomes an unfunded mandate and an albatross around the necks of the states.

In this new bill not only unions are exempted from the tax on “Cadillac” plans. Now everyone is exempt until 2018. After that date the tax will be reinstated – at least for non-union citizens. This is another expensive provision that this country can not afford.

This bill promises everyone everything. It promises anything that might get it passed. Washington can always change it later. Just create a national health care program. Universal health care is the “Holy Grail” of liberals and progressives. They will do or say anything to get it.

The American people do not want this national or universal health care. What sane person would want the federal government to dictate what health care they can receive and how much it would cost? Politicians seem to think the public is stupid. We aren’t stupid enough to put our health care into their hands.

Signed,
The Electorate

Washington is Still Trying to Push Health Care Down Our Throats

The Administration is crafting a combined health care bill. They state that they will attach this health care bill to a budget bill and use reconciliation to pass the bill in the Senate. They seek to do this since they do not have enough votes to pass this bill any other way. The ends justify the means in their minds. If this is the only way to pass the bill, it should NOT be passed.

Reconciliation is a parliamentary trick – a lawyer’s trick – which allows a bill to pass the Senate with a simple vote of 51. You can not legally create a new all-encompassing program by reconciliation. Reconciliation allows for no debate in the Senate. There will be no cloture vote. It circumvents the intent, if not the letter of the law. Reconciliation is only allowed for budgetary bills. Attaching a health care bill to a budget bill does not make health care a budgetary bill. This would just be another end run around our laws and Constitution.

Health insurance reform can not be passed by reconciliation. No doubt Congress will do this at a latter date. No one would vote against preventing people from being excluded from obtaining insurance because of a pre-existing condition. The new humongous, powerful government health care system would already be enacted. That seems to be what is really important in Washington – not the good or opinions of the people.

If Congress circumvents the will of the people using a cheap trick like reconciliation, the repercussions will be horrific. The people will not tolerate this misuse of power. All and any power that the federal government has comes from the people – not the other way around. If our legislators are unable or unwilling to represent us, we will replace them with legislators who will. November is just over the horizon. If this bill is passed, it can be replaced or can languish unfunded. We want sane, logical health care reform not a large, expensive health care program run by the government.

Signed,
The Electorate

Bi-Partisan Health Care Meeting

I have serious doubts about the scheduled bi-partisan health care meeting. Health care discussions must start from the beginning. Starting any discussion with bills that have already been rejected by the American public is a foolish waste of time. The House bill is toxic. The Senate bill is toxic. What little is known of a joint bill is compromised beyond redemption. The American public wants a simple bill that will cut costs and not infringe upon their rights to control their own health care. We do not want a convoluted monster where quicksand traps are hidden in the details.

Some Democrats are saying that people really liked the health care bills. They just did not like all the special backroom deals that the bills contained. This is not true. Before the Cornhusker Kickback, the Louisiana Purchase, and the special deals for unions, the American people were against the bills. Poll after poll supports this. To believe something that is so patently untrue is delusional. To quote a past Democrat – “You are entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts.”

I believe that this bi-partisan meeting is intended to be a dog and pony show for the American public. The President believes he can use his oratory skills to convince the American people that anything is true. He thinks he will lift his golden voice and the scales of ignorance will fall from people’s eyes. They will see that he is right. Birds will sing; the clouds will part; and rays of sunshine will illuminate his head. This health care bill is a magnificent bill. It must be for he says so.

When you are selling snake oil, only the gullible will buy.

If this meeting is to be productive – if it is not just a political gimmick – attendees must approach it as honest brokers with open minds. Any health care bill that will be accepted by the American people must start again from the beginning. This country has the best health care system in the world. We want to improve the system not destroy it.

Signed,
The Electorate

Practical Health Care Reform

Cautiously members of Congress are again quietly talking about passing a health care bill. The House wishes to change the Senate bill and the Senate is considering passing the altered bill by reconciliation which would only require 51 “aye” votes. This would be a gigantic mistake. The country is against both health care proposals and would be incensed if a combined bill was passed using a parliamentary trick.

Congress needs to scrap the House and Senate bills. They are toxic. Congress needs to start over with a bi-partisan bill. There are a number of areas of agreement. There are logical steps that would truly improve health care without a governmental take-over.

1. Tort Reform is essential – real tort reform not token tort reform. A “losers pay” system would greatly reduce frivolous law suits. If doctors didn’t have the threat of these frivolous suits hanging over their heads, they would not order unnecessary tests.
2. No one should be excluded from obtaining health care insurance because of a preexisting condition.
3. Do not gut Medicare as more and more seniors enter the system. The government made a promise. It needs to keep it. However we need to actively seek to cut the fraud in both Medicare and Medicaid. Why aren’t we already doing this?
4. Citizens should be able to purchase insurance across state lines. How can Congress justify regulating health insurance under the commerce clause, if we can not purchase it across state lines? We can buy everything else nationally. We should be able to purchase the health insurance that best suits our needs.
5. We need more doctors. The federal government should offer full scholarships for primary care doctors-to-be if they will work seven years in a free clinic for a set salary.

Most in Congress would agree to these five steps. Congress needs to drop their agendas and enact common sense solutions. Do not complicate the issue. This should not be about gaining power but about doing the right thing for the country.

Signed,
The Electorate

Health Care: Please Explain

If the proposed health care bill is so good why do so many groups have to be exempted from its provisions before they will support it?

Signed,
The Electorate

Health Care: Sold To Special Interests

I didn’t like the House health care bill or the Senate health care bill. I didn’t expect to like the combined bill either, but was willing to wait and see what it would contain. I failed to realize just how bad it could be! First reports are horrendous. It was foolish of me not to realize how bad it could be. My father came from Chicago and I know how corrupt Chicago politics can be. The “Friends of Barack” receive special treatment. This bill is filled with special deals for the select few and what people in the real world would consider bribes. It does the exact opposite of what it was suppose to do. It will reduce the quality and quantity of health care; will increase the costs of health care; will raise taxes in a recession; and does not cover all citizens. This is not what we were promised.

Perhaps I was an optimist, but I thought there were still legislators in Washington who wanted to do what was best for the country - that they would base their votes on this and not party politics. How naive I was! This has not happened. It takes a special kind of moral fortitude to stand up for what is right and withstand the threats, browbeating, and bribes of party leaders. Does anyone in Washington still have this moral fortitude? If so the fate of the country is in their hands.

Signed,
The Electorate

Why Are Unions Special?

I have never before seen such levels of blatant cronyism and corruption as there is in Washington now. If you are a friend or supporter of those in power then you are treated differently. All men are equal – some are just more equal than others. This is not what the United States of America is based on. We might as well be ruled by George III. Favorites are given special favors.

It is being proposed that union members will be exempted from the 40 percent Cadillac tax on health care until 2018. Everyone else will be subject to this tax. Union members are treated in a different manner than their neighbors are – even if their neighbors make less than they do. Even union members will tell you that this is not fair. Fairness is an American characteristic. This will be an unpopular decision. It may be the final blow for the Democratic Party. Our founding documents guarantee us equal treatment and equal opportunity. Where is the equality in this proposed health care bill?

Union members are exempt from paying their fair share. Lawyers wouldn’t allow tort reform to be included in this bill. Unions and lawyers support Democrats financially and at the polls. This bill is blatant pay-back. I would hope that we could have a health care bill that would benefit all of America. Apparently Congress wishes us to have a bill that only benefits a select friendly few. Citizens will vocally oppose this unfair treatment and their wraith will be felt in the November elections. The clock is ticking.

Signed,
The Electorate