Health Reform Powder Keg
There’s a powder keg sitting squarely in the middle of the House, and the fuse is lit.
The deal reached with the “Blue Dog” Democrats of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on its version of the health care reform bill, has driven a wedge into the middle of the party. The Liberal arm of the party is not pleased.
It was a close vote, 31-28. The passing of this bill out of committee has caused some stir and has added to the dissension among the party’s ranks. On Thursday this week, fifty-three lawmakers from the Congressional Black Caucus, the Progressive Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and key committee chairmen formally opposing the deal. Their “opposition” called the agreement “fundamentally unacceptable” and a “large step backwards.” “We’re going to fight this with every effort that we have,” CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said Thursday. ”We’re not obstructionists. … We’re not here to embarrass or divide our party,” said Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz. But he and other liberal Democrats have said that without a meaningful public plan included in the final bill, they cannot support it.
The threats and the letter Thursday only amplified their criticism and were an indication that the deal with the Blue Dogs could cause more problems than it solves, reported Fox News. All but five Democrats on the committee voted for the plan. The other Democrats, Reps. Charlie Melancon of Louisiana, Bart Stupak of Michigan, Rick Boucher of Virginia, Jim Matheson of Utah and John Barrow of Georgia joined all Republicans in opposing the legislation.
Could this mean good news for me and you? Not yet!
We now have the opportunity to get up close and personal with our representatives. Why? Because, they are all coming home for the summer recess. Now is the time to act. Make it a point to sit down face to face with your Representative and tell them how you feel about the way things are being handled in Washington. Let them know that you will not tolerate the government making life and death decisions about your health. Tell them that we already have the best health care in the world and that if this new bill becomes law it will be a huge step backwards and will jeopardize the lives of millions of American citizens. Demand that Congress subscribe to their own health care plan if indeed it becomes law.
We have little time on our side right now so we must act quickly. Each and every one of us needs to become unofficial lobbyists and get our word out. On our side we have the fact that Obama’s numbers are dropping, this too is good. In about a month’s time, the House will reconvene. We know those looking for handouts and the Liberals will be hard at work building support for the bill, we must be fighting back.
Do we need health care reform? Absolutely! But, the proposed legislation is not the way to go. As a nation, we need to study the causes of our overpriced health care system. The average surgeon pays out as much as two hundred thousand dollars each year in malpractice insurance because of the history of law suits in this nation, most of them frivolous. Even the Paramedic that may have to show up on your doorstep one day pays malpractice premiums. The average cost of education for a medical degree is about three hundred thousand dollars. The health care industry itself is victim to outrageous equipment costs just because they are the health care industry. This, in the same way manufactures and suppliers take advantage by inflating costs for government. Hey Congress, want to reform health care? Make it cheaper for the industry to operate and costs to the end user will become more affordable, thus bringing down health care costs and reducing health insurance premiums.
Another way to reduce costs is already being realized in the private sector. Retailers like Wal-Mart, Walgreens and CVS have worked it out with the drug companies to sell the most used drugs at costs less than most prescription plan co-pays. Wal-Mart’s $4 drug list saves its customers millions in costs every year and takes some of the burden off insurance companies. I, for one, use this prescription plan because my co-pay starts at twenty dollars. Now, I’m not saying the twenty isn’t a good deal but, if I can save sixteen dollars per script, that’s what I’m talkin’ about!
There are many ways to cut back the cost of health care in this nation. But the government thinking that it can do it better is mind boggling. In six months they have tripled national deficit, have spent well over a trillion dollars trying to reduce the deficit – I still haven’t figured that one out – has taken control of the financial and auto industries and continue to drive up unemployment. Not a stellar record by any means. And now they expect us to trust them with our health? I don’t think so.
Washington needs to get out of the private sector and let Capitalism work its magic as it has in the past. Americans are an industrious bunch, history has proven this. It’s only when government becomes involved does things go downhill. Step back Washington, Americans can do the job of taking care of each other better than you will ever be able too. We care about this great nation more than you give us credit for and we care about each other. If you wish to regulate anything, regulate and limit your own interference into the private lives of the citizens of the great United States of America. Hold true to the founding documents and stop your blatant violations of the Constitution.
So let’s get to it! Party affiliation should mean nothing here, we are all Americans. We will all be affected if Washington takes over health care. We will all be losers in the end. Both parties have members who are fighting for their political lives. Get them on board and hold them to it. If your elected official isn’t representing the people, he or she is representing themselves and the White House. Their jobs are in our hands; make that very clear to them.
We The People have had enough of your meddling. The time is now; we’re taking back our nation.
Just and additional note, every House seat is up in 2010. When looking at who is working to represent you in Washington, ask them where they stand on congressional term limits. Let’s find and elect those candidates who would support term limits and hold them to their promise.