There have been many heated arguments about health care reform, some of which I have been involved in. I have to be honest, I don't always understand the sometimes, violent opposition.
I encountered this same opposition with a friend of mine and our "discussion" went on for hours over email. Let's be clear, I was angry, not because he did not agree with me but because he resorted to name calling and insults to make his "point". Tempted as I was too return the favor, I knew that would just demean the value of what I know and believe to be true, and that is something I refused to betray.
There is no point in going over the details of this particular conversation, suffice it to say that he was sure it would be the downfall of this great country.
A week or two later, my family and I went to spend the day at his house with his family at the invitation of his wife. It was quite a pleasurable day with lively conversation about the kids and the anticipation of the upcoming start of the new school year. The kids swam and splashed in their pool to their heart's content. The adults enjoyed a beautiful array of snacks displayed by our lovely hostess. Our esteemed host laughed and joked as he mixed batch after batch of amazing Mojito cocktails for us.
Our hostess began telling us about her nightmare experience in trying to get affordable health insurance for her family. She ran into issue after issue trying to solve this problem. The host also joined the conversation about how ridiculous it was to try and buy health insurance because of perceived "pre-existing conditions". I have to admit, I was slightly amused at his aggravation, not because I wished these troubles upon them, but because I found it amusingly ironic after our previous email "conversation".
I retold our host the story about how my niece was denied insurance coverage after she donated her kidney to my husband 5 years ago. He was very vocal about how ridiculous it was to deny coverage to someone who had given so much of herself. He turned and looked at me and pointed
his finger at me and said, "that is something that needs to change!" Smiling, my only reply was, "of course, I agree!"
If you get right down to it, we all want the same things; opportunities, fair treatment, freedom and help when we have hit hard times. We all want the ability to care for our families, and friends when they are sick and in need. But this shouldn't come at the cost of the stability and security of our families.
Our out of pocket health care expenses are extremely high and our access is limited at best. If you are fortunate enough to have the ability to absorb these costs then I am not speaking to you, unless of course you care about someone other than yourself.
This country has the resources, the technology and the need to care for all of its citizens. We can prove this to ourselves and the world by making it happen with the exchange of new ideas and a united purpose. There is no logical reason that the downfall of any American family should be caused by the expenses or lack of quality medical care.
Just change the conversation from left against right to person to person.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
I am not a religious person by any stretch of the imagination. I was, however, raised as a Catholic so I have some real life experiences to draw upon in the ways of righteousness. This is hopefully, a little reminder to any who might lean towards more of a Moral Majority approach to government and the responsibility to it's people.
Here is a passage from the bible that directly confronts any issue one might take with health care reform. Seek the truth, do what your Savior would expect you to do.
Matthew 25:34
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’
44 “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’
45 “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
46 “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
I no longer subscribe to any religion for a myriad of reason that are not relevant to this conversation. What I do subscribe to is the idea that, we, as human beings, sharing the same goals of health and happiness, should do a much better job of taking care of each other. It is not only a Christian or Catholic, Jewish or Muslim idea to love thy neighbor. You don't need religion to have morals and love for one another. I hear so much hate coming for so many directions that it is mind boggling.
Ask yourself, if you were down and out, sick without resources, would you expect that your country should take care of you. For those who say the market will save us, I say, on this subject of taking of our fellow citizens, the government should take care of it's people. Wasn't this government founded by the people, for the people? Did we all forget that? When did it become by the rich, for the rich, or by the politicians, for the politicians? This government belongs to us, and it needs to work for us, the people, not the corporations, not the special interest groups, not the religious right.
It's important to know that people who don't practice any religion whatsoever, have a great passion for helping our fellow citizens who can't help themselves. We care about people in our towns, our states, our country and our entire world. We are fighting everyday to stay alive and tomorrow we will be here to fight another day. Not for religious people but for all people.
I am fighting for my life, and for yours!
Here is a passage from the bible that directly confronts any issue one might take with health care reform. Seek the truth, do what your Savior would expect you to do.
Matthew 25:34
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’
44 “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’
45 “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
46 “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
I no longer subscribe to any religion for a myriad of reason that are not relevant to this conversation. What I do subscribe to is the idea that, we, as human beings, sharing the same goals of health and happiness, should do a much better job of taking care of each other. It is not only a Christian or Catholic, Jewish or Muslim idea to love thy neighbor. You don't need religion to have morals and love for one another. I hear so much hate coming for so many directions that it is mind boggling.
Ask yourself, if you were down and out, sick without resources, would you expect that your country should take care of you. For those who say the market will save us, I say, on this subject of taking of our fellow citizens, the government should take care of it's people. Wasn't this government founded by the people, for the people? Did we all forget that? When did it become by the rich, for the rich, or by the politicians, for the politicians? This government belongs to us, and it needs to work for us, the people, not the corporations, not the special interest groups, not the religious right.
It's important to know that people who don't practice any religion whatsoever, have a great passion for helping our fellow citizens who can't help themselves. We care about people in our towns, our states, our country and our entire world. We are fighting everyday to stay alive and tomorrow we will be here to fight another day. Not for religious people but for all people.
I am fighting for my life, and for yours!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Letter to my congressman!
Dear Congressman Miller,
I appreciate the feedback you have given to my request as to your stand on healthcare reform.
However, I strongly disagree with your argument against the Health care reform bill. The market will not ensure good health care for people, it never has and it never will. Caring for the health and welfare of our wonderful citizens should not be in the hands of profit based insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industries, as the only way they can profit is to deny services when they are most needed. The pharmaceutical companies gouge the public at large. These tried and true tactics for profit only ensure that the wealthy can afford good preventative medicine and these industries are not in the business of saving people, they are in the business of making money.
No one is trying to take away America’s health care choices, we are trying to provide another choice other than the bad expensive choices that we have now. If you like what you have, you can keep it. I assume that you understand that people, such as myself, who are unemployed and cannot afford private insurance are not in a position to make choices. Where there is no money, there are no choices. Choices are for fortunate individuals such as yourself who will never have to be in my position, which by the way is not unique.
Here are some of the things that you have not addressed and that I am sure you are well aware of:
About half of the bankruptcy filings in the United States are due to medical expenses. Source: Health Affairs Journal 2005
Life expectancy at birth in the US is an average of 78.14 years, which ranks 47th in highest total life expectancy compared to other countries. Source: CIA Factbook (2008)
The United States is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not have a universal health care system. Source: Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences
In 2006, the percentage of Americans without health insurance was 15.8%, or approximately 47 million uninsured people. Source: US Census Bureau
The primary reason given for lack of health insurance coverage in 2005 was cost (more than 50%), lost job or a change in employment (24%), Medicaid benefits stopped (10%), ineligibility for family insurance coverage due to age or leaving school (8%). Source: National Center for Health Statistics
More than 40 million adults stated that they needed but did not receive one or more of these health services (medical care, prescription medicines, mental health care, dental care, or eyeglasses) in 2005 because they could not afford it. Source: National Center for Health
I think this fact is the one the best addresses your philosophy on allowing the market to offer choices
Medicare operates with 3% overhead, non-profit insurance 16% overhead, and private (for-profit) insurance 26% overhead. Source: Journal of American Medicine 2007
We are interested in real solutions, the status quo does not work. We are all aware who markets are good at providing for, and that’s the shareholders. The healthcare market is profit driven and does not serve the needs of the citizens of this country that won't bring a profit for the millions of dollars in payroll for the CEO’s. Sound familiar? Reminds me of the Banking industry that gets bailed out after they ripped apart the heart of this country. We the people suffer.
The scare tactics that are being used regarding people losing the current policies that they are happy with are false, and are an egregious misuse of the taxpayers trust. It’s right up there with Weapons of Mass Destruction.
The tax benefits do not help unless you can pay for services first. We cannot pay sir. We, as millions of others in this country forgo medical treatment altogether because we need to put food on the table for our children.
Your theories about this country’s grave situation is regrettable. Although, it has enlightened me. I will share your thoughts with many people that are in a similar situation as my family and we can make the appropriate choices on election day, as we did in the presidential election.
Thank you for your honesty!
Julie
Concerned citizen
From: Congressman Gary G. Miller [mailto:gary.miller@mail.house.gov]
Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2009 1:33 PM
Subject: Message from Congressman Gary G. Miller
August 13, 2009
Ms. Julie
Orange County, California 92691
Dear :
Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts on reforming our nation's health care system. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue. I strongly believe that Congress must control skyrocketing health premiums and ensure quality delivery by giving consumers more options, so they can choose the best health care for themselves and their families.
As you may know, an estimated 40 million Americans are not covered by health insurance. To resolve this problem, some have proposed implementing a government-run health care system that would cover each and every American. While the theory behind universal health care is well-intended, it does not provide a realistic solution to the problem. Not only would it cost American taxpayers billions of dollars, it would compromise the quality and effectiveness of our healthcare system. By eliminating competition between hospitals, the incentive to provide quality healthcare would be dramatically reduced. However, if Americans are able to make their own health care choices, competition would increase and health insurance premiums would be reduced.
For this reason, I favor market-based approaches to reduce the number of uninsured Americans. For example, I am a strong supporter of the creation of Association Health Plans (AHPs), which would allow small businesses and the self-employed to pool their resources to purchase health insurance. AHPs can reduce the high cost of healthcare by providing small entrepreneurs with the same buying power that large employers and unions enjoy, and can reduce health insurance costs by 15 to 30 percent. In addition, I have continually supported legislation that increases health research funding, provides modern benefits to Medicare, and expands the number of tax deductions available to those individuals who pay for their own health care.
With constant diligence and thorough consideration, I strongly believe that Congress can improve access to quality health care for more Americans. As this process continues, please be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind. Again, thank you for contacting me. I hope you will remain in touch in the future on other issues of importance to you.
Sincerely,
GARY G. MILLER
Member of Congress
I appreciate the feedback you have given to my request as to your stand on healthcare reform.
However, I strongly disagree with your argument against the Health care reform bill. The market will not ensure good health care for people, it never has and it never will. Caring for the health and welfare of our wonderful citizens should not be in the hands of profit based insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industries, as the only way they can profit is to deny services when they are most needed. The pharmaceutical companies gouge the public at large. These tried and true tactics for profit only ensure that the wealthy can afford good preventative medicine and these industries are not in the business of saving people, they are in the business of making money.
No one is trying to take away America’s health care choices, we are trying to provide another choice other than the bad expensive choices that we have now. If you like what you have, you can keep it. I assume that you understand that people, such as myself, who are unemployed and cannot afford private insurance are not in a position to make choices. Where there is no money, there are no choices. Choices are for fortunate individuals such as yourself who will never have to be in my position, which by the way is not unique.
Here are some of the things that you have not addressed and that I am sure you are well aware of:
About half of the bankruptcy filings in the United States are due to medical expenses. Source: Health Affairs Journal 2005
Life expectancy at birth in the US is an average of 78.14 years, which ranks 47th in highest total life expectancy compared to other countries. Source: CIA Factbook (2008)
The United States is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not have a universal health care system. Source: Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences
In 2006, the percentage of Americans without health insurance was 15.8%, or approximately 47 million uninsured people. Source: US Census Bureau
The primary reason given for lack of health insurance coverage in 2005 was cost (more than 50%), lost job or a change in employment (24%), Medicaid benefits stopped (10%), ineligibility for family insurance coverage due to age or leaving school (8%). Source: National Center for Health Statistics
More than 40 million adults stated that they needed but did not receive one or more of these health services (medical care, prescription medicines, mental health care, dental care, or eyeglasses) in 2005 because they could not afford it. Source: National Center for Health
I think this fact is the one the best addresses your philosophy on allowing the market to offer choices
Medicare operates with 3% overhead, non-profit insurance 16% overhead, and private (for-profit) insurance 26% overhead. Source: Journal of American Medicine 2007
We are interested in real solutions, the status quo does not work. We are all aware who markets are good at providing for, and that’s the shareholders. The healthcare market is profit driven and does not serve the needs of the citizens of this country that won't bring a profit for the millions of dollars in payroll for the CEO’s. Sound familiar? Reminds me of the Banking industry that gets bailed out after they ripped apart the heart of this country. We the people suffer.
The scare tactics that are being used regarding people losing the current policies that they are happy with are false, and are an egregious misuse of the taxpayers trust. It’s right up there with Weapons of Mass Destruction.
The tax benefits do not help unless you can pay for services first. We cannot pay sir. We, as millions of others in this country forgo medical treatment altogether because we need to put food on the table for our children.
Your theories about this country’s grave situation is regrettable. Although, it has enlightened me. I will share your thoughts with many people that are in a similar situation as my family and we can make the appropriate choices on election day, as we did in the presidential election.
Thank you for your honesty!
Julie
Concerned citizen
From: Congressman Gary G. Miller [mailto:gary.miller@mail.house.gov]
Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2009 1:33 PM
Subject: Message from Congressman Gary G. Miller
August 13, 2009
Ms. Julie
Orange County, California 92691
Dear :
Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts on reforming our nation's health care system. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue. I strongly believe that Congress must control skyrocketing health premiums and ensure quality delivery by giving consumers more options, so they can choose the best health care for themselves and their families.
As you may know, an estimated 40 million Americans are not covered by health insurance. To resolve this problem, some have proposed implementing a government-run health care system that would cover each and every American. While the theory behind universal health care is well-intended, it does not provide a realistic solution to the problem. Not only would it cost American taxpayers billions of dollars, it would compromise the quality and effectiveness of our healthcare system. By eliminating competition between hospitals, the incentive to provide quality healthcare would be dramatically reduced. However, if Americans are able to make their own health care choices, competition would increase and health insurance premiums would be reduced.
For this reason, I favor market-based approaches to reduce the number of uninsured Americans. For example, I am a strong supporter of the creation of Association Health Plans (AHPs), which would allow small businesses and the self-employed to pool their resources to purchase health insurance. AHPs can reduce the high cost of healthcare by providing small entrepreneurs with the same buying power that large employers and unions enjoy, and can reduce health insurance costs by 15 to 30 percent. In addition, I have continually supported legislation that increases health research funding, provides modern benefits to Medicare, and expands the number of tax deductions available to those individuals who pay for their own health care.
With constant diligence and thorough consideration, I strongly believe that Congress can improve access to quality health care for more Americans. As this process continues, please be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind. Again, thank you for contacting me. I hope you will remain in touch in the future on other issues of importance to you.
Sincerely,
GARY G. MILLER
Member of Congress
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
I would like to share some information with anyone interested in the realities of what we are dealing with as I have been accused of using World Health Organization facts from the DNC Handbook (which by the way, I never read). Apparently the opposing side would have you believe that the WHO is skewed to the left and they doctor their statistics.
Here are some statistics that are from various sources:
The United States ranks 43rd in lowest infant mortality rate, down from 12th in 1960 and 21st in 1990. Singapore has the lowest rate with 2.3 deaths per 1000 live births, while the United States has a rate of 6.3 deaths per 1000 live births. Some of the other 42 nations that have a lower infant mortality rate than the US include Hong Kong, Slovenia, and Cuba. Source: CIA Factbook (2008)
Approximately 30,000 infants die in the United States each year. The infant mortality rate, which is the risk of death during the first year of life, is related to the underlying health of the mother, public health practices, socioeconomic conditions, and availability and use of appropriate health care for infants and pregnant women. Sources: CDC and National Center for Health Statistics
Here are some statistics that are from various sources:
The United States ranks 43rd in lowest infant mortality rate, down from 12th in 1960 and 21st in 1990. Singapore has the lowest rate with 2.3 deaths per 1000 live births, while the United States has a rate of 6.3 deaths per 1000 live births. Some of the other 42 nations that have a lower infant mortality rate than the US include Hong Kong, Slovenia, and Cuba. Source: CIA Factbook (2008)
Approximately 30,000 infants die in the United States each year. The infant mortality rate, which is the risk of death during the first year of life, is related to the underlying health of the mother, public health practices, socioeconomic conditions, and availability and use of appropriate health care for infants and pregnant women. Sources: CDC and National Center for Health Statistics
About half of the bankruptcy filings in the United States are due to medical expenses. Source: Health Affairs Journal 2005
Life expectancy at birth in the US is an average of 78.14 years, which ranks 47th in highest total life expectancy compared to other countries. Source: CIA Factbook (2008)
The United States is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not have a universal health care system. Source: Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences
In 2006, the percentage of Americans without health insurance was 15.8%, or approximately 47 million uninsured people. Source: US Census Bureau
The primary reason given for lack of health insurance coverage in 2005 was cost (more than 50%), lost job or a change in employment (24%), Medicaid benefits stopped (10%), ineligibility for family insurance coverage due to age or leaving school (8%). Source: National Center for Health Statistics
More than 40 million adults stated that they needed but did not receive one or more of these health services (medical care, prescription medicines, mental health care, dental care, or eyeglasses) in 2005 because they could not afford it. Source: National Center for Health
Statistics
Medicare operates with 3% overhead, non-profit insurance 16% overhead, and private (for-profit) insurance 26% overhead. Source: Journal of American Medicine 2007
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