gen National politics hits home…We’ve been spammed!!! pdf
by matthew on Wed Aug 05 11:29:18 CDT 2009
My wife received a fax yesterday from Georgia Republican Congressman Tom Price. It was a fake press release informing us that she had been selected as one of  “OVER 100 CONCERNED PHYSICIANS TO ADVISE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ON HEALTHCARE REFORM” (in all caps). Oh joy!   Her name was even included in the fake press release (that contained a total of only 50 “Physician” names, by the way).
Being suspicious, I started goggling the other docs…I found a few that were loyal donators to the Republican Party – no surprise there – but a surprising number I couldn’t find anything about at all…hmmmm….
This morning, I was searching for a few more of the “Concerned Physicians” and ran across this entry on thinkProgress: http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/31/price-nrcc-physicians/
This is exactly what happened to my wife!!! The really amusing thing is the real “target doc’s” name is in the same position on each of the faxed letters....
LAME!
by Sue on Wed Aug 05 22:32:39 CDT 2009
Very lame!!!

Here is something even lamer (if that is a word).    the conservative "Heritage Foundation" has a great plan to give displaced workers a tax break to pay for health insurance.  wow what a great idea!!!  A tax break when you ARE NOT making any money!!! 

http://www.heritage.org/research/healthcare/wm56.cfm


Too funny!!!  

Sue
by haydiz on Thu Aug 06 06:39:14 CDT 2009
Lame pretty much describes most Republican plans for health care. 

Kris
by matthew on Thu Aug 06 15:39:40 CDT 2009
This is a long entry, but it's worth the read. 

Next time someone says: "I don't want anyone coming between me, my healthcare, and my doctor", point them towards this article
I don’t know about everyone else, but the description of “who’s in the chain as it stands now” is pretty accurate in my case. I’ve had employer-provided health insurance since I started work in 1989…
Like I’ve said so many times before:  We’re all in this together!!!
by haydiz on Thu Aug 06 18:57:16 CDT 2009
People worry that the government will dictate or be intrusive in their medical care and medical records, but that's exactly what insurance companies and employers have been doing for years.  When my dad hurt his back at work in the early 90's, and had to have surgery and rehab, a company nurse made his appointments for him, showed up at his personal physician's office and even came into the examining room with him.  Talk about intrusive!  My mom was livid when she found out.  And company doctors?  What a joke must of them are!  The company doctor told my dad there was nothing wrong with his back  but later that day my dad's private physician diagnosed him with a bulging disc and sent him straight to the hospital.  He was in agony and could barely walk for goodness sakes!  Oh, and his private physician told the company nurse to get lost!  Good for him.

But I also don't want big brother knowing my medical history or dictating what doctor I can go to, what I can eat or drink, or strap tracking devices to my ankles to make sure I exercise regularly etc.,  Privacy and the freedom to be fat and lazy can be argued to be Constitutional rights.  I don't want to l ive in a Nanny state.






by Sue on Fri Aug 07 09:11:59 CDT 2009
http://stories.barackobama.com/healthcare/stories/near?query=decatur+il&location%5Blatitude%5D=39.845803&location%5Blongitude%5D=-88.9545&location%5Bstreet%5D=&location%5Blocality%5D=Decatur&location%5Bpostal_code%5D=&location%5Bcountry%5D=US&location%5Bprecision%5D=city&location%5Bregion%5D=IL&location%5Bwarning%5D=&location%5Bsource%5D=client+js+geocoder  

Read these stories from people right here and around Decatur submitted on line.   What makes me mad is the people just blindly fighting this.  I bet each of them has many friends and family affected by the current health care crisis.  I am especially angry at those who are using this needed effort at reform and discussion to create partisan strife.  Now is the time when we really need to politely discuss, learn, and listen  - NOT YELL!!!   I know a very nice lady who is running around arguing against "government run health care" who happily uses medicare!!!   I know another person doing that that has no insurance!   These are nice good people but what in the heck are they thinking??? 

Personally at 53 years old and in a not very stable position I AM SCARED.   Few people can afford personal health insurance under the current system created by and run by  free market.    I have 12 years til I qualify for Medicare - assuming they don't raise the age.  What are people supposed to do???  I know people in business on their own with no health insurance I know people who been unemployed without health insurance.  I know people who have got stuck with big bills after the insurance company refused to pay even though they HAD insurance.  I have a friend who got stuck with big bills for a needed surgery for a 20 something daughter with out insurance.   A friend of mine is paying  out of his own pocket for a high deductable plan and just got the premiums raised from $300 to $500 per month when he turned 55 - this guy is only earning about $20,000 or less a year. 

If we believe in innovation and small business - just what are doing as a society to make it possible for people to pursue these dreams?  The only people who can are those happily married to someone with a good job that provides health insurance.

Our society no longer has "jobs for life" changing and losing jobs is a now a fact of life.  It is time we move away from a system entirely based on employer based benefits.  I do NOT care how we fix it.   But it needs fixed.  

Sue
by haydiz on Fri Aug 07 09:55:57 CDT 2009
Sue I agree with everything you wrote.  My husband and I tried to purchase health insurance before he was converted to a full-time employee at Cat but both of us were turned down by Blue Cross/Blue Shield.  It wouldn't have mattered how much money we had, we couldn't buy ANY insurance ANYWHERE!  And it's not like either of us have medical histories with tons of illnesses.  My husband has probably only gone to the doctor twice since we've been married (14 years). 

The only reason my husband can pursue his dream of running his own business is because we have health benefits for the next 18 months or so through Cat while he's laid-off.  We have to pay around $200 a month now to keep it but in another couple months we'll have to pay around $400 or so.  That's a lot better than the $900 we would have had to pay for COBRA if the government wasn't picking up half the tab.  There's no way we could dish out $900 or more a month.  We'd just have to risk it and hope neither one of us got sick.  I hope he gets called back to Cat soon because I don't know where the heck we're supposed to purchase health insurance after the benefits run out.  It's ridiculous.

Another thing, I bet the marriage rate would drop by 25% if universal health care were put in place.  A lot of people get married or stay married just for the health benefits!  Not a very good reason to get married.  IMO  I wonder if that's why conservative groups are against universal health care?  lol

Kris


by matthew on Fri Aug 07 10:54:03 CDT 2009
I had not seen that site Sue, that’s a great resource.   I see quite a few of those stories are on the north side of town – is it too much to hope those people have contacted their congressperson Aaron Shock and Tim Johnson and told them how they feel about meaningful healthcare reform?   For what it’s worth, Phil Hare’s on board with HR 676, which I think is a good place to start.
My wife is on my health plan (try getting an affordable as a middle aged small business owner!), and health insurance has been a serious hurdle to me starting my own business. For now, that’s just the way it is...  As one party is so fond of saying: “Small business is the backbone of America” and frankly I agree… So to me, it does not make sense to saddle small business with the exorbitant costs of something so fundamental as the peace of mind that comes with knowing a single visit to the hospital won’t lead to bankruptcy and ruin.  It’s a huge financial and psychological barrier to “entry to the marketplace”.  
 I believe public investment in health-care (yup, using tax dollars and not-for-profit administrators) is a wise investment in our greatest national resource:  we the people…
by matthew on Fri Aug 07 11:02:18 CDT 2009
Hmm Kris! 
Now you’ve got me wondering!   I know I’m a trophy husband (who wouldn’t want to be married to me, after all?!?); but maybe she only puts up with me for my insurance! What an ego dent!!! ;-)
by haydiz on Fri Aug 07 11:17:16 CDT 2009
Matthew LOL!  I'm sure you have good qualities beyond your trophy status.  Why anyone would want to be married to me is beyond my understanding!  No money, no insurance, no retirement savings.  All I've got is my good looks and when that's gone, it's over.  Hahaha!  I'll be living under a bridge cooking sewer rats over a burn barrel in my old age - or sooner.

But yeah, small businesses are seriously hindered by health care costs as well as big biz.  Our country can't compete with other nations, who don't dump the costs of health care of their citizens, onto their businesses.
by Sue on Sat Aug 08 12:48:56 CDT 2009
I think the use of Medicaid by the middle class also proves our need for health care reform.  I'm not going to say people are wrong to do this because we have to question a medical system whose costs completely wipe out the lifetime savings of most average Americans. 

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/25/nyregion/welfare-for-middle-class-elderly-final-years-many-transfer-assets-qualify-for.html?pagewanted=all 

But it makes me wonder how many who arrogantly claim to  "carry their own weight" and are fighting tooth and nail against reform have done this to take care of the themselves and their families?

Sue 
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