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All messages are published
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The general topic of this message is Health:
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Subject:
Health Care Bill of Rights
To:
President Barack Obama
Sen. Dianne Feinstein
Sen. Barbara Boxer
Rep. Brian Bilbray
November 7, 2009
Rep. Phil Gingrey says best what most Americans want in health care changes, and they certainly aren't addressed in the health care proposals or what has been advertized by President Obama:
"Members of Congress have fundamental disagreements about how best to ensure every American has access to affordable, quality health care. But, while our methods may be different, our overriding goals are the same. Despite this, my Democratic colleagues and our president have thwarted any attempt at legitimate debate while reporting solemnly — and incorrectly — that Republicans have no ideas.
The goals are clear. We must increase the ability of all Americans, particularly those with pre-existing conditions and without employer coverage, to access health insurance. We must drive down overall costs in the health care system while increasing the quality and ease of care. And, we must ensure that seniors who have paid into Medicare most of their adult lives don't bear the cost of a political disagreement centered on the proper role of government in our lives.
Democrats believe the best way to accomplish these goals is to mortgage our country's financial future with a $1.3 trillion government takeover of our health care system, ultimately resulting in government care for all under a financially unsustainable federal mandate. Republicans and most Americans know this is not the best path forward, particularly when you look at the specifics.
President Barack Obama has said if you like your current health care coverage, you can keep it. He states it because that is what the American people want — reform for those who need it without damaging the quality coverage of those who have it. Yet the president fails to account for the roughly 100 million people who are in real jeopardy of losing their current health coverage if his proposal is enacted, or the millions of seniors who will lose Medicare benefits due to a staggering $500 billion in program cuts over the next 10 years.
Obama has insisted that taxpayer dollars will not benefit those who are in this country illegally. Given the tough economic times, I would like to believe him. Yet, his plan would remove simple citizenship verification mechanisms in place today that help to ensure only citizens of this country can benefit from taxpayer-funded health coverage.
Obama also has stated that health care reform will not add to the deficit or increase taxes on middle-class families. Both are noble pledges and served to galvanize millions of voters. The uncomfortable truth is that the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated that some versions of his plan will increase the deficit by as much as $239 billion over 10 years. In the House version, HR 3200 includes a section entitled: "Tax on Individuals Without Acceptable Health Care Coverage." The Senate version, on the other hand, clearly states that families would face an excise tax of up to $1,900 if they do not meet the government's requirements for acceptable coverage. I may be a doctor and not a tax attorney, but those both sound like indiscriminate taxes to me.
Fixing our nation's health care system is going to be complicated - it touches each and every one of us in many different yet equally important ways. However, the principles our elected politicians use to inform the citizens of this country should not be based on hollow talking points that in no way support the product they advertise. They should be based on what a majority of our constituents want — be they Republican, Democrat or Independent.
That's why I have introduced the Health Care Bill of Rights. It outlines 10 principles that Congress should heed when considering any health care legislation. They are based on what the American people have been telling our president and our Congress since this debate began: no government-run health care, no new deficit spending, no new taxes, no cuts to Medicare to pay for health insurance reform, no rationing of care, no mandates and no coverage for illegal aliens. It also would require quick adoption of reforms that protect those with pre-existing conditions, enactment of meaningful medical liability reform and the lowering of health care costs for our patients and our government.
Ten simple principles that do not require a sales pitch because they embody the sentiments of millions upon millions of American citizens. These are the ideas around which the American people want us to form a consensus." -
Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), a physician, co-chairs the GOP Doctors Caucus.
Remember, you are supposed to represent the American People, not run over them. The majority of the American People DO NOT WANT A GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM! There is more right than wrong with our health care system and it's delivery. It is the best in the world. Certainly, we need to lower the costs, but that can be accomplished with things such as tort reform, allowing people to shop across state lines, allowing tax-free health care accounts, etc.
I do not want a bureaucrat making decisions regarding my health care!!! I do not want health care rationing, and there will be rationing - which can be plainly seen when you look at the millions being added to the system and consider that 45% of doctors polled said they would retire rather than work under a government run system. Their Hippocratic Oath says "do no harm." They would be doing harm if they allowed the government to ration health care which, in the doctor's opinion, was necessary. They would also probably have dictated to them what salary they would make. What would the incentive be to go into medicine under the government-run socialistic system???
If this is such a wonderful plan, WHY ARE YOU KEEPING YOUR GOLD-PLATED PLAN FOR YOURSELVES??? That, in and of itself, speaks volumes about what you really think about your plan!
San Diego , CA
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