By Senator Andy Harris, M.D.
If anyone had doubts before, they shouldn't now: Washington is broken. The latest scheme to get health care legislation through the Congress has polluted an important debate and caps off a shameful display of politics that puts elections before good public policy. For any of our elected representatives to still be undecided on this monumental issue is shocking and disappointing.
For more than a year, health care has been debated inside and outside the Washington Beltway. From holding a Christmas Eve vote in the Senate on the bill that included a "Cornhusker Kickback," "Louisiana Purchase" and a Florida "Gatorade," to failure of Congressional leaders to post the 2,700 page bill for adequate public review, to the use of the Slaughter "deem and pass"maneuver, it is clear to most everyone outside of the Congressional Majority Leadership that this corrupted process is unacceptable and out of sync with how Americans expect their government to operate.
As a physician, I work every day with the health care system. In the more than 30 years I've been practicing medicine, American life expectancy has increased significantly and our health care quality is far superior to that of any other nation. Whenever I enter a hospital, I see firsthand the superiority of American health care. I also know how it can be improved through reforms such as removing lifetime caps on coverage, opening up insurance purchase across state lines, reforming medical malpractice to protect health care providers from frivolous lawsuits that drive up costs, stretching malpractice awards over the lifetime of the victim rather than in lump sums, and lowering costs through more price and cost transparency that let patients know what they're getting for their care. These are important reforms that are absent from any of the health care bill versions being considered.
The unseemly political deals included in the legislation, coupled with the huge price tag as taxpayers deal with both a recession and the devastating cuts to senior care, demand that Washington's ruling class take a step back and reassess if pushing through a flawed government takeover of health care outweighs the damage being done to the public trust. What was supposed to be a debate about improving our system and providing lower costs and more access to quality care has now become the epitome of a corrupted legislative process and the disregard of the will of the American families and taxpayers that will be forced to foot the bill.
Reorganizing one-sixth of our nation's economy must be done with the care of a surgeon's scalpel, not with the hatchet of political leaders. What was started as a way to lower costs and cover more people has devolved into manufacturing a political win. That decision does nothing for patients, doctors and taxpayers-and works to further divide our nation. The fact remains that U.S. taxpayers cannot afford this massive legislation right now at a time when they are struggling to pay their bills, keep their jobs and put food on their family table. For our elected representatives to still be undecided as to which way they will vote on this health care bill is unconscionable.
16 comments:
You Sir, have my vote at election time!
Makes no sense that republicans refuse to support this. Also, a lot of lies in there.
as long as insurance companies dictate what goes on in your business it will always suck!
Several studies show that about 20,000 people die in the U.S. every year because they do not have health insurance (The Healing of America by T.R. Reid). About 3,000 died in the 9/11 attacks, and we have spent billions to see that it does not happen again.
How can a moral country ignore the 20,000?
The Republican party, and some Democrats like Frank Kratovil, have no interest in health care reform. They simply want to get elected through fear and anger mongering.
4:27
ER's treat anyone, insured or not.
Many docs treat patients without charge.
Drug companies supply needed prescriptions for those who need their drugs but cannot afford it.
There is medicaid for those who qualify as determined by low income and limited assets.
Many of us pay for our own health insurance (and I could buy a new car each year for what I pay in premiums for one person).
20,000 may die annually who do not have insurance, but I doubt that they die BECAUSE they do not have health insurance.
I can see that the DNC trolls are out in force trying to fool readers on this blog into thinking that people want this bankrupting takeover of your rights to medical choices.
I ABSOLUTELY CHEER ALL REPUBLICANS AND ALSO THE DEMOCRATS WITH SPINES THAT ARE TRYING TO STOP THIS MARCH INTO SOCIALISM!
YOU ARE A FOOL IF YOU WANT SOME A$$HOLE IN WASHINGTON TO TELL AOU WHAT KIND OF CARE YOU WILL GET!
The uninsured will always be taken care of!!!!! The government controlling everything is so wrong... can't people see this!!!
I completely agree with you 6:05... If this bill is so great then why are they begging for votes? I applaud the Dems. that vote no on this bill.
I believe most people who do not support the health care reform already have health insurance. They do not care about the people who do not have insurance and cannot afford to buy it, or have pre-existing conditions that make it unaffordable. They want to leave the status quo where the uninsured can't afford to go to a doctor or buy their prescriptions. Therefore their health will get worse. If they did care about these people, they would support health care reform.
Somewhere in the Bible Jesus said to his disciples, "What you failed to do for the least of these, you failed to do for Me".
I am amazed that the party of justice and morality, the Republicans, turns its backs on the least of these.
It is a shame that, thru
our history, we continue to have to legislate decency.
DNC Troll in Fruitland
Republicans wake up. America needs a health care reform. If you dont have insurance you cannot be treated in Maryland I cannot speak for all of America. Factually I can speak for Maryland and what happened to my husband. We had worked hard all our life and had come upon hard times. We had no insurance. Peninsula Regional treated my husband in the ER. Misdiagnosed him with cancer and biopseys were done. Then sent home and then we tried to get him into Johns Hopkins. We were told repeatedly if you do not have insurance or on medicaid you cannot be admitted to Johns Hopkins. Fact: We were not eligible for any medicaid.. We were broke because he had been sick for so long and the hard times and struggle on the bay. Friends came together and had a benefit. Pride goes before the fall. $5,000.00 was collected. I offered to pay the $5,000.00 down and set up payment plan....No was the answer. The rest of the story my husband's brain bled while at home and he became paralyzed on one side then the correct dx. just too late. NO CANCER. Central Nervous System Vasculitis which should have been dx by biopseys. Only his was not revealed in the biopseys done at PRMC. He was a hard working man who was reduced to nothing in his opinion. He told us many times "I wish God would finish what the doctors started." We watched him die daily right before our eyes. A long 7.5 years later God finished what the doctors neglect and misdiagnosis had started and took a heartbroken man of just 58. He was 51 when this happened to him. The facts are longer I just summarized. The facts are cruel for my husband, father of our three children and grandfather of our six grandchildren all of which he loved immeasureably. Everyone that does not have insurance are NOT ones living on the system. Everyone without insurance can be hard working just unable to financially pay the outrageous premiums charged by rich insurance companies. Consider what you are doing to REAL PEOPLE when you oppose health care especially for a system that is no longer working.
Bill said, "20,000 people die each year" because they don't have health insurance. I've read elsewhere -- in several places -- that it's 45,000 each year? Which is it? This is just another example of how the Liberals can't get their numbers straight.
In any event, if Obamacare passes, the tax hikes will begin IMMEDIATELY to start paying for it, while the benefits won't kick in for another four years or so. So, multiply 4 [years] times 20,000 people (or 45,000, depending on whose lies you're believing) and you've got a lot of people who are going to die even though they'll be insured under Obamacare.
Bottom line, the whole thing stinks to high Heaven and our nation simply can't afford it!!
12:12
Thanks for sharing your story, I hope it will wake up a few of these heartless conservatives.
So much for the "greatest health care system in the world" Mr. Harris.
Never - never in my lifetime have I witnessed a President Of The United States hold the Legislative branch and the citizens of this great land hostage like I am seeing now. I hope, and pray, that common sense will prevail against this Democrat party led blitzkreig has no resembelence to the democracy this nation was founded on. This is nothing less then autocratic socialism.
When can you understand that this health care reform is needed for a broken system...When can you realize this is about people suffering and dieing because they cannot afford to pay outrageous premiums while the insurance companies get richer?
IslandSTAR, when will you realize that the recently passed bill forces people to purchase coverage from health insurance companies who will be undoubtedly be forced to raise premiums because of forced higher payouts. When will you realize that you now must pay for health care each month, and the basic plan only covers ~60% of your out of pocket expense? Read the bill and educate yourself on the matter at hand before formulating opinions. Under your assumption, anyone with health care cannot die, or will not suffer if diagnosed with a terminal illness??? Hopefully you realize how ridiculous your claim is. FYI, Medicare has the highest rate of dropped clients amongst all other insurance companies.
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