The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Politics & RKBA => Topic started by: tombogan03884 on September 30, 2009, 10:18:31 AM
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Bill Posey is Florida's 15th district Congressman, this is a reply he sent my Mother :
Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about legislation moving through the Congress that would make significant changes to our health care system.  I appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts with me on this important issue, and I am glad we are in agreement.
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I would like to take this opportunity to share with you my thoughts about the legislation that is before the Congress for consideration as well was what I believe we should consider to address several of the shortcomings in our current health care system. I apologize for the length of this letter, but as your Representative in Congress I want to address these issues thoroughly.Â
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I was very concerned about the bill that was moving through the Congress in late July and would have voted against that bill had Speaker Pelosi forced a floor vote on it as she had planned until the American people lit up the phones on Capitol Hill and flooded their Members of Congress with emails, faxes, and letters expressing their opposition to H.R. 3200. Thankfully, this outpouring of concern expressed by the American people forced the majority in the Congress to postpone the vote. Over the month of August correspondence continued to pour in and most Members of Congress held townhall meetings to discuss health care legislation. I held a number of roundtable discussions, read thousands of messages from my constituents, and held a townhall meeting on September 2nd attended by more than 2,500 of my constituents. (It was one of the largest townhall meetings held anywhere in the country.)
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I have heard the message loud and clear and hope that my colleagues have been listening as well. That message is that 80% of Americans like their current health care plan and do not want the government involved in making decisions about their medical coverage. I support them in that. No one should be forced, directly or indirectly, to give up their current health care plan if they want to keep it. According to independent analyses, H.R. 3200 would have resulted in tens of millions of American – perhaps as many as 110 million – being moved out of their private coverage into a new government run health plan. When proposals for creating a government health care plan have been put before the American people before, they have soundly rejected them. Most Americans simply do not want a one-size-fits-all government-run health care system in which government bureaucrats tell Americans what health care services they can and cannot have. Budget concerns will ultimately lead to government inefficiencies, rationing, and delay of care.
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Another important message is that while 80% of Americans like their current plan and want to keep it, 50% of Americans believe that their plan costs too much. There are ways to address cost concerns without overturning the entire health care system or creating a new government-run plan (often call the “public option�). It is critical that we not undermine the quality of care that the majority of Americans currently enjoy and want to keep.
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Allow me first share with you some of the steps I believe we should consider that will help restore competition in the insurance market and help make medical coverage more affordable. Then, I will lay out some of my specific concerns with the legislation currently before the House.
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Health Care Solutions – We should focus on creating more choices for the American people, not fewer. Rather than move in the direction of more choices and increased competition, H.R. 3200 undermines choice in many ways. By creating a national Health Benefits Advisory Committee (HBAC) H.R. 3200 creates a one-size-fits-all set of benefits with which every health plan in America, not just the new government plan, must conform. By creating a new government health plan, as many as 110 million Americans will be moved out of private coverage into a government plan making any remaining private plans less affordable.Â
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America has always been a nation that embraces competition and preserving the right of Americans to have choices, and this is the approach we should be taking with regard to medical care. There are steps that can be taken - without reducing these choices - to address the concerns of those who lack coverage or who have difficulties paying for the coverage they want.
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We should expand the deductibility of health insurance for all Americans, regardless of whether they are self-employed or whether they are employed by a large or small business. Refundable health care tax credits of $2,500 for an individual or $5,500 for a family will enable working Americans to secure affordable health care coverage. This will empower individuals to choose the type of coverage that meets their needs and it will force health plans to compete.
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Enactment of Association Health Plan (AHP) legislation would make it easier for small businesses to pool together and negotiate with insurance providers for the purchase of more affordable insurance for their employees. Similarly, nonprofit civic groups should be empowered to create health plans and offer them to their members and the public. Sadly, these efforts have been blocked by liberals in the Congress for the past decade.Â
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Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) should be expanded enabling more individuals to purchase a high deductible health plan while also putting money aside in an HSA to cover medical expenses below the catastrophic coverage cap. For many, this would be a more affordable alternative to traditional insurance and over 8 million Americans have chosen to enroll in HSAs in just the past five years. For those with preexisting conditions or who otherwise have difficulty finding affordable coverage, we should expand high risk insurance pools and other approaches to make sure that those with such challenges are able to find affordable coverage.
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Community health centers, like the ones I recently visited in our community, can play an important role in serving those in need of affordable medical care. These centers provide cost-effective primary care and preventive care to millions of lower- and lower-middle-income Americans, and we should continue to encourage their development and expansion.
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Expanding health care coverage also means taking steps to reduce waste in medical care expenditures. One of the main factors behind greatly increasing costs of health care premiums is the skyrocketing cost associated with medical malpractice. These costs are both direct and indirect. Direct costs include malpractice insurance premiums and awards. The most significant costs, however, are unseen and are attributable to the practice of defensive medicine. No physician wants to be second-guessed by overzealous trial lawyers, and so in order to defend themselves against such suits, doctors and hospitals order tens of billions of dollars in extra medical tests each year. Peer-reviewed, published studies have demonstrated that tens of billions of dollars can be saved each year if we simply apply a more reasonable liability structure - guaranteeing complete economic damages to those that are harmed, while placing some reasonable limits on non-economic damages.
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Nationalized Health Care Plan - I oppose plans, like those in H.R. 3200, that would create a government run health care plan. The bill moving through the Congress would force up to 110 million Americans to give up the plan they like and want to keep. While leading supporters of the government plan have repeatedly made assertions that, “If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period,â€� even the liberal New York Times was forced to admit that “These assurances reflect an aspiration, but may not be literally true or enforceable.â€�Â
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Most Americans simply do not want a one-size-fits-all government-run health care system in which the government tells them what health care services they can and cannot have. And, I don’t either. Cost concerns will ultimately lead to inefficiencies, rationing, and delay of care much like we see in countries that have adopted nationalized systems. The initial cost estimates for H.R. 3200 far exceed the ability of the taxpayers to pay for it. Already, proponents of the bill before the Congress are arguing that they will include in the bill cost-containment measures. These measures include delegating authority to unaccountable boards to unilaterally impose cost constraints, which usually result in rationing of care.
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Government Plan (Also Called the Public Option) – A key provision included in the House bill is the creation of a government plan. This government plan would be given a competitive advantage in competing with any remaining private plans. Adding further to the advantage would be the fact that any private plans that remain would have to comply with all the new government mandates as well as a reduced number of enrollees. This government plan remains a central component of the health reform legislation according to Speaker Pelosi. Â
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Existing Government Health Programs - We should also consider the very serious problems with the current federal programs. Congress has been unable to find enough money to make Medicare solvent, and the program faces hundreds of billions of dollars in near-term shortfalls and trillions of dollars in longer-term shortfalls. H.R. 3200 does absolutely nothing to address these long-term problems. Medicaid, the federal/state insurance program for lower income Americans, is one of the fastest growing programs in federal and state budgets. Furthermore, Medicaid reimbursements are so low that those enrolled in the program often have difficulties finding a physician. Also, when the Congress expanded the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in early 2009, they could not find a way to pay for it so they included a provision that forces millions of children off of the program in 2013. Each of these multi-billion dollar programs is financially unsustainable and those enrolled in these existing federal programs risk losing coverage unless the federal government can find a way to sustain them. Before embarking on a massive new program Congress should fix the problem with existing programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP.
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Paying For the Health Care Reform Bill – An examination of the “pay for� provisions reveals not only some very troubling provisions, but over a $1.5 trillion in unfunded obligations. H.R. 3200 relies on $820 billion in new taxes including $544 billion in higher taxes on higher income filers – more than half of whom are small businesses, $208 billion in additional taxes on small businesses, $30 billion in taxes on those who fail to enroll in a government approved plan, and $2 billion in taxes on insurance benefits. The bill also imposes tens of billions of dollars in new unfunded mandates on the states.
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The bill includes $400 billion in cuts to Medicare. Taking this about of money out of Medicare and shifting it to other programs only makes Medicare less solvent. Furthermore, those hardest hit are likely to be seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, including over 40,000 seniors in my Congressional District who are enrolled in MA plans. Many of these seniors would lose their current Medicare plan and be forced back into the traditional Medicare fee-for-service plan.
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Other Concerns Regarding the Bill – Two other concerns with the House bill that have drawn much attention are the coverage of illegal immigrants and elective abortions. I am concern about both of these issues. I do not believe taxpayer dollars should be used to subsidize the enrollment of illegal immigrants into this new government plan. Likewise I oppose using taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions.
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While H.R. 3200 includes language stating that funding in the bill cannot be used to enroll illegal immigrants in the national health care plan, the non-partisan Congressional Research Service has concluded that since the bill includes no mechanism to enforce this restriction, millions of illegal immigrants would be enrolled in the national health program.
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With regard to abortion coverage with the incorporation of the Capps amendment, H.R. 3200 would mandate that all Americans be given the choice of enrolling in a plan that covers abortion and federal taxpayer dollars would be used to subsidize those plans. Â Also, the bill is drafted in such a way that it bypasses all existing restrictions on abortion coverage.
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Thank you again, Chris, for contacting me. I appreciate having the benefit of your views. It is an honor to serve you in the Congress. For more information on my work in Congress or to sign up to receive my E-newsletter, please visit my website, http://www.posey.house.gov/. If I may be of service to you in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me.
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Pretty darn good letter! Clear and detailed. Only thing I would have liked is if he had mentioned Tort reform.
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Tort reform should be the first step in limiting malpractice related expense. Judges with the balls to ask "Are you effen serious?" is a good second step.
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Congressman Posey has a head on his shoulders & uses it! I am glad to vote for him & keep him in office. I think the rest should be all booted out next election. (Actually what I really think is that they should voluntarily resign NOW or be forced out physically by year's end before they do any more damage. Starting with Frank, Pelosi, Schumer, etc. etc. (both Senate & House!!) Get rid of all the slugs - by force if necessary. I would be willing to put up as much money as it took to accomplish this - anyone want to donate millions to the fund to get rid of these idiots ASAP? I'm sure for a few bucks, people could be convinced to help remove them permanently - however they wish (don't want to know how either!!).
I think a keeper list of elected officials would be appropriate - however short it would be.
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Congressman Posey has a head on his shoulders & uses it! I am glad to vote for him & keep him in office. I think the rest should be all booted out next election. (Actually what I really think is that they should voluntarily resign NOW or be forced out physically by year's end before they do any more damage. Starting with Frank, Pelosi, Schumer, etc. etc. (both Senate & House!!) Get rid of all the slugs - by force if necessary. I would be willing to put up as much money as it took to accomplish this - anyone want to donate millions to the fund to get rid of these idiots ASAP? I'm sure for a few bucks, people could be convinced to help remove them permanently - however they wish (don't want to know how either!!).
I think a keeper list of elected officials would be appropriate - however short it would be.
I'd rather see them DRAGGED out of their offices, I'll be happy to lend a hand on the rope.