Author Topic: I just sent this letter to my peer group. I graduated from high school in 1958  (Read 1632 times)

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Offline 5412

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Dear Friends,

I have followed the political current events very closely as of late.  I subscribe to some very “in the know” newsletters and have received some very interesting emails to say the least.

I see a HUGE issue that will confront us all and we all need to be aware of it and hopefully take a VERY ACTIVE ROLE IN PROTECTING OURSELVES AND LOVED ONES.

Let me explain….and I am borrowing a bit from a recent email.

Slipped into the recent stimulus package that just passed were some very significant issues that will take our country along the road to government health care.  Here is the first part.

Part of the bill provides for a “medical czar” for lack of a better term to gather medical data from each and every patient in the country, all the health records and treatments.  The stated purpose is to determine what the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT will deem appropriate and COST EFFECTIVE.

Now, I saw a republican member of congress on a talk show and the rest is what was in the original bill and got pulled out.  He made it clear that this is the ultimate goal.  At the same time the democrats are pooh-poohing it, saying much to do about nothing, all the government is doing is gathering information.  The senator said, baloney, they have tipped their hand, it was in the first draft of the bill, and Tom Daschle is behind the initiative to do the following.  This is from his 2008 book “Critical: What we can do about the health-care crisis.”

According to Daschle, doctors have to give up autonomy and “learn to operate less like solo practitioners.” 
 

What penalties will deter your doctor from going beyond the electronically delivered protocols when your condition is atypical or you need an experimental treatment? The vagueness is intentional. In his book, Daschle proposed an appointed body with vast powers to make the “tough” decisions elected politicians won’t make.
The stimulus bill does that, and calls it the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research (190-192). The goal, Daschle’s book explained, is to slow the development and use of new medications and technologies because they are driving up costs. He praises Europeans for being more willing to accept “hopeless diagnoses” and “forgo experimental treatments,” and he chastises Americans for expecting too much from the health-care system.


Daschle says health-care reform “will not be pain free.” Seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them. That means the elderly will bear the brunt.  Medicare now pays for treatments deemed safe and effective. The stimulus bill would change that and apply a cost- effectiveness standard set by the Federal Council (464).   The Federal Council is modeled after a U.K. board discussed in Daschle’s book. This board approves or rejects treatments using a formula that divides the cost of the treatment by the number of years the patient is likely to benefit. Treatments for younger patients are more often approved than treatments for diseases that affect the elderly, such as osteoporosis.

In 2006, a U.K. health board decreed that elderly patients with macular degeneration had to wait until they went blind in one eye before they could get a costly new drug to save the other eye. It took almost three years of public protests before the board reversed its decision.


Hiding health legislation in a stimulus bill is intentional. Daschle supported the Clinton administration’s health-care overhaul in 1994, and attributed its failure to debate and delay. A year ago, Daschle wrote that the next president should act quickly before critics mount an opposition. “If that means attaching a health-care plan to the federal budget, so be it,” he said. “The issue is too important to be stalled by Senate protocol.”  

Now back to the interview I saw with the republican senator.  He said that there was also a provision that said if the government declined to pay for a particular medical treatment, that does not mean Blue Cross or another insurance company cannot pick up the bill and pay for it.  However, if they do, they will not be allowed to take a deduction on their corporate income taxes for that treatment which the government deemed not to be cost-effective.

In other words we are screwed, because it does not take a genius to figure out that the premiums will be so expensive no one can afford the insurance.

Now I have several issues with this:

1.     If this is so good for us folks, why are they sneaking it through…perhaps big brother knows better than we do what is for our own good?

2.    Our current health care system provides the bulk of the research and development of new procedures and drugs for the world.  Yeah the new treatments are expensive because they have to cover the cost of the research.  So do we now choose to stop researching new drugs and cures and basically live no better than we do now…..forever?

3.    If our treatment, particularly as seniors is determined by using a cost-effective formula, how long will it be before they take into consideration the amount of government retirement money the patient is getting.  Heck if we can get them to die earlier, not only do we save the cost of the treatment, we can save five years of social security.

4.     Let’s take a case I am familiar with.   My wife’s mother was in pain, in her mid 70’s and had a knee replacement.  She lived until 92 and a very happy life with her family I might add.  If treatment is denied due to cost effectiveness does the Government Issue Tylenol and let the patient live in constant pain for the remaining years of their life?

I would imagine all of you that are receiving this probably feel as I do, we want to be in charge of our medical care, not the government.  Apparently the government feels that should not be our choice they are all knowing and know what is best for us.

Here is the situation as I see it.  We all need to very ACTIVELY do the following and stay on top of things.

1.    We need to notify those who we love and solicit their help.

2.    We need to be writing, calling, and screaming at our members of congress to stop this insanity before it goes any further.

3.    My guess is most all of us are members of AARP.  We need to flood AARP with letters telling them to get their head out of their ass and quit supporting these liberal democrat candidates and start standing up and protecting those who are supporting them.   

4.    We need to be flooding the local newspapers with letters to the editor.

The part about having to be blind in one eye before being treated really got to me.  It took three years of screaming.  Better we head it off before it begins than to be playing catch up.  Our healthy and happy remaining years with our children and grandchildren are what is at stake.  If that is not motivational I do not know what is.

This is no joke, we better start raising hell and do not let up or those in power will follow through with this whether we like it or not.

By the way, my daughter went to a medical conference in England two years ago.  They truly HATE their health care system.  Our niece is now practicing in New Zealand and she is performing surgery on women who have waited 24 months for the treatment.  This is just the tip of the iceberg.   

Bottom line to me is this.  We do not have a health care crisis in this country one bit.  Stop treating for free all the illegal aliens in this country and we would have plenty of money.  What we have is a congressional leadership crisis.  It seems that they have stopped listening to those who hired them.

If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a note or call me.

5412 (my real name replaced with my forum name)

PS:  Please feel free to forward this to anyone you choose.  Might want to take my name off the bottom or big brother will probably start having the IRS hound me or something.....

 

 

 

 

Offline rich_t

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Excellent letter 5412
"The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of 'liberalism,' they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened." --Norman Thomas, 1944

Offline Chris_

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Hi!

Dead on, baby!

You are quite the positive addition to our board!

And a H5 to prove it!
If you want to worship an orange pile of garbage with a reckless disregard for everything, get on down to Arbys & try our loaded curly fries.

Offline 5412

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Hi!

Dead on, baby!

You are quite the positive addition to our board!

And a H5 to prove it!

Hi,

Thanks for the kind words.  I kinda messed up the comedy channel and needed to redeem myself.

A few years ago I did a lot of research on the medicare supplement plans and saw how folks could save money.....and how they could get screwed.  I put together a letter on the subject as we were all turning 65 and got a lot of nice feedback from it.

I feel very strongly about this issue and hope it will become the primer that ignites the revolution that takes place in the halls of congress.  The last thing that the majority of americans want is their health care being decided by a government employee.  May this issue topple the libs house of cards....

regards,
5412