| Dear Senator Warner,
I recently received your reply to my email regarding the current effort to reform Health Care.
You stated:
"Thank you for your recent letter regarding reforming our nation's health care system. I share your concerns about the need for comprehensive health care reform, especially during this challenging economic time. "
"Although I do not support a government-run single-payer health care system, I believe we need comprehensive reform to achieve a competitive, cost-effective, and efficient system. This effort should be primarily focused on ensuring that all Americans can get adequate health coverage, and the coverage must be cost-effective and based upon data-driven medical standards. We must ensure that competition remains among health care providers because it is precisely that competition that drives innovation and cost reduction in the industry. Any final reform should also include measures to promote prevention and wellness, senior navigation through the health system, health information technology ("health IT") and telemedicine."
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I'm Sorry but this is not acceptable. You state that "We must ensure that competition remains among health care providers", But there IS no REAL competition among Health Insurance Companies. As has been reported, most states are dominated by a Single Insurance Company. Without a Consumer Chosen, Publicly Backed Alternative, Health Care will Continue to be Rationed, not on the basis of Medical Need, but on the basis of Ability to Pay. This is Immoral and economically unsustainable. If you are serious about this issue I suggest you get behind the House of Representatives Tri-Committee's proposal and work to bring the Senate's bill into agreement with that proposal. If you can Strengthen that proposal, it would be wonderful, but any attempt to weaken it would be UNFORGIVEABLE!
You Continue:
"The health care reform debate in the Senate will intensify over the coming weeks, with the Finance Committee and Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions reviewing and amending legislation before the bill is debated by the full Senate. Although I do not sit on those Committees, I am actively engaged in drafting legislation to be included in the final package and in discussions with my fellow Senators on improvements we can make to the current bill. Much of the current controversy surrounding reform efforts has been focused on whether the bill should include a public health insurance option. As evidence that there is room to compromise, several alternatives are being discussed ranging from non-profit regional co-operatives to a delayed public option. I will keep your views in mind as we consider these and other proposals. "
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Sorry again, but the Public Option IS the Compromise Position. A "Trigger" is, frankly, BULLSHIT. I'm 52 years old, and have paid Thousands of Dollars in my lifetime to Insurance Companies for NO Benefit. They have HAD THEIR CHANCE. They do NOT deserve 5 more minutes to reform themselves, never mind 5-7 more Years! And a patchwork of individual States' "Co-Op" programs would be far too easily manipulated by State Lawmakers under the influence of Lobbyists working for the Insurance Industry, and so, will inevitably Fail to provide the Change we Need and The Change I THOUGHT I was voting for last November, when I worked so very hard for You and President Obama. I would consider your support for Either of these fake reform proposals to be a Personal Betrayal of Me as a Lifelong Democrat.
You Conclude:
"Thanks again for contacting me. As health care reform in the Senate takes shape, I value your opinions. I recently convened a task force on health IT, the product of a widely-attended conference at VCU, for the purpose of putting Virginia on the cutting edge of health IT. If you would like information about this initiative or my recently-introduced Senior Navigation and Planning Act, please visit my website at: www.warner.senate.gov. As we move forward, I will continue to seek out the advice and opinions of all Virginians in order to help shape an improved health care system that will be in all of our best interests.
If you value my opinion or, for that matter, If you value my continued support, you will ignore the big money lobbyists and act in the best interests of the public at large and not just for the interests of the monied elites.
Support a Public Option which is Affordable, and Available from DAY ONE. Otherwise, when reelection time comes, I may decide to do as little for you as you will have done for me.
Your Hopeful Supporter,
Dixie Liberal
An Update:
We need to Widen the Focus of our push for Health Care Reform:
While I fully support our Continuing to pressure Democratic Senators to support the Public Option for Health Insurance, I do worry that by expending most of our energy on convincing Democrats, we are neglecting to reach out to the General Public.
A recent CNN poll shows that support for the plan is softening, probably due to the massive spending by Health Care Reform opponents. We MUST step outside of our current strategy and begin to put more effort into convincing both the Independent voters and even non-voters of the necessity for Health Reform and the Public Option and we must begin NOW!
Intro
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While I fully support our Continuing to pressure Democratic Senators to support the Public Option for Health Insurance, I do worry that by expending most of our energy on convincing Democrats, we are neglecting to reach out to the General Public. A recent CNN poll shows that support for the plan is softening, probably due to the massive spending by Health Care Reform opponents. We MUST step outside of our current strategy and begin to put more effort into convincing both the Independent voters and even non-voters of the necessity for Health Reform and the Public Option and we must begin NOW!
While many of us may have abandoned Traditional Media as a source of information, we need to remember that many older and less tech savvy folks still get their news from traditional sources, like newspapers and broadcast media. While I share the disdain that most of us here have for such sources' lack of accuracy and objectivity in their reportage, if we ignore those media, WE WILL LOSE this debate.
Letters to the Editor in my local paper are mostly RW talking points from wingnuts and they are parroting the Insurance Industry's lines. If we do not begin to put the same energy into countering this propaganda at the local level as we have into convincing our Representatives, then I fear that we face a repeat of the "Hillary Care" fiasco.
I ask everyone here to begin to write Letters to the Editor to your local Newspaper(s) in support of Health Care Reform, and refute the lies which currently are Dominating the coverage of this issue at that level. Also Call your local TV stations and ask them to do stories on the Local Needs for Health Care Reform, Surely you know at Least one story that you can "tip" them towards covering!
Sen. Kay Hagen has come out for the Public Option, so we ARE effective when we get busy. We have been seeing some success at the National Level, but NOW we have to put the same Energy into the Local Level. |
