Speak up

I contacted my Senators and Representative regarding my views on socialized medicine .... have you?

Dear Congressweasel,

I’m writing today to express my opposition to what is being referred to as “healthcare reform”. The Obama administration is attempting to push through legislation which will be more detrimental to American citizens’ healthcare than it will be beneficial. My opinions come from my experiences as a two-time cancer survivor, a bone-marrow transplant recipient, a former Medicare contractor employee and as a current Registered Nurse.

While I agree with the criticism that “healthcare reform” as it is being pushed through will be too expensive, I think focusing solely on the cost of the program misses the point. Governmental health insurance as an entitlement program will end up insolvent just as Medicare is now. Healthcare consumers now – whether covered by Medicare or private insurance – do not view healthcare as a resource; rather, they see it as a commodity to be consumed. To turn healthcare into another entitlement program will only worsen the problem by giving the beneficiaries of the program absolutely no incentive to take an active role in taking care of themselves. I already see the hospital where I work suffer from the effects of patients who have Medicare and/or Medicaid who already nearly overwhelm the local healthcare resources, while having no incentive to be proactively more healthy or to be more conscientious, responsible healthcare consumers.

I have to wonder – if the kind of healthcare system currently being proposed were in place when I was diagnosed with Leukemia, would I still be alive today? Would I have had access to the care I received if
socialized medicine had been in place? How will medical technology companies and the pharmaceutical industry react to the inevitable elimination of private health insurance – when their bottom lines shrink because of governmental price “negotiation”? Will the incentive still be there for those companies to produce lifesaving technologies and medicines?

I realize there is absolutely no way what I’m going to suggest would be realistic to propose, but if healthcare “reform”/governmental health insurance/socialized medicine is going to be forced upon us by the Democratic majority, the least Congress could do is to take steps to ensure that the program isn’t abused, and that beneficiaries have some incentive to conserve their healthcare resources.

I propose that any beneficiary of governmental health insurance should be required to submit to compulsory blood and urine tests each time he/she presents for healthcare services. If the beneficiary tests positive for nicotine, tobacco cessation counseling will be provided, and aides to stop smoking will be offered. After that, if the beneficiary tests positive for nicotine any time he/she presents for healthcare, the patient will be responsible for his/her bill. As long as the patient continues to use tobacco, he/she will pay his/her own healthcare bills. Testing positive for alcohol will result in the patient paying the full charge for his/her healthcare bill(s). If the patient tests positive for a drug for which he/she has no prescription, the beneficiary will pay his/her bill, or services may be denied. If emergency services are required, and a patient tests positive for alcohol or drugs, the patient pays his/her own bill and the bills of any other persons injured, and the patient loses his/her health care coverage for a year. A repeat offense would result in permanent revocation of healthcare benefits. Overweight and/or obese patients will be given a timeline for losing weight, with the Body Mass Index (BMI) used as a weight standard. The patient will be required to pay a percentage penalty toward their healthcare bills corresponding to their weight percentage over the BMI standards.

I realize these suggestions seem over-the-top, and frankly I abhor the idea of any further governmental intrusion into Americans’ daily lives. If nationalized healthcare is in our future, however, the system will be overwhelmed and will become insolvent very shortly – regardless of the promises President Obama and the Democrats may make – unless strong measures are taken to protect the program.

I don’t make these suggestions in order to show my support for nationalized healthcare; rather, I totally oppose it. The last thing the American healthcare system needs is the kind of “reform” currently being proposed.

I urge you in the strongest possible terms to oppose “healthcare reform” as it is being offered now, and in any form which smacks of socialized medicine.

Sincerely,

Alpineman, RN

My Congressweasels must hate me.

The sad thing is, my friends and family seem to think gun control is the only issue I'm sufficiently interested in to write my congressweasels. I hate that. They don't seem to acknowledge that - although I've only lobbied my State senator/rep in person ... it wasn't regarding gun control, and the e-mails I send my Congressweasels are rarely about the gun thing...