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As a multi-state Licensed Broker/Agent, I have been providing quality Health Insurance services for hundreds of families and Small Businesses around the country for the last 15 years and I have seen first hand how WELL our health care system works and how well our Health Insurance system works. I have seen first hand (over and over again) what happens when a Health Insurance company pays claims (by the hundreds of thousands) thereby protecting the financial future of their insureds and ensuring that they receive the very best medical treatment. Specifically by allowing them access to expensive medical procedures that they could never afford on their own. I have also helped many consumers obtain access to legitimate major medical Health Insurance even if they were labeled as "uninsurable" on the open market. Yet time and time again, I read how "evil" insurance companies are and how greedy their CEOs are and how they routinely deny medical procedures and refuse coverage to those who are "deserving" of such coverage. I have also heard many times how health care should be a "basic fundamental right" of all Americans. Even though, none of our founding fathers had any such "fundamental rights" in mind when crafting our Bill of Rights or our Constitution. Yet nearly half of the U.S. population thinks that we should turn entirely to the U.S. Government for the answer to health care reform. They feel as though a "Public Option" that would "compete" with private industry would solve the problem. Or worse yet they want a "Single Payer" system much like Canada has now. If your not familiar with how "Single Payer" health care works in Canada and other countries click www.sbisvcs.com/blog.htm and watch the many documentary videos embedded on that page. You may be wondering yourself, is Government the solution? The late President Ronald Reagan summed it up best when he said: “Government is not the solution, it is the problem”. But way before him, our forefathers warned of INSIDIOUS government involvement in our daily lives. Look as their wisdom hundreds of years before our present situation: Regarding adopting failed Single Payer health care options like other foreign governments have. What did Washington say? “Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence, (I conjure you to believe me fellow citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake; since HISTORY AND EXPERIENCE prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of Republican Government". Washington again at his Farewell Address, September 19, 1796. Regarding using others blood sweat and tears to pay for those who have not earned: What did Jefferson say? “ To take from one, because it is thought that his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers have NOT exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry, and the fruits acquired by it.” How does this apply today? 46% of American’s pay absolutely no INCOME taxes! That means the rest of us have the privilege of paying for all entitlements (which are ever expanding). Most recent case in point: Last year, SCHIP covered about 7 million low-income children and Medicaid covered an additional 23 million. This year, 2009, the U.S House of Representatives passed the H.R.2 SCHIP Expansion Bill which adds another 6.5 million children to Medicaid. In fact, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, 42 million children will now be eligible. The bill also allows States to receive federal reimbursement for adding more immigrant children and pregnant immigrant mothers, and removes the 5 year waiting period now required for legal immigrants to be eligible. This would enable immigrants to become eligible for health benefits the moment they get here! Currently, the present income eligibility cap is $44,000 for a family of 4. The new bill raised the Medicaid limit to $66,000. New York will even include families who earn $88,000 and other states allow families to subtract from their income calculation what they spend on rent or mortgage or heating or food or transportation. This means that children in some families who have incomes well over $100,000 will now be eligible. With the median U.S. household income around $50,000, 60% of U.S. households still earning less than $62,000. This means that 3 out of 5 American households will now qualify for free health care for their children. It also means that the other 2 out of 5 households will have the burden of paying for all of this! Back to our forefathers: Jefferson’s Letter to Joseph Milligan, April 6, 1816: ” There lies the distinction of “charity” or coercion. Here stands Jefferson who feared that if citizens became lazy, apathetic, and IRRESPONSIBLE, government would gain ground and become tyrannical and corrupt, plundering taxpayers for special interests and violating even property rights and other freedoms.” How does this apply today? With the help of the U.S. Census Bureau, let’s break down the real empirical data behind the “45 million uninsured” in America. Who exactly are they? FACTS: * 17 Million live in households earning more than $50,000 (38% of American uninsured) * 9 Million live in households earning more than $75,000 (20% of American uninsured) * 18 Million of the “young invincibles” (ages 18-34) who spend more money on “cigarettes, entertainment & cell phone (40% of uninsured) * 14 Million are eligible for Medicaid and SCHIP due to low income and do not enroll. (31% of uninsured) Watch “Uninsured in America” : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKCWbq18bNk&feature=channel_page Back to our Forefathers: Jefferson again: “We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt ($3 Trillion Dollar “Porkulus Maximus” Bill) We must make our election between economy and liberty, or Profusion and servitude. If we run into such debts, as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our callings and our creeds, as the people of England are, our people, like them, must come to labor sixteen hours in the twenty-four, give the earnings of fifteen of these to the government for their debts and daily expenses; and the sixteenth being insufficient to afford us bread, we must live, as they now do, on OATMEAL and potatoes; have no time to think, no means of calling the mismanagers to account; (government) but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their CHAINS on the necks of our fellow-sufferers…private fortunes are destroyed by public (government) as well private extravagance. Till the bulk of the society is reduced to be mere automations of misery……than begins, indeed, the bellum omnium in omnia (War of all against all) …..and the fore horse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression.” (Letter to Samuel Kerchival, July 12, 1816) How does this apply today? Where is the outrage that our children already, BEFORE BEING BORN are now in debt to the government by $35,000 ! Nice immoral profit I say by our government and we haven’t even begun down the slippery slope to “Universal Health Care.” Even before we begin, the $3 Trillion “Porkulus Maximus”Bail Out continues to grow as more and more corporations come to the capital with their hat in their hands and their private jets on the tarmac. Back to our Forefathers: Jefferson again: “To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he DISBELIEVES and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” – Thomas Jefferson John Adams (Vice President US for 2 terms 1788-1796, and in 1796 became our Second President) On taxation : “Property is surely a right of mankind as real as liberty. Perhaps, at first, prejudice, habit, shame or fear, principle or religion would restrain the poor from attacking the rich, and the idle from usurping on the industrious; but the time would not be long before courage and enterprise (political opportunists) would come and pretexts be invented (socialist agenda) by degrees to countenance the majority in dividing all the property among them, or at least in sharing it equally with its present possessors. Debts would be abolished first; taxes laid HEAVY on the rich, and not at all on the others; (46% of American’s pay NO income tax) and at last a downright equal division of everything be demanded, and voted. What would be the consequence of this? The idle, the vicious, the intemperate would rush into the utmost extravagance of debauchery, sell and spend all their share, and than demand a NEW division of those who PURCHASED from them.’ Thomas Pain (1737–1809) “If, from the more wretched parts of the old world, we look at those which are in an advanced stage of improvement, we still find the greedy hand of government thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry, and grasping the spoil of the multitude. Invention is continually exercised, to furnish new pretenses for revenues and taxation. It watches prosperity as its prey and permits none to escape without tribute.” Daniel Webster (1782-1852) “An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, the power to DESTROY.” How do these comments apply today? If taxation strengthens a government, while relieving it’s citizens of the freedoms above forewarned from our Forefathers, how can anyone believe taxing Americans at 60% or more (to fund a "public option") is the solution? What else could stifle personal drive and achievement more than even more taxation? Regarding a “Public Option.” There are several reasons why a Public Option will not work. Firstly, the private sector can not compete with a Public Option. So the lie that it will just create “healthy competition” is just that. An INSIDIOUS Lie perpetrated by a Government with an unholy lust for even more power. Why is it a lie? Because unlike the Federal Government who can tap in to the U.S. Treasury (as they have been doing feverishly lately) when claims surpass revenue. The private sector is held to a higher standard. Namely, fiscal responsibility. If claims supercede revenue, an insurance company must be held to the ramifications that happen to any company that does not balance it’s portfolio correctly. Namely, FAILURE (except, of course if that company is AIG who gets bailed out over AND OVER again by our precious BLOOD SWEAT and TEARS)! SIDE BAR: Quick Translation of the term “Blood Sweat & Tears” for the aforementioned 46%. “Blood Sweat & Tears” means income taxes. SIDE BAR: Further clarification of the term “income tax”. This is a percentage of income that is forcibly taken from roughly half of the American population when they produce an income. Once the insurance companies fail (shortly after the “Public Option” starts promoting “Healthy Competition”) we will be left with “Medicare” for all! But wait! How’s Medicaid & Medicare working now? Let’s see. At the current rate of Medicare expenditures, by the time I am 65 there will be no Medicare for me according to ALL economist (on both sides of the isle). Why? Because they have been robbed for other expenditures by a fiscally irresponsible, over burdensome Federal Government. Who’s answer to EVERYTHING is to throw money at it! Easy to throw when it’s not yours. The private sector does not have the luxury to play with America’s BLOOD SWEAT & TEARS. We must balance our portfolios responsibly and consistently or we will not have the the funds to pay the big claims when they arise (and they do arise, and they do so often). This being the case, it comes down to who the American Tax Payers (again, I stress the 50% that actually pay income taxes) want to handle their medical care. And overwhelming, those tax payers want choice and fiscal responsibility. They will receive neither through a government run “Public Option.” Ok, well then we’ll just lean on Medicaid. Really? Will that be before or after the recent Medicaid Expansion of $87 Billion is used up or after the 78.2 MILLION Baby Boomers suck it dry to care for their long term care expenses? More reasons why a “Public Option” will not work? Read: http://www.heritage.org/Research/HealthCare/bg2267.cfm Even though neither a Single Payer nor a Public option will work. We still definitely need health care reform on many levels and if Government must play a part there are intelligent things they can do. Here’s where they can actually help: * Weed out all of the illegals who are sucking our Medicaid system dry such as in Illinois. Good old “Blago” enrolled thousands of Illegals in to our Medicaid system, thereby running the program in the ground & leaving our Illinois Medicaid system approx. $1.5 BILLION behind in payment of claims to physicians who have been providing “free” care to all illegals who were lucky enough to flock to the State of Illinois to insure themselves for “free”. By the way, this is the reason he was impeached so quickly. The Illinois Senate didn’t need the Federal Wire Taps. * Instead of bailing out GM with Billions of our blood sweat and tears and then letting them file bankruptcy 3 months later. Why not fund a NATIONAL High Risk Pool for those who are rendered uninsurable? We already have such State run High Risk Health Insurance pools in the majority of States. These Risk Pools will cover anyone regardless of their medical history. The problem is they are under funded so the premiums are extremely high. Instead of spending $1.6 Trillion to insure only 11 Million of the 45 Million uninsured. LEAVE the bulk of the nation's risk where the money is, namely with the insurance companies. Then provide a National Federal & State funded Risk Pool for those who are rendered uninsurable. Since the uninsured far outweigh the uninsurable, this would cost far less than the currently proposed $1.6 Trillion over the next 10 years. * Pass a law that mandates that all American’s, who can afford to purchase Health Insurance (remember the 35 Million) actually do so! Pass a law that states that they must purchase some basic level of Health Insurance coverage for themselves and their dependents. The Fed has has already helped design Consumer Driven Tax Qualified Health Insurance so the premiums remain affordable and the family has an impetus to help control costs. In fact, no other form of Health Insurance lowers your risk each year. People need to know about these new Consumer Driven Health Insurance options. Why would passing a Health Insurance Mandate work? Remember car insurance? It used to be that you could drive around like a moron without it. Congress then mandated (and rightfully so) that ALL drivers purchase some basic level of Car Insurance to protect themselves and those who they may injure. This worked for the car insurance industry and it would do the EXACT same thing for the Health Insurance industry. Adding to the national risk pool 35 Million more American’s would drive down Health Insurance premiums for all American’s. It’s just an actuarial fact. * Establish a Federal oversight committee to regulate and hold accountable physicians who make medical mistakes. What’s one of the biggest reasons why health care is so expensive? Hint: It’s not “rich CEO’s” and “outdated medical records transfer processes.” It’s Medical Mistakes! Here’s the real facts you won’t find in the media outlets: 1994: Five years after a groundbreaking Institute of Medicine report focused attention on medical errors in hospitals, Americans say that they do not believe that the nation’s quality of care has improved. In fact, 1 out of 3 patients states that they have experienced a serious medical error http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/hlthaff.w4.534 1995: A Study published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) found that only two percent of medication errors that occurred during the medication administration process were intercepted. a. More people die from medication errors than from work place injuries b. Medication errors account for approximately one out of 131 outpatient deaths and one out of 854 inpatient deaths. 1999: Institute of Medicine (IOM) releases its first report on healthcare quality and medical errors. http://www.iom.edu/?id=12735 The Study finds in part that: a. Medical errors are responsible for injury in as many as 1 out of every 25 hospital patients. b. Between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans die each year from preventable medical errors in hospitals alone. c. The deaths from preventable medical mistakes are equivalent to the number of people who would die if a jumbo jet crashed EACH AND EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR, and all its passengers died! d. Medical errors cause more deaths than motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer or AIDS…..and this study is TEN YEARS OLD and STILL no Federal oversight committee! Oh wait! It gets worse! 2002: A Study issued by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) concluded that more than 200,000 medication errors occurred during 2002 2004: CDC reports that 90,000 patient deaths occur each year due to patients contracting hospital acquired infections. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/pdf/nnis/2004NNISreport.pdf a. Many hospital acquired infections are caused by health care workers who fail to wash their hands in between patients. 2006: Studies assessing the state of hospital patient safety conclude that current progress is slow, results in general are at best modest, and the gap between the best possible care and actual care remains large. http://www.healthgrades.com/media/dms/pdf/PatientSafetyInAmericanHospitalsStudy2006.pdf More Facts: Preventable medical errors result in extended hospital stays, expensive treatment for chronic medical conditions and astronomical medical costs that are associated with treating debilitating life-long illnesses. Some experts state that these costs may be in the range of $150-200 Billion dollars per year. Gee, where else could we spend that money??? Quick reminder: ALL of the aforementioned happened under the nose of our Federal Government. And we want them to regulate Health Care?? Let’s not save ALL of our anger for the “greedy” insurance companies and “over paid” doctors and CEO’s. Let’s focus our Anger on our GOVERNMENT who has allowed this systemic problem to continue over three administrations! Ask yourself, why does the health care industry basically regulate and report on itself? Why is certification and accreditation voluntary? Why don’t we have a Federal agency that acts like the FAA and investigate medical mistakes, just like airline accidents or near misses? Why do only some states have mandatory reporting requirements of medical errors? All Good Questions that need to be answered before we hand over our very health freedoms to the Government to “regulate”. By the way, ever wonder why those 35 Million don’t purchase Health Insurance? Because it’s FREE!!! There are hundreds of Free Hospitals & Clinics around the country: http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/66884/affordable-medical Add to that the “compassionate care” that any one can get at every Emergency Room in the U.S. and is there any wonder why so many chose not to insure themselves? But that’s the point here. NOTHING is “free”! It’s all on the backs of the 54% of American’s who actually pay income taxes and this already MASSIVE burden will increase exponentially once Health Care is “FREE” for everyone! Does this mean then that we should stop providing for those who are truly in need? Of course not. In fact, providing for those who are truly in need is one of the things that makes America great. We not only provide for those in our own country but we spill our precious blood on foreign soil around the globe defending the rights of our allies and protecting Liberty. We will continue to do so. My point is that what used to be entitlements for those who legitimately need them has now become entitlements for those who can MOST CERTAINLY provide for themselves. What our forefathers envisioned was a “Just Society”. A Society that grows great upon the efforts of each citizens efforts and yet remembers that there are those amongst us WHO CAN NOT (due to infirmity, age, mental disability, disenfranchisement etc.) And we have always provided for those who are truly in need. And we will continue to do so. Fiscal Conservatives believe wholeheartedly in helping those that are truly in need. But those that are not truly in need should PROVIDE FOR THEMSELVES! The decision to help those truly in need should be made by the hearts and minds of the individual citizen, not funded through increased tax dollars by an ever encroaching government. Bill & Melinda Gates have contributed Billions of dollars to humanitarian efforts inside and out of this country. Oprah Winfrey has done the same, to name just a few. But no one told them they HAD to. No one forcibly took that money (other than the Millions in taxes they already forfeit to the government). Instead, their hearts were motivated to do so and this is the crux of the matter. Free citizens do not need their Government to tell them how to spend their money. Free citizens do not need their Government encroaching on their very lively hoods. And MOST IMPORTANTLY Free Citizens can certainly spend their money better than the Federal Government. Why? Because they have a vested interest in where that money goes due to the fact that they have EARNED it! By the way, those that believe that we have a moral obligation to provide everyone with "free" health care for everyone, and feel compelled to do make sure that happens, should VOLUNTARILY pay more taxes for such programs. Those that do not, should not be forced to do so. This is the definition of a free society.