Distrust of health plan rooted in lack of trust for Congress and ‘snuck in’ provisions

Commentary by Kay B. Day

President Barack Obama’s plan for expanding health insurance to include all Americans is titled ‘The Obama Plan: Stability and Security for all Americans.’ On Thursday, Republicans will meet with Democrats, purportedly in an effort to salvage one of Obama’s greatest hopes. Or the meeting may just be, as some Republicans have charged, ‘a photo op.’  And only time will tell what we end up with between the House and Senate bills that form the basis for retooling healthcare. Neither the House bill nor the Senate bill was handled with the transparency the president promised when he campaigned. And we must admit to ourselves House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) do not inspire trust. Why do I say that?

'SNUCK IN' PROVISIONS
Real Clear Politics was one of the only media to report a startling statement Obama made long after Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) told the president, “You lie!”

RCP reported the president’s statement in January. Obama said, “The last thing I will say, though -- let me say this about health care and the health care debate, because I think it also bears on a whole lot of other issues. If you look at the package that we've presented—and there's some stray cats and dogs that got in there that we were eliminating, we were in the process of eliminating. For example, we said from the start that it was going to be important for us to be consistent in saying to people if you can have your -- if you want to keep the health insurance you got, you can keep it, that you're not going to have anybody getting in between you and your doctor in your decision making. And I think that some of the provisions that got snuck in might have violated that pledge.”

So the president has been blaming the GOP and trying to sell us bills that even he lacked a clear understanding of?

I personally watched a representative of the Service Employees International Union who appeared on one of the TV networks to talk about healthcare. Union reps and other advocates had met with the president to discuss details, perhaps about the possible tax on so-called ‘Cadillac Plans.’ But what struck me was the union rep’s vested interest in the legislation. He spoke as though he were an elected official. I remember he said something along the lines of ‘We still have some things to work on.’ I paraphrased the comment, but that was the gist.

WHO WILL REALLY PAY?
As a member of the social class that receives rock bottom return on my family’s taxes in terms of dollars because we aren’t receiving any government entitlements (and don’t want to, by the way), I have an innate distrust of government encroachment on anything. My reasons include the financial quagmire engulfing the Post Office, AMTRAK, Medicare and Medicaid and education. Additional reasons include bailouts to car companies, banks and corporate cronies.

Every time I see Pelosi or Reid make a statement, it is clear to me they don’t care much for Main Street Americans. The Party those two belong to, the Democrats, plays identity politics like a political fiddle and seems intent on increasing the size of the class receiving government entitlements. The Party also manipulates immigration, growing an uneducated social class, many of whom come here not to achieve the American dream but to earn enough money to send home and receive the free medical care their own countries do not provide. The Center for Immigration Studies reported, "Immigrants and their U.S.-born children account for 71 percent of the increase in the uninsured since 1989."

I don’t know what will happen at the summit. I do know that over the years the GOP has attempted to pass reforms. Randall Hoven at American Thinker reminded us of those efforts, including Sen. Max Baucus’ flip-flop on Medicare. President George W. Bush attempted to downsize Medicare in 2008 to save $200 billion dollars. Baucus said that plan was ‘dead on arrival’ for him and for Congress. The next year, Baucus proposed more than $400 billion in Medicare cuts.

Medicare and Medicaid, from inception, were destined for runaway costs and skyrocketing premiums for those of us not on government insurance.

Someone has to pay. And I figure that will be my family and others like ours. And our children and their children.
 
As government has gradually expanded its presence in healthcare, premiums for private pay citizens have increased. Some providers, such as Mayo Clinic cited by the president for healthcare excellence, no longer accept some Medicare patients at locations in Florida and Arizona.

Slowly but surely we progress towards government run healthcare for all.

TRANSPARENCY AND TRUST
Thus far, there has been little transparency on healthcare legislation and a complete rebuttal of conservative proposals. This Congress has set historic records for spending, grown government jobs taxpayer dollars will fund into the employees’ retirement years and turned its back on anyone above the poverty level.

Why would I extend trust to Pelosi and Reid on my healthcare?

Furthermore, can any government meet a pledge to provide stability and security to all Americans when it comes to healthcare as long as Americans have personal liberty?

That alone is a premise I can’t trust, especially considering what the president admitted was ‘snuck in’ to existing legislation.

What is the best option for all Americans on healthcare? Start over and aim for real reform, not entitlements.

[Ed. Note: For past articles on healthcare legislation, follow links in 'References' below.]