Extreme left Dems may block healthcare reform over public option

by Kay B. Day

The real holdup on healthcare reform are far left extremist donkeys.What could possibly be the motivation for extreme leftist Democrats to insist on another welfare program, aka a public option, as the keystone in a healthcare reform bill? American citizens that are part of the “accessibility gap” are waiting. I have no hopes anything Congress does will lower costs for those of us in private plans. We all know we will subsidize whatever proposal they pass.

Those I know hoping for relief fit into the demographic I wrote about in a previous column. They are largely male, technically single and in some cases, self-employed in a business of less than 5 people. What about same sex couples? For those in committed relationships, should they not be able to purchase health insurance? Even if you don’t buy into the idea of same sex marriage, surely we can agree a person should be able to purchase health insurance. All of the people I mentioned work. All of them pay taxes and contribute to their communities. And they have every right to expect Congress to come up with an acceptable bill.

In July Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Lynn Woolsey (D-Calf.) posted a letter signed by approximately 2 dozen members of Congress. Addressed to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and key committee members, the letter said, “Any bill that does not provide, at a minimum, for a public option with reimbursement rates based on Medicare rates—not negotiated rates—is unacceptable. It would ensure higher costs for the public plan, and would do nothing to achieve the goal of ‘keeping insurance companies honest,’ and their rates down.”

Based on common sense, many would quibble with that statement. It stands to reason that another public option would not only end up with the future daunting deficits and rampant fraud that plague Medicare and Medicaid. Note that the fraud I’m talking about is deliberately deceiving the system by submitting claims for services not rendered rather than the recent pharmaceutical case begun under the Bush administration and finalized last week.

Note the blatant hypocrisy. This Congress voted itself a raise but they don’t want to pay healthcare facilities a decent reimbursement? Looters all.

With another public option, those in private plans would effectively pay more to subsidize additional people covered by another welfare program, just as we are paying now to subsidize Medicaid, Medicare and SCHIP.

As we have repeatedly stated, Democratic members of Congress—namely, the Progressive Caucus where the letter is posted—are the holdup. Their statement confirms that. There’s nothing progressive about these people—they are progressive along the lines of using a pair of scissors to trim the lawn. You can see a projected vote detail at The Drudge Report.

The letter also confirms a complete lack of understanding of healthcare and the free market. Continuing to deflate reimbursement rates will have a dramatic impact on the number of primary care physicians in the future as well as the quality of care we receive. Apparently none of these legislators have seen studies indicating the pitfalls of another public plan. Or if they have, they have another motivation for stonewalling.

These politicians are worried about reimbursement rates for vital care, but they certainly aren’t worried about earmarks or the dramatic increase in what I often view as whimsical travel on the taxpayer dollar. They certainly don’t appear to be concerned about American citizens who really would like to be able to buy health insurance if their employer doesn’t offer it.

The letter mentions higher rates for private pay. The writers must have missed the increases in Medicare premiums and drug costs. The AARP Bulletin (Sept. 2009) said, “Medicare enrollees have already seen their premiums more than double this decade, and they already spend a third of their income on out-of-pocket health costs.” [pg. 8]

If you think this Congress is for the working man, you definitely need medical care as in a therapist.

It is one thing for Democrats to butt heads with Republicans. It is another for far left extremist members of Congress to stymie their own party, insisting on a public option as the sole criterion for a healthcare bill. They are certainly not looking out for the taxpayer, because that is exactly where the bill for a public option will land. Most of the Dem leaders in Congress are old; they'll be dead by the time our kids pay the bills for all the spending they're doing.

Health insurance should be available to us just like car insurance. It’s such a simple premise.

There are enough moderates in both parties to commit to and achieve healthcare reform.

Voters should turn every one of these leftist extremist politicians out of office when election day comes. They are not worthy of serving our country.

Print the list at Drudge and turn these looters out.