Ted Kennedy Speaks Out
Jul 20, 2009 Political
No, not about Mary Jo Kopechne, who he murdered 40 years ago, but about health care in the US. Kennedy took to the pages of NewsWEAK to lay out his vision for universal health care. Obama and the Democrats are pulling out all the stops because this bill is on life support and is losing the support of Democrats as each day passes by.
While Kennedy uses the piece to lay out the position, one which he says he fought for for the past four decades, the message is still the same misleading information coming out of the White House. Kennedy claims that people will be able to keep what they have and that everyone will be required to have health insurance.
The first thing to realize is that the bill is loaded with language that prevents people from having their own insurance. All plans must meet the standards set by the government and if anything in the plan changes (like a co-pay) then the plan will not be legal. The entire system is designed to move people away from private insurance and to government run health care. The cost of this plan will be in the trillions of dollars and this is to provide health care to the 12 million or so people who genuinely cannot afford it.
As for the estimated 47 million not covered by health insurance, 20 million can afford to buy it, according to a study by former CBO Director June O’Neill. Most of the other 27 million are single and under 35, with as many as a third illegal aliens.
When it’s all whittled down, as few as 12 million are unable to buy insurance — less than 4% of a population of 305 million. For this we need to nationalize 17% of our nation’s $14 trillion economy and change the current care that 89% like? IBD
This amounts to nothing more than greater government control over our lives. People should be able to decide whether or not they want insurance and if they incur a medical bill they should be required to pay it. There are consequences to actions and deciding not to have health care coverage can have drastic consequences. As for those who cannot afford it, there are plenty of government plans already designed to help them.
The push by Kennedy is the latest in the saga of dwindling support. Democrats are abandoning this plan because it is costly and those who live in more conservative districts are worried about reelection. Obama and the supporters of this debacle want it passed quickly because the longer it festers the less support it has from the public. Rasmussen has a poll showing support has dwindled to 35% with 50% opposing.
Government run health care will concern itself with costs and not coverage. There is a valid argument that private insurance does the same thing. If government regulations requiring certain coverages were removed and if people were allowed to shop across state lines then there would be more competition which would help keep costs down and force companies to provide more coverage. If the government is involved there are no such worries. The government will not pay all the taxes that insurance companies pay (and if they go out of business where will that revenue come from) and the government can raise taxes when it needs more money. This will eventually hit the pockets of middle class Americans and it will lead to rationing and denial of care to those the government deems too costly to treat. A provision in the bill requires the elderly to be counseled on end of life care:
One troubling provision of the House bill compels seniors to submit to a counseling session every five years (and more often if they become sick or go into a nursing home) about alternatives for end-of-life care (House bill, p. 425-430). The sessions cover highly sensitive matters such as whether to receive antibiotics and “the use of artificially administered nutrition and hydration.”
This mandate invites abuse, and seniors could easily be pushed to refuse care. Do we really want government involved in such deeply personal issues? New York Post
Some of these decisions are valid and people go through them everyday but they should be the ones taking care of this. Government does not belong this involved. The NYP piece highlights many areas of the bill that people should find troubling.
As the Democrats pull out all stops to pass this monstrosity it is important to note that the vote on an amendment to require all members who vote for it, their staff and family members to sign up for the care was opposed by almost all the Democrats. They want it for you but it is not good enough for them. They work for us and they need to remember it. If they do not want it then we should not be forced to take it. At least they have a vote in the matter as it affects them. We have no such luxury.
The Democrats are running ads targeting their own in areas where their members of Congress, who oppose the bill, reside. The ads are aimed at the members of Congress which means the leadership knows this is in trouble. They are willing to risk losing seats in 2010 in order to hang this boat anchor around our necks.
Ted Kennedy has pushed himself away from the bar long enough to have his speechwriter pen the article describing why this is important and to garner support. On the 40th anniversary of the murder he committed, Kennedy is now trying to murder the American health care system.
As has been the case for the last 4 decades, Mary Jo Kopechne is unavailable for comment.
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Tags: blue dogs, health care, Obama, ted kennedy, travesty