DEMONRATS AND OBAMA ON CHANGING HEALTH CARE IN AMERICA

+  AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING
+  FIRST COMMENTS ABOUT THIS YEAR’S LEGISLATIVE SESSION
+ DEMONRATS AND OBAMA ON CHANGING HEALTH CARE IN AMERICA


+ AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING

Several weeks back we tried to show the DVD, INNOCENTS BETRAYED, but
we had some technical difficulties and so we are going to try again
this Wednesday. This is a documentary which chronicles the 2 key
provisions, gun registration and then gun confiscation, which paved
the way for 8 major genocides which occurred during the past century.
It is produced by Aaron Zelman, founder of Jews for the Preservation
of Firearms. The documentary is very well done but there are some
difficult scenes of violence, so be advised. I believe this is such an
important issue, especially since so many people have obtained
concealed carry permits, which is a form of gun registration. I urge
folks to attend if at all possible.

+ FIRST COMMENTS ABOUT THIS YEAR’S LEGISLATIVE SESSION

A lot of folks wondered what kind of legislation would be passed in
2009 since it was the first time in state history for the Republicans
to be in control of both the State Senate as well as the State House.
This past Wednesday OCPAC members finished our part in formulating
this year’s Conservative Index, produced and published by the Oklahoma
Constitution Newspaper. While I know the 10 pieces of legislation
which were chosen to make up this year’s Index scores, I won’t know
the totals for any of the lawmakers for probably another week or so.

Based on what I have seen so far, I believe it is imperative to
understand there were several good pieces of legislation heard or
passed because the Republicans were in control rather than the
Democrats. Legislation such as the Tenth Amendment Resolution, next
year’s vote on English as Oklahoma’s official language, the 10
Commandments Monument, regaining more local control of our government
schools, next year’s vote for term limits for state wide offices,
rescinding all of Oklahoma’s previous calls for a new Constitutional
Convention, expanding pro life legislation and etc.

However, when it comes to expanding the size of government, acting
like a bunch of central planning fascists, failing to reduce taxes
(especially the right kind of taxes which would stimulate our
economy), redistribution of wealth schemes, corporate welfare,
borrowing money and putting the state further into debt, as well as
panting like a little puppy after newly printed federal dollars from
Washington, I am afraid there won’t be much difference in the
performance of the legislature with the Republicans in charge than
when the Democrats were in charge. As soon as the index is available I
will endeavor to list the conservatives and expose the RINOs
(Republicans In Name Only).

+ DEMONRATS AND OBAMA ON CHANGING HEALTH CARE IN AMERICA

Always keep in mind, all a President can do is propose up front then
either sign or veto what Congress puts on his desk for a signature at
the end of the legislative process. As I have said previously,
President Obama is little more than a liar and a deceiver, and the
Democrat leaders in Congress are much the same.  Also remember every
time you hear the President blame President Bush for the economic
situation handed to him, for the last 2 years of President Bush’s term
in office it was a Democrat controlled House and Senate that directed
the budget and spending, though Bush never really contended with them.

Now that Obama and the Congressional Demonrats are fully in control,
we are experiencing the most significant REVOLUTION affecting our
nation since 1776. Whether one considers health care, defense issues,
industries such as banking, insurance, mortgage lending, social,
cultural or moral issues, everything is on the table or will be for
radical transformation from the ideas of our Founding Fathers to a new
kind of America. An America based on humanistic values and a blend of
fascism, socialism and maybe just enough free enterprise remaining to
keep from killing the goose which has in the past laid the golden
eggs!

June is the month Obama and the Demonrats have decided to push toward
full blown socialist health care. Of course the steps toward that goal
may have to be incremental as there is some stiff opposition to such a
concept. Therefore, Obama will say one thing then do another as part
of his strategy to obtain the ultimate goal.

While I serve on the Board of Trustees for the Logan Medical Center, I
want to make two things clear in my following statements. First, while
I am highly interested in this issue, I don’t want to portray myself
as an “expert” on health care issues. Secondly, everything I am about
to say are my own opinions and in now way necessarily reflect the
ideas of the Logan Medical Center, any of its employees or other
Trustees.

When the Stimulus plan passed there was money in that plan for rural
hospitals. From what I know now, the money must be used to provide for
electronic medical records capabilities. This is a very expensive
program for rural hospitals, so many hospitals were probably
interested when they found out the funding would be available.
However, the feds want the hospitals to pay for the systems up front
and then some time later the feds will reimburse those hospitals for
their expenses.

I believe patient safety and patient health care will improve by
having those capabilities. If we chose not to install the system we
will see our Medicare reimbursement rate reduced. Right now our
reimbursement rate is cost plus 1 percent, so any reduction would
create a budget hardship for any rural hospital treating a lot of
Medicare patients. Therefore, many hospitals will be forced into that
system. Right after the stimulus program was passed Senator Coburn
sent out an e-mail warning that electronic medical records systems
should be viewed with caution as the system would be used to transform
America’s health care system into one resembling that of Russia or
perhaps he said the old Soviet Union.

Now hear is the deal. The electronic medical records will provide
information to the Quality Care Board. This will be a new Washington
based agency with 15 high paid government agents with a massive staff
who will in turn RATION out health care for Americans. They won’t look
at individual needs, but evaluate types of health care, those costs
and then rule on what is allowed and what is not.

Bottom line, Obama and the Demonrats want to eliminate private health
insurance and force everyone to a single payer system where they can
control everything in the health care realm. At some point in time
health care rationing will be determined on cost as well as the
utilitarian value of certain groups of people.

So here is a question, would you rather see rationing done by the
market place or by overpaid Washington health care agents who will
pick and chose who gets treatments and surgeries and who does not?
Would you rather see people be responsible for their own health care
and the prices significantly reduced yet quality remaining high, or
would you rather see a collectivist system which will be very costly
for tax payers with falling quality? Those are actually the choices
before us.

In any discussion about health care the premise must start with the
debate over whether or not health care is a right? If you believe
people have an inherent right to health care, you are a SOCIALIST,
plain and simple, don‘t try to talk your way out of the label as it
won‘t work with me. As such you are a thief as you promote using
government to FORCE some people to work to pay for the health care of
others. You would be a proponent of a new form of Americanism and an
enemy of true American patriotism.

That is not to say that some people will not be able to afford health
care and will need help. Some will truly need help, some will receive
help and some will not. That occurs today, it would also occur if we
returned to a free market system and if we become socialistic. There
will always be those who have less care and less of everything than
others.

What would a workable free market system look like? I would suggest
first starting with legislation which would exempt doctors from
liability for miss-diagnosis. They would still stand liable for gross
negligence such as operating on a wrong body extremity or perhaps
sowing up a patient and leaving behind a sponge or some other medical
instrument. Certainly a patient should be allowed to have those kinds
of lawsuits to go forward, but eliminating liability for miss-
diagnosis would allow Doctors to stop ordering so many unneeded tests,
simply to practice defensive medicine.

Another necessary change would be to allow hospitals and doctors to
determine if a patient is able to pay for services before treatment,
whether through their own finances or private insurance. If not,
hospitals and Doctors should be allowed to turn those patients away
except in life threatening circumstances. Think this idea is cruel?
Just remember you will have natural rationing at this level or
government rationing under socialized medicine.

If we changes to a market system the market will step up and provide
answers for many of the poor if government will get out of the way. In
the near future I will have a speaker at OCPAC that has developed a
model where 1 person can join a health club to provide clinic level
care and prescription benefits for only $30 per month, $45 with a
spouse and $5 per child after that. Almost any poor person could
afford that if they made it a priority rather than spending their
money eating out, on smokes, booze, drugs, the Indian casinos or
Oklahoma’s government run lottery.

For the truly poor, charity clinics would come about, already a couple
of large churches in the OKC area have established such. I can attest
to the fact that many doctors and health care professionals are
compassionate people who provide their services on a limited basis as
charity now and would do more if free market conditions existed. We
would also see more charity hospitals such as St. Jude and the Shriner
Hospitals or we would see more charity organizations come about which
would raise funds to pay for hospital care for more serious illnesses
for the poor.

Another really important point to remember, if we made the changes I
propose, Hospital bad debt would dramatically decrease as well as the
need for excessive regulatory costs. Therefore hospital costs would
drop and so would the cost of insurance. There will be nay sayers to
these ideas because they are either too deeply tied to the current
system or are so conditioned to government taking care of them and
their neighbors that they have no belief or trust in the free
markets.

If we returned to a free market system would people fall through the
cracks? Yes, but people fall through the cracks now and if we have
full blown socialized health care, people will fall through the cracks
then as they are hit with rationing, long waits for specialized
treatments, long lines at clinics and diminishing quality of care.

I believe it is Wednesday that ABC has decided to prostrate themselves
and allow President Obama to go before the American people to sell the
health care CHANGES he HOPES the American people will fall for. Just
remember, any claims at savings he will propose through his ideas of
preventive medicine are bogus. When he makes government responsible to
provide health care for tens of millions of Americans the costs will
skyrocket, deficits go off the chart and the national debt will be
hopelessly out of sight.

If you bother to watch him, just remember, this Emperor truly has no
clothes. It might help to make a banner to tape below your TV screen
which should say: THIS GUY IS A LIAR, A DECEIVER, A MARXIST AND A
SOCIALIST. That constant reminder might keep you from being sucked in
by his “charm.”

I look forward to seeing everyone this Wednesday

Charlie Meadows
Charliemeadows7@gmail.com