Thomas D. Segel
We Didn’t Elect You To Do This!
August 1, 2009
 

Well, Mr. and Mrs. Congressional Member. You are now heading home for another month-long holiday at taxpayer expense. A few of you may even have enough backbone to face your constituents on the issue of this massive healthcare takeover. You might even answer some of the questions that are really bothering us out here in the flyover states.

Do you really think we sent you to Washington so you can have mandatory audits of employers who self-insure their workers? Do you think we placed you in office so politicians can ration our healthcare? Do you really believe a government committee should decide what healthcare treatments and benefits we receive?

As one of the Washington elite, do you really think you are qualified to name a Health Choices Commissioner who can rule on our care, and even deny us the right to appeal? And can you tell us just when we authorized you to provide free health care to every legal and illegal immigrant in the United States?

We don’t remember telling you we wanted every person in the United States to carry a National Identification Health card. We also don’t remember telling you we wanted the government to have access to all of our individual bank accounts and money transfers. While on that subject, when did we tell you that we wanted the government to subsidize the healthcare of organizations such as the United Auto Worker Retirees and ACORN with our tax dollars?

Perhaps you can explain to us why all private healthcare plans must conform to government rules and participate in a healthcare exchange. While explaining, please tell us why you will be paying ACORN and AmeriCorps to sign up people for the Government Healthcare Plan.

When did the government become so knowledgeable it could determine the wages of doctors, nurses and other providers? How are you improving care when your bill calls for every doctor, regardless of specialty, to receive the same pay? How does it improve services to have the government reduce medical and physician services for Medicaid? How did you arrive at the idea of the government deciding just who can rent or purchase a power-driven wheelchair?

While on the subject of patient care, when did the government become experienced enough in medical treatment to know what a preventable re-admission to a hospital is…and fine hospitals for such readmissions?

Oh, and by the way, we notice that doctors who treat those unauthorized hospital re-admissions will also be penalized by the government. Some of our better hospitals and clinics are owned and operated by doctors, but your bill pointedly prohibits such ownership. You have also decided to make it a Washington DC decision to even expand the number of hospital beds anywhere in the United States. Why?

Among the many wrong-headed provisions in this gigantic, pork laden bill we notice the government will now instruct us on advance care planning, living wills, durable powers of attorney, and other legal concerns, Oh yes, these consultations will also be mandatory. But, we see you have found a good cost saving measure by rationing mental health services.

When you get home, please tell us just how you arrived at having the government give us a list of end-of-life resources and mandating a program that orders what end-of-life treatment we will receive.