Letters sent by email to U.S. Senators from Virginia Mark Warner and Jim Webb on the Senate Health Care Reform bill:
Dear Senator Warner,
I am writing concerning the health care reform effort. As one of your constituents, I want to make a few comments, with the expectation that you, personally, will read them and consider them in your evaluation of plans to legislate reform.
I have read the comments on your Web site regarding reforming the current health care system. You are correct that competition is an essential element in any health care system, and that single element precludes a system that has any more government intervention than currently exists.
As a Director of a not-for-profit community hospital for nearly 20 years, I am acutely aware of the problems government causes for health care providers, such as reimbursements from Medicare/Medicaid that are substantially less that billed charges, and the higher costs in the effort to satisfy government requirements.
Fewer government requirements are in order, not more. For that reason alone, the bill that Sen. Reid is about to offer is undeserving of consideration, and must be rejected immediately.
Furthermore, before we do something drastic to the existing system, which, despite its problems, provides the highest level of care in the world, we need to be honest about how many Americans are without health insurance because of its cost. That number is a fraction of the 47 million that we so often hear about. Illegal aliens and other non-citizens, and those who choose not to buy insurance, are not part of the problem; American taxpayers cannot be burdened with paying for insurance for these people.
You are also correct that we must encourage wellness and prevention.
All of the important reforms can be accomplished through legislation that is a fraction of the size of the 2,000 page bill about to be considered, and for far less money. If not, the Senate should admit defeat, and leave things as they are.
It is also compulsory that reform be a true bi-partisan effort, as a matter of good governance. That is not the case so far; there has been no discernable honest effort to produce a bill Republicans can support.
And last, but hardly least: The Constitution of the United States does not empower Congress or the federal government to take charge of, or even to substantially modify the private, free market health care system. You and every other public servant have sworn to uphold the Constitution, and it will be a breach of that oath to vote for a measure that violates the constitutional protections Americans enjoy from an over-reaching federal government. I urge you to give this point careful consideration.
I am counting on you, as my elected representative to vote down this current unconstitutional measure, and any other one that may be brought forth.
Sincerely,
James H. Shott
Dear Senator Webb,
I appreciate your commitment to improve the accessibility and affordability of health care for all Americans. As one of your constituents, I want to make a few comments, with the expectation that you, personally, will read them and consider them in your evaluation of plans to legislate reform.
Health care costs are a substantial problem. Not least among the causes of these high prices is the degree of government intervention in what ought to be a fairly open free market.
As a Director of a not-for-profit community hospital for nearly 20 years, I am acutely aware of the problems government causes for health care providers, such as reimbursements from Medicare/Medicaid that are substantially less that billed charges, and the higher costs in the effort to satisfy government requirements.
Before we do something drastic to the existing system, which, despite its problems, provides the highest level of care in the world, we need to be honest about how many Americans are without health insurance because of its cost. That number is a fraction of the 47 million that we so often hear about. Illegal aliens and other non-citizens, and those who choose not to buy insurance, are not part of the problem; American taxpayers cannot be burdened with paying for insurance for these people.
You commented that “Our nation’s continued economic recovery would be advanced by meaningful and effective health care reform.” It can also be wrecked by thoughtless and over-reaching efforts by the federal government. That is the path we are currently running down.
You also said: “Such reform must emphatically be reasonable in scope, cost, and impact. It is important for us to be highly deliberative on this matter of importance to the lives and livelihoods of so many Americans.”
Senator, the bill Sen. Reid is about to offer up, is a gross breach of those tenets.
I urge you to give this point careful consideration: The Constitution of the United States does not empower Congress or the federal government to take charge of, or even to substantially modify the private, free market health care system. You and every other public servant have sworn to uphold the Constitution, and it will be a breach of that oath to vote for a measure that violates the constitutional protections Americans enjoy from an over-reaching federal government.
I am counting on you, as my elected representative to vote down this current unconstitutional measure, and any other one that may be brought forth.
Sincerely,
James H. Shott
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