All Roads Lead to the Public Option

N o matter how the Congress and the President try to disguise their intention they plan to create a system of rationed care run by the government. Many in Congress have been waiting their entire career to accomplish this including Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi and many others. They know that single-payer does not have the votes in the House or the Senate so they will change its name, call it what it is not and try any combination of devices to get it through. Witness the current situation. After getting a bill passed by the Senate Finance Committee they have moved the discussions behind closed doors and now plan to write the pubic option, which could not pass, into a new bill and call it the bill that passed. This "is the best path to get us to single-payer" according to Barney Frank, a long-time supporter of the Canadian system. So despite all current statements to the contrary this is where the liberals in Congress want to take us. With the Presidency and strong majorities in the House and Senate this is their best opportunity to do it. Take a minute and ponder this: we already have several examples of government-run healthcare including Medicare and Medicaid, veteran's hospitals and Indian reservations. It is well-known that those with Medicare must have supplemental plans for things not covered and we have all heard the horror stories of veteran's and Indians. Through the years Medicare has covered less and less, and supplemental coverage has cost more and more. Medicare has cut the reimbursement rate, which has resulted in many doctors and hospitals no longer accepting Medicare patients unless they carry supplemental policies. The current plan includes additional cuts in Medicare so it will only become worse. None of this is to even mention it has 46 Trillion in unfunded liabilities already. Add to this the myriad penalties, forced enrollment and increased regulation and there is no way such a plan could be deficit neutral or cost less. And finally, what is perhaps the most telling of all is that our Congress plans to exclude them selves from the system they are devising for us. Changing the name of the bill from National Healthcare to Healthcare Insurance Reform does not disguise the truth of what the government wants to do. The plan ends with a single-payer government run healthcare system, which history shows will destroy a healthcare system that is the envy of the world. Keep talking America. Let your Representative and Senators know how you feel. Keep those cards, letters and phone calls coming.