Dear Senator Grassley,
I attended your town hall in Afton, Ia., on Wed., Aug. 12, and I was disappointed to see you reinforce erroneous political talking points on health care instead of focusing on Iowans’ needs. I would also like to respond to your Aug. 4 letter, which references “independent analysis” which you subsequently don’t cite. I would guess this is the Lewin Report financed by the Heritage Foundation and conducted by a firm owned by UnitedHealth. Obviously, this report is not an unbiased independent source, which is probably why you didn’t cite it.
In your letter you also indicate we must “bolster the individual and employer-based insurance markets by crafting a public policy that encourages affordable, accessible coverage. We must lower costs for consumers by promoting efficiency, encouraging prevention and rewarding quality.”
I would remind you employer-based insurance has broken the U.S. auto industry and other manufacturing companies, forcing them to leave the country. Additionally, our nation cannot attract replacement industries due to this requirement. Instead companies settle across the border in Mexico and Canada where they have national health care. And as I have told your staff via phone calls, individuals with ideas for new businesses find health care costs prohibitive. Thus, the share of our economy held by new business ventures is shrinking. These are facts, not simply what I choose to believe. Meanwhile, the percentage of GDP eaten up by health costs is growing.
Still you deny these realities. And in fact, as I observed in Afton (and your Aug. 4 letter), you deliberately mislead ill-informed Iowans to stoke their fears and support the status quo against their own best interests. Shame on you! As a leader, you have a responsibility to educate and help these people, not frighten them. Also your allusions to “death panels,” though more subtle in Afton than in Winterset, strike a sour note with me. You see, 10 years ago, I went through such a situation with both my parents.
End of life consultations are an important part of the process of helping families decide how to help their loved ones die with dignity. For both Mom and Dad, who had terminal cancer, we needed to know what was available in rural Iowa, what Medicare and their insurance would cover, and what our role in care might be. This was especially important as we chose to allow our parents to die in their home. My sister and I provided daily care with the help of the Montgomery County Hospice program. You and other Republicans’ portrayal of these consultations as death panels determining who lives and dies is a lie and an outrage.
Instead of working to help Iowans, you have chosen to take up arms as a Republican warrior fighting Democrats as the enemy. You’ve bought into Newt Gingrich’s old lies.
But I see us all as Americans. And for the last 40 years, conservative ideas have shaped our government. It’s been self-fulfilling prophecy because you believe, “Government is not the solution to our problems. Government is the problem!” You’ve made government the problem; you’ve made sure you strangle it. Tax cuts, deregulation and corporate-friendly policies have gutted our economy. To improve our conditions, we must change course. That means the pendulum needs to swing back the other way. As a pragmatist, I expect we’ll surely have to change course again in the future. However, in 2009, we need to try some progressive ideas.
Which leads me back to health care and our economy.
You and the rest of the Republicans in Congress have chosen to ignore poll after poll indicating Americans want a public health care option. And for me, even that is a compromise. I favor a universal single payer plan or nationalized health care. Yet you refuse to even allow the public option compromise.
What I heard from you in Afton was a very carefully orchestrated message to conflate voters’ fears about a change, to appear to be negotiating with the Obama Administration for political cover, and then to write a plan that protects the health insurers and the status quo. Essentially, the insurers will give up nothing.
So you remember this prediction if you’re successful. If our health care and insurance system in this country does not change, I believe the entire American economy will crash. Your plans will not control costs or improve access. It will not help businesses, small or large, free up dollars for new ventures and jobs. Instead, the status quo will only increase the misery.
You have a choice to perform public service or to play politics. I think you’ve made your choice.
But I won’t support you. And because I care about my family, friends and neighbors, I’m going to fight for their best interests. That’s a promise.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Health care conflict
After attending a town hall in Afton, Ia., held by Senator Charles Grassley, I can hone the health care battle down to a single essential conflict:
• Everyone wants health care – they want to be taken care of – but no one wants to pay for it.
I was disappointed, but not surprised, to see Iowa’s long term Republican Senator Grassley stick to the political talking points rather than acknowledge the needs of Iowans.
The event I attended had been scheduled at Afton City Hall, but too many people arrived, and the local Methodist church opened its doors to accommodate the crowd. Even then, people were crowded into the choir seats and overflow at the front and back of the church and standing in the aisles.
To open, Grassley rattled off a litany of votes against Obama administration policies. Then he declared he is against national health care and threw out the lies about British and Canadian systems denying old and sick people care. “I value life!” he declared. Finally, he tried to explain the process of negotiating in which he’s been engaged on health care to mollify those on the right who’ve criticized him for working with the current administration.
Grassley then introduced a member of the audience to come up and ask the first question and help facilitate the Q&A portion of the event. This gentleman threw out the suggestion that Congress put everyone on their health plan or else give it up and go on ours. Predictably everyone applauded.
Next came a question about the Cap and Trade legislation with Grassley noting he is for an RPS. The third comment came from an older woman who stated, “I fear my government.” Genuinely fearful, she posed a question using the old liberal vs. conservative language -- as if we are not all Americans. Again, Grassley did little to remind anyone attending we are all on the same team.
This was followed by comments and questions that moved into the realm of right-wing religious thought, one woman even comparing current events to 1930s Germany and implying President Obama is like Hitler. At this point, a gentleman in the crowd yelled out, “That’s racist!” and he was removed even though he showed no signs of being further disruptive.
Comments eventually came round to health care again, and voices from the side of care for all were raised. A retired doctor shared some of his experiences and noted Blue Cross/Blue Shield once operated as a non-profit, using 93% of their funds directly for care. He wondered why they needed profits now. Another woman inquired about out-of-pocket expenses. She has two children with major medical needs, she works full and part-time jobs to meet them, and she was wondering if she could afford to continue working.
My friend Lisa asked how Senator Grassley would address pre-existing conditions; if he would support regulating insurance companies. Grassley stated he wanted continued regulation by state departments of insurance, using “pre-emption” to legislate premium variations be within a certain range to help those with pre-existing conditions. So Lisa followed up by asking how companies would maintain profitability. That’s when Grassley cited the mandate for individual insurance.
Voices in the room raised further questions on both sides, but the essential conflict was never resolved. And it is the heart of the matter.
As a gray, rural state, Iowa has many seniors already on Medicare. These folks often get their “news” from talk radio and cable or network news, with little understanding of who is paying to broadcast this information. They do not understand the corporate profit motive is setting the editorial content and shaping what they see and hear. They want to trust what they hear the way they trusted Walter Conkrite.
So that’s who appeared in Afton, predominantly. These folks have been genuinely frightened by what major media broadcasts. And Senator Grassley did nothing to disabuse them of that. Instead, he chose to conflate those fears with Republican talking points. Of course, he has a long and impressive list of campaign contributors from the health insurance and health care industries.
But Iowa needs the help of a public health care option at the very least. As a rural state with a dwindling number of farm businesses, we need economic development. But access to affordable health insurance prohibits entrepreneurs from taking the plunge, which means even fewer businesses grow here. In fact, this scenario affects the entire country with the United States losing the battle for factories to Canada and Mexico because we require employers to provide health insurance.
The current economic state of our country is precarious. Too much of our GDP goes to health care costs. Health insurance companies are losing their market; they hope a health insurance mandate will help them maintain profitability and counter any controls current legislation may put on pre-existing conditions. That’s what Senator Grassley is negotiating so hard to protect. But even with that, I believe rising costs will diminish their market until they will crash just like the mortgage banks and financial companies. Health costs have already tanked the auto industry.
We’re still on the brink of the abyss.
• Everyone wants health care – they want to be taken care of – but no one wants to pay for it.
I was disappointed, but not surprised, to see Iowa’s long term Republican Senator Grassley stick to the political talking points rather than acknowledge the needs of Iowans.
The event I attended had been scheduled at Afton City Hall, but too many people arrived, and the local Methodist church opened its doors to accommodate the crowd. Even then, people were crowded into the choir seats and overflow at the front and back of the church and standing in the aisles.
To open, Grassley rattled off a litany of votes against Obama administration policies. Then he declared he is against national health care and threw out the lies about British and Canadian systems denying old and sick people care. “I value life!” he declared. Finally, he tried to explain the process of negotiating in which he’s been engaged on health care to mollify those on the right who’ve criticized him for working with the current administration.
Grassley then introduced a member of the audience to come up and ask the first question and help facilitate the Q&A portion of the event. This gentleman threw out the suggestion that Congress put everyone on their health plan or else give it up and go on ours. Predictably everyone applauded.
Next came a question about the Cap and Trade legislation with Grassley noting he is for an RPS. The third comment came from an older woman who stated, “I fear my government.” Genuinely fearful, she posed a question using the old liberal vs. conservative language -- as if we are not all Americans. Again, Grassley did little to remind anyone attending we are all on the same team.
This was followed by comments and questions that moved into the realm of right-wing religious thought, one woman even comparing current events to 1930s Germany and implying President Obama is like Hitler. At this point, a gentleman in the crowd yelled out, “That’s racist!” and he was removed even though he showed no signs of being further disruptive.
Comments eventually came round to health care again, and voices from the side of care for all were raised. A retired doctor shared some of his experiences and noted Blue Cross/Blue Shield once operated as a non-profit, using 93% of their funds directly for care. He wondered why they needed profits now. Another woman inquired about out-of-pocket expenses. She has two children with major medical needs, she works full and part-time jobs to meet them, and she was wondering if she could afford to continue working.
My friend Lisa asked how Senator Grassley would address pre-existing conditions; if he would support regulating insurance companies. Grassley stated he wanted continued regulation by state departments of insurance, using “pre-emption” to legislate premium variations be within a certain range to help those with pre-existing conditions. So Lisa followed up by asking how companies would maintain profitability. That’s when Grassley cited the mandate for individual insurance.
Voices in the room raised further questions on both sides, but the essential conflict was never resolved. And it is the heart of the matter.
As a gray, rural state, Iowa has many seniors already on Medicare. These folks often get their “news” from talk radio and cable or network news, with little understanding of who is paying to broadcast this information. They do not understand the corporate profit motive is setting the editorial content and shaping what they see and hear. They want to trust what they hear the way they trusted Walter Conkrite.
So that’s who appeared in Afton, predominantly. These folks have been genuinely frightened by what major media broadcasts. And Senator Grassley did nothing to disabuse them of that. Instead, he chose to conflate those fears with Republican talking points. Of course, he has a long and impressive list of campaign contributors from the health insurance and health care industries.
But Iowa needs the help of a public health care option at the very least. As a rural state with a dwindling number of farm businesses, we need economic development. But access to affordable health insurance prohibits entrepreneurs from taking the plunge, which means even fewer businesses grow here. In fact, this scenario affects the entire country with the United States losing the battle for factories to Canada and Mexico because we require employers to provide health insurance.
The current economic state of our country is precarious. Too much of our GDP goes to health care costs. Health insurance companies are losing their market; they hope a health insurance mandate will help them maintain profitability and counter any controls current legislation may put on pre-existing conditions. That’s what Senator Grassley is negotiating so hard to protect. But even with that, I believe rising costs will diminish their market until they will crash just like the mortgage banks and financial companies. Health costs have already tanked the auto industry.
We’re still on the brink of the abyss.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Can you see me?
I’m a news junkie, particularly political news. But more and more over the past 30 years, I’ve found it difficult to get information about what happens in the halls of government, which actually affects me. Thank God for the Internet. With the birth of the bloggers, I’ve found some individuals actually reading legislation and monitoring the actions of our government officials. Try to find that on network or cable news!
So after the last presidential press conference on health care, what was the lead story on NBC’s Today Show? The president’s final aside to a question about the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr.
And when they finally got to health care, they asked the same old questions about how government is going to pay for it. “He didn’t provide specifics.” As if they’d report them anyway -- their 15-second attention spans couldn’t handle the details. The president answered that question as well as can be managed without a solid bill to address, and they either didn’t understand it or chose to ignore it. They also trotted out the old canard about the deficit after ignoring it during the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, two wars and the Medicare Prescription Drug Bill.
Then they played the “What’s the rush?” line with the help of GOP lightweight Eric Cantor.
What’s the rush? People are suffering and dying out here.
The president, who spent months on the ground across the country talking to actual people during the presidential campaign, knows this. He reminds himself every day via his purple file.
Do our congressional representatives? How long has it been since your rep has visited your area? Do they acknowledge all the voters who are living with a medical crisis – with and without insurance? I can say my Republican Senator Grassley was in Iowa recently, but his answer to a constituent who asked why he can’t have access to the same health insurance as the senator was: “You can. Get a job with the federal government.”
And the corporate media allows them to get away with this by looking the other way. Instead, what do I get from them? At 7:30 a.m. (Central Time) each day on the Today Show, I can count on the latest update to the Michael Jackson circus. Enough already. That doesn’t affect me.
But health care does. So we all need to be calling, e-mailing and writing our representatives and the media talking heads and asking, “Can you see me?” ‘Cause I can see you, and I’m taking names.
So after the last presidential press conference on health care, what was the lead story on NBC’s Today Show? The president’s final aside to a question about the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr.
And when they finally got to health care, they asked the same old questions about how government is going to pay for it. “He didn’t provide specifics.” As if they’d report them anyway -- their 15-second attention spans couldn’t handle the details. The president answered that question as well as can be managed without a solid bill to address, and they either didn’t understand it or chose to ignore it. They also trotted out the old canard about the deficit after ignoring it during the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, two wars and the Medicare Prescription Drug Bill.
Then they played the “What’s the rush?” line with the help of GOP lightweight Eric Cantor.
What’s the rush? People are suffering and dying out here.
The president, who spent months on the ground across the country talking to actual people during the presidential campaign, knows this. He reminds himself every day via his purple file.
Do our congressional representatives? How long has it been since your rep has visited your area? Do they acknowledge all the voters who are living with a medical crisis – with and without insurance? I can say my Republican Senator Grassley was in Iowa recently, but his answer to a constituent who asked why he can’t have access to the same health insurance as the senator was: “You can. Get a job with the federal government.”
And the corporate media allows them to get away with this by looking the other way. Instead, what do I get from them? At 7:30 a.m. (Central Time) each day on the Today Show, I can count on the latest update to the Michael Jackson circus. Enough already. That doesn’t affect me.
But health care does. So we all need to be calling, e-mailing and writing our representatives and the media talking heads and asking, “Can you see me?” ‘Cause I can see you, and I’m taking names.
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