I AM STARTLED AT WHAT SOME SENIORS ARE SAYING ABOUT UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE

By Robert Fassbach, editor, www.SeniorArk.com

Come on now senior friends, we are smarter than this. The CRAP that is coming to my email box is outrageous, dangerous, and downright false. It is everywhere on TV and talk radio. Where are all of these "rumors" about proposed healthcare plans coming from? Two basic sources, we think; 1) the insurance companies who feel their profits, on the backs of seniors, may be threatened, and 2) the extreme right wing who seeks to destroy the first black, and Democratic, president. And so, now he is a Nazi, trying to make us like Russia, wanting to kill seniors, grabbing power for himself, requiring abortions, promoting euthanasia.

Are we so afraid even to listen, that we shout the most hostile rumor we can find? Are we willing to overcome democracy with mob terrorism? Are we willing to oppose a healthcare bill that doesn't even yet exist? Time to take a deep breath, sit down, cool off, and think.

May I make a few observations?

1. Euthanasia is illegal in the U.S., and NOBODY is proposing a change in that law.

2. We seniors already have a government-run healthcare plan--called Medicare. No basic changes to that program are being proposed, except that Obama has negotiated with the drug companies to cut drug prices in half in the DONUT HOLE. He also proposes cutting the subsidy paid to private insurers (by a whopping 5 percent) for the Medicare Advantage plans. You probably are not enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, so you are not affected, at all. Do you know that Medicare pays private insurers about $700 per month to provide your healthcare through private Medicare Advantage? Obama says they are being overpaid, and it needs to be slightly cut. We seniors already have a public option---it's called Medicare. So the public option discussion does not affect us one bit.

3. Every time I go to the hospital for any reason, they ask me if I have a living will. I answer either yes or no. Do I fully understand the question. I'm not sure. Obama has proposed that, if you request it, you may receive counseling on the matter. This has been twisted into the "Obama wants to kill seniors" lie. These discussions are being held between doctors and patients every day. Obama's proposal would pay doctors for such counseling.

4. We must stare squarely in the face of two facts: The U.S. is #43 in life expectancy, and only 28th in infant mortality. And we spend at least twice as much on our care as the others. Twenty times more than some.  Most of the 42 and 27 ahead of us in these statistics, have universal healthcare. And most are public plans. Our EXISTING system promotes a form of euthanasia, and poor family values by putting the uninsured, and their children, at risk of death.

5. The government does not want to take over healthcare. The insurance companies, which exist only to make profits, took over healthcare years ago. Ask your doctor, "Who stands between you and my care?" The insurance companies. When you get really sick, they try to avoid treatment, or try to drop you. This has never happened with Medicare. They treat us.

And most proposals say that if you like the insurance companies standing between your doctor and you---then don't change anything. I will take Medicare or a similar system any day.

6. We are already paying a fortune for the healthcare of the uninsured. The very poor are already covered by Medicaid. Lower income workers are the ones who have no insurance.- - -  You know, the waitress who serves your dinner, the clerk who sells you a new suit, the cab driver who carries you, the carpenter, the plumber, the landscaper, and on and on. But we still pay a fortune for their healthcare. When they become ill, instead of going to the doctor and getting, say, an antibiotic, they try to tough it out. Then when they become very ill, they end up in the emergency room, followed by a very expensive hospital stay. If they cannot pay the bill--you pay it. This happens both through your inflated health insurance premiums (somebody has to pay to keep the hospitals open), or the government ends up picking up the bills. Obama says a trip to the doctor for everyone makes it cheaper in the long run for the currently insured, because premiums will go down. It should also reduce the government deficit, since $80 visits to the doctor cost a lot less than $20,000 hospitalizations.

7. Forty four years ago this July, the Medicare program was created. It became a government-run, single payer healthcare system for the elderly and disabled. Seniors were no longer left to the charity of family (if they existed), or benevolent strangers, or left to die. It has served us well for a long time, and will continue to do so. But when the Medicare program was being debated in the 1970's, many of the same fears and arguments being screamed today were heard then. The right said it would turn America into a socialist country. And you can imagine the rest. Republicans would not hear of it, so the Democrats passed Medicare along party lines. NO bi-partisanship. But today, after 44 years, the Republicans embrace the program, and in the latest debate accuse Democrats of trying to take it away. Hogwash.

8. It is good to keep up to date on the latest discussions on healthcare bills. But keeping up to date cannot be limited to reading inflammatory emails, listening to Fox news, and right wing talk radio. Quiet down a little, and listen also to MSNBC, CNN, and our President. Be cautious about listening to Senators or Congressmen who bathe in insurance company cash. They have a money-motive to mislead. Why we allow any lobby to give cash or perks to any of our leaders is a mystery to me. But they do, and until we demand a stop to it, it will go on.

9. If a total, comprehensive, money-saving healthcare reform package does not pass now, and the Republicans take over the Congress,  cutting Medicare will be the next target. Believe it. Be honest, Medicare is the looming expense problem. It will go broke in just a few years. This is not from government mismanagement, but the baby boomers coming of retirement age. The existing system cannot handle the huge numbers of baby boomers.

There is a lot of misinformation floating around. Please don't pass it on until you REALLY check it out. If, after you read the facts, you still oppose universal healthcare, then fine. At least the issue has been clearly understood and decided. But to have contempt before real investigation, and to believe the rule of the mob, is truly undemocratic and un-American.

Please email me with your "reasoned" thoughts. seniorark@aol.com I WILL answer you. Thanks, Bob

P.S. I have a suggestion, and ask that you email me also with your thoughts on this. How about extending Medicare to the entire population. Premiums can be charged, and we already have a program proven by 44 years of experience. Do you think that Medicare might be enhanced if it applied to everyone, including our government leaders. If it's good enough for you and me and grandma, isn't it good enough for all. An intriguing notion. It is more extreme than any serious lawmaker is now proposing, but it is indeed something to ponder. I wonder how long the donut hole would last!!!