Health Care Update!

Dear Policy Patriots - Thank you for your support of the Free Our Health Care NOW! petition and your support of the National Center for Policy Analysis! JOIN THE 'LIGHT OF DAY CAMPAIGN'! During the last several months of health care debate, Congressional proponents of government-run health care have repeatedly compromised the ability of the legislature and the general public to read and comprehend proposed legislation. On several occasions, they have changed legislation during the middle of the night and submitted proposals without providing enough time to photocopy-much less read-the legislation. In fact, the Senate Finance Committee is up to their old tricks again. With Capitol Hill abuzz with a new report on the cost of health care, the Senate Finance Committee met on October 13th to pass legislation which had not yet been written. Not a draft, an outline or an outline of a draft was anywhere in the room when a majority of the Senate Finance Committee will raise their hand in support of a concept, the details to be filled in later and sent to the floor for a vote. To guard Congress and the American public against a fast-tracked, middle-of-the-night version of ObamaCare, Senate Republicans, joined by eight Democratic colleagues, have proposed a three-day waiting period on all health care legislation so that it can be 'exposed to the light of day.' For most Americans, a three-day waiting period seems like a reasonable idea. Many public policy makers support a three-day waiting period for the purchase of firearms, why not a similar requirement for $900,000,000,000 in health care spending? Thanks to the Free Our Health Care NOW! Action Army, supporting the Light of Day Campaign is as easy as 1-2-3. Just click here, register and tell Congress that you support a three day waiting period for health care legislation. You can make a difference today. Tell them you want the 3 day waiting period! ObamaCare Reality Check: Seniors Slammed by Painful Budget Cuts. If President Obama and Congressional supporters of government-run health care have their way, the health care budget for seniors will go under the knife. If passed in its current form, ObamaCare legislation would slash senior citizen health benefits in a variety of ways, including: Ending Medicare Advantage. Currently enjoyed by one out of four seniors, Medicare Advantage plans cover health benefits which seniors would have to pay out of pocket. Unfortunately, many seniors do not know that their benefits are at risk because their health insurance provider does not refer to their plan explicitly as 'Medicare Advantage'. What's worse, in an effort to protect against a political backlash, the Administration has imposed a gag order on insurance providers, threatening sanctions if they communicate to their Medicare Advantage customers the potential effects of ObamaCare 'reforms'. Dramatically Reducing Access to Health Care. Universal coverage may be a boon for uninsured Americans, but it's a bust for those who are currently insured, particularly seniors. Imagine the traffic jams that would be created if the number of cars on the highway increased by 20% overnight. By dramatically expanding coverage, ObamaCare will create a health care traffic jam for insured Americans seeking health care. Moreover, just as highway traffic is most congested at bottlenecks, ObamaCare will create the longest waiting lines for specialists - precisely those medical professionals which America's seniors most need to access timely and easily. Significantly Reducing Quality of Care. Congressional health 'reforms' propose to save money by reducing expenditures on important health care services. Under ObamaCare, doctors will receive an average pay cut of 25%. At a time when Americans most need doctors to enter the profession and extend their working lives, ObamaCare discourages their entry and continuation in the profession. What's more, Administration efforts to shift cost aren't benefiting seniors: 47% of the 'extra revenue' which ObamaCare says it is creating through new taxes and painful cuts is dedicated to servicing the cost of health care's dramatic expansion. ObamaCare Reality Check: ObamaCare Writes the Check, Middle Class Pays the Bill. A recent report published by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) established that ObamaCare 'reforms' will dramatically increase the cost of insurance for middle-class Americans. Specifically, ObamaCare proposals would increase cost in the following markets: 49% increase for the non-group (individual) market. 28% increase for small employers (those firms with fewer than 50 employees). 11% increase for large employers with uninsured coverage. 9% increase for self-insured employers. You can read a more detailed treatment of the PwC report and read its entire contents here. FIGHT BACK! Tell your friends and family that your health care and theirs is on the line in this debate! The debate in Washington is about quality of life-yours and theirs-and it couldn't be more personal. Tell them to join the Free Our Health Care NOW! Action Army by going to this link so that they can write Congress. Did you write last week? Thank you! In less than a week, we've already sent more than 44,000 letters to Congress! But did you know that you can write again? The issues have changed and Congress needs to hear your voice. You can help make a difference in the health care battle! Write Your Local Paper! Congress isn't the only place interested in your opinions. Write your local paper and tell them that as taxpayers and as patients, we simply can't afford government-run health care. If you'd like, you can use this letter as a template. There is also a wealth of other educational and resource material available, including better alternatives to government-run health care: Health Care Solutions: http://www.ncpa.org/pdfs/Health_Care_Solutions_072909.pdf Five Steps to a Better Health Care System. http://www.ncpa.org/pdfs/Five_Steps_to_a_Better_Health_Care_System_Web.pdf Dr. John Goodman's Blog - Current, up-to date information on the debate: www.john-goodman-blog.com Heartland Institute's Health Care Solutions: http://www.chcchoices.org Thank you again for your support of the "Free Our Health Care NOW!" and for fighting against government-run health care. Warm regards, Jeanette Nordstrom National Center for Policy Analysis www.ncpa.org Forward this to a Friend Click here to support the National Center for Policy Analysis. Sign up for the Daily Policy Digest - a free online daily newsletter. Click here to view the privacy statement Unsubscribe: If you received this email in error, you can unsubscribe here.