Ted's Blog

The Two Americas

Enix001@ec.rr.com — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:25:22 GMT

Where is John Edwards when you need him? He now has good reason to point out the existence of two Americas, those who pay taxes and those who get payback exemptions from Democrat legislators. First we have special industries being bailed out, then we have special awards to states to buy their representatives votes on health care and now more to select a group of unions who continue getting their payoff. Select unions seem to be the real benefactors of the Democrat privilege, getting special disposition in the Auto Industry bailout and now they are allowed to avoid paying a tax on their high value health care plan. So, if you're not one of the chosen you need to bend over and get ready to receive your hope and change suppository.

Listing Guns on Tax Returns!

Enix001@ec.rr.com — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:10:58 GMT

Recently the air has been full of information saying the government is about to ask all American's with guns to list them on their tax returns. While legislation has been introduced regarding gun ownership, this provision is not in the bill. So while it does not appear you will be required to list your guns on your 2009 tax return, there are still plenty of things in H.R. 45 (isn't this a great bill number for gun legislation) that should concern free law abiding citizens. It appears that if such legislation is passed, your mental heath records would be made available to the government. It would place substantial restrictions on gun owners and gun dealers in an attempt to make it more difficult for law abiding citizens to own and posess guns. What it doesn't do is keep the guns out of the hands of the criminals. Criminals who could give a damn about gun laws in the first place and it also doesn't keep past abusers of gun laws in jail where they belong. Sure you hear occasional abuse of guns by citizens without a record of past criminal activity but most comes from persons with a record of criminal activity. Criminals have the ACLU protecting their rights. Law abiding citizens depending on their legislators to protect their rights. It is pretty obvious who has the better representation.

Security doesn't come from imposing less rights, it comes from protecting the ones we have and expecting people to act responsibly. It comes when those who fail to act responsibly receive their punishment and have their future riights restricted. It does not come by punishing those who have done nothing wrong. Laws are all to often enacted by stupid politicians through an emotion appeal and results in punishing the wrong party. Gun ownership is a right of free law abiding persons. These rights should not be allowed to be abused by an overzealous government!

Read more on H.R. 45 here: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=112728

Fix the Damn Roads!

Enix001@ec.rr.com — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:05:53 GMT

The state of North Carolina Department of Transportation (DOT) is spending $250,000 for a music trail in the eastern counties of the state. Now where the heck does the DOT think it has the responsibility to use gas tax money to promote a music trail? I personally do not look at the funding of the arts as a responsibility of government. In my opinion, if the art is to be funded, let it be funded by those who value it. But, even if you believe in government support of funding for the arts shouldn't it come from the general fund? How do our politicians and public officials reach a point where it’s right to steal from gas tax money, which is specifically designated to fund roads, to fund kiosks along the highway to promote a music trail? So the next time you are driving the roads of North Carolina and you car disappears into a pot hole know that the money that could have fixed them, is being used to fund the music trail.

This is abuse of the public trust and this is when government officials who voted for this need to be run out of office for just mere stupidity and arrogance.

Read the absurdity here: http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20090927/APN/909270607&tc=email_newsletter

Government's Imminent Disaster!

Enix001@ec.rr.com — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:45:33 GMT

The Social Security Program's financial disaster is imminent, with deficits beginning as early as 2010, ten years earlier than what had been predicted earlier. The failure of timely government action and the current economic climate will produce deficits of $9 billion in 2010 and $11 billion in 2011. These are the same government leaders who feel they can improve the financial condition of our healthcare system.

Why would we be so willing to turn our healthcare over to these defective human beings?

Read more on the upcoming debt crisis of our social security program here: http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=506978

Cass Sundstein Confirmed

Enix001@ec.rr.com — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 13:40:00 GMT

The Vote Report by, Joe Kronski

The Senate has voted to approve Cass Sundstein as the "Regulatory Czar" 57 to 40 (2 not voting--Boxer & Byrd)). At 1st glance you would think the 40 Republicans banded together & voted against him; not so. The vote was as follows:

YEAS------in addition to Democrats------were the following Republicans: Sen Bennett (UT), Sen Collins (ME); Sen Hatch (UT); Sen Luger (IN); Sen Snowe (ME); & Sen Voinovich (OH). NAYS-----There were 5 Democrats who joined with the 34 Republicans & they were------Sen Begich (AK); Sen Lincoln (AR); Sen Nelson (NE); Sen Pryor (AR); Sen Webb & 1 Independent

Has your Senator reflected your views? Let them hear from you!

Turkey In The Oven!

Enix001@ec.rr.com — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:46:02 GMT

The healthcare turkey is in the oven and Biden says it may be ready to serve by Thanksgiving. Here is a turkey that is loaded with pork, is rancid from being kept out of the refrigerator too long and is sure to cause food poisoning to anyone willing to digest it. This is a bad turkey of a healthcare bill and with any luck it will be burnt to a crisp and thrown in the trash well before Thanksgiving.

The Obama speech did highlight a couple of important facts; he said there is enough savings in waste and fraud that is currently occurring in Medicare that could pay for this legislation. My question to him is that with the financial state we are in why wouldn’t we be going after that waste and fraud now, do we have to wait until we have a way to spend the savings? He has reduced the number of uninsured from 46 million to 30 million to recognize that illegal aliens were originally included. So as Joe Wilson’s remark from the floor when he called out, “You Lie” he was more correct than Obama and the Democrats had been when saying illegal’s were not covered under the original bill. They were hiding behind language in the bill that says a person is not required to show proof of citizenship to receive the benefits. When language was submitted to specifically state that illegal’s would not be eligible for benefits, it was voted down by Democrats in a party line vote.

So, if our shrewd politicians wish to do their job, they will deal with the issues of healthcare where the savings might make a difference without placing the healthcare system under the same mismanagement as the postal system, Amtrak, and hopefully avoid the failures of the mortgage industry. If we allow these mental geniuses to get control of our healthcare system, how long will it take to achieve the same results they did when they managed the mortgage system meltdown? The old saying is that if you take a path and it leads to the same ill fated results time and again, it is time to do something different if you want a different outcome. The place to start for real healthcare reform:
     1. Tort Reform
     2. Medicare Fraud Elimination (Reduction)
     3.  Catastrophic Coverage Pools
     4. Insurance Reform
             *Regulation Reduction, simplifying the insurance buying process

             *Plan coverage standardization
             *Promotion of Competition
             *Simplification of Healthcare Claim Adjudication
      5. Non-Emergency Medical Care for Illegal Aliens Fully Defined

This would be more than enough to do for the next several years and just getting one of them right would be more helpful to the American people than anything that is in the turkey healthcare bill being proposed in Washington now.

My Response to Health Care Reform Propaganda:

Enix001@ec.rr.com — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:27:22 GMT

My simple response to the Obama Propaganda Sheet on Health Insurance Reform! The Obama website comments in Black and my comments in Blue

While it is labeled Health Insurance Reform above it deals with a great deal more and we should not allow proponents of this idiot bill to use the health insurance industry as their straw dog to use as a villain. Health reform is about power and control, not about healthcare!

8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage

Ends Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions: Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history.

So why would I have to have insurance until I needed it? I should wait till I get sick and then buy it. This is why these people never ran a successful business because it wouldn’t be in business long, they are attempting to saddle future generations with the bill for their power trip.

Ends Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays: Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.

I think the person who buys the insurance can now choose the deductible and co-pay they want. Needless to say the lower the deductible and co-pay the more it will cost. Makes good business sense to me but then again governments don't use logic and common sense.

Ends Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care: Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.

This is another thing that can be acquired within the policy that you choose. Preventive care is a waste in most cases because very few people do what the doctor tells them to do. Just look around and see the people who know they should be eating right and exercising but fail to do so. The government wouldn’t put the teeth in a plan to make preventive care a cost saver.

Ends Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill: Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill.

Ok, there is some opportunity here to set up a plan for people with serious health issues at reasonable costs like they do for other types of high risk situations (I.E. Insurance for High Risk Drivers and Beach Insurance)

Ends Gender Discrimination: Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.

Gender costs are pretty much eliminated at this point in the health insurance areas but it is a fact that costs for different genders tend to be more and less at different times in their lives. The problem with charging premiums without gender differences is that one gender is subsidizing the other at different times in their life cycle.

Ends Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage: Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.

To have an open ended obligation without limits is not common sense for any business. If a catastrophic plan was put in place to address serious illnesses this would not be an issue.

Extends Coverage for Young Adults: Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26.

It is now age 24 if they are a full time student, how old do they have to be before we get their asses out on their own. We already have a nanny state, we don’t need to make it worse. The real answer is that each person should be on an individual policy and if a family insured several people they could get a multi-person discount with surcharges added if they used care that required payment from their policy. This supplemented by Health Savings Accounts is the real answer to the insurance dilemma.

Guarantees Insurance Renewal: Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won't be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick.

I could go along with this one but I would allow some sort of maximum increase in premium to offset the additional cost. This is the surest way to make sure that people begin to take preventive care seriously. ( I drive safer in NC not so much to avoid a ticket but to avoid the 3 year surcharge on my insurance cost if I do get a ticket.)

A couple thing that are not addressed here that would have a substancial impact on insurance cost would be:

Tort Reform, reducing the cost of malpractice insurance

Health Care Savings Accounts: where prudent people could set money aside tax free to pay for low dollar insurance costs. They along with a high deductible insurance plan should be cost effective for the people buying insurance as well as reduce the administrative cost for the Dr. and the Ins. Company.

Reduce State Insurance Regulations: Allow more competition in cover options by allowing people to buy their coverage from out of state companies.

The problem with insurance, even a government plan, is that somebody ultimately pays the bill. Government has never shown itself to be a fiscially responsible business manager. Examples of financial failures of government:

Social Security and Medicare

Medicaid

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Amtrak

The Postal Service

Cash for Clunkers

Etc., Etc., Etc.

Even the worse run private company out performs the best run government entity. Giving our lives over to bureaucrats is a prescription for disaster.

8 common myths about health insurance reform

Reform will stop "rationing" - not increase it: It’s a myth that reform will mean a "government takeover" of health care or lead to "rationing." To the contrary, reform will forbid many forms of rationing that are currently being used by insurance companies.

Rationing occurs whenever you do not have an unlimited amount of money or resources so it happens and will happen going forward. Government is not the entity I want making the decision about my health.

We can’t afford reform: It's the status quo we can't afford. It’s a myth that reform will bust the budget. To the contrary, the President has identified ways to pay for the vast majority of the up-front costs by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse within existing government health programs; ending big subsidies to insurance companies; and increasing efficiency with such steps as coordinating care and streamlining paperwork. In the long term, reform can help bring down costs that will otherwise lead to a fiscal crisis.

The President hasn’t even read the bill. He is ignorant and has people guiding him who are not interestedin individual freedom, they seek power and having control of the health system is the ultimate power. Do you see him and his cronies signing up to get into this great plan?

Reform would encourage "euthanasia": It does not. It’s a malicious myth that reform would encourage or even require euthanasia for seniors. For seniors who want to consult with their family and physicians about end-of life decisions, reform will help to cover these voluntary, private consultations for those who want help with these personal and difficult family decisions.

While it might not be euthanasia it is mighty close, where the value of one’s life is to be used to determine if medical dollars will be spent on them. He, Obama, said that we should watch him and people who he surrounds himself with and his advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel said exactly that. The bill is not specific enough to say just what will ultimately happen but unless they get it done right I don’t want to bet my life on these guys putting a vague bill into action.

Vets' health care is safe and sound: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will affect veterans' access to the care they get now. To the contrary, the President's budget significantly expands coverage under the VA, extending care to 500,000 more veterans who were previously excluded. The VA Healthcare system will continue to be available for all eligible veterans.

Again, I don’t know what will ultimately happen but based on Obama’s comments that our Vet’s need to pay for their own healthcare I am skeptical! Before we pass anything, I want to know exactly what we are going to get. It doesn’t take a 1500 page document to write a healthcare bill unless you’re hiding something. (a whole bunch of somethings).

Reform will benefit small business - not burden it: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will hurt small businesses. To the contrary, reform will ease the burdens on small businesses, provide tax credits to help them pay for employee coverage and help level the playing field with big firms who pay much less to cover their employees on average.

If it’s going to be so good why don’t they spell it out instead of hiding it in a complicated piece of trash. Small business just needs to be left alone and government needs to get the heck out of the way.

Your Medicare is safe, and stronger with reform: It’s myth that Health Insurance Reform would be financed by cutting Medicare benefits. To the contrary, reform will improve the long-term financial health of Medicare, ensure better coordination, eliminate waste and unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies, and help to close the Medicare "doughnut" hole to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors.

If they want to do something why don’t they fix Medicare as a starter, if they do that well then we might consider taking the next step, like having them fix the VA healthcare system and working with the states to fix Medicaid. They know they will screw it up and aren’t willing to take one item at a time. It also doesn’t give them the power they so desperately seek.

You can keep your own insurance: It’s myth that reform will force you out of your current insurance plan or force you to change doctors. To the contrary, reform will expand your choices, not eliminate them.

If government is playing with unlimited taxpayer dollars and a company plays with investor dollars where a profit is required, it is not a level playing field.

No, government will not do anything with your bank account: It is an absurd myth that government will be in charge of your bank accounts. Health insurance reform will simplify administration, making it easier and more convenient for you to pay bills in a method that you choose. Just like paying a phone bill or a utility bill, you can pay by traditional check, or by a direct electronic payment. And forms will be standardized so they will be easier to understand. The choice is up to you – and the same rules of privacy will apply as they do for all other electronic payments that people make.

Has government ever made anything simpler? The only absurd thing is to turn our healthcare over to a power hungry government run by bureaucrats. I was at the DMV the other day and I don’t want that environment or kind of treatment to be what I get when I go see my doctor.

8 Reasons We Need Health Insurance Reform Now

Coverage Denied to Millions: A recent national survey estimated that 12.6 million non-elderly adults – 36 percent of those who tried to purchase health insurance directly from an insurance company in the individual insurance market – were in fact discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition in the previous three years or dropped from coverage when they became seriously ill.

Like I said above, catastrophic insurance could be a start, but deal with the problem as opposed to trying to take over the whole medical world. Again, it is not about insurance it’s about power.

Less Care for More Costs: With each passing year, Americans are paying more for health care coverage. Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have nearly doubled since 2000, a rate three times faster than wages. In 2008, the average premium for a family plan purchased through an employer was $12,680, nearly the annual earnings of a full-time minimum wage job. Americans pay more than ever for health insurance, but get less coverage.

Just like with each passing year we are paying more and more for government that provides us less and less. Taxes increase, fees increase, licenses increase and everything proved by these increased government payments gets worse. I for one will take my chances with private enterprise.

Roadblocks to Care for Women: Women’s reproductive health requires more regular contact with health care providers, including yearly pap smears, mammograms, and obstetric care. Women are also more likely to report fair or poor health than men (9.5% versus 9.0%). While rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure are similar to men, women are twice as likely to suffer from headaches and are more likely to experience joint, back or neck pain. These chronic conditions often require regular and frequent treatment and follow-up care.

If it is a catastrophic condition it could be covered under a catastrophic plan but for normal health issues they need to be dealt with as a part of life. Again, from personal experience people provided free care or subsidized care do not do follow-up care unless they are hurting, so follow-up care much like preventive care is a waste unless it has teeth to make it happen. There are no teeth in this bill and it will not result in better or more cost effective care.

Hard Times in the Heartland: Throughout rural America, there are nearly 50 million people who face challenges in accessing health care. The past several decades have consistently shown higher rates of poverty, mortality, uninsurance, and limited access to a primary health care provider in rural areas. With the recent economic downturn, there is potential for an increase in many of the health disparities and access concerns that are already elevated in rural communities.

The heartland is not in favor of this bill. The heartland and South are where conservatism and self responsibility still exist. Leave us the hell alone! Don’t blame it on the heartland when it’s the northeast liberals who are driving this sad legislation. The southern and heartland legislators who are being lead like sheep by their liberal elite brothers from the socialist east should soon be relieved of their responsibilities.

Small Businesses Struggle to Provide Health Coverage: Nearly one-third of the uninsured – 13 million people – are employees of firms with less than 100 workers. From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. Much of this decline stems from small business. The percentage of small businesses offering coverage dropped from 68% to 59%, while large firms held stable at 99%. About a third of such workers in firms with fewer than 50 employees obtain insurance through a spouse.

If the catastrophic issue were addressed, insurance for small business would be reasonable and available. Like I said before it is not about providing insurance it is about power over people’s lives. Write a bill that makes sense that people can understand and doesn’t make government our God and people might back it.

The Tragedies are Personal: Half of all personal bankruptcies are at least partly the result of medical expenses. The typical elderly couple may have to save nearly $300,000 to pay for health costs not covered by Medicare alone. the result of medical expenses. The typical elderly couple may have to save nearly $300,000 to pay for health costs not covered by Medicare alone.

A lot of bankruptcies are due to the financial meltdown that was caused by the mismanagement of Fannie and Freddie and they certainly haven’t cleaned up that mess.

Diminishing Access to Care: From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. An estimated 87 million people - one in every three Americans under the age of 65 - were uninsured at some point in 2007 and 2008. More than 80% of the uninsured are in working families.

With all the regulations that cost small business more and more of their profits, leaves less for them to use to pay for health insurance for their workers. A business uses health insurance as a cost effective way to deliver compensation, that is why they provide it. The problem is before they look for cost effective way to provide compensation for employees they must first survive and government makes it more difficult with each lame brained regulation they pass.

The Trends are Troubling: Without reform, health care costs will continue to skyrocket unabated, putting unbearable strain on families, businesses, and state and federal government budgets. Perhaps the most visible sign of the need for health care reform is the 46 million Americans currently without health insurance - projections suggest that this number will rise to about 72 million in 2040 in the absence of reform.

With the spending that government has done recently healthcare cost increases will be but a small percentage of cost we will be seeing in all areas of the economy. Healthcare could use some reform but government could use some major downsizing. If we pass this stupid bill we will end up with healthcare for everyone but it will be healthcare that nobody wants.

A Simple start: Deal with the issues were they can make a difference and make sure they know what’s in the bill before they try to force is down our throats. It is time to be for America as opposed to some political party or political icon who doesn’t seem to understand the basics of leadership.

Analogy: Obama and Healthcare, A Void in Leadership!

Respectifully Submitted

Ted Bodenschatz

Health Care Facts!

Enix001@ec.rr.com — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:52:37 GMT

Some Basic Healthcare Facts:

*The media claims there are between 40 to 50 million uninsured Americans

*Obama referred to 46 million uninsured Americans who he is focused on helping with his legislation

*The US Census Bureau places the uninsured at 45.7 million people

*Nearly 10 million of the 45.7 million are not citizens – reducing the uninsured citizens to 35.9 million at best

*These same 40 to 50 million uninsured are said to be unable to afford insurance

*More than 17 million make at least $50,000 per year (the median household income is $50,233) chose not to purchase insurance

*25% of the uninsured already qualify for existing government health insurance programs. They are the uninsured who already get $1500 of free healthcare per year or $6000 per family of four

*Many of the remaining uninsured are those between jobs and will likely be insured within a few months

*The Kaiser Family Foundation puts the number of uninsured Americans who aren’t qualified for government programs at between 8 to 13 million

*The CBO analysis found that 36 million people would remain uninsured even if the $1.6 trillion health care plan is passed

The bottom-line is we don't know who these illusive uninsured are that we are being ask to helpi nor if the legislation being proposed will even help any of them.

So, until we know what the issues are and we know exactly what we are going to acheive, why would we be so willing to give politicians an open check book that would mortgage our children’s future? If we wanted to pass a bill without it being read and the purpose of it not being fully explained, what do we need them for anyway? Maybe we should begin by starting to paying them what they are worth? Let’s begin by asking our legislators to do the job they were elected to do, being good stewards with our money and present bills for consideration that are simple enough for the average citizen to understand. (That alone might be a challenge based on the education system they have bestowed us with.)

Where is the “Common Sense” that we should be expecting of our politicians? It just doesn’t appear to be very common among them.

Record of Government Efficiency!

Enix001@ec.rr.com — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:47:53 GMT

A friend shared this with me today and I thought it made the best case for rejecting government healthcare than anything I could say.

The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775 - they've had 234 years to get it right; it's broke, and even though heavily subsidized, it can't compete with private sector FedEx and UPS services. The U.S. Postal Service will lose over $7 BILLION this year and will require yet another "bailout." Guess where the $$$ come from?

Social Security was established in 1935 - they've had 74 years to get it right; it's broke. There is nothing in the Social Security Trust Fund except IOUs from the government.

Fannie Mae was established in 1938 - they've had 71 years to get it right; it's broke. Freddie Mac was established in 1970 - they've had 39 years to get it right; it's broke too. Together Fannie and Freddie have now led the entire world into the worst economic collapse in 80 years.

The War on Poverty was started in 1964 - they've had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion of our hard earned tax-paid money is confiscated each year and transferred to "the poor"; it hasn't worked. The targeted cities and populations are still POOR.

Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965 - they've had 44 years to get it right; they are both broke or will be soon; and our government leaders dare to mention them as models for all U.S. health care.

AMTRAK was established in 1970 - they've had 39 years to get it right; last year they bailed it out AGAIN as it continues to operate at a loss!

This year, a trillion dollars was committed in the massive political payoff called the Stimulus Bill of 2009; it shows NO sign of working; it's been used to increase the size of governments across America, and raise government salaries while the rest of us suffer from economic hardships. It has yet to create a single new private-sector job. Our national debt projections (approaching $10 trillion) have increased 400% in the last six months.

"Cash for Clunkers" was established in 2009 and went broke in 2009 - after 80% of the cars purchased turned out to be produced by foreign companies, and dealers nationwide are buried under bureaucratic paperwork demanded by a government that is not yet paying them what was promised.

So with these examples a perfect 100% failure rate and a record that proves that each and every "service" shoved down our throats by an over-reaching government turns into disaster, how could any informed American trust our government to run or even set policies for America's health care system - >17% of our total economy?

Maybe each of us has a personal responsibility to let others in on this brilliant record before 2010, and then help remove from office those who are voting to destroy capitalism and destroy our grandchildren's future.

The Future in Health Care?

Enix001@ec.rr.com — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:12:22 GMT

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, health adviser to President Barack Obama, is under scrutiny for chastises physicians for thinking only about their own patient's needs. True reform, he argues, must include redefining doctors' ethical obligations. Dr. Emanuel believes doctors should serve two masters, the patient and society, and that medical students should be trained "to provide socially sustainable, cost-effective care. Covering services provided to individuals who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens are not basic, and should not be guaranteed. An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia.

While I might even agree on some of these thoughts by Dr. Emanuel, I just don't want my doctor's decision making to be guided by a bunch of political hacks in Washington who are unwilling to place the care of their own families under this same system of care. Cost of care comes into play but government has shown time and again its failure to make good cost effective decisions nor good decisions in general.

Dr. Emanuel further argues that insurance companies should pay for new treatments only when the evidence demonstrates that the drug will work for most patients. He says the "major contributor" to rapid increases in health spending is "the constant introduction of new medical technologies, including new drugs, devices, and procedures.

Dr. Emanuel's assessment of American medical care is summed up in a Nov. 23, 2008, Washington Post op-ed he co-authored: "The United States is No. 1 in only one sense: the amount we shell out for health care. We have the most expensive system in the world per capita, but we lag behind many developed nations on virtually every health statistic you can name."

So, based on his opinion of the American medical care system and his ability to get the best health care available, he and his family will be going elsewhere for their health care when they become ill? This is all garbage, we have the best medical care system in the world and when the wealthy become sick they come here, they don't go anywhere else for their health care. The statement by Dr. Emanuel is as hypocritical as it is for Al Gore to cry about man caused global warming and still fly around in his big plane and have an estate that consumes more energy in a month than most of us use in a couple years.

Until these experts begin providing leadership through actions as opposed to empty words we need to treat this for what it is, a lot of hot air!

This is America, pursue your dreams and demand a government that allows you to do that, as opposed to a government that wants to restrain your basic freedoms in life.

Read more about Dr. Emanuel and his ideas on how our health care system should work: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203706604574374463280098676.html