Houston, We Have a Problem!

The tragic Gulf oil disaster of the past five weeks finally focused Congress’ attention on the serious safety problems with offshore drilling. But why does it take a national disaster to get their attention?

A bill to make our food safer has been sitting in Congress, near final passage, for a year. It would increase inspections and help food companies catch contaminants before the food gets to our local supermarkets.

Both the U.S. House and Senate passed Wall Street reform bills, but now a final bill must be worked out between them – and the lobbyists will be pressing for loopholes!

The Obama administration says the federal government payroll will grow to 2.15 million workers this year. This number includes the military. There will be 1.43 million civilian workers on the payroll in fiscal year 2010. More surprising is that this number does not include postal workers. My source for this data is a Washington Times article dated February 2, 2010.

Despite this enormous staff our government has failed to provide the health and safety, protection for our wild life, or the security we desire.

The Food and Drug Administration has not protected society for a laundry list of errors caused by both food processors and drug manufacturers. A recent good example is Yaz and Yasmin. There are issues about its safety but the product is still being sold. Remember the Peanut Corporation of America? That company was selling contaminated product and was shutdown only after the spot light of the news media was focused on the issue. Just today there is concern about children’s over the counter Tylenol and other child medications.

The Securities and Exchange Commission had data warning about Bernie Madoff but did nothing to stop his Ponzi scheme. More recently the news reports that members of the SEC staff have been spending their days looking at internet porn sites. There has been no effort to ensure the accuracy of bond rating agencies.

The President fired his chief coordinator for terrorist tracking as the result of the stumbles that have occurred. The Christmas Day bomber failed as the result of his incompetence. The Fort Hood massacre plan went undetected. The Times Square bomber failed as the result of his incompetence.

Now we have the Minerals Management Services Department of the Department of the Interior that clearly has not carried out its responsibilities in the Gulf Of Mexico.

Are Americans supposed to have confidence in their government? Of course, but we do not. Is it likely that another president could do a better job? It’s not likely because the bureaucracy is too big. If the government can’t do the job then why are we paying those high taxes?

Health Care We Can’t Afford

While the passing of health care reform may be a major improvement in the availability of care it is coming at a significant cost to this nation. I do not subscribe to many, perhaps most, of Republican objections. America will have to find money to cover the cost of health care that many people cannot afford.

As it stands now the cost of this bill will be a major burden on senior citizens. That is a reduction of Medicare payouts of $500 billion. Senior citizens will most likely punish the Democratic Party by voting many of their members out of office next November.

We Need Real Healthcare Reform

I tried reading the Senate bill on health care. It is not understandable. It is reminiscent of the stimulus bill in that there is too much reference to U.S.C. (United States Code). It requires a lawyer familiar with legal writing to understand. The health care law passed by the Senate (H.R. 3590) is over 2000 pages long. Few if any senators actually did read this law. They apparently relied upon summaries provided by the leadership.

Watching the Sunday talk shows it is apparent that many commentators are unhappy with this law because they too do not understand the document. This was most obvious on Meet the Press. Even Duvall Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts, expressed his dismay with this law. The reason is that little attention is given to regulations that will actually reduce the cost of medical care. The focus is on providing medical care for the uninsured. Where will the money come from to pay this cost? Does anyone reading this article believe that Medicare and Medicaid savings will amount to $500 Billion? Are taxes on high-priced medical plans a fair way to pay for this new law?

The Senate had to negotiate special deals and make a variety of compromises to obtain the required 60 votes. How many more give aways and compromises will be necessary to reconcile the House and Senate bills?

Drug manufacturers and insurance companies couldn’t be happier. They will be earning ever more money.

Now is the time to call your representative and senators. Tell them that this is bad legislation that we cannot afford.

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Click Health Care under Categories for my other comments on this important subject.

Are You a Senior or Poor? Listen Up!

Are you old or poor? Seniors and the poor are the president’s targets. In his July 22, 2009 press conference the transcript of his words reads, “And it’s about the fact that the biggest driving force behind our federal deficit is the skyrocketing cost of Medicare and Medicaid.” Again on August 15 CNN quotes the President saying, “…must get control of Medicaid/Medicare spending.” The problem is Mr. Obama never talks about the ways to control costs. Will there be limits on the payments to doctors and hospitals, limits on payments for drugs, or limits on payments to insurance companies? Ignoring the discussion on cost control, I believe, is intentional.

We all know that older people are the ones most likely to need health care services. Where do you suppose the savings on medical cost will be found? The answer is obvious. Reduced funding for Medicare. You need care that is not covered? Take it out of your bank account. That is the direction this Obama Health Plan is going.

Medicare will run out of money by 2018. Senator Dianne Feinstein has this item on her agenda as a primary issue along with Social Security. She has a specific proposal at her web site.

You need to call your congressman and tell him that the focus should be on reducing the cost of medical care for everyone, Not reducing Medicare benefits.

Please do not sit back and wait for someone else to stand up and speak out. Passage of the Senate bill is not the end of this campaign. The law has to be reconciled in a conference committee in January 2010. There is still time to stop this bill before it becomes law.

Early Signs of Rationing Health Care

First it was a government panel saying that mammograms are not necessary before the age of 50 and every other year is sufficient. Advice to women not to do self examinations because it might lead to false positives goes against years of encouragement to check yourself. Now it’s Pap Smear every other year. Of course those opposed to health care reform will grab these two declarations as proof of health care rationing.

The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test does result in many false positives. This could be another test a government agency will say is not reliable and so won’t be recommended at all or not so often.

Let’s be honest here. Every test that can be delayed another year means more money in the pockets of the insurance companies. Kaiser Permanente gives a Sigmoidoscopy every 5 year to its senior patients. A Colonoscopy (a very unpleasant procedure) every 10 years unless there is indications that closer monitoring is appropriate. Is this a form of rationing or is it sensible health care?

Annual physical exams seem to rarely detect an issue. Perhaps every other year is sufficient. After all the determination that I had a hernia was not made as the result of an annual exam. For that matter most health problems I have ever had were not determined at an annual physical.

We already have health care rationing but aren’t willing to admit it.

The High Cost of American Health Care

I took a book out of the library on mutual fund investing titled “100 Best Mutual Funds.” Just inside the first few pages was the author’s argument for making investments in equities (another word for stocks) rather than bonds or CDs. The contention is that stocks are responsive to inflation thus are the better investment. To indicate the significance of inflation the author provided these startling facts on the costs of things we all want or need.

	Year	Amount
First-class stamp	1934	3 cents
	1980	15 cents
	2002	34 cents
	Increase	1,133%

A new car	1934	$1,436
	1980	$6,200
	2002	$19,175
	Increase	1,335%

A day in the hospital	1934	$12
	1980	$344
	2002	$2,854
	Increase	23,783%

Sources: U.S. Postal service, U.S. Census Bureau, and the Wall Street Journal, April 2002

I was astonished to see that the cost of hospitalization had inflated at a rate of 17 times faster than the cost of cars. There is no doubt that health care has become an extraordinary burden on our country. The question is how do we bring this ballooning expense under control?

The Los Angeles Times article about a woman’s need for surgery that would have taken a waiting time of 39 months in Canada as opposed to two days in the United States tells me that nationalized health care will not provide the solution we need.

Forget the plans for health care that have been discussed in the House and Senate. This nation has a serious problem. No single person and no political party has all the answers. We need people of good will and intent to meet together to stop this outrageous theft of income. The sad fact is that we do not have the kind of people in our congress that will sit together to find a reasonable solution. Is it the people we elected, the political parties, or the lobbyists who are stopping the process?

Political parties do not matter. Electing people to office that really care about America’s needs ought to be job one.

Obama is not Afraid of Public Opinion

Many in the American public hold views that are very different from our new president. The honeymoon is not only over, the divorce proceeding is now in full force. It’s obvious that President Obama came to office with the intent of making over many things that Americans hold dear. Conservative commentators have successfully upset the public on many issues that are not well understood. We didn’t understand the meaning of his campaign words. Too few asked what “change” meant. The color of the president’s skin has only added to the fear.

He is determined to reform health care. He wants to convince the majority that his views are the best for this nation. To accomplish this end he will appear on television networks that are at least not openly opposed to his ideas. The result is his media appearances this Sunday, September 20 on NBC’s “Meet the Press”, ABC‘s “This Week”, CBS’ “Face the Nation” and CNN’s “State of the Union“. Fox’s “News Sunday” is being skipped because the entire network opposes the president on every single issue. Fox’s commentators have repeatedly expressed their hope for Obama’s failure.

Nancy Pelosi is correct in being concerned about the president’s safety. In a nation where people are murdered for expressing their views the secret service needs to be extra vigilant. Protection for the president ought to include banning of guns at town hall meetings where he will appear.

The president’s appearance on many shows is not overexposure. After all he is the person we elected to lead our country. He is doing an outstanding job of conveying his ideas on a variety of issues. It’s not just health care. He is responding to public concern. His appearances on a variety of programs and answering questions is precisely what the country needs. He is someone who is not afraid of public opinion.

Society’s Responsibility to Senior Citizens

Personally I have had more medical treatment since turning 60. It’s no fun getting old! I am not alone.

I do not need a study to tell me that the people receiving the most medical care are senior citizens. All I have to do is go to local medical care facilities and this fact is quickly verified. Most of the handicapped parking is full. Seniors are more prevalent in the hallways and elevators. So it is no surprise that Medicare is an expensive program.

This week’s Newsweek cover story is “The Case for Killing Granny.” I think it accurately tells the story of most elderly people who have reached the end of life. Families are trying to make the correct decisions and where possible respecting the wishes of that loved one.

The article fairly identifies the fact that doctors and hospitals in the big cities do have high earnings. The fees they charge are not posted anywhere and that is causing government programs to put caps on fees. I do not know any middle income doctors in Los Angeles. Their cries about high malpractice insurance costs run afoul of their propensity for living in high income neighborhoods and driving high end cars.

My own mother is now in a skilled nursing facility. It’s really an extension of the hospital where she stayed for four nights. She has dementia but that is really her only disease. Her entry into the hospital was the result of neglect at a board and care facility. She weighs 96 pounds and that is an improvement from last week’s weight of 93 pounds. She really doesn’t want to eat more food. She is on an intravenous line that hydrates her. This is most likely the end of her life. Her medical power of attorney says take no extraordinary steps to preserve her life. She seems to be happy and so we are visiting her daily. My sister hopes she will recover but that is an unlikely event. A higher power will decide when she will take her final breath.

If we are the highly moral society that is our claim then it is essential that each family decide the measures to be taken to preserve life. This cannot be a determination of government. The federal government took on the financial responsibility when Medicare was implemented. If Medicare, or Social Security, runs short of money then it is society’s responsibility to ensure we are all provided a comfortable retirement and health care too.

Health Insurance for Illegal Aliens

The debate about no health insurance for illegal aliens is too one dimensional. This issue has many implications that have not been discussed at all. Even a non-expert can ask some very important questions that are not easily answered.

1. An illegal alien has a communicable disease. One member of the family comes to a hospital looking for care. In the process of treatment a doctor concludes that the entire family is most likely infected. The family has already come in contact with many other people. Who will the government treat and who will pay for the treatment?

2. To ensure that no medical care is given to illegal aliens everyone will have to be issued an identity card. Won’t those who oppose national identity cards see the issuance of these medical ID cards as a step toward systems of identity that so many Americans oppose?

3. A female illegal alien is pregnant and has no money for health care. Will the government provide the care needed for the mother and later for the child or will they be put out onto the street?

4. If an illegal alien child comes to a hospital with a broken limb or other non- communicable ailment will he/she be turned away?

5. Will public clinics and hospitals that now do not ask about citizenship not provide services to illegal aliens?

6. If we provide a “path to citizenship” for illegal aliens, will those following regulations be included in a national health insurance plan? If they are low wage earners where will the money come from to pay for their care?

These are all difficult moral questions that will be debated long and hard. Local government agencies throughout the country are now providing these services. Where is this situation going? Who wants to say “no” to the least able among us?