Musings On Health Care

Senator Edward Kennedy

Soap Box Ravings notes that under the proposed health plans being bandied about in Washington, DC, Senator Kennedy would most likely have died much earlier. An ordinary citizen of his age would not have received the medical treatment made available to him under these proposed health plans.

Soap Box Ravings would also like to bring to your attention the efforts of two other lawmakers, first Senator Tom Coburn:



Senator Tom Coburn MD, Oklahoma Republican, believes Congress should weigh the dangers of a nationalized health system much more seriously than it has. He successfully pressed the Senate Health Committee to approve his idea of requiring Members of Congress themselves to enroll in whatever "public plan" is passed to compete with private insurance companies.

His idea wasn't exactly greeted warmly by all committee members. Senator Jeff Bingaman (a lawyer) New Mexico Democrat, said "I don't know why we should require ourselves to participate in a plan that no one else needs to participate in. This bill goes to great lengths to show that the choice is there for everybody."

However, Senator Coburn disagreed, he said that his reading of the 1,000-page health care bill convinced him that everyone would end up being forced into the public plan as private insurance carriers were squeezed out of the market by mandates and regulations. Senator Coburn feels if Congress decides a government-run health plan is good enough for the American people, Congress should be willing to put itself under its care umbrella.

By a 12 to 11 margin, the Senate Health Committee agreed. Every Republican save for New Hampshire's Judd Gregg voted in favor of the Coburn mandate. Every Democrat except Senator's Dodd, Kennedy and Mikulski were opposed.

It would appear, many members of Congress already used to a generous and flexible set of health benefits have no intention of backing Senator Coburn's mandate and allowing it to become law.

And second, Representative John Fleming:



Congressman John Fleming MD, Louisiana Republican, has proposed an amendment that would require congressmen and senators to take the same health care plan they force on us (under proposed legislation they are curiously exempt).

Congressman Fleming is encouraging people to go on his Website and sign his petition: I have done that at:

http://fleming.house.gov/index.html.