Health Care-Decency and Dignity
7th District Residents See Healthy Challenge Below!!
It's hard to have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness when you don't feel well, or when you are differently abled. Many people are working toward a national health care system. I've had a plan for 6 years that will work at either the state or federal level to keep Americans healthy-Senator John Edwards actually adopted part of it in his Presidential campaign. Here's how it works and how we will pay for it.
- Take the Cap Off Social Security - most people don't realize that after you make $87,900 a year, the IRS no longer takes Social Security out of your paycheck. So, in the short time that you have been reading this paragraph, Bill Gates has made over $87,900 and not a single penny has been takin from his income and paid into Social Security. Most people don't realize that there is a cap on Social Security because most people never make over $87,900 a year. So, if 5% of the population makes 95% of the money, that means that approximately 95% of the money isn't being taxed on Social Security--or the wealthy aren't paying their fair share. You and I pay Social Security tax on 100% of our income; why doesn't the wealthy? It's a very simple way to pay for health care insurance for everyone.
- Single-Payer System. Currently, people have a variety of health insurance companies from which to choose. A single-payer system would streamline costs by eliminate much of the waste and redundancy in the commercial insurance industry. Many of the workers in the insurance business could be absorbed into a National or State Plan through an application processs and this would help to save their jobs. Remember, just because an insurance company says it is a non-profit, doesn't mean that someone isn't making a chuck of change at the top. I also don't believe that an insurance company needs private helicopters and limos to run their business. There is a lot of pork in the health care industry.
- Quit Giving Patients Medications and Examinations They Don't Need! Our society is way over medicated. This is one way to eliminate a huge chunk of change in the health care business. Recently, my father was in the hospital. When they found out he had insurance, they tried to give him tests that he didn't need. They also tried to put him on a blood cleaning machine that he definitely didn't need. Tell me, have you ever gotten a prescription that you really didn't need or have a test run that you didn't need? I have a drawer full of prescriptions that I've never filled.
- We Already Have Many People in Michigan and the US Who are on Medicade and Medicare. These people are already receiving National Health Care. So, we wouldn't be adding these folks to the rolls. We would just be adding the people who have no insurance at all, or people who have commercial insurance who will switch over to the single-payer plan.
- Tort Reform. We all know that medical malpractice insurance is driving our health-care costs through the roof. We need to work on tort reform and make sure our doctors are well qualified.
- Saving Jobs. Your employer has the duty to provide you with a job; they don't have the duty to provide you with health insurance. When your employer has to pay health care premiums, it's less money that they can pay you. Plus, paying rising health care premiums is driving many good employers out of business and out of the country!
- How the Government Currently Pays Social Security. Currently, at the end of each pay period, the government takes out a certain percentage of your pay and puts your money into a fund for when you retire. Here's the problem. When they pay out the funds, they borrow the money. What happened to the money you put in? Why do they now have to borrow the money? Because they spent your Social Security dollars on whatever they wanted, war, etc. and they borrowed the money to pay you back and you also get to pay the interest on the money they had to borrow to pay you back YOUR money.
Healthy Challenge!!!
I would like to challenge every citizen of the 7th District to get in shape! That's right-get up off the couch and get some execise. You will feel so much better for it. I know that at first it is hard and that you will be sore the next day, unless you sit in a hot tub of water afterward, but after a few days you won't be sore anymore and you will start to feel better and take charge of your life. Let's get some friendship/health groups going in every town of this district.
I would also like to challenge every citizen over 50 to the Michigan Senior Olympics. Please visit their website at michiganseniorolympics.org. If I can do it, you can do it too! Let's have some fun together while getting in shape at the same time!
