Medical Malpractice Regulation, a “No, No” for Democrats!

Democrats in Congress and the Senate will not realistically approach the problem of medical malpractice costs because of opposition from the trial lawyers professional group (called the American Association of Justice). Howard Dean, former chair of the Democratic National Committee was asked why there is nothing in the health-care proposals about liability reform. Mr. Dean replied: “The reason that tort reform is not in the bill is because the people who wrote it did not want to take on the trial lawyers…And that is the plain and simple truth.”
Today, lawyer and administrative costs soak up 54¢ out of every malpractice dollar. It costs obstetricians $1000 in malpractice insurance costs for every baby they deliver.
Former Sen. John Edwards made a fortune bringing 16 cases against hospitals for babies born with cerebral palsy. Each of those tragic cases was worth millions in settlement. But according to a 2006 study at the National Institutes of Health, in 9 out of 10 cases of cerebral palsy nothing done by a doctor could have caused the condition.
We should all write our Congressmen about this big problem, which is causing huge medical service costs.
(This article was resourced from the Wall Street Journal 9/29/09 page A25.)

No waste, fraud, or abuse?? Are you talking about Washington?

Obama’s Claim: “Don’t pay attention to those scary stories about how your benefits will be cut… That will never happen on my watch.”

The Truth: His plan proposes $500 billion in “savings” in Medicare by cutting “waste, fraud and abuse.” This is a sleight of hand as old as Washington, D.C., and it is one reason why our deficit is out of control. There is no budget line for “waste, fraud and abuse.” If there are $500 billion that can be saved, prove it now. Cut that “waste, fraud and abuse” now, and save the money now!
(A note from Gary Bauer.)

America, Do Not Slip on Afghanistan!

An NBC-Wall Street Journal poll taken 5 days ago indicated that 51% of Americans are somewhat or strongly opposed to increasing troop strength in Afghanistan. One third of respondents favor an immediate withdrawal from the war!
Pulling back from Afghanistan now would be a disastrous mistake for the United States. Afghanistan was the staging site for the 9/11 attack against the United States, and turning the area over, again, to the Taliban and Al Qaeda would only allow them to reinstitute their nefarious terrorist activities and show the world that America lacks the courage and stick-to-it necessary to complete a job that we have started. It would be a slap in the face to all who have sacrificed so much to accomplish the President’s campaign promises to finish the job in Afghanistan and rid the world of Al Qaeda once and for all.
Asymmetric warfare, such as the warfare in Afghanistan is not won by winning battles. The outcome of this kind of war is determined by which side can stay in the field the longest. A perfect example of this was the American Revolution. George Washington’s army did not win very many battles; but American fighters out-stayed the British army and were victorious because of that factor. In Afghanistan, is seems that the native Taliban fighters have an advantage in that they are fighting on their own home field. They have staying power!
In Afghanistan, it is imperative that America stay there long enough to get Afghan nationals trained up and ready to stay the course against an enemy that they hate almost as much as we, Americans, do—the Taliban. Only then, can we relax and bring our brave fighting men and women home.

A Boy Scout’s Viewpoint on Abortion

I am publishing the following letter from a Boy Scout friend of mine that was written to Colorado Senator Udall. I am particularly proud of this post, because I am an Eagle Scout, myself. I hope you enjoy this letter:
I am Joel Meyer. I am a 14-year-old boy in Boy Scout Troop 231 of Arvada, Colorado. I am writing this letter for my “Citizenship in the Nation” merit badge. I would like to speak out on my opinion about abortion. I believe that as an American I should be able to speak out against abortion. As a Catholic, I believe that once conceived, a baby is a living human being. With this idea in mind, the real definition of abortion is the same as homicide. I understand the view that rape victims should be able to have an abortion because of the trauma caused by it. This does not make abortion right, either. Instead of killing the baby, it should be given up for adoption. Every life should have a chance to be a part of this world. Another concern is research that requires the killing of embryos. In March 2009, President Obama issued an executive order that opened the door to federal funding of research that requires the killing of human embryos, reversing President Bush’s 2001 order that blocked federal funding of embryo-killing research. “The pro-abortion movement sees federal ‘health care reform’ legislation as a golden opportunity to force-feed abortion into every nook and cranny of the health-care delivery system.” “They hope to use the structure of a federal health-care law to make abortion on demand accessible in every region of every state, paid for by taxes and government-mandated private insurance premiums.” I believe that abortion should be discouraged as much as possible. Thank you for listening to what I have to say and representing the views of our state. Please send a response if possible and let me know what you can do about my concern.
Sincerely, Joel Meyer

Summary of What is needed in Health Care Bill

With a projected $1.8 trillion deficit for 2009, several trillions more in deficits projected over the next decade, and with both Medicare and Social Security entitlement spending about to ratchet up several notches over the next 15 years as Baby Boomers become eligible for both, we are rapidly running out of other people’s money. These deficits are simply not sustainable. They are either going to result in unprecedented new taxes and inflation, or they will bankrupt us.
While we clearly need health-care reform, the last thing our country needs is a massive new health-care entitlement that will create hundreds of billions of dollars of new unfunded deficits and move us much closer to a government takeover of our health-care system. Instead, we should be trying to achieve reforms by moving in the opposite direction—toward less government control and more individual empowerment. Here are eight reforms that would greatly lower the cost of health care for everyone:
• Remove the legal obstacles that slow the creation of high-deductible health insurance plans and health savings accounts (HSAs).
• Equalize the tax laws so that that employer-provided health insurance and individually owned health insurance have the same tax benefits.
• Repeal all state laws which prevent insurance companies from competing across state lines.
• Repeal government mandates regarding what insurance companies must cover.
• Enact tort reform to end the ruinous lawsuits that force doctors to pay insurance costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
• Make costs transparent so that consumers understand what health-care treatments cost.
• Enact Medicare reform.
• Finally, revise tax forms to make it easier for individuals to make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to help the millions of people who have no insurance and aren’t covered by Medicare, Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Health Care plan will allow federal dollars to pay for abortions!

Non-partisan entities like the Associated Press, FactCheck.org, and Time have confirmed that ObamaCare will allow all abortions to be covered by the public plan and by federally-subsidized private plans. The government will collect the necessarily-higher premiums (which we will be required to pay), receive bills from abortionists, and then send the abortionists payment checks from a federal treasury account.