Back to Basics

A real case of government healthcare…

One of my daughters became pregnant and found to everyone’s surprise she was going to have identical twins.  The news came with mixed emotions as well as difficult decisions.  This was not her first child and she, like many in the family, believes in natural childbirth without medication.  Only her first child was born in a hospital while all the others were born at home with a midwife.

She initially started seeing her midwife for prenatal visits, but when they discovered she was expecting twins the reality of government interference took hold.  The state of Arizona does not allow midwives to knowingly delivery twins, so they had to find a doctor.  They are on the state insurance, which poses it’s own challenges.  However, trying to find a doctor that not only would accept the state insurance but would also deliver twins and accept a patient at 10 weeks became almost an impossible task.  It took her a month to even obtain the booklet of doctors she requested from the state to start her search.  She went through the book and was more often turned down because the doctors no longer accepted the state insurance.  With the help of her midwife and fortunately a state employee willing to help, she was able to obtain the services of a high-risk OB team.

Through the ultrasounds they discovered the babies were identical twins, had separate bags of water but shared one placenta.  This put her in a higher risk category.  At one point during the pregnancy they determined she was experiencing twin-to-twin transfer and was then referred to a specialist.  Because of this the doctors wanted to see her 3 times a week and she underwent regular ultrasounds and non-stress tests.  During her third trimester an ultrasound indicated she actually had two placentas; that there was a division in the placenta that had not previously been noticed; the twins may not be identical.  At that time it was also revealed that she had not actual experienced twin-to-twin transfer, it was only borderline.  With only 4 weeks remaining until her due date the doctor told her she needed to find another doctor because she was now no longer considered high risk!

She took childbirth classes at the hospital she was to deliver at.  She is also a childbirth instructor so these classes were quite unnecessary from a childbirth aspect, but with this unusual pregnancy she wanted to be informed about the hospital, their procedures, as well as the special considerations in delivering twins.

During her regular doctor visits they discussed the expectations of delivery.  This resulted in a difference of opinion from the doctors and expectant parents.  The doctors believed in a medicated birth with a likely outcome of an induced labor as well as a cesarean delivery.  The parents believed in an unmedicated birth, as natural as possible, and only in an emergency to save the mother and/or babies did they want a cesarean.  They created their birth plan and the doctors made their modifications.  They were able to “negotiate” delaying an induction until 38 weeks.

She went in to labor naturally and the first baby came quickly.  They never made it to the hospital.  Labor never stopped and what seemed like a very short time later the second baby was delivered; he was a breech delivery.  Both babies were well and of good size, especially for twins (7 lbs. 14 oz. and 6 lbs. 9 oz.) with the mother and father cooperating during delivery; no one else was present.  This was a Sunday and at this point they did not want to go to the hospital because there was no need.  So they contacted one of their midwifes who came over to make sure mother and babies were okay – everyone was fine.  It also turns out the twins are identical, sharing only one placenta – the latest ultrasounds were wrong!

On Monday morning they contacted the OB doctors and told them the babies were delivered.  The parents asked if they should come in to be seen by the doctors and were told by the doctor’s office that they should come in 2 weeks.  The parents questioned this and the doctors decided they should make an appointment for that Thursday.  Everything seemed fine.

However, the parents received a call from the referring midwife indicating the doctor had issued a 911 call and told her to see the mother and babies immediately.  This second midwife came over Monday and checked everyone out – everyone was fine.

They kept their appointment on Thursday with the doctors, and again everyone was fine – or so they thought.  They expected to return to the doctor for her 6-week visit.

How can the government force you to purchase something?  Many have been comparing the proposal of making health insurance a requirement to that of requiring auto insurance.  This is an unfair comparison.  If I don’t want to purchase car insurance then I have the option not to own a vehicle or not even have a driver’s license, and therefore wouldn’t need insurance.  You can’t opt out of health care insurance in that same manner.  If you choose not to purchase health insurance then the government will penalize you.  That is the government forcing you to purchase something.

In my first blog I brought up the question “Is the proposed healthcare reform constitutional?”  I submitted this question to a number of television and radio celebrities and one has finally addressed this question.

It appears as if I am not the only one asking the question.  Bill O’Reilly states in this interview that he doesn’t believe it is constitutional.  I’ve also read about a number of others, including lawyers, who do not believe Obamacare is constitutional and are already preparing for a court battle.  So while the writers and supporters of the bill state this will not be an increase in taxes, then the bill itself would be unconstitutional.

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OBAMA, here is the simple fact. America wants and needs healthcare reform. You will find no argument from republicans or democrats. If you want true healthcare reform, you and the democrats better start listening and communicating honestly to the American people.

Don’t demonize Americans who turn up at town hall meetings because they read HR3200 and are scared of thinking they are about to lose something precious. Explain why you sold out to special interests and are promising to make them a lot of money at our expense.

Team Obama will spend August complaining about right-wing distortion of their healthcare agenda. Or, they can figure out how to tell the truth and then work with the Republicans, or even consider some the bills they have created, that will not destroy the greatest healthcare system in the world, just fix a few of the problems.

Of course, there is also a third America. It is made up of the uninsured poor, who you would have us believe never have a shot at what the rest of the country considers a constitutional right, healthcare. This is just more misinformation to sell the current bill, and we know it. Any American can go to any hospital in the US and get care now – it’s the law – and that care is free of charge. What would even be better is to give these people the opportunity to obtain healthcare insurance like the rest of us, and that is what we all want. There are many bills on the floor that achieve this goal today and all of them are a lot smaller than 1000 plus pages.

All of the bills in Congress address the problem of costly emergency room visits. The Republican solutions do this at a fraction of the 1 trillion dollar price tag that will destroy our current system.

As a presidential candidate, Obama talked about healthcare mostly in connection with his mother’s end-of-life struggle to pay her medical bills. It was an effective anecdote, which he used to launch a broad commitment to reform healthcare as president. In your current proposal your mother would have saved all that money in medical bills because the government would have told her her life wasn’t worth saving and would have given her end-of-life counseling instead. Obama’s reform plan is a complicated political mess while the Republican plans are simple, straight forward, and keep the best healthcare in the world intact.

In recessionary times, the goal is more urgent. Today, more Americans are perched on a precarious financial edge. When a job disappears, employer-supplied health insurance does, too. A doctor’s visit becomes a luxury. Instead of immediately bringing in a child for a strep test, a parent waits out the scratchy throat and puts off the antibiotics that are needed to fight something other than a cold. The Republican plans give every American the choice to buy their own Healthcare plan thereby take the dependence on the employer out of the picture. You would own you own plan and when you left a job your insurance would come with you. This gives you the choice as to the coverage you need and the federal government will even help you pay for that Healthcare plan.

A commitment to change the landscape for the uninsured should take nothing away from those who are lucky enough to have health insurance. But Obama’s Democratic plan will change every Americans healthcare and you will get less and pay more.

Cost is the real enemy of Obama’s agenda. Explaining the cost, while keeping a pledge against raising taxes on the middle class – that’s the hard part. In fact it’s not hard, it’s impossible. Obama has already told America we are out of money so where is the trillions of dollars going to come from? The money question was raised by the Congressional Budget Office. Once the CBO estimated the cost at $1 trillion over10 years, the average American wanted to know how it all adds up, and all we get is a trust me.

Obama, the American people are speaking up all around the country. They want reform, just not yours. They do not want NO CHOICE they want MORE CHOICE. They do not want more control they want less. Above all, Americans do not want the government involved in any of our personal health decisions.

I attended the Town Hall Meeting of Rep. John Shadegg in Scottsdale, Arizona on August 8, 2009. Amazing enough, there were no mobs – only a crowd of very concerned American citizens. They were there to ask questions and get answers to the most important legislation in history – the National Healthcare Reform package.

The turn out was much more than anticipated, filling all the seats in the cafeteria as well as any available area inside the building for standing, with even more people standing outside. In Arizona in August this is quite a turnout as temperatures are well over 100 degrees. The crowd remained courteous and respectful to Rep. John Shadegg, as well as all who presented their questions, whether for or against the proposed plan. It was pleasure to start the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance, the meaning many people in this country seem to have forgotten. Only one television station was present at the beginning of the meeting.

Rep. Shadegg had the democratic healthcare bill and the amendments with him and referenced it as needed. He stated he has read the bill and showed the annotations and comments he made on his copy. He explained how the proposed plan would affect American citizens.

He also showed and explained the Republican alternative plans, that unlike HR3200, offered an alternative that would not destroy what is currently working, would allow people to keep their current plans, would offer alternative purchasing options to those who don’t have or don’t like their current plans, would ensure people with pre-existing could get coverage, gives a tax credit to help offset the cost of healthcare insurance if it is not employer paid – and most important – GIVES THE PEOPLE THE CHOICE AND CONTROL OVER THEIR HEALTH!

The floor was opened to questions asked in calm and intelligent manners, with no one becoming disruptive. Even when one group came in with their signage against John Shadegg, the group simply continued on; no fighting broke out.

The answers confirmed many of fears people have about the democratic plan, despite the fact that the president still insists these are false. Has the president read the plan? Most disturbing is that even if you have coverage now, you won’t be able to keep that coverage as it stands today because it will be forced to change, everyone will be forced to purchase one of these plans or be penalized if they don’t, the government will decide what plan you get and what treatment you may or may not receive, the Medicare Advantage plan is being dropped, the plan leads to rationing of care, and if you happen to be in your golden years or if you or a family member has a serious illness you may not be able to receive treatment but will be given “end of life” counseling based on the governments decision – not yours, your families and your doctor’s decision. You will also not be able to sue your insurance company for any wrongdoing, whether it be accidental or intentional – PERIOD.

This insurance option is so well received by the Democratic Party that when it was suggested they participate in the same plan they rejected it. I heard that one democratic represented said “I wouldn’t give this plan to my dog.” Government employees and government officials will NOT be participating in this plan – they will keep their elitist plans, and they CAN sue their insurance company for wrongdoing.

Even though the meeting was only scheduled for 1 ½ hours, Rep. Shadegg wanted to give everyone the opportunity to speak, so he held the meeting over for an additional hour or more. When I left he was still fielding questions privately with the audience. Rep. Shadegg respected all those who attended, was straightforward in his answers and is a representative Arizona can be proud of.

I will be posting more on the plans in another blog.

Standing Room Only at Rep. John Shadegg's Town Hall Meeting