To the Congress of the United States regarding your health care benefits:
Over the weekend with the Senate’s narrow but passing vote to “debate” health care legislation, it’s become crystal clear that some members of Congress don’t care about the health care crisis.
With a few exceptions, the Republican leadership is unwilling to debate the legislation passed by the House. Worse yet, you have no alternative proposals to reduce the high costs of medical care or save the 38 million Americans who lack health insurance from financial ruin. You’re ignoring your responsibilities as representatives of the people in the United States.
Since you are unwilling to accept the responsibilities for which you were elected, I have a proposal to force the debate. As of January 1, 2010 if you haven’t passed legislation to help remedy the health care needs of Americans, you lose your health care coverage.
As members of Congress, you have one of the best health care plans in the country with 75% of your premiums paid for by taxpayers. Your health coverage includes a variety of plans covering medical, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts and dependent care.
Clearly, if you oppose health care reform or are unwilling to debate proposed legislation, you must believe that medical care for the American public is not a debatable issue. Guess what, you’re wrong.
To force you to debate and remedy the health care issue, let’s push the envelope. If you’are unwilling to debate and pass legislation by the first of the year, you enter the world of the medically uninsured.
Become ill and need a doctor? You pay the entire bill. End up in the hospital for an operation? You pay the $30,000 charge out of your own pockets. Need a pair of glasses or a tooth filled? The bill is yours.
Why? Because you don’t deserve health care benefits. You haven’t earned it by showing social responsibility. You’ve broken your promise to your constituents and the American people to resolve an ongoing nightmare faced by every individual and family in this country.
And I’m not only referring to those without health insurance coverage. I’m talking about those who work, pay high health care premiums, co-pays and deductibles. I’m speaking of taxpayers who pay your salaries and health care benefits.
Your non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, which provides you with best estimates on legislative costs, now estimates that H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, would reduce the Federal deficit by $138 billion dollars a year.
Here is the first page of the the CBO’s letter to Congress:
“The Congressional Budget Office has revised its estimate of the net budgetary impact— transmitted on November 6, 2009—of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. In that November 6 letter, CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimated that changes in direct spending and revenues from enacting H.R. 3962 would yield a net reduction in federal budget deficits of $109 billion over the 2010-2019 period. CBO and JCT now estimate that the legislation would yield a net reduction in deficits of $138 billion over the 10-year period, correcting a mistake that CBO made in its earlier assessment of the impact of section 2581 of the legislation, which would establish the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program.”
Ignoring the CBO analysis and failing to act responsibly is a dereliction of your duties as elected representatives.
Act now or face the consequences.