Letters to the Editor for Feb. 17

Carol T.
02/19/2010 12:15 PM

TC C: Yes, I see a lot wrong in the world, but I also believe most people are interested in making right choices (even if they differ wildly in what those are). It seems to me your view of the world (esp. of Democrats) is a bit darker. And my letters/posts have been mainly to rebut false information, or possbly stick up for someone being unfairly beaten up on. I don't like falsehoods, or bullying. Anyway, regarding the current state of CA's health care (for your reading pleasure): http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/opinion/19krugman.html?emc=eta1

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Carol T.
02/18/2010 9:30 PM

Mr. TC C: I believe the quote I posted was from the new MA (GOP) Senator. I have no idea if his statements are correct - it was for informational purposes. At any rate, it has occurred to me to ask: What ARE you in favor of?? Only positions taken by Republicans? The status quo? What positive things do you see in the world? And can any of them be attributed to someone with whom you don't agree?

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Carol T.
02/18/2010 10:05 AM

TTC: Any "gouging" comment was part of the online article I posted - not my word. And the election in MA reminded me of the first time Paul Wellstone defeated Rudy Boschwitz - Sen. Boschwitz assumed the seat was his and he didn't have to bother coming back to MN to campaign. He never knew what hit him. And as far as paying for the heatlh care of "everyone else," we already do. I have found our bills padded several times with charges for things we didn't even receive. When you try to complain, everybody just shrugs. My husband's very good insurance helps to cover someone who has none... At this point, it's a game. I would rather have that be more transparent, and evenhanded.

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Carol T.
02/17/2010 10:51 PM

Sorry, TT C, (I guess T.C. is me?) I haven't extra time at this point, and wasn't trying to "spin" in any case - I simply posted an online news article in an effort to "report the truth" about one of the other Carol's statements - as she had requested. I surely am not an expert on Massachusetts health care, nor am I going to dig up answers to all those questions. (And do you have me confused with someone else? as I don't recall ever "muttering about gouging" or CEO salaries...) Anyhow. My point was that, yes, Sen. Brown's election in Massachusetts did have to do with health care, but not in the way it's been widely implied. That is, Massachusetts residents already have (nearly) universal health care, and didn't wish to help foot the bill for the rest of us. And who can really blame them for that, in today's economy? You say, "if obama care were to pass, i would guess that either Mass would be exempt from the health insurance provisions or that the federal provisions would simply supersede/replace the state provisons." It is my understanding that there were several states which had talked about "opting out" of any federal plan - which wasn't looked on kindly - but "opting up" may be a possibility; that is, if a state already has a health care plan in place which is more comprehensive/better than the federal one, they might receive permission to continue with theirs instead. You probably are aware that there is a group in MN which has been working hard on such a statewide plan, and it's receiving a lot of support. California would already have their own health care plan in place, but the Governor refused to sign it. I believe there is another state with such a plan in the works. Nobody really knows at this point what will happen on the federal level, but it may come down to individual states stepping up in such a manner. (Which I would predict you don't agree with, for what will be myriads of reasons- and that's fine. I'm not totally sure how I feel about the MN plan myself, having only recently become aware of it. But we all ought to give it a fair look - info@muhcc.org) And as far as the Massachusetts election- the Democrats were definitely sleeping at the switch. Unfortunately, they ran someone who wasn't perceived warmly, and who apparently was too busy to campaign. Voters don't like to be taken granted - even in Kennedy country.

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Carol T.
02/17/2010 12:11 PM

Sorry about the duplicate posting - website did it to me again...

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Carol T.
02/17/2010 12:08 PM

[never want to disappoint TT C] http://dailycaller.com/2010/01/13/ : Scott Brown … defended on Wednesday his own vote as a state senator for mandatory health insurance in 2006… He voted for the Massachusetts health-care plan, and faced questions on Fox … about whether he “contributed to something that now you’re against?” But the line from … Brown himself, is that Romney-care has worked in covering the uninsured but that cost containment has not happened because Gov. Deval Patrick eliminated a cost and quality commission that would have brought transparency to what health-care providers were charging and eliminated price gouging. Romney adviser Ron Kaufman … said that the people of Massachusetts are “satisfied with what they got” but that they are angry about the federal bill being debated because it would force the state to pay for something they already have: nearly universal coverage. “They already paid for it,” Kaufman said. Brown said much the same thing during his interview on Fox. “Why would we subsidize and why would we pay more for something we already have. It makes no sense,” he said.

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Carol T.
02/17/2010 11:58 AM

http://dailycaller.com/2010/01/13/ : Scott Brown ... defended on Wednesday his own vote as a state senator for mandatory health insurance in 2006.... He voted for the Massachusetts health-care plan, and faced questions on Fox ... about whether he “contributed to something that now you’re against?” But the line from ... Brown himself, is that Romney-care has worked in covering the uninsured but that cost containment has not happened because Gov. Deval Patrick eliminated a cost and quality commission that would have brought transparency to what health-care providers were charging and eliminated price gouging. Romney adviser Ron Kaufman ... said that the people of Massachusetts are “satisfied with what they got” but that they are angry about the federal bill being debated because it would force the state to pay for something they already have: nearly universal coverage. “They already paid for it,” Kaufman said.

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