Hi, Fred Nelson for Community Comment,

A friend of mine has assembled some thoughts directed to Congress regarding the present health care machinations going on in Washington D.C.

Here they are:

HR 3962 is unconstitutional. Your oath of office must not enslave Americans by supporting a bill that:

1. Requires me to buy expensive health insurance that I may not be able to afford.
2. Threatens me with fines and imprisonment if I do not buy government mandated health insurance.
3. Leads to health care rationing, possibly denying me the care that doctors think that I should have.

Here are five reasons why I don’t want government-run healthcare:

1. Since February 2009, Americans have said that deficit reduction should be the President’s number one priority. Yet congress and the White House continue to lobby for a health care agenda that will hurt more Americans than it helps.
2. Government-run health care will lower quality and quantity for most Americans. They will receive less preventative medicine including fewer mammograms, MRIs, colonoscopies, Pap smears and a myriad of other procedures designed to identify illness early.
3. Government-run health care will marginalize seniors who will lose $400 billion in Medicare benefits and more than 12 million seniors who currently enjoy Medicare Advantage will be kicked off its rolls.
4. Government-run health care will reduce choice of doctors, available medications, access to tests and surgeries a person might need, plus little or no choice regarding health insurance coverage.
5. Government-run health care will increase costs for most Americans. Taxpayers, who bear the costs of government-run health care, will not be limited to the ultra rich. For instance: a 26-year-old will receive a 200% tax increase. Americans will pay significantly more in taxes and premiums.

Please, Do the Right Thing for Your Country. For the sake of our grandchildren, don’t burden them with government sponsored health care tyranny. Focus and act on the following items before doing anything else:

1. Reform of medical malpractice law. Per decade, the absence of tort reform costs Americans an estimated $500 billion. Incredibly, neither the House or Senate versions of government-run health care attempt tort reform because, as Howard Dean openly acknowledges, "Congress doesn’t want to take on the trial lawyers".
2. Simplify health insurance. Federal regulations currently prohibit Americans from purchasing health insurance across state lines. By opening the market, we could enjoy greater choice, higher quality and lower cost. Despite this, Congress has quashed the idea because real market competition would obviate the need for a public option.
3. Reform the tax structure. Every year, the federal government forgoes $250 billion in revenue because of the way health care benefits are taxed by the IRS. By addressing inefficiencies in the tax code, the federal government could save billions and effectively expand coverage.
4. Support life. No taxpayer funded abortions, no human embryonic stem cell experiments, no euthanasia, no end-of-life counseling, no human hierarchy of value ratings and no rationing.

This is Fred Nelson wishing you a Merry Christmas