Not much mention lately about the government taking over our health care decisions from us. Please remember the enacted bill has an 18-member board of bureaucrats that are not subject to review by president, Congress or us. This group is not even required to be in medicine will determine if the new government coverage will ration (deny) surgery and treatments according to the severity and primarily cost by age of the patient. This is how it cuts costs. No, thank you. I like to have that decision by me and my doctor for my family.
Some critiques call this provision in the bill, "death squads." In many European countries they have this. Euthanasia is legal there. Remember it is impossible to have a government control of medicine doing all three things: covering all residents of a country, high quality and low cost - impossible.
The bill also covers in its 1,200 pages a regularly scheduled "end of life counseling" every five years for those on Medicare. No thanks. Amassing what is in the bill now it is available to be read.
Already doctors are dropping their practices due to "mandates, micromanaging of Medicare, endless paperwork, prior authorizations for tests and medications, unfunded requirements for electronic records." This quote is from our family doctor who hated to close her office. I was surprised that this is happening so soon. I thought it would be another year.
Please vote in national and state elections for candidates who want change to improve but not destroy the best medical system in the world where freedom must not be compromised. Also, please stop supporting the huge medical insurance company disguising themselves as a senior support organization that promoted this awful law, promoted taxes on senior Social Security and sends money to candidates for their own gain of $1 billion added premiums from seniors for supplements that do not provide much.
A $500 billion reduction in Medicare is scheduled to help pay for government takeover. This will come from further reductions in payments primarily to general practice doctors who are underpaid now from Medicare.
I am scared and for good reason.
Allen Ross
Parkersburg
