national health care
Brenda, who writes what's UP down South?, reprints a tough open letter to Bushco and the comfortable hogs in Congress who have their own health care program paid for by us. For what it's worth members of Congress receive retirement and health benefits under the same plans available to other federal employees. They become vested after five years of full participation. Seniors and disabled citizend might be interested to know that "
...the prescription drug coverage offered by plans participating in the Federal Plan is... comparable to Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage, and that Congressmen ...do not need to enroll in Medicare Part D and pay extra for prescription drug benefits."
Of course, in addition, Congressional members
enjoy other benefits as Federal employees that they rest of us might not.
But enough about what the fat cats in Washington enjoy at our expense. Here's some of the content of Brenda's post:
"...George Bush’s staff complained the day after Valentine's Day that his big healthcare announcement at Wendy’s Headquarters in Ohio went largely unnoticed because of Vice President Chaney’s shooting incident.
Bush was pumping for his on-your-own “Health Savings Accounts,” the greatest benefits of which will go to the brokers and banks who sell them and manage them. Benefits will also go to people who have enough extra money that they need to shelter it from taxes until they turn 70. This plan will drive the cost of healthcare even higher for the whole country.
"We all need to understand that Bush’s plan is not about healthcare for all and it is not about us. It is yet another boondoggle, another transfer of money from the poor and middle class to the wealthy, another privatization scheme, another chunk of money in the pockets of his cronies, another attempt to blame the middle class for our own illnesses, another discriminatory scam against the poor, another way of saying, “you are on your own for healthcare,” another shift in governmental responsibility, another lie to the American people, another devastating blow to those who are struggling to get the healthcare they need. Sorry to have to be so blunt, but I want to be sure to be clear.
"Our country is # 37 in the world in the quality of its healthcare for its people. What would we do if our country were #37 in the Olympics? We’d get to work to change it, no?
"Healthcare-now is gathering steam nationwide to be sure that every candidate for higher office this year in every state understands that we want a national single-payer healthcare plan that will cover all of us for every illness. NOW.
"We want something like the H.R. 676 bill in Congress that would provide for healthcare for all so we would never have to pay another doctor or hospital, another dentist or optician, another psychiatrist or chiropractor, another prescription drug bill. And we would no longer have co-pays, deductibles, premiums, or out-of-pocket expenses for healthcare".
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Read the rest of the story.