Senators, Representative, already receive Government Health Care for life

Many of our representatives and senators receive free health care - for life - at the taxpayers expense, and yet do not want to create a public option which would not make it free for the taxpayer, but easier to get and pay for. Here is a link to just one site on this information: http://www.examiner.com/x-15158-Providence-Conservative-Examiner~y2009m6d25-Health-expenses-are-rising-unless-you-are-a-member-of-the-General-Assembly

Many or most of the members in the GOP and DEM whom are so against this public option, receive large amounts of money (lobbying) from the insurance companies, often called campaign contributions, in order to keep the status quo so that the insurance companies continue to rake in the money. Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/07/AR2009030701748.html

Another lobby against health care reform and the public option are the drug companies. Drug companies have no interest in preventing disease. That is not how they make their money. Drug companies want to control the phases of disease, essentially to manage the time you are dependent on a drug, rather than cure the underlying disease. Therefore, these companies also give liberally to the Senators and Representatives which are in Washington to serve OUR interests, but yet serve another master.

We have the health care which our Senators, Representatives, and the Presidential Cabinet receive, which, may I remind you, they continue to receive long after they are out of office - even if they only serve one (1) term? Then there is the Veteran's Administration, which is there for our veterans. It is not as good as the coverage our Government employee's receive. Why is that? Especially since many of our Senators, Representatives and Cabinet members have not even served in the armed forces.

Next is Medicare, which is there to keep the health of our retired peoples. The cost of it is paid in part by those people. My husband pays about $90.00 each month this year, but it is scheduled to go up the next 2 years while SS payments stay the same. As this is deducted directly from the Social Security Check before it is issued, similar to SS being withheld from a paycheck, there is no choice in whether a person may choose not to take it. And there is also no choice in the quality that is provided with that care. Many of our older people who worked for themselves, such as farmers, carpenters, painters, waitresses, cooks, bellboys, small store owners and employees, and day laborers, just to mention a few, do not have any paid credits into Social Security and can not receive any Social Security payments or the Medicare that comes with it. A quote from the official SS website (http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10035.html):

"How do you qualify for retirement benefits?When you work and pay Social Security taxes, you earn “credits” toward Social Security benefits.The number of credits you need to get retirement benefits depends on when you were born. If you were born in 1929 or later, you need 40 credits (10 years of work).If you stop working before you have enough credits to qualify for benefits, the credits will remain on your Social Security record. If you return to work later on, you can add more credits so that you qualify. No retirement benefits can be paid until you have the required number of credits."

The last government run health care that I am aware of is Medicaid. It is for children and the poor. Poor as defined as being on Welfare. As much as many people think this should be discontinued as many on Welfare are scamming the system, many more are not. The American people would not stand for children in mass numbers to be left to die because of a lack of insurance and therefore hospitals would continue to take them in, along with the adult poor, and the taxpayer would still end up paying for these people - only in even more money because it would not be the negotiated terms.

I am in favor of a public option. I have worked all my life until I was laid-off in 2003 after working full time since 1974. Unlike many people, I worked for a large company and had insurance until being laid-off. I have income in a retirement program. After and auto accident in 2007, I became aware of the need for health insurance. Because of a pre-existing condition, high blood pressure, I could not get a policy that was less than $500.00 a month, which I could not afford. I ended up getting Catastrophic Insurance, which will not cover anything unless more than $10,000 is racked up in any particular year. It will help pay a small portion of the HBP medications the second half of the year.  I pay $178.00 for this insurance every month.

I am in a better position than many of my neighbors who can't even afford this. They and their families are left with no insurance. This is just the way it is in small towns and rural communities across America. It is rare that there are large companies that can afford to supply their workers with insurance in these types of communities.

If there were a program which provided reasonable health care at a reasonable cost, I would like to have it. I would like my neighbors and friends to have it.

When I made quite a bit of money, it was not shameful to me to share it with those who were in need of help. I feel that those who now have so much more because of we taxpayers (think bail-outs and insurance companies), should hold the burden to provide an affordable health care program for all middle class America who made them their monies in the first place!