An Open Letter to the Coward Cory Gardner, Part 4

Thursday, June 29, 2017

Dear Senator Gardner,

Me again. I know you're getting as sick of hearing from me as I am of writing to you, but as long as you continue to legislate in an immoral, unjust, and puppet-like manner, I'm obligated to continue my daily missives to your office. My hope is that you might grow a backbone, some ethics, or finally realize how very much people dislike and disapprove of the WealthCare Bill you and your fellow Republicans are attempting to foist off on the American public.

Today's objection comes from the Kaiser Family Foundation, one of the least biased sources of health care news in the country. They have no axe to grind, no political supporter to please, no master to answer to. And what they say is that the average increase Americans can expect in their health care premiums is 74%. 

I'm sure you and your richy-rich supporters can afford such an increase - hell, I can afford it - but you know who can't? The majority of your constituents, that's who. People like my mother, who, like most retirees, is on a fixed income. People like me when my children were small and I was living paycheck to paycheck, hoping no emergency came up for which I wasn't prepared. People like my adult son and the 51,600 Coloradans who get their coverage from the individual market and will lose their ability to pay under this execrable Bill.

Do you even care about these people? Or do you only care about your rich supporters and your Republican puppet-masters? Only 12% of Americans approve of this bill. Who, exactly, do you think you work for? This Bill, and your association with it, is earning the ire of almost every demographic group in the country. You're taking a big chance with your support of this piece of trash. Even if you can't be convinced to care about other people, perhaps the threat of losing your seat to someone who gives a crap about Coloradans will do the trick.

Signed,

Janiece

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is a small problem using Kaiser as an example. Edgar Kaiser was instrumental in getting insurance companies leverage in people getting medical care but not being able to influence the market prices of insurance or medical care. Kaiser was sitting ready 45 years ago.
Transcript of John Ehrlicman and Nixon.
John D. Ehrlichman: “On the … on the health business …”

President Nixon: “Yeah.”

Ehrlichman: “… we have now narrowed down the vice president’s problems on this thing to one issue and that is whether we should include these health maintenance organizations like Edgar Kaiser’s Permanente thing. The vice president just cannot see it. We tried 15 ways from Friday to explain it to him and then help him to understand it. He finally says, ‘Well, I don’t think they’ll work, but if the President thinks it’s a good idea, I’ll support him a hundred percent.’”

President Nixon: “Well, what’s … what’s the judgment?”

Ehrlichman: “Well, everybody else’s judgment very strongly is that we go with it.”

President Nixon: “All right.”

Ehrlichman: “And, uh, uh, he’s the one holdout that we have in the whole office.”

President Nixon: “Say that I … I … I’d tell him I have doubts about it, but I think that it’s, uh, now let me ask you, now you give me your judgment. You know I’m not too keen on any of these damn medical programs.”

Ehrlichman: “This, uh, let me, let me tell you how I am …”

President Nixon: [Unclear.]

Ehrlichman: “This … this is a …”

President Nixon: “I don’t [unclear] …”

Ehrlichman: “… private enterprise one.”

President Nixon: “Well, that appeals to me.”

Ehrlichman: “Edgar Kaiser is running his Permanente deal for profit. And the reason that he can … the reason he can do it … I had Edgar Kaiser come in … talk to me about this and I went into it in some depth. All the incentives are toward less medical care, because …”

President Nixon: [Unclear.]

Ehrlichman: “… the less care they give them, the more money they make.”

President Nixon: “Fine.” [Unclear.]

Ehrlichman: [Unclear] “… and the incentives run the right way.”

President Nixon: “Not bad.”

Zana Darrow ( don't have any of those account below)

Janiece said...

Zana,

While I don't doubt that the transcript you've provided is genuine, or that Edgar Kaiser was instrumental in the health care for profit mess, the fact remains that his Foundation and its news arm are, in fact, unbiased sources of health news information.

Their journalistic integrity is not diminished because the person who endowed the Foundation was a jerk during the Nixon Administration.

That's like saying the Special Olympics is suspect because Joe Kennedy earned some money from bootlegging.