Joe Walsh introduced the event by commenting that virtually everything we’ve learned about “ObamaCare” has been bad. It’s an “attack on our freedoms,” he said, and a huge intrusion into our private health care decisions.
The first speaker, Dr. James Brown, reminded the audience that the law is being phased in between now and 2014. He predicted that in 2013 private medical practice will die and that doctors will then be employed by hospitals. He suggested that since negotiating with hospitals can be challenging, many doctors may seek to unionize.
Dr. Brown noted that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will have access to all of your health records, there will be penalties for not being insured, and rationing will take place.
At a time when the State of Illinois is reimbursing Medicaid providers about 10 months late, it would seem that the federal government should be addressing the two health care boondoggles it has already created – Medicare and Medicaid.
The second speaker was Peter Fotos of the Heartland Institute. Mr. Fotos debunked the “46 million are uninsured” number – he said that it is actually only 13 million after subtracting illegal aliens and those who don’t access insurance available to them.
While the law was 3,300 pages, the size of “ObamaCare” will double or triple in size, Fotos explained, once the regulations are written. He also outlined what has happened with the disastrous Massachusetts health care law – and said it is what we have to look forward to with ObamaCare nationally:
- There will be a lot more government control – in fact, over 150 boards and commissions are being created.
- There will be higher premiums.
- There will be rationing of care.
- There will be less innovation in the health care industry because the rewards for innovation are being greatly weakened.
- There will be higher taxes.
- There will be runaway deficits.
In other words, instead of the high-quality/low-cost paradigm most often seen in a free market economic system, we will instead have what is common with government: a high- cost/low-quality system.
The last presenter, Steve Tucker, explained that the ObamaCare legislation will create an environment where private insurance companies will be forced to stop providing health care insurance.
Mr. Tucker has a website – www.truthaboutobamacare.com. It’s packed with very important information about the reality facing us unless this legislation is repealed. I highly recommend it.
In the question and answer period several points came out, including these:
- If the GOP is able to take the Congress in this November’s election, they should seek to defund the ObamaCare law.
- Only 17% of doctors actually belong to the American Medical Association.
- All 3 panelists agreed that the believed 80% of doctors who understood the law opposed it.
- Too few doctors, however, understand what is contained in ObamaCare.
Without a doubt, the residents of the 8th congressional district know where Joe Walsh stands on the measure. They also know he will work to defund, and then repeal that legislative behemoth lest it allow the government health care leviathan to grow even bigger.
How Joe will work to accomplish that repeal is key. From what I gather from watching him since the primary election, he understands that moving public opinion is his number one job. He’s not going to hide out in Washington, D.C., attempting to be the big man on campus. Joe is going to work his district. In so doing – he might just provide the kind of example this country has lacked for decades. If so, he’ll be showing his colleagues how to do their job.
