Health Reform is Delivering Results for South Dakota

By U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD)

Senator Johnson is at it again.  His latest lecture would have us believing we are better off because he knows better than us what is good for us.  His “objective” assessment of ObamaCare is below, in black.  The thoughts he must have been thinking are in color.

Just a few short years ago, our nation’s health care system was heading off a cliff. (You can thank me NOW for fixing it)Health care costs were rising out of control and Americans were getting less coverage for their money than ever before (Now, cost will be increased exponentially and WE can decide if you are sick enough to get help). Roughly 47 million Americans were uninsured, including 8 million children (That part about the children.. I mean the ones I have not agreed we should kill before they are born). This does not include the underinsured, who were falling through the cracks every day.   Members of Congress had a choice to make – stick our heads in the sand for another decade or more and ignore the health care crisis Americans were facing, or take this historic opportunity to fix a problem that we’ve been talking about for generations(I must see that the staffer who wrote that line gets a raise).   I knew that South Dakotans and millions of Americans couldn’t afford to wait any longer for meaningful reform (and I knew they were much to stupid to take care of this). I’d heard far too many countless stories of the hardships many faced everyday because of unfair insurance industry practices (I have NEVER heard of a government-run program that produced hardship or unfairness). On the other hand, I’ve had my own personal appreciation for the medical miracles that happen in our nation every day (not to mention my own “miracle” at the voting booth… you now, when I got to continue being an important Senator even though I can’t really do the job).   Through much committee work, debate and input from both parties, Congress found solutions (Well, we had input from the other party.  We just ignored it because “WE” are in charge).  Already, reform is having a positive impact (taxes are going up and jobs are being lost, which puts Americans where we want them… at the mercy of their government). Thousands in our state and millions nationwide are no longer facing the kind of barriers, exorbitant costs and limited coverage that defined the American health care system for far too long (now the barrier is their government).   The facts speak for themselves – this health care law is working (what was that line… a lie told often enough???).   Thanks to health reform, 5,088 young South Dakotans – and 2.5 million nationwide – are now able to have health insurance through their parents’ plan until they turn 26 years old. Insurance companies are also banned from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions.   Medicare beneficiaries are also seeing meaningful improvements. Last year, 10,923 South Dakota seniors on Medicare saved an average of $616 on their brand-name prescriptions after falling into a gap in coverage called the donut hole. Health reform will close the donut hole by 2020.   Over 96,000 South Dakotans with Medicare also received free preventive services, like mammograms and colonoscopies, or a free annual wellness visit to their doctor. These potentially lifesaving services were out of reach for far too many before health reform.   For the first time ever, the insurance industry is being forced to justify unreasonable premium increases. If an insurance company raises rates by 10 percent or more, they’ve had to justify this increase to the public, transparently and out in the open. Our state has already received $4 million to help fight premium increases.   Although some have touted the recent Congressional Budget Office report as evidence that health reform costs more than originally forecast, these increases are more than offset by updated savings estimates detailed in the same report.  This nonpartisan agency maintains that the health reform law still reduces the deficit by $230 billion while reducing the number of uninsured by more than 30 million.

OK, I can’t stand it any more.  The comments in RED are mine.  Does ANYONE besides the Senator really believe this stuff?  Doesn’t he KNOW that Doctors are refusing to do colonoscopies because they get paid less than $200 for the entire procedure?  Does he REALLY think annual wellness checkups are FREE? (SOMEBODY pays for them… guess who!)

There is just so much here.  This Senator is either an absolute total and complete moron, or he believes WE are.  Either way, is there ANYONE with a lick of sense who believes this guy is representing our best interests?   I didn’t think so.

 This law is not perfect, no bill of its size ever could be. I’ve supported efforts in Congress to fix what isn’t working (taxpayers, of course will pick up the tab), and if there are more good ideas, I want to hear them (we can fund any bright idea that expands government control and reduces personal responsibility). But let’s be clear: the opponents of reform haven’t offered any alternatives. ARE YOU KIDDING ME????  Just buy an insurance policy for the “uninsured” and call it a day!  Their plan is to simply repeal reform, take away the benefits that I’ve described, and return to the old system (the “old” system of personal freedom, choice and responsiblity has NEVER worked).   But Americans shouldn’t have to go back to the days of wondering if their health care coverage will be there when they need it the most Seriously, Senator, do you expect us to believe that government-run, forced participation health care will work FOR us?. I refuse to revert back to the time before reform, when the American people were left to the whims of the insurance industry and the United States was the only industrialized democracy on earth without some form of national health coverage.

Good grief!  This guy is the poster child of everything that is wrong with our country.  Can’t we start his retirement pension NOW before he screws up anything else?

***Gordon Howie is a nationally syndicated author, host of Liberty Today TV and CEO of Life and Liberty Media***

Our mission is to promote conservative Christian principles.  You can help us share this important message with others by clicking the DONATE button on this page.  Thanks for helping us accomplish this mission! You can also help by SHARING this article with your facebook friends and email list!