Washington politicians may be the architects of health care reform, but Dick Morris points out that, “the Governors in the states get the blame for the taxes that are needed to pay for it.”
 
      Health care reform isn’t a Republican issue or a Democrat issue.  It’s an American issue.  Governor Phil Bredesen is a leading opponent of Washington’s proposed reforms and says, “We can’t print money. We can’t borrow money.  A lot of staffers in Congress really don’t understand this idea of a balanced budget.”

     Former Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean, a physician, says, “Honestly, the best thing we can do right now is kill the Senate bill… Decisions are being made about the long-term future of this country for short-term political reasons, and that’s never a good sign… I thought at the end of the day what was good about the bill outweighed what’s bad about the bill, I don’t believe that anymore.”

      Governor Mitch Daniels says the extension of Medicaid could cost Indianans upwards of $724 million annually, overwhelming resources and obliterating reserves the governor fights so hard to protect.

      Senator Lamar Alexander says, “This bill is historic in its arrogance—arrogance that we in Congress are wise enough to take this complex health system, that is 17 percent of our economy and serves 300 million Americans, and think we can write a 2,000-page bill and change it all…”  

      The real health care vote, known as ‘cloture,’ is the vote to end debate.  Since only 51 votes will be needed to pass final legislation, Senators such as Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson, Louisiana’s Senator Mary Landrieu and Arkansas’ Senator Blanche Lincoln can have it both ways by first voting for cloture which requires 60 votes, but then voting against proposed health care legislation.

     Our challenge is to educate voters in Nebraska, Louisiana and Arkansas that the real vote is on cloture.  Almost 100% of bills that pass the cloture vote get passed.   A vote for cloture is a vote for Washington-run, nationalized health care.

      What can we do?  Below is a letter I sent to friends in Nebraska encouraging them to make sure Senator Nelson votes against cloture.  You can help by sending this to your entire list asking them to corral their Nebraska contacts as well.

     Four ways you can contact Senator Nelson to ask him to vote against cloture: 

1.  Click here to email Senator Nelson’s office directly.  Feel free to copy and paste this text below so he knows to vote against cloture:

Senator Nelson, please represent my interest by voting against cloture of pending health care bill.  I fully understand your vote for cloture is clearly a vote for government-dictated health care even if you then vote against the bill.  Please vote NO on closing off debate! 

2.  Click here to send an Urgent FaxGram to Senator Nelson.

3.  Call Senator Nelson’s office at (402) 391-3411 or (402) 441-4600.

4.  Fax him at (402) 391-4725 or (402) 476-8753.

Multiply your impact by forwarding to friends and family asking them to do the same.

Thanks for your help,

                (LETTER BELOW )

WHOA! HIT THE RESTART BUTTON!

Why the rush to pass health care legislation – the consequences of which do not go into effect until 2014?!

Dear Fellow American,

       Because you are someone who can influence your Senator Ben Nelson to vote against closing off debate on the current health care reform legislation (“voting against cloture” to use Washington D.C. parlance), I am writing you to encourage your involvement in what many observers believe is the most important social legislation in our lifetime.

       Even if this is hyperbole, I do agree with those who believe a more thoughtful, less frenetic process would allow all of us to learn more of what is at stake and sort out the pluses and minuses and correct distortions in the current debate. As more features become known, support has dropped significantly, particularly among seniors who ponder the implications of cutting Medicare $500 billion, reducing critical services for them.

       Confusion results because of support from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), which few realize is not so much an advocate for seniors as it is a pure and simple insurance company. Current legislation to eliminate Medicare Advantage provides AARP with a huge windfall in selling their Medi-Gap insurance, the success of which impacts the remuneration of AARP executives.

       Similarly, the support of the American Medical Association (AMA) disguises what practicing physicians fear about undermining the doctor-patient relationship, the eagerness of our brightest to enter the medical field (a doctor friend when he saw the pending legislation successfully dissuaded his son not to pursue his entrance into medical school) and the loss of choice for their patients.

       The AMA only represents 17% of physicians in America (and a large number of those members are retired or are academics, not practicing physicians). The AMA is known as a liberal group that has advocated left-of-center social policies rather than simply serving as an advocate for physicians’ interests.

       Was the deal President Obama struck with the pharmaceutical industry, which prompted a promise of $150,000,000 in advertising by that industry to promote the legislation, because we as patients/consumers benefit or because it positively impacts the profits of pharmaceutical companies?

       You may be thinking, who am I and why am I going to the effort and expense of writing this to letter to you? I was born 69 years ago among the hard-working, God-fearing residents of the northern Wisconsin town of Rice Lake (population, 5000). The father of four and grandfather to ten, I am blessed with a marriage of 47 years to wife Lynn, who also grew up in a small town. We love this country while being mindful of its past and current sins. The sacrifices of our nation’s military leave us humbled and grateful, and I am not embarrassed to admit I occasionally tear up at a particularly spectacular rendition of our National Anthem.

       I served two years as an Army officer, departing with $800 of accumulated leave pay, a used VW, hide-abed, a TV and washer and dryer and then experienced like so many of our citizens the promise of America. The Brandywine no-load mutual fund I founded and led was recognized in September of 1997 as the number one performer for the prior decade. With “permission” from our children we have invested a portion of their inheritance and the wealth America allowed us to achieve in fresh water projects in Africa and mobile medical vans in a number of communities in the U.S.

       I am motivated to make the miracle our family experienced possible for your and my children and grandchildren. I am not a health insurance executive, a pharmaceutical CEO, a medical malpractice lawyer or part of the medical community. I come at health care reform simply as a patient and as someone who cares about the health care of others and about maintaining America’s freedoms and liberties. But enough about me. What am I asking you to do?

       First, I am not asking for your decision on the merits of the existing health care legislation but instead merely to use your influence to urge Senator Nelson to vote against ending debate (i.e. vote against cloture) so that all of us can be more thoughtful in fully understanding the ramifications to our loved ones, our nation and even to our own health care in the future. This will enable us to “hit the restart button” and go back to the drawing board and benefit from greater discussion and debate from a broader cross-section of America in a more careful, thoughtful spirit.

       Some political experts suggest I am wasting my time to bring up the nuance of “voting against the bill itself” versus voting against “cloture” or “ending debate.” They say it is over the heads of the American people.

       I disagree. I am confident your communication skills can explain to others who can join you in influencing Senator Nelson how the “Washington game” is played. Senators often can “have it both ways” by saying they are opposed to the bill but then vote to close off debate which they know results in the legislation being passed. After voting for cloture so that the bill will go to a vote, they know it only takes 51 votes to pass.

       Those Senators whose constituents do not want the legislation are then “released” by Senator Majority Leader Reid to vote NO on the bill so they can keep their constituents happy who do not realize the real vote was on cloture, which requires 60 votes, not 51. “Yes, I voted for cloture because I thought it was time to make a decision, but I voted against the bill” gets them off the hook with those who didn’t want the bill to pass. To be true to Nebraska constituents Senator Nelson must vote NO on closing off debate.

       You and I should also encourage Senator Nelson to represent Nebraska citizens who share the concerns about the existing bill and want more time to ponder better solutions, such as those presented in the Health Care Stakeholders Plan. (HCSHPlan) The HCSHPlan is inspired by prominent Democrat David Goldhill’s Atlantic Monthly September article proclaiming that unless we all have “skin in the game” and begin to care what each of us spends on health care, all the proposed reforms will make matters worse.

       The existing bill is bad fiscal medicine for Nebraska. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded that insurance premiums for those in the individual market will increase $2,100 more by 2016 than if there was no bill at all. It would also reduce payments for nursing homes in Nebraska by $93 million and seniors in home health care by $120 million.

       Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen of Tennessee has criticized the existing proposed plan as the “Mother of All Unfunded Mandates” that will cost states billions. Ironically, the $300 million promised to Louisiana in Medicaid help to secure Senator Mary Landrieu’s vote will be overshadowed by the $452 million in additional Medicaid costs Louisiana will incur under the bill!

       While excessive punitive damage awards, defensive medicine in the form of excess testing, fraud and abuse, inadequate preventative care, lack of electronic medical records, and new expensive technologies are all given as reasons for high cost of health care, none compare to the two most significant costs – the insurance system itself which has morphed from “insurance “ to “prepaid health care” and the addition of mandates in policies of coverage people don’t want.

       Employing Health Savings Accounts the HCSHPlan allows employees to keep what they don’t spend and by requiring all costs and outcomes to be posted, gives them the ability to acquire quality care while being sensitive to what it costs.

       That is why I urge you to do three things today that will help us advance the cause of real, genuine health care reform that will lower costs and improve care:

       First, call Senator Ben Nelson today at 402-391-3411 and urge him to vote against ending debate (that is, against cloture) on the current health care plan in the U.S. Senate. This will enable us to go back to the drawing board and bring forward a common-sense plan.

       Second, please copy and forward this letter to your circle of influence including friends in other states and study the HCSHPlan at www.healthcarestakeholdersplan.com or click on “Health care” after logging on to www.fosterfriess.com as an example of alternative principles that can reduce costs, eliminate medical bankruptcies, make pre-existing conditions irrelevant while still preserving the notion that incentives are superior to mandates – an idea that guided the efforts of our Founding Fathers.

       These achievements can occur now and not have to wait until 2014! I have committed to endorse and help promote the efforts of the 53 health care experts who impacted the plan. I pray you feel inspired to do the same as a stepping stone to increased debate and dialogue.

       Third, make a financial contribution of any amount to help me send more of these letters and to publish the letter in newspapers, particularly in those states where Senators could be influenced to vote against closing off debate (a.k.a. cloture). Send non-deductible amounts of the value you attach to this effort to “Private Sector Solutions Advocacy Fund” P.O. Box 9790, Jackson, Wyoming 83002.

       When you contact Senator Nelson, please keep the discussion to “we don’t like existing health care reform plans and we want to halt all current attempts and start over.” Do your utmost to call, write, email, visit Senator Nelson so in no uncertain terms he understands it is a NO vote on cloture you are expecting so that a vote on the bill itself won’t even surface. Convince your circle of influence to do the same.

May God bless your efforts,

Foster Friess

     P.S. Call Senator Nelson today at 402- 391-3411. Tell him to vote against closing off debate (cloture) on the current health care plan in the U.S. Senate. Act now – the critical vote by Senator Nelson will take place in a matter of days.

     P.P.S. Please copy and circulate this letter to your circle of influence and encourage them to contact Senator Nelson. Please do so today. Thank you!