(Photo: Screen Shot – Seattle’s Marcelas Owens visited with Senator Murray to discuss his trip to Washington D.C. to advocate for passage of health care insurance reform.)

Telling Sad stories has become a political strategy to sell Obamacare.  Obama has some sad story to share in every speech.  The most offensive of the sad stories comes from Patty Murray (D-WA) who uses a child and a distorted story to sell her constituents on the immediate need to pass HCR.

In a February 26th article, “Health Care Summit notable moments with Patty Murray” I reported that Murray’s contribution to the Health Care Summit appears to be collecting and telling sad stories about our health care system. Her chosen focus story introduced the nation to a young boy named Marcelas Owens, an “insurance abuse survivor”, from Washington State.  Marcelas is a young child with 2 siblings who lost their mother, Tifanny Owens, when he was 7 years old.

Marcelas shares his story of how his mother, Tifanny Owens, was working as an assistant manager at Jack in the Box.  How she became sick in September of 2006. The following month she lost her job and insurance as a result of missing so much work due to illness.

According to Murray,  Marcela approached her in 2009 to tell her his story. Senator Murray had been promoting the need for such stories from her web site:

Your Voice is Needed!

Help Reform Our Broken Health Care System

Senator Murray believes that making meaningful reform happen this year will take more than members of Congress – or even President Obama – calling for change. It will take Americans across Washington state and the nation standing up and demanding it. That’s why she is asking Washington state residents to add their voice to this debate by signing up and/or sharing their health care stories at her new site.

Marcelas and his grandmother participated in a small anti-health insurance industry protest in DC last week, which was organized by left-wing labor groups.  His entire family have been longtime members of the Washington Community Action Network, who are his sponsors and have paid for them to be at this event in DC.

On March 12th, the Democrats used Marcales as their centerpiece in a press conference following the left-wing anti-insurance protest.  Senator Reid began his introduction of Marcales by noting that our system is beyond broken and it can certainly be illustrated by what happened to a woman by the name of Tifanny Owens, Marcelas’s mother.

Marcelas shared his story, followed by Dick Durbin who quickly pointed out that Republicans tell us to go slow, start over again and take your time; Durban asks “how much time can we take”.

Senator Schumer then spoke stating that the Democrats are simply asking for an up or down vote, that this is about Marcelas Mom, it’s about peoples lives. Murray followed Schumer telling us that the system we have in place today doesn’t provide options for people when they are just at the edge. That Marcelas was here to remind all of us what this debate is about.

And now for the rest of the story…

Health Care Reform is something both Democrats and Republicans believe is needed, the difference is how we accomplish that goal.  Almost 74% of Americans are now against the current bill, have spent the past year making their voices heard but the liberal left seems to be deaf.

Recently, I was admonished  by a liberal member of AARP for not being moved to support passing the HCB after listening to this child.  Her conclusion was that conservative people like me were callous, heartless and beyond hope.

What Patty Murray and the Democrats are not telling the public is that Marcelas mother received medical care, possibly better than her insurance would have provided, after she lost both her job and her health insurance.

According to an article in the Seattle Times, “Boy who lost mom takes health-care story to D.C.” She received care twice from Swedish Medical Center’s Central Area campus.  Her first trip was to the emergency room where  she was diagnosed  with pulmonary hypertension.  The second visit was a month later where she was hospitalized for 8 days. Her final visit was to University of Washington Medical Center. After a week of unconsciousness, she died at age 27.

Pulmonary hypertension is a result of some other illness and usually has an identifiable cause. If able to find  the underlying cause, it can be treatable. However, there is no cure for pulmonary hypertension, in severe cases lung transplants and/or a surgical procedure called Atrial septostomy may be the only possible options.

According to WebMd.com, Causes of Pulmonary Hypertension:

Many different conditions can cause pulmonary hypertension. In different ways, each of these illnesses may lead to high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries:

* Congestive heart failure

* Venous thromboembolic disease (blood clots in the lungs)

* Human immunodeficiency virus infection

* Illegal drug use (cocaine, methamphetamine)

* Cirrhosis of the liver

* Appetite suppressant medications (fenfluramine, dexfenfluramine, diethylpropion), which are no longer available in the U.S.

* Autoimmune diseases (lupus, scleroderma, and rheumatoid arthritis)

* Heart shunts (abnormal blood flow between heart chambers)

* Chronic lung disease (emphysema, chronic bronchitis, or pulmonary fibrosis)

* Obstructive sleep apnea

For more details on Pulmonary Hypertension you can visit WebMd.com section:  “Lung Disease & Respiratory Health Center”

AP Photo - Gov Gregoire, July 18, 2009, in Biloxi, Miss.

Governor Gregoire released her proposed 2010 budget on Wednesday, December 16, 2009. Gregorie’s budget includes eliminating the Basic Health Program  The plan covers those making less than $21,600 per year, or $36,000 for a family of three.There is currently a waiting list for low income families needing basic health care.

This governor who ran on priorities of education and  health care has different priorities once she was elected.  All the programs important to the elderly, families and low income people are out the window however  the unions will get a nice healthy raise, reportedly around $83 million dollars!

Union state workers will be getting pay increases next year, says The Olympian. Cuts? Yes, there are, but not where the unions have power. The Tacoma News Tribune says state workers are willing to share the pain, but their leaders won’t allow them to.vy financial impact on states with steep increases of state participation in Medicaid?  How will the state afford more money to Medicaid while they apparently can’t pay for what the state offers for the elderly, poor and un-insured?

In addition to cutting the Basic Health Plan, Gregorie will also be cutting prescription drug assistance and the General Assistance for the Unemployable program. Gregoire  plans to submit an alternative budget next month which she says will restore some of the proposed cuts in the current proposal. The new budget will most likely include  more tax increases!

Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) voted for the Healthcare reform bill on Christmas Eve. At the same time their states Governor Christine Gregoire’s has made drastic budget cuts to healthcare. The state of Washington is currently facing a $2.6 billion budget shortage.  Apparently Democrats believe in do what I say not as I do!

Below are excerpts from the Office of Financial Management for Washington State, that affect healthcare services to the elderly and poor:

Family Caregiver Support Reduction – The Family Caregiver Respite Program (free assistance finding the right skilled assisted living facility) provides respite care for relatives who provide unpaid care to elderly and disabled family members who would otherwise enter a residential or institutional facility. Many families  providing care to their loved ones so that they can remain at home, the physical, emotional and financial consequences for the family caregiver can be overwhelming without some support, such as respite. Respite provides the much needed temporary break from the often exhausting challenges faced by the family caregiver. This program is reduced by ten percent beginning July 1, 2010.

Reduce Senior Citizens Services Act – The state portion of the Senior Citizens Services Act funding is reduced. Beginning July 1, 2010, all funding is suspended except what is required for maintenance of effort funding that is necessary to retain federal match for local information and assistance programs.

Adult Day Health - The savings assumption for the elimination of Adult Day Health services in the 2009-11 Biennial Budget is reversed due to a lawsuit. (General Fund-State, General Fund-Federal)

Level of Care for Medicaid Personal Care Clients – The state has the option of setting eligibility levels for Medicaid Personal Care (MPC), an optional service under the Medicaid program. New standards will equal nursing facility level of care. This will cause 700 in-home and residential clients to lose MPC benefits. (General Fund-State, General Fund-Federal)

Adult Day Health – Revised Savings -  A court decision blocked the 2009-11 decision to only offer Adult Day Health services to in-home clients, resulting in lower savings than were assumed in the biennial budget. All clients who were previously denied services will be reinstated by December. The program will move to a 1915(i) Medicaid state plan option as of January 1, 2010 and enrollment will be capped. (General Fund-State, General Fund-Federal)

Suspend Volunteer Chore – The state-funded Volunteer Chore program is suspended as of July 1, 2010. The program arranges for volunteers to provide assistance for senior citizens living in their own homes, who are not eligible for Medicaid, with tasks such as yardwork, household chores, and minor home repairs.

Expedite Nursing Home Discharges Additional – nursing home discharge staff will provide outreach, financial counseling, and assistance with obtaining necessary services and supports to help an additional 700 Medicai d nursing home residents move to community care residential settings when they are ready. This is a less costly option than staying longer than necessary in the more expensive nursing home setting. (General Fund-State, General Fund-Federal).

For more info: Gov Gregoire budget can be found here. – Governor’s 2010 supplemental

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One Voice Together Can Make a Difference!

Here is why I suggest you call rather than send email or faxes to your Senators:

That’s the request on the home page of Senator Patty Murray, D-WA.  Is she open to hear your objections about Health Care Reform or to address your concerns? One certainly doesn’t get that impression after visiting her web site. She asks for no feedback  from those of us that do NOT support Health Care Reform! It appears her only interest is gathering stories that will support her agenda. Apparently, Murray only represents  a selection  portion of her constituents. ( Remember, 2 out of 3 Senior Citizens do NOT support THIS Health Care Reform Bill).

In her own words, here is why she is requesting that you “Share Your Story”:

“Over the coming weeks, as I participate in committee meetings, consider amendments, and continue to fine tune our health care plan, my staff and I will be reviewing your thoughts and experiences.  And with your permission, I will be asking some of you to allow me to use your stories in speeches and Senate debates to demonstrate the public need and support for health care reform this year”.

So, what happens to all those emails and faxes the Non-Supporters send to her office? In my opinion they are stacked into the junk pile, sent a canned response and then filed in that round can sitting beside the desk of some office staff person. I came to this conclusion after  talking to  friends who had also  sent email to Senator Murray opposing Health Care Reform.  We all received a response, in fact it was  word for word exactly same response, only the salutation was changed which used our own names, naturally they want to make their response personal.

Just to make my point, I sent another email to Senator Murray this morning, and will be interested to see if I get the same response – or any response at all. My email said:

Dear Senator Murray, For those of us that have written to you asking that you not support Health Care Reform, we have compared your response.  It is clear that nobody is reading or addressing our concerns.  We have all received a “canned” response.  Our email response from you are all exactly the same other than our names.  This tells us that you have no interest in hearing from your constituents who oppose this current Health Care Reform Bill.  Apparently you have made up your mind that you support this bill no matter the consequences to the citizens of Washington State.

We also noticed that you are only requesting stories from people that have had a negative experience with either medical care or insurance companies.  I supposed those letter count for your justification to support the bill, while our objections are tossed in the garbage.  It is obvious that you are not representing ALL Washington residents, only those that support your party position.

We will remember this when it is time for re-election. I’m 65 and I have never been active in a election campaign, you can be sure that people like myself will do everything possible to work towards electing a Senator that will listen to us and respond to the concerns of ALL of Washington State Residents.

My suggestion for you is that you ask others in your state that have faxed, emailed or written to their Senators or Representatives expressing their anger and lack of support for Health Care Reform, if they received a response. If they did, compare. Are you all getting a canned response?   If you are, perhaps you should let your Senator  know that you are aware of how serious they take your concerns.

She also offers this option on her site:

If you don’t want to share a story, please feel free to just sign up above to support health care reform efforts and we will keep you updated with the very latest.

Thank you for your help and your commitment to passing meaningful health care reform for all Americans this year.

If you would like to visit Patty Murray’s site, here is the URL!

My daughter and I are planning on attending our “first” town hall meeting tomorrow with our representative Jay Inslee – Democrat.  We plan on being there 2 1/2 hours early because we have seen the emails sent out to Unions and Organizing for America with their request:

Please arrive as early as possible, and make sure that the most powerful voices in this debate are those calling for real reform, not angrily clamoring for the status quo.

In this same email, Organizing for America  provides a PDF file for you to download and print out to show your support for Health Care Reform. 

I was hoping that Inslee might consider listening and answering some legitimate questions from his constituents that are not supporting the HCR bill but then I found an article in the Huffington Post dated August 8-17-09 …. the full article is Frustration Mounts: Dem Rep Says Town Hall Protesters Using “Fascist Tactics” Here is a quote from Jay Inslee from that article:

As effective as the angry anti-reform town-hall protesters have been at getting media attention, that does not mean they are actually influencing members of Congress. “When a person stands up and points their finger at you like a 54-caliber automatic, and calls you a liar, you can be sure they didn’t vote for you and won’t vote for you under any circumstance,” Rep. Jay Inslee, (D-W.A.) told the Huffington Post. “Those folks never voted for any of my colleagues on this side and wont vote for folks on my side in the next election. They are mad that they lost the last election. They didn’t vote for Barack Obama. They will never vote for Barack Obama and they won’t vote for Barack Obama’s friend.”

I guess Inslee won’t be interested in  questions that people like me would have.  So, how exactly does this work … do you only have representation in the government if you vote for the person representing your district?  I don’t know what the numbers were for his last election, but lets say 53% of the people voted for him … does the other 47% of the people in his district have taxation without representation?

In preparation for tomorrow I need to do a google search to see what a 54-caliber automatic weapon looks like and then make sure my finger doesn’t match!

“Wednesday, August 5, 2009

SHORELINE – U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) today announced that up to 2,550 battery charging systems for electric vehicles will be established throughout the Seattle area by Energy Electric Transportation Engineering Corp. (ETEC), as part of a $99.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.”  Read the full Media Release on Rep. Inslee site.

I wonder if that means Seattle will have 2,550 new parking spaces, or docking bays  … then I wonder where the 2,550 electric cars will come from … If I remember correctly the Mayor of Seattle discourages people from driving cars in Seattle, and wasn’t there something about new buildings not being required to provide new parking spaces for those that would  occupy the buildings?  And if the  Senate passes the Energy Act, which will increase the price of electricity,   wonder what they will charge to charge up your car?

During the Telephone Town Hall meeting on August 5th, one caller asked why there was no tort reform in the health care bill.  Jay Inslee stated that tort reform has proven not to cut costs or lower Dr’s. malpractice insurance, using McAllen, TX as his example.  He sited an article from the New Yorker called: “The Cost Conundrum – What a Texas town can teach us about health care”, by Atul Gawande.  While listening to his response I looked up the article on the Internet, and I found additional information that completely contradicted what he was saying.  I had also listed to his last TTHM on YouTube , (you can listen to a recording of last week’s health town hall meeting here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=428W7_aMCVA ) and he referred to  McAllen, TX and the same article validating his position that tort reform doesn’t work.

One of the first statement that caught my eye from the article: “McAllen, with its high poverty rate, has an incidence of heavy drinking sixty per cent higher than the national average. And the Tex-Mex diet has contributed to a thirty-eight-per-cent obesity rate”.  Well, after reading the rest of the article,  I had the impression that this was a very poor area, people did not have healthy life styles, and there were a bunch of Doctors getting rich.  Please read the article and see if you can figure out how any of this proves that Tort Reform doesn’t work.

In looking for the article, I found 2 other interesting articles.  The most current, dated July 2009 was  Texas-style health care reform is bigger and better … fascinating reading.  Now McAllen, TX may be the most expensive town for medicare patients in the US … but the State of Texas appears to be a prime example of how success Tort Reform has been in lowering costs for malpractice insurance, attracting large numbers of Doctors to practice there and has improved their economy.

The second article, TEXAS: Tort Reform Spurs Economic Growth; Aids Access to Healthcare is very informative!  This article talks about Tort Reform that was passed in   2003.  There are stats from different sources including Associated Press,  showing that lawsuite went down, more doctors are moving to Texas to practice,  more insurance companies came into Texas, mal practice insurance rates dropped,  premiums were cut and the overall ecomony grew.  I would say these are good reasons for the Federal Government to take a better look at Tort Reform.

Could it be that to many Attorneys have power within the democrat party, and politically  it wouldn’t be in their best interest to to consider Tort Reform???

Jay Inslee is my Representative, District 1 in WA State.  Apparently a lot of the congressmen are avoiding public town hall meetings and are now holding them on the telephone.  If you are interested in town hall meetings in your area, call your congressman to find out if they have one scheduled.  Had I not called his office I would not have known about this TTHM.  They have to send you an invitation with the phone number, pin number and time/date.

Our local Conservative talk show host, Kirby Wilber on KVI, announced on his program Tuesday morning the information about this conference call.  I believe as a result there were 9,000 people that participated last night.  Unfortunately, it is a very controlled environment and callers with a question have to go through a call  screener.  There were probably 8 to 10 people who asked questions.  They were polite and asked great questions, mostly questioning the wisdom of the Health Care Reform Bill.   I did not hear much, if any support for the bill.  Many of the answers lead to more questions so it was frustrating to have a limited time, and no ability to have  follow up questions  on his  answers.

Inslee has posted audio of the Aug 5th  meeting on You-Tube When going to the page I wanted to check COMMENTS to see if anybody had asked additional questions or if any one disputed some of his so-called facts. There were only 307 views and I was surprised to see ZERO comments.  Adding comments has been disabled for this video. This removes the ability of any public discussion, you can not ask questions nor refute any of his claims. I don’t think he is really interest in what his constituents have to say unless they agree with him.

Change is Coming!  Rep. Jay Inslee is confident health care bill will pass this year, Video of  Inslee being interviewed on Fox News.

I have plenty of questions from listening to his telephone THM.  If there was a public form many of these questions Senior Citizens have could be answered with follow up questions.  If he truly believes in the Health Care Reform and feels that he has the statics to back him up, what does he have to be afraid of?  He could relieve the fear of Senior Citizens who are angry and terrified how this is going to affect the quality of  care in the future.  So, ask yourself … what is he hiding from?