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The True Costs of Healthcare
As we move closer to the demise of this awful healthcare bill President Obama and other Democratic leadership are pushing harder and harder to publicize their fear mongering and play off our emotions as opposed to using fact. There seems to be no burden of proof needed to fight for a $1.2 trillion healthcare bill. One of the lies I’ve noticed recently is that Obama plans on controlling healthcare costs by monitoring premiums to ensure none are excessive in cost. Then of course, he would offer a public alternative in those cases where we could not afford private insurance premiums.
If Obama took even 30 seconds to look at the supply-chain of medical care he would quickly realize he’s thinking backwards and that insurance premiums have absolutely nothing to do with the cost of healthcare. Insurance premiums are the conduit for insurance companies to pay our bills in a profitable way. Based on the profitability of the insurance industry the accusations of price gouging are not credible and I don’t give heed to team Obama’s claimed frequency in which gouging occurs.
Instead of focusing on the real costs, they maliciously attack insurance companies to sway American voters in the voting booth. Starting out with manufacturers of healthcare technology and pharmaceuticals, the costs are already out of control. These manufacturers incur costs doing pre-clinical trial research. They then go through three clinical trials and move on to final FDA approval. After which, post-trial marketing and distribution adds even more to these costs. While there is a lack of global competition in terms of pharmaceuticals, in the US their patents are so short that after testing they often have less than a decade to recoup the costs of hundreds of millions of dollars and more.
Then we move on to the facilities that deliver the care and utilize this technology and pharmaceuticals in treatments. These facilities are forced to treat millions of illegal immigrants every year costing billions. The healthcare practitioners are only a lawsuit or two away from going bankrupt so they spend millions on defensive, unnecessary medical treatments on top of their incredibly expensive malpractice insurance. They have to do this AND make a profit so the US can continue to offer the best healthcare in the world.
Now we arrive at the insurance companies. They now have to pay for our healthcare consumption and turn a profit so they stay in business. These companies have some great HSA high deductible plans and then they have “pre-paid” medical expense plans. As Americans consume more and more healthcare, these companies have to try to cover our costs while still making a profit. Yet, we are the ones increasing demand, not the insurance companies – so who is to blame for increased healthcare costs? We are.
When you look at the supply-chain and delivery of healthcare in our country, attacking premiums is NOT the way to fix healthcare. The New York Times had an article March 8th talking about this very thing. Obama wants to block excessive premiums as defined by a government agency.
“Federal officials will focus on holding down premiums while state officials focus on the solvency of insurers, the ultimate consumer protection.
Economists say that holding down premiums does not necessarily hold down the cost of care, which reflects the prices charged by doctors and hospitals and the volume of services.”
All team Obama will do here is undermine the solvency of insurance companies. I don’t think Obama is a stupid person, in fact, he’s very educated. So I can only assume he fully understands that blocking premium hikes as demand for services increase will be the defining moment for the demise of health insurance companies. Leaving no one but the government to carry the burden and power. While I don’t allege to know Obama’s reasoning or plans behind this obviously negligent choice, I do know he is completely disregarding the foundation of our economy, the constitution and our Republic.
Don’t be manipulated by these malicious attacks. Nothing they propose will either control costs or improve care. On the contrary, they will increase costs and decrease care. We cannot afford to let them win.
NRCC – CODE RED
It’s time we set aside the primary and elections for a short moment and take the time to make even more positive change by telling our Congressional Representatives to vote “NO” on healthcare. Pelosi is having trouble mustering the votes needed to pass the Reid’s Christmas Eve healthcare bill the Senate passed completely aware of the fact America didn’t want it.
It’s time we all give Congressman Boswell a call and let him know we don’t approve of his vote with Pelosi and his vote against Iowa. We need to flood his phone lines and fax line to make sure he knows where Iowa stands.
Healthcare is a major issue facing the United States but this bill will do nothing but increase our healthcare costs while forcing our dependency on the Federal Government for care. This bill isn’t even about healthcare. It’s about more power and the Cornhusker Kickback and Louisiana Purchase is just more evidence of that fact. There are better ways of reforming healthcare and President Obama and most Democrats have not just disregarded these ideas; they have fought against them. This is a prime example of how team Obama will usurp control over our lives and it is unacceptable.
I would also invite our District’s other primary contenders to do the same and ask their supporters to fight this healthcare bill!
To contact Leonard Boswell call his office:
D.C office: (202) 225-3806
Des Moines office: (515) 282-1909
Toll Free: 1-888-432-1984
You can also fax Leonard your letters:
D.C Fax: (202) 225-5608
Des Moines Fax: (515) 282-1785
Don’t just stop there. After contacting Boswell contact the others that have agreed to vote yes and especially those who are still apparently undecided on the vote. Let them know they won’t continue to hold their seats if this bill is passed. Click here to visit the NRCC’s Code Red website and list of Congressional Reps we need to call!
News Release: Americans for Prosperity Applauds U.S. House Candidate Dave Funk
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, March 4, 2010
Contact: Phil Kerpen or James Valvo (703) 224-3200
Americans for Prosperity Applauds U.S. House Candidate Dave Funk
-Signs No Climate Tax Pledge-
Washington, DC—The free market grassroots group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) today applauded Iowa U.S. House candidate Dave Funk (3rd District) for signing the group’s “No Climate Tax Pledge.” Funk joins more than 400 lawmakers and candidates on the federal, state and local levels pledging to “oppose legislation relating to climate change that includes a net increase in government revenue.”
“The one thing elected officials should be able to agree on is that global warming shouldn’t be used as an excuse to hike taxes on citizens and businesses,” said AFP Vice President for Policy Phil Kerpen. “We encourage all of Iowa’s elected officials and candidates for elected office to sign the pledge.”
Cap-and-trade took its first step toward enactment last year when the U.S. House narrowly passed the Waxman-Markey energy tax bill, which escaped the lower chamber by a scant seven votes despite significant bipartisan opposition. The Senate has struggled to pass companion legislation, with key Democratic senators openly expressing opposition to attempting to pass the energy tax bill.
President Obama has made no secret of his support for the bill, which would be the largest tax increase in American history. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has scored the House plan as an $846 billion increase in federal revenue, a burden that will be borne by taxpayers and consumers for decades to come.
“Using the guise of climate change to transfer dollars from hard-working citizens to bureaucratic big government is unacceptable,” said Kerpen. “Regardless of their stance on global warming, this should be common ground for all of our elected officials at all levels of government.”
The pledge is available online at www.NoClimateTax.com. AFP does not endorse candidates. All elected officials and candidates are encouraged to sign the pledge and go on the record in opposition to using the climate change issue to increase taxes and grow the size of government.
Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is a nationwide organization of citizen leaders committed to advancing every individual’s right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best way to safeguard individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFP educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth, and returning government to its constitutional limits. AFP has more than 975,000 members, including members in all 50 states, and 30 state chapters and affiliates. More than 60,000 Americans in all 50 states have made a financial investment in AFP or AFP Foundation. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org
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Dave Funk is grateful for the acknowledgment and is proud to be one of more than 400 elected officials and candidates that have signed this pledge. Fighting these taxes is vital for Iowa’s economic success.
Paid for by Funk for Congress
The Market Based Solution to Healthcare Costs
Healthcare reform has been the Democrat’s frontline issue for quite some time now. As we have all seen the debating via the media as Republicans have opposed the bill and Democrats bribed for passage there is one distinct thing that neither is willing to discuss. High deductible healthcare plans.
Anyone that has heard my stump speech knows that I know in order for us to bring down healthcare costs we need skin in the game. President Obama and Congressman Boswell have fought against this concept and Republicans have been scared to commit to it. I read a great article this week arguing in favor of high deductible plans by Michael Tanner from the CATO Institute. The point is this; Healthcare reform can’t occur by shifting more of the burden from the consumer to the government. In his article, Tanner said this:
“Perhaps that is because in the long-run, the only way to spend less on health care is to consume less health care. Someone, sometime, has to say no. But the incentives under our current health care system perversely encourage everyone to say ‘yes.’”
Right now, the consumer only pays 13 cents of every dollar spent on healthcare. That is not insurance, it’s a pre-paid medical plan. Insurance is something you pay for in case of emergency. Not when you have a flat tire, the sniffles or your screen door breaks. The current healthcare bill will lower that consumer burden to only 10 cents of every dollar spent.
Tanner describes it perfectly.
“Think of it this way. If every time you went to the grocery store, someone else paid 87 percent of your bill, not only would you eat a lot more steak and a lot less hamburger – but so would your dog. And food costs would go up for everyone.”
The point is this. If America wants to get healthcare costs under control than we need to spend less. We will not do this if we do not place some of the cost burden back on the consumer and stop going to the doctor to hear them say “you’ll just have to wait a few days to get over your cold.”
That’s why Health Savings Accounts and High Deductible Plans work. You think twice before going in because you have a runny nose but will have coverage when you break your leg or need surgery. We need to stop shifting responsibility from the government and our health insurance companies and start taking personal responsibility for our own healthcare.
It is not unreasonable to ask individual citizens to share the responsibility of healthcare. If we actually did this, even with a lack of competition we currently have, prices would go down. It’s basic economics. As demand decreases for all of those small things few of us pay for right now they would be forced to drop the price otherwise no one would go to the doctor and they would go out of business.
Why we are under the impression that the health insurance companies control the prices is beyond me. We as consumers control the prices. It’s based on our demand. If we stop consuming at the ridiculously high levels that current consumption is at, they will be forced to drop prices to try to get you back in their door.
We need to demand that President Obama, Congressman Boswell and even my fellow Republicans, start to focus on us, not them or insurance companies as the solution. Rather than passing one 2,000-page bill, let’s start passing smaller bills that have solutions we know will work. They aren’t trying to reform healthcare, they are trying to build our dependency on the government and based on the current plan, healthcare costs will only increase.
RPI: Boswell….Still Charlie Rangel’s $50,000 Man
The Republican Party of Iowa sent out a press release on March 01 inquiring what Boswell plans on doing with, what they calculated, the $50,000 he’s received from Charlie Rangel. We followed accordingly sending Twitter updates to @LeonardBoswell asking what his plans were with the money – even mentioned donating it in case he couldn’t think of anything constructive. Yesterday RPI released another press release, again, having given ample time for Boswell to respond, asking why the silence.
In case you haven’t followed the Charlie Rangel story, it comes down to this. Last week the “House ethics panel that Representative Rangel violated House gift rules by accepting corporate funding for trips to the Caribbean.”
Many politicians who have received money from Rangel’s campaign or PAC have been donating the funds to charities rather than using the “dirty” money. However, one of those recipients has yet to respond to any of our inquiries – Leonard Boswell.
Like the RPI said, Boswell has had ample time to respond to everyone’s inquiries and frankly, his silence does speak volumes on how he is aligned with the progressive left and not Iowa’s third district. Boswell either doesn’t care about Rangel’s infractions and unethical behavior or he’s too scared about his chances to keep his seat in November and needs every dime. Either way, we need to demand he donates this money to charities here in Iowa that could use it rather than spending “dirty” money in his campaign to be reelected.
In case you haven’t followed the Charlie Rangel story, it comes down to this. Last week the “House ethics panel that Representative Rangel violated House gift rules by accepting corporate funding for trips to the Caribbean.”
Many politicians who have received money from Rangel’s campaign or PAC have been donating the funds to charities rather than using the “dirty” money. However, one of those recipients has yet to respond to any of our inquiries – Leonard Boswell.
Like the RPI said, Boswell has had ample time to respond to everyone’s inquiries and frankly, his silence does speak volumes on how he is aligned with the progressive left and not Iowa’s third district. Boswell either doesn’t care about Rangel’s infractions and unethical behavior or he’s too scared about his chances to keep his seat in November and needs every dime. Either way, we need to demand he donates this money to charities here in Iowa that could use it rather than spending “dirty” money in his campaign to be reelected.
Funk Won’t Participate in Earmarks – Gibbons & Zaun Should Follow Suit
On March 1st, Erick Erickson wrote a great piece published on RedState.com entitled “No More Earmarxists”. I would like to expand on this article and point out how important it is here in the Third Congressional District Republican Primary that we all consider his points.
Government spending has created a dependency class on all levels of society. It keeps the poor poor. It gives the Federal Government all-encompassing powers that cover individual citizens, local and state governments, small and large businesses and even non-profit organizations seeking to better humanity and the world. It is vital during this and all future election cycles we elect those that fight this oppressive behavior. The difficulty we have is finding the wolf in sheep’s clothing to ensure we elect those that will fight and remain loyal to their word, to their values and to their constituency and the Constitution.
There were studies done that showed that those lawmakers with a voting record that aligns with the Second Amendment and Right to Life also vote closely with the Constitution on all other issues. In regards to fiscal responsibility, it is almost the same with earmarks.
During this election cycle everyone right of left has been screaming that spending is out of control. They have let everyone know that taxes are too high. They have called out specific politicians, like Leonard Boswell, for voting for the stimulus bill and other Pelosi supported bills. I’ve done the very same thing.
So how do we seek out the true fiscal conservatives that we need from the rest of the pack? Earmarks. While earmarks make up a very small portion of Federal spending, it is the impact of earmarks that is most alarming. Set aside the facts that earmark spending is unconstitutional, picks winners and losers and favors one group over another; it creates a behavior of spending that is aligned with the policy that has placed us on this rapidly melting iceberg. No matter what your argument may be in support of earmarks or to disregard earmarks, the principles behind earmark spending are what make Washington the elitist place it is.
I will not participate in taxpayer abuse and the intergeneration theft through earmarks and I challenge my primary opponents to take this same pledge. We have all been pictured signing 9/12 pledges, tea party group pledges, tax pledges, etc. The reason we sign pledges and agree to this is so our constituency that elects us can hold us accountable.
For this very reason, I challenge Coach Gibbons and Sen. Zaun to agree to not participate in earmarks if they were to go to Washington. Not just because of the wasteful spending but also because of the behavior it creates. This is the fiscal conservatism litmus test.
Union Surprised by Obama Power Grab – but we’re not.
By Captain Dave Funk (Retired) Northwest Airlines; Candidate, US Congress, IA-03 and Steve Schultz, Political Director, OperationRedSate.com
The Obama Administration has done nothing but accumulate power and seize entire blocks of private industries. Free market principles and yes, even labor- do not matter if they don’t assist Obama in his quest for total control of the economy and complete federal control of the means of production. Obama’s administration is fighting to take over healthcare – an enormous portion of our economy. He has forced the states to become financially dependent on the Federal Government through the state bailouts of 2009 and federally funded state mandates that eliminate future budget flexibility by the states. He has already seized control of a major portion of the automotive and banking industries. He has strived to seize power in these industries, so what would you expect Obama to do to the airline industry? Delta Airlines, now the world’s largest and US Airways are being set up for failure by not allowing them to succeed.
Very recently, I received a letter from my former union, the Delta Airlines Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association International. (I was a Northwest Boeing 757 Captain prior to my medical retirement and am now part of the larger Delta-Northwest merged airline). In this letter, Delta ALPA Chairman Lee Moak put forth his concerns with the Department of Transportation’s rejection of a proposed profitable takeoff and landing slot exchange that could have occurred between Delta and US Airways. The Department of Transportation instead, wanted to charge them for the deal by seizing many of the slots that would have been traded at Washington Reagan National and New York LaGuardia airports and then redistributing those slots to other airlines for the “greater good”, even though the other airlines have no actual right or claim to these slots.
Not only would the deal as originally proposed have benefitted Delta and US Airways, but it would have benefited airline customers also as capacity for these two airlines at LaGuardia would have increased 13% without any increased congestion. An additional benefit would have been more non-stop flights offered from both LaGuardia and Ronald Reagan Washington National airports to other cities.
We certainly hope the irony is not lost on Delta ALPA Chairman Moak as he responded to the Department of Transportation saying;
“We have the right to expect more from an administration that prides itself on being a friend of labor. We are not asking for special treatment. We are simply asking that our company be allowed to succeed in what is supposed to be a deregulated free market environment. [Emphasis added]“
Delta Chairman Moak and ALPA leadership supported candidate Obama and gave him the endorsement of the Air Line Pilots Association International even though the majority of members vote as Republicans and did not approve of the endorsement. Again, we ask, what did ALPA expect?
ALPA supported a Statist whose end goal is to have more power than anyone else. Labor doesn’t matter to Obama unless it helps aggregate power and he will throw labor under the bus, especially in instances when labor is fighting for free market principles.
ALPA asks for free market values that will make Delta and US Airways more profitable and allow them to improve their services. What they get is wealth redistribution via the Department of Transportation instead. ALPA should not be surprised that this action was taken by the President they supported. If ALPA wants free market principles in order to increase airline efficiency and profits, to allow its members to earn better wages and to become more successful personally, it’s ALPA’s responsibility to support candidates who support the free market.
Leonard Boswell Forgets Iowa & Pella Corporation
I’m sure many of you may have heard or seen Jon Stossel’s great piece on the stimulus funds and how they are politically tied to a window manufacturer out of Pittsburgh, PA. Serious Materials, the manufacturer coming out of Pittsburgh, was fortunate enough to receive over $500,000 in tax credits and “without you [VP Biden] and the recovery act, this would not have been possible.” Serious Materials has received endorsements and mentioned by Vice President Biden and even President Obama. Naturally, the mainstream media now gives this company the title of “most energy efficient windows in the world” as well.
What’s wrong with all this? Serious Materials is the only window manufacturer that received these tax credits. Pella Windows and others, who make equally energy-efficient windows, were not included. Nor did they win the public endorsement of the President and Vice-President of the United States. So while the great window manufacturers in the US are cutting labor and working hard to get by during this recession, Serious Materials is capitalizing on their millions in free marketing from the government to build a company now featured in Inc. Magazine and Fortune Magazine.
Where is Leonard Boswell during all of this? Why is he not fighting against this? Serious Materials, previously one of the smaller windows manufacturers, does not deserve this type of treatment anymore than our very own Pella Windows does here in Iowa. As a matter of fact, Stossel also points out that Serious Materials VP for Projects & Policy is married to Kathy Zoi, who oversees the government’s weatherization program. This is absurd and I find it shocking that Leonard Boswell has just sat on the bench watching all of this happen. Watching the government at the highest level, picking winners and losers with tax credits and public endorsements.
This isn’t representation at all. This is, as Stossel put it, “Crony Capitalism.” The government has no business picking winners and losers and giving out free marketing worth millions of dollars. Boswell should have spoken out against this behavior and fought to protect the interest of the people he allegedly represents. Rather, he’ll sit back with a ball and chain called Nancy Pelosi and forget about the people that sent him there in the first place. You can watch the video below.
We Have a Right to Carry!
Iowa’s attacks on our Constitutional rights are disgusting. Not surprising, the Des Moines Register put out an article the other day stating their poll shows that 50% of Iowans don’t want to change gun laws. Than they go and quote a “big, big” gun person who doesn’t want the gun laws changed.
Well. Guess what. YOU don’t dictate what is and is not constitutional. Currently in Iowa, County Sheriffs have complete control over whether or not you can have a concealed weapons permit. They can keep you from receiving a permit whether or not there is a reason that you shouldn’t. The Register’s interviewee said “Sheriffs should have the right to deny a permit for a concealed gun for any reason, say if someone’s been ‘in and out of trouble but doesn’t have a conviction.”
What does that even mean? In and out of trouble but no conviction? This is absurd. The Register’s poll neglected to mention that citizens with no criminal record and no other compelling reasons for denial could in fact, be denied. Rather, they just said this regarding Sheriff’s discretion,
“The Legislature might also change the law about carrying concealed weapons so that county sheriffs could refuse to issue a permit only under a set of limited circumstances; currently, sheriffs have full discretion in whether they approve a permit to carry a concealed weapon or not. Do you favor or oppose a change to reduce the discretion sheriffs have? [emphasis added]“
That’s a joke. Anyone that is not familiar with the debate and issue would see this as legislation to make it harder for Sheriffs to deny permits to those who shouldn’t based on nationally accepted limitations – like prior gun convictions.
Since when did the government have the right to limit our Constitutional rights for no reason? Where’s the due process? This absurd law needs to be changed and Iowans need to stand up and vote in support of their Constitution. We must get rid of these Constitutionally ignorant politicians who are in favor of destroying our freedom and liberty. Vote them out and stand up for your right to carry!
Why I am opposed to “Reasonable Recovery” AKA “Fair Share”
As a twenty-one year member of two different airline unions, a former committee member and someone who walked the picket line in 1998, I am uniquely qualified to speak out on the Iowa Right to Work laws.
As I listened to the various pro and con speakers Wednesday night at the Iowa Statehouse, one thing became very apparent. Not a single person speaking in support of the proposed bill spoke of being an employee of the taxpayers of the State of Iowa, but instead, they spoke of the long hours of “free” union work and their loyalty to their union.
When I was hired at Midstate Airlines in 1986 and later at Northwest Airlines in 1987, I went to work for my airline and joined my union under closed shop rules. I remained loyal to my employer and customers first and served my fellow pilots at Northwest Airlines as their Security Coordinator, working with my company to protect the passengers and crews I worked with.
This bill is an attempt by the Democrats to payback the public sector unions in the State of Iowa; it is an attempt to get the camel’s nose into the tent on this issue and nothing more. Our Representatives swear an oath to defend our Constitution, I am asking them to consider the importance of that oath. Will they sell out the taxpayers of the Iowa, or will they stand in the way of economic recovery and prosperity for future generations of Iowans?
Liberty hangs in the balance…