The Senate Finance Committee to Vote on Health Care Today

In Obama’s recent address to the joint session of Congress, he stated that Americans currently pay $900 per year to cover those without insurance. To that I say, “So what’s the problem?” If we’re already paying to cover the uninsured, what else needs to be done? Well, apparently Congress thinks we should be paying $1,500 per year.

Yesterday, PriceWaterhouseCoopers released a bombshell report stating that the cost to consumers for the proposed healthcare reform could be substantial. From the Associated Press:

“[The report] projects the legislation would add $1,700 a year to the cost of family coverage in 2013, when most of the major provisions in the bill would be in effect. Premiums for a single person would go up by $600 more than would be the case without the legislation…

"The study projected that in 2019, family premiums could be $4,000 higher and individual premiums could be $1,500 higher."

That’s certainly bad news.

The Democrats were tickled over the recent CBO scoring of the Baucus bill which said the plan would cost $829 billion over the next 10 years. According to the CBO, the plan would actually reduce the deficit over 10 years – the insurance companies, cuts in Medicare, and additional taxes will pay for it. Of course, the bill will still leave 25 million people without insurance. Now Obama said in his address that there are only 30 million without coverage so I guess the Feds are taking over health care and charging consumers billions of dollars to cover 5 million people. That makes a lot of sense.

Today the Senate Finance Committee is going to vote on the Baucus bill. That it will pass is probably a foregone conclusion. It’s expected to fall along party lines with possibly Sen. Snowe, (R) voting with the Democrats. If passed in committee, Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid will reconcile the bill already passed by the Senate Health Committee.

I must ask again: Why are we doing this? Who thought it was the job of our government to provide health care to everyone? Please show me this in the Constitution. At least show me where there is a right to health care let alone an entitlement. I also have the right to bear arms but I don’t see Congress setting up a $1 trillion bureaucracy to insure every American has a gun. This is crazy.

In my Sunday School class recently we discussed Matthew 25 where Jesus said to the saints:

“For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.” (v. 35-36)

There are actually too many verses to cite but it should be the job of the Church to care for the sick, feed the hungry, clothe the poor, take care of the widows, etc. We are supposed to give to God the things of God and to Caesar the things of Caesar (Matthew 22:21). For some reason we’ve decided to go ahead and let Caesar do the things we’re supposed to do in service to God. But then again, Obama is the “Chosen One” and he said, after all, that we are our brother’s keeper. Maybe he really thinks he is our messiah.

We need to let our elected leaders know that we want them to put the brakes on this bill. I can’t afford it, our country can’t afford it, and we don’t want it anyway. It’s bad medicine for our country. You can view each committee member's website (with contact information) below.

Democrats:

MAX BAUCUS, MT
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, WV
KENT CONRAD, ND
JEFF BINGAMAN, NM
JOHN F. KERRY, MA
BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, AR
RON WYDEN, OR
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, NY
DEBBIE STABENOW, MI
MARIA CANTWELL, WA
BILL NELSON, FL
ROBERT MENENDEZ, NJ
THOMAS CARPER, DE

Republicans:

CHUCK GRASSLEY, IA
ORRIN G. HATCH, UT
OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, ME
JON KYL, AZ
JIM BUNNING, KY
MIKE CRAPO, ID
PAT ROBERTS, KS
JOHN ENSIGN, NV
MIKE ENZI, WY
JOHN CORNYN, TX