Happily American

Obama addresses Congress

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, or because I’ve been in the health care field for a while, but I know a lot of people with medical conditions.  I personally know people with chronic pain like debilitating migraines, herniated low back disks, Sciatica, Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction, Myofascial Pain Syndrome and Fibromyalgia.  I personally know people with heart conditions ranging from Atherosclerosis and Arrhythmia to Cardiomyopathy and Cardiomegaly.  I even know people with auto-immune disorders like Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus.  Same with breathing disorders including COPD and Asthma.  And, Cancer – skin cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and ovarian cancer.  Strangely, none of these “sick” people have lost their health insurance because they were sick.  None.  So, why do I bring it up – President Obama.  President Obama is using the fear of losing coverage due to illness to advance his agenda.

During his September 9, 2009 address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress President Obama said, “More and more Americans pay their premiums, only to discover that their insurance company has dropped their coverage when they get sick,”  and of course that’s not the case.  You would think that the President (a Harvard educated lawyer), or maybe his teleprompter, would know that it’s been illegal for a health insurance company to drop coverage due to illness for over a decade.  Apparently he’s just a liar willing to lie to get what he wants because he compounded the lie with a little story.   He said “One man from Illinois lost his coverage in the middle of chemotherapy because his insurer found that he hadn’t reported gallstones that he didn’t even know about…They delayed his treatment, and he died because of it.”  Except he left out a LOT of that story (lie of omission).  The “man from Illinois” has a name – Otto Raddatz.   Mr. Raddatz did have cancer and did receive chemotherapy as his sister testified about in front of Congress.  Mr. Raddatz did have his insurance canceled – due to failure to report the pre-existing conditions of an aneurysm and gall stones (as required when applying for the policy)…not because he had cancer.  You know what else Obama conveniently left out?  He left out that Mr. Raddatz’s coverage was reinstated pretty quickly and he received a stem cell transplant as scheduled and lived another 3 1/2 years.  He did not die because of health insurance coverage being dropped.  His health insurance coverage wasn’t dropped because he was sick.

Don’t let the fear of losing your health insurance coverage convince you to support President Obama’s unamerican, probably unconstitutional, health care reform.  Insurance companies cannot drop you for being sick, nor can they raise your existing premium rate because you get sick.  People do lose their coverage for three main reasons.  First, they fail to report pre-existing conditions when they apply for a policy.  Second, they move to another state and lose coverage because Federal Law doesn’t allow sale of health insurance policies across state lines…something not corrected in the “reform” bills.  And, Third…they quit paying the premiums.  They do NOT lose coverage due to illness.

Tell your Congressmen and Senators that you know President Obama isn’t telling the truth.  Tell them you know they aren’t telling the truth.  Tell them you don’t like fear mongering.  Tell them now.