There’s no doubt that you have heard about the major changes that will be taking place in the health care field as a result of the new health care reform passed this year. It was rammed through, approved by House and Senate, and passed into law by our president’s signature. Numerous officials voted for the reform bill and had not read it. The Speaker of the House said there would be time to read the bill after it passes.

The Health Care Reform Act of 2010 is a disaster just waiting to happen.

It addresses payments for health services and products but it doesn’t do anything about improving the level or quality of health care services. One intent of the bill is to lower costs. Yet, there have been numerous reports that elements of the law will actually heap on more costs.

To make matters even worse, the law applies to everyone and there is no legal way to opt-out. Everyone is required to buy the plan – the first time in U.S. history that the government has acted toforce citizens to buy something.

Perhaps you think I’m making more out of this than necessary.

Perhaps I’m just missing the point.

Perhaps a government health program is best for all of us, regardless of the cost.

Dr. Roger Starner Jones wrote the following letter to our president. I’ve checked the validity on snopes.com and it is a real letter written by a real doctor. It first made the rounds on the Internet in October 2009. It was vital then – and even moreso now. Please read and share the information.

During my shift in the Emergency Room last night, I had the pleasure of evaluating a patient whose smile revealed an expensive shiny gold tooth, whose body was adorned with a wide assortment of elaborate and costly tattoos, who wore a very expensive brand of tennis shoes and who chatted on a new cellular telephone equipped with a popular R&B ringtone.

While glancing over her patient chart, I happened to notice that her payer status was listed as “Medicaid”! During my examination of her, the patient informed me that she smokes more than one pack of cigarettes every day, eats only at fast-food take-outs, and somehow still has money to buy pretzels and beer. And, you and our Congress expect me to pay for this woman’s health care? I contend that our nation’s “health care crisis” is not the result of a shortage of quality hospitals, doctors or nurses. Rather, it is the result of a “crisis of culture” a culture in which it is perfectly acceptable to spend money on luxuries and vices while refusing to take care of one’s self or, heaven forbid, purchase health insurance. It is a culture based in the irresponsible credo that “I can do whatever I want to because someone else will always take care of me”. Once you fix this “culture crisis” that rewards irresponsibility and dependency, you’ll be amazed at how quickly our nation’s health care difficulties will disappear.

Respectfully,
ROGER STARNER JONES, MD