Heller on Healthcare

Dean Heller, Nevada’s Republican Congressman for Nevada’s Congressional District #2, speaks out on healthcare reform. [Reno Gazette-Journal]

I am concerned that the majority party’s "health-care reform" is merely a scheme to place bureaucrats in charge of a government-run health care system. Under their proposal, about 120 million people would lose their current health insurance to a public plan.

Not quite accurate Dean. Just yesterday President Barack Obama told the American Medical Association that people that want to keep their current healthcare plan can keep it. Those that don’t can change to the public plan. They have the choice. Just like members of Congress have with their health plans.

I see Dean has read Frank Luntz’s talking points prepared for the Republican Party’s use in seeking failure of healthcare reform. Luntz’s rules (4) and (5) state:

(4) The arguments against the Democrats’ healthcare plan must center around “politicians,” “bureaucrats,” and “Washington” … not the free market, tax incentives, or competition. Stop talking economic theory and start personalizing the impact of a government takeover of healthcare. They don’t want to hear that you’re opposed to government healthcare because it’s too expensive (any help from the government to lower costs will be embraced) or because it’s anti-competitive (they don’t know about or care about current limits to competition). But they are deathly afraid that a government takeover will lower their quality of care – so they are extremely receptive to the anti-Washington approach. It’s not an economic issue. It’s a bureaucratic issue.

(5) The healthcare denial horror stories from Canada & Co. do resonate, but you have to humanize them. You’ll notice we recommend the phrase “government takeover” rather than “government run” or “government controlled” It’s because too many politician say “we don’t want a government run healthcare system like Canada or Great Britain” without explaining those consequences. There is a better approach. “In countries with government run healthcare, politicians make YOUR healthcare decisions. THEY decide if you’ll get the procedure you need, or if you are disqualified because the treatment is too expensive or because you are too old. We can’t have that in America.”

And as I said previously:

See how it works? This post could be titled The snowing of Americans. Analyze those 10 rules. The effect of those rules are a subtle seduction of the American public away from healthcare reform. They are a modern sophistication of the old day snake oil salesmen. They could be taught at Harvard Business School as “Conning America 101.”

In the days, weeks and months ahead you will hear the right wing Republican conservatives, politicians and pundits, and talking heads repeat repeat those 10 rules over and over and over. Soon you will begin to believe it. Cut out those 10 rules and tape them on your TV monitor and see.

You will be witnessing the sales pitch of big healthcare corporations to hang onto their high business profits. Close your eyes and you will see Mr. Luntz smiling, approvingly, as the Republican leadership scam you out of your healthcare, chuckling all the way to the bank.

True to form, Mr. Heller is more concerned about his fear of taxes than he is about the health of his constituents. He said, “If the federal government begins providing health insurance, your taxes will support that plan regardless of your participation. Such changes disadvantage existing health plans, resulting in fewer individual choices, rationing of care and higher taxes. We cannot ignore the 47 million Americans without health insurance, but, in providing them coverage, our objective should be quality, affordable health care for all.”

He prefers not to “disadvantage existing health plans…rationing of care and higher taxes.” Those “existing health plans” cost you in premiums paid to the healthcare insurance companies. Either way you pay, whether you call it “premiums” or “taxes.”

Go check out Heller’s voting record. Want to trust Heller with your health, or should you trust Obama?

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Update: Desert Beacon, today, expands on the Heller editorial in the Reno Gazette-Journal, with superlative incisive analysis well worth your reading.

Related posts:

1. Beware of Democratic healthcare reform by Dean Heller
2. Republicans Seek Failure of Healthcare Reform
3. Republicans fight healthcare reform
4. Don’t vote for Dean Heller, he is not your health care friend
5. Heller angers constituent