1) The "46 million" uninsured number is highly suspect. How Many Americans Are Uninsured? We asked the
Kaiser Foundation what methodology the Census Bureau used to assemble this
number. Kaiser told us over the phone, "We don't know." We discovered that
number is cobbled together from a Census Bureau "survey" of 50,000
households. Some homes are interviewed by telephone and others are visited.
This methodology leaves huge holes in the credibility of the survey and the
endlessly repeated result of 46 million "uninsured."
2) Even using the suspect of the US Census Bureau data -- we discover:
- 21% of the non-insured ARE NOT U.S. CITIZENS. These are not "illegal aliens"
but 9.4 million people living here without citizenship.
- 19.7% (8.9 million) of the non-insured are children under the age of 18 who could be
readily enrolled in existing federal healthcare.
- 16.2% of the non-insured
(7.3 million) are 19 to 24 years old and are the least expensive to insure.
- 39% of the non-insured are under the age of 35.
- 24% of the non-insured make $40,000 per year or more.
- 89% of the non-insured define their health
status as good, very good or excellent. Twenty-seven million say their
health is very good to excellent.
3) There are many ways to solve the "non-insured" problem without
requiring a federal takeover of healthcare. Just look at the numbers.
Twenty-one million non-insured people earn less than $20,000 per year. These
people could be readily enfolded into Medicaid right now taking 46% of the
non-insured problem off the board.
4) Many people believe the government owes them free healthcare. Many
people, earning good money refuse to buy health insurance and "free-ride"
the system if they get into serious medical need.
5) The President's claims that healthcare represents too large a
percentage of spending in America is just plain ridiculous. What right does
the government have to dictate how much healthcare Americans are entitled to
purchase?
6) The healthcare industry is one of the only industries creating jobs in
this down economy and has strong potential to keep creating jobs in the
future. Capping healthcare expenditures will kill American jobs today and
tomorrow.
7) There are only two ways government healthcare systems can control
costs. The first is by reducing payments to doctors, hospitals and
caregivers. The second is by rationing healthcare. There is no government
model anywhere that has found any other way to control healthcare costs.
8) The American people could voluntarily reduce healthcare costs by doing
two simple things: lose weight and quit smoking. This would immediately
reduce rising costs. If people don't take better care of themselvesÑthen
NOTHING the government does will stop spiraling costs. Why won't the
President and Speaker Pelosi tell Americans these inconvenient truths?
9) The federal government already covers 100 million Americans with
healthcare. Sixty million are in Medicaid, the federal plan for low-income
earners and children. Forty million are enrolled in Medicare, the federal
insurance plan for elderly Americans. Medicaid and Medicare are both BROKE.
If the government cannot run those programs well, why should we give them
another 160 million for private healthcare policies to mess up?
10) The President and the Speaker don't want a full public debate on
healthcare. They have not placed a bill on the table for anyone to review.
They have already cut a back-room deal to prevent full hearings in the
Senate. Why? Because they know the facts in this letter alone will blow up
their planned takeover of the system. They are afraid of the truth.
Continue reading: Has universal health care in other countries succeeded at saving lives and lowering costs?
