It's time to give the American people an up or down vote on reform.

Allow me to thank those legislators and supporters that have fought for changes in the health care system and are supporting the President in providing coverage opportunities for the millions of uninsured Americans. The President has made every effort to pursue reform in a bi-partisan manner.

The President's proposal increases insurance protections for consumers and small businesses, adds greater regulation and explores possibilities for tort reform.

Under the plan President Obama is working to get through Congress, insurers will no longer be allowed to punish patients who are already unfortunate enough to have a pre-existing condition.

The health care system has already hiked premiums as much as 39 percent. This is in spite of the projection that over 10 years the President's plan would plop billions into insurance companies in the form of subsidies given to those who can't afford to buy health insurance on their own. It is time to say enough is enough.

The people of America will not stand for these abuses any longer. We need a fair health insurance system and we need it now.

Jacquelyn L. Fuqua

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I almost died as a result of government run health care. I was given a drug to control diabetes that put me into heart failure. It was standard protocol but contraindicated for people with heart problems. I was also diagnosed with heart problems. When I finally got to a Nashville VA Hospital I was told I would not survive the drive home. That is 2 hours, folks. My uncle died in the Care of the VA. Many people in Murfreesboro were exposed to Aids by government run health care. I have received excellent care from the VA in Nashville because they, unlike others, really care about their patients. Quality health care depends on the patients following orders and caring professionals who take an interest in their patients, not government policies. Obama’s solutions do not join these issues, and they really scare me.

Rey Beardsley

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With all due respect, Ms. Fuqua, I am not accustomed to buying big-ticket items--like houses or cars--without knowing exactly what they are, how much they are going to cost me, and I am given the chance to read the fine print and do my own unbiased research before I give someone my hard-earned money.

The problem with the health care bill is that we have seen very little of this now estimated 2700 page monstrosity. My gut feeling is that if it contains that many pages, then someone had better be reading it with a magnifying glass. Unfortunately, I am getting no assurances of that from Ms. Pelosi and company that anyone is actually paying attention to the fine print or has calculated the financial impact of this bill on the rapidly growing deficit.

What we have seen is: 1) There will be changes in Medicare Advantage programs before the bill is implemented in four years. 2) We immediately will begin paying higher taxes over the next four years to fund a health insurance program we won't have. 3) They are now trying to include student aid in the bill, which requires the federal government to originate all student loans (shades of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). 4) Medical devices used in operations and other procedures will carry fees and taxes--and this saves us money how? 5) We will see company- and union-sponsored health plans jettisoned in favor of a government-run program, since businesses would rather pay a minor per-employee penalty than to keep funding health insurance for them. 6) According to economists, we will see similar financial savings and successes in this program that we have seen in Medicare, Social Security, VA, Indian Affairs, and like government-sponsored programs--none, zilch, nada. 7) In order for the program to work, the government is demanding everyone buy health insurance coverage. If you don't buy health insurance, the IRS will tax you for this failure come April 15. Anyone else see this as blatantly unconstitutional? 8) This bill does nothing to solve private-sector unemployment. One of the reasons we have fewer people with health insurance at this moment is because we have no jobs. Insurance rates go up when there are fewer people in a health insurance pool, which is now the case across the country. 9) This health care bill establishes a huge federal bureaucracy to administer the programs--it does nothing to solve private sector unemployment. 10) The bill provides for a "medical home" primary health care provider. Under the program, this may be a nurse practitioner (or a "gatekeeper)--who will determine whether you even get to see a doctor or not. 11) It provides grants to community entities-with no documented health care qualifications-to serve as experts in various health-related programs. 12) It establishes racial and ethnic preferences in awarding grants for training nurses and creating secondary-school health science programs. 13) It initiates programs to reduce payments for patient care to what it costs in the lowest-cost regions of the country (can you hear physicians closing up shop all around the country?). And there is more-lots more-that we know-and lots that we do not know-about this bill.

But don't let this stop us. As Speaker of the House Pelosi so eloquently put it, "We have to pass the [health care] bill so that you can find out what is in it." What?

They are trying to convince us to buy into yet another federal government pig in a poke--not genuine health care reform. Everyone-yes, even Republicans and Independents-wants health care reform. Although some people continue to refer to the Republicans as the party of "No," I prefer to call them the party of "Whoa." In case you haven't noticed, the deficit is piling up by the minute under the present administration, and each tick of the clock brings more and more debt for us and our grandchildren to be saddled with. There is absolutely no reason for us not to "whoa" down and do it right the first time, instead of settling for yet another partisan-pushed program filled to overflowing with unpredicted costs and unintended consequences.

In other words, Ms. Fuqua, before we buy this horse and take it home, every American citizen should be given the opportunity to examine his teeth.

Mya Lane

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Rey, I'm sorry, I really don't understand your response against "government run health care." You state that the government (VA) gave you a medication that endangered you, so you went to a VA facility, where they saved your life. Then you brag about the VA facility in Nashville that saved your life. Are you against "government run health care", or just against the Murfreesboro VA center?

You then state that good health care is reliant upon the patient being aware of what is occurring and the medical personnel that care for the individual being treated. You brag about the individuals working at the VA facility in Nashville, which is "government run health care." I'm curious, are you using "Medi-Care" also, which is also "government run health care?"

The facts with the current health bill going through Congress are that it has absolutely nothing to do with the government running your personal health care. This bill ensures that you will be able to purchase insurance without prior health problems denying you coverage. Your personal insurance company, as now, will be the ones running your health care. The insurance companies will have a harder time arbitrarily increasing your payments also.

Were it "government run health control", the bill would have the "public-option" added to it. President Obama, when campaigning for President, and since taking office, has opposed the "public-option" being included. This current bill does not have the "public-option" added in.

By the way, if you are on Medi-Care/Medi-Aid, this bill also closes the do-nut hole in you current medication purchases, and allows the government to shop for lower prescription prices, like it does for the VA. That should have been included in the program to start with.

The drawbacks to this program are, naturally, the cost. The problem is that doing nothing will only cost everyone more. Health care, left unfettered, will bankrupt our nation unless something is done. In the meantime, the people we have elected to represent us in Washington are playing politics with our lives. It's time to "put up, or shut up." Give us an up or down vote.

Rod Dagnan
Chattanooga

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Mya Lane sure seems to know a lot about what's in the new health care bill for someone who admittedly doesn't know what's in the new health care bill.

Sounds like the same old Republican talking points which have led us nowhere. The complaint that premiums are increasing due to less people in the pool is a valid one and would be addressed by a public option, which the Republicans fought hard to prevent.

I think my favorite complaint was this one: "This bill does nothing to solve private-sector unemployment." Should it? It is a health care bill, after all, and not the jobs bill (which all but six House Republicans also opposed).

Yes, the Republicans have indeed become the party of "No." They offer no solutions, but only opposition to whatever plans the President proposes. And people wonder why nothing seems to ever get done in Washington? The President was elected on the promise of change, and yet the Republicans keep fighting hard to retain the status quo, as if doing nothing is going to make things better. Perhaps they'll start calling themselves the "Do Nothing" party.

One good thing has come out of all of this. It is refreshing to see Republicans finally concerned about the deficit and spending. It seems that President Obama has accomplished in one year what George W. Bush couldn't do in the previous eight.

Bret Douglas
bretdouglas@live.com

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This bill mandates that we, the tax payer, fund the murder of innocent babies. How about that to wake up your conscience to a portion of what this horrific health care overhaul is all about? I say no way. May the down vote win.

Margaret McConnell
Chattanooga