Taking Action on Healthcare Reform - "Open Letter to Senator Bill Nelson"As one of your constituents who recently received your latest newsletter on Taking Action On Healthcare Reform, I could not believe that you are continuing to march to the orders and machinations of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Obama regarding the affects the Public Option Healthcare legislation will have on the American people, especially senior citizens and the permanently infirmed. I'd like to think of myself as a fairly intelligent individual who has not only written legislation on the state and local level, but one who knows how to read legislation. Just this one time, please stop playing politics with the leadership in the House and Senate, as well as, the administration in the White House, and represent the best interest of a majority of your constituency. I would venture to guess that most of the seniors in Southeast Florida (and elsewhere) who voted for President Obama are now having second thoughts about his Presidency, and how he plans to "Change" the nature of democracy. Not only as it pertains to healthcare, but on other legislation he plans to propose. The President has said that, "the healthcare plan will not add one dollar to the current deficit". Is he being truthful? Maybe, since it is his plan to fund the increased cost of healthcare to all Americans by reducing the benefits in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The Congressional Budget Office has said repeatedly that the current legislation will result in a $500 million reduction in Medicare benefits as a result of the proposed legislation. He says he will eliminate fraud and abuse in the Medicare/Medicaid programs. That is something the Congress can do right now with stricter enforcement of the law. I ask that your staff check with the Medicare Trust Fund managers to ascertain just how few enforcement officers they have on staff in Washington and at regional offices. You must demand that enforcement against actual fraud be handled in the same way we went after insurance fraud cases. Have staff call me and I will be glad to inform them how it was done. Mr. Obama regards "abuse" in the Medicare program as too many seniors seeing too many doctors, too often, as well as, too many doctors ordering up too many tests to insure that they have not missed a possible Medicare problem because of potential civil liability. If you and the other members of the Congress will forget about the campaign contributions from the trial lawyers and institute tort reform, I am sure that the doctors will ease up on testing procedures and surgical procedures. A win-win for everyone. There are so many ways of instituting healthcare reform without enacting the Pelosi/Obama legislation. AARP has sold out its membership basis by "going to bed" with the President on healthcare. They are paying the price for this with thousands of cancelled memberships, with another 39 million to go. Pharmaceutical companies have agreed to endorse the Obama healthcare legislation based on his commitment to increase regulatory control over generic medications and the prohibition against obtaining drugs through Canada. If I am wrong, show me where. I have generally felt that you have represented Florida well in the past, in spite of the fact that you are a Democrat, but the true test of your statesmanship is before you now. There are a lot of people in Florida (more than you know) that oppose the current healthcare plan. Please be guided accordingly. - Paul J. Marino, Belleair Beach
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