my letter to sen Hagan on health care

Dear Senator Hagan,

During the campaign, you said it was immoral that there are so many uninsured in America. That's why it's a moral imperative to achieve real health care reform in America. You have publicly expressed concern for the "stability" of the private health care insurance industry: I am asking you today to stand with the people of North Carolina as we call for real health care reform, one that values health care as a right for all Americans.

If you had to choose between a system that kept Americans healthy or one that kept the insurance industry healthy, which would you choose? Most of your constituents would choose the former over the latter. I am not sure why you are not willing to clearly stand with the majority of Democrats in the Senate on this issue--indeed, the few public pronouncements from your office have been vague on this issue. If the concern is that folks would flock to the public option, then why be so concerned for an industry that has consistently delivered poor results at the highest cost of any system in the world? An industry that has had 60 years to address this issue, one that, until recently, chose to compete on the basis of denying coverage to the folks who rely upon them, rather than by providing better services at a lower cost? If private health care coverage is so obviously inferior to any public option, then your response ought to be to support a real public option, not to engage in the equivalent of subsidizing the manufacture of buggy whips.

I understand that you have some investments in the health care industry, but it is my hope that you put the common interest of the people of North Carolina ahead of any financial gain. I would very much like a reply that addresses my concerns, and would also be quite happy to answer any questions about what our system of health insurance is really like for a family that hit the "catastrophic" level in February.

I've been bombarding Senator Hagan with emails, including several on voting for a public option. She's really playing it safe, trying to keep from looking like a "librul". In one of my more recent emails I reminded her that my financial support for her is contingent upon her voting record. For what that's worth.

Thanks for posting this.

Recommend.

Every Democrat in NC is afraid of losing to a Republican. If they keep up like this, they should worry about a primary challenge. It's frustrating. The staffer I talked to at the Washington office gave a pregnant pause when I asked how the calls were running, and indicated that they were mainly coming from folks favoring a public option.

Even conservatives have not been well served by the current system. When 72% of Americans agree, there should be little danger. Plus, this is North Carolina, home not only of folks such as Jesse Helms, but also Terry Sanford.

If Senator Hagan is confused on this issue, then perhaps we need to call her offices, all of them, daily, until she understands that this is probably the most important issue her constituents face, and that this should not be so hard for her.

big campaign donors have a lot of clout. Yesterday I posted about a conversation I had with a friend who is now working for a Blue Dog Dem Senator. Her response to me when I told her to tell him to vote for the public option was: he's getting lots of calls about healthcare. lots of different opinions. And no matter what he might personally like to do he has to think about what happens if he votes against his big campaign donors because he needs their financial backing to keep his seat. Our system is so screwn it's downright disgraceful.

and also made sure he took down my contact info - told him I worked in Pharma for 25 years and understand the pressure they must be putting on her. But she was elected to represent the people, not the special interests pushing money into her pockets!

I guess I need to write one as well and get it out to her.

If Hagan is confused, then clearly she needs help. Be helpful: sincerely ask what you can do to help her make up her mind. Your blah, blah, blah should be better than their blah, blah, blah. If they cannot explain her (non) position to you, then you know you have done your job. It is laughably easy, in this case: Hagan's choice to avoid taking a position is completely nonsensical, unless she expects we are not paying attention. We need to let her know that there's no flying below our radar.

I commend you for writing Senator Hagan and urging her to support single payer. There are too many people claiming that we don't have the votes. That may be true currently, but that is no reason to give up the fight. We need people like you who are willing to work to get more votes from some of the Democrats who currrently don't support single payer. I am glad that you mentioned your own experience with hitting catastrophic in February. It is important to point out that congress people need to see that this is an issue about people primarily and that money shouldn't play a role.