My 7yo daughter had a Vet’s day assembly at her elementary school last Wednesday. I really didn’t want to go but she wanted me to so I went. I just didn’t want to receive a bunch of undo attention for having served in the USAF. I am proud of serving my country but don’t feel like I did anything extraordinary (I fixed radios & radars) and didn’t want to be lauded with any accolades. I served during the Gulf War (Desert Storm & Shield) but did not get deployed. I wanted to go but ended up staying behind at Griffiss AFB in upstate NY.
Anyway, I went and watched my daughter sing and I only had to stand once when the Air Force vets were asked to stand to be acknowledged. Pretty painless. The assembly was cute and the Taps played at the end by two young trumpeteers was kinda touching. There was one surprise for me though in that my congressman, John Boccieri was there to give a speech. I wouldn’t have thought that he would have time for such a small assembly but I was pleased he was there. I had some questions.
After the assembly the vets and their kids went to the cafeteria for cookies and punch. Fortunately John Boccieri was also there. Here was my chance. I had helped vote him in as congressman for the 16th district of Ohio in 2008 and knew that he was also an Air Force vet. He flew C-130s in Iraq and Afghanistan. That’s not why I voted for him. Well, not the only reason. A bigger reason was that he was a Democrat and my district had been under the Republican control of Ralph Regula for 36 years. Luckily, Regula finally retired.
So I had my cookies and got my picture taken with my daughter then I decided to talk to him. I wanted to know why he voted “No” on H.R. 3962 (the current healthcare bill). I knew that another Ohio congressman (Dennis Kucinich) that I have only the up-most respect for had also voted “No” on the bill. I read on his web-site the reasons why. Kucinich pointed out that the very same industries (health insurers & pharmaceuticals) that have caused the crisis with health care we currently have will be in effect given even more power and control. The current bill would force Americans to sign up with them or pay a fine. The bill will also taking funding away from Medicare. The public option in the bill has been diluted to the point of being pointless and the rights of states to pursue a single-payer plan have been stripped out of the bill.
I want a healthcare bill pushed through. I have been an advocate for a new health care system in this country for a long time. I don’t understand why we are the only industrialized nation on Earth that still runs a strictly for-profit, health-care system. I have two elderly parents that have many medical conditions that affect my entire family almost daily. I have seen the way the health-care system works first hand. My mother is often pushed out of facilities much earlier than she should be because her insurance coverage runs out. The doctor’s always say that it has nothing to do with the insurance and that they have final say. I am just always amazed at the coincidence that my mother always makes a miraculous recovery on the very same days that the insurance stops paying. The nurses and other doctors not directly involved with the determination tell you the truth and point the fingers at the insurance companies. As it is now, the insurance companies make the final determination of what will be paid for and therefore what care a patient will receive. Doctors don’t like to perform costly procedures they know they won’t be reimbursed for so patients often do not receive the full care the need.
So I met my congressman. He was very friendly and did not seem rushed at all. He asked what I had done in the Air Force and I told him. I then looked him in the eye and asked him why he voted “No” on H.R. 3962. He told me that he believed it gave too much control to the insurance companies and that he didn’t think funding to Medicare need to be cut to get a healthcare bill passed. I agreed with him and told him that I know there is a lot of pressure from the left to get any bill passed that has the words “Health Care” in the title and I was glad that he stood on his principles. I told him our healthcare definitely needs to be fixed but I want it done the right way. He said he is confident it will get done. I then let him know I was a supporter of his and he would get my vote again.
My daughter and I then finished our cookies and walked home. She got to meet her congressman too although she was not nearly as impressed about it as I was.
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