[Donnageddon]

I have literally dozens of family members in Canada (cousins, uncles aunts, etc) and NONE of them would trade their healthcare system for one dependent on their employers providing it (and thus losing it when unemployed for any reason) or going personally bankrupt when a major medical issue arises in the family (with insurance or not).

This is not even considering the current US insurance industry practice of rejecting people with pre-existing conditions. Let alone the fact that the insurance industry is just sucking off billions of dollars from the American economy and providing nothing of value.

The lies propagated by the right wing fringe and insurance industry in this debate is astoundingly horrific.

There is NOTHING in the bills making the rounds in congress that willl:

- force anyone to join the public option. It is an OPTION. If you are satisfied with your insurance. you keep it.
- Death Panels. This is such an outlandish lie, it borders on criminal. The section of the House bill concerns reimbursement for VOLUNTARY CONSULTATIONS with a doctor for end of life planning, such as living will, medical power of attorney (given to a relative). My mother who passed away recently had a living will, and I can not say how important it was, and how thankful we are she had one (let alone how happy she was to know her wished would be carried out) To turn this into Death Panels run by the government is a damnable lie!

- rationing healthcare

- National ID cards ( the links in the many fringe spam emails try to describe the card used for the OPTIONAL public insurance)

- government access to your bank accounts, or any of the other nonsensical claims the wingnut fringe is trying to scare gullible Americans with.

And if anyone cares to provide a complete quote (from a bill not a wingnut website or talk radio host or spam email) that shows that any of this in the reform bills out there, post it. I would love to see it.

I am so sick of the distortions and lies about this desperately needed healthcare reform I could scream.

It is time for us to join the rest of the civilized world and get reasonable healthcare coverage for all. And get the Insurance Industry out of our pockets and stop them from obstructing the decisions made between you and your doctor. insurance companies are required to make a profit for their stockholders, and the best way they have to accomplish that is by denying YOU healthcare. And they make LOTS of profits.

And currently when a person ends up in an emergency room because he has no insurance we pay for it with taxes and increased health premiums. That is horrendously expensive, both due the the expense of emergency room treatment, and that preemptive care (regular access to a primary care physician) is much more cost effective, and obviously has much better health outcomes.

The Healthcare reform planned now will lower costs, increase availability for everyone (and lessen the worry of losing healthcare due to job loss, or even denial of health insurance due to pre-existing conditions). And best of all for if you like the insurance you have now you can keep it.

How can you argue with that? Only with distortions and irrationality.

And we obviously have an ample supply of that out there.