Health Care Reform

Dear Rep. Owens:

As your constituent, I'm writing to tell you why I'm such a strong supporter of health reform.

Although I am writing as a lone constituent, in my professional life serving people with disabilities, I could name hundreds of people just in the North Country alone who suffer from our current irrational "system" of heath care insurance. While many people with disabilities already get coverage through Medicaid and / or Medicare, many others are unable to qualify for these programs or are unable to maintain eligibility without monthly "spend downs" or other financial gymnastics that are truly bizarre when viewed objectively. They are among the millions of Americans who would directly benefit from many of the provisions of the current Heath Care Reform bill.

Since this summer, we have heard intimations and outright claims that people with disabilities and chronically ill people will somehow be hurt by the proposed reforms. These rumors, while wildly inaccurate, unfortunately resonate with many people precisely because they are used to being on the losing end of almost any changes regarding health care. Put another way, if you are in a boat that is taking on water, and you are an inch away from sinking, someone who stands up to try and do something about it will, for a moment, make you afraid that their very action will tip the boat over. Nevertheless, something has to be done. The water continues to rise, and even if it wasn't, it is unacceptable to spend one's life afraid to make any move at all for fear of losing the meager benefits one has. We can't continue to live like this. No actions are going to be perfect, and a few people might even for a time perceive a worsening of their individual situation. But ultimately, we will all benefit from movement towards the principle of universal coverage. Furthermore, failure to act now will have severe political consequences, including lawmakers being frightened once again to try ANYTHING for years, maybe decades to come.

Conversely, a bill like this that brings even mixed results will be amendable, in part because lawmakers will realize that there is room for experimentation and continued work on this issue.

This is something that you can help bring about by voting in favor of the bill.

This is a national issue with local relevance, but it is also one of those rare issues where the implications are, on balance, more important nationally than any purely local considerations.

I beg you to recognize both the immediate benefits and the long-term significance of this rare opportunity, and vote in favor of the Health Care Reform bill.

Sincerely,

Andrew D. Pulrang