Issue Position: Healthcare

Issue Position

Alaskans making decisions about healthcare, rather than bureaucrats making those decisions.

Wise consumers use insurance to help offset risks that they could not afford to bear on their own. No one can afford to be insured for every possible risk in life, but we should be free to buy whatever type of insurance we determine that we need. Rules that force us to buy insurance plans that are bloated with government mandates are unfair and costly. In fact, requirements that we purchase health insurance are also unfair.

National Healthcare and Alaska
Farm bills are not about "carrots" and the Washington healthcare bill is not about "health". Both are about money and power. Taking and controlling more money and power. Some in Wahsington are now trying to impose what health you may have and how it will be taxed.

For Alaskans, this will mean less control over what healthcare we can choose and when we can receive it. Our district has citizens from all walks of life - seniors on fixed incomes to wealthy executives in multi-million dollar homes.

It will be the duty of every elected Alaskan to protect and defend against this assault on our freedom and liberty.

I understand this and plan to defend your freedoms.

The US Supreme Court has, by a 5-4 vote, determined that the national legislation is a constitutional tax on citizens. I am stunned by this crippling blow on our liberty, the incredible costs this will mean for businesses and the damage to our healthcare system!

Healthcare mandate and increase in National Debt
Just after passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (HR3490), the US Congress continues to increase our national debt ceiling to $15 trillion. Cost projections for the PPACA legislation are about $1.05 trillion for the House version and $871 billion for the Senate version.

The bill contains 12 new taxes and 6 tax increases that will be taken from us all...at least the people who actually pay taxes.

The increase in the national debt ceiling is not even enough to cover the massive cost of the "Healthcare" legislation. So there will be significant cuts in Medicare benefits, as one cost cutting measure. This will put our Medicare beneficiaries in Alaska even further away from the healthcare they need.

A Rasmussen national survey shows that 55% of Americans were opposed to this "healthcare" legislation. In Alaska, Dittman Research found that 57% of Alaskans opposed the legislation. Among healthcare providers, Dittman found that 90% opposed passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Those who praise this legislation as beneficial to Alaskans must think we are really uninformed and unintelligent.

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