Dear Editor:
Senior Citizens, be very wary. Obama plans 400 BILLION dollars in Medicare cuts.
If this plan is so great for taxpaying American citizens, WHY is it that Congress and Obama refuse to accept the same coverage for Obama, Congress, and their families?
You may now say “goodbye, It’s been good to know ya” to your private health insurance. AND if the government option is approved, employers will likely stop providing health insurance, and force employees to buy from the government.
You will be covered by a plan that is managed in the same manner as Medicaid and Medicare, Veteran’s Administration, and all now run by the Fed. That is really discouraging.
Forget any procedure that is not “cost effective” as ruled by some govt employee.
The poison pill in Obama’s plan is the “public option”, “government option” etc, in which our tax dollars will be used for the government to sell health insurance and in the end, force honest health insurance companies out of business.
No company can survive against tax-funded competition.
There is nothing wrong with improvements, but the President has no business taking over health care and managing it personally for political gain of him and his supporters. Remember his takeover of GM and Chrysler, which was done so Obama could give large percentages of ownership of both companies to the unions? GM- 17 percent. Chrysler- 30 percent GIVEN to unions for nothing.
Look for union health care bailouts under Obama’s plans. Billions wasted politically and for amnesty and free health care for illegals.
Suggested logical improvements to health care
• Allow insurance companies to sell health insurance across state lines.
• Limit insurance company refusal of health insurance because of pre-existing conditions.
• Consider also the fact that NOT ONE of the Congressional/Obama plans to improve health care includes any requirement for Tort Reform. That is, limits on the obscene awards given against doctors for any error. Ask your doctor how much is paid each year for insurance to cover this expense?
• Cooperatives are a good way to go, but Obama and Congress hate that idea.
Consider the success of the Rural Electrical Cooperative Corporation (RECC) in providing electricity for Americans for many decades. We all know them well.
Consider the success of farm supply cooperatives over the years.
Some of these incremental improvements can be done with short, easy to pass, laws.
If this is passed, and you need a procedure not approved by some bureaucrat, it will likely be illegal for you to pay for the procedure
Of the 29 million additional Americans who would get insurance coverage from the Obama plan, almost half (14 million), will have to get their coverage through the welfare programs Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance. In other words, to get insurance, Americans will be required to sign up for welfare.
Warmest Regards,
Claude Barlow
Somerset, Ky.
Letters
We should be wary of Obamacare
letters to the editor
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The Perils of Alcohol
Dear Editor:
The Feb. 1, 2012, front page news of the Commonwealth Journal, read in big, bold letters, ALCOHOL at Eagle’s Nest. -
Reenactment Poorly Planned
Dear Editor:
In response to the article by staff writer Chris Harris concerning the Battle of Mill Springs recently held in your county. I have concerns over the objectivity of the content, particularly with Bill Neikirk’s comments.
I am a living historian and travel from Florida to Virginia taking part in approximately 30 events per year; thus, I do know something of which I speak. -
Rockcastle Hospital responds to article
Dear Editor:
This letter is in response to the article printed January 31, 2012, in the Commonwealth Journal titled “Local Nursing Homes on par with rest of nation.” The article incorrectly noted that the only Kentucky nursing home with zero deficiencies was the Nursing Facility of Hardin Memorial Hospital in Elizabethtown. I would kindly ask you to correct the information to include our facility. -
Western Pulaski Water could communicate better
Dear Editor:
Last weekend, residents of Pulaski County who have “city water” were affected by the countywide boil water advisory. This was the first time I can remember the entire county being under such an advisory. When the accident occurred at the City Water plant last Thursday afternoon, print and broadcast media serving Pulaski County were advised. -
Reader not so happy ban
Dear Editor:
I am writing this letter in response to the recent Somerset city limits Smoking Ban.
I would like to know WHY the city council can stop smoking in nursing homes. The nursing homes are OUR HOME! This is the only home that many nursing home residents have had for many, many years. -
Thank you, city council
Dear Editor:
To say that I had come to believe that I would never see happen in Somerset what came to pass at the most recent Somerset City Council meeting would be an understatement. -
Kentucky children need expanded preschool
To understand why my proposed budget expands access to preschool to 4,000 more Kentucky 4 year olds, it helps to imagine two kindergarten classes arriving for the first day of school.
In one class, the kids are bright-eyed and healthy. They know the alphabet, their numbers, and a little rudimentary math (think basic addition and subtraction). They can even read a little bit, and are able hold a conversation with adults. In short, they’re confident, curious, creative and energetic. They want to learn.
In the other class, the kids are just the opposite. Several have health problems, like tooth aches, asthma and lingering sickness caused by poor nutrition. They’ve never been read to, don’t know either their letters or numbers and can’t spell their names. They’re too timid to interact with their teachers and classmates, show little interest in anything around them and—to summarize—are completely unengaged.
You don’t have to be a kindergarten teacher to predict the outcome of the year: One class will learn, the other will struggle.
When the students enter first grade the following year, the same gap will exist, only it’ll be larger. In later grades, the gap will be larger still.
Barring aggressive intervention, the kids who began their school careers behind are likely to remain behind the rest of their lives.
That’s why getting our youngest children off to a good start—by laying a foundation of good health and cognitive development that enables them to hit the ground running in kindergarten—has been one of my top priorities as governor.
The seeds of learning are planted early in life. Earlier, even, than kindergarten. Scientists say that some 90 percent of physical brain development occurs from birth to age 3.
That’s why we’ve brought health care coverage to nearly 60,000 children whose families didn’t have any.
We’ve improved dental care for tens of thousands of children by increasing the number of dentists who treat children and bringing treatment straight to our classrooms.
We’re aligning our preschool and early care programs around a common definition of kindergarten readiness, one that guides our care workers in preparing our children mentally, physically, emotionally and socially to do the work involved in kindergarten.
And we’re seeking to expand access to preschool to 4,430 of our at-risk 4-year-olds.
My proposed budget for the 2013-2014 biennium—which I presented to the General Assembly on Jan. 17—includes $15 million to expand eligibility to families whose incomes are 160 percent or less of the federal poverty level, up from the current cut-off of 150 percent.
Bu the end of my term, I intend to set eligibility levels at 200 percent or below, which would help us add 3,920 additional children on top of this year’s gain.
Anecdotally, this makes sense.
Statistically, it’s a wise investment.
The Committee for Economic Development -- a national nonprofit, nonpartisan business-led public policy organization -- produced a report funded by the Pew Charitable Trust that studied the benefits of early childhood education. The report found that kids who had access to high-quality preschool were less likely to drop out of school, less likely to commit crimes, earned higher incomes and were healthier.
Consequently, experts say that every dollar spent on preschool programs carries a return on investment that ranges from $2 to $17.
The formula is simple—we can invest in our children early, or we can pay substantially higher costs later for things like remedial school work, basic job training, expanded welfare and prison costs.
If we don’t give kids the best possible start to their education, the bill comes due again, again and again.
Our people—especially our children—are Kentucky’s greatest resource.
To bring transformational change to our state, we must cultivate that resource by making substantial investments in our intellectual infrastructure.
Even in the most wretched financial times, there are certain investments that we cannot ignore.
But this is more than a financial argument. It’s also a moral one.
We owe all of our children—whether they live in our inner cities or our mountain hollows, our suburbs or our farms -- a chance at a promising and productive life.
And that process starts early. -
Act of Kindness Appreciated
Dear Editor:
Santa Claus does not always wear a red suit and a red hat with white fur, neither does he have soot on his clothes from the chimney. -
Subsidies and Socialism
Dear Editor:
Robert Moore is totally wrong about the Black Lung Program. I worked as a disability examiner when Black Lung was enacted. Black Lung was a political boondoggle for buying votes. -
‘What’s a body to do?’
Dear Editor:
My wife and I drive about 60,000 miles a year and we are naturally concernend about gasoline prices.
Retailers say the prices are regulated by the distributors. Distributors say the prices are regulated by the market. - More Letters Headlines
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The Perils of Alcohol






