08/16/2017
WHY SENATOR MURKOWSKI OF ALASKA VOTED NO
I emailed several key Senators previous to the vote on the stealthily conceived health care bill formulated by McConnell's secret committee. That vote was taken on July 25th, and of course we all know the results.
We are not a Democracy, we are a Constitutional Republic. The gist of that is we elect representatives to help us live in a "civilized" state of being. Secrecy in activities in this body is not compatible with a harmonious existence as a country.
In any case I received an email back from Lisa Murkowski, well not from her personally, although she did sign it, I think. Her response or basically the generic response her office put out with respect to inquiries about the Senate amendment to the new Health Care Bill, was thoughtful and pragmatic. Let me share some of it with you and please feel free to respond.
She thanks me for contacting her and for my input. Then she explained that people she has heard from many people in her state and from all walks of life.
"I have heard from fishermen who cannot afford the coverage they have, small business owners who can’t afford to purchase insurance at all, and families whose premiums have tripled since the Affordable
Care Act (ACA) was enacted."
She also added:
"I have also heard from many Alaskans who have gained access to coverage for the first time in their life under the ACA. For example, in late 2015 there were less than 5,000 Alaskans covered through the expansion of Medicaid. Today there are nearly 35,000. Further, many with pre-existing conditions have found hope and coverage through the individual market even as Alaskans’ choices of insurance providers have dwindled. These Alaskans have shared their anxiety with me and their fear that their personal situation may be made worse under the proposals recently considered by Congress."
In the very next paragraph she continues:
"I firmly believe that their anxiety was amplified by the lack of a meaningful public process in Congress. One of my greatest concerns with the direction of health care reform is that the bills the Senate put forth did not go through an open, transparent committee process where ideas could be vetted and an opportunity for a bipartisan consensus could emerge. Quite frankly, the process that took place in the Senate too often was one-sided and secretive, and went far beyond the scope of the ACA."
I found this paragraph an interesting part:
"In a series of proposals we were faced with questions such as whether fundamental changes should be made in the Medicaid program and whether Planned Parenthood should be excluded from billing non-abortion related services to Medicaid. The fundamental question of how to make health insurance affordable, or decrease the overall cost of care for working Alaskans frankly became lost during the debate."
Basically telling her constituents that the overall purpose of reforming health care is not about attacking organizations like Planned Parenthood or Medicaid as a whole, it's about making health insurance affordable to decreasing the cost of care.
She begins to conclude her letter by telling us:
"Ultimately, I voted no on the health care proposal that came before the Senate largely because I believe that both sides of the aisle must do better and contribute to reforms that can be lasting."
Working with both sides of the isle is imperative. She then wraps up by saying:
"I am pleased that this September we will immediately tackle this challenge in the appropriate forum. The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP), of which I am a member, will begin hearings on a path forward to stabilize the individual market, bring down premiums and reduce the regulatory burden of the ACA."
Thank you Senator Murkowski for doing your job well and not kowtowing to those with an alternative agenda.
