Amber Peltier: Uncovering the Truth Behind the Lies

I was talking to my grandmother recently, and she told me she had received a phone call informing her that under the proposed health care reform she would be cut from her Medicaid and left to die. Needless to say, I was appalled by what she was told. I couldn’t believe how low some people would go to keep health care reform from happening. At the same time I wondered what other lies are floating around out there.

Among the most popular lies being told to seniors about reform right now are that it will cut Medicaid, or that health care reforms will put government bureaucracy between you and your doctor. These myths are nothing but scare tactics put out there to kill health care reform.

The truth is that at least 6.9 million more Americans will be uninsured in 2010. Every week that we fail to enact comprehensive health care reform, 44,230 more Americans lose their health insurance. By 2019, the average family premium will skyrocket from $13,150 to $22,440. Health care reform will reduce waste and fraud in Medicare, not cut benefits or coverage for America’s seniors.

President Obama has asserted that any health care reform will maintain Medicaid benefits. And insurance companies are the ones who ration health care by denying coverage for those with pre-existing conditions and refusing to cover certain treatments. Insurance companies also charge higher premiums based on the applicant’s health status. If that’s not rationing health care, then I don’t know what is.

Here’s hoping that the people of North Dakota will use their better judgment and see through the fear tactics that opponents of health care reform are using to kill it.

Amber Peltier
Grand Forks