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This is a list of all reps that
voted for Obamacare.
Lets make sure this is their last term in office, even the republican.
Next we will see
how many of the Senators will sell us out, so we can help put them out also.
Neil Abercrombie D HI-1
Gary L. Ackerman
D NY-5
Robert E. Andrews D NJ-1
Michael Arcuri D NY-24
Xavier Becerra D CA-31
Howard L. Berman D CA-28
Marion
Berry D AR-1
Sanford D. Bishop Jr. D GA-2
Earl Blumenauer D OR-3
Leonard L. Boswell D IA-3
Corrine Brown D FL-3
Robert
A. Brady D PA-1
Tammy Baldwin D WI-2
Shelley Berkley D NV-1
Joe Baca D CA-43
Timothy H. Bishop D NY-1
G. K.
Butterfield D NC-1
Melissa Bean D IL-8
Bruce Braley D IA-1
James E. Clyburn D SC-6
John Conyers Jr. D MI-14
Jim
Cooper D TN-5
Jerry F. Costello D IL-12
Elijah E. Cummings D MD-7
Lois Capps D CA-23
Michael E. Capuano D MA-8
Joseph
Crowley D NY-7
William Lacy Clay D MO-1
Dennis Cardoza D CA-18
Jim Costa D CA-20
Russ Carnahan D MO-3
Emanuel
Cleaver II D MO-5
Henry Cuellar D TX-28
Christopher Carney D PA-10
Kathy Castor D FL-11
Yvette Clarke D NY-11
Steve
Cohen D TN-9
Joe Courtney D CT-2
André Carson D IN-7
Gerald E. Connolly D VA-11
Anh Cao R LA-2
Judy Chu D CA-32
Danny
K. Davis D IL-7
Peter A. DeFazio D OR-4
Diana DeGette D CO-1
Bill Delahunt D MA-10
Rosa DeLauro D CT-3
Norman
D. Dicks D WA-6
John D. Dingell D MI-15
Lloyd Doggett D TX-25
Mike Doyle D PA-14
Susan A. Davis D CA-53
Joe
Donnelly D IN-2
Kathy Dahlkemper D PA-3
Steve Driehaus D OH-1
Eliot L. Engel D NY-17
Anna G. Eshoo D CA-14
Bob
Etheridge D NC-2
Keith Ellison D MN-5
Brad Ellsworth D IN-8
Donna Edwards D MD-4
Sam Farr D CA-17
Chaka Fattah
D PA-2
Bob Filner D CA-51
Barney Frank D MA-4
Bill Foster D IL-14
Marcia L. Fudge D OH-11
Gene Green D TX-29
Luis
V. Gutierrez D IL-4
Charlie Gonzalez D TX-20
Raúl M. Grijalva D AZ-7
Al Green D TX-9
Gabrielle Giffords D AZ-8
Alan
Grayson D FL-8
John Garamendi D CA-10
Jane Harman D CA-36
Alcee L. Hastings D FL-23
Maurice D. Hinchey D NY-22
Rubén
Hinojosa D TX-15
Steny H. Hoyer D MD-5
Baron P. Hill D IN-9
Rush Holt D NJ-12
Michael M. Honda D CA-15
Brian
Higgins D NY-27
John Hall D NY-19
Phil Hare D IL-17
Mazie K. Hirono D HI-2
Paul W. Hodes D NH-2
Debbie Halvorson
D IL-11
Martin Heinrich D NM-1
Jim Himes D CT-4
Jay Inslee D WA-1
Steve Israel D NY-2
Sheila Jackson-Lee D
TX-18
Eddie Bernice Johnson D TX-30
Jesse L. Jackson Jr. D IL-2
Hank Johnson D GA-4
Paul E. Kanjorski D PA-11
Marcy
Kaptur D OH-9
Patrick J. Kennedy D RI-1
Dale E. Kildee D MI-5
Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick D MI-13
Ron Kind D WI-3
Steve
Kagen D WI-8
Ron Klein D FL-22
Ann Kirkpatrick D AZ-1
Mary Jo Kilroy D OH-15
Sander M. Levin D MI-12
John Lewis
D GA-5
Zoe Lofgren D CA-16
Nita M. Lowey D NY-18
Barbara Lee D CA-9
John B. Larson D CT-1
Jim Langevin D RI-2
Rick
Larsen D WA-2
Stephen F. Lynch D MA-9
Daniel Lipinski D IL-3
Dave Loebsack D IA-2
Ben Ray Lujan D NM-3
Carolyn
B. Maloney D NY-14
Edward J. Markey D MA-7
Carolyn McCarthy D NY-4
Jim McGovern D MA-3
Jim McDermott D WA-7
George
Miller D CA-7
Alan B. Mollohan D WV-1
James P. Moran D VA-8
John P. Murtha D PA-12
Gregory W. Meeks D NY-6
Dennis
Moore D KS-3
Betty McCollum D MN-4
Kendrick B. Meek D FL-17
Michael H. Michaud D ME-2
Brad Miller D NC-13
Gwen
Moore D WI-4
Doris Matsui D CA-5
Jerry McNerney D CA-11
Harry E. Mitchell D AZ-5
Patrick J. Murphy D PA-8
Christopher
S. Murphy D CT-5
Dan Maffei D NY-25
Jerrold Nadler D NY-8
Richard E. Neal D MA-2
Grace F. Napolitano D CA-38
James
L. Oberstar D MN-8
David R. Obey D WI-7
John W. Olver D MA-1
Solomon P. Ortiz D TX-27
Bill Owens D NY-23
Frank
Pallone D NJ-6
Bill Pascrell Jr. D NJ-8
Ed Pastor D AZ-4
Donald M. Payne D NJ-10
Nancy Pelosi D CA-8
Earl Pomeroy
D ND-1
David E. Price D NC-4
Ed Perlmutter D CO-7
Gary Peters D MI-9
Chellie Pingree D ME-1
Jared Polis D CO-2
Tom
Perriello D VA-5
Mike Quigley D IL-5
Nick J. Rahall II D WV-3
Charles B. Rangel D NY-15
Silvestre Reyes D TX-16
Steven
R. Rothman D NJ-9
Lucille Roybal-Allard D CA-34
Bobby L. Rush D IL-1
Ciro D. Rodriguez D TX-23
C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger
D MD-2
Tim Ryan D OH-17
Laura Richardson D CA-37
Loretta Sanchez D CA-47
Robert C. Scott D VA-3
José E. Serrano
D NY-16
Brad Sherman D CA-27
Louise M. Slaughter D NY-28
Adam Smith D WA-9
Vic Snyder D AR-2
John M. Spratt
Jr. D SC-5
Pete Stark D CA-13
Bart Stupak D MI-1
Jan Schakowsky D IL-9
Adam B. Schiff D CA-29
Linda T. Sanchez
D CA-39
David Scott D GA-13
John Salazar D CO-3
Allyson Y. Schwartz D PA-13
Albio Sires D NJ-13
John Sarbanes
D MD-3
Joe Sestak D PA-7
Carol Shea-Porter D NH-1
Zack Space D OH-18
Betty Sutton D OH-13
Jackie Speier D CA-12
Mark
Schauer D MI-7
Kurt Schrader D OR-5
Bennie Thompson D MS-2
John F. Tierney D MA-6
Edolphus Towns D NY-10
Mike
Thompson D CA-1
Niki Tsongas D MA-5
Dina Titus D NV-3
Paul Tonko D NY-21
Nydia M. Velázquez D NY-12
Peter J.
Visclosky D IN-1
Chris Van Hollen D MD-8
Maxine Waters D CA-35
Melvin Watt D NC-12
Henry A. Waxman D CA-30
Robert
Wexler D FL-19
Lynn Woolsey D CA-6
Anthony Weiner D NY-9
David Wu D OR-1
Diane Watson D CA-33
Debbie Wasserman
Schultz D FL-20
Tim Walz D MN-1
Peter Welch D VT-1
Charlie Wilson D OH-6
John Yarmuth D KY-3
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"It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous
that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are
promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man who knows what the law is today can guess what it will be to-morrow."
--James Madison (likely), Federalist No. 62, 1788
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of
Officers to harass our People, and eat out their substance
The rights of the individuals are restricted only to the extent that
they have been voluntarily surrendered by the citizenship to the
agencies of government.
City of Dallas v Mitchell, 245 S.W. 944
__._,_.___
JOIN CALIFORNIA ANIMAL VOTERS ALLIANCE at www.cavotersalliance.com It's time to VOTE OUT those politicians that bend to special interests rather than uphold the State Constitution.
Call (712) 432-8595 Press Option 7 for Call to Action Alerts ********************************************************************** "You
should not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of
the wrongs it would do and the harm it would cause if improperly administered." Lyndon Johnson, 36th President of the
U.S.
September 15, 2009
Understanding the Cause of Health Care InflationBy Andrew Foy and Brenton Stransky
"This is one of those cases in which the imagination
is baffled by the facts." - Adam Smith
Health care inflation
is a topic that lends itself to considerable demagoguery and "straw men arguments" from the left,
where it is often attributed to capitalism and the free market. Their solution: more regulation and the creation of a massive
new government entitlement program to provide every American with "comprehensive" health insurance. Unfortunately, this solution
will only exacerbate health care inflation as it completely ignores the major causes of the problem -- rising
government health care expenditures and increased regulation.
In
a new policy review prepared for the Commonwealth Foundation Laffer, Arduin, and Winegarden
describe how the government's involvement in the health care system has resulted in:
"[A] large and growing health care wedge
- an economic separation of effort from reward, of consumers (patients) from producers (health care providers), caused by
government policies...The wedge is a primary driver in rising health care costs, i.e., inflation in medical costs."
Before the advent of Medicare and Medicaid
and the HMO Act of 1973, the private sector funded over three quarters of the country's health care expenditures, individuals
paid nearly one-half of total costs out-of-pocket and health care inflation was in-line with the consumer price index (CPI).
The introduction of these government insurance
programs in 1967 fundamentally changed the way health care was purchased. As the government began
to insert more regulation over the health care market and cover a growing percentage of health care spending, total out-of-pocket
expenditures fell. Today, out-of-pocket expenses account for only 1/10 of total health care expenses.
The HMO Act of 1973 provided grants and loans
to provide, start, or expand a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO); removed certain state restrictions for federally qualified
HMOs; and required employers with 25 or more employees to offer federally certified HMO options. The Act gave HMOs greater
access to the employer-based market, providing for the rapid expansion of HMOs and was synergistic with Medicare and Medicaid
in decreasing out-of-pocket expenses.
In addition, state regulations have increased
and now require health insurance companies to cover a ridiculous range of health care services including but not limited to:
acupuncture, breast reduction, contraceptives, dieticians, drug abuse treatment, hair prosthesis, in vitro fertilization,
massage therapy, etc. and this has had a profound effect on health care inflation. All these policies have had the net effect
of changing the way Americans pay for health care services, by precipitating the change from catastrophic medical insurance
to "comprehensive" health care coverage.
When a third party pays
the cost of routine health care services, consumers become insensitive to prices, quality, and choice of care setting. Individuals
respond to lower cost-sharing (more comprehensive coverage) by utilizing more care, as well as more
expensive care because they do not face the full price of their decisions at the point of utilization.
The RAND Health Insurance Experiment provides a case study on how "comprehensive" health insurance leads
to the over utilization of health care services and thus, health care inflation. In the RAND study, health insurance coverage
was randomly assigned to individuals and subsequent health outcomes were compared across experimental groups. These groups
were assigned health insurance with varying levels of coverage or cost-sharing. The RAND experiment found NO significant effect
of the level of benefit coverage on various measures of health status for the average adult however, total health care spending
increased significantly as benefit coverage increased.
The lesson from the RAND experiment is that
providing "comprehensive" care leads to the over utilization of health care services without providing any real health benefits.
This lesson should inform policymakers as they move aggressively on health care reform. Has it? Of course not. According to
Michael Tanner of the CATO Institute:
"Under Section 59(B)(a) of HR3200, the
bill making its way through the House, and Section 151 of the bill that passed out of a Senate committee, every American would
be required to buy health insurance. And not just any insurance: to qualify, a plan would have to meet
certain government-defined standards. For example, under Section 122(b) of the House bill, all plans must cover hospitalization;
outpatient hospital and clinic services; services by physicians and other health professionals, as well as supplies and equipment
incidental to their services; prescription drugs, rehabilitation services, mental health and substance-abuse treatment; preventive
services (to be determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Preventive Services Task
Force); and maternity, well-baby, and well-child care, as well as dental, vision, and hearing services for children under
age 21."
The following figure taken from Laffer et al.
relates medical price inflation to out-of-pocket spending on health care services. As the figure demonstrates, when expenditures
that are covered by either the government or the insurance company increase relative to national health expenditures, medical
price inflation accelerates. When these expenditures fall relative to national health expenditures, medical price inflation slows. According to the authors, accelerating medical inflation
is strongly correlated with a growing separation (wedge) in the medical market between doctors and patients created by third
parties. Reform policies that increase this separation, such as those reforms based on President Obama's priorities, can be
expected to increase medical price inflation.
 If one doubts the effect that government policies
have on health care inflation, they need only to consider that health care costs are rising as a percentage of gross domestic
product (GDP) all over the world - not just the United States. Hagist and Kotlikoff studied the growth in health care spending for 10 developed countries
over the time period 1970 - 2002. The authors found that:
"Government health care expenditures have grown
much more rapidly than the economy in all developed countries. Between 1970 and 2002 these expenditures per capita grew at
almost twice the rate of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in 10 countries studied: Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany,
Japan, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States."
Other countries that provide "comprehensive"
health insurance to their citizens only spend less relative to the US because they ration health
care services through a variety of mechanisms and are tort adverse however; they are still facing skyrocketing health care
inflation. So this leads to an interesting question, do we continue to repeat the same mistakes we and other countries have
been making, which will lead to insolvency and necessitate rationing (and the implicit loss of freedom that follows) in order
to control costs or is there another way?
Laffer et al. suggests that rather than expanding
the role of government in the health care market, Congress should implement a patient-centered approach to health care reform
that incorporates seven basic principles, many of which we've advocated for in previous articles:
- Begin with individual ownership of insurance
policies.
- Leverage Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
- Allow interstate purchasing of insurance.
- Eliminate mandated benefits that insurers are
required to cover.
- Reallocate the majority of Medicaid spending
into simple vouchers for low-income individuals to purchase their own insurance.
- Eliminate unnecessary scope-of-practice laws
and allow non-physician health care professionals to practice to the extent of their education and training.
- Reform tort liability laws.
These reforms would not only directly address
the root causes of health care inflation but they would be far cheaper than the ones being pursued by The Obama Administration
and Congress. Whether The Administration will acknowledge these solutions or not remains to be seen. Chances are they will
continue to push the same old "straw men" arguments that got them elected in the first place and pursue legislation that will
only exacerbate the problem of health care inflation - making health care more expensive for all Americans.
Andrew Foy, MD and Brent Stransky are co-authors of "The Young Conservative's Field Guide", which was
published September 8th. They can be contacted through their website at www.aHardRight.com.
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