Can we not learn from the disaster that other countries are in? Take a look around the world.

Are we that enamored by the rhetoric of Obama, that we can not even see the truth?

It reminds me of two people infatuated with each other. I said infatuated, not love. The infatuation has clouded their vision so much, they do not see the faults of the other; even when the relationship is taking them down the wrong path…in this case, destruction. In my humble opinion.

As I was thinking about the decision of the Supreme Court today, at first I was mad, disappointed and shocked. The more I thought about it, the more hope I began to have. Maybe, just maybe, this decision and what comes of it, will remove the scales from the eyes of the infatuated American people. Sometimes we Americans can be quite hard headed, to say the least. It just might take this jolt to our brains to make us realize the mistake that has been made….trusting Obama.

Chief Justice Roberts said:

“We do not consider whether the Act embodies sound policies. That judgment is entrusted to the Nation’s elected leaders.”

Read on and I will bring the previous quote and the following information together.

What is IPAB (Independent Payment Advisory Board)?

“The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act established a 15‐member Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) to extend Medicare solvency and reduce spending growth through use of a spending target system and fast track legislative approval process.” American Medical Association

Upon researching this a little more I found that the American Medical Association SUPPORTS ITS REPEAL. Wow! For more on IPAB and the American Medical Association follow this link.

Chief Justice Roberts said today, that “judgement is entrusted to the Nation’s elected leaders.” So why did the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aka ObamaCare ESTABLISH a 15 member UNELECTED Advisory Board to decide the good of the American people’s health care?

Chief Justice Roberts goes on to say:

“Members of this Court are vested with the authority to interpret the law; we possess neither the expertise nor the prerogative to make policy judgments. Those decisions are entrusted to our Nation’s elected leaders, who can be thrown out of office if the people disagree with them. It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.” (emphasis mine)

In my opinion Chief Justice Roberts is pointing out, they, the Supreme Court, are in place to interpret the law; which they did. He also pointed out that the elected leaders, who put these policies in place can be thrown out of office if the people disagree.

As we continue on to the November elections; remember the above sentence “the elected leader can be thrown out of office”. Each of us need to do our due diligence; white, black, hispanic, asian, Christian, conservative or liberal. Here is a link to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Read it. Study for yourself. Read about IPAB.

Make an informed decision.

The Supreme Court decision today could be a blessing in disguise to wake up America to the truth about where the leader of our country is taking us.

We can make a difference in November. Don’t allow our religious differences to keep us from voting for someone who will make repealing ObamaCare one of his first acts as president.

Let today’s Supreme Court decision be….

A blessing in disguise.

David Catron states in an article “IPAB Is an Acronym for ‘Death Panel’” that “IPAB was created pursuant to section 3403 of the ironically named Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), and its ostensible purpose is to “control costs.” He goes on to point out that this board has 15 “experts” appointed by the President to decide the Medicare reimbursement rates; regardless to what the voters of the United States think. What use to be controlled by Congress, our President is putting in the hands of 15 people, whom the voters have not voted in, to make these decisions.

This is just one more reason I am so against this type of healthcare. On the surface I could argue it would benefit my handicapped son; but the reality, if these 15 people decide to cut costs it will not only affect the disabled/handicapped individual, but the elderly as well.

It is important for us to understand, we have the laws in place; they just need to be looked at very closely and reformed so the people needing the assistance will be able to receive it and those who truly don’t, will not be allowed to take advantage of something they could easily get on their own.

The president’s health care plan has some good features (like removing the pre-existing conditions restriction), that would be better addressed in a health reform in Medicare and in regulating the health insurance industry; rather than a European socialistic style health care model. The European models have proven to be very deficient and a great financial burden on the nation’s economy. Can we not learn from them, realizing their way doesn’t work? Look at where Europe is right now. In trouble.

I want to thank Sarah Palin for bringing this to my attention through twitter and Facebook. It is something that is a very important factor in what the Supreme Court is dealing with this week in their vote.

Again, I want to say I want the right to be able to choose. That is a principle in which America was founded.

My son, Daniel, was a normal toddler, until the age of 15 months, when spinal meningitis drastically altered his and his family’s lives forever. The disease left Daniel totally dependent on someone else for his survival. His brain would always be on the level of a six to nine month old infant. During this time he was covered under our insurance policy through my husband’s pastoral organization. The premiums from this insurance company rose quite substantially, so the organization decided to switch company’s.

The new insurance would not cover Daniel because he had a pre-existing condition. We tried to pay the premium for Daniel but it was too expensive. We were able to receive Medicaid for Daniel for a time; but, when Daniel’s father received a raise, Medicaid stopped. Although our family income increased it was not enough to cover the medical expenses for Daniel and Medicaid said we made too much money.

We moved from Chesapeake to Petersburg VA. During this time Daniel was without medical insurance. After a year of living in Petersburg, we moved to Chesterfield County; where the Community Services Board (CSB) came to the rescue.

They told us about the MR Waiver that could benefit Daniel; but, there was a waiting list. They advised us to try and get insurance coverage through the program that helped insure children offered through the school system. We had tried this before to no avail; but we took their advice and tried again. The same thing happened; our income was too high.

You have to understand; our income was very close to poverty level, but, we made too much money for our special needs son to receive the benefits of Medicaid. He needed seizure medication, physical and occupational therapy, wheelchairs and other devices to assist in mobility and everyday living. Although we made too much for Medicaid to assist, we did not make enough to provide for our special needs son’s needs. (We had given our lives to help improve our community through programs our church provided; yet, our government would not assist us.)

Daniel was doing so well we weaned him off his seizure medication. We wanted to see if there would be any seizures. Amazingly, he did well and did not have seizures. It was during this time he needed a new wheelchair; but we could not afford to get one for him. Daniel did fine for quite some time; but, one night he had a seizure that left him humped over in his chair and very lethargic. It scared me and I was not sure what I was going to do.

One of the workers at he CSB spoke to her Director about options in order for Daniel to receive coverage. There was a very long waiting list for the MR Waiver. Since Daniel needed medical attention and could not receive coverage from any other insurance company, they considered Daniel an emergency situation and moved him to the top of the waiting list. We could now sigh in relief because Daniel was receiving the medical coverage he so desperately needed. (Finally our community was giving back to us.)

Daniel will be twenty-five this year and has been receiving this coverage for several years; but, if we move out of state the process starts all over. He is now legally an adult and we are his guardians; so things are a little different.

That is the background I wanted to share; so you can see where I am coming from in regard to the issue I have with the Medicaid/Medicare system.

In order for someone to qualify for Medicaid/Medicare they have to make under a certain amount of annual income. There were times I wanted to work to help meet our needs; but, if I did my son would not receive the medical attention he so needed. (This was before the MR Waiver kicked in.) If I did work, it was not enough to cover his needs, so we were basically in the same predicament with or without me working.

Problem number one: many people are receiving the benefits of Medicaid/Medicare/Social Security that really do not need the assistance. They could very easily get a job and not need the benefits. In my opinion this category of people are taking advantage of something the government provided to assist those who were in need of assistance; due to the fact they could not work or receive the benefits elsewhere.

Problem number two: People who really need the assistance of Medicaid/Medicare/Social Security cannot qualify for these benefits due to the unrealistic guidelines/qualifications.

Problem number three: Once someone is finally approved to receive these benefits the paperwork needed, in order to qualify and continue receiving the benefits yearly, are not appropriate for the individual qualifying. This wastes the precious time of the person receiving the benefit, or the person filling out the paperwork for that person; as well as the government employee responsible for implementing the paperwork. Not only is it wasting time, it is wasting the tax payer’s money funding the program.

An example of  problem number three is an incident that happened to me recently, regarding my son. I had to fill out a new questionnaire as part of the MR Waiver guidelines. This questionnaire did not pertain to my son; but, I, long with his caregiver at a day program and his social worker, in my opinion wasted 90 minutes of valuable time. This 90 minutes could have been spent more wisely; with the caregiver in her room with Daniel doing their daily routine and the social worker either in her office working or using her time implementing the questionnaire with someone to whom it truly pertained. This was a complete waste of the taxpayers money.

Please understand; I believe in the program. My family has benefited from this program. There is a need for this program.

It should not be done away with; but restructured so it uses the taxpayers money wisely and those who are in need of it can receive the benefits.

As a mom, I do not want to be dependent upon Obamacare, even with a special needs child; whom other people say will benefit from the program greatly.

It is important to me, as a parent and guardian, to be able to choose which doctors I take my son to see. I do not want the government to interfere in that personal part of my life. It will be a blessing to be able to continue receiving the benefits of Medicaid for my son; choosing the doctors I prefer, going to the hospitals/clinics I choose, or any other medical option I might have.

I do not want a medical program that is run by the government, in which they determine who I can or cannot visit for my medical needs. I do not want my personal rights taken away from me. I do not want to have to stand in line hours upon end, waiting to be treated; which is much like the welfare system is right now. I do not think President Roosevelt intended the welfare program to evolve as it has over the years. But, that will be another post.

Right now I just want to voice my opinion, as a mom of a special needs child, on why I do not want Obamacare to be passed into law. (I’m sure there will be those more knowledgeable than me who will rebut my opinion; so be it, I received much criticism as a pastor’s wife and survived.)

I hope the Supreme Court does it’s job and votes Obamacare unconstitutional; because I do not want the government forcing me to purchase insurance. Sure, it is important to have insurance; but, that is my choice, not the government. The Liberal Left are so adamant about having their rights; well, I want to ask them…what about my rights to purchase insurance? Let me have that right. You do not have the right to tell me whether or not to purchase insurance.

If the Liberal Left truly wants to help the American people they need to wake up and reform the programs we already have in place.

A big thank you to the United States government for providing for those who truly need assistance. I know these benefits can continue to work as our government looks over the programs; not to replace them; but, reform them so they work for the people, like the Preamble of the Constitution says…

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”