Letter to the Editor of the Milton Times

The ongoing and general uproar over President Obama's health care reform bill(s) is a real eye opener. The rush to pass his signature bill has enormous ramifications for every one of us. We are all going to be affected and will continue to be affected by whatever passes long after Mr. Obama leaves office.

Few of us, and this, apparently, includes some of those elected officials who will vote on it, have read the bill. My recent telephone conversation with an aide in my congressman's office gave this response when I expressed my concerns about the way Congress was handling the issue. He said "the congressman is still reading the bill". If he was still reading the bill, he would have been unread about its contents if the Speaker had called for a vote before the August recess.

I am a very senior citizen who has always been satisfied with my health insurance coverage. I cannot help but wonder about all those Obama loyalists who are blindly supporting his wishes without stopping to realize that whatever does pass, that they, too, are going to be affected. They are going to help pay the enormous costs related to it, and are going to abide to the changes it will bring to their present coverage. They may not care, but there are many more who do care.

President Obama has clearly stated that in some cases, especially regarding senior citizens, that it may be more cost efficient to by pass necessary surgery and prescribe pain killers instead. It will be easy to project this approach toward human sufferings to include that of the incurably handicapped and disabled. I find this financial benefit approach versus the dignity of life approach to be repulsive and contrary to every thing for which the United States of America stands. For the President of the United States to even consider this aspect of the proposed bill is incomprehensible and should removed from discussion.

President Obama's drive to enforce government control into many functions of the American way of life, and now including how our personal health programs should be changed, is suffocating to those who believe in personal responsibility and decision making. Let's hope and pray that our elected officials can put politics aside - at least on this bill - and vote for what their constituency thinks is best for themselves.

Submitted by Will Hynes