Writer does not want government involved in healthcare

Following is a letter I emailed today to Congressman Costello, Sen. Durbin and Sen. Burris. 

Letter to Congressman and Senators:

I recently was seen at the emergency room at Union County Hospital, where I was treated for the first time since I became Medicare eligible. 

While there it was determined I had a femur fracture and referral to an orthopaedic surgeon was appropriate. 

A prefabricated immobilizer was strapped on my injured leg by two people (probably a nurse and an aide) before I was released. 

That whole procedure took less than 2 minutes and could have been accomplished by a 7 year old. 

When I started receiving feedback from my insurers and saw the incredibly large bill for the ER visit, I requested a copy of the itemized bill from the hospital and found the charge for the strapping on the immobilizer was over $900. 

I thought this was surely in error.  The actual physician bill for the ER session was less than $500. 

When I questioned billing personnel at the hospital about this outrageous charge, I was told they billed that amount “because we can."

I have assumed it was up to me to advise Medicare and my supplemental insurer of the exorbitant fee charged for this one particular service. 

Medicare told me that even though this amount was charged that Medicare would not necessarily pay the full amount; Medicare would only pay their “approved” amount. 

That “approved” amount turned out to be the full billed amount.  I was told that if I wished to pursue this matter further I needed to file a formal appeal with Medicare.

We are encouraged to be “watchdogs” when it comes to Medicare fraud and abuse.(Most people in my situation do not even look at their medical expenses if they are paid by insurance.)  I’m finding there is little point in paying attention.

The hospital billing does not appear to be fraudulent since Medicare paid the charge willingly and has no interest in looking at the issue further. I consider that the hospital has abused the Medicare system by billing so much for so little “because we can."  They actually asked why I had a problem with it since the bill had been paid in full.

This whole situation is only one of many reasons I so firmly object to government involvement in healthcare. 

What I observed in this instance was that I was the only dissatisfied party and apparently the only party exercising any common sense. 

I’m the only one who seems to realize that the cost is ultimately going to be paid by me. 

Medicare is not spending our money wisely and, if this sort of thing happens regularly, I can certainly understand its shortage of funds.

Please do not continue to support the current healthcare reform in Congress.  The country (we taxpayers) cannot afford the cost.

The current admini-stration seems to feel that all capitalism and free enterprise are bad. 

I fear greatly their concept that government will manage healthcare better. 

With their concept of spending money they don’t have they are creating another “money pit” which we can’t afford. 

I believe we only need to look at our history to see their track record for government programs remaining solvent:  Post Office, Social Security, etc. 

And once healthcare is in government hands it will never ever be returned to the private sector where some measure of common sense prevails.

I have so much more to say with regard to the current attitude of government that says “we, the people” are not capable of making decisions for ourselves and that they must usurp all of our freedoms of choice in order to protect us.

It seems to me that this country’s break from England many years ago was based on just the opposite. 

“We, the people” believed so strongly in our own abilities to take care of ourselves rather than be governed from afar. 

I hope we remember England's oppression before we continue further on this road to government control of all aspects of our lives.

I will not cast a vote in future elections for any candidate who supports the current drive for government takeover. 

And I will actively work to gain support of this attitude by other registered voters.

 Signed, Ginger Sather, Cobden