With the “Baucus bill” being passed out of the Senate Finance Committee today, work is expected to begin to reconcile it with the bill passed earlier from the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Majority Leader Harry Reid has indicated that he expects the full Senate to take up these two bills by October 26.

The Roanoke Tea Party will be holding a number of events during the month of October to demonstrate to Senators Warner and Webb that residents of southwestern Virginia are opposed to top down implementation of government health care.

If you are not already on our mailing list, please sign up if you would like to be notified as our plans develop.

We the People of Virginia demand that the Federal Government remain within its Constitutional boundaries on health care. We reject any of the following: Government-run health insurance; One-size government-dictated package of health benefits; New job-killing mandates on employers; Federal medical mandates that violate State Sovereignty; Requirement on individuals to buy medical insurance coverage; Federal institution that controls private health insurance; Government intrusion into our medical privacy; Taxpayer dollars for euthanasia, or life ending services; Medical coverage for illegal immigrants at taxpayer expense.

When they requested brief meetings with their representative and Senators, the request was denied. Wonder what 6,000 signatures look like end-to-end? Watch the video.

The first aspect of our Week Of Health Care Action involves contacting Senators Webb and Warner to express our concerns. We are asking everyone to dedicate an hour or so during the week to call, write, fax and visit the Senators’ offices to explain why you object to the proposals now before the Senate.

Senator Warner’s office is in downtown Roanoke and Senator Webb’s just off Rt. 419, near Tanglewood. If your travels will take you near either office this week, won’t you stop in for just a moment to share your thoughts with their staff?

In addition, will you compose a letter to each of them to be delivered this week? Our goal is to have a strong showing of opposition, so we ask you to mail the letters and also send a copy by Fax and email.

We also hope that you will take the time to contact the Senators’ offices in Washington.

Perhaps you could call one day, email the next, and write another? If this bill is passed, rescinding it will be extremely difficult, even if the majority of the people oppose it. Now is the time to voice your opposition!

Remember to be positive as well as negative – don’t just holler “no.” A few suggestions you might consider as reform proposals:

• Allow insurance companies to sell across state lines
• Allow the sale of ‘no frills’ catastrophic coverage policies
• Expand the use of Health Savings Accounts
• Tort reform to limit malpractice liability abuse
• Allow taxpayers to deduct individual premium costs without itemized deductions
• Allow individuals, small business and states to form voluntary pools to negotaite insurance rates
• Use refundable and advanceable tax credits to allow low income workers to purchase health insurance

Our Week Of Health Care Action will culminate in a public protest on Friday (10/30), between 4:00-6:00 p.m. in SW Roanoke County. We will announce the exact location in the next few days. Please plan to join us and help make a visible statement that Virginians do not want government mandated health insurance.

Bring the kids in their Halloween costumes, and come in costume yourself if you like. Save the date and time, get your signs ready, and exercise your rights to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly!

We depend on your participation to make this work!

Many members voice their passionate opposition to the bills that have been reported out of committee in Congress, and our concerns were noted by the Senators’ staff. They also accepted letters for the Senators.

Please keep up the pressure this week, writing, faxing, emailing, calling and visiting their Roanoke offices.

During the visits, we heard from Senator Warner’s representative that he has formally come out in favor of tort reform as a part of needed health care reform.

Senator Webb’s representative told us that the Senator has not yet declared his intentions on the Senate health care bills, but that he would be doing so in the next few days. Once his position is declared, you will be able to get details by calling his DC office at 866-507-1570.

Keep it up – this is the time when our Senators are deciding whether to support the proposed health reform legislation!

Our Say No To Government Health Care rally is scheduled for this Friday (10/30) from 4:00-6:00 p.m. We will meet at Cave Spring Corner, at the intersection of Rt. 419 and Brambleton Avenue in SW Roanoke County, and start by occupying the grassy area in the northwestern quadrant of the intersection (just near Walgreens). As more people arrive, we will spread along the right of ways of 419 and Brambleton.

See the areas in red on the map below:

If this area is completely filled when you arrive, please move down to another intersection such as 419 and Chapparall, 419 and Ogden Road (Republican Headquarters), or the Oak Grove intersection (419 and Grandin extension). Just be creative and find a nearby spot to start a new gathering.

The Roanoke Tea Party is running an advertisement this week on WFIR to promote this rally.

Here are a few very important things to keep in mind:

• Stay in the grassy areas along the side of the road.
• Stay out of the road – do not impede traffic in any way.
• Bring signs about health care reforms – and be positive as well as negative.
• This is not about President Obama – we are trying to influence our local Senators.
• Understand that our presence could be a hindrance to nearby businesses. Please try to keep that to a minimum, and consider patronizing merchants where you may park or set up.
• Bring your still and video cameras to capture the spirit of our rally. We would love to get any images or video you may capture to display on the Roanoke Tea Party web site.

Here are a few suggestions you might consider as positive reform proposals:

• Allow insurance companies to sell across state lines
• Allow the sale of ‘no frills’ catastrophic coverage policies
• Expand the use of Health Savings Accounts
• Tort reform to limit malpractice liability abuse
• Allow taxpayers to deduct individual premium costs without itemized deductions
• Allow individuals, small business and states to form voluntary pools to negotaite insurance rates
• Use refundable and advanceable tax credits to allow low income workers to purchase health insurance

We have arranged for an aerial photographs to be taken of the rally site, so please join us for an hour or so on Friday afternoon to help us make a strong showing!

Tell your friends… bring a neighbor… take a stand.

We depend on your participation to make this work!

We will assemble this Saturday (11/07) from 2:00-4:00 p.m. to drive home the message of this week’s election – we don’t want no stinkin’ government health care!

We will meet at the intersection of Hershberger Road and I-581, near Valley View. Our meeting place is the site of the old Celebration Station on Hershberger, and we’ll line Hershberger as far as our numbers allow.

See the areas in red on the map below:

The weather should be glorious – a wonderful day to be outside and celebrate your liberty.

If you can’t be there the whole time, please swing by and stay for as long as you can – even if it’s only for a few minutes. Perhaps you have errands or shopping up that way, and will take a stand with us on Saturday afternoon.

Here are a few very important things to keep in mind:

• Stay in the grassy areas along the side of the road.
• Stay out of the road – do not impede traffic in any way.
• Bring signs about health care reforms – and be positive as well as negative.
• This is not about the President – we are trying to influence our Senators.
• Remind them of the results of Tuesday’s vote!

Tell your friends… bring a neighbor… take a stand. We depend on your participation to make this work!

Re.: Senate bills on health care reform and climate control

While this letter is uniquely mine, I’m sure that it shares the thoughts of thousands of Virginians who cannot, or choose not to, partake in the kind of privilege I am enjoying today.

I’d like to at least begin on a positive note by thanking you for your vote to defeat the recent attempt to relocate a large sum of money from a proposed health reform bill to this nation’s deficit in order to reduce the apparent real cost of the bill.  I appreciate your support.

Now, however, we come to the collection of health reform bills, some in the House and some in the Senate, as well as the House-passed Cap and Trade (aka “cap and tax”) bill where your votes will be made.  I hope that you can help to bring decorum back to the Senate from the current situation that appears to me like a disparate group flapping about in quicksand in a futile effort to come up with “something” that will pass.

As my representative to the Senate, and not the other way around, I expect you to do certain things and not to do other things.  It is therefore important for you to know my wishes, as follows:

Do:

• READ THE COMPLETE BILL BEFORE VOTING ON IT!
• Assure that a plain English version of the final Senate version of any crucial bill is readable online at least 72 hours in advance of voting on the bill.
• Cast your cloture vote as if it were your final vote on the bill’s contents at the time of the cloture vote.  Some are planning to vote “Aye” on cloture but “Nay” at the end, having the effect of reducing the votes needed to pass from 60 to 51 while attaining deniability on the final vote.
• Assure that the bill does not provide for government run health insurance in competition with private insurers.  This is the so-called camel’s nose in the tent that will lead over time to government monopoly.
• Remember the spectacular debt loads resulting from government-run programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
• Remember the messages of the Town Halls, the Tea Parties, and the ongoing political polls that show the public to be substantially opposed to the health reform and climate control proposals that have come forth.  A majority has concluded that it is better to do nothing than to pass one of the bills.  Ignore these signs at your political peril!
• Observe that health insurance industry profits are lower on average than those of common industries selling to the public and about which there is no outrage expressed.
• Assure that tort reform is passed to eliminate all the frivolous lawsuits that result in higher-than-needed premiums and defensive testing by physicians.  A part of this reform should include a loser-pays-all-costs provision.
• Permit insurance companies to market their products across state borders anywhere in the United States.
• Require that “pre-existing conditions” may not disqualify a person from receiving insurance covering those conditions.
• Facilitate the medical and insurance communities to design programs that promote wellness as well as physician training incentives.
• Support initiatives to negotiate lower drug prices using mass purchasing power.

Do not:

• Support the “greenhouse” gas cap and trade bill that was passed by the House.
• Ignore the warnings of many professionals that the climate program would be a massive tax increase on businesses and therefore on the public.
• Ignore the massive regulatory bureaucracy that would be created and the huge potential for manipulation and dishonesty in the climate bill.
• Support charging anything other than standard premiums by insurers to support the program costs.  Charges (taxes) by the government should be unnecessary and un-allowed.
• Support covering abortions in the mandated insurance coverage.
• Provide for any federal money to insure illegal residents.
• Support analysis of the health bill’s cost using revenues obtained in the years before expenses begin to be paid.
• Force private insurers to cover pre-existing conditions without providing them with a means to pay for it.  My belief is that the best solution is mandatory insurance across all residents of the U.S. using a scheme something like the following:
  • Coverage up to age 21 provided by parents or individual insurance.
  • Above age 21, purchase a standard policy at a standard price.  Everyone is eligible regardless of health condition.
  • Those over 21 at the onset of the plan or who apply later will pay a higher rate that relates the age at onset to the likely remaining lifetime risk.  A formula to give credit for pre-existing insurance must be devised.
  • Those who can’t afford it will be given some form of public/charitable assistance.
  • Those who refuse to be insured will be refused medical service except for life-threatening situations and will be billed for the costs.  There may need to be enabling authority to withhold such care.
  • Those who wish to self-insure will be able to do so and will be billed for any services rendered.
• Support the payment of any federal money except for premium assistance to the demonstrably needy.

There is intense public interest in the machinations of this health reform and climate control process and we will follow what you are doing as it moves along.

Very truly yours,

Donald A. Koop

Member, Roanoke Tea Party

We now have a new  | Promote Your Page Too
and twitter pages.

We will be gearing up for the 2010 election in January. There will be a monthly pubic meeting the 3rd Thursday of each month. Our first meeting will be on 1-21. Details on location forthcoming.

We have also cleared some legal/administrative hurdles and will soon have our on-line store up and running.

With more funds, we will be positioned to do more than just protest. Our goal is to directly impact the 2010 and 2012 elections.  Please join us as we start taking back our country in 2010.

Is there a “Heck NO!!!” vote??

Here are the 111 ‘bureaucracies’ contained in ObamaCare:

1. Retiree Reserve Trust Fund (Section 111(d), p. 61)

2. Grant program for wellness programs to small employers (Section 112, p. 62)

3. Grant program for State health access programs (Section 114, p. 72)

4. Program of administrative simplification (Section 115, p. 76)

5. Health Benefits Advisory Committee (Section 223, p. 111)

6. Health Choices Administration (Section 241, p. 131)

7. Qualified Health Benefits Plan Ombudsman (Section 244, p. 138)

8. Health Insurance Exchange (Section 201, p. 155)

9. Program for technical assistance to employees of small businesses buying Exchange coverage (Section 305(h), p. 191)

10. Mechanism for insurance risk pooling to be established by Health Choices Commissioner (Section 306(b), p. 194)

11. Health Insurance Exchange Trust Fund (Section 307, p. 195)

12. State-based Health Insurance Exchanges (Section 308, p. 197)

13. Grant program for health insurance cooperatives (Section 310, p. 206)

14. “Public Health Insurance Option” (Section 321, p. 211)

15. Ombudsman for “Public Health Insurance Option” (Section 321(d), p. 213)

16. Account for receipts and disbursements for “Public Health Insurance Option” (Section 322(b), p. 215)

17. Telehealth Advisory Committee (Section 1191 (b), p. 589)

18. Demonstration program providing reimbursement for “culturally and linguistically appropriate services” (Section 1222, p. 617)

19. Demonstration program for shared decision making using patient decision aids (Section 1236, p. 648)

20. Accountable Care Organization pilot program under Medicare (Section 1301, p. 653)

21. Independent patient-centered medical home pilot program under Medicare (Section 1302, p. 672)

22. Community-based medical home pilot program under Medicare (Section 1302(d), p. 681)

23. Independence at home demonstration program (Section 1312, p. 718)

24. Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research (Section 1401(a), p. 734)

25. Comparative Effectiveness Research Commission (Section 1401(a), p. 738)

26. Patient ombudsman for comparative effectiveness research (Section 1401(a), p. 753)

27. Quality assurance and performance improvement program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 1412(b)(1), p. 784)

28. Quality assurance and performance improvement program for nursing facilities (Section 1412 (b)(2), p. 786)

29. Special focus facility program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 1413(a)(3), p. 796)

30. Special focus facility program for nursing facilities (Section 1413(b)(3), p. 804)

31. National independent monitor pilot program for skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities (Section 1422, p. 859)

32. Demonstration program for approved teaching health centers with respect to Medicare GME (Section 1502(d), p. 933)

33. Pilot program to develop anti-fraud compliance systems for Medicare providers (Section 1635, p. 978)

34. Special Inspector General for the Health Insurance Exchange (Section 1647, p. 1000)

35. Medical home pilot program under Medicaid (Section 1722, p. 1058)

36. Accountable Care Organization pilot program under Medicaid (Section 1730A, p. 1073)

37. Nursing facility supplemental payment program (Section 1745, p. 1106)

38. Demonstration program for Medicaid coverage to stabilize emergency medical conditions in institutions for mental diseases (Section 1787, p. 1149)

39. Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund (Section 1802, p. 1162)

40. “Identifiable office or program” within CMS to “provide for improved coordination between Medicare and Medicaid in the case of dual eligibles” (Section 1905, p. 1191)

41. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Section 1907, p. 1198)

42. Public Health Investment Fund (Section 2002, p. 1214)

43. Scholarships for service in health professional needs areas (Section 2211, p. 1224)

44. Program for training medical residents in community-based settings (Section 2214, p. 1236)

45. Grant program for training in dentistry programs (Section 2215, p. 1240)

46. Public Health Workforce Corps (Section 2231, p. 1253)

47. Public health workforce scholarship program (Section 2231, p. 1254)

48. Public health workforce loan forgiveness program (Section 2231, p. 1258)

49. Grant program for innovations in interdisciplinary care (Section 2252, p. 1272)

50. Advisory Committee on Health Workforce Evaluation and Assessment (Section 2261, p. 1275)

51. Prevention and Wellness Trust (Section 2301, p. 1286)

52. Clinical Prevention Stakeholders Board (Section 2301, p. 1295)

53. Community Prevention Stakeholders Board (Section 2301, p. 1301)

54. Grant program for community prevention and wellness research (Section 2301, p. 1305)

55. Grant program for research and demonstration projects related to wellness incentives (Section 2301, p. 1305)

56. Grant program for community prevention and wellness services (Section 2301, p. 1308)

57. Grant program for public health infrastructure (Section 2301, p. 1313)

58. Center for Quality Improvement (Section 2401, p. 1322)

59. Assistant Secretary for Health Information (Section 2402, p. 1330)

60. Grant program to support the operation of school-based health clinics (Section 2511, p. 1352)

61. Grant program for nurse-managed health centers (Section 2512, p. 1361)

62. Grants for labor-management programs for nursing training (Section 2521, p. 1372)

63. Grant program for interdisciplinary mental and behavioral health training (Section 2522, p. 1382)

64. “No Child Left Unimmunized Against Influenza” demonstration grant program (Section 2524, p. 1391)

65. Healthy Teen Initiative grant program regarding teen pregnancy (Section 2526, p. 1398)

66. Grant program for interdisciplinary training, education, and services for individuals with autism (Section 2527(a), p. 1402)

67. University centers for excellence in developmental disabilities education (Section 2527(b), p. 1410)

68. Grant program to implement medication therapy management services (Section 2528, p. 1412)

69. Grant program to promote positive health behaviors in underserved communities (Section 2530, p. 1422)

70. Grant program for State alternative medical liability laws (Section 2531, p. 1431)

71. Grant program to develop infant mortality programs (Section 2532, p. 1433)

72. Grant program to prepare secondary school students for careers in health professions (Section 2533, p. 1437)

73. Grant program for community-based collaborative care (Section 2534, p. 1440)

74. Grant program for community-based overweight and obesity prevention (Section 2535, p. 1457)

75. Grant program for reducing the student-to-school nurse ratio in primary and secondary schools (Section 2536, p. 1462)

76. Demonstration project of grants to medical-legal partnerships (Section 2537, p. 1464)

77. Center for Emergency Care under the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (Section 2552, p. 1478)

78. Council for Emergency Care (Section 2552, p 1479)

79. Grant program to support demonstration programs that design and implement regionalized emergency care systems (Section 2553, p. 1480)

80. Grant program to assist veterans who wish to become emergency medical technicians upon discharge (Section 2554, p. 1487)

81. Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (Section 2562, p. 1494)

82. National Medical Device Registry (Section 2571, p. 1501)
83. CLASS Independence Fund (Section 2581, p. 1597)

84. CLASS Independence Fund Board of Trustees (Section 2581, p. 1598)

85. CLASS Independence Advisory Council (Section 2581, p. 1602)
86. Health and Human Services Coordinating Committee on Women’s Health (Section 2588, p. 1610)

87. National Women’s Health Information Center (Section 2588, p. 1611)

88. Centers for Disease Control Office of Women’s Health (Section 2588, p. 1614)

89. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Women’s Health and Gender-Based Research (Section 2588, p. 1617)

90. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Women’s Health (Section 2588, p. 1618)

91. Food and Drug Administration Office of Women’s Health (Section 2588, p. 1621)

92. Personal Care Attendant Workforce Advisory Panel (Section 2589(a)(2), p. 1624)

93. Grant program for national health workforce online training (Section 2591, p. 1629)

94. Grant program to disseminate best practices on implementing health workforce investment programs (Section 2591, p. 1632)

95. Demonstration program for chronic shortages of health professionals (Section 3101, p. 1717)

96. Demonstration program for substance abuse counselor educational curricula (Section 3101, p. 1719)

97. Program of Indian community education on mental illness (Section 3101, p. 1722)

98. Intergovernmental Task Force on Indian environmental and nuclear hazards (Section 3101, p. 1754)

99. Office of Indian Men’s Health (Section 3101, p. 1765)

100. Indian Health facilities appropriation advisory board (Section 3101, p. 1774)

101. Indian Health facilities needs assessment workgroup (Section 3101, p. 1775)

102. Indian Health Service tribal facilities joint venture demonstration projects (Section 3101, p. 1809)

103. Urban youth treatment center demonstration project (Section 3101, p. 1873)

104. Grants to Urban Indian Organizations for diabetes prevention (Section 3101, p. 1874)

105. Grants to Urban Indian Organizations for health IT adoption (Section 3101, p. 1877)

106. Mental health technician training program (Section 3101, p. 1898)1

107. Indian youth telemental health demonstration project (Section 3101, p. 1909)

108. Program for treatment of child sexual abuse victims and perpetrators (Section 3101, p. 1925)

109. Program for treatment of domestic violence and sexual abuse (Section 3101, p. 1927)

110. Native American Health and Wellness Foundation (Section 3103, p. 1966)

111. Committee for the Establishment of the Native American Health and Wellness Foundation (Section 3103, p. 1968)

Here is a funny video parody, that illustrates the scam that the Al Gore’s of the world have perpetrated on the world.

Long story short. Be well informed and hold Warner and Webb accountable to vote against Cap and Trade.