First, I want to remind us that the Medicare/Medicaid budget debate is
not over yet...the Reconciliation bill still has to be finished.
However, the cuts in Medicare/Medicaid are mind boggling and will impact
not only the beneficiaries ofthesprograms, but ourselves and probably our
families in some way. These cuts are SEVEN times larger than thecuts
made under Ronald Reagan in the 80's.
As far as recipients of these programs go, we know seniors' premiums will
rise to about twice what theyare now. For poor seniors this is
devastating. It is predicted that 4.4 million children will lose Medicaid
coverage, which will affect them adversely and will also affect us as
providers of high (presumably) quality care. The House version of the
bills has excluded Nurse Practitioners and has exempted physicians from
anti trust laws...a gift of Newt Gingrich in exchange for support from
the AMA. Of course that means that physicians who form HMOs could never
be sued for restraint of trade when they exclude nurse practitioners from
provider panels...It also means that medicine alone will be able to
determine what is quality care.
The welfare bill, a farce if we think of what true reform would entail,
will leave 1.1 million children with no federal income support at all.
Are we going to see these children added to the numbers we already have
homeless on the street? Or sick and dying because their moms either
cannot find work at a living wage, or are socially/psychologically
incapable of functioning normally?
The corollary to these cuts are the substantial increases in "defense"
spending...beyond the Pentagon's own desires, and the hundreds of corrupt
special interest provisions for those powerful lobbies which contribute
heavily to the GOP. Sometimes Iwonder if the nation has truly lost its
conscience, yet I know this is an opportune moment for us right
now...before it is too late. Please let us raise our voices in protest
and email President Clinton, urging him to VETO these bills. We do have
power. I often think that like the human body we loose what we fail to use.
Lastly...Jessie Helms and tobacco country:
1. The tobacco industry increased its contributions to the GOP by
fivefold since last January.
2. Four big HMO's - Prudential, Cigna, Travelers and met Life - are
reputed to have about 9 billion in the bank. Theyare investing tens
of millions in the tobacco industry, according to a report by a nurse who
writes on
ethical issues for the TNA (Texas)
3. Harvey Gantt, the well know and liked black ex mayor of Charlotte, NC
is mounting another bid forthe Senate against Jesse Helms next year.
Harvey lost only by a slim margin in 1990.
Thanks, (Sr.) Sharon McGuire, MSN, CFNP El Paso