I Reply To MoveOn.org, Regulation, and Critics Of We The People

Dear MoveOn member,


Dawn is a few years younger than me. She lives in Atlanta. She's an aspiring playwright. And four years ago, she was diagnosed with a rare, but treatable brain tumor.

Dawn's doctors are ready to treat the tumor, but they can't. CIGNA, her insurer, refuses to pay for the care she needs because the only hospitals qualified to treat her are out-of-network. And after years of fighting, Dawn just received her final denial letter.

For me, the scariest thing about Dawn's story is that it could happen to any of us—to a friend of mine, or someone in my family. After all, Dawn has insurance. But as long as private insurers are the only game in town, they'll continue to have the power to deny Americans the care they need.

Dawn is fighting back. And while CIGNA may be able to ignore Dawn, they won't be able to ignore millions of us standing together with her. I'm joining Dawn's fight to shine a light on Big Insurance's abusive tactics, get Dawn the care she needs, and make sure they don't do this to anyone ever again. Will you join me by signing a statement of support? Clicking below will add your name:


http://pol.moveon.org/dawnsmith/o.pl?id=17257-17182837-pwxAqdx&t=3

The statement says, "I stand with Dawn Smith. CIGNA must provide the treatment she needs and stop rejecting legitimate care for all the others who are suffering."

Unfortunately, Dawn's story isn't unique—she's one of the millions of Americans who are suffering—but what she's doing about her situation is. Instead of suffering in silence, she's sharing her painful, powerful story so that, as she says, "no one else has to go through what I have."

I've been really moved by Dawn's strength, given everything she's going through. She has terrible pain and sudden seizures that can knock her off her feet. She's had to move back in with her mom so she can have constant care. But through all that, she's kept her spirits up.

The heart-breaking part is that her condition is treatable. But CIGNA's refusal to treat her has brought her to "the end of my rope," as she puts it. CIGNA gladly accepts Dawn's premium payments, but when she needed care, they refused to pay for it, coming up with new reasons as they went.

Dawn's story is a symptom of a much bigger problem. But if we all rally behind her, we can help not just her, but everyone else who's suffering under our broken system, too. Together, we have the power to make Dawn's story different, and in the process, to remind Congress and the American people why we so desperately need health care reform.

I'm standing with Dawn. Will you join me? Clicking below will add your name:

http://pol.moveon.org/dawnsmith/o.pl?id=17257-17182837-pwxAqdx&t=4

Thanks for all you do.

–Justin, Marika, Daniel, Kat, and the rest of the team

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Ok, first things first, I have Cigna insurance through my employer and for about $45 bucks a week they cover my wife, myself, and all 3 of our kids. I certainly can't complain about that coverage as I also find the co-pays reasonable.

Having said that it's also true that I don't have a brain tumor so I haven't had first hand experience with Cigna on how they handle such problems. So far though I trust my insurance company more than MoveOn.org don't you?

"CIGNA gladly accepts Dawn's premium payments, but when she needed care, they refused to pay for it, coming up with new reasons as they went." Think about that for a minute. It's truly a case for reform. Now take the same quote and replace the word CIGNA with The Government. Isn't that one of the major cases against the government takeover of health care?

The government will have the ability to deny care, especially to the elderly, by "coming up with new reasons as they want" also.

I don't disagree with the fact that we do need reform. What we don't need is a government takeover. Name one thing the government runs better than the private sector? Our military is amazing because the politicians largely stay out of it. They control funding etc. but when it comes to missions our military leaders are left largely in charge of what's done. THAT'S WHY OUR MILITARY IS SO AMAZING, THE POLITICIANS ARE NOT TELLING OUR MILITARY EXACTLY WHAT TO DO, THAT'S LEFT TO OUR MILITARY EXPERTS!!

Could you imagine if the likes of Nance Pelosi were in charge with our military? Are you ready to put her and others in congress like her in charge of health care?!!

Think about it....The government's case for taking over health care has never been weaker. Congress and Obama don't think that's the case but let me explain.

Even before Obama became president the government began getting involved in taking over more and more of our country and our personal lives. From Tarp, to Stimulus (1 and 2), Cash For Cars That Work Fine (Clunkers), the bankrupt Post Office, the ever-frustrating RMV, the "pork" added to various bills over the years from BOTH PARTIES,Cap and Trade (Energy Tax), and on and on and on.

Given that track record they dare to label opposition to the health care plan as a Republican conspiracy, they call us extremist, they think we're just being racist against the President. I know most people reading this are smarter than that, what's amazing is how few politicians are smart enough to understand that. How can they be so blind to the feelings of a majority of the people?

If disagreement was solely based on race then there's no way he would have won the election in November it's as simple as that. Were the African Americans who opposed the Bush policies labeled as racist extremists?...Of course not, American opposition and distrust of government is to a point natural and healthy for Democracy. It is one of the greatest things about our great country. Look at how Iran reacted to the protests by it's people.

This is not about right versus left, or black versus white. This is about right versus wrong. This is about average Americans from all areas, all races, and all political parties standing up to our elitist politicians.

We put our trust in the politicians long enough. We were betrayed by the parties enough times. The time has come for the politicians to put their trust back in we the people.

If we say no to trusting the government with our money then in the interest of representing we the people the government should take less of our money, not more. If we say no to trusting the government with our health then they shouldn't takeover the health care industry.

Ronald Reagan believed in deregulation, keeping the government from intruding as much as possible while still upholding the law. We should go after the Bernie Madoff's of the country, however, the fact that people like that do exist is no basis for labelling all investors as con-men criminals.

Obama is the anti-Reagan, he believes in regulating everything:

Ben Bernanke isn't waiting for Congress to expand the Fed's regulatory powers. Instead, he wants to put regulators directly inside banks to monitor (and possibly reject) pay packages.

The whole story.

Here's another:

The FCC rules "would bar Internet service providers such as Verizon Communications Inc., Comcast Corp. or AT&T Inc., from slowing or blocking certain services or content flowing through their vast networks," according to the AP.


But critics contend that the proposals are nothing more than a backdoor way for the FCC to tighten federal control over the Internet by beginning with the regulation of Internet service providers.

Full story

If we're extremist for being concerned about the power of government then every founding father of this great nation were extremists. If that's the case then I'll wear that label proudly.


"Every dictator who ever lived has justified the enslavement of his people on the theory of what was good for the majority." Ronald Reagan's CPAC speech 1974.