The following is a copy of the letter I recently sent to my senators and congressional representatives.

I would like the citizens of Lampasas also to read this information I urge everyone to call their representatives to reject the government takeover of our health care. It already has oversight of the existing Medicare and Medicaid programs, and look at what a fine job has (not) been done. Do you want the same system and people to determine who you see, how much care you get and when you can get it?

Urge them to not vote for something they admit they have not read. Access HR 3200 and read page 440 and page 838 for yourselves. Also Section 1233. Americans are not stupid, and we can see when we are being patronized and told "Trust me, I know what is best for you."

President Obama's health care plan as he delivers his message in contrived "town hall" meetings bears no real comparison to the HR 3200 that he would love to be hurried to passage without significant debate or examination.

President Obama is asking us to "snitch" on any misinformation that may be out there. I do believe he should report himself for the misinformation he is offering. He states he is "not for a single payer source." (This is not what candidate Obama said.) He states AARP would not be endorsing this if it were a bad idea. AARP had to publicly come out and refute the president. This was unusual as AARP is usually in lock step with this president. But seniors are up in arms and being very vocal in opposing verbiage in this bill.

AARP is one of the largest lobby groups, second only to maybe the NRA, and they are backing away from support of this legislation. So please, let your voices be heard and your votes reflect your voices.

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Congress and the president have established a goal of expanding health care coverage to 97 percent of Americans. To pay for this goal, proposals are being considered by Congress to lower the quality of the current Medicare program by cutting future payment levels to Medicare health care providers, including home health.

HR 3200, as passed out of committee, would cut $56.8 billion from the home health benefit. Home health is only 4.5 percent of projected Medicare spending but would suffer 11.4 percent of the cuts being instituted in the bill. These cuts are nonsensical as evidence clearly shows that expansion of the home health Medicare benefit is the most cost-effective solution for serving a growing Medicare beneficiary population.

If Congress institutes an expansion of the home health services, the quality of care will be enhanced while saving Medicare billions of dollars by offsetting the high-cost practice of delivering many health care services through institutional settings such as hospitals and nursing homes.

A study conducted in 2005-2006 by Avalare LLC demonstrated that the use of home health services after a hospital stay saved Medicare $1.7 billion. The study also found that an additional $1.77 billion could have been saved in that same period if all eligible Medicare beneficiaries with similar chronic diseases had accessed home health services, equalling $31.1 billion in potential savings over 10 years.

Significantly, 86 percent of people who qualify for Medicare have at least one chronic condition and 40 percent have three or more. But only 8.9 percent of Medicare beneficiaries currently use home health services, a fact attributed in large part to the program's requirement that an individual be "homebound" and unable to leave the home without significant assistance and taxing effort in order to receive the benefit.

I urge you to reject the proposed legislation that would institute exorbitant cuts to the Medicare home health benefit. Long-term cost containment that preserves a quality level of care will only be derived by eliminating Medicare regulations that currently prohibit more cost-effective methods for delivering medical, nursing and personal care services in the home setting.

I support some reform to our current systems. There is fraud and abuse that can be eliminated without coming to the expense of frail elderly and disabled homebound Medicare beneficiaries receiving home health services. Home health services preserve independence, keeping families together and save Medicare dollars by keeping beneficiaries out of hospitals and nursing homes.
Betty Fontaine
Adamsville