Considering that both of them are on Medicare - a government-run single provider healtcare system - or on a Union funded retirement program that is specifically protected by the healthcare proposals to the extent that the government will step in and fund them if the company goes broke, I'm not sure what they have to complain about. Except that maybe the government will get out of their healthcare system.
The spokespeople against Obama's Hellthcare reform should be those who are hurt by implementing it. Not those who are already protected by existing government systems.
"Just received a three-page printout from worldmag.com that highlights provisions in the 1,017 page healthcare bill. To quote:
..The government will audit your books if you self-insure. The newly created Commissioner will submit a report to the government that includes "any recommendation the Commissioner deems appropriate to ensure that the law DOES NOT PROVIDE incentives for small and mid-size employers to self-insure." (21.23-23.3)
This is just one of 17 provisions that WORLD has summarized and posted to its website, www.worldmag.com, found under Washington's Prescription, The Editors, Healthcare.
Excellent material for information and hand-out. This is an absolute outrage.
Others: The government will define your "health benefits" ... will ration your care ... will establish and administer a public health insurance program ... will define how doctors manage their time ... will tax employers for not providing healthcare ... will tax individuals unless you are a foreign resident ... will order you to get end-of-life counseling and show proof ... will limit your hospital readmissions by penalizing hospitals ... will restrict coverage of special needs patients ... will not let you sue over coverage limits and costs decisions ... will mandate what physicians make ... will have access to your bank accounts ... will not call the fees it imposes taxes ... will issue you a health ID card ... will enlist or create outreach programs like ACORN to sign-up individuals in government-run plan; will create a new bureaucracy to include phone healthcare. References with page numbers and line items are given each provision.
Regarding end-of-life issues: "(An) advance care planning consultation between the individual and a practitioner...(is required if) the individual involved has not had such a consultation within the last five years," including an explanation by the practitioner of "end-of-life services." (page 424, line 20--page 425, line 23) "A consultation...may include the formulation of an order regarding life sustaining treatment or a similar order, "including end-of-life services." (page 429, lines 1-3). "Orders regarding life sustaining treatment, including "end-of-life" directions, can be signed either by a physician or a "nurse practitioner or physician's assistant who has the authority under State law." (page 429, line 8-16).
As a senior on Medicare, I say let Medicare collapse. It would be the best thing that ever happened to medical care. Without it, insurance companies would become more competitive and we could all afford insurance. Medicaid or free clinics for the truly needy.