  A letter that I have sent to my Senators from PA. ------------------------------------------------ With the recent bruhaha over a Prescription Drug Program being offered by Medicare I have found myself in a dilehma of sorts. I do think that health care for all should be enacted immediatly. A national health care initiative is the only solution to the current crisis, and to be sure it is a crises when we have 40-60 million Americans without any type of Health Care coverage.
The plain truth is that while they can get health care it usually ends up on the taxpayers bill regardless and with the recent push to "privatize" medicare and prescription drug programs I feel that this will definitely bankrupt the system and leave millions more with less than competative coverage or no coverage at all. Why am I concerned about this issue? Because I benefit directly from it. I am 26 year old with Cystic Fibrosis and I depend on Medicare and state programs to cover my medical care. I am not alone as most CF patients are in a similar situation. As the private system now stands if I were to even be covered by any insurer I would have an exclusionary period of a minimum of two to a maximum of five years before any private insurer would even consider picking up the health care cost. If you are not familiar with CF it is a very expensive condition to treat. In this past year alone I have racked up around 300,000 in hospitalization and drug costs.
Under the current system I am covered and could want for nothing. Under the new system that is being pushed by your coleagues in the Senate I fear that I would be left without any coverage as you want to push people off of the public system onto a private system. If this goes through I, like many others, will end up with no coverage because of the exclusionary periods. I can't wait for up to five years before any benefits would kick in from a private insurer. As a Christian you should be fighting for a national health care system period.
It plainly states in the Bible that we are to take care of the ederly and infirmed. There is no question on this. If you are opposed to these ideals than you may need to re-think your stance on being a Christian...as no self respecting Christion would even dare to suggest that we let out old and sick just die off instead of extending a helping hand. From the initial sneek peek of this program there would be large gaps in coverage and many people would simply not be able to afford health care. Which will make them have to choose between their medication or food or a roof over their heads. That is simply un-Christianlike. So I call for you to make a moral stand on the principles that you have publicly spoken. I call for you to propose a sweeping national health care initiative that will cover every American...regardless of their socio-economic status. With CF I have had to make hard choices. One of those choices has to forgo trying to get a well paying job to help and pay taxes. If I were to get a high paying job, or even a decent paying job, the benefits that I depend on simply vanish because I am working.
I would love to work and add to the common good, however under the current system that is not possible. Again I call for you to take a moral stand against this prescription drug benefit plan and instead call for a national health care plan that covers every person in the United States. It is the Christian thing to do, it is the Patriotic thing to do. It is the duty of a moral and just society to provide health care to all. ------------------------------------------------ I challenge all of you out there to write similar emails and letters to your representatives. It is the only way to make your views known! 
