Letter to Senator Tim Kaine

Dear Senator Kaine,

I have taken the opportunity to re-read your letter. Since the introduction of the ACA make it clear that the claims you make in your letter are not truthful, I am taking this opportunity to point out what is actually happening.

I don't do this to try to persuade you because even you must see what a debacle the ACA actually is. But I intend to send copies of your letter and my response to as many friends as I have so that when you are up for re-election, your misrepresentations will be useful when it comes time to vote you out of office.

You claim that the ACA is a step in putting people in charge of their own medical decisions. The fact that the ACA has resulted in millions of people losing not just the insurance they like, but also their doctor puts the lie to your claim. The ACA is doing the direct opposite of your claim, putting the government in charge of the insurance people can buy as well as the doctors they can see.

You claim that forty seven million people will now have access to preventive services. I see no sign of that, but I have seen that millions of people who had insurance are now uninsured. And thanks to the political decisions made by the Obama administration, the "portal" through which people are now forced to buy insurance doesn't work.

You say the small businesses are now eligible for tax credit when in reality small businesses are losing the health plans the have had and are desperately trying to cut worker hours to pay for the increased premiums that ACA have mandated.

You refer to the ACA cutting the cost of health care when in reality the ACA is forcing people to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars more for polices that they don't want. Why does a menopausal woman need maternity coverage, or the single man or the elderly widower?

And this is by design; the ACA it's forcing middle class people to buy insurance they don't want or need to pay for the welfare constituents whose votes you are buying. All the while President Obama and the Democrats in the Senate were lying about people being able to keep the insurance policies people like, to keep their doctor and that insurance premiums would decline by $2500.

There's a name for this kind of action that's used by scammers, it's called "cooling the mark." The American people were the mark and they are finding out they have been lied to, scammed in the biggest scam in my lifetime. And you were part of it.

Sincerely,

Tim Caine's original letter dated September 30, 2013

Thank you for contacting me about the health care reform law, known as the Affordable Care Act. I appreciate your taking the time to share your views.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010. I support the ACA as an important first step towards putting patients in charge of their own health care decisions and slowing the growth of health care costs. Health care cost increases have bankrupted hundreds of thousands of people and imposed real financial burdens on businesses. I find it intolerable that the wealthiest nation in the world spends more on health care than any other nation yet we receive second-rate results for our money. ACA curbs the worst insurance company practices and increases access to affordable and quality health care to the tens of millions of Americans who are uninsured.

Because of the ACA, millions of children can remain on their family's health insurance until they are 26 years old and insurance companies are prohibited from denying care to those with pre-existing conditions. Seniors can receive free preventive care that will help reduce the cost and incidence of chronic diseases and purchase more affordable prescription drugs. Forty-seven million American women now have access to preventive health services. Small businesses are eligible for tax credits to help defray the costs of purchasing insurance for their employees. And insurance companies are required to rebate excess premiums to their customers. These measures represent just some of the positive effects of ACA.

I oppose repealing the ACA and the benefits described above. I acknowledge we have more to do to lower health care costs while improving the quality of care. Other nations have shown it can be done through promoting preventive care, effectively using technology, paying our health care providers by patient outcomes, and finding ways to reduce defensive medicine and lower malpractice premiums without taking rights away from patients.

Controlling the cost of health care is essential to reducing the deficit and our national debt. I am ready to work with anyone interested in finding smart savings in health care, especially in Medicare. Inaction is not a solution to our problems. There are many good ideas for improving our health care system and through common ground and compromise, we can find credible solutions.

I will continue to work on improving ACA and reducing the cost of health care for Americans. For more information about ACA, including how it will affect you, details about every feature of the law, and to read the text of the law itself, please visit www.healthcare.gov.

Thank you again for contacting me.

Sincerely,