Currently, more that 42 million Americans age 65 or older who have disabilities receive Medicare benefits. The problem with this is that for the past years health care expenses have soared. This in tern has caused the federal spending dedicated to Medicare to rise dramatically. Many policymakers agree that Medicare must be reformed if it is to remain solvent. With the "baby boom" generation reaching retirement the program is expected to run out of money early in the century unless reforms are implemented. The goal is to do this and still regulate and ensure the quality of care that Medicare patients are receiving. The way things are now doctors get paid based on their quantity of services not the quality of those services. In 2006 legislators approved a new "pay-for-performance" system that would allow Medicare to pay doctors a 1.5 percent bonus for providing good quality services. Supporters of this want Medicare to reward doctors and hospitals for doing a good job. Opponents of this policy say that the policy undermines doctors' autonomy and judgment in treating their patients.
I would have to agree with those that object to this piece of legislation. Why should doctors be rewarded for doing a good job when it is exactly that, their job. It their responsibility to treat patients to the best of their capability. They take an oath that they will do this in their practice. I believe that doctors shouldn't need a financial incentive to provide quality care to their patients. If any other person wasn't preforming adequately at their job, would their boss wouldn't come up to them and say if you do a better job ill give you a bonus? No way! They would be fired. So why should we do that for doctors. After all we entrust them with the most precious thing we possess, our own lives. And honestly how would government officials know what good health care really is? I agree with Representative Pete Stark when he said federal officials "do not have the capability, the understanding, the knowledge, or the training" to set standards for the quality of medical care. He is absolutely right. The only way they would be qualified is if they were medical professionals. Politicians aren't going to know the first thing about what proper medical care really is. I mean, you don't go see your local Representative when you want a cure for your seasonal cold do you?
Poliece have recovered 18 bodies from a mass grave found in Tres Palos near Acapulco, Mexico. The grave was announced in a Youtube video where two men say the bodies were men who were kidnapped from a tourist group in Acapulco a month ago. Their identities have not yet been proven. Police officers began digging at the site early Wednesday after receiving a phone call alerting them to two bodies dumped on an empty lot. The men found there were the same men shown in the Youtube video. Their hands were tied behind their backs and they were being interigated by an unknown male. In the video they claimed responsibility for the 18 murders and for dumping the bodies.
This to me just is another example of the drug problem in Mexico. They rely on tourism as a source of income for their country but yet you don't see anything about how they are taking great strides to get their violence under control. The Mexican government need to really consider how this could affect their economy and find a solution in the little budget that they have. I know that I would not want to go on vacation in Mexico again if things like this continue to happen and it is not under control. I feel bad because we all know that Mexico doesn't have a lot of extra money to help crack down on this drug war. However, when I go on vacation I want to know that I am going to be safe wherever I am. I don't want to have to worry about being kidnapped by some drug lord or blamed for murder. Vacation is supposed to be about relaxing and I don't think I would get much of that done if I had to worry about my safety.
Haitian earthquake survivors were advised to leave the refuge camps and seek out shelters in preperation for Tropical Storm Tomas. Panic and unease spread over the whole group who had already lost valuables and loved ones in the earthquake a few months ago. Not many people have a place to go. Most of them lost everything in the earthquake. They are now wondering what will happen to them because they have been displaced before. They government says it has roughly 1,000 shelters. However, they are considering anything that will withstand high winds a shelter. They plan on moving people to jails, old schools, etc.
I sincerely feel for these people. They have been through so much in the past year and now they are facing another crisis. I don't blame them for getting upset. I would be too. I can't imagine loosing everything and living out of a tent for 10 months. Now they are being told to evacuate when most of them don't have anywhere to go. In the governments defense however, at least they are making an effort to find shelters for all of these people. Rebuilding is taking a long time due to the government involvement in the recent cholera epidemic, among other things. Trying to help their people is all they can really do at this point. I think they could find a few more supstancial shelters for these refugees though. They need to make sure that they all have someplace safe to go during the storm.
Election day was also judgement day for many Democrats. Republicans now have control of the House and have picked up at least six seats in the Senate. Many voters that were interviewed said that they found many candidates guilty by association. They were reluctant to vote Democrat because they do not like the direction of the Obama administration. Four in ten voters said they backed Republican House candidates as a way to thumb their nose at Obama. When asked about the election, Obama recognized that his party had taken a "shellacking." Voters said it was simply because they were in general, not happy with the direction in which the Obama administration is leading our country.
If I were Obama, this election would probably make me start second guessing my goals for our country. If voters were choosing Republican candidates just to stick it to me, I think that shows we have a pretty serious problem. The American people are now starting to realize that Obama isn't all he is cracked up to be. The democrats might actually end up hurting our economy rather than helping it. In my opinion the last presidential election was strictly racial. People put the real issues on the back burner and focused more on the superficial appearances. Now Americans are starting to realize that maybe that wasn't such a good idea. I am glad that the Republicans are gaining power again and I hope that they can start making changes and get our nation back on the right track.
After winning the election, speaker in waiting John Boehner stated that one of his main goals is getting the health care bill repealed. He believes that the bill "will kill jobs in America, ruin the best health care system in the world, and bankrupt our country." Boehner said that he intended on laying some ground work before trying to repeal the bill. He also said that the GOP's cooperation was conditional. As long as Obama is willing to respect the wishes of the American people and work towards goals that they are demanding, then they will be willing to work with him. Boehner also made a pitch for smaller government in our nation.
I completely agree with the goals that John Boehner had set out for our country. I think that the health care bill is ridiculous and that it will end up hurting our economy instead of helping it. I also think that we need less government in our country. Government control has been rapidly expanding and I think we need to rein it in before it gets out of hand. The health care law being such an example, or the law stating you can't get a tattoo until you are eighteen even with parental consent. I personally think that the government is way overstepping their boundaries on that one. However, I truly hope that the republicans will be able to work with Obama to reach some common ground and get the peoples wants and demands accomplished.
