Here is the email I received from my Senator, Barbara Boxer on the HCR

[still_one]

Dear Mr. xxxxxxxx:



Thank you for writing to me about pending health care reform legislation. I appreciate hearing from you.



On November 21, 2009, the Senate voted 60-39 to begin debate on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Based on months of work by Senate committees, this comprehensive bill will make health care more affordable and accessible while reducing the federal deficit.



This is an important moment for our country.



If you have health insurance, this bill gives you the security of knowing it will be there for you. If you don't have health insurance, you'll be able to get affordable coverage. Ultimately, we are expanding health care to cover more than 94 percent of Americans while cutting the federal deficit by an estimated $127 billion over 10 years.



When this bill is signed into law, America's families will see immediate improvements.



For example: If you get sick, your insurance company won't be able to kick you off your plan because they no longer want to cover you, and they will no longer be able to put a limit on your coverage. Parents will be able to keep their children on their health care policy up to the age of 26. Small businesses will have access to tax credits to make covering their employees more affordable. And seniors will have a more generous benefit through their prescription drug coverage.




I thank Majority Leader Reid for working with us to ensure that California receives increased federal support as we expand Medicaid, which is critical to our ability to provide health care services to millions of California's families.



Senator Reid also has crafted language that will keep women from being discriminated against when it comes to their reproductive health care. The Senate bill maintains the compromise that has been in place for decades that prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion, but allows a woman to use her own private funds.



There are many issues that I am still working on, including ensuring that California is not hurt by cuts to the Disproportionate Share Hospital Program, which helps our hospitals that serve the neediest among us. I am also working to ensure that the bill includes better preventative health care coverage for women.



Health care coverage for all of America's families has been an elusive goal since Teddy Roosevelt first proposed it nearly a century ago. It is an honor to be in the Senate now as we move closer to fulfilling that promise.



Again, thank you for writing to me. Please feel free to contact me again about this or other issues of concern to you.


Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

[joeybee12]

1. When did she write this, before the public option was taken out,

before Ben Nelson threw a fit and will filibuster if he can't screw women over any more than he does now?

[still_one]

5. It was after the public option was taken out, but not before nelson's bullshit

I have no doubt she would vote against it if nelson's nonsense was part of the bill, and I agree with that, but unless it changes for other reasons, she should vote against it also

[regnaD kciN]

7. After Obama caved to Lieberman, I wrote to my senators...

...and got a similar reply from Patty Murray; unfortunately, it was clearly a form letter drafted earlier, since one of the achievements it touted was that "the Senate bill will contain a public option." Not quite, Mom-in-Tennis-Shoes. :-(

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Great start. I hope one of the things she is working on involve clamping down on

what the insurance companies can charge so they don't price their mandate-paying "customers" out of the market. And finding some way to get Obama to change his mind about supporting big Pharma's price gouging.

[dana_b]

3. she's my senator too

and I'm sure i'll get the same form letter as you did because I wrote to her (again) yesterday regarding this crappy bill. They don't listen.

[still_one]

6. She didn't address one specific point I asked her about this "crappy bill", which didn't

surprise me

[still_one]

4. The letter I received from her did not answer one specific question I asked about the HCR

The questions I asked were why no Medicare buyin?
Why no public option?
Why no drug re-importation?
Why No real cost controls to enforce what insurance companies could charge?
Why No renegotiation of drug prices?
Why No Capped annual coverage for care?
Why Individual mandated coverage
Why Anti-trust exemption for insurance companies?
Why A tax on middle class insurance plans?
and why we have to start paying taxes on it immediately, but it won't kick in until 2014

It was typical political speak, but I guess I didn't expect anything else

[HuckleB]

8. How often do the letters you receive from politicians answer specific questions?

:shrug:

I know I don't get many specific answers.

[dana_b]

10. I've only received two.

One from George Mitchell (regarding voting for Obama as a superdelegate) and a thank you from my representative of my thanking to her for voting "no" on a bill that I disapproved of. The rest are all form letters. I guess it is better to call and at least let a staffer know you either like or dislike something.

[still_one]

12. never /nt

[joeybee12]

9. Did you wave a thousand dollar bill in front of her when you asked?

Barbara is one of the senators I think is decent, but let's face, all any of them really know is money.

[stray cat]

11. So I guess that makes Boxer a DLCer and corporate shill

:sarcasm: