Does anyone know what tghis is about?

[hedda_foil]

I just got what looks like a confirmation of an email to my Senators and Congressman about Association Health Plans.. that I didn't send. This is something I know next to nothing about. Would I have wanted to send it???

This is what was sent to them:

November 1, 2005

The Honorable Richard J. Durbin
United States Senate
332 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-1304

Re: Federal AHPs: An Open Door to Fraud

Dear Senator Durbin:

Like most Americans, I am concerned about rising healthcare costs and the growing number of uninsured Americans. However, I believe that legislation that would create federal Association Health Plans (AHPs) - the Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2005, S. 406/H.R. 525 - is not the answer to either of these challenges.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that AHPs would actually result in higher premiums for 80 percent of participants. Experts also predict that AHPs would result in even more uninsured Americans.

Equally troubling, AHPs would be exempt from important state laws, patient protections, and other safeguards - increasing the risk for fraud and abuse. In the last year alone, I've read that failures of association-type health plans have left more than 100,000 participants with over $85 million in unpaid medical bills.

I believe that AHPs would hurt, not help improve, our nation's healthcare system. I urge you to oppose federal AHP legislation like S. 406/H.R. 525. I look forward to your response on this important issue.


Sincerely,



Hedda Foil

[stillcool]

1. i get replys all the time...

that have nothing to do with my emails. Its like they have automated message responses to a variety of topics and they just pick one and send. Very frustrating...especially as they are usually long and i have to read the whole thing before i'm sure they've got the wrong topic. I'd rather they didn't bother.

[alfredo]

2. Someone could be pretending to be constituents in an effort

to make it look like there is a lot of support or opposition to a specific bill or person.

[meganmonkey]

3. It's funny - I got a similar letter from my Congressional rep about the

same issue, and I don't remember writing him about it either. Granted, I sign petitions a lot for things, but I am usually very aware of what they are for and why I am signing them.

I assumed that a staffer fucked up - it was a few weeks after I called to ask him to oppose CAFTA, and the staffer asked for my address, so I thought they just sent me the wrong form letter...

Hmmm... :shrug: