Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY)
Some new independent expenditure disclosures just came out, and they show that a special interest group has just dumped over $200,000 on ads to re-elect Republican congressman Tom Reed (NY). Here’s a copy of the disclosures:
Mentzer Media Services, Inc.
600 Fairmount Avenue
Suite 306
Towson, Maryland 21286Purpose of Expenditure: Television Advertising
Name of Federal Candidate supported or opposed by expenditure: Rep. Tom Reed
Office Sought: House of Representatives
State is New York in District 23
Date Expended = 09/28/2012
Person Completing Form: Ms. Melinda Hatton
Date Signed = 09/28/2012Amount Expended = $211960.00
Calendar YTD Per Election for Office Sought = $223928.78
McCarthy Hennings Media, Inc.
1850 M Street, NW
Suite 235
Washington, DC 20036Purpose of Expenditure: Television Production
Name of Federal Candidate supported or opposed by expenditure: Rep. Tom Reed
Office Sought: House of Representatives
State is New York in District 23
Date Expended = 09/28/2012
Person Completing Form: Ms. Melinda Hatton
Date Signed = 09/28/2012Amount Expended = $11968.78
Calendar YTD Per Election for Office Sought = $223928.78
This huge media buy comes on behalf of the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) political action committee. AHA is not just some friendly group of hospitals that advocates for healing the sick and aiding the poor. It’s a massive lobby that represents hospitals that gouge patients and fight real reforms of the system.
In 2010, former Senator Tom Daschle — who himself has worked for the health care industry as an informal lobbyist — revealed that AHA had demanded that the White House oppose the public option in its health care reform bill. As we know now, that demand unfortunately succeeded.
Reed doesn’t just oppose the public option, he wants to repeal the entire Affordable Care Act, including patient protections that hospitals have stridently opposed.
Voters should know that these ads are simply designed to pay back a congressman that has advocated for a powerful corporate interest.
OMG, you guys just don’t get it. Health care is as messed up as education, the only difference, is you want to fund the heck out of schools and defund hospitals. You say Hospital’s gouge patients, I do not see it. Hospitals are usually paid by medicare/medicaid at 50% of the charged rate, and have to meet insanely ridiculous criteria even to get that (Medicare will defund if every screw in a ceiling is not caulked, or the ceiling height in the hospital offices is not the right height). Insurance companies often negotiate rates that are lower than the hospital charges. Now if I tell you that a large amount of the uncovered patients that walk through the door never pay one cent of their charges, and hospitals eat it because pursuing it will never recover a penny, then maybe you will see that some of these bills, while designed to help patients will in the long run hurt them because hospitals and Doctors will either start limiting the number of welfare cases they see or just close thier doors because they can’t make a profit.
It is easy and popular to say hospitals gouge patients, but a close look into most hospital budgets will show many are operating in the red, and struggle to keep up with the current technologies. The aveage hospital bed costs $7,000, and an MRI machine is around $2 million. Hospital charges are high, but they are in now way gouging patients.
I invite you to go to Med school, occur the $200,000 debt, join a hospital, have your every action open to scurtiny and law suit, deal with the same patients month in and month out because they wont lose the weight or quit smoking, and see the 93 year old woman get a new $100,000 valve, then, hear these patients acknowledge they don’t care how often they come in because they don’t have to pay the bill anyway. Not convinced? How about the 27 year old woman come into the emergency room for a pregnancy test and when asked why it was an emergency, she said if she came through the ER, it was free, if she went to walgreens, she would have to pay for it herself. Do all this and then write your articles. I am guessing they would have a different tone. until Medicare/ medicaid starts to worry more about this, and less about ceiling heights, the system is broken. Until the average patient is held accountable, and the system fixed, passing more laws and bills is not the answer
and then ask if you think the health system is working