Monday, July 30, 2012

An open letter to GOP Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan*

(*I would have preferred to send this directly to Rep. Camp but apparently he only accepts emails from constituents in his own district.)

Dear Rep. Camp,

I recently read in my local paper that you have been diagnosed with lymphoma, and I was sorry to hear that.  I was glad to read though that the disease, which was detected during a recent physical, is a "very early, highly treatable and curable" type of cancer. Surely this is good news for you and I wish you well in your treatment.

Your experience underscores the importance of access to medical care to afford early diagnosis and treatment of diseases that, left undetected and untreated, can often be fatal.  Millions of Americans lack such access but with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) their numbers will be reduced and more citizens will have the opportunity to have their own diseases detected while they are still treatable - surely you would agree that this is an opportunity that should be available to everyone?

I pray that you will use your diagnosis and treatment as an opportunity to reconsider the advantages that the ACA will afford to millions of our fellow citizens who currently have no access to the health care system other than going to the ER when the situation is dire and the outcome is uncertain (at best).  The ACA is the law of the land, and it has been upheld as constitutional, so how about instead of "repeal and replace", which is the current mantra of your party leadership, you lead an effort to "implement and improve"? Nobody thinks the ACA is perfect but it's a start - you could be instrumental in crafting the improvements that make it a vehicle for all Americans to have the same access to health care that enabled the early detection and treatment of your cancer.

I wish you a speedy and full recovery.

Best wishes,  Guy Mainer

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