If you dish it, take it, or shut up!

Legislators need to hear concerns

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

To the editor:

Beware of the telephone police. Legislators say there are too many phone calls about Medicaid, and they must be stopped. Social services workers are told they must stop telling their clients to call legislators.

Who is working for whom? The people have a right to call their legislators about any issue they are concerned about as often as they want and when they want. There is no limit. It sounds like they want to send the phone police out and stop this harassment immediately.

Legislators need to be concerned about the 100,000 people knocked out of medical coverage. If I was one of those people I would be calling too. The Medicaid system needs to be on the agenda of every legislator. Spending in government needs to be brought under control, but dismantling Medicaid was the wrong course of action.

JOHN COOLEY, Jackson

I totally agree. I happen to know John's wife, Lisa. She's a great lady and great therapist. John has cut a Christian album with some other local doctors. I digress. When I read the original story covering this issue a few days I ago, I laughed out loud. The legislators actually told the call center supervisiors at Medicaid that they were not allowed to tell callers to contact their legislators. Apparently, they don't like being flooded with calls from angry citizens who are now without health coverage due recent cuts. Go figure. I'm guessing the poorly paid Medicaid call center employees are pretty tired of hearing from them too, especially since they have no control over what has happened to these poor people, yet are forced to bear the brunt of the frustration. This makes me want to call my legislators every day just to bitch. Tired of calls? Too freakin' bad! The last time I checked anyone could and should let their legislators know of their concerns and I'd say that being without health insurance is a pretty damn big concern. I can only assume that the legislators are too busy plotting what they can cut next to listen to the current concerns of their constituencies. These people suck.