EXETER TOWN HALL HEP C MEETING!!!

On Tuesday June 26th we had an Exeter Town Hall Hep C meeting (where else) at the Exeter Town Hall. Even with the bicycle race and parking issues, I stopped counting at 120 people in attendance.



We had Doctor Paolini a former heart surgeon and also an attorney who discussed legal rights and expectations. We had Doctor Chung in charge of the liver transplant division of MA General. We had Greta Cocco an insurance broker who discussed health insurance questions for those with pre-existing conditions and we had a room full of people with many questions.



You could feel the tension and anxiety from the people with Hep C, rightfully so; but, by the end of the meeting and a superior presentation from Doctor Chung and Doctor Paolini it was obvious people started to realize they can make it through this and everyone on the panel would be available to help them and answer question or help with any referrals they may need.



Dr. Chung talked about the new treatment regimens which are light years ahead of when I had Hep B in 1976. People left knowing they weren’t alone in this sad issue and there was life after Hep C.

WHERE DOES ONE BEGIN???

WHERE DOES ONE BEGIN???     

I guess we should start with the Hep C outbreak at the Exeter Hospital.  The rumors are running wild as to how it was caused, who caused it and how many people are infected.  Not helping seems to be the conflicting information coming out of our State Public Health Department.

First they thought it was equipment then they claim to have a suspect medical provider that was stealing drugs and injecting them into themselves then the patients or swapping syringes that the person used.  One of the reasons the health department knows this is how it happened is because this is what is going on around the country.  The only way the AG’s Office will get a conviction is if someone saw the medical provider do any of this or they have a confession.  Merely having a medical provider with Hep C is not going to send that person to the block.  There are a number of rumors about how this disease was spread; but, from the last meeting held at the High School with public health didn’t reveal  a lot of new information

I had a heart procedure done at the Exeter Lab, a number of years ago and I can say without qualification that Dr. Tom Wharton is one of the finest surgeons you’ll find; I had and have the utmost confidence in his ability and procedures.

It is frustrating when it seems there is more misinformation than information with an awful lot unanswered questions.

I had a lawyer tell me that each one of these medical malpractice claims is worth about 1-2 million $’s each.  When you think this all through to the end, health insurance=high risk pool, about 150% of your premium to increase; life insurance probably not.  This is not a good way to go through life.  Should they have a person who injected people with hep c, many years in jail would be fitting.

THE RACE IS ON!!!

Exeter now has four state rep seats with eight people running for them, four republicans and four dems.  I look at the candidates of both parties and see the same attitudes that have recently contaminated the state house.  When the democrats were in charge they blindly followed their leadership over a cliff and got thrown out on a monumental scale.  No matter what they say during the campaign the democrats want the power back with a big majority so they don’t have to deal with the republicans while the republicans want to keep power and not deal with the democrats.  After awhile the faces all start to look alike.

Matt and I are going to stick to our basic independent, “you before politics”, approach.  Working with constituents to resolve their problems is what we enjoy most, not abortion battles, school squabbling about who gets what money and or fighting with a leadership group that can’t tell the truth.  It is all about you, not us.

THE WEEK THAT WAS!!!

AT LEAST YOU CAN’T CALL the State House boring.  The Bettencourt fiasco kept everything in the news with all of its little twists and turns and it is too long and complex to try to explain in a blog posting; but, if you run a Google check it should all come up.

This past Weds. Session was more like a wake than a pre ending to the legislative session.  House leadership was, in my opinion, trying to run for cover not only on the Bettencourt; but, also who authorized Bob Mead to collect mileage for driving around the state trying to get republicans to run for state rep.  I think we all know who authorized it; but, I don’t think it will ever see the light of day.

The Seacoast Newspapers did an editorial board with the Speaker and Bettencourt and concluded they either lied or told half truths.  In fact it was probably one of the most negative editorials I have ever read; but, very accurate.  It was right after that the law school scandal broke with Bettencourt.

The political sign up period is a week away and I still haven’t seen anything positive being said about Republicans; unless it is we cut the budget and spending.  I think the voters know that republicans do that; but, what is problematic is what about our ethics and character?

This next election is going to be about keeping spending down (at least within our revenue estimates), truthfulness, character, integrity and moral fiber.  We have to bring civility and integrity back into the state house and the political discussions; there are times you can cut the tension in Concord with a knife.

I’m a firm believer that talking is always more fun than fighting and we are not always doing a lot of talking.  The house seems to run on orders instead of discussions; everyone in the house has the right to contribute to the process and by leaving people out is a huge disservice to them and their constituents who have a right to be heard and represented.

I think this is all going to change in the next election; most of the freshmen will be gone as well as others who have shown such a blind loyalty to the speaker.  I want to see people who can think, analyze and use common sense to come to a conclusion, not people who say, “What does leadership want?”  We don’t need PHDs in Concord just people who will listen and have common sense.

I’m a Republican (independent one at that) and want to see how the democrats are going to attack us in the next election.  There can be a case made that because of how the democrats ran the house when they had the majority is why they were thrown out and got us into the current mess. 

We need to think outside the box for lowering insurance costs (we will never curb their greed) but can come up with better ways of delivery.  We need to balance our budget cuts in education to what we want to accomplish in the long run and need to have the teachers involved in helping to keep costs down; without their input the budget cuts will be forced on them and that is not good.  We need to totally revamp our consumer protection laws, special interests have been attacking them for years and we need to dig in and fight back to protect our constituents.  If we can focus on just a handful of issues we can get more done with the right leadership.  There is nothing that we can’t do if we all work together.