By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog
Dr. Alieta Eck remains one of the NJ GOP’s most undervalued assets, Save Jerseyans. She’s running for Congress in a tough district, it’s true, but her work in the health care industry through the groundbreaking Zarephath Health Center is truly inspiring. It’s also a tangible path forward for a Republican Party that’s often unfairly accused of being the “Party of No” where one of our era’s major political issues is concerned.
Our friends from Chasing New Jersey recently took a deeper look…
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suuIEvHSr_c
It is subsidized by the volunteer workers having paid jobs and sometimes loans to pay off their education. Looks cute but the economic realities are a bummer.
@Roger No one is claiming that it’ll replace hospitals, but imagine what would happen to health care costs if we had something like Dr. Eck’s clinic in every community? It’s a no-brainer.
Matt Rooney I didn’t say that it would replace hospitals. I did say that the economics are skewed here. Of course the cost is cheap and that the staff are volunteers. Thus the true employee “costs” are offset elsewhere (folks have to have an income). I’m not knocking this altruistic effort. As a model for a larger program, it is a “free lunch” issue. And we ll know that there is no such thing as a free lunch.
You didn’t want to hear about this when she was running against Lonegan. We’ve been talking about this for years.
@Lynn Who didn’t want to hear about what? Are you accusing me of boosting Lonegan? Did you forget with whom you’re speaking?
@Roger I hear you; it’s only part of the solution.
You said nothing positive about Alieta when she was running against Lonegan. I didn’t see anything on your site disputing Shaftan when he called her nothing but a tea party hack. Hey, if you’ve finally seen the light, that’s ok with me. Even a broken clock…
@Lynn When was I deputized as “GOP primary policeman”? You’re talking nonsense. But if there’s one thing that DOES get under my skin, it’s folks who don’t read regularly but nevertheless make strong, definitive pronouncements where my content is concerned. Anyone who believes I haven’t been tough enough on Lonegan – or critical of his tactics – is living under a rock.
Lynn As if anyone can tell Rick what to do!
@Roger Some of these Facebook armchair activists ^^^ don’t know how to do anything useful; they talk trash 24/7. It’s exhausting.
Matt Rooney These are the clods who only want to do “policy” on a campaign and not wear out shoe leather.
Clods… Armchair activists… “When the debate is lost, slander is the tool of the loser.” You have no,idea who I am, or how much “shoe leather” I’ve worn out.
And from these comments we see why GOP has a tough time in Jersey.
Not a viable “alternative to Obamacare”…but nice they are doing it…
Roger, who do you think subsidizes Medicaid and the ObamaCare subsidies, but people with paid jobs and loans to pay off? THAT is the economic reality.
Thanks, Matt Rooney.
Here are some facts. ObamaCare will double the Medicaid rolls in NJ. Medicaid already costs us $13 billion per year in a $34 billion budget. If people can afford nothing for their care, they need help. That is charity. But when the government does “charity” it costs the taxpayers way too much, feeds a huge bureaucracy and barely pays the physician enough to cover his overhead. He is providing the care for free.
So NJ Senate bill S94 will ask physicians to donate 4 hours a week in a non-government free clinic in exchange for the state extending medical malpractice protection to his private practice. The federal government already gives that protection for his work in the free clinic. The patients will have access to care, physicians will be genuinely thanked for their service and the taxpayers will save $billions. The $13 cost per patient visit will come from charitable donations and real philanthropy.
Baby boomers are retiring at a rate of 10,000 per day. They could form an army of clinic volunteers, putting in several hours per month and adding their expertise, experience, kindness and generosity, and becoming role models to help those in need. This is clearly scalable and reproducible in every community. And the relief to the taxpayers will be huge, causing a new economic boom and a civil society.
Fact- It’s been working for 11 years. It costs $13 a patient.
Fact- No one associated with the clinic said it replaced hospitals.
Fact- It does provide excellent medical care.
Fact- It is a tried and tested viable model of a successful alternative to Obamacare.
Fact- Facts should be reported by journalists and bloggetsy alike.