Little Red Hen Goes to Washington

By David MacDonald, DO

This is a tale about Little Red Hen and her efforts to "drain the political swamp" from greed and divisive political partisanship. "Red," as she is known to her friends, offers some practical and proven solutions to controlling escalating insurance premiums. She also offers sage advice to physicians, business owners, and politicians.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098038601

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Little Red Hen Goes to Washington

David MacDonald, DO

Copyright © 2020 by David MacDonald, DO

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, businesses, characters, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance persons, living or dead, is purely fictional.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Little Red Hen and Smithville Farm

Political Primary Elections

Political Theories

Red’s Quiet Time

The US Senate Elections

Washington, D.C.

Health Insurance versus Health Care

Senate Health-Care Subcommittee

The National Governors Association

The Ugly Side of Politics

A Heroine Returns Home

To the hard working, middle-class Americans who have been the backbone of our nation.

To those whose lives have been dramatically impacted by unexpected health-care needs and distorted medical costs, your challenges have been the driving force behind writing this book.

I would also like to dedicate this book to those who deliver health care within the correctional setting. There are suggestions in this book that could create jobs for offenders, enable them to generate restitution money, and provide affordable housing for those leaving the correctional setting.

Acknowledgments

There are so many people that I would like to acknowledge. Without a doubt, my mother is the one to acknowledge first. She is best known as Power Granny. Her hours in prayer are the main reason I am alive, finished high school, and made it to medical school.

While in medical school, I met my wife, Joanna, and I am eternally grateful for her. She is my best friend, a superb mother to our children, and has been granted the grace to believe in me.

My siblings Pam, Pat, Paula, Margaret, and Tim are always encouraging.

My children Mallory, Tucker, Allie, Micah, Emilie, and Carter have helped me with presentations and speaking engagements regarding health care. Without their help, I would not know how to change the channels on the TV.

Joyce Ricciardelli, executive director of Liberty Health Group, who continues to tally up the Free Dumbs I make. Rob Ricciardelli has graciously allowed me to crash in his home and provided chauffeuring services to and from many speaking events. I have not forgotten about the Ricciardelli Durango I totaled.

Content Hagen, the Johnston family, Nita Davis, and all my Plexus Health and Wellness patients, you encourage me to continue providing clinical services.

I am not sure how to appropriately acknowledge the Creator of the heavens and Earth without sounding weird. My quiet times in the woods, my prayers of thanks and desperation, and the joy I have in finding healing properties in plants are well-known to you. I would be remiss if I did not express gratitude for my life, the numerous times my life has been spared, and for the privilege of serving people. Saying Thank you seems trivial. You know the depth of my words spoken in silence.

Preface

When the idealistic Little Red Hen winds up appointed to the U.S. Senate, she gains access to the activity behind the curtain in Washington, D.C. Politicians and lobbyists try to discredit Little Red Hen’s efforts to develop access to affordable care. Determined to stand up against strong political parties, Little Red Hen takes her case to the senate floor. She is the voice of reason amid the chaos of nonconstructive opinions.

The points to ponder at the end of each chapter are intended to promote discussion among those who would like to see real changes regarding the health-care dollar flow.

Chapter 1

Little Red Hen and Smithville Farm

Little Red Hen (LRH), known as Red by her family and friends, was an introvert by nature. She lived on Smithville Farm in Pottersville County. She was a perennial County Fair winner for her bread and baked goods. While helping friends with their unexpected hospital bills, she found herself thrust into the forefront of the affordable health-care debate. Little Red Hen gained national notoriety since she successfully changed the hospital billing practices in Pottersville (read The Little Red Hen & Hospital Bills ). Requests for speaking engagements, media appearances, and interactions with politicians became part of her daily life. But she learned to rise to the occasion as needed. Those who knew her well could see the forced smiles she displayed when being interviewed by the media.

To Red’s surprise, the media seemed more interested in grabbing sound bites from her interviews and then creating the story they wanted to produce rather than tell the real story. She was frequently disappointed at the lack of integrity when reporters twisted the facts of a story. The media pointed fingers at anyone they disagreed with politically. They perceived LRH’s success as a threat to their political party even though her efforts were supported by all of the local politicians. The onslaught by the majority of the media transformed Red into a warrior. The more distorted the media became, the more determined she became to be a voice of truth.

Why do they not tell the truth about my success regarding affordable health care? Red asked herself.

Red’s success regarding hospital billing practices had a profound impact on the Pottersville and Smithville residents. They were thrilled they no longer faced the threat of bankruptcy imposed by unexpected hospital events. Business owners were grateful that they could control their escalating benefit costs. State Senators Donkey and