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God's Warrior

Health Care Reform

From: Center for Individual Freedom [mailto:cfif@cfiflistmanager.org]
Subject: Health Care: What Obama Is Not Telling You

Right now, as you read this letter, politicians in Washington are scheming behind closed doors to impose a massive government-run health care system on the American people.

Forget, for just a moment, the 1.6 trillion cost to taxpayers for the “downpayment” on this plan. Forget, for just a moment, that the cost of Obama-Kennedy-Pelosi-Care will bankrupt the nation.

What should really concern you is not its cost... but rather its callousness.

Probably the most horrifying aspect of Obama-Kennedy-Pelosi-Care is that it will actually limit your family’s health care choices, put government bureaucrats and accountants in charge of your family’s medical decisions, and enable these government bureaucrats to actually play God – deciding who gets what treatment and when.

The dirty little secret is that Barack Obama’s and Teddy Kennedy’s and Nancy Pelosi’s idea of “reforming” American health care seems to be Less Care for All, Little or No Care for Some.

Here's what political pundit Dick Morris recently wrote on the subject:
Quote:

"Their secret emerges: They are going to cut medical costs by cutting medical care. ... decisions will not be medical but financial. They will not be based on a doctor’s opinion of what his or her patient needs, but a bureaucrat’s and an accountant’s opinion of what the new health care system can afford."

"And you will not be able to bypass their rulings and pay for this care yourself. The rules laid down must be followed and private payments will not be permitted to override them. What we now call a private fee for service will metastasize into a bribe.

"But this is just the very beginning... rationing is coming, and coming soon."


    Rationing of services? Denial of choice? Is that the kind of “reform” you want?

    If you need a CAT Scan or an MRI, forget it. If you need antibiotics, maybe – only if they’re approved by the federal government. As for potentially life-saving or life-extending treatments, take a number and stand in line.

    Is this why our so-called leaders in Washington want to bankrupt the nation in the name of “reform?”

    We say “no.”

    But simply saying no is not enough. We must, right here and right now, tell our elected officials that we want them to say "no" to government-run health care as well.

    This is perhaps the biggest fight for freedom in a generation. It is about the liberty to make our own health care decisions, in consultation with the doctors of our choice, rather than the federal government doing it for us!
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Empty Promises Lead to Bad Public Policy.

Despite the realities of every other government-run health care system in the world, President Obama, in typical fashion, is attempting to sell his plan to the American people with empty promises – by telling you exactly what you want to hear.

”If you want to keep your doctor, you'll be able to keep your doctor,” Obama says. “If you want to keep your present health plan, you'll be able to keep your present health plan,” he tells us.

    But if his government-run health care plan passes, Obama will never be able to keep those promises and he knows it.

    Jim Lindgren, writing for the popular Internet blog Volokh Conspiracy, spelled out the reality of Obama’s plan:

Quote:
"If the Obama plan is enacted, a substantial portion of employers will cut their health subsidies — raising their employees’ share of contributions to the company plan — in order to drive some of the employees into the government exchange and the public option. Other employers may drop their plans altogether — after all, workers could buy their own coverage in the government exchange — or simply fund part of their workers’ participation in the exchange. These changes, which would be the direct results of the implementation of the Obama plan, would make it virtually impossible for Obama to keep these promises..."


    And, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office recently reported that the plan currently under consideration in Congress would cause about 23 million Americans to lose their private insurance.

    Another thing Obama failed tell you is that even if he could keep those promises – and he can’t - keeping your doctor or your present health plan won’t matter when government bureaucrats start calling the shots and telling your doctor and provider exactly what they can and cannot do… when and how they are allowed to treat patients and how much they can charge for that treatment.

    You can stop this government-run health care scheme dead in its tracks – right now, today!
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Don’t Take Our Word for It. Here’s Obama And Other Proponents of Government-Run Health Care In Their Own Words…

    Earlier this year, the New York Times Sunday Magazine published a lengthy interview with Obama in which the President gave the American people a small taste of what he envisions for health care reform.

    Consider what Obama said:

Obama:
Quote:
“Part of what I think government can do effectively is to be an honest broker in assessing and evaluating treatment options."

    Translation: Government bureaucrats will step in and call the shots. Both you and your doctor will be shut out from determining appropriate treatment.

    If that doesn’t worry you, the President elaborated further:
Quote:

"The chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives are accounting for potentially 80 percent of the total health care bill..."


Quote:
“There is going to have to be a conversation that is guided by doctors, scientists, ethicists. And then there is going to have to be a very difficult democratic conversation that takes place."


   Just what do you think Obama’s talking about here? Trust me, these are scary times if you’re chronically ill or over the age of 55.

    If you have diabetes or high blood pressure or multiple sclerosis – or are diagnosed with heart disease or cancer – your future doesn’t look very bright based on the President’s comments above.

    If the feds determine you’re costing more than you’re worth, well, it’s been nice knowing you.

    Even Obama’s top health advisers have emphasized that America should value the lives of young, healthy people more than those of old, sick individuals.

    One such adviser is Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, brother of Obama’s pit-bull chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel.

    Kevin Williamson of National Review Online describes Dr. Emanuel’s views:

“He wrote in The Lancet in 2008:
Quote:
‘Unlike allocation by sex or race, allocation by age is not invidious discrimination.’ We all were young once, the argument goes, and so denying the elderly and weak in order to care for the young and fit is just.”

    Does that sound “just” to you?

   And, Obama claims that his health plan won’t involve rationing or reduced care. But that’s ridiculous, because all government-run health systems suffer from those drawbacks.
    In fact, government-run health care supporters in Congress have already made a down payment on rationed care.

    Specifically, 1.1 billion has already been appropriated as part of the disastrous “stimulus bill” for so-called “comparative effectiveness research.”

    What is “comparative effectiveness research?”

    Congressman David Obey, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, explained it in his committee’s report:

Quote:
“…those items, procedures, and interventions… that are found to be less effective and in some cases, more expensive, will no longer be prescribed.”


    What happened to America being a Republic that promises to safeguard the God-given rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?”
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Private System vs. Government-Run System...

    We are the first to admit that America’s health care system is not perfect. Costs are out of control; access to care is a real issue for some.

   Yes, some reform is needed, but “reform” modeled after state-run European and Canadian models is the wrong approach.

    After all, despite its flaws, the current health care system in the United States is second-to-none in the world.
    Dr. David Gratzer, a Canadian-trained physician who practices in the United States, makes that very point in his book The Cure. Here are just a few examples he cites:

Quote:
*U.S. breast cancer patients are four times as likely to be diagnosed before the tumor has spread… and thus much more likely to survive;
*U.S. cancer patients generally have much higher survival rates than their European counterparts;
*American heath care dramatically outperforms the “universal care” systems with heart disease and stroke; and,
*American researchers in a private enterprise system are responsible for roughly 80% of the world’s major medical advances.

     Here’s how Dr. Gratzer describes his own revelation about Canada’s state-run system:

Quote:
“On my way to medical school class… I cut through a hospital emergency room and came upon dozens of people on stretchers – waiting, moaning, begging for treatment. Some elderly patients had waited up to five days in corridors before being admitted to beds. They smelled of urine and sweat. As I navigated past the bodies, I began to question everything I thought I knew about health care – not only in Canada, but also in the United States. … I had begun a journey into the heart of one of the great policy disasters of modern times."


    Painful and interminable waits for care are policy disasters Obama “forgot” to mention.

    The time is now to tell Congress that you don’t want government bureaucrats making life-and-death decisions for you and your family. The time is now to defeat government-run health care in the United States. -------------------------------------------------------------
You Think The Canadian System Is Bad? What About The European Systems?

    Is the situation really any better in Europe – should we, for instance, emulate the French system?

    Consider what one French journalist said at the Heritage Foundation:

Quote:
“The majority of France’s state-owned hospitals are managed in a way that is reminiscent of the old U.S.S.R. ... In the average French public hospital, it is not uncommon for every window to be open, even in winter, because the heating system in the building cannot be regulated. With the only options being no heat or unbearably high heat, everyone opts for the latter. Predictably, this is not very cheap.”


    What about Germany? The British medical journal, Lancet, states:

Quote:
“The German health care system is facing bankruptcy on an unprecedented scale.”


    In Great Britain, one current cost-saving measure is the denial of essential medications to women in advanced stages of certain cancers.

    Somehow, Obama “forgot” to mention the stench, the unbearable heat, the withholding of medications and the financial calamities.

    Truth be told: Universal health care is a sham and a delusion. It’s universal only in that everyone waits in line and everyone receives substandard care, if they receive any care at all.

    On June 15, Barack Obama told the American Medical Association (AMA) that other developed countries – he meant nations like Canada, Germany, France, and Britain – pay much less per capita for health care than Americans.

    He’s right… but you also get exactly what you pay for.

    Will the health care system under the Obama plan start to follow the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) model, where you take a number.... and wait… and then wait some more?

    Dr. Gratzer describes what rationing is like in Canada:

Quote:
“I trained in emergency rooms that were chronically, chaotically, dangerously overcrowded… all across Canada. I met a middle-aged man with sleep problems who was booked for an appointment with a specialist three years later; a man with pain... who was referred to a pain clinic with a two-year wait list; a woman with breast cancer who was asked to wait for four months before starting the life-saving radiation therapy.”


    There’s tremendous irony in Obama’s and Kennedy’s and Pelosi’s mindless drive toward a government-run system.

    In Great Britain, France, Germany – and even Canada – there’s a growing push to get people back into private insurance systems, taking the pressure off public facilities and doctors. It’s a move toward – you guessed it – government cost savings.

    It’s time to tell Congress – loudly and clearly – that Obama-Kennedy-Pelosi-Care is hazardous to our health, as individuals and as a nation.
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Tell them that Obama-Kennedy-Pelosi-Care or any other government-run health care scheme is the wrong prescription for America. Tell them that the American people do not want a system that rations care, limits choices or puts government bureaucrats – rather than you and private doctor – in charge of your family’s health care decisions.

Yours In Freedom,

Jeff Mazzella
President
Center for Individual Freedom

The CFIF Action Alert is a service to the conservative community.  If you would like to subscribe please go to www.cfif.org/signup.

Center for Individual Freedom
917-B King Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-535-5836
Fax:703-535-5838

CFIF is a 501(c)(4) not-for-profit constitutional advocacy organization with the mission to protect and defend individual freedoms and individual rights.
Contributions to CFIF are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Contributions may be deductible as a business expense.
God's Warrior

Call, email or Fax your own message to the people listed below:

Quote:
TO: Barack Obama and;

The Republican and Democratic Leadership of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives: The Hon. Harry Reid, The Hon. Robert C. Byrd, The Hon. Richard J. Durbin, The Hon. Charles E. Schumer, The Hon. Patty Murray, The Hon. Robert Menendez, The Hon. Byron L. Dorgan, The Hon. Debbie A. Stabenow, The Hon. Jeff Bingaman, The Hon. Blanche L. Lincoln, The Hon. Barbara Boxer, The Hon. Thomas R. Carper, The Hon. Bill Nelson, The Hon. Russ Feingold, The Hon. Mitch McConnell, The Hon. Jon L. Kyl, The Hon. Lamar Alexander, The Hon. John R. Thune, The Hon. John Cornyn, The Hon. John Ensign, The Hon. Nancy Pelosi, The Hon. Steny H. Hoyer, The Hon. James Clyburn, The Hon. John B. Larson, The Hon. Xavier Becerra, The Hon. Chris Van Hollen, The Hon. Rosa DeLauro, The Hon. George Miller, The Hon. John A. Boehner, The Hon. Eric I. Cantor, The Hon. Mike Pence, The Hon. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, The Hon. John R. Carter, The Hon. Thaddeus G. McCotter, The Hon. Pete Sessions

President Barack Obama, Senator Edward Kennedy, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others in Congress are attempting to impose a massive government-run health care scheme on the American people. Other than the fact that America simply cannot afford this $1.6 trillion-plus monstrosity, government-run health care will actually limit health care choices, result in denials of service and bring about rationing on a massive scale. Despite rhetoric to the contrary, this is the reality for every state-run health care system in the world.

Ironically, the government-run health care proponents like to tell horror stories involving people who could not receive essential treatment because they could not afford health insurance. But here’s the reality: If this Obama-Kennedy-Pelosi health care sham passes, those horror stories will only increase. Just take a look at the Canadian and European systems today.

Government-run health care is the wrong prescription for America. The American people do not want a system that rations care, limits choices or puts government bureaucrats – rather than patients and private doctors – in charge of health care decisions. I demand you reject Obama-Kennedy-Pelosi-Care and any other state-run system!

Sincerely,

Your Signature _________________________

***********************************************

You can also use the link below to send your urgent Blast Fax messages to President Barack Obama and each and every Member of the Republican and Democrat leadership of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives -- or alternatively to President Obama and all 535 Members of Congress.
http://www.cfiflistmanager.org/obamahealthcare.html
God's Warrior

Newt Gingrich - Video on Obama’s Health Care Plan
Newsmax

http://www.healthtransformation.net/
God's Warrior

From: Teapartyexpress


This health care policy from Hades represents everything we must avoid as a nation when it comes to reforming health care.  It is a big government, freedom-killing monstrosity that we will oppose during the upcoming Tea Party Express.  For more information on how you can join our effort to fight back log on to:  
http://www.teapartyexpress.org/

Please support our efforts to defeat this socialistic health care plan.
God's Warrior

Congressman John Fleming (Louisiana physician) has proposed an amendment that would require congressmen and senators to take the same healthcare plan they force on us (under proposed legislation they are curiously exempt). Congressman Fleming is encouraging people to go on his Website and sign his petition.

http://fleming.house.gov/  
Please urge as many people as you can to sign thie petition!

If Congress forces this on the American people, the Congressmen should have to accept the same level of health care for themselves and their families.
God's Warrior

An Urgent Message From the League of American Voters

Dear Friend:

Are Obama and his friends taking you as a fool?  You have to wonder what they really think about the intelligence of the American people. Obama repeatedly has out-and-out lied about his healthcare plan.

Here are just 5 of the big whoppers.

Lie #1: 'You Keep Your Doctor, You Keep Your Insurer'
This is a complete fabrication.

Under plans Obama has backed in the House and the Senate, almost any business can opt their employees into the "public option" — the government health plan.
That means you could lose your insurer. And if your doctor is worth his salt, you'll lose him or her as well.

Why? Because great doctors probably will not want to get the very low rates the government will pay private doctors who are part of the new government system. So, without your consent, you very easily could lose your insurer and your doctor.

Lie #2: The Elderly Will Not Face Rationing or Medicare Cuts
More baloney.

In fact, just last week, The New York Times, a very liberal and very pro-Obama newspaper, admitted that fears of rationing for elderly patients are "not irrational."
The truth is that Obamacare would almost 50 million new patients to government care. Who would pay for it? You would!

Seniors on Medicare will be the first hit.
Here's what the Times reported: "Bills now in Congress would squeeze savings out of Medicare, a lifeline for the elderly, on the assumption that doctors and hospitals can be more efficient." This means that faceless bureaucrats will decide the type and quality of your care.

It is a very dangerous thing to give your life and well-being over to government bureaucrats! Imagine if you or a loved one is older than 80 years and critically needs heart surgery. Instead of getting the heart procedure, you or that loved one could be informed that you are simply too old.

We at the League of American Voters have been warning of this danger and have a powerful TV commercial exposing the risks to seniors.

You can see the ad by Going Here Now
https://www.newsmaxstore.com/cont...e/lav/?s=al&promo_code=85F9-1

Lie #3: There Will Be No "Death Panels."
More lies.

Sure, they don't call them "death panels" in the legislation, but that's what their job will be. These committee members will set guidelines with which faceless bureaucrats will make decisions about you and your healthcare. They will decide who lives and who dies. They decide who gets critical procedures and expensive medicines.

Again, according to the New York Times, the Democratic plans call for saving money by creating new oversight committees. The Times says that Medicare and insurers would be expected to follow "advice from a new federal panel of medical experts on 'what treatments work best.'”

Again, this very liberal paper concluded: "The zeal for cutting health costs, combined with proposals to compare the effectiveness of various treatments and to counsel seniors on end-of-life care, may explain why some people think the legislation is about rationing, which could affect access to the most expensive services in the final months of life."

Lie #4: The Obama Plan Contains Costs
Absolute nonsense.

The Obama plan will cost more than $1 trillion in new federal outlays, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.  This past weekend, Sen. Joe Lieberman claimed that most of this cost comes from adding 50 million people, currently uninsured, to the government health system. But as Lieberman pointed out, we just don't have the money to do this right now.

You can add only so many people to the government system by cutting medical care to seniors on Medicare and raising taxes. Democrats clearly plan to do both.

Lie #5: Illegals Are Not Covered by Obamacare

President Obama has stated time and again that illegal aliens are not covered under his new plan. Still, Democrats say they want to add almost 50 million uninsured. Yet almost one-quarter of these uninsured are illegal aliens.
None of the Democratic plans excludes illegal aliens.
In fact, when Republicans proposed an amendment to the House plan to block illegals from getting free government healthcare, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her minions soundly defeated the motion.

Many, many lies are emanating from Washington today.
This is why the work of the League of American Voters is so critical now.

Dick Morris, the famous Fox News analyst and campaign strategist, says the League is the No. 1 organization today fighting Obamacare. "Every American who wants to stop Obamacare should join with the League," Morris says. "They have the best strategy to stop it from becoming law."

Just two weeks ago, the League's powerful new TV ad went on the air. Thanks to your help, it's already running in 12 states — and it is affecting millions of people. We believe it is one reason some Democrats are starting to retreat. But our job is not done. We must fight the lies. We must expose the dangers of Obamacare to all Americans. Please act today by joining the League and donating to us today.

To Donate Go Here Now
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Bob Adams - Executive Director

P.S. Our TV ad, which Dick Morris crafted, is so effective that ABC News refused to run it. If you take a moment to watch the ad, you'll see why. It simply tells the truth, in the words of a respected medical doctor. Take a minute to watch it — and most importantly, help us continue this battle! To Watch the Ad and Donate — Go Here Now
https://www.newsmaxstore.com/cont...e/lav/?s=al&promo_code=85F9-1
God's Warrior

Baucus Plan Is Just New Path to Govt Healthcare Takeover

Baucus Plan Is Just New Path to Government Takeover of Health Care

From Sen. Jim DeMint (SC)
http://demint.senate.gov/public/i...2b445-e7e0-7488-79e5-339126d714c7

09/16/2009
The chairman’s health care proposal (known as the "chairman's mark") that was released by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) in advance of next week’s Finance Committee Markup is just more of the same big government policies that have been proposed by this Congress and this administration for months. The chairman’s rehashed proposal does nothing to increase Americans’ access to affordable health care coverage. In fact, the Baucus plan includes several devastating provisions that hurt the ability of millions of Americans to keep the coverage they currently have (and like).

Moreover, the combination of tax increases, penalties, new government health care programs, increased fees on private health care entities, and destruction of current health care coverage products will force this nation into the grip of a government-run health care system.

Chairman Baucus’ proposal:

1. Creates FANNIE MED Health Insurance Entities That Will Lead to Government Takeover: This bill uses taxpayer dollars to subsidize cooperative health insurance agreements that will be overseen and regulated by federal bureaucrats and, overtime, could be bailed out by taxpayers. As Majority Leader Reid has said himself, this is simply the “public option” by another name, and is nothing more than a new path to a government takeover of health care. Like the public option, taxpayer-subsidized co-ops will force millions of Americans out of their current plans and into government-regulated care. This nation has seen a similar model in our government-run mortgage market and America has spoken out on this issue: no Fannie Med.

2. Could DOUBLE Health Insurance Premiums for Millions of Americans: The chairman’s mark will effectively raise premiums for millions of Americans who purchase health insurance in the individual health marketplace. In fact, the Council for Affordable Health Insurance has indicated that the proposed combination of risk adjusted premiums, individual mandates, and guaranteed issue coverage could raise premiums as much as 95 percent in the individual market, impacting millions of Americans who purchase health insurance outside of their employer or as small business owners. This proposal not only destroys the ability of Americans to purchase health insurance they can afford, own and keep, but also violates the President’s campaign promise that every American would be able to “keep their health plan.”

3. Regulates EVERY Americans’ Health Coverage, by PENALIZING Anyone Without a Government Approved Plan: The chairman’s mark will mandate that every American get health care coverage and, moreover, will define what benefits individuals must get to avoid government penalties on their income (as high as $3,800 per family) -- again, violating the president’s commitment to the American people to not raise taxes on Americans making below $250,000 per year.

4. Does Little to Improve Competition Across State Lines: This bill does nothing to create a competitive national market in which uninsured Americans can choose from hundreds of health insurance plans in any state in the nation. Rather, the chairman’s mark allows states to build compacts for interstate purchasing -- an idea that does little to eliminate the big insurance industry’s hold on insurance commissioners who for years have blocked consumer-friendly, interstate competition.

5. Expands a Broken, Bankrupt Entitlement Program: For the past several years, we have heard from states on the impact of Medicaid costs on state budgets. In fact, just this year, the federal government bailed states out in passing billions for Medicaid in the stimulus package to pay off states’ debt. Aside from the daunting fiscal impact on states, such an expansion would be a mistake because Medicaid does not provide high-quality health care. Yet, Sen. Baucus and his Democrat colleagues believe that adding millions more Americans to Medicaid should be considered health care “reform.”

6. Taxes Health Care Benefits for Millions of Middle-Income Americans: The Baucus plan proposes to further tax health savings accounts and caps the benefits of flexible spending accounts -- impacting nearly 20 million Americans in the coming years. In addition, the Baucus plan proposes to tax comprehensive health insurance benefits that are valued at more than $8000 for the individual or $21,000 for families. Such a proposal will impact thousands of working Americans -- again, violating the president’s promise to not tax individuals making less than $250,000 per year.

7. Increases Taxes on Small Businesses: The chairman’s mark places an annual penalty (per employee) if health coverage is not offered by an employer. Such a provision could deteriorate the employer market over time -- forcing individuals into a government run health care program -- as many employers might see the penalty as an opportunity to drop employees’ health care coverage since such a penalty is less than the average cost of employer-provided health benefits.

8. Creates a New Government ‘Institute’ Similar to Bureaucracies in Other Nations Used to RATION Care: The chairman’s mark creates a new institute for comparative effectiveness research that could, ultimately, contribute to the denial of coverage for certain health care services. The chairman’s mark is careful in clarifying that, “prohibited from denying coverage based solely on a study conducted by the Institute,” however, it is never made clear that such denials could be made in consideration of the Institute’s research and conclusions. A similar bureaucracy in the United Kingdom has been used to ration health care.

9. Contains NO Tort Reform, Protecting Trial Lawyers While Costing Patients Hundreds of Billions Each Year: The chairman‘s mark expresses the “Sense of the Senate” that health care reform “presents an opportunity” to address medical malpractice reform -- however, the proposal does nothing to truly curb the devastating impact defensive medicine has had on our nation’s health care system. Independent analysts have estimated that defensive medicine used as a result of frivolous lawsuits adds more than $200 billion in unnecessary expenses to the cost of health care each year.

10. Negatively Impacts Seniors’ Ability to Access Medicare Advantage Programs: The Baucus plan makes adjustments to how Medicare Advantage plans are paid -- consequently impacting the current Medicare Advantage market and potentially shifting beneficiaries from their current plans. Again, this is a violation of the president’s campaign promise to not impact Americans’ current coverage.

11. Creates New Government Bureaucracy to Oversee Medicare Reimbursements: The Baucus plan would establish a politically-appointed Medicare Commission that would develop and submit proposals to Congress that “would reduce Medicare spending.” While the chairman’s mark does make an attempt to limit the commission’s autonomy, it is important to note that the commission will act very much like a “Super MedPac” and will ultimately have the ability to impact provider reimbursements and appropriate category of services approved under Medicare.

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