newsobserver.com projects - Moncure podiatrist to run for U.S. Senate - Comments

Re: Moncure podiatrist to run for U.S. Senate

NancySimons — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:58:03 -0500

As a patience of Dr. Stanley I have had many conversations with him and we are bless to have folks like Harold to put his name out there .At my next appointment I will thank him and back that up with check John Simons

Re: Moncure podiatrist to run for U.S. Senate

pigeon — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 11:09:35 -0500

In regard to the story on Howard Staley, a clarification is needed. Dr. Staley does not say insurance companies are charging too much (although they are). What he sees as unfair practice is patients who do NOT carry insurance are being charged higher prices without the discounts offered to insurance carriers. His point is health care costs should be the same no matter who pays for it.
In Staley's official announcement to run for U.S. Senate, he says:
“I see three big issues that are decreasing the quality of the lives of average Americans. One is the uninsured in a healthcare system that is based on fictitiously excessive charges submitted to a handful of insurance companies, which are reimbursed at unsustainable reduced levels. This means that unless you have paid insurance company premiums, you are being over charged because insurance companies reduce the fee. The free market no longer has any function in the healthcare system. Luckily, many healthcare providers still have a sense of charity.
“I feel we need to develop a system that includes everyone throughout their lifetime with a balance between insurance, patients, and the government.”
In addition, Staley says, “Secondly, I believe that the well-touted tax cuts of the Bush administration have been a windfall for the wealthy, and have actually caused more total taxes to be paid by the less wealthy in the form of regressive local taxes.
“Thirdly, our unquenchable thirst for energy has turned us into a debtor nation,” he says. “Unlike the last one hundred years, the twenty-first century is no longer a period of cheap energy from third-world nations. These foreign nations now have returned these dollars by owning our children’s national debt, as well as much of our land and assets. Cheap energy has caused many of our other problems, such as urban sprawl, traffic congestion, pollution and human isolation by limiting interaction in communities. We need to develop technology, lifestyles changes, and native energy sources to release us from imported petroleum.”

Moncure podiatrist to run for U.S. Senate

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 13:19:17 -0500

A Moncure podiatrist will run for U.S. Senate.

Howard A. Staley, 52, announced yesterday that he would enter the Democratic primary against state Sen. Kay Hagan and Chapel Hill investment banker Jim Neal.

He said that he wants to add his experiences as a doctor, patient and employer to the upcoming debate over health care in Congress. In particular, he argued that insurance companies are charging excessive fees at unsustainable levels.

A native of Philadelphia, he moved to Chatham County 26 years ago to work as a podiatrist. Having never run for public office before, he said he knows he faces an uphill battle. Cary graphic artist John Ross Hendrix and Lexington trucker Duskin Lassiter are also running as longshot candidates.

"I know that it's a longshot," he told Dome, "but I wanted to offer myself up as a candidate."