Posted on 09/14/2009 11:36:02 AM PDT by markomalley
Here's one thing that I haven't seen stressed too much about HR 3200.
Click on the above link, click on the link for the text of the legislation, and then click once again on the "printer friendly version."
Now search for the term "Y1"
You will come up with the following (not all the references, but here are the first few of them):
(1) LIMITATION ON NEW ENROLLMENT- (A) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day of Y1. (B) DEPENDENT COVERAGE PERMITTED- Subparagraph (A) shall not affect the subsequent enrollment of a dependent of an individual who is covered as of such first day. (2) LIMITATION ON CHANGES IN TERMS OR CONDITIONS- Subject to paragraph (3) and except as required by law, the issuer does not change any of its terms or conditions, including benefits and cost-sharing, from those in effect as of the day before the first day of Y1. (3) RESTRICTIONS ON PREMIUM INCREASES- The issuer cannot vary the percentage increase in the premium for a risk group of enrollees in specific grandfathered health insurance coverage without changing the premium for all enrollees in the same risk group at the same rate, as specified by the Commissioner. (1) GRACE PERIOD- (A) IN GENERAL- The Commissioner shall establish a grace period whereby, for plan years beginning after the end of the 5-year period beginning with Y1, an employment-based health plan in operation as of the day before the first day of Y1 must meet the same requirements as apply to a qualified health benefits plan under section 101, including the essential benefit package requirement under section 121. (1) FIRST YEAR- In Y1 (as defined in section 100(c))-- (A) individuals described in subsection (d)(1), including individuals described in paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (d); and (B) smallest employers described in subsection (e)(1). (2) SECOND YEAR- In Y2-- (A) individuals and employers described in paragraph (1); and (B) smaller employers described in subsection (e)(2). (3) THIRD AND SUBSEQUENT YEARS- In Y3 and subsequent years-- (A) individuals and employers described in paragraph (2); and (B) larger employers as permitted by the Commissioner under subsection (e)(3).
When talking with your friends, doing a little demonstration of "Y1" can show them the impact of it.
It is especially poignant when one considers the Bamster's words last Sunday on 60 minutes: "I intend to be president for a while and once this bill passes, I own it."
Well, Y1 is the year following the next Presidential election, so when this bill kicks in, he won't really have too much of a political reason to care much, will he? He'll either be "out" -- in which case, he'll usher it in before he leaves town on January 20, 2013, or he'll usher it in and nurse it around for its first four years of existence.
Will that make a difference to a true kool-aid drinker? No. But it just might make a difference to somebody who is still on the fence.
The increased taxes and funding of the bill will start in 2010.
“Well, I have done it! I have read the entire text of proposed House Bill 3200: The Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009. I studied it with particular emphasis from my area of expertise, constitutional law. I was frankly concerned that parts of the proposed law that were being discussed might be unconstitutional. What I found was far worse than what I had heard or expected.
“To begin with, much of what has been said about the law and its implications is in fact true, despite what the Democrats and the media are saying. The law does provide for rationing of health care, particularly where senior citizens and other classes of citizens are involved, free health care for illegal immigrants, free abortion services, and probably forced participation in abortions by members of the medical profession.
“The Bill will also eventually force private insurance companies out of business and put everyone into a government run system. All decisions about personal health care will ultimately be made by federal bureaucrats and most of them will not be health care professionals. Hospital admissions, payments to physicians, and allocations of necessary medical devices will be strictly controlled.
However, as scary as all of that it, it just scratches the surface. In fact, I have concluded that this legislation really has no intention of providing affordable health care choices. Instead it is a convenient cover for the most massive transfer of power to the Executive Branch of government that has ever occurred, or even been contemplated. If this law or a similar one is adopted, major portions of the Constitution of the United States will effectively have been destroyed.
“The first thing to go will be the masterfully crafted balance of power between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the U.S. Government. The Congress will be transferring to the Obama Administration authority in a number of different areas over the lives of the American people and the businesses they own. The irony is that the Congress doesn’t have any authority to legislate in most of those areas to begin with. I defy anyone to read the text of the U.S. Constitution and find any authority granted to the members of Congress to regulate health care.
“This legislation also provides for access by the appointees of the Obama administration of all of your personal healthcare information, your personal financial information, and the information of your employer, physician, and hospital. All of this is a direct violation of the specific provisions of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures. You can also forget about the right to privacy. That will have been legislated into oblivion regardless of what the 3rd and 4th Amendments may provide.
“If you decide not to have healthcare insurance or if you have private insurance that is not deemed “acceptable” to the “Health Choices Administrator” appointed by Obama there will be a tax imposed on you. It is called a “tax” instead of a fine because of the intent to avoid application of the due process clause of the 5th Amendment. However, that doesn’t work because since there is nothing in the law that allows you to contest or appeal the imposition of the tax, it is definitely depriving someone of property without the “due process of law.
“So, there are three of those pesky amendments that the far left hate so much out the original ten in the Bill of Rights that are effectively nullified by this law. It doesn’t stop there though. The 9th Amendment that provides: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people;” The 10th Amendment states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are preserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Under the provisions of this piece of Congressional handiwork neither the people nor the states are going to have any rights or powers at all in many areas that once were theirs to control.
“I could write many more pages about this legislation, but I think you get the idea. This is not about health care; it is about seizing power and limiting rights. Article 6 of the Constitution requires the members of both houses of Congress to “be bound by oath or affirmation” to support the Constitution. If I was a member of Congress I would not be able to vote for this legislation or anything like it without feeling I was violating that sacred oath or affirmation. If I voted for it anyway I would hope the American people would hold me accountable.
“For those who might doubt the nature of this threat I suggest they consult the source. Here is a link to the Constitution: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html
And another to the Bill of Rights: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html";
it means we all pay into it .dc spends it and we get to pay for it again but by that time we wont qualify for anything
you are abolutely right and once signed there is no going back...and violates the constitution.
If I'm reading it right, the only taxes that take effect are the surcharge on high income individuals in section 441. I don't think that the 8% of payroll charge on employers can take effect prior to establishment of qualified health benefit plans (which is 2013).
“So what does all of that mean.”
It means that eventually, ALL health insurance plans would be FORCED to conform to the benefits design crafted by “experts:”
e.g., include abortion benefits if the committee of bureaucrats who decide such matters decides such benefits should be part of the minimum benefits package. It would prohibit employers such as Safeway from adjusting employee premium contributions to encourage healthier lifestyles (e.g., charging smokers or obese employees an amount that reflects the higher cost of providing health benefits to smokers or obese employees).
Thus, while many would continue to nominally have private health insurance, government would have way more control over your health plan than they do today. This bill has been crafted by people whose mentality is that the sheeple need to be protected from their ignorance by experts who will skillfully guide them to the correct choices.
Especially when you consider the "Comparative Effectiveness Research" studies begun under the provisions of HR 1 ($700M worth of funding for that "research")
And, conveniently, none of the Sheeple will know about it until 2013...convenient because this will be after the next election. When, no matter how bad it is, the program will officially become as difficult to dismember as Social Security.
Let me begin by stating that I am far from being a Constitutional expert. That said, it is my understanding that the Constitution prohibits the government from forcing a citizen to enter a contractual agreement. Obamacare seems to be in direct violation.
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