Posted on 04/21/2008 6:38:18 AM PDT by Turret Gunner A20
Just in case you haven't already noticed, whenever a policy proposal is made that would increase self-reliance and decrease dependency on government you will find the Democrats lined up against it ... every single time. These people believe that America is great because of government .. not because of the hard work, perseverance and determination of the American people.
Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama try to make you believe that they actually care about your healthcare. That's horsecrap. The truth of the matter is: they don't. They care about power.
Democrats want to provide government healthcare or insurance programs for one reason ... because they realize that controlling your health care means controlling you. Power.
Don't believe me? Here's the latest. Take a look at what your Democrat-run House of Representatives did just this past week.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120856003868627785.html?mod=djemEditorialPage
You do know what a Health Savings Account is, don't you? This is where you can set aside up to $2,900 every year in a special tax-free savings account. The money is allowed to accumulate year after year. This is before tax money. Then, with this money sitting in your HSA you can go out and buy a high-deductible health insurance policy that will be much less expensive than the policy you have today. You can then use the HSA money for your medical care and let the high-deductible health insurance policy kick in much later.
Well ... here come the Democrats. They don't like Health Savings Accounts. And why not? Because when you have that money stashed away for medical expenses, and when you can afford to buy a high-deductible health insurance policy, you won't be standing around screaming for the government to do something about your health care.
So the Democrat House passes legislation that will require every Health Savings Account transaction to be reviewed and verified by some government agency as a legitimate medical expense.
Wait! You mean that nobody is verifying that the bills paid from the HSA are a legitimate medical expense now? Well of course someone is. The IRS watches to make sure you are spending this money on legitimate medical expenses, and not on Hanna Montana concert tickets.
Not good enough for Democrats. They want another level of bureaucracy. And what is the purpose of this extra bureaucratic level? To harass people with HSAs. Nothing more.
So what is really going on here? Democrats are trying to kill free market options for health insurance by bogging them down with government regulations. They are using the power of government to chase you from private sector options into the gaping maw of government. This is the same party that claims it has your best interests at heart ... that it is your "human right" to have government provided healthcare.
There is another layer to this. It's called wealth envy. Liberals view these Health Saving Accounts as "insurance for the healthy and wealthy." Never mind that anyone can have this account. Democrats know, however, that some of their loyal constituents might rather spend the money on cell phones and sixpacks than on a Health Savings Account ... especially when they have their government nannies waiting to take care of them. "You just go ahead and obligate yourself for that huge car payment sweetie, we're here to take care of the really important stuff."
But even though the Democrats view these saving plans as solely for the wealthy ... if they took the time to do a little bit of homework they would see that this isn't the case. Since the creation of these accounts in 2003, over 3 million accounts have been opened, covering 4.5 million Americans. And a third of these new HSA users previously had no insurance. And 30% were small businesses that had previously never offered coverage to their employees. This should be great, right? This is what the Democrats complain about – those 30 million uninsured Americans ...
At the end of the day, we can thank Representative Pete Stark, the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee. It is Pete Stark's main goal as a politician to bring government-run healthcare to this country. He actually once compared these Health Savings Accounts to "weapons of mass destruction" because they introduce more individual choice into the healthcare marketplace.
And these are the people that you want to allow to provide your healthcare in the future. ??????
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
People who become enslaved to the nanny state are easy to manipulate and control.
Also, who do you think GETS all those cushy, ‘do-nothing’ government jobs administering the plan???? (....AND may I add, ‘administering’ the plan by being rude and surly in the most counterproductive way possible.... ever have to deal with a government employee ... for ANYTHING????)
As a business owner with two kids and a wife, I opened up a HSA last year and I love it. We’re young and healthy, so not only are we insured against catastrophic medical expenses, but we are also investing in a good retirement vehicle. I’ll be p*ssed if some Democrat wonk tries to take that away.
I agree, but I'm willing to risk investing in a ROTH for the potential tax savings. Now, if I could only get them to convert my existing 401k into a ROTH 401k.
Unfortunately, many of us can’t qualify for a tax-advantaged MSA because our state governments won’t allow the high-deductible policies that are a prequisite to have one. At least that’s my take on it.
Everyone should be entitled to an MSA, regardless of state insurance regulators and regardless of what other coverage he/she may have.
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