Posted on 01/02/2010 8:48:54 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
In their zeal to impose a health care “reform” package built around demonization of insurance companies and the massive transfer of new enrollees onto various government programs, many of our lefty friends have been conspicuously silent whenever asked about how the expansion of these entitlements will be paid for. It is, however, not possible to extend their calculated “silent treatment” to the actual text of the bills. The current crop of proposals draw funding from two primary sources: (1) a tax imposed on “Cadillac” health care insurance plans, and, (2) cuts in payments to doctors under Medicare.
When one looks closely at both of these planned revenue streams, however, the reason for the left’s “silent treatment” becomes all too clear — both actually wind up cutting off health care access rather than expanding it. The “Cadillac” health plan tax will not be applied to the truly wealthy (who don’t need health insurance at all), but rather to blue-collar and middle-class workers who have obtained such health plans in lieu of wage increases. Quite simply, these workers will not be able to pay the tax that Democrats impose on them after 2013. What they will be forced to do is decrease their benefits to a lower level, which by definition decreases access and reveals as false President Obama’s oft-repeated commitment that those who enjoy their current coverage would be allowed to keep it.
The cuts in payments to Medicare would have an even more pernicious effect. Doctors already lose hundreds of millions of dollars on Medicare patients, and many of them simply can’t afford to bear the loss. As a result, they refuse to accept Medicare patients. Even the famous Mayo clinic is refusing to take more Medicare patients. Democrats’ plans to cut Medicare payments even further can only increase this trend of cutting off access to health care.
The response from Democrats and their fellow travelers on the left could not be more irresponsible and dishonest. Quite simply, they refuse to even talk about the problem, preferring instead to simply demonize anyone who dares to bring it up. Go ahead — go to your favorite lefty blog and raise the issue. See what happens. If you’re lucky, you’ll just get ignored. More likely, you’ll get called names. What you won’t ever see is a genuine acknowledgment of the issue. Amid all their hysteria about birthers, “racists”, insurance companies, Sarah Palin, bankers, Rush Limbaugh, and other assorted right-wing boogymen, they can’t bother for, you know, actual substance. They always, always run out of time right before they get to that part.
But I’m sure that Ezra Klein, Matthew Yglesias, and Glenn Greenwald all have perfectly secure health care plans with no new taxes impending for them. The cutoff of access for thee, not them. But it’s ok — they’re from the government. And they’re here to help.
Bingo!
Power is more important than what is right. We all wonder who will pay the bill for the bill? It is promising to give away something free for those who refuse to work. Will free food and free health care motivate people to want to work? It may motivate people to vote!
The current crop of traitors in our Congress must be voted out. The truth about this travesty (American Holocaust) is all over the Internet and the end result is that these human feces will be thrown out of office in 2010 and 2012. Nazi-style picking and choosing who lives and who dies by Big Brother won’t be tolerated by the American people. That message hasn’t reached their pea brains yet. How do we get the message across that they’re TOAST before their final vote? Next, comes taking them to court!
Concerning the CBO.....it is my understanding that they can only answer the questions that are put to them, regardless of the fact that they see other things going wrong. Their answers to date are only answers that Democrats have asked them to look at. We need the truth.
I can’t wait to get rid of them.
Their plan is a fiscal impossibility, don’t know when the country will wake up and see this.
If more and more people start to think as I am, then you can kiss this country goodbye.
The current health insurance reform will cause a whole new group of people that will not be able to afford insurance and the only people that will be able to afford the great health care we currently enjoy are the rich.
If the following are true, then senior citizens and middle class Americans will be the most affected by increases in tax and decrease in services.
Will there be a limit on Pre-tax medical insurance? One of the many versions limited the amount that could be pretax to 2500.00 a year? - That would increase the amount of income tax that an average worker pays on the portion of insurance that the employer doesn’t pay by about 15% of 8000 or about 1200 more a year that they will have to pay.
What will be considered to be a cadillac insurance policy?
At one time it was anything over 8,000 a year? Using 8,000 a year - let’s say the employer pays 600.00 per month and the insurance policy is 1100.00 per month. Together the employer and employee are paying 13,200 per year. This means that 4,200 of insurance will be considered “cadillac”. If the amount bantied about is 40% it will cost an additional 2100.00 in tax and then 1400.00 for above 2500.00. The increased costs to a non union worker could be as high 3500.00 a year.
This will force the workers to go to a cheaper policy which usually is just increased out of pocket expenses or 80/20 up to the deductable. The increase in out of pocket could be as much as 3500.00 a year.
Senior Citizens and Gap insurance -
Right now the gap insurance covers the difference between what medicare pays and the entire cost. Gap insurance does NOT cover things that are disallowed by medicare. So in essence if Medicare allows payment for it but only pays for part of the cost, Gap insurance is designed to pay the rest.
The Cuts to medicare is simply a transfer of costs from the government to the Gap Insurance companies who will automatically pass it on to the subscriber.
If medicare cuts include no longer covering certain procedures and or services then Gap insurance will not cover those either. Senior citizens will be forced to go without or pay for it out of their pockets.
The government is not only limiting health care but putting the cost of the health care directly on the backs of the senior citizens. If the Insurance companies expenses go up 25% the policy will increase 30-35%.
Many senior citizens will not be able to afford this. If they drop their Gap insurance, they will be forced to file for medical bankruptcy and which is picked up by the hospitals and physicians. The cost of the services will increase to cover those people and the amount that Gap insurance will increase will have to include those.
On top of everything else the seniors will be limited to 2500.00 of pretax for their insurance another increase.
I would like to know, if they claim everyone will be given great healthcare....
What could possibly be a “Cadilac” plan that needs to be cut or taxed?
You mean you get heart transplants you don’t really need, or maybe unecessary cancer treatments? Maybe your medications are of too good a quality? Or you pay too little?
The ones that belong to the members of Congress.
Obie is going to let his enemies die of neglect.
Someone did read the entire House Bill 3200: The Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009
From Michael Connelly - Retired attorney, Constitutional Law Instructor, Carrollton, Texas
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
There you can see exactly what we are about to have taken from us.
Michael Connelly
Retired attorney,
Constitutional Law Instructor
Carrollton, Texas
The underlying problem is that Congress has engineered a situation where they are truly unaccountable. They say whatever it takes to get elected and there is no comeback when, after election, they throw the script away and start a whole new set of policies. Besides which, incumbants rule, challengers drool!
Now the Administration is on the same game with its set of unelected, unveted, unaccountable czars.
The judges were always in on the game with their lifetime appointments.
So drool on sheeple - watch your TV and shut up!
The ugly fact is that most Dem voters are too stupid or too uncaring.
Sounds like what the average person in Germany did as Hitler’s storm troopers marched in the streets past their homes; you know, just before they were herded onto boxcars. I would advise that Americans get active in investigating and exposing the treason within this Administration and this Congress; ensure that every American knows the truth and we, as a free people, fix this before it’s too late.
The tsunami is rolling with American patriots determined to not follow in the foot steps of oppressed people throughout history.
I’m not old or frail enough for them to kill me, but they do infuriate and inconvenience me. Resist! Resist! Resist! You are smart...you know how.
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