On March 23, 1775, Virginia planter Patrick Henry rose in St. John’s Church in Richmond, where the Virginia House of Burgesses was meeting, to deliver his famous “Give me liberty or give me death!” speech. It was a time when feelings ran high on important issues of the day, the issues of taxation and the rights of local government against the King. Today, 235 years later, passions are running high on the issue of health care reform and the rights of State Governments against the Federal. Most of us think something needs to change, but few of us agree on what to do. Just this week, the US House of Representatives passed a bill already passed by the US Senate, to overhaul the American health care industry. Here are some of the highlights, according to the Associated Press. The new law:
Requires all health insurance plans to maintain dependent coverage for children until they turn 26; prohibits insurers from denying coverage to children because of pre-existing health problems.
Bars insurance companies from putting lifetime dollar limits on coverage, and canceling policies except for fraud.
Prohibits insurers from denying coverage to people with medical problems, or refusing to renew their policy. Health plans cannot limit coverage based on pre-existing conditions, or charge higher rates to those in poor health. Premiums can only vary by age (no more than 3-to-1), place of residence, family size and tobacco use.
These three requirements are, naturally enough, going to raise the cost of insurance considerably, though some of that may be offset by the larger pool of people forced to buy insurance or pay a substantial fine. The Medicare and Medicaid provisions, such as reducing already low reimbursement to doctors and hospitals, increasing the amount of coverage for seniors’ medications and greatly expanding Medicaid coverage, are going to add considerably to the cost of those programs and cause a reduction of services at precisely the point when they are already reaching insolvency.
On top of all this there will be a reduction in the medical expenses we will be able to deduct from our taxes, an ever increasing “fee” on drug manufacturers (oh, that’ll make the drugs cost less!) and a huge tax on generous health insurance plans. All of this is estimated to cost us $938 billion between now and 2020.
So is that estimate (from the Congressional Budget Office) reasonable? The Senate Joint Economic Committee (as quoted on The Foundry blog) indicates otherwise. The original Medicare estimates for the entire program from 1967 to 1990 were only about 10% of the actual costs! The track record of the US government on predicting expenses is not very good (one of the reasons we have such a huge national debt). It is entirely foreseeable that this new program, rather than reducing the deficit, as the CBO claims, will not only increase it, but add trillions to our national debt over the next ten years while piling another burden on the backs of the middle class. Instead of shoring up the programs we have and making them self-sustaining, Congress has given us yet another unsustainable program, on the very eve of a national melt-down; a time when the deficit is out of control, millions of Americans are out of work, and the nation is about to plunge into further recession; Bad timing, Congress, really bad timing!
It’s up to us, America, to change this situation. We can stop the flip-flop from the unrestrained spending of the Republicans to the crazed spending of the Democrats, only by reforming the Democratic Party. It’s your money! Let's spend it responsibly! It’s time to have leaders in Congress who know how to say NO to massive new entitlements that are built on the backs of the middle class, include penalties that threaten our most basic liberties, and promise medical gridlock on the scale of Britain and Canada! Instead, let's focus on jobs and industry and build a sustainable system that will benefit all Americans! Contact me and get involved in change for the better!
Requires all health insurance plans to maintain dependent coverage for children until they turn 26; prohibits insurers from denying coverage to children because of pre-existing health problems.
Bars insurance companies from putting lifetime dollar limits on coverage, and canceling policies except for fraud.
Prohibits insurers from denying coverage to people with medical problems, or refusing to renew their policy. Health plans cannot limit coverage based on pre-existing conditions, or charge higher rates to those in poor health. Premiums can only vary by age (no more than 3-to-1), place of residence, family size and tobacco use.
These three requirements are, naturally enough, going to raise the cost of insurance considerably, though some of that may be offset by the larger pool of people forced to buy insurance or pay a substantial fine. The Medicare and Medicaid provisions, such as reducing already low reimbursement to doctors and hospitals, increasing the amount of coverage for seniors’ medications and greatly expanding Medicaid coverage, are going to add considerably to the cost of those programs and cause a reduction of services at precisely the point when they are already reaching insolvency.
On top of all this there will be a reduction in the medical expenses we will be able to deduct from our taxes, an ever increasing “fee” on drug manufacturers (oh, that’ll make the drugs cost less!) and a huge tax on generous health insurance plans. All of this is estimated to cost us $938 billion between now and 2020.
So is that estimate (from the Congressional Budget Office) reasonable? The Senate Joint Economic Committee (as quoted on The Foundry blog) indicates otherwise. The original Medicare estimates for the entire program from 1967 to 1990 were only about 10% of the actual costs! The track record of the US government on predicting expenses is not very good (one of the reasons we have such a huge national debt). It is entirely foreseeable that this new program, rather than reducing the deficit, as the CBO claims, will not only increase it, but add trillions to our national debt over the next ten years while piling another burden on the backs of the middle class. Instead of shoring up the programs we have and making them self-sustaining, Congress has given us yet another unsustainable program, on the very eve of a national melt-down; a time when the deficit is out of control, millions of Americans are out of work, and the nation is about to plunge into further recession; Bad timing, Congress, really bad timing!
It’s up to us, America, to change this situation. We can stop the flip-flop from the unrestrained spending of the Republicans to the crazed spending of the Democrats, only by reforming the Democratic Party. It’s your money! Let's spend it responsibly! It’s time to have leaders in Congress who know how to say NO to massive new entitlements that are built on the backs of the middle class, include penalties that threaten our most basic liberties, and promise medical gridlock on the scale of Britain and Canada! Instead, let's focus on jobs and industry and build a sustainable system that will benefit all Americans! Contact me and get involved in change for the better!
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