10 inconvenient truths that could dog the president's Health Care Bill

The Washington Examiner gets the truth out, BUT why AFTER the damage is DONE?

Link to the article http://twurl.nl/u363ho

1. The cost of coverage will rise for the middle class.

According to Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a health care scholar at the free-market American Enterprise Institute, the new bill will actually make it more costly for middle class families to buy health insurance by forcing those who shop on the individual market to buy generous, but expensive plans mandated under the new law. Middle class families earning $88,000 or more a year won't qualify for health care subsidies. A family earning $100,000 would end up spending nearly a quarter of their net income on health care.

2. Health insurance premiums will go up for nearly half of Americans.

Health care premiums for those in the individual insurance market will rise 10 percent to 13 percent by 2016 under the plan, according to the Congressional Budget Office. While the cost of premiums will be subsidized with taxpayer dollars for 57 percent of those enrolled in the new government-run insurance exchanges, the 43 percent of enrollees who do not qualify for assistance will have to pay higher costs.

3. Health reform is unlikely to create new jobs.

The Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, says that the health care reform bill will create "between 2.5 million to 4 million additional jobs over the next 10 years." But the fiscally conservative Beacon Hill Institute, part of Boston's Suffolk University, conducted its own analysis and found that in response to higher taxes and mandates on companies to provide insurance, "firms would be induced to fire or lay off workers" to the tune of 120,000 to 700,000 employees by 2019. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, found that the new taxes would kill 690,000 jobs per year.

4. Federal funding may cover abortion.

Obama agreed on Sunday to sign an executive order to reaffirm the Senate bill's "consistency with long-standing restrictions on the use of federal funds for abortion." But pro-life groups say the executive order does not carry the force of a law and will do nothing to curb the provision in the bill they believe will allow taxpayer dollars to cover the procedure. "The president cannot amend a bill by issuing an order, and the federal courts will enforce what the law says," the National Right to Life Committee said.

5. Four million people will lose their employer-based plans.

The new health care law will impose a list of benefits each health care plan will have to offer if they are to remain in business. The Congressional Budget Office also estimates that about 4 million people would lose their employer-based plan and be forced to buy plans on the new government exchanges.

6. Medicare will cut services along with costs.

The bill makes $528 billion in cuts to Medicare, including a $136 billion reduction for Medicare Advantage. The Medicare Advantage cuts will force 4.8 million seniors off the popular plan by 2019. An additional $23 billion in cuts to Medicare will come from a panel charged with slashing Medicare spending.

7. The bill will not pay for itself.

The CBO found that the bill would reduce the deficit by $138 billion over 10 years, but the savings was achieved by leaving out a $208 billion provision lawmakers will have to enact later to ensure doctors are adequately paid for treating Medicare patients. When the "doc fix" is included in the bill, it runs $59 billion in the red over the next decade. And former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin said that "if you strip out all the gimmicks and budgetary games" the 10-year deficit would exceed $560 billion.

8. Higher Medicaid costs will gradually shift to the states.

The health care reform bill expands Medicaid to all non-elderly individuals up to 133 percent of the poverty line. The federal government would foot the bill for this expansion, but only until 2016. Beginning in 2017, states would gradually begin paying a portion of it. By 2020, states would cover 10 percent of the cost of Medicaid expansion.

9. Doctor shortages could lead to rationing.

A survey conducted by the Medicus Firm, a medical recruitment company, found that 46 percent of physicians said they would quit or retire if the Democratic health care reform bill becomes law. The survey noted that "even if a much smaller percentage such as ten, 15, or 20 percent are pushed out of practice over several years at a time when the field needs to expand by over 20 percent, this would be severely detrimental to the quality of the health care system."

10. The bill raises taxes for many individuals and businesses.

The bill imposes a 40 percent excise tax on insurance plans costing $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for families. It also raises revenue by increasing the Medicare payroll tax for those earning more than $200,000, plus a new 3.8 percent tax on unearned income for these earners. The bill also imposes new taxes on drug makers, medical device manufacturers and health insurers that are likely to be passed on to consumers.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Ten-inconvenient-questions-about-Obamacare-88853462.html#ixzz0j17vXCze

UPDATE on the Government Takeover of Healthcare.

Keep some fuel in tank, because PA, OH, and IN are KEY STATES to Healthcare passage. PLEASE focus some EXTRA efforts at those states.

Addressing the democratic leadership --> Must see

Health Bill Includes $507 Billion in New Taxes and Fees

Finance Committee Health Bill Includes $507 Billion in New Taxes and Fees
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
By Matt Cover
http://ow.ly/ugCn
MP3 http://ow.ly/ugGc


In this Sept. 29, 2009 file photo, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, of Nev., right, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., left, and newly-named Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, center, listen. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
(CNSNews.com) – The health-care bill that the Senate Finance Committee will vote on today will cost a total of $829 billion over 10 years, with $507 billion of that cost being covered by new federal taxes and fees, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

On Oct. 7, the CBO released a report on the budget impact of the “chairman’s mark” summary of the bill that the Finance Committee is set to vote on today. Based on the document it was given, the CBO found that the bill would reduce the federal budget deficit by $81 billion over 10 years. That estimate was based on the calculation that, if enacted, the bill would bring in $480 billion in new tax revenues and $27 billion in fees.

These new taxes and fees include:

-- $201 billion in new taxes on high-premium health care plans.

-- $83 billion in new taxes paid by workers who will receive less employer-sponsored coverage or lose that coverage altogether but will be compensated with higher wages or monetary benefits, which are taxable.

-- $23 billion in penalty fees paid by employers who do not comply with the federal insurance mandate.

-- $4 billion in penalty fees paid by individuals who don’t have health insurance.

-- $16 billion in new income and Medicare payroll tax revenue due to changes in Medicare.

-- $180 billion in other tax revenues items calculated by the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT).

According to the JCT, this $180 billion in new taxes would include: A new tax on prescription drug makers that would account for $22.2 billion over 10 years; a new tax on medical device manufacturers that would bring in $38.6 billion; and a new annual tax on insurance companies would net the government $60.4 billion.

Also, a provision that raises the threshold at which medical expenses become tax deductible, from 7.5 percent of income to 10 percent of income, would reportedly yield the government $15.2 billion in new revenue from sick and disabled Americans with high out-of-pocket medical costs.

It would also include $5.4 billion derived from changing the definition of a deductible medical expense for health savings accounts; $14.6 billion from limiting to $2,500 the tax-deductible amount in flexible spending arrangements between employers and employees; $17.1 billion in revenue from expanded requirements (and potential penalties) on corporate reporting of taxable payments to other parties; and $5.4 billion from sponsors of Medicare Part D plans who are no longer able to deduct subsidies paid by the government to those plans.

The overall bill would cost $829 billion, according to the CBO, the cost of which apparently would be covered by a combination of savings, taxes, and penalties. The CBO said that the Baucus bill (currently in summary form, not final legislative language) would probably achieve $404 billion in spending cuts and other savings, largely through cuts to Medicare payments to physicians and to the Medicare Advantage insurance programs. The costs would come primarily from generous federal health insurance subsidies and entitlement expansions.

Obama: 'Judge me by the people who surround me'

Obama: 'Judge me by the people who surround me'

September 3, 1:56 PM Columbia Conservative Examiner Anthony G. Martin

During the 2008 Presidential campaign Barack Obama told audiences, 'Judge me by the people with whom I surround myself.'

OK, we will.

And that is precisely the problem with Obama.

In order to understand Barack Obama one must look beyond the official, Congressional-approved Cabinet choices to the truckload of unofficial 'czars,' 'special advisor's,' and 'officers' he has chosen to come to the White House to have direct access to him.
If one uses the criterion Obama laid out by which to judge his character, political ideology, and plans for the country, we can only conclude that the President is a far-Left extremist who disdains capitalism and free commerce, free speech in the open marketplace of ideas, Caucasian people who have accumulated wealth, and any dissent from the concepts propounded by his 'regime.'

How do we know this? Look at his czars, special advisers, and officers. These are the ones closest to Obama.

John Holdren, science czar, advocates for population control using the most extreme measures, such as mandating the number of children Americans can have. He is also a proponent of 'de-developing' the United States, sending its agricultural practices and technology back to the 19th century. Holdren has also suggested that infants and chronically ill elderly do not fit his definition of 'human,' and therefore can be expendable.

Cass Sunstein, regulatory czar and Harvard law professor, believes that animals should have the right to legal representation. If you try to get rid of rats in your home, a 'concerned citizen' could bring a lawsuit, with the rat as the plaintiff, to sue you for endangering a species. He also believes that if bloggers post something that turns out to be false, they should be prosecuted. In short, Sunstein is a Leftwing moonbat with Fascist leanings. Remember, Obama said to judge him by the people around him.

Ezekiel Emanuel, healthcare czar, believes in using cost-benefit and comparative-benefit analysis to allocate healthcare resources. This means the fewer years you have left to live, the less cost-effective it is to treat you. Thus, most of those resources should be diverted from the elderly to younger people. This is the 'rationing' portion of ObamaCare that many of us have warned about. And this will be done even without the so-called 'public option,' which is not really what the debate about government control of healthcare is about in the first place. Even without the public option, the provision for rationing is inherent in the provisions of the bill, thanks to advisers such as Emanuel.

Van Jones, green jobs czar, is perhaps the most extremist of the extreme in the entire lot. As a self-avowed, self-identified Communist, Jones abhors liberty, the Constitution, the American way of life, and seeks to change it from top to bottom. Here is more on Van Jones.

Mark Loyd, FCC 'diversity czar,' supports Communist Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and believes that what Chavez did to squelch free speech in the media and seize the means of communication is a good model for the United States. His plan is to silence conservative talk radio by forcing ownership to change hands to minorities and by implementing a fee structure for licensing that will put most private broadcasters out of business. At that point, Loyd would make PBS, or NPR on the radio, the most powerful forces in broadcasting--controlled by the government, of course.

Due to the areas over which they have jurisdiction, the above-named 'special advisers' to Obama are the key players. Jobs, communication, healthcare, agriculture, population control--all of these amount to a major shift in the way America has operated as a Free Republic for over 200 years.

Questions for consideration: Given these czars and special advisers who have offices in the White House with easy access to the President, how, then, should we judge Barack Obama's ideas and plans for the country, just as he asked us to do?
Why is a Communist operating out of the White House as one of Obama's closet advisers?

What can Americans reasonably expect over the next few years if the policies espoused by Loyd, Jones, Sunstein, Emanuel, and Holdren are implemented?

Specifics on this terrible Government Takeover attempt of Health-Care

CLICK THIS LINK TO REFERENCE PAGES MENTIONED BELOW! http://ow.ly/juhn

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• Government access to individual's finances & a national health care ID card (p.58).

• Government use of ACORN & AmeriCorps, to register individuals for the govt health care plan (p. 95).

• No company or business can sue the federal government for price fixing (p. 124).

• Any nonresident alien is exempt from the individual taxes and fines which are required of every legal, U.S. citizens (p. 170).

• Government will restrict the enrollment of special needs people (p. 354).

• Government mandates Advance Care Planning Consultation-that is, end-of-life counseling on "the use of artificially administered nutrition and hydration" and other end of life treatments. (Section 1233).

• "Advance Care Planning Consultation" may include a government order for end of life plans (p. 429).

• Government Marriage & Family therapy sessions (p. 489).

• Government will design and implement the Home Visitation Program for families with young children and families expecting children, parenting counseling is included (p. 838-845).

• Government-established National Medical Device Registry (p. 1001).

* H.R. 3200 would allow bureaucrats to make personal medical decisions for patients.

* H.R. 3200 does not require Members of Congress to get their health insurance through the proposed government-run plan.

* H.R. 3200 forces Americans to "hurry up and wait," the rationing mechanism when average waiting time for a medical treatment exceeds the average wait times in private plans.

* H.R. 3200 provides no effective means of preventing taxpayer-funded health benefits from going to illegal immigrants.

* H.R. 3200 does not guarantee that workers who like their current health plan can keep it.

* H.R. 3200 does not prevent seniors from being stripped of their health care choices through the Medicare Advantage program.

* H.R. 3200 does not guarantee that Americans can continue to enroll in private individual market health plans.

* H.R. 3200 does not waive the employer mandate if it will cause layoffs, worker salary cuts, or reductions in hiring.

* H.R. 3200 would allow community groups, such as ACORN and AmeriCorps, to register individuals for the government health care plan (p. 95).

* H.R. 3200 exempts nonresident aliens from the individual taxes, insurance purchasing mandates, and fines which are required of every legal, U.S. citizens (p. 170).

* H.R. 3200 will restrict the enrollment of special needs people (p. 354).

* H.R. 3200 mandates Advance Care Planning Consultation-that is, end-of-life counseling on "the use of artificially administered nutrition and hydration" and other end of life treatments. (Section 1233). which may include a government order for end of life plans (p. 429).

* H.R. 3200 provides for government Marriage & Family therapy sessions (p. 489).

* H.R. 3200 allows government to design and implement the Home Visitation Program for families with young children and families expecting children, parenting counseling is included (p. 838-845).

* H.R. 3200 authorizes a government-established National Medical Device Registry (p. 1001).

* H.R. 3200 also provides for the following seriously disturbing items:
allows government real-time access to individual's finances and a national health care ID card (p.58).

* Since no company or business can sue the federal government for price fixing, there will be no judicial review against a government monopoly of the health care industry (p. 124).

The Blue Dog Coalition at odds with Waxman & Obamacare

Blue Dog Coalition: 'We have not had legitimate negotiations'

Blue Dog Democrats stormed out of a healthcare reform meeting with Democratic leaders, accusing the leaders of negotiating in bad faith.

The Hill:

House healthcare negotiations dissolved in acrimony on Friday, with Blue Dog Democrats saying they were “lied” to by their Democratic leaders.

In advance of a subsequent press conference called by House leadership, Blue Dog liaison Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.) said the healthcare bill should be staying in committee.

"I expect the committee process to proceed," Cardoza said.

The seven Blue Dogs on the Energy and Commerce Committee stormed out of a Friday meeting with their committee chairman, Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), saying Waxman had been negotiating in bad faith over a number of provisions Blue Dogs demanded be changed in the stalled healthcare bill.

“I’ve been lied to,” Blue Dog Coalition Co-Chairman Charlie Melancon (D-La.) said on Friday. “We have not had legitimate negotiations.

“Mr. Waxman has decided to sever discussions with the Blue Dogs who are trying to make this bill work for America,” Melancon said.

Although those Blue Dogs were supposed to be headed back into another meeting of the Energy and Commerce Democrats, their anger was visible.

If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, the only hope for passage of the bill in the House will be to go straight to the floor, an option leaders shied away from endorsing but said was an option.

But the Blue Dogs issued dire warnings to leaders contemplating that approach.

"Waxman simply does not have votes in committee and process should not be bypassed to bring the bill straight to floor,” Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), the lead Blue Dog negotiator, said on Friday. “We are trying to save this bill and trying to save this party.”

Seems that according to Waxman if the blue Dog Coalition doesn't fall in line, the party line, they are "aligning" themselves with Republicans.

More from The Politico:

Arkansas Rep. Mike Ross, the top negotiator for conservative Democrats in the 52-member Blue Dog Coalition, told reporters Friday that the negotiations "pretty much fell apart this afternoon."

The finger-pointing commenced shortly afterward, with Melancon believing he'd been lied to while Waxman complaining that "some Democrats would rather align with the Republicans."

The breakdown came in a Friday negotiating session after a broad swath of Democrats agreed to iron out regional disparities in Medicare reimbursement rates, a compromise that attracts more lawmakers to the bill.

Asked how this leaves negotiations, Ross said it "leaves the chairman with not enough votes to get it out of committee."

Waxman's own words confirm his mindset when he told reporters "We're either the majority party and work together, or we're not."

(That is codespeak for toe the line, no independent thought is welcome and do as we say because we say to do it or you aren't a "real" Democrat.)

Democratic leaders also threatened to bring it to a vote without getting it through the Energy and Commerce Committee.

The problem with that is there are between 40 and 45 members of the Blue Dog group that would vote against it and Republicans are united in their opposition to the bill, as written, which means the House does not have the votes needed to pass it.