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Frogg
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 Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 5:13 pm Post subject: Rove's Excellent Summary of HR 3962 |
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Good News and Bad News on Elections and Health Care
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It was in yesterday's Wall Street Journal that Karl Rove's op-ed piece blew me away, but I wanted to wait until today to run it here at America's Right, because the House vote on health care reform is getting closer and closer, and Rove's commentary was loaded from first word to last with information about Nancy Pelosi's bill, now conveniently more than 2,000 pages long.
Rove's piece was as good as I've seen from the man, and for the sake of this commentary can be split into two sections: first, an analysis of Tuesday's elections and what they mean for years to come and, second, a brilliant summary of what H.R. 3962 means for America.
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Rove's Excellent Summary of H.R. 3962
What drew me to Rove's Wall Street Journal op-ed was the analysis of election politics. When it comes to doing just that, nobody is better. I was pleasantly surprised--understatement of the year--to find a brilliant summary of what Nancy Pelosi's health care reform bill would mean for America. In many of Rove's own words, and organized conveniently into bullet points (nifty!), here's what had me shaking my head:
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In the first ten years:
•The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) pegs its cost at $1.055 trillion, not the $894 billion Mrs. Pelosi claims.
•Because the bill is designed to front-load revenue and benefit cuts and back-load costs, the real cost, according to a Republican House Budget Committee report, could be $2.4 trillion.
•The bill calls for $572 billion in new taxes (including a 5.4% income surtax on anyone making more than $500,000 a year).
•The bill calls for $426 billion in Medicare and Medicaid cuts.
It's effect on small business:
•Small businesses will be responsible for paying $153.5 billion of the surtax, according to the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.
•Small businesses unable to provide health coverage to their workers would also pay up to 8% in new payroll taxes, costing the greatest job creation engine in America $135 billion more over the next decade, thereby diminishing their ability to create jobs.
Other tax increases:
•A $2 billion tax on those who already have health insurance.
•$20 billion in taxes on medical devices.
•$8 billion in taxes on anyone who buys over-the-counter drugs with money from their health-savings account.
•$140 billion in higher taxes on drugs.
Additional costs seen by American families:
•Premiums will increase, to the point where a family of four with an income of $78,000 would pay $13,800 for insurance a year by 2016, according to the Congressional Budget Office, rather than $11,000 without the bill.
•Every American would be required to buy health insurance or be fined up to 2.5% of their income, a likely unconstitutional individual mandate.
Additional burdens on American doctors:
•Providers will be paid on a Medicare scale. Many doctors do not see Medicare patients because they cannot afford it. To make up for lost revenue, practices will close or schedules will tighten, so doctors can see more patients in less time.
•Medicare denies reimbursement claims at almost twice the rate of private insurers, according to the American Medical Association's 2008 "National Health Insurer Report Card."
Other notable effects:
•The bill dumps $34 billion onto already strained state budgets by pushing more of the working poor off private insurance and into Medicaid.
•There's no proof of citizenship required for the public option, so illegal aliens could get subsidies.
•The legislation doesn't close the door to using taxpayer funds on abortion.
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The Democrats are pushing this legislation purportedly because they want to insure the uninsured, yet both the CBO and the Lewin Group have noted that millions will still remain without coverage. They're advocating for reform because health care costs are rising, but they refuse to harness the power of the free market by opening up private insurance to interstate competition, or allowing small businesses to pool employees for more buying power associated with a more attractive risk pool. And they're saying that health care reform is an emergency, yet nothing would come into effect until 2013, one year after the next presidential election.
As we've seen, Karl Rove's op-ed can be split into two sections -- perhaps it's best deemed the Good News and the Bad News. The bad news is that the Democrats' plan will bankrupt America; the good news is that America is waking up to what they're being force-fed, and that the Democrats' plans will likely spell the end of the Democratic Party.
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tom2
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| Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 6:00 pm Post subject: |
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I'd like to add one other small item rarely mentioned. Businesses faced with higher costs aren't just gonna' suck it up. They're gonna' hafta' raise prices. And because it's widespread, everything for sale is gonna' see an increase in price. Of course, workers aren't just gonna' suck it up either. Except for the fools, the workers are gonna' hafta' have more money. I'd guess Junior already knows that.
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Frogg
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| Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 7:16 pm Post subject: |
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What the Pelosi Health-Care Bill Really Says
Here are some important passages in the 2,000 page legislation.
By BETSY MCCAUGHEY
The health bill that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is bringing to a vote (H.R. 3962) is 1,990 pages. Here are some of the details you need to know.
What the government will require you to do:
• Sec. 202 (p. 91-92) of the bill requires you to enroll in a "qualified plan." If you get your insurance at work, your employer will have a "grace period" to switch you to a "qualified plan," meaning a plan designed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. If you buy your own insurance, there's no grace period. You'll have to enroll in a qualified plan as soon as any term in your contract changes, such as the co-pay, deductible or benefit.
• Sec. 224 (p. 118) provides that 18 months after the bill becomes law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services will decide what a "qualified plan" covers and how much you'll be legally required to pay for it. That's like a banker telling you to sign the loan agreement now, then filling in the interest rate and repayment terms 18 months later.
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Associated Press
Protestors wave signs in front of the Capitol on Thursday.
.On Nov. 2, the Congressional Budget Office estimated what the plans will likely cost. An individual earning $44,000 before taxes who purchases his own insurance will have to pay a $5,300 premium and an estimated $2,000 in out-of-pocket expenses, for a total of $7,300 a year, which is 17% of his pre-tax income. A family earning $102,100 a year before taxes will have to pay a $15,000 premium plus an estimated $5,300 out-of-pocket, for a $20,300 total, or 20% of its pre-tax income. Individuals and families earning less than these amounts will be eligible for subsidies paid directly to their insurer.
• Sec. 303 (pp. 167-168) makes it clear that, although the "qualified plan" is not yet designed, it will be of the "one size fits all" variety. The bill claims to offer choice—basic, enhanced and premium levels—but the benefits are the same. Only the co-pays and deductibles differ. You will have to enroll in the same plan, whether the government is paying for it or you and your employer are footing the bill.
• Sec. 59b (pp. 297-299) says that when you file your taxes, you must include proof that you are in a qualified plan. If not, you will be fined thousands of dollars. Illegal immigrants are exempt from this requirement.
• Sec. 412 (p. 272) says that employers must provide a "qualified plan" for their employees and pay 72.5% of the cost, and a smaller share of family coverage, or incur an 8% payroll tax. Small businesses, with payrolls from $500,000 to $750,000, are fined less.
Eviscerating Medicare:
In addition to reducing future Medicare funding by an estimated $500 billion, the bill fundamentally changes how Medicare pays doctors and hospitals, permitting the government to dictate treatment decisions.
• Sec. 1302 (pp. 672-692) moves Medicare from a fee-for-service payment system, in which patients choose which doctors to see and doctors are paid for each service they provide, toward what's called a "medical home."
The medical home is this decade's version of HMO-restrictions on care. A primary-care provider manages access to costly specialists and diagnostic tests for a flat monthly fee. The bill specifies that patients may have to settle for a nurse practitioner rather than a physician as the primary-care provider. Medical homes begin with demonstration projects, but the HHS secretary is authorized to "disseminate this approach rapidly on a national basis."
A December 2008 Congressional Budget Office report noted that "medical homes" were likely to resemble the unpopular gatekeepers of 20 years ago if cost control was a priority.
• Sec. 1114 (pp. 391-393) replaces physicians with physician assistants in overseeing care for hospice patients.
• Secs. 1158-1160 (pp. 499-520) initiates programs to reduce payments for patient care to what it costs in the lowest cost regions of the country. This will reduce payments for care (and by implication the standard of care) for hospital patients in higher cost areas such as New York and Florida.
• Sec. 1161 (pp. 520-545) cuts payments to Medicare Advantage plans (used by 20% of seniors). Advantage plans have warned this will result in reductions in optional benefits such as vision and dental care.
• Sec. 1402 (p. 756) says that the results of comparative effectiveness research conducted by the government will be delivered to doctors electronically to guide their use of "medical items and services."
Questionable Priorities:
While the bill will slash Medicare funding, it will also direct billions of dollars to numerous inner-city social work and diversity programs with vague standards of accountability.
• Sec. 399V (p. 1422) provides for grants to community "entities" with no required qualifications except having "documented community activity and experience with community healthcare workers" to "educate, guide, and provide experiential learning opportunities" aimed at drug abuse, poor nutrition, smoking and obesity. "Each community health worker program receiving funds under the grant will provide services in the cultural context most appropriate for the individual served by the program."
These programs will "enhance the capacity of individuals to utilize health services and health related social services under Federal, State and local programs by assisting individuals in establishing eligibility . . . and in receiving services and other benefits" including transportation and translation services.
• Sec. 222 (p. 617) provides reimbursement for culturally and linguistically appropriate services. This program will train health-care workers to inform Medicare beneficiaries of their "right" to have an interpreter at all times and with no co-pays for language services.
• Secs. 2521 and 2533 (pp. 1379 and 1437) establishes racial and ethnic preferences in awarding grants for training nurses and creating secondary-school health science programs. For example, grants for nursing schools should "give preference to programs that provide for improving the diversity of new nurse graduates to reflect changes in the demographics of the patient population." And secondary-school grants should go to schools "graduating students from disadvantaged backgrounds including racial and ethnic minorities."
• Sec. 305 (p. 189) Provides for automatic Medicaid enrollment of newborns who do not otherwise have insurance.
For the text of the bill with page numbers, see www.defendyourhealthcare.us.
Ms. McCaughey is chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths and a former Lt. Governor of New York state.
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Whoa! This is much more government control than we even thought.
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tom2
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| Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 7:40 pm Post subject: |
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Somebody's sure to have thought about a lawsuit based on the absence of an enumerated power, un-Constitutional if you will. But I suppose our loyal judiciary wouldn't permit standing for this pig. I wonder if we're headed for physical conflict after all.
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fastdraw
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| Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 11:09 pm Post subject: |
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| tom2 wrote: | | Somebody's sure to have thought about a lawsuit based on the absence of an enumerated power, un-Constitutional if you will. But I suppose our loyal judiciary wouldn't permit standing for this pig. I wonder if we're headed for physical conflict after all. |
Of course we are. But we must wait until enough others speak in these terms, and that will be a dangerous time because other tyrants will arise to fight the tyrants we already know about.
Those who are incined to revolt will unfortunately not be unified. |
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picker
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| Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 4:25 am Post subject: |
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The most likely revolt, that I see, is a future situation in which the President will give unlawful orders to the military, and they will disobey him on Constitutional grounds. Their oath of office will require it.
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Walter
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| Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 4:45 am Post subject: |
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The founding fathers were geniuses when they set up the mechanisms to get legislation passed.
If this House bill passes, by no means a given, it, along with the Senate version if that passes, will have to go into a compromise committee where the two bills will have to be reconciled.
And that will force the fence sitters in each house to take a public position which will remove any possible mask., They'll be naked before the nation and will see their futures in politics in the mirror.
Cannot be avoided.
And by then the grim details of this monstrosity will also be seeing the bright light of day.
The only salvation for the Democrat Party will be if the survival instinct kicks in and the fence sitters start falling off the fence with a NFW (no f'n way) vote.
I'm looking forward to my Congressjerk Henry the Nose Waxman having to explain to his constituents why he supported this pig of a bill so strenuously.
If the GOP continues its united resistance to this garbage, it can only emerge in a much stronger position.
Junior, the pied piper, is leading his party over the cliff.
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Groad
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| Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 7:08 am Post subject: |
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These Socialist utopian morons base all their assumptions on a level of economic activity that will dwindle away when this kind of Gummint control takes hold.
THeir plans will kill the very engine of wealth generation they require to fund their paradise.
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EHerring
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| Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 4:45 pm Post subject: |
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The goal isn't to preserve wealthy but create equality, even if it is a miserable equality.
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Frogg
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| Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 9:58 am Post subject: |
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PelosiCare's price controls will bankrupt health insurers in one year
The government mandate will force private insurances to fail. Read the article and the basis for this conclusion (private insurances will be forced into bankruptcy).
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Frogg
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| Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 10:02 am Post subject: |
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Frogg
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| Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 10:21 am Post subject: |
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CBO: New House Health Bill Spending Estimate, $3 Trillion over 10 Years
Posted by Dan Perrin (Profile)
Saturday, November 7th at 9:08AM EST
The totals below, I am told by the Heritage Foundation, do NOT include the $250 billion extra spending on Medicare to buy off the American Medical Association for their support of the U.S. House bill.
The Democratic House Leadership has completely lost touch with fiscal reality.
The following is a cut and paste of a media statement by the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, Senator Gregg (R-NH):
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Senator Gregg: Updated CBO Estimate of House Bill Pulls Back the Curtain on Majority’s Intent to Grow Government by $3 Trillion
Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee today commented on the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) more detailed cost estimate of the manager’s amendment to the House health reform bill.
Senator Gregg stated, “The CBO estimate released last night finally sheds light on the smoke and mirrors game the majority has been playing with the cost of their health care reform proposal. Over the first 10 years, this legislation builds in gross new spending of $1.7 trillion – and most of the new spending doesn’t even start until 2014. Once that spending is fully phased in, the House Democratic bill rings up at more than $3 trillion over ten years.
“Additionally, this bill cuts critical Medicare and Medicaid funding by $628 billion, accounts for nearly $1.2 trillion in tax and fee increases and will explode the scope of government by putting the nation’s health care system in the hands of Washington bureaucrats. The $3 trillion price tag defies common sense – we simply cannot add all this new spending to the government rolls and claim to control the deficit.
“If we continue to pile more and more debt on the next generation, they will never be able to get out from under it. The health care system needs reform, but this massive expansion of government, financed by our children and grandchildren, is the wrong way to proceed.” |
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Frogg
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| Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 11:05 am Post subject: |
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November 08, 2009
The Democrats Who Opposed the Health Care Bill
Four out of every five House members who didn't side with their party on the health care bill represent districts that voted for the opposite party's presidential nominee in the 2008 election, CQ Politics reports.
The party-buckers on the 220-215 vote on Saturday night included 39 Democrats who voted against the bill. Of them, 31 represent districts that voted for John McCain over Barack Obama. Republicans are targeting many of them for defeat in the 2010 election. Of the other eight, three are serving their first terms in districts in which they defeated or succeeded Republicans in the 2008 election.
Meanwhile, the New York Times has an excellent chart that on the Democrats that voted againts the health care legislation in the House last night.
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That NYT's chart is interesting. It wasn't only blue dog dems who voted against Obamacare (15 of the 39 aren't considered blue dog). In fact a couple of them were in liberal Obama districts. Even Dennis Kucinich voted against Obamacare.
I think it is a sign that it won't just be blue dog dems that are at risk in 2010.
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gartay
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| Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 11:27 am Post subject: |
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| Frogg wrote: | | Quote: |
November 08, 2009
The Democrats Who Opposed the Health Care Bill
Four out of every five House members who didn't side with their party on the health care bill represent districts that voted for the opposite party's presidential nominee in the 2008 election, CQ Politics reports.
The party-buckers on the 220-215 vote on Saturday night included 39 Democrats who voted against the bill. Of them, 31 represent districts that voted for John McCain over Barack Obama. Republicans are targeting many of them for defeat in the 2010 election. Of the other eight, three are serving their first terms in districts in which they defeated or succeeded Republicans in the 2008 election.
Meanwhile, the New York Times has an excellent chart that on the Democrats that voted againts the health care legislation in the House last night.
source
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That NYT's chart is interesting. It wasn't only blue dog dems who voted against Obamacare (15 of the 39 aren't considered blue dog). In fact a couple of them were in liberal Obama districts. Even Dennis Kucinich voted against Obamacare.
I think it is a sign that it won't just be blue dog dems that are at risk in 2010. |
Yeah, but Kucinich voted against it because it didn't go far enough. It didn't extend benefits to space aliens.
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