H.R. 3962 Weighs in at 19 pounds and $1.055 Trillion

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), along with the Democrat leadership, unveiled their healthcare reform bill today. The ceremony was held behind closed doors with invitation-only guests as witness. The bill known as H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, is 1900 pages long, stands nearly 9 inches tall and weighs 19 pounds.  The CBO tallies the cost of the plan at $1.055 trillion over the next ten years. This legislation is a combination of H.R. 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act (approved by the Committees on Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means) as well as other provisions negotiated behind closed doors by the Democrat leadership. The bill is expected to be presented on the floor of the House the week of November 2. 

House Democrats have provided a Short Summary H.R. 3962. The basics of the bill are these:

• Creation of a government-run health insurance program – potential to cause 114 million Americans to lose their current coverage.
• Forcing of individuals to purchase government-run Exchange – private health insurance industry will be forced out of business.
• Employers would be encouraged to drop existing coverage, due to regulations that would raise premiums.
• New federal spending (Trillions of dollars) and increased deficit will affect long-term fiscal solvency of America.
• Taxes will be levied on Americans who purchase insurance, Americans who do not purchase insurance and millions of small businesses – leading to job losses and increased healthcare premiums.
• Cuts to Medicare Advantage plans will result in increased premiums and more than 10 million seniors having their coverage dropped.

Here is the breakdown of the Key Provisions in H.R. 3962:

Government Takeover

Health Insurance Exchange:  Uninsured individuals or those whose existing employer coverage is deemed “insufficient” by the federal government will be eligible. Employers would be permitted to join over a period of 3 years, based on the size of the business. Any employer may join, if so permitted by the Commissioner.

Exchange Benefit Standards:  The Commissioner will establish benefits standards for all plans. This will hinder the introduction of innovative models to improve health and wellness for plan participants.

Government-Run Health Plans: Requires the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a “public health insurance option” through the Exchange which empowers the government to collect individuals’ personal health information while allowing the government access to federal courts to enforce actions. The costs include $2 billion in start-up funds as well as 90 days’ worth of premiums as reserves [from the Treasury].

The government-run plan will accept all Medicare providers, unless they choose to opt-out of the program.  Choosing to opt-out of the plan could lead to the Secretary imposing Medicare reimbursement levels on providers as part of a government-imposed “negotiation”. If this happens, , the Lewin Group has estimated that as many as 114 million individuals could lose access to their current coverage. Reimbursing at the rates contemplated by the legislation would actually result in a net $16,207 decrease in reimbursements per physician per year, even after accounting for the newly insured.

The Secretary has full control to “establish conditions of participation for health care providers”, with no guidance or conditions defined.  This may lead to doctors being prohibited from participating in other health plans as a condition of participating in the government-run co-op.

Low-Income Subsidies:  Subsidies will put employer health plans at a disadvantage while benefiting Exchange participants. 

State Medicaid agencies may make determinations of eligibility and exempt participants from [the current] 5-year waiting period. Individuals would have strong incentive to immigrate to U.S. in order to obtain subsidized health benefits with no waiting period.  Identification verification is not a requirement to receive benefits.
 
Premium subsidies provided are determined on a six-tier sliding scale, based on adjusted gross income (AGI). This means that individuals with total incomes well in excess of the AGI threshold could qualify for subsidies.  In addition to raising subsidy costs for the federal government, plan participants would be insulated from the higher health spending – leading to an increase in overall healthcare costs.
 
Medicaid Expansion:  The bill would expand Medicaid to all individuals with incomes under $33,075 for a family of four.  The Medicaid expansion to more than 10 million individuals would be fully paid for by the federal government only through 2014. States would be left holding the bill for the unfunded mandates beginning in 2015.
 
“Health Benefits Advisory Committee”:  Committee of federal employees and Presidential advisors, charged with the task of making recommendations on minimum federal benefit standards and cost-sharing levels. 
 
Care Rationing:  Language form  H.R. 3200 stating that Committee should “ensure that essential benefits coverage does not lead to rationing of health care” has been removed. This change looks like an admission that the bureaucrats on the Advisory Committee-and the new government-run health plan-would therefore deny access to life-saving services and treatments on cost grounds. 

Forcing Patients into Government-Run Plan

Elimination of Private Insurance Market: Individual plans may remain in effect, so long as the carrier “does not change any of its terms and conditions, including benefits and cost-sharing.”  Individual plans subject to numerous restrictions, insurance purchased on the individual market “may only be offered” until the Exchange comes into effect. This will abolish the private market for individual health insurance and require all non-employer-based coverage to be purchased through the government-run Exchange.

New federal mandates and restrictions on employer-sponsored coverage will increase the health costs for businesses and their employees. This will encourage employers to drop existing coverage and leave employees to access care through the government-run Exchange.
 
“Pay-or-Play” Mandate on Employers:  Employers will be required to offer health insurance coverage, and contribute to such coverage at least 72.5 percent of the cost of a basic individual policy as defined by the Health Benefits Advisory Council) and at least 65 percent of the cost of a basic family policy, for full-time employees.   Employers will be required to extend [and fund] benefits to part-time workers, which will certainly lead to lay-offs.

If employers choose not to “play”, they must pay a tax of 8% of total wages. Additionally, if an employee chooses to purchase coverage through the government-run Exchange, the employer will be forced to pay an 8% tax to finance the worker’s Exchange policy- even if the employer offers a private plan to employees.  Employers will also be fined $100 per employee, per day for non-compliance with “pay-or-play”.

The employer mandate would impose added payroll and administrative overhead costs on businesses. An economic model developed by Council of Economic Advisors Chair Christina Romer found that an employer mandate could result in the loss of up to 5.5 million jobs as employers lay off employees to avoid providing costly, government-forced health insurance.

Individual Mandate:  Individuals who do not purchase “acceptable health care coverage,” would be taxed 2.5% of their adjusted gross income up to the amount of the national average of the premium through the Exchange.  For many, paying the fine is a less expensive option. Those who cannot afford the coverage, most likely cannot afford to pay the fine, either.

Medicare Advantage: Medicare Advantage (MA) payments will be reduced by reducing the benchmarks of levels paid by traditional Medicare. The adjustment would reduce access for millions of seniors that have purchased additional benefits.

The bill imposes price controls on MA plans that would limit their ability to offer innovative benefits packages.  This would encourage plans to keep seniors sick instead of managing chronic diseases.
 
The Secretary will have full authority to reject “any or every bid by an MA organization,”  as well as any bid by a carrier offering private Part D Medicare prescription drug coverage.  This gives the federal government the power to eliminate the MA program entirely-by rejecting all plan bids for nothing more than the arbitrary reason that an Administration wishes to force the 10 million beneficiaries enrolled in MA back into traditional, government-run Medicare against their will.
  
Tax Increases
 
Government-Forced Insurance Penalties:  Taxes will be imposed on individuals and businesses to offset the cost of the federal government financing the takeover of the healthcare industry.

Taxes on Small Businesses:  A new 5.4 percent “surtax” on individuals with incomes over $500,000 and families with incomes greater than $1 million will begin in 2011.  More than half of all high-income filers are small businesses therefore, this provision would cripple small businesses and destroy jobs during a deep recession. 

Taxes on Health Plans:  The bill prohibits the reimbursement of over-the-counter pharmaceuticals from Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), Medical Savings Accounts, Flexible Spending Arrangements (FSAs), and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs), and increases the penalties for non-qualified HSA withdrawals from 10 percent to 20 percent, effective in 2011.  Because these savings vehicles are tax-preferred, adopting this prohibition would raise taxes by $8.2 billion over ten years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.  FSA contributions will be capped, beginning in 2012 and may total only $2,500 per year.  At least 8 million individuals hold insurance policies eligible for HSAs, and millions more participate in FSAs.  All of these individuals would be subject to additional coverage restrictions and tax increases under this provision.

Taxes on Health Products:  Beginning in 2013, the bill would impose a 2.5 percent excise tax on medical devices. The Congressional Budget Office and other independent experts have confirmed that this tax would be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices-and ultimately higher premiums.
 
Budgetary Gimmicks
 
Unpaid-For Doctor Fix:  While the Democrats claim their bill is now deficit-neutral, they also introduced a separate piece of stand-alone legislation (H.R. 3961) that would add $200 billion to the cost of this legislation. H.R. 3961 would increase deficit spending and interest costs to the federal debt.  The Congressional Budget Office recently analyzed similar legislation (S. 1776) as raising Medicare premiums by $70 billion.
 
Long-Term Care Program:  Long-term care program requires individuals to contribute five years’ worth of premiums before becoming eligible for benefits. The Congressional Budget Office (in analyzing similar provisions included in Section 191 of legislation considered by the Senate HELP Committee)found that “if the Secretary did not modify the program to improve its actuarial soundness, the program would add to future federal budget deficits in a large and growing fashion beginning a few years beyond the 10-year budget window.”  This legislation is seen by many to be fiscally irresponsible and not credible.

The legislation proposed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her Democrat friends in the United States House of Representatives proposes to control one-sixth of the U.S. economy. While claiming to provide health insurance to those who are currently uninsured because they cannot afford it, H.R. 3962 is full of tax increases for Americans. The proposed legislation includes the public option that a majority of Americans have made clear they are not interested in. Health insurance providers will face competing with a government Exchange that has no financial limits and is not required to show profit or answer to anyone. The bill contains heavy burdens for small business owners as well as for physicians, while increasing costs of medical care and eliminating individuals from their current plans.

In his speech to the joint sessions of Congress on September 9, 2009, President Obama promised America that he would offer a more secure healthcare system for those already participating, provide health insurance for those who want it but cannot afford it and slow the growth of healthcare costs for families, businesses and the government.  With a price tag of $1.055 trillion and a 1900 page plan full of taxes, forced participation and abolition of competitive health insurers, it is difficult to find these promises.

Majority Think Obama is Leading Them Down the Wrong Track

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows President Obama’s approval numbers continuing to slide while Americans believe the country is on the wrong track. The poll conducted October 22 – 25 does not return very good results for Congress, either.

When asked if they believed the United States was on the right track, wrong track, in mixed conditions or undecided, most agreed, the country is headed down the wrong road. Here is the breakdown of the numbers:

When asked, “In general, do you approve or disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing as president?” 51% respond favorably. That number remains unchanged over the previous two months.

President Obama’s handling of the economy (specifically) showed declining numbers. In September, 51% reported satisfaction with his performance regarding economic policies. This month the numbers drop to 47%. Here is the breakdown of the answers to “Do you generally approve or disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing handling the economy?”:

These approval numbers are down 11 points since February; while the disapproval numbers are up 15 points for the same time period.

A clear majority of participants in the poll believe the U.S. economy has not hit bottom yet. Here are the numbers:

Results for “Confidence in the [12 month] future” look like this:

President Obama is losing support for healthcare reform, too. When asked if they thought Obama’s health care plan was a good idea or a bad idea, here’s what participants said:

When asked if they approved of the way President Obama has been handling the issue of healthcare reform, an increasing number of Americans say they do not approve.

While President Obama remains undecided on Afghanistan, many Americans do support a troop increase. An increase in troops is supported by 47% of Americans. Forty-three percent are not in favor of providing General McChrystal with the troops he requested and 10 percent are undecided.

With a 65% job approval rating, the United States Congress is not faring well in the eyes of Americans, either. Over half of the country (57%) believes the partisan atmosphere in Washington is the fault of both parties. When asked if they would like to have new representation from their home district, 49% answered “yes”.

It seems as though the paradigm is shifting. The Constitution of the United States is based on limited government. Americans are seeing this president as one who seeks to grow government and FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORM the country.

DO YOU TRUST THIS MAN? Do you trust the people he surrounds himself with?

Health Insurers Not So Profitable

Caught in the middle of the war on healthcare reform, health insurance companies have remained relatively quiet.  President Obama and his allies in Congress want Americans to believe that these companies stand to gain significantly from the reform they are pushing.  A new report paints a very different picture. 

Here are a few of the claims by Democrats: 

“I’m very pleased that (Democratic leaders) will be talking, too, about the immoral profits being made by the insurance industry and how those profits have increased in the Bush years.”  - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Speaker Pelosi has welcomed the attention being drawn to insurers’ “obscene profits.”

“Keeping the status quo may be what the insurance industry wants. Their premiums have more than doubled in the last decade and their profits have skyrocketed.” –  Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, member of the Democratic leadership.

“Health insurance companies are willing to let the bodies pile up as long as their profits are safe.”  - from a  MoveOn.org advertisement.

Just how profitable are the evil health insurance companies?  According to a Fact Check article by the Associated Press, health insurance companies posted a 2.2% profit margin last year. The highest ranking company in the industry, HealthSpring, reported a 5.4% profit.  Fortune 500 magazine has rated the health insurance industry 35^th out of 53 industries.

The AP story includes the reported profits of several other products and services industries:  Tupperware Brands, 7.5 percent; Yahoo, 5.9 percent; Hershey, 6.1 percent; Clorox, 8.7 percent; Molson Coors Brewing, 8.1 percent; construction and farm machinery, 5 percent; Yum Brands (KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell), 8.5 percent.

THINK: President Obama and his administration seek to demonize health insurers in an effort to persuade Americans to support their take-over of the industry. The debate on health care reform focuses on a system that is not perfect, for sure, but to accuse health insurance companies of earning “obscene profits” at the expense of consumers, is simply not a true statement.

President Obama has made it clear that he seeks to destroy the health insurance industry as we know it. He is insistent on a public option that will force insurance companies out of business and the employees of these companies out of work.

A few weeks ago, a study by PriceWaterhouseCoopers reported that consumers’ costs would significantly increase with the proposed healthcare reform plan.  Many supporters of healthcare reform loudly questioned the validity of the report. Their claim was that it was paid for by insurance companies, therefore it could not be trusted.  Prior to the study, Humana dared to contact customers with a letter that outlined the changes to Medicare that would happen if this legislation is passed. Senator Baucus wasted no time complaining to the CMS which led to an official probe into Humana and threatened to end their Medicare provider eligibility. The clear message here is that if you do not agree with President Obama and his administration, your opinion simply does not matter.  This administration refuses to allow the facts to get in the way of their agenda.

Watch this FOX News story to better understand the tactics of this administration:

A true reform package would include the opportunity for health insurance companies to offer their products across state lines. This would provide a true option for the public. Insurance companies could be more competitive and consumers would have the ability to shop for the coverage that is best suited for them.

The United States has the best health care in the world. The health care system is not what needs to be reformed. It’s the health insurance industry that needs reform – through allowing for better competition. Don’t be fooled by the rhetoric you hear from the left. Contact your representatives in Congress and demand they offer a true solution for health insurance reform.

DO YOU TRUST HIS MAN?  Do you trust the people he surrounds himself with?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091026/ap_on_bi_ge/us_fact_check_health_insurance

http://michellebreaksitdown.com/blog/2009/09/10/more-lies-distortion-from-president-obama/

http://michellebreaksitdown.com/blog/2009/09/23/freedom-of-speech-%e2%80%93-only-if-you-agree-with-the-government/

Obama’s Failed Attemp to Cut FOX News Out

This latest assault on Free Speech by the President of the United States has crossed the line. Even the mainstream media has decided they cannot play along with this one.  As President Obama attempts to Fundamentally Transform  America, citizens of this country have witnessed the hard and fast measures [by this president] to take over their lives.  Over the last few weeks, Obama has waged war on FOX News.  President Obama cannot accept the way FOX News reports the truth. He has made it clear that he does not want Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly,etc to report the facts behind his Czars, Valerie Jarret,  Rham Emaneul,  Anita Dunn or anyone else he has ties to. Obama said FOX News is not real news and he tries to divert attention away from a media outlet who dares to deliver opposing views which are nothing more than a presentation of the facts.

Here is the breakdown:

The White House Press Pool consists of all five of the major news outlets – ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and FOX News, who are organized by the White House Correspondents Association(membership is not subject to oversight by the government).  The purpose of the pool is to streamline the coverage of the White House. They share the cost and duties of daily coverage of the White House. Essentially, the five networks take turns being responsible for the coverage and share the information with their sister media outlets.

On Thursday, the White House made “pay czar” Kenneth Feinberg available for interviews to the Press Pool. The exception was that Fox News would not have access to interview Mr. Feinberg.  This marks the first time in history that an administration had attempted to ban an entire network from the press pool.

What turned out to be an upset to the White House, the four remaining News organizations told President Obama, “No thanks.” The stance they took was that if FOX News was barred from the interview, then they too, would refuse to participate.

Ultimately, the administration caved and made the pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg available to FOX News.

Perhaps the mainstream media sees the writing on the wall.  Perhaps they recognize that President Obama wants to control everyone and everything in this country. Perhaps the journalists at ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and the like actually do believe in the First Amendment right of Free Speech.

Ask any journalist or journalism major why they chose to pursue the field and you will most likely hear the same answer:  “I want to make a difference.”  Well, when Obama is in the driver’s seat, the only difference these people can make is the one he dictates.  It looks like they are starting to get it!

In the meantime, FOX News ratings continue to increase. Obama’s actions are  pushing people to search for the truth. Americans are beginning to question the information they are being fed by mainstream media and they are turning to FOX News for real reporting

THINK:  Obama insists on surrounding himself with only “yes men.” Anyone who does not agree with his views on healthcare reform, cap & tax, ACORN, czars, Afghanistan, executive’s pay, etc, is not invited to the table.  Barack Obama wants to FUNDAMENTALY TRANSFORM this country and he will wipe out anyone who dares to step in his way.  The fact that the mainstream media stood in opposition to the demand for exclusion of a fellow media outlet speaks volumes.

AMERICA:  There is hope! We must continue to press our representatives in Congress. We must continue to voice our outrage to our local and national media. Our voices are being heard! The mainstream media could not have taken this stand if they did not believe the American people would demand the truth. They know we will seek the truth and if FOX News is the only outlet reporting it, that’s where we will go.

Watch Fox’s report on the story:

Here is the transcript of an exchange between ABC News Senior White House correspondent Jake Tapper and President Obama’s White House Press Secretary Robert Gates on October 20, 2009:

Tapper: It’s escaped none of our notice that the White House has decided in the last few weeks to declare one of our sister organizations “not a news organization” and to tell the rest of us not to treat them like a news organization. Can you explain why it’s appropriate for the White House to decide that a news organization is not one –

(Crosstalk)

Gibbs: Jake, we render, we render an opinion based on some of their coverage and the fairness that, the fairness of that coverage.

Tapper: But that’s a pretty sweeping declaration that they are “not a news organization.” How are they any different from, say –

Gibbs: ABC -

Tapper: ABC. MSNBC. Univision. I mean how are they any different?

Gibbs: You and I should watch sometime around 9 o’clock tonight. Or 5 o’clock this afternoon.

Tapper: I’m not talking about their opinion programming or issues you have with certain reports. I’m talking about saying thousands of individuals who work for a media organization, do not work for a “news organization” — why is that appropriate for the White House to say?

Gibbs: That’s our opinion.

DO YOU TRUST THIS MAN? Do you trust the people he surrounds himself with?

Your Voice Matters – Doc-Fix Defeated

Senator Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D-NV) did not get his way on Wednesday, when all 40 Republican Senators along with 12 Democratic Senators and one Independent, blocked the passing of S .1776 (known as “doctor fix”).  Reid ran to the Senate floor to cry that the American Medical Association had misled him into believing they could deliver 27 Republican votes in support of the amendment. The procedural vote of 47-53 fell short and the number needed to pass the legislation that would offer a short term fix to the long term problem of price fixing of Medicare reimbursements.

Perhaps Senator Reid should look closer at the reasons why he did not get his way yesterday. He chooses to blame the AMA, but does not question why the support fell short? Americans heeded their Call to Action on Wednesday. They took the time to melt the phone lines of their Senators and demand a “NO” vote for this legislation. Americans are making it clear they will not stand for the “closed door deals” that are being cooked up by the likes of Harry Reid, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.).

Reid refuses to give credit where credit is due: To the American people!  You made your voices heard and you succeeded in stopping this end run around Obamacare!  Nice work.

Keep up the fight! November 2010 will be here before you know it!

For more on the story:

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/64117-reid-tells-colleagues-he-was-led-astray-by-the-ama#