Back to Basics

So Nancy Pelosi and President Obama are adamant that Congress pass their health care bill.  They’ve dismissed the August protesters and are pushing for passage as soon as possible.  But, what does this mean for the average American, we’ll call her Mary Smith, a single mother of two struggling to get by in a down economy.

She hears terms like “individual mandate,” “employer mandate,” and “CBO score.”  But none of this helps her understand what health care reform means for her.

Mary wants to help the uninsured, but why is Congress talking about changing her plan?  And, why does every report now indicate her premiums and her taxes will go up–and her employer could be fined or forced out of business?  President Obama said his plan would control cost.  She worries about losing the health plan she has and the doctors her children know.  And, what about her job?  What if her employer can’t continue to afford coverage?  Will decisions about her family’s coverage and medical care be made by her or someone in Washington?  Will it be a radical change that rations care?

Unfortunately, Washington politicians are ignoring the concerns of average Americans.  Her family’s health care is about to change dramatically.

Mary gets her insurance through her employer.  She has a plan that suits her needs, and has a great relationship with her doctors.  She’d like more personal say in her plan, but like 83% of Americans, she’s basically happy with her care.  Why don’t the politicians just fix what’s broken—cover those without care and people with pre-existing conditions?  Instead, they are forcing her to change her plan.  H.R. 3200, the House bill, changes every plan in America.  Some are outlawed sooner, but virtually all are disqualified in five years.

Mary’s parents also lose the coverage they know, understand, and like.  They have Medicare Advantage, which provides benefits they like over and above regular Medicare.  Under Nancy Pelosi’s proposal and the Senate bill, that program will disappear.

What’s worse: when Mary goes shopping for a new plan, it will have been designed by a government bureaucracy, even if the so-called “public plan” isn’t adopted.  These new, “government-approved” plans will make her pay for services she doesn’t need, and can’t afford, like alcohol and drug counseling, even if these aren’t health care concerns for Mary or her family.  She’ll be forced to buy services she doesn’t want because it will be illegal to buy just what she needs.  It’s like being forced to buy a multipack of cereal boxes when you know you’re only going to eat the corn flakes.

The government will dictate coverage requirements, reimbursement rates, prices—even “approved” marketing practices and “free” wellness coverage.  “Free” wellness coverage?  Who’s kidding who?  She knows nothing is free.  Of course costs will go up.

Like it or not, Mary’s family will lose the plan they have and maybe the doctors they like and trust.  And, the government is serious about making that happen.  If Mary doesn’t comply and purchase a “government-approved” plan, she’ll be fined.  If her conduct is willful, she’ll be guilty of a misdemeanor.  When did health care “reform” become about punishing people instead of controlling costs and helping the uninsured?

By JOHN SHADEGG AND PETER HOEKSTRA

We are nominating Sen. Baucus’ health care reform bill for the Pulitzer Prize — for fiction.

Like works of great fiction writers such as Ernest Hemingway, Joseph Conrad and F. Scott Fitzgerald, the story line of the Baucus bill is not what it seems and is in fact a clever subterfuge of what health care reform will mean for the American people.

Hiding behind this facade is another story about a massive power grab by the Washington political establishment.

The bill is loaded with fiction. To begin with, it purports to reduce the deficit. This is really an Enron-style scam with the bill’s massive new taxes starting on day one and its dramatic new health care expenditures, which will far exceed the tax revenues, beginning in year four.

Hence its favorable score: 10 years of revenue, seven of expenditures. In the private sector, people go to jail for this type of accounting; in the U.S. Senate, they trumpet it as good news.

The Baucus bill claims to treat all Americans equitably, yet four states receive Medicaid exemptions — the federal government will pick up the state’s share of Medicaid costs — for five years. That means taxpayers in 46 states will subsidize other states, including Nevada, so Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid can bring home the bacon and get re-elected.

Sen. Chuck Schumer put in a little-noticed provision that exempts New Yorkers and taxpayers from some other states from the bill’s tax on gold-plated insurance plans. The result: The rest of the nation will subsidize the health care of New Yorkers and a few others.

If you’re lucky enough to live in one of the favored states, you win. If not, you lose. Guess how many of those states are blue and have Democratic senators up for re-election? Hardly seems fair, does it? Huge earmarks and health care favoritism for states served by powerful Washington elites.

There are other massive earmarks in this bill. Up to $10 billion will go to VEBA, such as the underfunded retirement health care package of United Auto Workers retirees. This may or may not be a good idea, but it clearly does not belong in this legislation.

The bill has huge, new mandated costs on the states for Medicaid, and there are many other costs omitted from the bill that will need to be paid for by taxpayers. The bill claims savings it says will be achieved by reducing reimbursement rates to doctors and hospitals. This has never happened in the past and won’t now. It is pure fiction.

There’s more fiction in both the Senate and House versions. Despite Democrat claims to the contrary, both will cover illegal aliens and abortion, and virtually no Americans will be able to keep their existing plan. The legislation will cost billions more than estimated. The numbers and the promises just don’t work.

Most importantly, and this is what the legislation is really about, the Baucus bill will transfer power from the American people to Washington elites — a power grab far more massive than it appears. Just think about it, the fiction (yes, some would call it lies) you’re hearing about today is happening while people are watching.

“The most important thing the President could have done tonight was to show the American people he was listening to their concerns and fears about a government takeover of health care.  Tonight, he could have rejected the big-government proposals being pushed by Nancy Pelosi and Congressional Democrats. Sadly, he chose to double-down on a health care overhaul Americans simply do not want.

“President Obama has embraced some of the worst ideas I have seen in all my years in Congress. Rather than reject a new government-run plan that will eviscerate health care choice, the President embraced a new Washington-driven health care program. Rather than reject the desire of insurance companies to force individuals to buy expensive coverage, President Obama has called for the IRS to punish American families who choose to go without a government-approved plan. And rather than reject new regulations and rules that will outlaw the plans millions of Americans enjoy today, the President said his proposal wouldn’t technically force Americans and their employers to change their plans. This cynical sleight of hand will give little comfort to Americans that are afraid the government will eliminate their health care coverage in the fine print of a thousand-page bill.

“The President claims he believes in choice and competition in health care and will consider any serious reform proposals. Along with dozens of my Republican colleagues, I have put forth plans to expand patient choice, repeal the penalty on purchasing your own coverage, help the uninsured, and protect those with pre-existing conditions from crushing medical costs. We can do all of this with no new mandates, taxes, penalties, rules, commissions, agencies, or czars.

“It’s time for Washington to listen to the people. Give Americans choice and competition, get government out of the way, stop expanding government control, and stop wasting the people’s money!”

John Shadegg on Obama Speech