08/08/09
by John Eberhard
As you know, Congress is trying to pass a health care reform bill, which the President has vowed to sign. It has now been delayed for voting on until after Congress’s summer recess, but come September the proponents of the bill will be working hot and heavy to get it passed. And in the meantime the President, Congressional leadership and mainstream media are taking every opportunity to pooh-pooh and downright demonize the public that is speaking out against it.
There are a number of reasons why I think this bill in any form, no matter what final form it ends up in, is a bad idea and should be voted down. I won’t try to cover every reason but will discuss some basic reasons and some specifics.
Basic Reasons
1. Government never runs anything as well as the private sector. Think health care being run with the efficiency of the Post Office, Amtrak, or the DMV. Have you ever had fast, efficient service at the DMV?
2. According to FreedomWorks.org:
“The Congressional Budget Office has said the proposed government takeover of health care could cost $1.6 trillion. Other estimates put the cost much higher. Various officials have proposed raising taxes on soda and alcohol, a higher payroll tax, taxing current employer-provided health plans, and even a new national sales tax to fund this massive government program.”
3. Studies show that most Americans are overwhelmingly happy with their own health care — including 70% of the 46 million Americans without insurance.
4. Government run health care is socialist. It is based on the Marxist principle of “to each according to his need, from each according to his ability to pay.” We already have a “progressive” (socialist) taxation system in America, where the bottom 30% of the population pays no taxes, and the top 5% pay the majority of the taxes. Government run health would be yet another socialist takeover of a major portion of American life, one fifth of our economy.
5. The health care reform in its current form will include funding for abortions.
6. The health care reform in its current form will include full health care benefits for illegal aliens.
7. Ask yourself if you trust the government to make life and death decisions about your health.
Before I go on and before anyone assumes “Oh he’s against it because he has his cushy insurance,” I will say that I am self employed and don’t have health insurance.
I also want to say that I worked in the insurance industry, at an insurance claims company for several years. I believe all the rhetoric slamming the “greedy insurance companies” and with Nancy Pelosi demonizing the insurance companies is largely a bunch of baloney. Insurance companies typically operate (due to competition I might add) at one of the lowest profit margins of any industry in America. Insurance policies are written to cover what they cover and consumers agree to those policies and buy them. And for the most part, insurance companies cover the things that the policies say they cover. I believe often people don’t bother to fully understand what is covered when they buy the policy.
Tort System
I believe one of the biggest problems in the medical field today is our tort system, meaning the court system. Outrageous malpractice suits have caused doctors to have to carry expensive malpractice insurance ($200,000 a year for a doctor who delivers babies, just for a doctor starting out), and to order excessive and expensive tests to protect themselves from possible future lawsuits.
This new legislation does not address this problem at all, nor is it likely to, with the trial lawyers associations being one of the biggest campaign contributors for the Democratic Party.
Some Scary Specifics
Here are some specifics from the current bill. This information is from Economic Policy Journal:
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2009/07/whats-in-healthacre-bill.html
Page 494-498 Government will cover Mental Health Services including defining, creating, rationing those services
Page 50 Section 152 – Health care will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise
Page 127 Lines 1-16 – Doctors and the AMA – The Government will tell YOU how much money you can make.
Page 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into public option plan. NO CHOICE
Page 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay for health for part time employees AND their families. (These are the types of overly generous benefits that have bankrupted the US auto makers – JE)
Page 425 Lines 17-19 Government will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney. Mandatory!
Page 317 Lines 13-20 PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Government tells Doctors what and how much they can own.
Page 170 Lines 1-3 Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes. (Americans will pay)
Page 22 MANDATES the Government will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure
Page 30 Sec 123 – THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments and benefits you get
Page 29 lines 4-16 – YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED
Page 42 – The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your health care benefits for you. You have no choice!
Page 59 lines 21-24 Government will have direct access to your bank accounts for electronic funds transfer
There’s more at the URL above.
Take Action
At this point it is clear to me that the Democratic Party leadership does not give a flying hoot what the American public want. I believe their whole strategy right now is to ram through as much radical leftist, socialist, Marxist legislation as possible that has been on the far-left wish list for decades, before the American public notices or can object. That is why they are in such a rush, and why President Obama hasn’t kept campaign promises to wait a reasonable time before signing legislation, and to put it up on the Internet so the public can see it before it is signed. And the Democrats have largely kept Republicans out of the process on much of their agenda legislation.
But one thing that still works in America despite having a far-left, liberal, socialist leadership in both houses of Congress and the White House, is that Congress at least is still accountable to the people, especially members of the House who face elections every two years (the next election is 2010).
So I urge you to send a fax to your representatives in Congress and to the President. I have read that faxes have more impact than emails. Go to Google and enter the names of your senators and your representative in the House and get their fax numbers.
We have a chance to turn the tide by speaking up.
Remember a couple of years ago, when Congress was all set to pass “immigration reform,” i.e. illegal alien amnesty? The public outcry against was so huge that Congress backed down, even with the full support of President Bush.
We need to do the same thing here. Every poll I have seen on the subject shows over 50% of the public against this (a poll on Facebook showed 75% against it). But Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi don’t care. We have to make them care. This is our country. Let’s not allow the elites who think they know better tell us how to live our lives.