Senator Harry Reid’s (D-NV) 2,074-page health care bill will increase family health insurance premiums by an average of $3,100 a year, according to new figures released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

The CBO says that an average family plan will increase by 28% under the Reid bill – from $11,000 per family to $14,100 per family. In addition, a family of four with an income of $54,000 will pay 17% more of its income for premiums and cost sharing in Reid’s government-run health care legislation.

Reid’s bill will end up costing the American taxpayer $2.5 trillion and leave families with higher health care costs. “Reid’s legislative takeover of health care costs Americans $1.2 billion per page or $6.8 million per word!,” said TVC Executive Director Andrea Lafferty. “And what do we get for it? Socialized medicine and higher health care costs!”

Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) has posted a simple analysis of Reid’s bill on his web site. Reid’s bill will not only increase health care costs, but result in an estimated loss of 1.6 million jobs and leaves 24 million without health insurance. Reid imposes an $8 billion tax on uninsured Americans and $28 billion in new taxes on employers! Reid also cuts Medicare by $465 billion and cuts $118 from Medicare Advantage.

“Reid’s solution to health care reform is to tax Americans, punish senior citizens, and increase the cost of health care for everyone,” said Lafferty. “This isn’t reform, it’s a recipe for national disaster and the destruction of the finest health care system in the world.”

Rationing Mammograms & Gym Membership

Heritage Foundation expert Brian Darling has recently exposed the fact that Reid’s health care bill will result in the rationing of mammograms for women.

According to Darling, Section 2713 of the bill says that the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force will have the force of law in determining what’s in health plans or what’s not covered. Last week, the Task Force gave annual mammograms a “C” rating (not recommended). Right now, insurance companies can ignore the Task Force guideline. Under Reid/ObamaCare, it will have the force of law. A new government bureaucracy (one of 100 new bureaucracies to be created in the Senate bill), will make mammogram health care decisions for women and their physicians.

Under Reid/Obama care, mandated health insurance plans must include “mental health parity,” “behavioral health treatment,” and include “preventive care,” which can include gym memberships. (This is in Section 1302(a) of the bill.)

Marriage Penalty

Reid/ObamaCare punishes married couples. It will inflict a 0.5% payroll tax on married couples making more than $250,000 a year in wages. Co-habiting couples, however, are free to make $200,000 each before being taxed.

Employer Mandates

Reid/Obama Care will impose $28 billion in new taxes on employers that don’t provide government-approved health insurance plans! These new taxes will be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices for everything.

Abortion Funding

Sen. Reid’s bill will not only cost more for every family, but he has included a provision that is an abortion-funding fee that will pay for abortion on demand with taxpayer dollars. The abortion funding mandate is on page 118 of the bill. It authorizes the federal government to pay for any and all abortions through a government-run program known as the “public option.” Reid’s bill will permit the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to fund all abortions, including third trimester and partial-birth abortions! It will subsidize purchase of private plans that cover abortion on demand, too.

“Reid clearly wants American taxpayers to be forced to pay for abortion on demand through his bill. This isn’t health care, it’s the killing of unborn babies,” said Lafferty.

The Louisiana Purchase & Other Bribes

Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) is a so-called “moderate” who received a multi-million dollar bribe in the form of cash assistance in Reid’s bill for her vote to support debate on his legislation.

Initially, Reid dropped a $100 million dollar benefit into his bill that benefited only Louisiana. On page 432 of the bill there is a section that increases Medicaid subsidies in states that are recovering from a natural disaster during the past 7 years. That provision only applies to Louisiana! (Landrieu held out for more cash from Reid and has openly boasted that she got $300 million for her state, not just $100 million initially offered.)

Landrieu’s vote was needed by Reid in order to get the 60 votes necessary last Saturday to approve the legislation for debate within the next few weeks.

Other Senators who received deal sweeteners were: Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Evan Bayh (D-IN).

Nelson got Reid to remove a provision stripping health insurers of their anti-trust exemption; and Wyden got Reid to agreed to expand eligibility for health insurance.

In addition, Reid made sure that California, the abortion industry, and big labor got deals for support of his socialist health care bill. The abortion lobby, for example, was encouraged by Reid’s massive abortion funding mechanism in the bill. California was promised $300 million for an increase in Medicare payments to doctors.

According to the Houston Chronicle, in the House-passed version of health care reform, labor unions will receive up to $10 billion in taxpayer-funded bailouts. This $10 billion will be used by unions to pay retiree benefits. The House bill will force home health care workers into unions, too! According to the Chronicle: “Under the proposed public option, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius would wield tremendous discretionary authority to regulate participating health care workers. She and various federal panels, where the unions would have guaranteed seats, would take the lead in recommending health care policy. Thus, labor would have considerable influence over decisions affecting most doctors, nurses and patients.”

These pro-union provisions could be added to Reid’s bill in a conference committee.

TAKE ACTION: Contact your two Senators and urge them to oppose passage of any legislation that nationalizes our health care system!

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]]> http://www.klexus.com/reid-health-care-reform-bill-increases-premiums-by-3100-yearly-and-funds-abortion.html/feed 4 http://www.klexus.com/corker-gives-gloomy-diagnosis-for-health-care-overhaul-bill.html http://www.klexus.com/corker-gives-gloomy-diagnosis-for-health-care-overhaul-bill.html#comments Sun, 13 Sep 2009 03:11:51 +0000 admin http://www.klexus.com/?p=15

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker had a gloom-and-doom diagnosis for Democrat-sponsored Senate health care reform legislation at a town hall meeting in downtown Elizabethton on Wednesday.

“If Republicans crafted a (health care reform) bill exactly like the bill that is coming before us, word for word … there wouldn’t be a single Democratic vote for that bill…” the Tennessee Republican told about 100 people inside the Coffee Company. “Many of the people in the Senate are looking at this as having to do with this presidency (of Democrat Barack Obama) and saving this presidency instead of realizing the basic fundamentals of this bill are wrong. … I believe this president truly believes government can solve most all problems. That’s a place I’m not comfortable with at all.”

Now that the House has passed one health care reform measure with a government-run public health plan, at least two other proposals are being debated in the Senate.

One idea floated by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada would allow states to “opt out” of a government-run health plan.

As he was leaving to go to another town hall meeting in Mountain City, Corker said Reid is using the idea “to count votes” in the Senate.

“He’s trying to figure out about the public option what gets people in or loses votes. … He’s doing this literally behind closed doors,” Corker said of Reid.

A $1 trillion Senate Finance Committee bill calls for creating state health exchanges and imposing an excise tax on people without essential health benefits coverage, and on employers who fail to meet health insurance coverage requirements for full-time employees.

Corker pointed out flaws in each measure and told the crowd he would not vote for federally funded abortions or a government-run health plan “in any form.”

Unfunded Medicaid costs total $735 million in the Senate Finance bill and $1.35 billion under the House bill, Corker noted.

Corker said the Senate Finance bill also seeks to take more than $400 billion out of Medicare, the federal health care program for seniors, by 2017.

He also pointed to a Blue Cross/Blue Shield-sponsored study saying insurance rates would be driven up 60 percent within five years under the Senate Finance bill.

Corker, instead, advocated tort reform, across-the-border competition among insurance companies, and tax incentives for those buying health insurance.

“The fact that an individual who buys health insurance with their own dollars and doesn’t get it from their company and has to pay for health insurance with after-tax dollars, but if you work at a company you get it with pre-tax dollars, that is something we should have fixed a long time ago,” Corker said.

Corker has done town hall meetings on health care reform in more than 30 counties, and did three in Northeast Tennessee on Wednesday.

“These town hall meetings used to be hard to get people to come to,” Corker said as he looked out at a filled dining room. “Our country has awakened, if you will. … I really do believe the reason many of you are coming out … is you feel like our government is out of control.

“I believe we are experiencing in Washington, and we have been for some time … I think this is the most selfish generation of political leadership that our country has ever seen.”

That remark won applause, but Corker said he noticed people started looking uncomfortable when he said Republican lawmakers added $8 trillion to the national debt after establishing a Medicare drug benefit in 2003.

“I think what we’re getting ready to do with health care is even worse,” Corker said.

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A provision in the health care reform bill approved in the House of Representatives could force farmers to provide health insurance coverage for seasonal temporary workers.

That is one of the reasons that the Virginia Farm Bureau, which has more than 3,000 members in Franklin County, opposes the health care reform legislation.

As the debate over the details of the legislation moves to the floor of the U.S. Senate this week, Farm Bureau members are mobilizing to oppose it.

The Farm Bureau has nearly 150,000 members in 88 Virginia counties, including 3,300 members in Franklin County.

“Health care reform in its current state will have a huge negative impact on the cost, quality and availability of the health insurance that farmers purchase for themselves, their families and the workers they employ,” said Trey Davis, political education and legislative specialist for the Farm Bureau.

The legislation will cost the United States $1 trillion, and reports show that it will increase the average premium for Americans and small businesses that choose to participate in the government-run program, Davis said.

“We oppose a public option that would harm individual businesses and increase the current cost of private insurance plans than many farmers purchase,” he said.

“A government-run program that will reimburse hospitals and physicians at lower costs will put rural healthcare facilities and doctors out of business,” Davis added.

Farm Bureau members are sharing their concerns with Virginia Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner.

“Changes are coming to America’s health care system, and all voters need to be better informed on the options being debated,” said Greg Hicks, communications director for the Farm Bureau.

“In this case, Farm Bureau opposes the current legislation, but many times we support bills and legislative issues, so this is one more way we hope the voice of our producer members will be heard,”?Hicks said.

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U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., said Friday he was respecting the wishes of the majority of those in the 2nd congressional district when he voted against the health-care reform bill, which narrowly passed the House on Nov. 7.

Teague was one of just 39 Democrats who voted against the bill, versus 219 members from his party who voted in favor.

“Really, the only thing I was thinking about when we passed this was, I stopped and gave some thought to the people that I’d talked to in Lordsburg and Santa Rosa and Las Cruces,” he said.

Teague held town hall meetings throughout the district, including one at the Dona Ana County Government Center, as he sought public input on the bill, and said the majority of people he heard from urged him to vote against it.

“It’s a big district, there’s a lot of people, it wasn’t 100 to nothing,” he said. “There was more saying not to vote for it, and that’s the reason we voted no.”

He denied that political considerations and his upcoming race against former Rep. Steve Pearce influenced his decision in any way.

Along with voting against the bill, Teague also angered many pro-choice Democrats by voting for the Stupak-Pitts amendment, which not only prohibits abortion coverage in the public option – something for which there was wide agreement – but also prohibits anyone receiving a federal subsidy from purchasing a health insurance plan that includes abortion coverage.

While many argue the Stupak-Pitts amendment goes far beyond what was passed under the Hyde amendment more than three decades ago, Teague said he was merely seeking to reaffirm that status quo.

“It was conflicting vote, because I still believe in a woman’s right to her choice. But at the same time, we were addressing a 33-year amendment, and that was a tough choice to make,” he said. “For 33 years it’s been there that federal funds can’t be used, and that’s what this bill did. It just made sure the (Hyde) amendment was addressed.”

In a news release issued to explain his vote, Teague said he fully understands the need for health-care reform. He used his own family experience, in which his uninsured parents got sick, forcing him to drop out of school and go to work, to drive home the point.

Along with acceding to the wishes of his constituents, Teague said he voted against the bill because it didn’t do enough to lower costs. He said the concept of a public option could conceivably provide the competition needed to rein in costs, but he didn’t believe this bill accomplished that goal.

The Senate is next to act, where passage will require 60 votes, as opposed to the simple majority needed in the House.

Teague said he didn’t want to speculate as to what, if anything, will come from the Senate, and then from a conference committee to merge the two bills. But, he didn’t sound confident that any changes made would alter his thinking.

He said there were some reforms, such as requiring coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, that could potentially be passed, even if the current effort fails. But, reminded of the time lapse between the failed Clinton health-care reform of 1992-93 and this year’s effort, and asked if he was confident Congress would try again if this bill goes down in defeat, he replied, “I’m not confident Congress will do anything.”

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]]> http://www.klexus.com/teague-explains-why-he-voted-against-health-care-reform-bill.html/feed 4 http://www.klexus.com/health-care-reform-would-mean-more-costs-for-businesses.html http://www.klexus.com/health-care-reform-would-mean-more-costs-for-businesses.html#comments Mon, 08 Jun 2009 03:11:27 +0000 admin http://www.klexus.com/?p=11

Health insurance requirements could take a radical turn if a health care reform bill ever lands on President Barack Obama’s desk, and that could mean costly changes for Maryland businesses.

The House and Senate versions of the bill vary in several key areas, but both call for some sort of employer mandate, requiring certain business owners to provide health insurance to full-time employees, and would require individuals to have health insurance. Businesses and individuals that don’t follow the rules would pay fines for not having coverage.

“For many, many businesses, the employer mandate is going to mean new costs on the business, whether they take the fine or comply,” said Kenneth R. Huber, senior vice president of the employee benefit group for PSA Insurance & Financial Services in Hunt Valley.

“I look at the economy, and a lot of businesses have already trimmed their expenses, including employees. … They’re going to look at a new cost the same way all employers look at a new cost. They’re going to have to figure out how to deal with it,” said Huber, who advises small to medium-sized businesses.

Under the House bill, which passed in November, companies with annual payrolls of $500,000 or more would be required to offer employees health care coverage. Sanctions would begin at 2 percent of payroll expenses and ramp up to 8 percent if the business has a payroll of $750,000 or more.

Under the Senate bill, which has not been debated yet, employers would not have to provide coverage. However, if any employee received government assistance to buy an insurance plan, the company would have to pay a $750 penalty for each of its employees. Companies with fewer than 50 employees would be exempt.

Out of more than 119,000 businesses in Maryland, 74 percent have fewer than 50 full-time employees. But only 44 percent of those businesses offered health benefits in 2008, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

About 56,000 small businesses in Maryland could qualify for tax credits of up to 50 percent of a health insurance premium under health reform. Reform would expand on Maryland’s Health Insurance Partnership, which gives businesses with two to nine full-time employees the same subsidy if they have not offered insurance in the last year and their employees make less than $50,000 on average. Under reform, a business that employs up to 25 people, with average salaries of $40,000, would qualify for credits.

Reform would also provide coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. But the small-group plans offered in Maryland — for companies with 2 to 50 employees — already do that.

“Our concern is that Maryland already imposes more mandates on the small-group insurance,” said Kathleen Snyder, president and CEO of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, which opposes the House health care bill.

“We’re concerned that Maryland will come back and add on to a very rich federal government plan, which will add up the costs to insurers [and] to employers,” she said.

Vincent DeMarco, president of the Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative, said he is hopeful that health care reform will become a reality. His group has pushed for universal health care in Maryland through a 2 percent payroll tax on businesses.

“We would like to do our proposal the way the House did, which is to require all businesses provide health care and charge them an assessment if they don’t,” he said.

“If something like that passes, that would make it unnecessary for us to do many of the things we were going to do,” DeMarco said. “We’re ready to adapt our proposal to theirs to finish the job here in Maryland.”

He said that requiring all businesses to provide health care would decrease the hidden costs in premiums that cover the uninsured. But both Huber and Snyder said they are unsure if health care reform would actually bring costs down.

“At the end of the day, both of these bills are primarily health insurance reforms and expanding coverage, and there isn’t a lot that I believe will meaningfully have any impact on bending the cost curve,” Huber said. “Nor is there anything in either of these bills that will meaningfully improve care.”

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Both of Florida’s senators say there’s plenty of room for improvement to the health care reform bill being brought to debate by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Republican Sen. George LeMieux said Thursday he’s still trying to figure out everything the 2,074-page bill does.

“I’m going to be one of those sitting up all night on the Senate floor trying to read this bill and figure out all that’s in it,” he told Scripps Howard. “But what I do know is that it cuts Medicare by $500 billion, increases taxes by $500 billion and does nothing to reduce the cost of health care.”

Noting that 4 million Floridians lack health insurance, LeMieux said, “We all agree there are things that need to be done, but this is the wrong path, especially in terms of taking money from health care for seniors.”

Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson said in a statement issued by his Washington office that “regardless of where anyone stands on specifics, most folks agree the current system can be unfair and too costly and it needs to be fixed. We can’t afford to sit by and do nothing anymore.

“There are good elements to the bill Senator Reid unveiled. It will provide affordable coverage for millions of uninsured Americans, prevents insurance companies from dropping folks who get sick, and denying coverage for pre-existing conditions. The legislation will also reduce the deficit.”

LeMieux vowed, “We’re going to take as much time on the floor as we need to improve this bill. There are ways to do this without so much government. Republicans will come in with amendments as honest brokers, but the Democrats have to be ready to work with us.”

Nelson also said he will “work to improve it (the health bill) on the Senate floor, particularly by trying to force drug companies to lower prices for prescriptions covered under Medicare.”

Nelson has been one of several vocal Democrats who are accusing drug companies of bumping up prices in the past year in order to create phantom savings that support the industry’s pledge to trim $8 billion a year in drug costs as health reforms kick in.

He said he plans to resume efforts to trim the amount the government pays for drugs for about six million seniors under the Medicare prescription drug program through an amendment to the main reform plan.

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