SWGA Politics

Healthcare Reform is a Trojan Horse

What has become of the healthcare debate in America? We really pounded our Congressmen and Senators during the August recess at the various town hall meetings and it all seemed to come to a head with the March on Washington on September 12. The question now becomes this. Have we taken a big enough step that our representatives will listen to us or are they simply waiting for us to quiet down so that they can proceed?

A source of mine in Washington says that the House is about to start working again on a healthcare proposal. “Which one,” I asked. There are about five up there now including the new Baucus Bill. My source says that the House will try to reconcile elements of all of the bills into one. This may add 200-1500 extra pages to the already monstrous bill, HB 3200. Once that is done, a new HB number will be issued. PatientsFirst has called for a national “Call Congress Day” on October 6, 2009. It looks like it is time to pick up the fight again folks, and October 6 could be too late. To take the field, a general once said, “Get there first with the most.”

So what has been going on with the healthcare debate? Insurer Humana sent a one page letter to it’s clients about how Medicare will be affected under the proposed bill. The letter received criticism from Max Baucus, who later sent federal regulators to Humana according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.
The article goes on to say:

Earlier this month, Humana sent a one-page letter to its customers enrolled in its Medicare Advantage plans, which offer private options to Medicare beneficiaries. Humana noted that, because of spending cuts proposed by Democrats, “millions of seniors and disabled individuals could lose many of the important benefits and services that make Medicare Advantage health plans so valuable.” The Kentucky-based company also urged its customers to contact their Representatives. Pretty tame stuff, as these things go.

Because we live in a new Thugocracy, Baucus’ reaction isn’t surprising. It is simply a sign of the times for our new administration.

The nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation has a report that says that Medicare Advantage programs could be cut by more than $172 billion which would result in about six million seniors being denied access to and affordable Medicare Advantage plan. Is it wrong to raise these concerns?

I know. We would never ration healthcare for seniors. Seniors and very young children have had priority when it comes to getting a flu shot in previous years. Not with the new H1N1 shots. When it comes to priority, Seniors get in the back of the line according to an article in the New York Times.

What about the remark from Congressman Joe Wilson? Did President Obama really lie to the joint sessions of Congress? It seems that Wilson’s declaration has resulted in an ID card being required to receive government run healthcare in the Baucus bill. Once this passes, we will turn our backs on illegals, right? Give me a break! President Obama still has immigration reform as one of his top priorities following healthcare and energy reform according to the Politico.

The President’s healthcare talking points have undergone a fact check at TownHall.com.

The article, written by Congressman John Boehner, says that the Lewin Group conducted an independent analysis that shows as many as 114 million Americans could lose their current insurance and be forced on the government plan under HR 3200.
The President says that there will be no tax increases, but the bill reads on page 167 “TAX ON INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT ACCEPTABLE HEALTH CARE COVERAGE.” That tax is where I want to focus the last part of this post.
In an article published in the New York Post on September 21 and also available on his blog, Dick Morris wrote the following:

The poor will still have Medicaid. But for those earning more, the required premiums will be worse than any tax increase. For example, CBO estimates that when the program is fully implemented — by 2016 — an individual earning $32,400 a year would have to pay $4,100 in premiums before getting any subsidy. With deductibles and co-payments, he’d have to shell out $5,600 a year, or 17.3 percent of his income. A family of four, making $80,000 a year, would have to pay about $10,500 in premiums alone — with deductibles and co-payments, up to $15,000 or just under 20 percent of income.

We have been told that we need to be a compassionate nation and follow others in the industrialized world—you know the ones who come here for the best healthcare services on the globe. However, where is the compassion for taxing a healthy individual making $32,400 by $5,600 in the above example? People had better wake up now. Especially if the fight is back on to control your healthcare and raise your taxes.

It makes one wonder if this healthcare bill is really a Trojan Horse designed to destroy wealth in America and bring us from Socialism to full fledged Communism on the fast track—just as fast as Pelosi can ram in through the House. Stop reading this blog and call your Congressman today. The Congressional switchboard is (202)224-3121