If this is your first time at www.TruthAboutObamaCare.com please allow a few minutes for this page to load. There is a great deal of information including many videos. There is so much TYRANNY to cover!
Before you dig into the ugly truth about this legislation take a good look at your new health care system brought to by a 100% Partisan Democrat vote. Watch: “Obamacare: The biggest bureaucratic nightmare in world history.”
Here’s how BAD the new “Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act” and subsequent “Health Care & Education Affordability Reconciliation Act” (a.k.a. “ObamaCare”) is for our country:
January 6, 2011 UPDATE Click Here to read the new Congressional report entitled “Obamacare: The Budget-Busting, Job-Killing Health Care law.”
January 15, 2011 UPDATE In the next week you will see MANY lies in the Main Stream Media about the costs related to Repealing Obamacare. Do NOT believe these lies. Here are the REAL numbers. Repealing Obamacare will save $2.5 Trillion and Medicare will no longer be ROBBED of $4.95 Trillion over the next 2 decades.
January 31, 2011 UPDATE Obamacare is rendered Unconstitutional & NULL & VOID by Florida Judge Roger Vinson. Read his decision here. This is a landmark decision in a case brought by the Attorney General’s of 28 separate States. Read about it here. Maybe this is why President Obama himself said the Individual Mandate WILL NOT WORK:
March 22, 2011 UPDATE Watch me debate a Liberal “Progressive” on Obamacare at Rep. Randy Hultgren’s Office. This is a half hour long street debate well worth your time. Every liberal talking point is dismantled and replaced with facts.
April 16, 2011 UPDATE Remember the $105 Billion in “auto-funding” in Obamacare that Rep Michele Bachmann & Rep Steve King revealed? Here’s what Kathleen Sebellius & the HHS (Health & Human Services) Department is planning to with with your money.
May 26, 2011 UPDATE There are now 3,095,593 Americans “waived” from Obamacare. Click here to find out who?
June 4, 2011 UPDATE Click here to read my latest article on Obamacare at American Thinker
June 21, 2011 UPDATE The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) 2011 “Long Term Outlook Budget Outlook” published 6/21/2011 states that not only will the PPACA not reduce health care costs, but the PPACA’s rapid expansion of Medicaid to nearly 30 million more Americans will drive health care costs to an all time high in the coming decades.
Click here to Read the new CBO study.
July 5, 2011 UPDATE One page leave behind for precinct walks. What we’ve been told about the PPACA vs. The TRUTH
July 7, 2011 UPDATE Flowchart shows how the UnConstitutional Individual Mandate is proposed to work in 2014.
Click here to see the flowchart from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
July 7, 2011 UPDATE Click here to see Obamacare provisions that have already been implemented and those to come.
July 12, 2011 UPDATE Click here to watch Congressional hearing on the Obamacare IPAB (Independent Payment Advisory Board) with Representative Paul Ryan & Kathleen Sebellius. Hat Tip CSPAN
July 12, 2011 UPDATE The Wall Street Journal outlines all the new taxes in Obamacare.
July 17, 2011 UPDATE Every story President Obama told about PreExisting Conditions was a LIE. Click here for TRUTH
Visit www.TruthAboutPreExistingConditions.com to find out why the President HAD to LIE about PreExisting Conditions
August 1, 2011 UPDATE Second wave of Obamacare “Preventative Care” mandates begin including “free” “Morning After” Abortion Pill. Reuters reports.
September 1, 2011 UPDATE New study by Beacon Hill Institute proves what Mitt Romney created in Massachusetts is nearly IDENTICAL to Obamacare and the devastating consequences will also be nearly identical. Read study.
Side Bar: June 2011 Beacon Hill Institute study that revealed the devastating COSTS of RomneyCare. Read study.
September 7, 2011 UPDATE Remember when the President promised that you would get “help” (a tax payer funded subsidy) to pay the premium required for health insurance purchased within the new Obamacare health insurance exchanges? The truth is that if your State sets up a FEDERAL Obamacare health insurance exchange you will NOT be eligible for ANY subsidy. This means that when employers across this nation begin to terminate their health insurance plans (starting in 2014) because it’s cheaper to dump their employees into these new exchanges. YOU will be required to pay the entire premium. Unlike ANY other section of the PPACA, section 1311 will massively INCREASE the number of American Uninsured, even though the President promised it would do the exact opposite. Learn about Section 1311.
September 13, 2011 UPDATE Yet ANOTHER Federal Court Judge rules Obamacare “Individual Mandate” UNCONSTITUTIONAL. Click here to read the details from CNN.
September 21, 2011 UPDATE If you have heard me speak at any of the events I have spoken at in the last 2 years, you may remember me mentioning that since Obamacare was signed into law, several of my client’s annual group health insurance renewal notices were higher than 31% and still others were as high as 46%. Higher than they have ever been in the last 16 years. The reason for this is the more than 100 newly mandated benefits and policy design changes that have been forced upon every major medical health insurance policy since 9/23/2010 per the PPACA. The Ohio Department of Insurance released a report today stating health insurance rates in Ohio could increase by as much as 150% when more key provisions of Obamacare begin in 2014. Read details here.
September 23, 2011 UPDATE New study shows waiting times to see a Doctor are about to go WAY up. Read details.
September 24, 2011 UPDATE The wait is OVER! Obamacare is now headed directly to the Supreme Court. There are several reasons why the President bypassed the 11th Circuit Court clearing the way today for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the Constitutionality of the Obamacare Individual Mandate. They are as follows:
1.) The 11th Circuit has only five of 11 judges appointed by Democrats and one of them has already ruled to strike down the mandate.
2.) On Monday September 19, 2011 two significant events took place:
A.) Representatives from 46 States met in Washington D.C. looking for guidance and direction on how to set up the mandated health insurance exchanges in their States. Expressed during this meeting was confusion and concern over whether or not these States will have the time or resources to meet this new Federal requirement by 2014. The paramount concern by the majority of States is who will PAY for these massive new costs. Most especially in light of the recent report by Investors Business Daily which was released on the same day.
B.) On September 19, 2011 this report was released by Investors Business daily that revealed that under Section 1311 & 1321 of the PPACA, people who buy health insurance through a federally run exchange will NOT eligible for ANY premium subsidies. Since employers will be incentivized to terminate their health insurance plans and dump their employees into the new Obamacare exchanges (exactly like Massachusetts) this will leave millions of Americans with a hefty health insurance premium. When that happens, it will indeed INCREASE the number of American Uninsured instead of DECREASE the number of American Uninsured. Just like I said it would.
September 28, 2011 UPDATE 26 States file Supreme Court health care APPEAL. Read the story.
October 5, 2011 UPDATE Remember when the President said Obamacare will lower premiums by $2,500 per family? In 2011, the annual health insurance premium for a family of four was pushed above $15,000 for the first time EVER Read the details. That my friends is “Hoax & Chains”.
October 9, 2011 UPDATE I sat down with Champion News on Chicago’s AM560 WIND Radio to discuss the ongoing TYRANNY of Obamacare and how it will affect the State of Illinois and our Nation. Click here to watch the interview.
October 14, 2011 UPDATE Senate GOP members John McCain & Rand Paul seek to USURP State’s Right’s by attempting to push UnConstitutional health care legislation through the Senate. Click here to read this breaking news.
October 15, 2011 UPDATE Today the Obama Administration made the following statement: “For months opponents of health reform have falsely claimed that the Affordable Care Act would lead to the taxation of health care benefits. The claim wasn’t true when the rumor first surfaced, it isn’t true today and it won’t be true tomorrow. ” Click here to read
why that is a BALD FACED LIE.
October 15, 2011 UPDATE Today the Obama Administration was forced to repeal one of the most fraudulent parts of the Obamacare legislation. Namely, the “CLASS” Act. From the beginning we knew this was nothing more than a way for the Obama administration to provide $86 Billion in FALSE “savings”. Their fiscal malfeasance has been exposed again, leading to an investigative hearing on October 26, 2011. Click here to read this breaking news.
October 20, 2011 UPDATE I spoke for the Dubuque, Iowa Tea Party this evening. Prior to doing so I was interviewed by AM1370 KDTH “The Voice of the Tri-States” Radio. Click here to download the MP3 of the interview. Local print media was there. Click here to read the story and click here to read the entire story. Below is my speech from that day:
October 21, 2011 UPDATE An announcement was made today that World Insurance company in Omaha, Nebraska will be succumbing to Obamacare and it’s subsidiary American Republic – which closed it’s doors today. Read the story here. Both companies will be purchased by Celtic Insurance company of Chicago Illinois. This the THIRTEENTH company to pull out of some portion of Iowa’s health insurance business since June 2010. This is all due to the onerous MLR’s (Medical Loss Ratios) implemented on 9/23/2010 under Obamacare.
Other companies that have either closed their doors entirely or stopped selling health insurance since Obamacare was signed into law are as follows:
1.) American National
2.) Principle Financial
3.) nHealth
Other carriers are slowly withdrawing State by State. Page 7 of this white paper dated September 6, 2011 from the North Carolina Department of Insurance details exactly why the majority of all health insurance carriers that offered health insurance in their State have already exited and why even more are considering doing so shortly. This confirms EVERYTHING I have been saying for more than 2 years. Obamacare is SPECIFICALLY designed to DESTROY the American Health Insurance industry paving the way for a Single Payer Health Care System. This is President Obama’s ultimate goal. In the video below he makes that perfectly clear to an SEIU crowd.
October 31st, 2011. UPDATE Remember those “tax payer subsidies” to purchase health insurance through the new Obamacare exchanges that I mentioned in the September 7th update above? Turns out those subsidies provide a huge financial disincentive for Americans to get married. In fact, divorcing or staying single will be a far more lucrative option after 2014. Click here for more on this.
November 3, 2011. UPDATE Today I had the great honor to meet one of my real life heroes. Mr. David Rivkin, the lead attorney in the 26 State push back against Obamacare. Remember, it was David who won the landmark decision rendered by Judge Vinson in Florida that not only struck down the “Individual Mandate” but also struck down the entire Obamacare legislation. I was in Washington D.C. today at the Heritage Institute where David sat on a panel to discuss “Is Obamacare Constitutional?” This is “Must See TV” for all who seek insight into the specific reasons why the U.S. Supreme Court will most likely render the same decision as Judge Vinson did in Florida. There is a Q&A at the end of this video where you will hear me ask David a very important question. Click here to watch the entire panel discussion.
November 11, 2011. UPDATE . If you have heard me speak at any event in the last 2 years you know that I have repeatedly warned that millions of Americans would LOSE their health insurance once Obamacare passes due to the onerous MLR’s (Medical Loss Ratios) mandated by Obamacare and the more than 100 new mandates placed on every health insurance plan purchased after March 23, 2010. All of this government intervention simply drives up the cost of health insurance for the premium payer (for 90% of American’s this is their employer) and causes smaller health insurance carriers to fold. All of this leaves the consumer with fewer options and higher premiums. Thanks to a recent Gallup poll we now know that 4.5 MILLION Americans have lost their health insurance since Obamacare was signed into law on March 23, 2010. This, of course, is EXACTLY the OPPOSITE of what President Obama promised us. Click here to read more about this disturbing and entirely predictable news.
November 15, 2011 UPDATE At LONG last Patriots, the U.S. Supreme Court will HEAR the challenge to Obamacare. The justices have allotted 5 1/2 hours to hear 4 specific arguments regarding the law. To view these specific arguments and how much time they have allotted to each part please visit the SCOTUS blog here. Today Mr. David Rivkin and Mr. Lee Casey wrote an excellent, concise piece in the Wall Street Journal which outlines specifically why the U.S. Supreme Court will most likely not only strike down the Individual Mandate but also the entire law due to it’s lack of a “severability” clause and it’s misuse of the Commerce clause. Click here to read this informative piece in the WSJ.
November 23, 2011 UPDATE If you do not believe that Obamacare induced health care rationing is already happening. You need to read my latest article on Obamacare rationing and listen to the testimony of a Neurosurgeon who called into the Mark Levin radio show on November 22, 2011. You can read my latest article, hear that surgeon’s testimony and watch Dr. David Janda’s testimony at this link over at Rebel Pundit.com
December 1, 2011 UPDATE New study from the Galen Institute provides empirical data to support nearly every statement I’ve made in every speech I’ve made for the last two years. “A Radical Restructuring of Health Insurance.”
December 8th, 2011 UPDATE My speech on Obamacare at the Chicago Tea Party monthly meeting following Congressman Joe Walsh’s speech. See Congressman Walsh’s speech here: http://youtu.be/VvXD1K2zzGQ
December 15, 2011 UPDATE My speech on Obamacare for the West Suburban Patriots on December 10, 2011:
December 20, 2011 UPDATE U.S. Supreme Court schedules 3 days of arguments on Obamacare case. March 26, 27th & 28th of 2012. Read the details.
January 23, 2012 UPDATE Obamacare’s impact on States with commentary from Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels:
January 23, 2012 UPDATE George Will breaks down just how bad Obamacare will be for States and how this issue will soon be addressed in the Supreme Court. This is a must read!
January 25, 2012 UPDATE For those who REFUSE to believe in Obamacare “Death Panels”, this is a MUST READ. Please also click here to watch a news interview with the Rivera family. Or watch video below:
http://downloads.cbn.com/cbnnewsplayer/cbnplayer.swf?aid=27729
February 1, 2012 UPDATE Catholic Church DENOUNCES Obamacare “forced Contraception & Abortion pill” health insurance coverage mandate. Read the details here. Just so everyone knows the timeline of how we GOT to this point with the Tyrannical Obama Administration on the “Contraception” issue.
It began when the U.S. Health & Human Services Department attempted to mandate that all health insurance policies in this country include new “Preventative Care” benefits as of 8/1/2011. Included in their idea of “Preventative Care” is not ONLY “Contraceptives” that prevent conception which many Christians are NOT opposed to, but also two separate and deadly Abortifacient drugs.
Many Christians are not opposed to “Contraceptive” drugs that prevent the fertilization of the human egg (thus preventing conception, or the beginning of a human life). What the vast majority of Christians are diametrically OPPOSED to is Aborting a human life after conception. This is why the Family Research Council wrote a strongly worded letter to HHS on August 1, 2011 when they first attempted to violate our religious beliefs. You can read that letter here.
Since very few people, besides myself, even knew this was occurring as part of the new health care law it went largely unnoticed. That is, until the Catholic church was notified that they ALSO must comply with this ‘Interim Final Ruling. THEN more than 400 Catholic organizations including the Pope himself RIGHTFULLY condemned the Obama administration for this new usurpation of their 1st Amendment rights. You can read more about the more than 400 Catholic organizations who are pushing back here.
You see, this is FAR MORE than just about “Contraception”. This is about the Government FORCING all Americans including all Christians and ALL Catholics to not ONLY pay for Abortions with U.S. Tax Dollars but to purchase health insurance that includes coverage for Abortions whether it violates their religious beliefs or NOT.
This is an UNPRECEDENTED violation of our 1st Amendment rights and the only response thus far from the Tyrannical Obama administration is “You have one year to comply”. In other words, you have one year to abandon your fundamental religious beliefs and succumb to our rules.
This will NOT stand in America and I can guarantee you all one thing. The Obama administration will walk this ruling back and they will do so quickly or face the wrath of millions of Christians and all TRUE Catholics at the polls in November. This is also why Joe Biden and Bill Daley BOTH practicing Catholics WARNED Obama about this ruling BEFORE it was made http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/02/biden-daley-warned-president-about-contraception-decision-113881.html
It is also why V.P Biden was quoted on February 10, 2012 as saying: “I’m determined to see that this gets worked out and I believe we can work it out.”
February 2, 2012 UPDATE New Medicaid report shows Obamacare will further bankrupt already bankrupt States like Illinois and California. Oh and here’s the BEST part! Starting in 2014 Obamacare starts TAXING ITSELF!
February 1o, 2012 UPDATE: There was NO ‘compromise’ from Obama today on ‘Contraception’. In order to explain why. I will first quote from Obama himself:
“Under the rule, women will still have access to free preventive care that includes contraceptive services no matter where they work. That core principle remains.” – Barack Obama 1/10/2012
“But if a woman’s employer is a charity or a hospital that has a religious objection to providing contraceptive services as part of their health plan, the insurance company — not the hospital, not the charity — will be required to reach out and offer the woman contraceptive care free of charge without co-pays, without hassle.” – Barack Obama 1/10/2012
Now the translation for those who need to understand that this is more ‘slight of hand’ from a President with NO REGARD for our Constitutionally protected 1st Amendment rights.
Here’s how Obama will still get what HE WANTS by MANDATING all health insurance carriers cover contraception and Abortifacient drugs for ‘free’ on all health insurance policies sold in this nation as of 8/1/2012.
Blue Cross writes a policy for “Catholic Charities Incorporated” which does not include Contraception & Abortifacient drugs due to religious objections. Blue Cross, knowing that “Employee – Sally” of “Catholic Charities Incorporated” may now request said Contraception or Abortifacient drugs from “Catholic Charities Incorporated” and that “Employee – Sally” MUST now be provided Contraception or Abortifacient drugs ‘free’ of charge, INCLUDES THAT PRICE when they DETERMINE THE COST OF THE HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUM for “Catholic Charities Incorporated” and WHO is PAYING that Blue Cross health insurance premium? That’s RIGHT! “Catholic Charities Incorporated”. So Catholics and other Christians will STILL BE PAYING FOR CONTRACEPTION AND ABORTIFACIENT DRUGS because of Barack Obama.
THIS is WHY Catholic Bishops have rightfully REJECTED Obama’s BOGUS ‘compromise’.
February 14, 2012 UPDATE Barack Obama: 3 years in office and 21 tax hikes. Most of them from Obamacare.
February 14, 2012 UPDATE Click here for statistical PROOF that Obamacare will RAPIDLY bankrupt States.
February 15, 2012 UPDATE: New studies prove some very disturbing facts about Obamacare. The results show:
A.) Half of all U.S. Small Businesses that are not hiring are not doing so because of Obamacare.
B.) Health Insurance costs are now higher than ever.
C.) Obamacare has already added 6,500 page of new regulations to the Federal Registry (much more to come).
See results of these studies here.
February 15, 2012 UPDATE: Obama’s acting budget director, Jeffrey Zients ADMITS in OPEN CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY, ON FILM, that the fine for not buying health insurance is NOT a Tax. This could be DEVASTATING to the Obama administration’s case in front of the Supreme Court right now because their ENTIRE ARGUMENT is based on those ‘fines’ being considered ‘taxes’, NOT penalties. Read Obama administrations opening brief to the Supreme Court.
The brief argues that the ‘individual mandate” (a.ka. the “minimum coverage provision”) under Obamacare , falls within Congress’ constitutional powers to regulate interstate commerce and to levy and collect taxes. Watch Jeffrey Zeint’s damning testimony below. God BLESS Representative Scott Garrett (R) for asking this question!
February 16, 2012 UPDATE My speech to the Lemont, Illinois Tea Party on February 16, 2012:
Now back to the facts on Obamacare:
1.) The law expands entitlement spending by over $1 TRILLION in order to “cover” 30 Million more people. What will that do to State Budgets? We only need to look at history to find out. Cases in point?
a.) In 1965 the Fed projected that costs for Medicare Part A would be $9 Billion. It ended up costing $67 BILLION!
b.) The Medicaid special hospital subsidy was supposed to cost $100 MILLION. The real cost was $11 BILLION!
c.) The initial cost projections for Romneycare in Massachusetts were $880 MILLION. Cost today? FOUR BILLION! Why? Forbes Magazine breaks down the 5 painful lessons we can LEARN from Massachusetts.
2.) It adds $500 Billion in new tax increases at a time in our history when a RECORD number (47%) of American households pay NO INCOME TAXES! And if you believe the lie told by President Obama in the following video:
you NEED to know the TRUTH:
According to the Joint Committee on Taxation (Congress’s official scorekeeper). “Taxpayers earning less than $200,000 a year will pay roughly $3.9 billion more in taxes in 2019 alone due to the “Patient Protection & Affordable Care” Act. The new law raises $15.2 billion over 10 years by limiting the medical expense deduction, a provision widely used by taxpayers who either have a serious illness or are older. Taxpayers can currently deduct medical expenses in excess of 7.5 % of their adjusted gross income. Starting in 2013, most taxpayers will only be able to deduct expenses greater than 10 percent of AGI. Older taxpayers are hit by this threshold increase in 2017. Once the law is fully implemented in 2019, the JCT estimates the deduction limitation will affect 14.8 million taxpayers — 14.7 million of them will earn less than $200,000 a year.”
Barrons number 1 rated Independent Financial Advisor and Syndicated Radio Talk Show Host Ric Edelman breaks down just how many new taxes are coming under Obamacare and how they will negatively affect you:
Not only will Obamacare create the BIGGEST tax increase in U.S history but it may also cost you your retirement. Sally Pipes, President of the Pacific Research Institute breaks down the risk to your retirement.
Speaking of NEW taxes, if you are a Small Business owner. Here’s what’s coming for you thanks to Obamacare:
For a complete breakdown of the DEVASTATING impact Obamacare has on the Uninsured, the States, our Doctors, our Seniors, our Businesses, our Tax Payers, Federalism, Future Generations & our Families CLICK HERE.
A new Congressional Report (PDF) dated October 25, 2010 outlines how Obamacare will cost America more than 800,000 jobs.
Obamacare isn’t ALL bad though! Big Pharmaceutical companies will get EVEN BIGGER:
Chicago’s Heartland Institute breaks down an excellent time line of what is coming under Obamacare and how this legislation will NOT help low income Americans.
Remember when we were promised that Obamacare would “bend the cost curve down”? Richard Foster, the Obama Administration’s Medicare Actuary predicts net national health spending will increase by about 1% annually above the status quo that is already estimated to be $4.7 trillion in 2019. It’s also important to note that under this new legislation, the cost for health insurance will INCREASE for millions of Americans. It also means that the illusion that this legislation will “bend the cost curve” is just that, one BIG ILLUSION!
3.) The law ROBS Medicare and Social Security (AND THEY’RE BOTH ALREADY BROKE!) In fact, the Trustees of Medicare & Social Security state that the total unfunded liabilities between both programs are now more than $84 trillion! Worse yet, as of March 2010 Social Security is NOW OFFICIALLY BROKE!
For an in depth discussion on just how bad Obamacare will be for our already BANKRUPT Social Security & Medicare systems PLEASE watch the Medicare & Social Security symposium updated September 8th, 2010 on CSPAN. How bad is the impact of Obamacare on Medicare? According to Richard Foster (Medicare’s Chief Actuary) Obamacare quite literally GUTS MEDICARE of $4.95 Trillion over the next two decades.
Don’t believe Obamacare negatively impacts Medicare? Take a look at the difference between the 2009 and 2010 Medicare Trustees Reports. Far worse is the long term negative impacts of Obamacare on Medicare. The most shocking are those revealed by the National Center for Policy Analysis in their May 2011 report. Read it now by clicking here.
To see how much Medicare benefits you will lose (down to the penny) if Obamacare is implemented please read:
“What Health Reform Means For Medicare“
Unlike what you may have been told, the new law CREATES a $662 BILLION DEFICIT! How? According to the CBO report issued AFTER the “reform” bill was initially scored by them, the Democrats did NOT include the following expenses prior to the bills passage:
a.) 70 Billion for the “Class Act” (long term care coverage).
b.) $53 Billion that WILL BE ROBBED from the Social Security Trust fund.
c.) $71 Billion in appropriations needed to enforce the purchase of Insurance and to administer Obamacare (including $10 Billion for thousands of new IRS agents to “enforce” the Health Insurance purchase mandate and 159 NEW Boards Grants & Federal Agencies to administer this behemoth.)
d.) $398 Billion that WILL BE ROBBED from the Medicare Trust Fund
e.) $208 Billion “doctor fix” that was passed AFTER the “reform” bill was passed on April 1st, 2010
How may you ask, will they be able to include these costs later? Simple! Just include them gradually in other bills. For example, here’s part of Obamacare that was included in the new “Jobs Bill”.
Representative Paul Ryan breaks it down with an easy to understand chart:
Representative Kevin Brady assembled a team to design a High Resolution Chart of what our health care system now looks like under Obamacare. To view and print this detailed chart please click here.
Here are the written results of his due diligence published in the August 1st, 2010 issue of Bloomberg. His team’s due diligence produced the same bleak outlook for our nation’s health care system as I have described in exhaustive detail in this blog.
After the aforementioned appearance on Fox News Sunday. Mr. Ryan further testified to this “double counting” in a Congressional hearing on March 20, 2010:
Only NOW is the main stream media FINALLY waking up to the fact that Obamacare will NOT reduce the deficit:
4.) In order to keep the final CBO score under $1 Trillion they counted these TRANSFERS from Medicare & the Social Security Trust Fund as “A Savings”. What will be the REAL result of this economic trickery? Charles Krauthammer discusses the INEVITABLE “Value Added Tax“.
5.) $468 BILLION in additional spending on subsidies to purchase government approved health insurance.
6.) $48 BILLION in additional spending for Medicaid. Did I mention that Medicaid costs are growing by 23% this year? This MASSIVE expansion of Medicaid will lead to even LARGER budget deficits for States like California, Arizona, Illinois, Michigan and many others already facing crippling Medicaid burdens. In fact, nearly HALF of all the new insured after 2014 will be enrolled on to our already bankrupt Medicaid roles. The worst part about enrolling more than 16 million American’s on to our already bankrupt Medicaid rolls is that according to a large and comprehensive study completed by the University of Virginia, surgical patients on Medicaid are 97% MORE LIKELY TO DIE than those with private insurance. And they criticized Sarah Palin for using the term “Death Panels”?
I spoke about these 2 studies as well as who will bear the massive burden of paying to insure 33 million more Americans on Government approved health insurance at the 2011 Chicago Tax Day Tea Party:
Even more concerning is the fact that Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel (one of President Obama’s most trusted “Health Care” advisors) played a major role in drafting the Obamacare legislation. Dr. Emanuel designed a “Complete Lives System” which is nothing more than a glorified health care rationing system that quite literally lists how much health care should be “granted” to a human being depending on their age.
Then of course there was the recent appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick as the head of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Berwick is an advocate of rationing of health care and a lover – his description – of Britain’s National Health Service. With Obama’s appointment, Berwick is now effectively the second most powerful man in the federal government on health care matters. Here’s why Dr. Donald Berwick’s appointment to this position should more than just concern every American citizen. To download an in depth Power Point presentation regarding much more about Dr. Donald Berwick, including some very disturbing quotes click here.
Worse yet, the law could shift billions of dollars from cash-strapped states to the federal government by changing the way Medicaid prescription drug rebates are treated. This is exactly why so many States have filed suit to protect themselves against the new health care “reform” law. In fact, the State of Georgia’s Insurance Commissioner has stated that he’s not waiting for the lawsuits, he’s saying no to Obamacare RIGHT NOW!
7.) A Huge new increase on Capital Gains tax of almost 4%. Who does that affect? Anyone with any SAVINGS, most especially those in the market. So not only do we have RECORD unemployment, we’re now going to lose EVEN MORE of whatever savings we have LEFT!
8.) The law has a DECADE of Medicare Cuts a DECADE of Tax Increases, and only 6 yrs of supposed benefits! In fact, there will be over $500 Billion in Medicare cuts. What kind of cuts? Below are the Medicare cuts and when they begin:
Medicare cuts to hospitals begin: long‐term and inpatient and rehabilitation facilities (FY10)
Medicare cuts to inpatient psych hospitals (7/1/10) $132 Billion in Medicare Advantage Cuts Begin (2011) Medicare cuts to home health (2011)
“Wealthy Seniors” (making $85k to $170k) begin paying higher Part D premiums (not indexed for inflation in Parts B/D) (2011)
Medicare reimbursement cuts when seniors use diagnostic imaging like MRIs, CT scans and other Nuclear Medicine Scans. (2011)
Medicare cuts begin to ambulance services, ASCs, diagnostic labs, and durable medical equipment (2011)
Prohibition on Medicare payments to new physician‐owned hospitals (2011)
Seniors prohibited from purchasing power wheelchairs unless they first RENT for 13 Months (2011)
MORE Medicare cuts to long‐term care hospitals begin (7/1/11)
MORE Medicare cuts to hospitals and cuts to nursing homes and inpatient rehab facilities begin (FY12)
Medicare cuts to dialysis treatment begins (2012) Medicare to reduce spending by using an HMO‐like coordinated care model (Accountable Care Organizations) (2012) We ALREADY know how WELL HMO’s work!
MORE Medicare cuts to inpatient psych hospitals (7/1/12)
Medicare cuts to hospitals with high readmission rates begin (FY13)
Medicare cuts to HOSPICE begin (FY13)
New Tax of 2.3% on Medical Devices (2013)
Medicare cuts to hospitals who treat low‐income seniors begin (2013)
MORE Medicare cuts to home health begin (2014) MORE Medicare cuts to home health begin (2015)
Worse yet an Independent Payment Advisory Board (not doctors) has now been established to determine what medical services will and will not be covered. This panel has unprecedented powers. In fact, in order to override decisions made by this panel, a Super majority of 67 votes in the Senate is needed. The Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orzag leaves no ambiguity as to the powers granted to this panel in this video.
Just so everyone is knows, the IPAB (Independent Payment Advisory Board) was MODELED after the Oregon State health care rationing board. Here’s how that worked out for one cancer patient in Oregon:
There are MANY more things Seniors AND THEIR DOCTORS need to know about Obamacare and NONE of it is good.
Click here to learn about out all the negative ramifications for Seniors.
9.) Let’s say we could afford to add another $682 BILLION (plus the aforementioned recently noticed $115 additional Billion) to our already MASSIVE $14.3 TRILLION debt. Does ANY ONE REALLY BELIEVE that’s ALL this legislation is going to cost us? Let’s look at some history:
a.) In 1965 the Fed projected that costs for Medicare Part A would be $9 Billion. They ended up being $67 BILLION.
b.) The Medicaid special hospital subsidy was supposed to cost $100 MILLION. Instead the real cost was $11 BILLION! That’s ONE HUNDRED TIMES GREATER!
10.) The law includes $132 Billion in CUTS to the Medicare Advantage program.
11.) One of the MANY costs associated with this law that were NOT included in the CBO score were the appropriations (money needed to fund the 159 new government agencies needed to implement “Obamacare”). $10 BILLION OF WHICH WILL BE SPENT HIRING ANOTHER THOUSANDS OF NEW IRS Agents! To whom you will report each month confirming purchase and maintenance of Government approved Health Insurance for each of your employees AND their families. How much will you pay?
12.) Depending on the size of your business, the law mandates that employers pay 72.5% of all of their employee’s health insurance premiums and 65% of all of their employee’s families premiums! Employers must also provide a health insurance “voucher” to all low wage workers to help them pay for health insurance. In addition, changes to the tax code’s section 6041 regarding 1099 reporting were slipped into the 2000-page health legislation. The changes will force millions of businesses to issue hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, of additional IRS Form 1099s every year.
Click here for more about how the new 40% “Cadillac Tax” will also negatively impact the MAJORITY of businesses.
What harm will this do to our American Businesses? Companies like John Deere, Boeing, Caterpillar, Prudential Life, 3M, Honeywell, AK Steel Holding Corp, ITW, Valero Energy, Allegheny Technologies and EIGHTY other companies have stated this new law will cost them MILLIONS. In fact, because the fines for not maintaining health insurance are so small compared to the cost to maintain health insurance. Many companies are considering canceling their employees coverage.
The centers for Medicare & Medicaid services released a damning report on this legislation. More on this:
13.) Remember when the President said “You can keep your plan”?
Click here to see why the President apparently “mis-spoke”.
Americans have ALREADY lost their plans since Obamacare was signed. Sadly many are seniors.
14.) Remember when the President said “The penalty for NOT purchasing Health Insurance is NOT a Tax?
Click here to see why the President apparently “mis-spoke” AGAIN!
15.) Remember when the President said during the State of the Union speech that a man from Downers Grove Illinois “had his coverage canceled, his treatment denied and he died because of it”? The video below tells us how the President “mis-spoke” AGAIN. Remember the rule in baseball, three strikes you’re out? Well, 3 “mis-speaks” and you are a LIAR!
We’ve discussed the outright LIES but what about ALL of these BROKEN Obamacare Promises?
The new law requires insurers to charge enrollees of the same age the same premium, regardless of health status. That’s a price control, and it will cause premiums for healthy people to rise dramatically and thus lead to massive adverse selection. Healthy people will gravitate to High Deductible HSA qualified plans where they will also face much higher premiums than they would have before Obamacare.
16.) But wait a minute! Doesn’t the AMA (American Medical Association) support Obamacare? Yes, but the AMA comprises only 17% of doctors in the U.S. This number is also comprised of medical students & medical professors but very few private practice physicians. The AMA also has a HUGE financial incentive for supporting Obamacare. The Wall Street Journal explains why the AMA has 100 MILLION REASONS to support Obamacare.
More on this less than transparent allegiance from Dr. Arie Friedman, a well known PRACTICING Pediatrician from the State of Illinois:
Dr. Friedman is a member of www.docs4patientcare.org which is an organization of thousands of concerned physicians across the country who are committed to the establishment of a health care system that preserves the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship, promotes quality of care, supports affordable access to all Americans, and protects patients’ freedom of choice. If you value privacy pertaining to your health history. You must read Dr. Friedman’s latest article in American Thinker. Dr. Friedman states very clearly that HIPAA Privacy laws are now a thing of the past.
Dr. Friedman’s primary concerns are the new regulations outlined in two separate pieces of legislation that also passed. One piece of legislation, the Health Care & Education Affordability Reconciliation Act“ was passed along with the PPACA – Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (a.k.a “Obamacare”) and one passed earlier. Namely the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (a.k.a. the “Stimulus”) Both paved the way for health care RATIONING in real time. Read more here.
Below Dr. David Janda describes exactly how these two separate pieces of legislation will usurp the doctor/patient relationship, and most definitely lead to rationing of care:
Here’s what a few of the other members of Docs For Patient Care.org think about the new Health Care “reform” law:
What do other doctor’s have to say about Obamacare? In September 2010, more than 20 Physicians from Long Island New York decided to speak the truth about Obamacare in a new You Tube video series.
Another PRACTICING Physician, Dr. James P. Brown (a Urologist from Chicago) explains in GREAT detail what the implications of this Health Care “reform” legislation will be in the videos below:
Click the link below to download Dr. Brown’s excellent Power Point presentation on the Implications of Health Care “Reform”:
The Implications of Health Care “Reform”.
Forbes magazine explains why most PRIVATE PRACTICE physicians DO NOT support Obamacare.
Speaking of Doctors, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges Obamacare will cause a shortage of more than 63,000 physicians.
There is however, one doctor who supports Obamacare that you NEED to know about. His name is Dr. Donald Berwick and without ANY Congressional vetting process he was appointed as the new head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services over the Independence Day holiday. Why was there no Congressional vetting process? Click the link below to download Dr. Arie Friedman’s Power Point Presentation that explains why:
The TRUTH about Dr. Donald Berwick
The health care rationing that Conservatives were concerned about may well have already begun.
Speaking of doctors. The State of Massachusetts has MORE doctors than ANY other State due to their “Mass Care” (e.g. Romney Care) legislation. Yet the average waiting period to see a doctor in Massachusetts is 47 DAYS! We are also facing a doctor shortage nationwide. This will only INCREASE under “Obamacare”.
Click here to read how the Canadian Government took control of private medicine by price controls, rationing and mandates much to the detriment of Canadian citizens. This historical debacle is eerily familiar to what our current Administration is trying to accomplish right now. This is a MUST READ for all Americans.
Speaking of Canada’s health care system. REGARDLESS of what you’ve been told. The Canadian Single Payer health care system is an ABSOLUTE nightmare. Watch the short documentary films below that reveal the TRUTH about Canada’s Single Payer health care system:
Here’s the story you just saw in the news:
Speaking of the Canadian Health Care system. If it’s “so great” why did a Canadian Premier come to FLORIDA for his heart surgery? He made it very clear when he said: “This is my heart, it’s my health and it’s my choice” – Danny Williams.
Read the story you WILL NOT read in the main stream media.
To hear about the DEPLORABLE treatment that “Baby Joseph” received prior to being RESCUED from Canada’s health care death panel. Listen to his NEW American treating physician. In case you’ve been living under a rock and have not heard this story (or you are a Liberal) here’s Baby Joseph’s real life story of how he was RESCUED from Canada’s health care death panel just in the nick of time. Thanks to a brave Catholic Priest, Dr. Frank Pavone of “Priests For Life” he is being treated right here in America now. Read Father Pavone’s story here. By the way, Baby Joseph received that much needed tracheotomy that he should have gotten MONTHS ago, and he’s breathing much better now.
But WAIT, didn’t WHO (World Health Organization) label the U.S. Health Care system at number 37? Yes they did and here’s the TRUTH about how they derived that number.
Well what about our “Infant Mortality Rate”? I heard that’s bad too. Here’s the TRUTH about how THAT rate was derived.
17.) What about those Tax Credits that are supposed to be so “helpful” to Small Businesses?
The Associated Press breaks down just how “elusive” those are. The National Center for Policy Analysis breaks down how these Tax Credits will actually IMPEDE the growth of business.
Hat tip to NFIB for doing an even better job of breaking down these Small Business Tax Credits:
The CBO cites that just 12 percent of the small business population would benefit in any way. The credit is very restrictive and puts small business owners through a series of complicated “tests” to determine the actual amount of the credit. Three conditions must be met for small businesses to qualify for any portion of the credit:
18.) The law imposes a tax on small business health insurance plans. Messaged as a “health insurance fee,” this tax is actually a tax on small business. The new tax is structured as an annual fee on insurers and it does not expire. The annual “fee” begins at $8 billion in 2014 and steadily increases to $14.3 billion in 2018. In subsequent years, this fee remains at $14.3 billion annually added to whatever the rate of premium increase is for that year. One thing health insurers (and the CBO) have made clear: new taxes on them mean new costs passed on to customers. Small businesses will be paying for this new tax.
19.) The law increases the tax paperwork costs on small businesses. The so-called “corporate reporting” requirement will place a new and enormous tax-filing burden on all small business owners. The cost of complying with the new filing requirements will increase the cost of doing business and falls disproportionately on small business owners.
20.) The Bill imposes an unprecedented increase in Medicare payroll tax. Since its creation, payroll taxes that fund Medicare programs have been dedicated specifically to funding Medicare. Not only does H.R. 3590 increase the Medicare payroll tax to 2.35 percent but it uses the additional revenue to pay for non-Medicare programs, creating a dangerous precedent to use payroll taxes to pay for more non-Medicare programs in the future.
21.) The law imposes a new Medicare tax on non-payroll income. This new tax continues the unprecedented trend of dedicating Medicare tax revenue to non-Medicare programs and also expands the tax to additional sources of income.
22.) The new law allows ANYONE to purchase Health Insurance at ANY TIME regardless of Pre-existing conditions. That sounds very “fair” doesn’t it? There’s only ONE problem with that? Since they can buy it at ANY time without regard to Pre-existing conditions, THEY HAVE NO REASON TO KEEP THE POLICY once they’re treatment is over! What will that do? We don’t have to wait to find out. We just need to look at Obamacare’s evil twin “Romney Care” in the State of Massachusetts to find out. The initial cost projections for “Romneycare” were $880 Million. Today “Romneycare costs the American Tax Payers FOUR BILLION DOLLARS with a projected 2011 fiscal DEFICIT of $294 Million.
23.) The Law imposes an “individual mandate.” All Americans who earn more than the poverty line will be required to obtain some form of health insurance. If they do not, there will be a “penalty” (TAX) in 2014 of $95 a year or 1 percent of household income. In 2015 the fine will increase to $325 or 2 percent of income and in 2016 the fine will increase to $695 or 2.5 percent of income (with a maximum of $2,085 for a family).
Attorney Ken Klukowski discusses very concisely and very clearly why this “individual mandate” is Unconstitutional:
Shortly after Obamacare was passed I had the strange desire to grow a beard and start whittling wood. Why? Well as it turns out the “Individual Health Insurance Purchase Mandate” doesn’t REALLY apply to all Americans. In fact, religions such as the Amish and others are exempt from the “Individual Mandate”.
Congressman (and Doctor) Ron Paul also explains why the “individual mandate” is CLEARLY Unconstitutional:
John Cassidy of “New Yorker” Magazine states “Two issues immediately arise. Even if the fines are vigorously enforced, many people may choose to pay them and stay uninsured. Consider a healthy single man of thirty-five who earns $35,000 a year. Under the new system, he would have a choice of enrolling in a subsidized plan at an annual cost of $2,700 or paying a fine of $875. It may well make sense for him to pay the fine, take his chances, and report to the local emergency room if he gets really sick. (E.R.s will still be legally obliged to treat all comers.) If this sort of thing happens often, as well it could, the new insurance exchanges will be deprived of exactly the sort of healthy young people they need in order to bring down prices. (Healthy people improve the risk pool.)
If the rules aren’t properly enforced, the problem will be even worse. And that is precisely what is likely to happen. The I.R.S. will have the administrative responsibility of imposing penalties on people who can’t demonstrate that they have coverage, but it won’t have the legal authority to force people to pay the fines”. “What happens if you don’t buy insurance and you don’t pay the penalty?” Ezra Klein, the Washington Post’s industrious and well-informed blogger, asks. “Well, not much. The law specifically says that no criminal action or liens can be imposed on people who don’t pay the fine.
Quick question, if criminal penalties are no longer in the legislation and the only way to collect the “Penalties” (a.ka. TAXES) is through the use of the Internal Revenue Service. How EXACTLY will these penalties be collected from the 51.6 Million tax filers who paid NO INCOME TAXES last year? (some of which earned $50,000/year) More importantly, since the criminal penalties were removed (for not buying health insurance) the WORST the IRS can NOW if you do not buy health insurance is send you a “STERN LETTER”.
So guess who will be picking up the tab to insure all those who refuse to purchase health insurance? You guessed it! You and I, the ALREADY overburdened U.S Tax payers. This legislation is NOT about cutting costs, it is instead, about SHIFTING costs from those who do NOT pay to those who are ALREADY paying.
In short, you the American Tax Payer (the few, the proud) will now be paying substantially more for your health insurance because YOU will now be BUYING 33 MILLION people a brand new Health Insurance policy. Not a policy that just covers catastrophic care (you know like the one you probably have now because you’re trying to SAVE money). Oh NO, this is going to be a “gold plated” health care plan, without ANY out of pocket expense for a MASSIVE amount of new Preventative Care and other medical benefits. In fact, more than 80 new mandates have already been added to all “non grandfathered” health insurance plans as of 9/23/2010. Those are just the “Preventative Care” mandates. There are even more mandates. Blue Cross outlines them here.
You see the problem is, NOTHING is free! It may be “free” for some, but the vast majority of tax payers and health insurance policy holders will pay MUCH more now for their health insurance coverage. How much more? Well, now that we have received updated “Obamacare compliant” quoting software for effective dates of 10/1/2010 we can now confirm that rates have increased between 19% and 47% due specifically to all of the “free” health insurance mandates imposed upon the insurance industry on 9/23/2010.
The State of Connecticut just approved a 47% premium increase for Anthem Blue Cross plans due specifically to the new Obamacare mandates imposed upon the health insurance industry as of 9/23/10.
24.) Arguably the most troubling language in the law is the new 80%/20% and 85%/15% MLR’s (Medical Loss Ratios) applied to all private Health Insurance companies. These new MLR’s could very conceivably bring about the END of most smaller Health Insurance companies that offer Individual and Small Group coverage in a very short period of time. In fact, it could begin happening as soon as June 2010. Robert A. Book PHD & Senior Fellow of Health Economics at the Heritage Foundation explains why. Even the NY times now admits (2 months after Obamacare was passed) that these new onerous MLR’s mean that MANY American’s will NOT be able to “keep their plans”. Five health insurance carriers have closed their doors since Obamacare was signed on March 23rd. I comment on why in the June issue of Health Plan Week from Washington D.C. (My comments begin on page 5 of the PDF)
Sadly I was right about the damaging affects of the new MLR’s. In fact, the affects were so bad that the Health & Human Services Department has now issued “Get Out of Obamacare Free Cards” to the McDonalds corporation, the Jack in the Box corporation and 109 other companies due specifically to the onerous new MLR’s. Without these waivers these companies would be forced to terminate their existing health insurance plans leaving hundreds of thousands of employees with no health insurance benefits at all. More on this:
As of April 2011, there are now MORE than 3 Million Obamacare “waivers.”
25.) Besides the MASSIVE taxes that begin immediately, MANY CUTS begin as well and the bulk of them will hit Medicare recipients. Oh and remember when we were told by President Obama & Speaker Pelosi that children would be able to get coverage for pre-existing conditions 6 months after the new bill was signed? They FORGOT to include that in the bill! So now, NOT EVEN THAT “benefit” will begin until 2014! That was, until the Health Insurance companies agreed to honor this new law THIS YEAR, EVEN THOUGH the legislation stated they did not have to until 2014!
Strangely enough, people have forgotten that THIS IS ALREADY THE LAW IN MOST STATES! Moreover, the dramatic expansion of SCHIP already ensures that most children have access to guaranteed issue health insurance already. Although States like Arizona have recently terminated their SCHIP program because it has rendered them BANKRUPT. So be sure to check with your State SCHIP administrator to make sure there’s entitlement money left for you!
In addition, many States like Illinois have already passed similar legislation that allows children with pre-existing conditions to be insured on a guaranteed issue basis and to stay on their parents policy until the age of 26. Side bar: Are they REALLY still children at age 26? Did you know that SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT of the children insured on our Illinois Tax Funded “All Kids Covered” program are ILLEGAL ALIENS?
LONG before Obamacare, adults could already get guaranteed issue health insurance coverage on an individual basis in 45 States in our union. The truth is we do not need Obamacare to solve pre-existing conditions. Most especially since Government is to BLAME for pre-existing conditions in the first place.
Obamacare is not ALL bad though. In fact, if you are Uninsurable, live in one of the 5 States that does not already have a High Risk health insurance pool or a guaranteed issue individual mandate AND you have been uninsured for 6 months AND you can afford HIGH premiums. Then ObamaCare’s severely underfunded Temporary High Risk Health Insurance Pools are the answer for you! Click here to sign up NOW!
26.) The democrats also left the 21% reduction in medicare payments to physicians out of the bill and state they will tackle that in another bill. BUT by NOT counting it in the final CBO score, they consider it “a savings”. By the way, that passed on April 1st, 2010 and here’s how that will not affect YOU. This 21% “doctor fix” passed AFTER the Mayo Clinic stated because of MASSIVE losses in 2008 they will NO LONGER BE ACCEPTING MEDICARE!
27.) You know the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) that the Democrats “TRUSTED” to give “accurate predictions” on what the cost of their health care reform legislation would be? Their Director stated on March 8th, 2010 that the current U.S. Fiscal Policy is UNSUSTAINABLE.
Why would the CBO state that our Fiscal Policy is UNSUSTAINABLE? The following video makes it CRYSTAL clear:
28.) Speaking of the President, the law also EXEMPTS HIM & SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL STAFF MEMBERS FROM THIS LEGISLATION!
29.) Remember the other LIE promoted as a justification for this health care “reform” law. The one that States we need this “reform” so that the Insured stop paying more because they pay for the Uninsured a.k.a. “Uncompensated Care”? Here’s the TRUTH about that! There is ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE to support this LIE. More on this in the WSJ.
30.) Remember the “law of unintended consequences”. This ALWAYS applies to ANY Federal Legislation.
Click here to see the MULTIPLE NEGATIVE “side effects” of Obamacare.
I recently spoke about the Fiscal Fiasco that is Obamacare along with Congressman Peter Roskam and Dr. Arie Friedman for the Tri County Tea Party in St. Charles, Illinois.
Below are Congressman Peter Roskam’s comments from that evening:
Fast Forward the next video to 2:30 to catch up to where the video above ended.
Finally, below are Dr. Arie Friedman’s comments from that evening:
A brief Question and Answer session with Dr. Friedman & myself:
Below is a four part round table discussion that Illinois 8th District Congressional Candidate Joe Walsh, Arie Friedman M.D (the pediatrician in the video above) Steve Stevlic (the Chicago Tea Party Coordinator) and myself taped for Chicago public T.V:
Below is my full speech on the TRUTH about Obamacare:
I spoke about just how BAD this new legislation is at a recent health care town hall for the Northern Illinois Patriots:
Remember when our President said that if you make less than 250,000 (as a couple) or $200,000 as an individual, your Taxes will NOT GO UP ONE SINGLE DIME? Paul Mitchell revealed the TRUTH about that statement at the Libertyville Tea Party on July 5th, 2010:
I went in to greater detail about Obamacare immediately after Paul’s excellent break down of the new Obamacare taxes:
Even more details were discussed including a Q&A at the July 3rd, 2010 Tea Party in Palatine, Illinois
More TRUTH about Obamacare from the Chicago Tea Party Freedom Rally on 9/12/2010:
Click here to read my response to Congresswoman Melissa Bean’s emotional (BUT FACTLESS) letter.
An abbreviated version of my response to Melissa Bean was published in the
July issue of the Conservative Magazine of Illinois.
For more required reading on the Obamacare legislation visit: Champion News.net
Champion News did a GREAT piece on the Health Care townhalls being held around Illinois each month by our 8th District Congressional Candidate Joe Walsh
Read Part 1) HERE
Read Part 2) HERE
Now for three Hat Tips to other bloggers & news sources tackling the TRUTH about this new law:
1.) CNN (yes I said CNN): The TRUTH about Health Care Reform
2.) If you love Liberty, you will NOT like the ramifications this law has on families. Chuck Donovan at the Heritage Institute breaks down the Liberties families LOSE under this new health insurance “reform” law below:
More Families Covered but Less Family Choice
Millions of families gain an entitlement to health insurance under the mandates on individuals and employers in PPACA. The law’s creation of new affordability tax credits will ease the purchase of health insurance for middle-income Americans.
But the new credits go hand in hand with increased regulation of private health plans. Moreover, families gained nothing from PPACA that will permit them to purchase better or cheaper plans across state lines.[2] The new law also does nothing to increase the variety of insurance available in the market, which could include family-friendly options like health plans managed by professional associations, unions, and faith-based groups. Nor will families be able to purchase health plans that exclude coverage for services to which they ethically object or which they do not need.
Undermining the Role of Parents
PPACA expands several funding streams that undermine parental responsibility and authority to direct the upbringing of their children. The law lavishes federal dollars on programs like school-based health centers and a new “Personal Responsibility Education” (PRE)[3] program that deny parents knowledge of sensitive services their children receive in federally funded projects.
First, PPACA creates a new $50 million per year appropriation for school-based health centers, many of which either offer contraception on site or refer for contraception and even abortion. The law states that the recipient clinics must honor “parental consent and notification laws that are not inconsistent with Federal law.”[4] However, the federal Medicaid and Title X (Public Health Service Act) laws stipulate that the confidentiality of teens obtaining services must be respected, nullifying any state or local parental notice or consent policies.[5]
Second, the new PRE program provides $75 million per year for grants to help states reduce pregnancies and births to teenagers. Unlike the 1996 welfare reform, however, the new program does not incentivize states to reach these goals without increasing their abortion rates.
Penalizing Marriage
Another disturbing feature of PPACA is the fact that it imposes—across a broad range of income and age—significant financial penalties on the decision to marry.
The marriage penalty imposed by the law could exceed $10,000 per year for certain couples.[6] This is because the affordability tax credit phases out rapidly as income rises.
Not only does this health insurance marriage penalty dissuade a younger, low-income couple from getting married—which is one of the most beneficial life decisions they can make for themselves and for their children—but it also provides older couples, some of the hardest hit by this law, with an incentive to obtain a “divorce of convenience.”
For example, a 60-year-old couple, each with an income of $15,000 per year and purchasing insurance in the non-group market, would gain $4,212 in tax savings if they obtained a sham divorce and bought insurance separately. A similar couple, each making $30,000, per year would realize $10,425 in tax savings if they divorce and cohabit rather than remain married.
Undercutting Freedom of Conscience
As health care reform proceeded, strong majorities of Americans supported protecting provider and insurer rights of conscience as well as limiting the use of tax funds for abortion. In March 2009, 87 percent of respondents to a national poll supported ensuring “that healthcare professionals in America are not forced to participate in procedures and practices to which they have moral objections.”[7] A January 2010 Quinnipiac Survey found that 67 percent of Americans oppose public funding of abortion.[8]
Conscience Protections. PPACA does make clear that no qualified health care plan can be required to cover abortion as an “essential” benefit. It also ensures that no health care plan that participates in the state-based exchanges may discriminate against a health care facility or provider because of its unwillingness “to provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortion.”[9]
The law does not, however, prevent the federal and state governments from practicing this same discrimination. An effort to add such an amendment to the bill failed in a Senate committee in September 2009. While there is an annual appropriations rider to this effect on the bill funding the Department of Health and Human Services, it lacks permanent force, and regulations to implement it were suspended by President Obama in March 2009 as a step toward its likely rescission.
Abortion Funding. Currently, every health care plan in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program may not as a matter of law include coverage of elective abortion. Under PPACA, health care plans that cover elective abortion may participate in the state-based exchanges provided they require each enrollee to pay a separate premium of not less than $12 per year for elective abortion coverage.[10]
The Executive Order. On March 24, President Obama signed an executive order that attempts to apply conscience protections and abortion funding limits to the full text of PPACA. Regardless of the order’s intent, judicial rulings for the past 35 years have made it clear that public funding of elective abortions in federal programs cannot be barred without the kind of direct ban that Congress failed to include in many parts of PPACA.[11]
Reason for Disappointment
Advocates of family values in health care reform have reason to be deeply disappointed with the overall impact of PPACA. The passage of legislation that increases parental control and choice regarding health care insurance, avoids marriage penalties, guarantees conscience protections, and limits taxpayer support for controversial practices like abortion must await a future Congress.
If you are walking your precincts and are in need of a 1 page leave behind on the TRUTH about Obamacare click here.
3.) The Huffington Post (that’s right, I said the Huffington Post) who reprinted the following EXCELLENT break down between Myths and Truth by the folks @ www.firedoglake.com
Myth |
Truth |
| 1. This is a universal health care bill. |
The bill is neither universal health care nor universal health insurance. Per the CBO:
|
| 2. Insurance companies hate this bill |
This bill is almost identical to the plan written by AHIP, the insurance company trade association, in 2009. The original Senate Finance Committee bill was authored by a former Wellpoint VP. Since Congress released the first of its health care bills on October 30, 2009, health care stocks have risen 28.35%. |
| 3. The bill will significantly bring down insurance premiums for most Americans. |
The bill will not bring down premiums significantly, and certainly not the $2,500/year that the President promised.Annual premiums in 2016, status quo / with bill:Small group market, single: $7,800 / $7,800Small group market, family: $19,300 / $19,200Large Group market, single: $7,400 / $7,300Large group market, family: $21,100 / $21,300Individual market, single:$5,500 / $5,800*Individual market, family: $13,100 / $15,200* |
| 4. The bill will make health care affordable for middle class Americans. |
The bill will impose a financial hardship on middle class Americans who will be forced to buy a product that they can’t afford to use.A family of four making $66,370 will be forced to pay $5,243 per year for insurance. After basic necessities, this leaves them with $8,307 in discretionary income — out of which they would have to cover clothing, credit card and other debt, child care and education costs, in addition to $5,882 in annual out-of-pocket medical expenses for which families will be responsible. |
| 5. This plan is similar to the Massachusetts plan, which makes health care affordable. | Many Massachusetts residents forgo health care because they can’t afford it.A 2009 study by the state of Massachusetts found that:
|
| 6. This bill provide health care to 31 million people who are currently uninsured. |
This bill will mandate that millions of people who are currently uninsured must purchase insurance from private companies, or the IRS will collect up to 2% of their annual income in penalties. Some will be assisted with government subsidies. |
| 7. You can keep the insurance you have if you like it. |
The excise tax will result in employers switching to plans with higher co-pays and fewer covered services.
Older, less healthy employees with employer-based health care will be forced to pay much more in out-of-pocket expenses than they do now. |
| 8. The “excise tax” will encourage employers to reduce the scope of health care benefits, and they will pass the savings on to employees in the form of higher wages. | There is insufficient evidence that employers pass savings from reduced benefits on to employees. |
| 9. This bill employs nearly every cost control idea available to bring down costs. |
This bill does not bring down costs and leaves out nearly every key cost control measure, including:
|
| 10. The bill will require big companies like WalMart to provide insurance for their employees | The bill was written so that most WalMart employees will qualify for subsidies, and taxpayers will pick up a large portion of the cost of their coverage. |
| 11. The bill “bends the cost curve” on health care. |
The bill ignored proven ways to cut health care costs and still leaves 24 million people uninsured, all while slightly raising total annual costs by $234 million in 2019.“Bends the cost curve” is a misleading and trivial claim, as the US would still spend far more for care than other advanced countries.In 2009, health care costs were 17.3% of GDP. Annual cost of health care in 2019, status quo: $4,670.6 billion (20.8% of GDP)Annual cost of health care in 2019, Senate bill: $4,693.5 billion (20.9% of GDP) |
| 12. The bill will provide immediate access to insurance for Americans who are uninsured because of a pre-existing condition. | Access to the “high risk pool” is limited and the pool is underfunded. It will cover few people, and will run out of money in 2011 or 2012Only those who have been uninsured for more than six months will qualify for the high risk pool. Only 0.7% of those without insurance now will get coverage, and the CMS report estimates it will run out of funding by 2011 or 2012. |
| 13. The bill prohibits dropping people in individual plans from coverage when they get sick. | The bill does not empower a regulatory body to keep people from being dropped when they’re sick.There are already many states that have laws on the books prohibiting people from being dropped when they’re sick, but without an enforcement mechanism, there is little to hold the insurance companies in check. |
| 14. The bill ensures consumers have access to an effective internal and external appeals process to challenge new insurance plan decisions. | The “internal appeals process” is in the hands of the insurance companies themselves, and the “external” one is up to each state. Ensuring that consumers have access to “internal appeals” simply means the insurance companies have to review their own decisions. And it is the responsibility of each state to provide an “external appeals process,” as there is neither funding nor a regulatory mechanism for enforcement at the federal level. |
| 15. This bill will stop insurance companies from hiking rates 30%-40% per year. |
This bill does not limit insurance company rate hikes. Private insurers continue to be exempt from anti-trust laws, and are free to raise rates without fear of competition in many areas of the country. |
| 16. When the bill passes, people will begin receiving benefits under this bill immediately |
Most provisions in this bill, such as an end to the ban on pre-existing conditions for adults, do not take effect until 2014. Six months from the date of passage, children could not be excluded from coverage due to pre-existing conditions, though insurance companies could charge more to cover them. Children would also be allowed to stay on their parents’ plans until age 26. There will be an elimination of lifetime coverage limits, a high risk pool for those who have been uninsured for more than 6 months, and community health centers will start receiving money. |
| 17. The bill creates a pathway for single payer. |
Bernie Sanders’ provision in the Senate bill does not start until 2017, and does not cover the Department of Labor, so no, it doesn’t create a pathway for single payer. Obama told Dennis Kucinich that the Ohio Representative’s amendment is similar to Bernie Sanders’ provision in the Senate bill, and creates a pathway to single payer. Since the waiver does not start until 2017, and does not cover the Department of Labor, it is nearly impossible to see how it gets around the ERISA laws that stand in the way of any practical state single payer system. |
| 18 The bill will end medical bankruptcy and provide all Americans with peace of mind. |
Most people with medical bankruptcies already have insurance, and out-of-pocket expenses will continue to be a burden on the middle class.
|
Sources -
A. Is America about to go broke? – MSN Money
B. Paul Ryan vs. The President – Wall Street Journal
- March 11, Letter from Doug Elmendorf to Harry Reid (PDF)
- The AHIP Plan in Context, Igor Volsky;<a title=”Permanent Link to The
Max BaucusWellPoint/Liz Fowler Plan” href=”http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/09/08/liz-fowlers-plan/” rel=”bookmark”> The Max Baucus WellPoint/Liz Fowler Plan, Marcy Wheeler - CBO Score, 11-30-2009
- “Affordable” Health Care, Marcy Wheeler
- Gruber Doesn’t Reveal That 21% of Massachusetts Residents Can’t Afford Health Care, Marcy Wheeler; Massachusetts Survey (PDF)
- Health Care on the Road to Neo-Feudalism, Marcy Wheeler
- CMS: Excise Tax on Insurance Will Make Your Insurane Coverage Worse and Cause Almost No Reduction in NHE, Jon Walker
- Employer Health Costs Do Not Drive Wage Trends, Lawrence Mishel
- CBO Estimates Show Public Plan With Higher Savings Rate, Congress Daily; Drug Importation Amendment Likely This Week, Politico; Medicare Part D IAF; A Monopoloy on Biologics Will Drain Health Care Resources, Lancet Student
- MaxTax Is a Plan to Use Our Taxes to Reward Wal-Mart for Keeping Its Workers in Poverty, Marcy Wheeler
- Estimated Financial Effects of the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009,” as Proposed by the Senate Majority Leader on November 18, 2009, CMS (PDF)
- Health insurance companies hang onto their antitrust exemption, Protect Consumer Justice.org
- What passage of health care reform would mean for the average American, DC Examiner
- How to get a State Single Payer Opt-Out as Part of Reconciliation, Jon Walker
- Medical bills prompt more than 60 percent of U.S. bankruptcies, CNN.com; The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Section‐by‐Section Analysis (PDF)
csteventucker
great job c. steven, thanks for posting!
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in my opinion, your writing is very good and very useful
THANK YOU!
It’s about time we got at least SOME press who tells us all the truth about this so-called HC Bill! It’s a Joke
Mr. Tucker, you are g o o d… thank you
Thank YOU for reading! Please pass this on to everyone you know who’s “on the fence” regarding this legislation. The more who know the TRUTH the better our chances will be in November.
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Thank you for the “Hat Tip” fellow Patriot! Have a GREAT Memorial Day weekend!
You made some good points there. I did a search on the topic and found most people will agree with your opinion.
Bookmarking now cheers, definitely consider a follow up post.
I don’t necessarily agree with your post but I respect your point of view on this. Keep posting though. I have added it to my rss feeder.
Beneficial Blog! I had been simply just debating that there are plenty of screwy results at this issue you now purely replaced my personal belief. Thank you an excellent write-up.
This was all forseeable and when a free market is prevented, economic tragedy results. That’s why there IS a true health care reform that would work:
http://heyteachkp.web.officelive.com/PlanBasics.aspx
based on book here:
http://www.booklocker.com/books/4656.html
It also addresses Social Security issues.
We don’t need to go socialist OR broke, just go Constitutional.
Amen Laurie! Nice work!
We need to fix, improve, and expand on the healthcare reforms, but the party in power wants to go in the opposite direction.
Im going to say what everyone else have not said above, but i must say ,Your are truly well-informed.I cant believe how much of this I just wasnt aware of .Thank you for publishing more information to this topic for everyone .Im truly thankful and really impressed.
Having watched and listened to you now for over 12 years….I believe you have gone above the call of duty on your coverage and labor to help expose and bring clarity to all American Consumers to the harmful economic, personal, and unconstitutional harm this health bill is to the U.S.A.
I applaud your super human efforts, intellectual honesty, and your being a supreme advocate for consumers alike.
You serve us all and for that I thank you!
Don,
Great comments like that just RE-LIGHT my fire! Thank you so much!
Hi! I found your blog on Google.It’s really comprehensive and it helped me a lot.
Continue the good work!
Great site dude! Finally found what I’ve been looking for, thanks!
I went over this site and I think you have a lot of excellent information, saved to my bookmarks (:.
some truly fantastic articles on this internet site , thanks for contribution.
Doesn’t this really boil down to:
Do you think the current health system is in need of a major changes?
Are you in favor of increased access to healthcare for those who don’t have it , even at the cost of higher premiums and taxes for yourself?
You pretty clearly would answer no to these questions.
I think I’d answer yes to both questions (for what its worth I have pretty good medical benefits and I pay taxes). I’m not sure the ACA is what we need, because we need a better way to control costs. I just don’t want to end up like we did after the 1993 health debate which was with basically the status quo. You and most of your citations clearly argue for no “Obamacare” to mostly people who don’t like Barack Obama for a variety of reasons, but I don’t know what you suggest instead.
Can you clarify?
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Hi Bruce,
I have detailed my solutions to reforming our nation’s health insurance system in detail here:
http://csteventucker.wordpress.com/2010/03/02/intelligent-health-insurance-reform-using-free-market-principles-and-limited-government/
Steve: Brilliant site. You MUST run for the US Senate and remove the most corrupt and incompetent fool, Durbin.
Obama is the biggest nightmare in our history. Makes one yearn for the Carter years, almost!
Thanks Tom. Great job on your interview!
I noticed that Bruce the Economist’s blog response to your site wasn’t working an longer, so in the name of two sided debate I’m reposting. Thanks for the blog:
<a href="http://brucetheeconomist.wordpress.com/2011/03/24/a-question-to-an-obamacare-critic/#comments"
Hi, This is now my first-time dropping by this blog but I had to join up and inform you just how much I enjoyed this web post. You have accomplished a nice job of researching all aspects of the story and displayed both sides equally.
A wealth of information here! O’bama the Embalmer…
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