Get Ready For Rationing!
By Greg L | 17 July 2009 | National Politics | 35 Comments
Here’s a nice video from the folks at the Health Administration Bureau that explains what the changes in your healthcare mean for you. Enjoy your Brave New World!
H/T: Sam Adams Alliance
UPDATE: Virtucon (through Right Wing Liberal) notices the proposed bill outlaws purchasing private health insurance unless it is bought through a government-controlled marketplace, subject to all the conditions and restrictions the government decides to impose. Oh yeah, that’s what we need, fer sure. More bureaucrats controlling every aspect of our lives they possibly can.
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and what is the alternative???
Clinton tried to get some sort of control, OK, she failed. What did Bush do?? People think that taxes are what is going up, well, the cost of healthcare is going up. http://www.nchc.org/facts/cost.shtml and there is no control over it.
So, lets do nothing, and you will be receiving no healthcare from your employer anyway. Do I want a government plan, the answer is no, but I do want healthcare, and if I loose my job, I cannot get private healthcare, and I am screwed and will have to dip into retirement funds to pay for my needs. And do you know how much doctors charge when you do not have insurance…..
PH - Here’s a start:
House GOP Solutions Group Outlines Health Care Plan to Increase Affordability, Accessibility, Availability Commonsense Health Care Reform to Lower Costs and Increase Access and Quality at a Price Our Country Can Afford
Republicans believe there are a number of potential areas for common ground to work with President Obama to improve health care for all Americans. Republicans are promoting commonsense reforms that make health care more affordable, reduce the number of uninsured Americans, and increase quality at a price our country can afford— while making sure that Americans who like their health care coverage can keep it.
The House Republican Health Care Solutions Group has been working for months on a plan, listening to the American people, talking to doctors and patients, collecting input, and studying and debating ideas. This process has resulted in the broad outline of a health care reform plan that the solutions group hopes will receive bipartisan support. The health care reforms outlined are designed to:
1. Make quality health care coverage affordable and accessible for every American, regardless of pre-existing health conditions.
2. Protect Americans from being forced into a new government-run health care plan that would: a) eliminate the health care coverage that more than 100 million Americans currently receive through their job; b) limit your choice of doctors and medical treatment options; and c) result in the federal government taking control of your health care.
3. Let Americans who like their health care coverage keep it, and give all Americans the freedom to choose the health plan that best meets their needs.
4. Ensure that medical decisions are made by patients and their doctors, not government bureaucrats.
5. Improve Americans’ lives through effective prevention, wellness, and disease management programs, while developing new treatments and cures for life threatening diseases.
Making Health Care More Affordable for All Americans:
More Americans will gain access to quality health care once its costs are brought under control. The first step in lowering health care costs is to eliminate the unnecessary overspending in our current system.
Doctors order unnecessary tests to avoid being sued and every insurance company has its own codes and forms patients and doctors need to fill out. The Chief Counsel to the Health and Human Services Inspector General even went so far as to say that “building a Medicare fraud scam is far safer than dealing in crack or dealing in stolen cars, and it’s far more lucrative.”
To lower the costs of health care, the Republican plan:
• Brings greater fairness to the tax code by extending tax savings to those who currently do not have employer-provided insurance but purchase health insurance on their own. This provision would provide an “above the line” deduction that is equal to the cost of an individual’s or family’s insurance premiums.
• Provides immediate substantial financial assistance, through new refundable and advanceable tax credits, to low- and modest-income Americans.
• Recognizes that many Americans who have not yet hit retirement age but may be changing jobs or have lost a job often face higher health care costs. To help those aged 55 to 64, the plan increases support for pre- and early-retirees with low- and modest-incomes.
• Recognizes that one of the largest obstacles for many small businesses when it comes to retaining current employees or creating new jobs is the cost of health insurance. The plan allows states, small businesses, associations, and other organizations to band together and offer health insurance at lower costs.
• Implements comprehensive medical liability reform that will reduce costly, unnecessary defensive medicine practiced by doctors trying to protect themselves from overzealous trial lawyers.
• Provides Medicare and Medicaid with additional authority and resources to stop waste, fraud, and abuse that costs taxpayers billions of dollars every year.
• Creates incentives to save now for future and long-term health care needs by improving health savings accounts and flexible spending arrangements as well as creating new tax benefits to offset the cost of long-term care premiums.
• Gives financial help to caregivers who provide in-home care for a loved one.
Making Health Care More Available & Accessible for All Americans:
The Republican plan reduces the number of uninsured Americans by wisely targeting this population and helping Americans keep health care coverage regardless of a change in or loss of a job.
To expand availability and accessibility of health care coverage, the Republican plan:
• Makes it easier for Americans to keep health care coverage regardless of a change in or loss of a job.
• Encourages states to create a Universal Access Program by establishing and/or reforming existing programs to guarantee all Americans, regardless of pre-existing conditions or past illnesses, have access to affordable coverage.
• Strengthens employer-provided health coverage by helping the 10 million uninsured Americans who are eligible, but not enrolled in, an employer-sponsored plan get health care coverage. The plan does this by encouraging employers to move to optout, rather than opt-in rules.
• Helps employers offer health care coverage to their workers by reducing their administrative costs through a new small business tax credit.
• Recognizes that not all high school and college graduates are able to find a job that offers health care coverage after graduation. By allowing dependents to remain on their parents’ health policies up to the age of 25, the number of uninsured Americans could be reduced by up to 7 million.
• Provides flexibility to Medicaid and SCHIP beneficiaries by allowing them to apply the value of their benefit to a health plan that better meets their needs than the onesize- fits-all government program.
Promoting Healthy Living and Quality Care for All Americans Now and Tomorrow:
Innovations in treatment and access to quality health care information are critical to ensuring Americans receive the best possible care. It’s no secret that patients in other countries are often denied care or die waiting to get access to the top treatments.
To promote prevention and wellness while ensuring every American has access to high quality health care, the Republican plan:
• Promotes prevention and wellness by giving employers and insurers greater flexibility to financially reward employees who seek to achieve or maintain a healthy weight, quit smoking, and manage chronic illnesses like diabetes.
• Rewards high-quality care, instead of encouraging health care providers to order more and unnecessary services.
• Uses new and innovative treatment programs to better coordinate care between health care providers, ensuring that those with chronic disease receive the care they need and do not continue to fall through the cracks.
• Encourages the creation of health plan finders to provide patients with the tools to easily find the right health plan that best meets their needs.
• Gives patients access to health care information so that they can identify and select health care providers who deliver high-quality care at a lower cost.
• Makes health care more convenient by eliminating bureaucratic red tape to expand access to Community Health Centers that are so critical to underserved areas, both in large cities and in rural America.
• Encourages home care and independence for patients rather than forcing individuals into institutionalized settings.
• Promotes seniors’ access to the doctors they need by modernizing Medicare reimbursements.
• Provides incentives to physicians
I like the Republican plan better than the Democratic plan. However, even the Republican plan has warts:
1. Make quality health care coverage affordable and accessible for every American, regardless of pre-existing health conditions.
Is this possible? People with pre-existing conditions will (statistically) use more health care money than those without pre-existing conditions. The only way to keep insurance affordable for people with pre-existing conditions is to take more money from people without pre-existing conditions. This is a tax on people without pre-existing conditions (statistically - younger people in the workforce).
3. Let Americans who like their health care coverage keep it, and give all Americans the freedom to choose the health plan that best meets their needs.
The cost of health care (for most large companies) is based on the health care costs incurred by employees of those organizations. If employers who offer good insurance have to offer it to employess who have left the company (statistically this will raise the average age of the insured) it will cost the employer more money. The employer will either charge more of the cost to the insured (raising insurance costs to the individual), reduce their profits (reducing their share price and the value of retirement 401(k)’s) or do more work in countries that don’t keep former employees in the insurance cost pool (reducing US employment).
4. Ensure that medical decisions are made by patients and their doctors, not government bureaucrats.
If neither doctors nor patients are paying for the health care you should expect too many tests, too many prescriptions, too much spending. This is a big part of the problem today.
All of the “tax credit” ideas, the “raise assistance” ideas, etc will only make the federal deficit worse by bringing in less revenue to the government.
I still like the Republicn plan better - especially the tort reform. However, either party’s plan is going to be “a hard pill to swallow”.
This is off subject but since there have been a number of questions as to this Latina’s court status et al posted on this blog, today’s local paper gave an update. This situation has been pending since last February and we are still awaiting for the State Police’s investigation to be completed. It’s nice to have “protected status.” I guess it exempts them from ALL citations and all you have to say is NO COMPRENDE.
http://www.insidenova.com/isn/news/local/article/charges_dropped_against_woman_in_police_brutality_case/39584/
Anonymous on 17 Jul 2009 at 11:44 am: Flag comment
Don’t miss the comments at the end of the article!
TOP -
and where was the Republican plan from 1993 till now??
From HillaryCare to ObamaCare, there has been no reform action from the Republican side at all - so, this ‘plan’ is either a reactionary measure, or a told you so measure.
“By allowing dependents to remain on their parents’ health policies up to the age of 25,”
Kids can drive at 16, enlist at 18, drink at 21 - but force the parents employer to insure them till 25 - come on. The first 5 bullets sound like the Dems plan.
I can only hope that they require members of congress to join the same publicly offered plan.
and just to be clear, I think the dems plan has many faults - but doing nothing is not an option, but is what the US has done since 1993. But the Dems are also not promoting a single payer system as many would have you believe.
Kick the 30 million illegal aliens out, along with their families. Has anyone noticed that the figure 30-40 million uninsured people coincides with the number of illegal aliens and their families in the U.S.? Mere coincidence? I think not. It’s a thinly veiled attempt to legitimize free health care for illegal aliens.
Pat,
Keep the system as it is. Why do some people not have insurance? Because illegals, part-time job holders(many who only want to work part-time) and college students who are nort covered. Yet to listen to you anti-Americans we have the worse health care system.
Can you answer why people from Countries with ‘free’ care come here for care? Because socialized medicine does not work never has never will. The fact obama and your fellow anti-Americans are trying to rush this bill through so quickly is another sure sign this is not the right way to go.
Even the cbo says costs are going to go up under this plan.
Now I can see why people who want Government to control everything like this bill, but for those of us who want a good health system see the roots of this bill and it is not good for the Country.
Do you want to be told a loved one has lived long enough by the Government and to just go home to die?
We’ve got this “healthcare crisis” because of government intervention.
More intervention won’t solve it.
The high cash prices vs. insurance are a direct result of government mandates on treatment regardless of the ability to pay.
For the folks complaining about having to dip into retirement — if the alternative is death are you really going to quibble?
Stealing from others for whatever reason, be it a druggie’s next fix or your seemingly reasonable “right” to have your life extended when you lack the means to cover the costs is still stealing.
It’s disgusting.
Only YOU can determine the value of your life and only you can expend the effort required to acquire the means to maintain that value.
Asking the government to assign a value to your life is asking for real pain.
Johnson said on 17 Jul 2009 at 12:13 pm: Flag comment
Kick the 30 million illegal aliens out, along with their families. Has anyone noticed that the figure 30-40 million uninsured people coincides with the number of illegal aliens and their families in the U.S.? Mere coincidence? I think not. It’s a thinly veiled attempt to legitimize free health care for illegal aliens.
After Obamarama’s amnesty for the 30-40 million illegals (possibly more) the subject will be moot. They will be covered under the so called “health care reform.” Then we can look forward to adding their brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, illegitimate children etc. etc. to the program. And guess who will pay for it?
Whatever the geniuses in Congerss come up with, I’m sure they will all be happy to sign up and participate in it, right?
(crickets chirping)
Keep the system as it is - ask your employer how fast the cost of insuring their employees has risen! And imagine that as a tax increase.
People fly all over the world (some from US to Mexico) to get the healthcare they are seeking, sometimes it is better care, sometimes, it is for procedures or medications not allowed in one’s country.
I would like to retire now, but I cannot, as I cannot afford/get health insurance. I need to wait till I am 65 to get medicare. So, what you say is that healthcare should be a means test - I should spend down all my money (and then become a burden on society) to treat, say cancer, or I should forgo the treatment so that my spouse can live a good retirement!
Sorry, but I do not think that healthcare is just for the lucky or healthy. And, we should all be so lucky as to not need it.
I repeat, I do not like the Democrats plan, but doing nothing is not an option.
Johnson, there is no responsible source that says there are anywhere near 30 million illegal aliens in the United States, and that includes FAIR, an organization HSM is close to. Try around 12-15 million at most, probably less because of the economic collapse. And nearly half did not enter illegally, but overstayed legal admittance.
And while you wildly overestimate the number of illegal aliens, you underestimate the number of uninsured Americans.
If it weren’t for my wifes health plan I couldn’t afford health insurance for my family. But I don’t think taxing my child who still watches cartoons and speaks in 3 word sentences is a good idea. The first few years will be great they will hand out condoms and pills of all colors and shapes, not to mention the unlimited abortions. They will probably take care of the elderly for a little while. Then the money from China will run out. Taxes go through the roof. They will start banning certain drugs, treatments and tests. (naturally the abortions will be provided on an unlimited basis)
Tell granny it was nice to know her and if your 2 year old gets a growth on her head be prepared for it to effect her vision before having it removed. Also if your elderly father has cataracts be prepared for him to go blind in one eye before he can have that removed. Other than that government health care is a winner in my book.
I just hope that while I lay on my death bed in one of Mark Warners homes after getting yet another lecture on life stages and end of life planning. That there will be a picture of our leader Oholibama on the wall smiling at me. That would make it all worth it. I am so proud to live in this great land especially at a time when I am so confident in my countries leaders that I am willing to turn my physical being and over to the government. What a country. Government health care makes us all equal and gives us all peace of mind. Thank you Obama and the Democrat leaders, ram this through!
Pat Herve,
By what right do you lay claim to the labor of others in order to secure “healthcare” for yourself?
Shame that any person not be covered by something that is so basic it seems criminal to argue over. Our cars are affordable and our homes affordable insurance but not the health of our families?
mnd,
There is no right in the US to have healthcare, but in a mature society, one would think that basic healthcare would be a right.
sadhman,
Remember to remind your children of one thing - Iraq Way - they will be paying that for a long time too.
I have personally seen a few families face financial ruin, because the main earner has come down with cancer - it is not a happy sight when you see the college fund get spent, the retirement get spent, and other expenses, and then witness the death of the person - and this is while they have insurance. And these people had good paying jobs, and contributed to society.
Pat,
We could pull the plug on the war tomorrow. Health insurance is another issue just like social security and medicare I know that we need to do something about it. This government run health insurance is not the same as healthcare. The only insurance we will have is the insurance the care will be rationed.
I want to see a system similar to how we buy car insurance. Get the health insurance companies selling directly to the customer not the employers. There are people smarter than me who I am sure can figure a fair affordable way to do this. Just handing over our lives to the likes of Obama (baby on a shelf to die) and Barney Frank (prostitution ring from town house) and Ted Kennedy doesn’t seem like a good idea to me.
I have family members under the health plan in Britain. It isn’t good. Being pregnant and never seeing a doctor isn’t a good thing. Especially if you have complications on the day of delivery. That is the kind of rationing they do over there. I am not prepared for that kind of rationing it is dangerous and that is what we are going to get if we do it here.
The United States is the only advanced industrial nation on earth that lacks a comprehensive health-insurance safety net. Medicaid and Medicare require poverty or old age. I think policymakers must take the best from the insurance systems of our peers and avoid their mistakes. That will also mean looking beyond the systems of Canada and Britain to other of our peers that are more effective.
If a person living in Virginia and loses his/her job and health insurance, and either finishes with or can’t get COBRA, *and* has a pre-existing condition, they are basically screwed. Other states have provisions Virginia lacks. It is terrifying to think that a person under 65 with cancer or another serious disease would have to bankrupt him/herself completely in order to qualify for aid. How can we have a system that almost always goes through the employer for the vast majority of Americans, but never requires an employer to offer insurance?
So what you are all saying is that everyone is entitled to health-care regardless of their own ability to pay for it.
Pat, a “mature” society would be one that values and protects personal property and avoids state sponsored theft as a means to buy votes.
I’ll say it again. To fix health-care in this country we must reduce or eliminate government intervention in the market, not increase it.
If you think you’ll be “sticking it to the rich” to fund universal health-care then you’ve got a big surprise coming.
Pat,
The problem is obama and his fellow Anti-America libs do see health insurance as a right, it is even included in the bill they are pushing.
We have the best health care system in the World, that is why people who can receive “free” health care in their own Country come here for ours, even though, they have to pay for it. That speaks volumes, and of course that is completely pushed under the carpet by obama and those that want to socialize our system.
The number of uninsured Americans are tossed around as another reason for adopting a socialized plan, yet, outside of the cherry picked cases put forth by obama, do you wonder why others are not covered? I know when I was in my early twenties I did not have insurance, and I bet many of the current early twenty some year olds don’t either. Is that a reason to socialize our health care? How about those people that only work part-time?
obama says we have to change the system based on costs of the current system, yet the CBO says under the current bill being debated, the costs will be much more. We simply can’t afford to insure everyone(and of course, his bill won’t even do that in the first place). We simply cannot afford this type of plan, our deficit is already out of control. The “rich” cannot be taxed anymore, people are going to not want to work just to give more money to the Government. Small businesses are going to not hire people if they are only going to have to pay more. Right now is not the time to stop job growth.
Finally, why the rush to get this bill passed? obama realizes he has only a short time to push through another crappy bill(recall the “stimulus” package had to be passed or otherwise, and how is that working out?) before people start to wake up to see just how duped they were by him. This is a serious issue, and he feels it only needs weeks to debate it.
Anon-
The numbers are the numbers. Why is the illegal alien lobby pushing so hard for this? It’s another step towards amnesty. Once this health care issue is defeated, we will defeat amnesty. Then, as illegals self deport, my agency will count them as they leave. Then and only then will we see the true numbers. 12 million is the number put out by apologists to lull us into thinking that there’s not as many as there are. Kalifornia is more than half hispanic, what percentage of them is illegal? What difference does it make if someone overstays their visa or sneaks in? Illegal is illegal. Why can’t liberals understand that the law is the law?
citizenofmanassas-
as to libs and illegals pushing for health care as a “right”, it is just another step towards amnesty. While there is no right to health care, anyone can be taken to an emergency room and receive enough care to stabilize their life. Most health care facilities go way beyond those measures with additional care and programs for the uninsured. You are correct, I don’t see the “crisis” in health care. Maybe that’s because I chose to be responsible and do what was necessary to obtain health insurance for myself and my dependants.
“Obama says we have to change the system based on costs of the current system, yet the CBO says under the current bill being debated, the costs will be much more.”
And how did Obama responded to the CBO report?
http://www.4yourcountry.org/2009/07/obama-says-cbo-is-not-telling-the-truth-on-health-care.html
Johnson said on 19 Jul 2009 at 12:44 pm: Flag comment
Maybe that’s because I chose to be responsible and do what was necessary to obtain health insurance for myself and my dependants.
That’s why you and I and 250 million other citizens screwed up and we all will be paying for it if the healthcare “reform” package passes. You think social security and Medicare/Medicaid have problems? Wait a couple of years and see where this crap “reform” ends up. Of course, Obama won’t have to worry about it as being a “former” president it will entitle him to free medical services for him, his family and his illegal “auntie” for life.
Don’t forget either the chain migration that is going to happen when 20 million illegals are put on the rolls. California today will look like a rich uncle after this country has been bankrupted and turned into a 3rd world country. We are not too far from it now.
This video, ironically, is more a description of our current health care plan –1) limited times with physicians, which is mandated by most insurance companies and 2) prescribing medications as a “cure all” for most anything instead of dealing with the real problem. How many people in the U.S. are taking anti-depressants? How many kids are on behavior modification meds? No, this video is not a prediction but a reflection.
I think it’s sad that so many people would so afraid of change when we’re paying so much to get so little.
-SC
Johnson,
Agreed.
Bridget,
Of course he disagrees with the CBO, because it does not support his numbers. The CBO is a non-partisan group, so there is not bias to those numbers, and that is what he can’t stand.
His Obamaness is becoming displeased with his subjects. Apparently we are not praising his ideas and supporting them sufficiently. His Holiness is considering consigning us to the hell of conservative values, lower taxes, less government, rule of law and personal responsibility. All hail Caesar!
Sara,
I’ll ask the same questions that I asked Pat.
Why do people who have access to “free” health care come here for our priviate health care?
Why is obama trying to push through such a large bill in record time? With very little debate?
Not everyone under the obama plan is going to be covered. So why change to something that is not going to be better and will cost more?
Do you need to the Government to tell you how to tie your shoes? Do you need the Government to tell you how to turn off your TV? Can you make any decisions without looking toward the Government?
Yeah, thank goodness health care isn’t rationed now. I mean, it’s not like my HMO rations out what care can and can’t…uh, wait a minute. What am I supposed to be upset over?
Anon,
Wait until the Government runs it. They will tell you your mother has already lived long enough, no sense in getting treatment for whatever might be wrong with her. Look at England for an example of why Government run health care system does not work.
http://iusbvision.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/obama-old-people-dont-need-life-saving-treatments-they-can-take-a-pain-pill-and-be-left-to-die/
And it won’t just be the elderly … the frail, handicapped, disabled, mentally ill of any age… in short, anyone who cannot function as a good worker bee.
http://www.defendyourhealthcare.us/home.html
COM,
and why do people of the US fly to Germany for treatment?
Or South America?
Our health system is just like our infrastructure, our social security, medicare, medicaid - it is time to pay the piper. How much did you pay your employer for benefits 10 years ago? How much today?
Anon,
Please provide examples of people going to other Countries to get better coverage and care. Sure people might go for experimental drugs that have not been approved by the FDA, etc, but not for the outright coverage or care. Simply put, we have the best medical care in the World. Why do you think many of the conjoined surgeries happen here? Because of the level of service and experience that simply can’t be found elsewhere.
By far, more people come here for health care then Americans go elsewhere.
Funny that you provide examples of Government funded programs that need help. If those programs do not work, why do you think a Government run health care system will?
How much did you pay for milk ten years ago? Prices go up, that does not mean we should blow up the current system. Do you think prices will not go up under the Government plan? I pay very little for my medical benefits, about $10.00 a month(I’m the only one on my plan).
There is no “crisis” in health care. Scare tactic politics. Pass this bill or the sky will fall! Horse sh!t!
I’ll say it again: anyone can go or be taken to an emergency room and receive care. There are free clinics in almost every community. These facts do not preclude us from bolstering what we have or taking steps to reduce costs. This is all just a scam to legitimize free health care for illegal aliens.