Enough to Make You Sick

Imagine if you could only find out how well a used car drove until after you purchased it?  At the time the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care bill, then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told the American public that they would not be able to find out what was in the bill until it was passed.

What we’ve found out is that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care bill includes a 0.9 percent tax and a 3.8 percent tax on unearned income on household incomes of $200,000 or more ($125,000 per individual income).  Obamacare, as it is commonly known, imposes a $2,000 per employee penalty on employers with more than 50 employees who do not offer health insurance to their full-time workers (as amended by the reconciliation bill).

Most median household incomes in this area fall below that mark.  You might think not only that you’re safe from such taxes but that you’re getting something for nothing.  For the businesses on Main Street U.S.A. and the small industries located along these thoroughfares, the news is not so good.

The Senate Republican minority opposed passage of the bill.  However, thanks to “compromises” by Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, commonly referred to as the “Cornhusker Kickback” in exchange for a higher rate of Medicaid reimbursement for Nebraska, the bill passed.  Away from the televised meetings, the legislation became a “bonanza” for lobbyists (just as the Clean Energy proposals have benefitted Big Green business), including secret deals that were initially denied but subsequently confirmed. The Sunlight Foundation documented many of the reported ties between "the healthcare lobbyist complex" an politicians in both major parties.

Obamacare ensures a government-takeover of 6 percent of the U.S. economy.  We know what poor businessmen government bureaucrats are – we have a $16 trillion debt to prove it.  Nor can we rely on the benighted millionaires.  Even if we took away 100 percent of their money, their taxes would hardly put a dent in that debt.  The greatest amount of the debt is not due to military spending but entitlement programs.  As millionaires run out of money, the IRS will come after the Middle Class, where the greatest percentage of taxable money is located.  The millionaire may have more money but collectively, the greater share of wealth is found in our suburbs.

Aside from the excessive costs of Obamacare, the greatest danger of government health care is the (IPAB) Independent Payment Advisory Board.  It’s the part of Obamacare that cannot be repealed.  There are no doctors on this 15-member advisory board  nor insurance executives.  Commonly referred to as the “Death Panels,” they cannot invoke rationing, but the law gives them plenty of opportunity to do so anyway, by cutting payments to hospitals and doctors and denying treatment to patients over a certain age because treatment becomes unfeasible financially.

Only a short window exists, for six months after the 2016 election, and then Congress will not be able to repeal the law.  This is unconstitutional.  It’s not certain the board will be repealed even then.  Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney passed such a bill for his state, which is overwhelmingly Democrat.  He claims it works – for his state, whose budget he balanced, but not for the country, whose debt will enslave taxpayers for generations and reduce the quality of health care.  Doctors are already quitting their practices, especially the older, more experienced doctors.  Younger doctors will “specialize” and become employees of hospitals, which will be nothing more than health care mills.  Insurance industry bureaucrats, under federal regulations, already have the right to examine your personal health charts in your doctor’s office.  With electronic medical reports, your information will be easily accessible by anyone.

Obamacare will benefit many  – illegal aliens, people on welfare, big pharmaceutical companies  as well as public hospitals and of course, health care unions.  You will not benefit.  You will not have a private doctor.  Your medical relationship will be with a government bureaucrat.  The government will make your health care decisions for you – what procedures you may or may not receive.  If you refuse a treatment, your doctor can be penalized, even jailed for malpractice.  The government may refuse you a treatment.  You can try paying for it yourself, but  you could lose your home and savings.  That’s what insurance was supposed to be for.  Policies became expensive when people began abusing them, asking the insurance company to reimburse expenses people could have easily paid for themselves.  The item you think is “free” will show up on your co-pay.

Obamacare is part of an overall plan to “socialize” our nation.  Freedom will be exchanged for free stuff and free votes.  Like the consumers who find their free medical products on their co-pay, you will find the “security” and “risk reductions” on future tax bills.  And when you see the cost, you won’t feel as good as you thought you would.