Wednesday, April 7, 2010

"Where Do We Get the Free ObamaCare and How Do I Sign Up?"

That's what many Americans are apparently asking, according to McClatchy News.

So I guess that's why some people (less than 50% of the country) have been supporting the President's health care insurance "reform" that will:

  • cost nearly $1 trillion (by the administration's own estimate; you know how it will grow)
  • expand IRS power;
  • expand the federal government;
  • increase taxes and/or institute new taxes on goods and services in health care;
  • surtax on income tax for the "rich" (you are "rich" if you make more than $200K);
  • force Americans to buy health insurance that the government (not they) deems "appropriate" and only from the federally-mandated insurance "exchanges";
  • cause the existing insurance policy rates to go up significantly (because the insurance companies will be required to cover everyone, pre-existing condition or not, totally defying the very model of how insurance works - to underwrite a policy based on person's health status);
  • cause Medicare services to be cut back (that's how this scheme will be paid for, in part).
In addition, there will be no more "disaster coverage" with high deductibles so that they can save money. Even if they have no intention of conceiving a child or physically incapable even if they want to, their insurance will have to have maternity care coverage. Same for the substance abuse, mental health, pediatric care (even if you are single). You will have to have the coverage in those "important" aspects of health care.

The government doesn't even have a definite, reliable number of how many Americans are actually lacking the health care insurance and how many need it. These days the number is somewhere between 30 million and 35 million. It used to be 40 to 50 million. They count people on COBRA (temporary health insurance after people lose their jobs) as "uninsured".

I have seen the number as low as 8 million, when you subtract non-documented immigrants.

Speaking of non-documented immigrants, Obama's new law will be grossly unfair to them IF they want to buy the health insurance in the new government-mandated insurance exchange with their own money. The law won't allow them. And this law stipulates you will have to buy your insurance at this exchange, and nowhere else. So, what will these immigrants do? They will do what they have been doing: use hospital emergency care as their "primary care family physician" and pay next to nothing. (Maybe that's one reason for the push for so-called immigration reform - legalize them so that they will be forced to buy health insurance.)

Investors Business Daily had a nice summary of what you can expect from this health care insurance "reform": "20 Ways ObamaCare Will Take Away Our Freedoms" (David Hogberg, 3/25/2010 IBD). The article mentions specific sections of the bill.

And remember: the insurance industry with powerful lobby supports the bill that is now the law. They were briefly against it (or so they said) because the penalty under the law for not having an insurance would be TOO LOW. (Nice people.)

I could go on and on, but I have already wasted so much breath (I have 75 posts on health care "reform" on this blog). As people discover what's in the bill that has become the law of the land (for now, unless these 18 states are successful), all I will say is "I told you so. You should have read my blog..."

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