Nancy Pelosi - WWW's Health Care Plan

Hey Folks,

Here, I've combined two emails into one to help you understand Nancy's (The Wicked Witch of the West) 1990 page health care plan that she wants a vote on before anyone has a chance to read it. Now is the time to contact your congressmen. And, to pass the word to everyone you know.

1.

November 2, 2009

Dear Mr. Schaeffer:

Thank you for contacting me regarding health care reform. On October 29, House Democrats unveiled their 1,990 page health care bill. This legislation cuts existing Medicare Advantage benefits for seniors, taxes small businesses, fines individuals who do not purchase health insurance, and sets up the government takeover of one-sixth of the American economy.

H.R. 3962 creates a government regulated Exchange for the purchase of insurance plans. All plans in this Exchange will be subject to benefit standards set by government bureaucrats. Since the bill requires everyone to purchase insurance (or pay a penalty tax), Americans forfeit their freedom to choose a plan they like if the plan doesn't conform to the government standards. And since many existing private plans that nearly 90% of Americans are satisfied with may not meet these requirements, H.R. 3962 breaks President Obama's promise that "if you like your coverage, you can keep it."

This legislation's abandonment of the free market system will also likely have serious implications for medical professionals and hospitals. As more Americans are forced into the "public option" created in the bill, Congress will need to find ways to offset the cost of increased claims. Since the legislation requires the government to "negotiate" reimbursement rates with doctors and hospitals as it currently negotiates Medicare reimbursement levels, this bill will no doubt create the same problem Medicare currently faces. In fact, House Democrats introduced a separate, $285 billion bill the same day as H.R. 3926 to temporarily fix the flawed Medicare reimbursement levels and ensure doctors and hospitals receive payment for treating seniors.

Fortunately, there are alternatives to this flawed legislation. I continue to support several proposals that build on the successful health care system America already has. These proposals lower the cost of both health insurance and health care as well as guarantee every American has access to this affordable coverage.

Instead of taxing employer-sponsored health benefits as H.R. 3962 does, I support a proposal that makes health insurance premiums for self-employed and small business owners fully tax deductable. It's only fair that small businesses get this same tax benefit big corporations already have. And rather than compel Americans to buy insurance with fines and fees, I support a proposal that assists and incentivizes every American to buy coverage of their choice through tax reductions of up to $2500 for individuals and $5000 per family.

The cost of health insurance won't go down unless we also reduce the cost of care. That's why I support a proposal not mentioned in the Democratic plan - medical liability reform. Out of control malpractice claims drive up the cost of doing business for health care professionals. These costs are passed on to patients, making care more expensive. Another way to reduce the cost of care is to incentivize healthy living and disease prevention. That's why I support the expansion of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). HSAs allow Americans to pay for health care expenses out of a personal, tax free account. By making efforts to stay healthy, HSA owners can save the money in these accounts for future needs. Unfortunately, H.R. 3962 places restrictions on these types of health insurance plans.

Lowering costs for health care and insurance is not enough if Americans are still denied coverage. That's why we must not allow coverage to be denied or dropped because of pre-existing conditions or chronic illnesses and we must remove the lifetime caps on insurance policies. No American should go bankrupt because they get sick. That's why I support proposals that strengthen, expand and create new avenues for affordable health insurance through high-risk pools and reinsurance mechanisms. This may mean making direct assistance available for the 7.8 million low-income, long-term uninsured Americans.

These are real alternatives that involve minimal government involvement and cost taxpayers considerably less than the $1.022 trillion contained in the Democrat plan. Unfortunately, the President and his congressional allies have shown little interest in discussing these ideas.

Again, thank you for the opportunity to address the ongoing health care reform debate. For more information on this and other important issues, I encourage you to sign up for my weekly electronic newsletter at shimkus.house.gov.

Sincerely,

JOHN SHIMKUS
19th District, Illinois Member of Congress

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2.

The Wall Street Journal is calling Nancy Pelosi's 1,990-page government takeover of healthcare the "worst piece of post-New Deal legislation ever introduced."

The Journal says it will create an "unrepealable middle class entitlement" that will cause taxes to "rise precipitously" and will result in "all medicine" being "rationed via politics." The CBO cost estimate is coming in at $1.055 trillion and that's just scratching the surface. The Journal says "ObamaCare will be lucky to cost under $2 trillion over 10 years; it will grow more after that."

+ + Bill loaded with taxes, fines, penalties and regulations

In case there was any doubt left that ObamaCare is a massive, tax-increasing power grab, consider what our research team unearthed about the words used in Pelosi's bill:

--181 instances of "penalty" or "penalties"
--214 times "taxes" or "tax" is recorded
--82 usages of "fee" and "fees"

…A total of 486 times any form of the words penalty, surcharge, tax, fine or fee are used!

--422 instances of "require," "requires" or "required"
--78 times the words "obligation" or "obligated" occur
--219 usages of "regulation(s)"
--106 times "impose, imposed or imposes" are used

…A total of 609 times any form of the words impose, require, mandate, obligation, license or regulation are used

+ + Pelosi promising vote by as soon as Thursday

We are now bracing for a floor vote in the House as soon as Thursday or Friday. That means we have just a few days to get our message through loud and clear.