Late Friday ObamaKennedyDeathCare Update

Just a couple more updates for you.

Remember how small businesses employ something like 70% of all Americans? Well, guess what the Senate bill will do to small businesses?

After “many months of discussion” in which the National Federation of Independent Business was engaged in efforts to ensure that the high cost of health care was adequately addressed in reform legislation, the organization yesterday came out in full force against the Senate health care bill, declaring it a “disaster for small business:”

Small business can’t support a proposal that does not address their No. 1 problem: the unsustainable cost of healthcare. With unemployment at a 26-year high and small business owners struggling to simply keep their doors open, this kind of reform is not what we need to encourage small businesses to thrive.

We oppose the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act due to the amount of new taxes, the creation of new mandates, and the establishment of new entitlement programs. There is no doubt all these burdens will be paid for on the backs of small business. It’s clear to us that, at the end of the day, the costs to small business more than outweigh the benefits they may have realized.

NFIB declared the Reid Bill to be unacceptable due to the “impact from these new taxes, a rich benefit package that is more costly than what they can afford today, a new government entitlement program, and a hard employer mandate” which together would cripple small businesses.

The organization’s conclusion is not surprising, given that the Reid Bill leaves small businesses in a lurch. The bill essentially acknowledges that it is terrible policy for small businesses, given that it includes a “small business tax credit” to minimize the impact of the job killing employer mandates and regulation-caused rises in private health insurance premiums.

The problem is that the tax credit only lasts two years and largely excludes small business owners, small businesses with high-average payrolls, and firms with 25 or more workers. After all exclusions, essentially the only eligible firms are those firms with 10 or fewer workers as well as those with low-income workers—the least likely to offer coverage even with a significant price reduction.

But hey, who needs those jobs for all those 70% of Americans? Not Obama, and not the Democrats, I guess.

This bill contains budget gimmicks galore:

Consider the four most outrageous “Budget Tricks”. By its construction, the bill:

• Excludes the Costly “Doctor Fix”. Like the House bill, the Senate bill conveniently ignores the over $200 billion price tag associated with stopping the unavoidable cuts to physicians under the Medicare program. Separating the health care bill like this enables Senator Reid to claim his bill will reduce the deficit. However, in a letter released today, CBO estimates that combining the House bill (H.R. 3961) with the “Dr. Fix” bill (H.R. 3962) would actually “add $89 billion to budget deficits over the 2010–2019 period.”
• Manipulates the new CLASS Act. The Senate bill, like the House, also includes a new government health care program for long term health insurance, the CLASS Act. The structure of the CLASS Act has premium collections raising revenues for the government in the first 10 years, appearing to aid in reducing the deficit. But the CBO points out that while the CLASS Act would generate net receipts for the government in the initial years when premiums would exceed total benefit payments, but would eventually lead to net outlays when benefits exceed premiums.”
• Delays Costly Benefits. The Senate bill is cleverly designed to gather revenues (higher taxes, fees, and other offsets) over the full 10 year window but delays paying out the major benefits, like subsidies, until the last 6 years. So, the 2010-2019 estimate is not a full cost estimate of all provisions fully implemented and will certainly add significantly to the true cost of the bill. Moreover, as with all government programs, they always cost more than originally promised.
• Depends on Uncertain Cuts to Medicare. The Senate bill depends on using cuts to Medicare to pay for its $1.2 Trillion coverage expansion.
  

And we know, of course, that Congress will be good for those cuts on Medicare, right? Right. Definitely. Noooooo question. They'll follow through, just like they have every year so far.

Of all those new taxes and tax increases in this bill, one of the most vicious is the capping of FSAs used by the parents of special needs children to pay the extremely high medical costs of those children. Gateway Pundit calls it 'evil', and I can't say I disagree. But it fits with the Democrat philosophy of death that has now become apparent - I shudder to think what the Comparative Effectiveness Research boards -- rationing boards -- that ObamaKennedyDeathCare will implement will do to those special needs kids and their families when they can no longer pay their own medical bills and are forced to go onto the government plan. After all, special needs kids probably won't fare too well in the rationing formula.

In short, this is a bill that no one believes in.

For a great section by section look at this bill, Dan Perrin delivers the goods:

THE NUMBERS

-Cost:

-Reid’s phony number: $847 billion

-Including $247 billion in costs passed in separate legislation or achieved in phony regulatory fixes: $1.094 trillion

-Including both the $247 billion “doc fix” and $465 billion in phony Medicare cuts which no one believes will be made: $1.569 trillion

-For the first ten years when the bill actually goes into effect: about $2.5 trillion

-Deficit:

-Reid’s phony number: -$127 billion

-Including $247 billion in costs passed in separate legislation or achieved in phony regulatory fixes: +$120 billion

-Including both the $247 billion “doc fix” and the $465 billion in phony Medicare cuts which no one believes will be made: +$585 billion

-Medicare Cuts: $465 billion

-Tax Increases: $376 billion+++

SUMMARY

-This bill would require virtually every American to have –- not just insurance -– but the type of insurance approved by the Obama administration. The cost of this insurance is projected by PriceWaterhouse to be $25,900 for a family policy by 2019. This is dramatically more than the premiums if Congress did nothing, with the only difference being that you would be required to pay the inflated premiums, under penalty of fine and, ultimately, imprisonment.

-You would almost certainly not be allowed to keep the insurance and providers you currently have. Virtually all of the 10.2 million seniors on Medicare Advantage would lose care. Virtually all non- unionized employers would find it in their economic interest to dump their employees onto the exchange. States would have a strong economic incentive to dump Medicare recipients onto the exchange. And the individual and employer “grandfather” clauses are full of holes.

Hit the link for much, much more on many of the worst mandates, including things like this:

Section 1001 also bans lifetime limits on coverage or annual limits on coverage exceeding statutory limits, thereby outlawing the cheap plans which many young, healthy Americans prefer.

Section 1001 (section 2717 of the PHSA) requires the HHS Secretary to set “reporting” standards dealing with “health care provider reimbursement structures” which would —

-“improve health outcomes through implementation of activities such as quality reporting, effective case management, care coordination, chronic disease management, and medication and care compliance initiatives…”

“implement activities to prevent hospital re-admissions through a comprehensive program for hospital discharge that includes patient-centered education and counseling, comprehensive discharge planning, and post discharge reinforcement by an appropriate health care professional…”

-“implement activities to improve patient safety and reduce medical errors through the appropriate use of best clinical practices, evidence based medicine, and health information technology…”

All of these provisions seem to be a wide-open invitation to regulations implementing health care rationing, in the guise of reporting requirements.

And...

Section 1201 (inserting section 2705 into the PHSA) and 1001 (section 2717(a)(1)(D) and (b) of the PHSA) create wellness programs which allow consideration of behavioral issues in setting premiums and, presumably, determining activities which are so dangerous that coverage might be suspended. The definition of “wellness” includes same very broad issues, including obesity and “lifestyle.” But even these broad categories are not exclusive and do not prohibit, for example, the consideration of firearms ownership. Section 1201 specifically prevents consideration of the health of a person for purposes of setting rates, but, for any other “health status factor,” premiums can vary by up to 30%, which may be increased to 50% under the discretion of the HHS Secretary. A “reward may be in the form of a discount or rebate of a premium or contribution, a waiver of all or part of a cost-sharing mechanism (such as deductibles, copayments, or coinsurance), the absence of a surcharge, or the value of a benefit that would otherwise not be provided under the plan.” The “wellness” program qualifies under this section if it “has a reasonable chance of improving the health of … participating individuals.”

My, my, my...this sounds an awful lot like a blank check to raise costs on anything deemed 'unhealthy', don't you think? There's more...

Subtitle D defines the “qualified health plan” which Americans must have, under penalty of law. It must have “in effect a certification … that such plan meets the criteria for certification described in section 1311(c).” (Section 1311(c) says: “The Secretary shall, by regulation, establish criteria for the certification of health plans as qualified health plans.”) The mandated plan must also include statutorily mandated benefits [section 1302(a)], including mental health parity, “behavioral health treatment,” preventive care (including gym memberships), and pediatric dental care.

Don't have kids? Don't have mental health issues? So what? It doesn't matter if you don't need some of those provisions, you're still paying for 'em.

Section 1303 sets out the rules for funding abortion. The public option would be required to fund abortions for any abortion which was allowed by the Hyde amendment, as it existed for the six previous months. Thus, if the Hyde amendment were amended to provide abortions in “health of the mother” cases (i.e., abortion-on-demand), the public option would have to provide abortions in those cases without any accounting artifices whatsoever. However, by segregating private and public funds, the HHS Secretary can allow the public option to immediately fund all abortions, including third trimester and partial birth abortions. We have seen, in connection with section 1008 of the Public Health Services Act, that Planned Parenthood is experienced in setting aside one room for abortions and another room in the same building for condoms –- and claiming that the condom money is not being used for abortions. In addition, for the first time in American history, under section 1303(a)(1)(D), the federal government will become a guarantor that abortion coverage is available to everyone in the country.

There's your abortion funding. And how about rationing?

The central mechanism for rationing medical care among non-Medicare-covered individuals is section 1311(c), which says: “The Secretary shall, by regulation, establish criteria for the certification of health plans as qualified health plans.” This open-ended grant of authority would allow the Secretary to write into “certified” policies a limitation on benefits in cases where treatment is not regarded as complying with “best practices.” Other sections are even more explicit: Section 1311(g) sets up a “strategy” to save money through, inter alia, “the implementation of activities to improve patient safety and reduce medical errors through the appropriate use of best clinical practices.” Finally, there are the $465 billion in Medicare cuts.

Speaking of rationing, remember how the Obama administration has already announced that women don't need regular mammograms anymore? Now they're saying the same thing about pap smears and self breast exams. These recommendations fly in the face of decades-long campaigns to inform and encourage women to get these preventative measures, so the question is: why? The data and evidence cannot possibly have changed 180 degrees suddenly, so the only logical conclusion is that it's a political issue. What's really going on here is that the Obama administration is laying the ground work for people getting less care in order to save money. This is a gigantic warning sign, my friends. Don't miss it, and don't let people around you miss it, either.

Anyway, these are just a few examples. Hit the link for more.

One reason the Senate vote is taking place on Saturday is likely because the switchboards are shut down, so they don't have to be bothered by all of us pesky voters who DON'T WANT THIS government takeover of health care. There were so many calls -- presumably the vast majority being in opposition -- that the Senate switchboard completely failed today.

Americans get the fact that this will fundamentally alter the landscape of America. It will be 're-made' from a largely capitalist, right of center, free market society that rewarded risk and accomplishment into a socialist, left of center, government controlled society based on political hackery, bribes, and soulless bureaucracy.

This is a game-changer, and I know you know that. If the phones are shut down, send an e-mail instead. Just do it - add your voice. If ObamaKennedyDeathCare is passed into law, we will have the historical black mark of allowing the final chapter of America to begin, and the first generation to hand off a country to our children that is in worse shape than when we inherited it from our parents.

Yes, it's that serious.

There's my two cents.

PS - no Fun & Frivolity tonight. The soul and the future of the country is at stake, and this is no time for jokes. I've got at least one post planned for tomorrow, and I'll be sure to post an update late with the results of the vote.