Posted on 11/30/2007 9:50:18 AM PST by FocusNexus
Another transfer of wealth scheme by a communist who wants to be president.
Some remote Pacific island is looking better and better ....
And once health care is run by the government then the ACLU nuts will be along to rename all the hospitals from religious names to secular names. No more St. Joseph's Hospital, etc...
Hey, that’s a funny handle. “Resident Fossil” is what I’ll use when I (Lord willing) turn 80.
Wow. Thanks for the heads up on this one, Grampa Dave.
http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/john_edwards_would_garnish_your_wages_if_you_dont_buy_health_care/
Friday, November 30, 2007
John Edwards Would Garnish Your Wages If You Don’t Buy Health Care
Which isn’t all that different from raising your taxes for health care, really.
Under the Edwards plan, when Americans file their income taxes, they would be required to submit a letter from an insurance provider confirming coverage for themselves and their dependents.
If someone did not submit proof of coverage, the Internal Revenue Service would notify a newly established regional or state-based health-care agency (which Edwards has dubbed a Health Care Market).
Those regional agencies would then evaluate whether the uninsured individual was eligible for Medicare (which covers those over 65), Medicaid (which covers the indigent), or S-CHIP (the State Children’s Health Insurance Program which targets the working poor).
If the individual was not eligible for either of those existing public programs, the regional-health care agency would enroll the individual into the lowest cost health-care plan available in that area. The lowest-cost option could be a new Medicare-like public option or a private insurance plan.
The newly covered individual would not only have access to health benefits but would also be responsible for making monthly payments with the help of a tax credit.
The exact size of the financial obligation would vary according to a person’s income (lower-income Americans would receive larger tax credits).
If a person did not meet his or her monthly financial obligation for a set period of time (perhaps a year, perhaps longer) the Edwards plan would empower the federal government to garnish an individual’s wages for purposes of collecting “back premiums with interest and collection costs.”
The process, according to the Edwards campaign, would resemble the process used to collect money from Americans who are delinquent on federal student loans or child support payments.
Perhaps even scarier than modeling a mandatory health care system after the draconian child support enforcement regulations many of us have all come to know and love is the enforcement bureaucracy it would take to carry out Edwards’ wishes. He’s talking about an entirely new federal agency in every single state tasked with some sort of social workers who are empowered to actually take money out of your pay check if you don’t get health care.
That is an obnoxious expansion of government size and power, not to mention a terrible new burden for the taxpayers.
If you don’t hear complaining, you’re not talking to the right people. I will explain just one of the fabulous features of Medicare - called diagnostic related groups. How it works is the government comes up with a standard type of and length of time of care for specific conditions. If the hospital can get ‘er done for less, they get to keep the money. If they have to do more, it’s on their dime. Venture a guess on how many very ill seniors are discharged too soon so the hospital doesn’t end up with a bill. I worked as an owner of a senior care business for 5 years, saw it several times myself, and other providers did as well.
Medicare and Medicaid are both full of corruption, very costly, very inefficient. If you think private healthcare is a mess, government run healthcare literally has people going to other countries to get serious illnesses taken care of.
The Brits and Canada both have big problems in quality. The Brits have kept the costs down by hiring immigrants as doctors (and are startled at the reduced quality, and that doctors (oh my) are involved in terrorism.
Here’s my shopping list: Healthcare should be portable - if you have kept coverage continuosly and leave your job, the next provider shouldn’t be able to do a pre-existing condition decline or exclusion.
We should (and I cringe at this, since it would be painful) pay a larger portion of our healthcare directly - it would make us more conscious of the costs and less likely to misuse services. Do we really need a doctor to tell us - it’s a cold, get some rest, drink fluids, and get some cold pills.
More use of nurse practitioners for minor ailments.
Healthcare savings account?
Illegals (before they are deported along with their “anchor babies”) should be treated in special, low-cost clinics/hospitals and not allowed to use emergency rooms for non-emergency care. A true emergency would be handled until safely transferred to the lower cost environment. Nurse practitioners could be the major staffing, with doctor consult available.
If someone decides to risk not having coverage (young and dumb as I once was), then they would be treated in the low cost clinics along with the illegals for non-emergency care. Perhaps, doctors should get their malpractice premiums and/or education costs paid back (I’d be willing to subsidize that) if they agree to serve in those environments their first few years of practice.
Other ideas? What I do know is that universal, government run healthcare does not work well, so we need to go to a Plan B.
Percentage of payroll/income deduction set at 7%, family with one working, 12%. Everyone is in a Medicare type plan. Everything has a co-pay. Doctor co-pay $35.00. Drug co-pay $5.00-$10.00. Hospital co-pay $200.00. Lab/screen test co-pays $25-$100.
Pharmacists, with brief medical/allergy history of customer, can disperse anti-biotics, blood pressure and cholestrol drugs without a script. All narcotics must have a script.
Depending on extend of crime, minimium penalities should be: Anyone in health field caught for over-billing, fraud or theft loses license for 1 year and works for free for 60 days. Caught twice, revoke licenses for life and do minimum of 5 years in prison.
Extentive tort reform with maximium limits.
We could ask Edwards about this at a CNN debate if CNN didn't suck...
When it's a dem debate the "objective" questions chosen by CNN make dems look good, or allow them to "pontificate" on important issues that make them shine. I'd like to know what CNN's teacher's pet would say about this issue. Too bad, I'll never know because CNN sucks.
-it’s all about BUYING votes. Simple as that.
We need a system with co-pays, not 'free'. Also, if someone elects to seek treatment privately outside the Medicare Plan, fine, let them. No punishment to them or the provider. It's their money.
Because I have been self-employed for past 25 years, I have been battling our current system that long. It sucks! Allow me to buy in to Medicare, even if they pro-rate me due to age, I'd grab it in a heartbeat. Anything is better than private healthcare I can no longer afford.
John Edwards should go to Hell.
I have never seen a more scummy person than him.
Edwards Might Garnish Wages, Withhold Tax Refundsgee, how farfetched...
If any of the Dems become president, I don't think anyone can stop socialized medicine.Well put, FocusNexus!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.