Posted on 05/14/2009 8:36:06 AM PDT by reaganaut1
House Democrats are looking at big health care changes, including federal aid to help families earning up to $88,000 pay for insurance and a requirement that all must carry coverage.
A document obtained by The Associated Press shows the plan being written by the House Energy and Commerce Committee would also require employers to offer coverage to their full-time workers, or pay a percentage of their payroll to the government.
The House committee summary is a first look at where Democratic leaders in that chamber are headed as they try to meet an ambitious goal of passing a bill by the end of July. Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., will play a central role in crafting the plan, along with two other committee chairs, then steer it through negotiations with the Senate later in the year.
President Barack Obama has said the final legislation must rein in costs, guarantee choice of health plans and medical providers, and ensure that all Americans have access to affordable coverage. But he's leaving it to Congress to try to work out the details.
The three-page summary says the House plan would ''minimize disruption'' for people who already have coverage and give them the ''ability to keep what you have.'' All Americans would be protected by an annual limit on out-of-pocket costs, a safeguard already in the best private plans.
Yet proposed changes would affect everyone, particularly since workers are now more likely to change jobs -- and even careers. The moves jeopardize job-based benefits.
...
The House summary does not include any cost estimates, but independent experts have put the price tag for such a plan at $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion over 10 years, with some estimates ranging as high as $1.7 trillion.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
RE :”A document obtained by The Associated Press shows the plan being written by the House Energy and Commerce Committee would also require employers to offer coverage to their full-time workers, or pay a percentage of their payroll to the government. “
What if the employers offer insurance but dont actually pay for any of it, so the employees cant afford it?
unemployment will rise, and wages will fall.
It’s not like the broke federal government isn’t printing enough fiat money already?
We are all going to pay for this spending ... Massive inflation ahead, as Obama turns the USA into Zimbabwe. That’ll teach those whiteys.
There’s only one way they can pay for this........TAXES. Couple this with energy taxes and you will be broke and forced into socialism. Just watch.....it will be rushed through Congress before you even get to read the Bill. Another midnight Bill.
Better yet, what if employers decide to drop your hours so you’re not full time anymore?
I work full-time, but the employer does not offer health insurance. So, I can see them cutting all affected employees to part-time. Hiring 2 new employees (part-time) and keeping from having to offer health insurance or pay the government. Plus 0bama just created 2 new jobs that didn’t exist before.
They just doubled next week's layoff numbers.
Given the option..most employers will probably take the payroll tax to get out of the business of offering health insurance. It will probably be cheaper.
For us retired people, no telling what will happen, but most of our ex-employers are warming up to dump us..especially after we qualify for Medicare.
don’t plan on getting sick, injured or older.
Very Good point. Here In Maryland the libs passed a bill to force Walmarts to pay a certain % of payroll on employees health insurance (no one else was affected) but the MD courts threw it out. I believe part time WAS included with that bill.
Actually...if we pulled all US troops out of South Korea, and did the “adios” to NATO and Europe...bringing all the troops back to the US...we could easily pay for this and just call it a defense contribution...keeping the troops in our backyard and forgetting the enormous amount of contribution that we make to South Korea, Italian, British and German countryside. Some progressive folks might be willing to discuss this idea and just toss the money into our own economy instead of foreign lands.
“Better yet, what if employers decide to drop your hours so you’re not full time anymore?”
Don’t laugh. How do you think Bambi is going to create 5 million jobs? He will cut everyones time in half, force companies to hire the other half and then after companies reduce their contribution, Bambi will hit them with a tax on anyone working more than 20 hours a week.
Bang, jobs saved, universal health care implemented and welcome to Marxism.
4th of July sounds about right for another round of tea parties. Even my Democrat boyfriend is on board. STOP the Spending.
I cringe when I see Waxman’s name - the guy is a sewer rat.
That $12 hr worker just scraping by will love the RATS for lowering his wage to $8 an hour.
Will the RATS raise the minimum wage or set the wages of every job?
RE :”don’t plan on getting sick, injured or older.”
You sound like you are for universal care. There are obviously arguments for it as well as against it. Some ones againstit are :
1) Medicare is already bankrupt thanks in part to republicans, so why would we trust congress to fix non-government cases??
2) The socialized case is where one person pays, the other doesnt and the one that does waits in line behind a large group of people that dont. I realize it’s not quite that simple given employer based and government jobs(winners of big lottery) , but this just increases the demand.
RE :”Or, employers could offer the insurance coverage but lower the wages of employees to something just over minimum wage to cover it.”
Right now that is a possibility
A store near us cut “hours” to cut benefits. The alternative was to let people go. They didn’t let anyone go....and employees are thrilled. For a couple of folks, losing the benefits meant zip....as he was covered on his wife’s policy. I think the company did the best they could do....
Jobs will flood to Canada or more likely Mexico. Will the RATS then repeal NAFTA?
Everything the RATS do will create another mess.
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