It's Not An Option (IBD Exclusive Series: Government-Run Healthcare: A Prescription For Failure)

IBD Editorials ^ | July 15, 2009 | INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY Staff

[Kaslin]

Congress: It didn't take long to run into an "uh-oh" moment when reading the House's "health care for all Americans" bill. Right there on Page 16 is a provision making individual private medical insurance illegal.

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When we first saw the paragraph Tuesday, just after the 1,018-page document was released, we thought we surely must be misreading it. So we sought help from the House Ways and Means Committee.

It turns out we were right: The provision would indeed outlaw individual private coverage. Under the Orwellian header of "Protecting The Choice To Keep Current Coverage," the "Limitation On New Enrollment" section of the bill clearly states:

"Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day" of the year the legislation becomes law.

So we can all keep our coverage, just as promised — with, of course, exceptions: Those who currently have private individual coverage won't be able to change it. Nor will those who leave a company to work for themselves be free to buy individual plans from private carriers.

From the beginning, opponents of the public option plan have warned that if the government gets into the business of offering subsidized health insurance coverage, the private insurance market will wither. Drawn by a public option that will be 30% to 40% cheaper than their current premiums because taxpayers will be funding it, employers will gladly scrap their private plans and go with Washington's coverage.

[cajungirl]

Private insurance after the day this is ineffct cannot raise premiums or change coverage.

In five years, not a generation, the plan has to convert to a publicly approved govt option.

Five years!! No private insurance in five years.

[cajungirl]

The NYPOst has an editorial on this.

Senior are mandated for counseling sessions every five years about end of life choices, etc.

If a senior is sick, that is me, the counseling is “more often” and is around how expensive treatment is and how one can opt out and just die.

This is coercian plain and simple. I have cancer,,I don’t want some govt bureaucrat explaining to me how expensive it is and how I can just die if I want. It chills me.

It lmakes me cry.

[anniegetyourgun]

see 35 above

[Bigun]

What everyone here should realize is that NONE of this is about anything other than an attempt to bankrupt the United States and allow the Alinskyites now running things to pronounce capitalism a failure!

[Kaslin]

Exactly.

[Uncle Sham]

The Fourteenth amendment says: "1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Basically, this means that every citizen is to be treated EQUALLY under the law. Last time I checked, members of Congress were "citizens", as were all the federal workers and their union buddies. Any law that treats them differently than the rest of us regular type citizens is UNCONSTITUTIONAL. No exemptions from nationalized health care can Constitutionally stand. It applies to everybody or nobody.

[Kaslin]

You mean in the 1930s, don’t you?

[DYngbld]

The outrage is gaining popularity, The local non-talk radio station was talking about it this morning.

[spectre]

"This is coercian plain and simple. I have cancer,,I don’t want some govt bureaucrat explaining to me how expensive it is and how I can just die if I want. It chills me.

They won't explain anything. The Doctor will be under orders to lie and say there's nothing he can do for you, so go home and get your house in order.

If you're really lucky, you can get some pain pills, although they'll be rationed till the very end.

sw

[xzins]

I agree. See #’s 85 & 86

[massgopguy]

Don’t forget, no new employees will be allowed to enroll on the company health plan after the drop dead date.

[Heart of Georgia]

More of the same brought to US by the death-to-America crowd.

[massgopguy]

No Private Insurance
No Fee for Service
No “unproven” treatments
Hospice for “the last year of life”
That’s the end of Dana-Farber

[xdem]

I've heard nobody mention it, but if our Congress thinks the new health care bill is such a good idea, why are they keeping they own special health care plan?

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Freedom56v2]

Wow this is OUTRAGEOUS!!!!!!!

[brityank]

Thanks for your ping, Meek.

Hit the bathroom, grab a coffee (or adult beverage!), and watch this video (20:33) from Steven Crowder:

Obamacare Yay or Nay? The Truth About Canada!

Four out of the first five people flat out lie in the first 45 seconds! Enjoy!!

[Freedom56v2]

This IBD editorial should be run in every paper in the country!!

[Eva]

Something that has not been addressed is the exemption of union members from the Obamacare bill. The last that I heard, the union members were exempted, UNTIL THEIR CONTRACT RUNS OUT. Now, of course this would not apply to government union workers, as they are separately exempted. It sounds as though this would apply to teachers and AFL-CIO union members. I wonder if the union members realize what they are supporting.

Of course in WA, the state secretary of education is a former head of the SEIU local.

[Girlene]

There are a number of things to be concerned about here. A commissioner and health care advisory committee seem to have no limits on their recommendations of what should be covered and how much a company can charge for the coverage. The required unlimited free coverage of preventive care. The maximum cost-sharing amounts of $5,000 and $10,000 seem arbitrary as well.

These are very troubling. Also troubling are the no lifetime maximums on benefits and all the minimum requirements for a basic plan. They are going to make a basic private health care plan so cost prohibitive for companies, noone can afford to offer it. Thanks for posting the appropriate pages!