Posted on 09/09/2009 3:35:22 AM PDT by Scanian
When President Obama addresses Congress and the nation tonight, he should pledge to do three things.
First, he should announce that he will discard the 1,018-page health bill drafted in the House of Representatives and replace it with a 20-page bill in plain English. Twenty pages should be sufficient. The framers of the US Constitution established an entire federal government in 18 pages.
One reason for the rancor over the current health bill is that few people, including members of Congress, know what it says.
When those who have read it point to its dangerous provisions, the bill's defenders offer vague denials, and most people have no way of knowing who is telling the truth. Its not just the bill's length that's the problem.
Intentionally or not, the bill gives readers the runaround.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Once they get the framework/bureaucracy in place, they’ll do as they please. US taxpayers should see themselves as prey, because that’s what this is all about.
Stealing that for a new tagline.
I have a simple solution.
Get rid of all the word processors in Congress. If our “esteemed” congress critters had to write everything by hand - like their predecessors - the bills would be short and concise.
Bad idea. If the law is general, the details will be filled in by federal regulations written by executive agencies.
I am ABSOLUTELY convinced one of the reasons they write the bills this way is to conceal what the bills actually mean.
I was trying to figure out what is going to happen with physician compensation because I heard from a physician that all specialties, brain surgeons and dermatologists, will be paid the same. So, I tried to look through it, and in the process stumbled across how they plan to reduce both payment AND availability of imaging resources (such as CT, MR, etc.)
This is pissing me off, and really, it is beginning to make me burn. Look at how this thing is written. I copied the section below right out of the document. Look further down for my explanation if you are interested.
***************************************
***************************************
SEC. 1147. PAYMENT FOR IMAGING SERVICES.
10 (a) ADJUSTMENT IN PRACTICE EXPENSE TO RE11
FLECT HIGHER PRESUMED UTILIZATION.—Section 1848
12 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w) is amend13
ed—
14 (1) in subsection (b)(4)—
15 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘sub16
paragraph (A)’’ and inserting ‘‘this paragraph’’;
17 and
18 (B) by adding at the end the following new
19 subparagraph:
20 ‘‘(C) ADJUSTMENT IN PRACTICE EXPENSE
21 TO REFLECT HIGHER PRESUMED UTILIZA22
TION.—In computing the number of practice
23 expense relative value units under subsection
24 (c)(2)(C)(ii) with respect to advanced diagnostic
25 imaging services (as defined in section
VerDate Nov 24 2008 23:22 Jul 14, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00273 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3200.IH H3200 jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
274
•HR 3200 IH
1 1834(e)(1)(B)), the Secretary shall adjust such
2 number of units so it reflects a 75 percent
3 (rather than 50 percent) presumed rate of utili4
zation of imaging equipment.’’; and
5 (2) in subsection (c)(2)(B)(v)(II), by inserting
6 ‘‘AND OTHER PROVISIONS’’ after ‘‘OPD PAYMENT
7 CAP’’.
8 (b) ADJUSTMENT IN TECHNICAL COMPONENT ‘‘DIS9
COUNT’’ ON SINGLE-SESSION IMAGING TO CONSECUTIVE
10 BODY PARTS.—Section 1848(b)(4) of such Act is further
11 amended by adding at the end the following new subpara12
graph:
13 ‘‘(D) ADJUSTMENT IN TECHNICAL COMPO14
NENT DISCOUNT ON SINGLE-SESSION IMAGING
15 INVOLVING CONSECUTIVE BODY PARTS.—The
16 Secretary shall increase the reduction in ex17
penditures attributable to the multiple proce18
dure payment reduction applicable to the tech19
nical component for imaging under the final
20 rule published by the Secretary in the Federal
21 Register on November 21, 2005 (part 405 of
22 title 42, Code of Federal Regulations) from 25
23 percent to 50 percent.’’.
24 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as otherwise pro25
vided, this section, and the amendments made by this sec-
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275
•HR 3200 IH
1 tion, shall apply to services furnished on or after January
2 1,
***************************************
***************************************
The following two paragraphs below show what the BULL$HIT above boils down to in normal english, and what it actually MEANS. This just steams me.
“SEC. 1147. PAYMENT FOR IMAGING SERVICES.
ADJUSTMENT IN PRACTICE EXPENSE TO REFLECT HIGHER PRESUMED UTILIZATION
In computing the number of practice expense relative value units under subsection the Secretary shall adjust such number of units so it reflects a 75 percent (rather than 50 percent) presumed rate of utilization of imaging equipment.”
(I am no expert on this, but downloading a Powerpoint Presentation, and looking around at various critiques of the way practice expense is calculated, INCREASING the presumed rate of utilization drives DOWN the amount of money you get paid. I am a genius. I assumed that, but figured I better check it out...)
END RESULT: LESS MONEY FOR IMAGING, FEWER SERVICES OFFERED.
“Section 1848
ADJUSTMENT IN TECHNICAL COMPONENT DISCOUNT ON SINGLE-SESSION IMAGING INVOLVING CONSECUTIVE BODY PARTS.
The Secretary shall increase the reduction in expenditures attributable to the multiple procedure payment reduction applicable to the technical component for imaging from 25 percent to 50 percent.”
(What this means is that from now on, if you do a CT of the Abdomen AND a CT of the pelvis without moving the patient, you now get paid 50% less rather than 25% less. This is huge, and just one example of how they are going to cut billions of dollars a year in costs. The scumbags will say with a straight face that they aren’t rationing, but if you don’t get paid for the service, you either don’t do the service, or you go broke)
END RESULT: LESS MONEY FOR IMAGING, FEWER SERVICES OFFERED.
According to the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (at this link: http://www.aapsonline.org/ this is an organization that advocates for physicians, not like the AMA which is advocating for liberalism) these sections above up to a reduction of 4.3 billion dollars a year in money to be paid for imaging. If someone interprets that some different way, please let me know...but if you bring in 45 million more people and reduce the money you pay...gee whiz, what is the end result?
Now, I wasn’t born yesterday, and I know why they are doing this, but this is our healthcare we are talking about, and they have deliberately tried to bury as much of it in incomprehensible legalese as they can get it. It made me madder and madder as I tried to go through it.
THEY DON’T WANT ANYONE TO READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS.
LLS
See my post at #6. It illustrates what this person means.
The way it is written, this bill is only a little bit shorter than “Atlas Shrugged”. As I show, it can be written in something closer to real English.
Granted, even in real English it is still double-speak with details unfilled that will torture us, but it would be a start.
No, no, do not re-write it. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I can’t accept anything from this administration.
Or maybe just $#i+can the entire thing?
Why do we need "Health Reform" that gives more power to the IRS? The "Public Option" was never intended to be an option, and without it all this bill will be is just some camouflage to achieve the same thing by stealth.
ML/NJ
Thanks for bringing this up. This POS was written exactly like this for sole purpose to MAKE UP RULES as they went along. Thus giving the Socialized Government TOTAL CONTROL over our Health Care!
Anyone who votes for this CRAP ought to be voted out of office, ending their political careers, forever!
Whether they write it in detailed legalese, or just 20 pages of generalities, which can give the bureaucrats a free hand, the end result will be the public getting hosed.
The only solution is to keep government the hell away from our healthcare as much as possible. They are destroyers!
When your party is just a collection of disparate and often conflicting interest groups, what else can you do?
The Dhimmis are really in an untenable situation now that they actually have to govern and it is, in a way, rather entertaining.
Thank you very much for that post. I would like to distribute your excerpt and analysis to a far wider audience. I’ll just clean up the formatting, but I think it is quite a powerful example of just what Obamacare has in store for us as well as the intentionally deceptive nature of Congress.
H. R. 3200Look at all those people and committees, its a cluster-'flock'.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 14, 2009Mr. DINGELL (for himself, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. STARK, Mr. PALLONE, and Mr. ANDREWS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and Labor, Oversight and Government Reform, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
Congress is,
Out.And not to be a smart as_ but what does the Committee on Education and LABOR have do with Heath Care and Insurance?
Of.
Control!
The real reason it is 1,018 pages long is that it gives them more places to hide their true meanings.
I had NO idea our Original Govt was only 18 pages!!!!! COOL!!
I couldn’t agree more wholeheartedly with you on this. Thanks for starting this thread...
You’re welcome!
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