Posted on 09/16/2009 7:22:56 AM PDT by La Lydia
WASHINGTON -- Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus formally unveiled a 10-year $856 billion bill that would extend health insurance to tens of millions of Americans not now covered, moving an important step forward on President Barack Obama's top domestic priority. The sweeping measure is designed to steer a more moderate course on health policy than other major bills moving through Capitol Hill, and doesn't propose to create a new government insurance plan to compete with private insurers, as proposed in rival House legislation and favored by many liberals. Instead, the Montana Democrat is proposing to expand coverage by creating a network of nonprofit health insurance cooperatives.
More than a year in the making, the bill would overhaul the nation's health-care system and has sparked a sharp battle between Republican leaders and the White House over the size and role of government in the nation's economy. The measure would create a new national insurance exchange, where individuals and small businesses can purchase insurance. Individuals would be required to purchase insurance, but those at the lower end of the income ladder would receive federal tax subsidies to defray the cost.
Moreover, insurers would be barred from using a range of practices -- such as denying health coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions -- that critics say have created economic turmoil and emotional hardship for millions of families....
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Can someone explain to me what is considered a “high end” insurance plan and the rationale for a 35% tax on it?
Props to the 3 GOPers who didn’t sign on to this.
Montana folks vote decided GOP up there for Prez, but are a lot more sketchy when it comes to Senator and Governor. What gives up there? Do they really LIKE Baucus and Tester?
decided=decidedly
He’s spinning this bill as something that will help the average working American, but this bill won’t help the average person. His speech is a load of BS. This bill uses a collectivist approach that forces all young people and healthy responsible people into a system where they’ll have to pay for relatively expensive health insurance, to subsidize the poor, illegal immigrants, and people with pre-existing conditions. It’s galloping socialism...European style. Welcome to Sweden...and get ready for much higher taxes and inflation to pay for all of this, if it passes in congress.
It's Big Sky New York.
NO public option
NO co-opts
NO trigger legislation
PERIOD!!
No matter what, if all this goes through, the average American will be like a candle burning at both ends - increased costs for food and other necessities, wages that will be lowered or not increase, and increased taxes. If this monstrosity is passed, you know that this administration will be pushing for a national sales tax to pay for this down the road. Americans will be working just to exist and get through another day with food, water, clothing, utilities and gas in the car to go back and forth to work.
My child in public school now pays $6.18 per day for a lunch that costs $1.98 to prepare. Why? Because a full 50% of kids get a free lunch. The rest goes to pay for the government to run it.
Here is the track record of the cost of the program in representative years:
1950 - $119M
1960 - $225M
1970 - $565M
1980 - $3.2 Billion
1990 - $3.7 Billion
2000 - $6.1 Billion
2008 - $9.3 Billion
Over 30 million kids get their lunch for free, and my kid pays $6.18 for a lunch that costs $1.98
Just factor all these numbers up and you will have the economics behind Obamacare.
Yeah, I saw this somewhere today about medical equipment companies being heavily taxed also. This is freakin’ unbelievable. They want to tax health care insurance companies and medical equipment companies above and beyond what other industries are taxed. Does our Constitution allow for this?
Even forgetting the all other awful measures in the bill, if this is implemented it will kill insurance. Hey, let's lobby congress for the same on auto insurance!
This measure is also their justification for fining those who don't want insurance and getting the IRS et al to give bureaucrats every bit of information they have on you. Still, even with the fine, it may still be worth forgoing insurance until something bad hit and then getting a plan that year (with the bonus that it also gets you out of a 'fine' for that year). I still see insurance companies getting creamed, leaving everyone with one option...
No, as in bled out from the Carotid artery.
That has been the plan all along.
“Over 30 million kids get their lunch for free, and my kid pays $6.18 for a lunch that costs $1.98”
There are a couple of solutions to that outrage.
The plan...
2009 - Set up a government plan, without a government option...
2011 - quietly modify the plan to include a very small government option in rare instances
2013 - quietly modify the plan to expand the government option
2015 - quietly modify the plan to balloon the government option out significantly
2017 - quietly modify the plan so that private insurance becomes impossible to obtain/retain if you have to change jobs or insurance coverage
2020 - Single payer is achieved...
Remember ‘War Games’, the movie? The only way to win, is not to play the game.
Republicans who cooperate to contribute to a sound fix of health care are only insuring that they can never win.
KEEP THE GOVERNMENT’S HANDS OFF HEALTH CARE PERIOD!
Live Free Or Die
And taxpayers will pay for abortions.
There lies the catcher. How is our idiots in Government going to prove where a baby is born and even if they are born here, the incentive increases for illegals to come here just to have babies and get their babies free healthcare.
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.