Be careful who you vote for!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Norman, Oklahoma, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) February 22, 2012 -- The other day, one of my clients asked me what I thought about the new health care reform bill. I politely declined boarding my soapbox, but was invited to step right on up. I did my best to keep my comments regulated to facts only, not opinions. My opinion? This healthcare act is as disasterous a plan as it gets. As an agent, I get to see what happens on both sides of the coin. In this case, it’s double-sided. No matter how you flip it, we’re all going to lose.

So, in light of this and a few other comments regarding the new law, I did some research on my own. I found a lot of websites, and disregarded the ones laced with political rhetoric. However, I did find some interesting facts from Wikipedia and they are as follows:
Summary of funding

The Act's provisions are intended to be funded by a variety of taxes and offsets. Major sources of new revenue include a much-broadened Medicare tax on incomes over $200,000 and $250,000, for individual and joint filers respectively, an annual fee on insurance providers, and a 40% tax on "Cadillac" insurance policies. There are also taxes on pharmaceuticals, high-cost diagnostic equipment, and a 10% federal sales tax on indoor tanning services. Offsets are from intended cost savings such as improved fairness in the Medicare Advantage program relative to traditional Medicare.[35]

Total new tax revenue from the Act will amount to $409.2 billion over the next 10 years. $78 billion will be realized before the end of fiscal 2014.[36] Summary of revenue sources:

· Broaden Medicare tax base for high-income taxpayers: $210.2 billion

· Annual fee on health insurance providers: $60 billion

· 40% excise tax on health coverage in excess of $10,200/$27,500: $32 billion

· Impose annual fee on manufacturers and importers of branded drugs: $27 billion

· Impose 2.3% excise tax on manufacturers and importers of certain medical devices: $20 billion

· Require information reporting on payments to corporations: $17.1 billion

· Raise 7.5% Adjusted Gross Income floor on medical expenses deduction to 10%: $15.2 billion

· Limit contributions to flexible spending arrangements in cafeteria plans to $2,500: $13 billion

· All other revenue sources: $14.9 billion

Let’s break this down a bit:

People who make more money pay more in Medicare taxes.

Annual fee on health insurance providers. No company anywhere ever absorbs additional costs. Fees, taxes, and the like are passed on to the consumer in the price of the product.

If you want an insurance policy with more coverage than what the government thinks you need, you will pay the premium, plus an additional 40% in taxes on that policy.

Annual fees on drug manufacturers…..again passed down to the consumer.

Taxes on certain medical devices and equipment……yup…..passed down to the consumer.

Then we don’t get to itemize as much in medical expenses on our taxes.

A tax on tanning bed usage. Who tans? White people! Does that seem racist to you?

The measure would force insurance companies to cover everyone. While that sounds great for those who want a policy but can’t get one, let’s think about that for a moment. A group of relatively healthy people are insured by Company A. Everyone pays a premium, and there’s little paid out in claims, so there is plenty of money in the pool. Company A is then forced to let more people into the group who otherwise wouldn’t be approved for coverage due to illnesses and preexisting conditions. The Company is also not allowed to raise premiums. So, the Company now has to pay for all the additional medical costs with no additional income to cover the difference. How long do you think the Company can stay in business?

You must purchase a government-approved policy or you will pay a fine. If you have to pay either way, you might as well buy a policy, right? But, “government approved” means the government determines the type of policy you can purchase. If they can tell you what kind of policy you can buy, then they can ration care accordingly. No, really. It’s called an oversight board that will determine medical need. Once you pass a certain age and are no longer a viable producer in society, chances are greater that you will be passed over for life-saving procedures in lieu of medication because medication is cheaper.

Do you see a lot of money going into the government’s pocket without a lot of return? Do you want the government (or anybody) to be able to tell you how to take care of yourself and your family? This shred of research doesn’t even begin to cover the absurdity of this bill. There are many other revenue-driving taxes and fees that have absolutely nothing to do with health insurance, and I’ve only heard of those. I have yet to find the literature. But that’s how the government intends to pay for this program. With our money.

No doubt that the entire healthcare system is a 55-gallon barrel full of arsenic sauce. But everything in this bill just makes it worse. The government wants to bleed us of more money to throw at the problem, and that doesn’t fix anything. Government intervention into our private lives is definitely NOT the answer either. I don’t want to pay for anyone else’s health insurance. Hell, I can barely pay for my own. And I sure don’t want anyone telling me what I can and can’t do regarding my own health. It worries me when I hear people saying they’re thinking of voting for someone who will put this bill into action because they’ve been denied health insurance. While I agree there are issues that need to be fixed, socialized medicine is not the answer. If you think it is, go ask a Canadian why they come down to the US for surgery.

As a whole, we’ve been spoiled by low monthly premiums, copays, and limitless doctor visits. Insurance companies have shot themselves in their collective foot by not cracking down on fraudulent doctors and medical staff throwing expensive pills and procedures at every little symptom. Then those same companies turn around and try to limit expensive meds to those people who really can’t live without them. It’s time to take back the responsibility of taking care of ourselves. It’s time to use a little common sense and stop running to the doctor everytime we get a sniffle. It’s time to get back to eating right and exercising to build our immune systems. It’s time for doctors to be allowed to go back to practicing medicine. It’s time for one price at checkout, not six, depending on your coverage or lack thereof. No, this isn’t the entire solution, and it’s going to take a while to get all the pieces back into working order. But these are steps that might help put us back on the road to recovery.

Just my opinion. For what it's worth.

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