“Placing health care on the ballot is likely to draw enthusiastic participation from voters excited for the chance to make their voices heard in a meaningful way” — Washington Times editorial
The chief actuary at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services “found that the law falls short of the president’s twin goal of controlling runaway costs, raising projected spending by about 1 percent over 10 years,”according to the AP. Indeed,“[t]he overhaul will increase national health care spending by $311 billion from 2010-2019.”
This week a Congressional Budget Office report predicted the bill will cost “about $115 billion more in discretionary spending over ten years than the original cost projections,” according to Politico. This all but wipes out the deficit savings over ten years that Democrats were bragging about. Also, Politico noted, “The additional spending — if approved over the years by Congress — would bring the total estimated cost of the overhaul to about $1 trillion.”
Also this week, another HHS estimate said that another highly-touted provision of the bill, allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ health insurance until the age of 26 “will nudge premiums nearly 1 percent higher for employer plans,” according to the AP. Even Senate Democrats seem to recognize that health insurance premiums are going to go up despite their health care law (Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) admitted as such before the bill passed). The New York Times reported last month, “Fearing that health insurance premiums may shoot up in the next few years, Senate Democrats laid a foundation on Tuesday for federal regulation of rates, four weeks after President Obama signed a law intended to rein in soaring health costs.”
And what about President Obama’s oft-repeated promise that “If you like your current plan, you will be able to keep it”? Well, Fortune Magazine reported that according to documents Democrats in Congress demanded from companies noting how much the health care law will cost them, many companies are considering dropping health coverage altogether and simply paying a penalty instead, as it may be cheaper.
Meanwhile, taxes will be going up. The Hill reported last month, “Taxpayers earning less than $200,000 a year will pay roughly $3.9 billion more in taxes — in 2019 alone — due to healthcare reform, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress’s official scorekeeper.” And according to the AP, “Nearly 4 million Americans will have to pay a penalty if they fail to get health insurance when that element of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul law kicks in . . . .” And of course, “The vast majority of people paying the fine will be middle class, which would violate Obama’s 2008 campaign pledge not to raise taxes on individuals making less than $200,000 a year and couples making less than $250,000.”
And to top it all off, the law is proving to be a jobs killer, just as Republicans warned it would. The AP reported a couple of weeks ago, “A new law that cuts banks out of the federal student loan business is costing 2,500 workers at Sallie Mae their jobs.” Recall that Democrats decided to add the student loan provisions to the health bill in part to entice more of their members to vote for it. But that’s not the only aspect harmful to employment. The Boston Herald reported recently, “A dire warning from Bay State medical-device companies that a new sales tax in the federal health-care law could force their plants – and thousands of jobs – out of the country has rattled Gov. Deval Patrick, a staunch backer of the law and pal President Obama.” And local news stations across the country have noted that new taxes in the bill are already hurting small businesses.
I suggest people use the dollar amounts to hopefully defeat any health care bill that might help the lower income citizens. I see people posting billions of dollars in higher costs and saying no one can afford it. well… let me see now! in every town in America there is at least 10 docs defrauding the gov. on procedures they did not do and costing the average American citizen millions in lost funds, of which no one receives any real care. I ask, how do you the average citizen , think we should deal with that….?
Jerry, I completely agree with you. You deal with it by making the customers being more responsible for their own health care needs. Make them write the check at the time of service, then apply to insurance for a rebate. That one change would put a huge dent in the fraud.
Let’s see. over 50% of Americans and none of the illegal aliens pay federal income tax and the feds want us to foot the biil for their healthcare also. I am all for meaningful healthcare reform, but not this bogus bill the Pelosi, Reid and Obama have defrauded the Americans with so they can unionize healthcare workers and take even more of our money. It is all about choice. I choose to have insurance, but it is my choice. Most low income people, including my own family members, choose to drive nice cars, live in decent housing, buy tobacco, alcohol, eat out many times a week, own HDTVs and cable and a DVD collection to be envied and so on, but want me to pay for their healthcare. I tell all you libs the same thing, that is your choice and I won’t pay for your poor choices and stupidity. Healthcare costs didn’t start rising until the government started regulating it and underpaying the healthcare providers. Do your research.
My only concern, is that placing this obviously Un-Constitutional “law” up to a vote, does two things, it give the “group formerly known as acorn” the opportunity to tweak the vote in St.Louis, Columbia and Kansas City to show undue support for obamacare, but second and more importantly, it lends the air of legitimacy to this blatantly illegal “law”. We live in a Constitutional Republic, not a Democracy. The states created the Federal government to do a few select things for them, and never intended it to lord over them. The states are sovereign, and do not have to submit to garbage like “real ID” or obamacare. In this transitional time when the States are just beginning to return to their Constitutional relationship with their general government, this appears to be a side step, not a step forward.
As a candidate for Congress, I would work towards eliminating this skewed power imbalance, and enforce the Constitution, not vote around it.
No you really have to read the Constitution. The states gave the fed 18 or so limited duties they they as states do not do, they [the general government] have far exceeded their Constitution limits, and the states are just beginning to take their power back. Read the 10th Amendment, those powers not given to the fed by the states, are reserved to the states or the people. We never gave the fed the power to nationalize heathcare or insurance. (or 25,000 other things)
I agree with Dean. But if Missouri wants to exercise/reclaim its sovereignty, we should recognizes that 2 out of 3 dollars in our roughly $21 billion state budget come from the federal government. Granted this is money our residents gave the federal government in the first place, but we cannot have it both ways. We are either “kept” by the federal government or we are sovereign. If we act like a sovereign state then don’t be surprised when federal “hand-backs” diminish.
your right Mike: if Missouri wants to act like they are no longer a part of the U.S. of A. is true, we see how much money suddenly stops coming our way. see the fed. has each state in a clutch. they tell you what you can and can not do, otherwise the money flow stops. believe me, without the fed. funding, each state would be back in the dark ages.
Missouri has voted mostly republican for so many years and that is why we see more comments against democrat actions. and not so many comments against republican actions.
0 responses so far ↓
1 jerry trotter // May 14, 2010 at 11:48 am
I suggest people use the dollar amounts to hopefully defeat any health care bill that might help the lower income citizens. I see people posting billions of dollars in higher costs and saying no one can afford it. well… let me see now! in every town in America there is at least 10 docs defrauding the gov. on procedures they did not do and costing the average American citizen millions in lost funds, of which no one receives any real care. I ask, how do you the average citizen , think we should deal with that….?
2 Darrel Drumright // May 14, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Jerry, I completely agree with you. You deal with it by making the customers being more responsible for their own health care needs. Make them write the check at the time of service, then apply to insurance for a rebate. That one change would put a huge dent in the fraud.
3 JRJohnson // May 14, 2010 at 12:54 pm
Let’s see. over 50% of Americans and none of the illegal aliens pay federal income tax and the feds want us to foot the biil for their healthcare also. I am all for meaningful healthcare reform, but not this bogus bill the Pelosi, Reid and Obama have defrauded the Americans with so they can unionize healthcare workers and take even more of our money. It is all about choice. I choose to have insurance, but it is my choice. Most low income people, including my own family members, choose to drive nice cars, live in decent housing, buy tobacco, alcohol, eat out many times a week, own HDTVs and cable and a DVD collection to be envied and so on, but want me to pay for their healthcare. I tell all you libs the same thing, that is your choice and I won’t pay for your poor choices and stupidity. Healthcare costs didn’t start rising until the government started regulating it and underpaying the healthcare providers. Do your research.
4 William Tell // May 14, 2010 at 12:59 pm
I’m thrilled we’ll get the chamce to vote on Obamacare!!!
5 Dean Moore // May 14, 2010 at 1:28 pm
My only concern, is that placing this obviously Un-Constitutional “law” up to a vote, does two things, it give the “group formerly known as acorn” the opportunity to tweak the vote in St.Louis, Columbia and Kansas City to show undue support for obamacare, but second and more importantly, it lends the air of legitimacy to this blatantly illegal “law”. We live in a Constitutional Republic, not a Democracy. The states created the Federal government to do a few select things for them, and never intended it to lord over them. The states are sovereign, and do not have to submit to garbage like “real ID” or obamacare. In this transitional time when the States are just beginning to return to their Constitutional relationship with their general government, this appears to be a side step, not a step forward.
As a candidate for Congress, I would work towards eliminating this skewed power imbalance, and enforce the Constitution, not vote around it.
6 Jim Morgan // May 14, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Dean, you make no sense. If one is correct, the other is not. (State vs Federal).
You really need to read the legislation.
7 Dean Moore // May 14, 2010 at 2:00 pm
No you really have to read the Constitution. The states gave the fed 18 or so limited duties they they as states do not do, they [the general government] have far exceeded their Constitution limits, and the states are just beginning to take their power back. Read the 10th Amendment, those powers not given to the fed by the states, are reserved to the states or the people. We never gave the fed the power to nationalize heathcare or insurance. (or 25,000 other things)
8 Dean Moore // May 14, 2010 at 5:46 pm
And to be clear, I’m talking about obamacare being Un-Constitutional.
9 Mike // May 16, 2010 at 3:20 pm
I agree with Dean. But if Missouri wants to exercise/reclaim its sovereignty, we should recognizes that 2 out of 3 dollars in our roughly $21 billion state budget come from the federal government. Granted this is money our residents gave the federal government in the first place, but we cannot have it both ways. We are either “kept” by the federal government or we are sovereign. If we act like a sovereign state then don’t be surprised when federal “hand-backs” diminish.
10 jerry trotter // May 25, 2010 at 2:16 am
your right Mike: if Missouri wants to act like they are no longer a part of the U.S. of A. is true, we see how much money suddenly stops coming our way. see the fed. has each state in a clutch. they tell you what you can and can not do, otherwise the money flow stops. believe me, without the fed. funding, each state would be back in the dark ages.
11 jerry trotter // May 25, 2010 at 2:19 am
I was hoping our own legislators would post parts of this “health care freedom act , bill.” I would like to read it or at least a bit of it.
12 jerry trotter // May 25, 2010 at 2:20 am
Missouri has voted mostly republican for so many years and that is why we see more comments against democrat actions. and not so many comments against republican actions.
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