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Obamacare

By Peter O'Brien

Here are a few items brought to my attention by Neal Boortz about the democrat health care proposal.

- Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf said "The health care overhauls released to date would increase, not reduce, the burgeoning long-term health costs facing the government,"

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"According to that assessment [from the CBO], enacting the proposal would result in a net increase in federal budget deficits of about $1.0 trillion over the 2010-2019 period."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"A new report by the Lewin Group (commissioned by the Heritage Foundation) finds that the House Democrats' health care bill would shift more than 83.4 million Americans from private health care coverage to the government plan. To put that in perspective, that would mean that nearly half (48.4 percent) would lose their private health coverage."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"Currently, the top rate is 35 percent. But in his budget President Obama proposed raising the top two income tax rates from 33 and 35 percent to 36 and 39.6 percent. Families in the top 20 percent of income earners already pay 94% percent more income taxes than middle-income families. The new surtaxes would extend progressivity at the top of the income spectrum and raise the disparity in taxes paid between middle- and low-income families and high-earning families."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"In the six highest-taxed states, Oregon (11 percent top income tax rate), Hawaii (11 percent), New Jersey (10.75 percent), New York (8.97 percent), California (10.55 percent), and Rhode Island (9.9 percent), the top rates would be higher than all but Denmark among OECD countries if the Obama plan and surtax become law."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"Under these higher taxes, families and small businesses making over $350,000 in every state would face higher top rates than 21 OECD countries--including France, Italy, and Spain. Even the nine states with no state income tax at all would have higher rates than these social democracies that are typically regarded as countries with punitively high taxes. Taxpayers in all 41 states that do levy an income tax would pay a top rate that is higher than all but seven of the 30 OECD countries."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"The Senate version of President Obama's government health care overhaul contains a mandate that all businesses provide their employees with health insurance or pay a fine, unless the business employs fewer than 25 people. Critics say the 25-employee benchmark could stifle small business growth by prompting companies to limit themselves to 24 employees."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee's health care legislation will give the Health and Human Services secretary the authority to develop "standards of measuring gender" -- as opposed tousing the traditional "male" and "female" categories -- ina database of allwho apply or participate in government-run or government-supported health care plans."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"More than a million small business owners and about two-thirds of the profits earned byU.S. small businesses would behitbythe income taxincrease onthe "rich"that House Democratic leaders want to enact to pay for the health-care reform plan President Obama wants passed this summer, a taxpayer watchdog says."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"A survey by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) found that 20 percent of its respondents would simply shut down if they were faced with this choice of being forced to offer health insurance. They couldn't afford it. One out of four said they would replace full-time workers with part-time workers in order to avoid having to pay anything."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"According to the National Tax Foundation, the top total tax rate on Americans -- that is, state, local and federal taxes -- will top 50% in 39 states" if the Democrats pass their healthcare legislation.

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"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."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"A quick review of the legislation shows that it calls for two new government agencies, three trust funds, three advisory panels, two task forces, a research center, a medical device registry, an ombudsman and many pilot and demonstration programs."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

Dennis Jay

Anybody can cherrypick a few "facts" to try to make a point. The sources are links to dubious partisans (Heritage Foundation, CNS News, IBD editorials, Spectator). No objective sources.

Fact is:

* 47 million Americans don't have health insurance.
* Every 30 seconds in this country someone files for bankrupcy in the aftermath of a serious health problem.
* Lack of health insurance causes an estimated 18,000 deaths a year.

Health care in the U.S. is the most expensive on earth. The World Health Organization rated the health care in 36 other countries superior to that in the U.S.

The status quo is unacceptable. Those who discredit the Obama plan without coming up with one of their own contribute nothing to solving this problem.

The Democratic plan is far from perfect. But it's a good start.

Jul 21, 2009, 10:19am Permalink
Peter O'Brien

Why is it the government's job to ensure people have health insurance? Did I miss that in the constitution? We already cover the right to life with the open access to Emergency Rooms.

Here is the breakdown of that dubious 47 million
http://www.businessandmedia.org/printer/2007/20070718153509.aspx

If the WHO is an authority on health care than I am the pope.
More on WHO and where your tax dollars go since we fund the UN
http://www.reason.com/news/show/28274.html

Bankruptcy courts are understanding of health care debts and are lenient on those who incur such debts to stay alive.

I have a plan, allow people to buy their own from anywhere in the country, thus promoting competition which drives prices down. Remove the tax benefit for companies to supply health care benefits, thus encouraging people to be responsible for themselves.

If you want health care to be as cheap as it was in the 50's go back to 50's medicine.

Jul 21, 2009, 10:32am Permalink
Jeff Allen

These warning bells about the cost of the Democratic healthcare plan keep coming from the CBO. The CBO(Central Budget Office) is not a partisan, or bi-partisan agency. It is a NON-PARTISAN agency. Their deficit numbers are not about politics, they are facts based on actual costs vs. revenue. If you want to push politics aside, at least take into account that the CBO (the agency tasked with monitoring how our money is spent in Washington without regard to party issues) is telling us that this program WILL increase our deficit.
It is also not true that the right bashes Obamacare without coming up with alternatives. Republicans have offered viable alternatives that never make it out of committee and as such the public never hears about it. Meanwhile, the left continues to say that Republicans stand by and offer no alternatives...patently false. They did the same with the Stimulus package, Obama kept telling the American people that the Republicans wanted to do nothing and let the economy right itself when there were several Republican alternatives offered but never let out of committee. When you control all the power in Washington(House, Senate and White House), you also control what the information voters get access to unless you do a little digging. That's not transparency.

Jul 21, 2009, 11:30am Permalink
John Roach

The Obama plan will force us to pay billions for covering illegal aliens also. Take them out to the 43 million and the CBO once said the number of people truly without health care is about 13 million. (Nobody really knows the true number).

If you are illegal and sick, I’d allow emergency room care and then deportation. Does “illegal” mean anything?

Jul 21, 2009, 11:57am Permalink
Howard B. Owens

Without commenting on the merits of anything, it's worth noting, there is no such thing as objective facts. All facts gain meaning by context, and which context to apply is always a subjective decision by the reporter of the facts.

Whether some of the sources are partisan are not are immaterial, however, to judging the validity of the opinion and facts offered. It's up to the intelligent reader to weigh both the source and the context.

Jul 21, 2009, 1:29pm Permalink
william tapp

Democratic healthcare plan will suck, because any thing the government gets involved will cost us more,and it will flop just like every other government plan. we don't want social medicine, just ask people in the UK or Canada. every thing the goverment get in to is a flop and cost us tons more money.

Jul 21, 2009, 3:08pm Permalink
Peter O'Brien

Heard this on the radio yesterday
If emergency care is the problem lets do this then:
Lets create 1000 free emergency care centers across the nation
Each of them 10,000 sqft
Assume it cost $1000 per sqft to cover building, equipment, and the like
The facilities would then cost. $10 Billion
It needs to be staffed 24/7 by say 10 people per shift.
3 shifts per day so 30 people
And we'll go high and average $200,000 per person per year
Times 5 years
$30,000,000 * 1000 facilities
$30 billion
Total = $40 B for 5 years.
Obama wants to spend 1.5 trillion (read that as $1,500,000,000,000) and doesn't address the emergency room issue at all.

Jul 23, 2009, 10:37am Permalink
Peter O'Brien

Here are ten facts about Health Care in America
1. Americans have better survival rates than Europeans for common cancers.

2. Americans have lower cancer mortality rates than Canadians.

3. Americans have better access to treatment for chronic diseases than patients in other developed countries.

4. Americans have better access to preventive cancer screening than Canadians.

5. Lower-income Americans are in better health than comparable Canadians.

6. Americans spend less time waiting for care than patients in Canada and the United Kingdom.

7. People in countries with more government control of health care are highly dissatisfied and believe reform is needed.

8. Americans are more satisfied with the care they receive than Canadians.

9. Americans have better access to important new technologies such as medical imaging than do patients in Canada or Britain.

10. Americans are responsible for the vast majority of all health care innovations.

Thanks again Neal Boortz

Aug 4, 2009, 9:06am Permalink
Karen Miconi

I think they should reform government healthcare. You know, for the feds, state, countys, and city employees. Like I said before, they have the Cadillac of all insurances, with little or no co-pay. Doesn't sound fair to me. Oh and if you get hurt on the job, just sit back with your catching mitt on, and get tons of money, thrown at you for it. Some of the settlements are extreme. How do I know this?? From speaking to a few of the recipients. Thats where all our money is going. Just needs to be looked at, but probably never will......

Aug 4, 2009, 9:47am Permalink
David Lazik

posting a photo of yourself as an image of our present president in a NAZI uniform says it all about your politics, patriotism & abilty to reason logically in good faith. as for the right wing websites you cite to back up your rantings, i invite the citizens of genesee county to view www.rightringwatch.org and www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck to challenge & debunk one by one the irresponsible partisan false information & downright lies you cite on "the batavian" as you seek to derail comprehensive health care reform in america & sow the seeds of ignorance & hysteria in our communities.

Aug 12, 2009, 10:13am Permalink
Chelsea O'Brien

David,

You are ok with our representatives calling their constituents "mobs"?

You are ok with people telling those against reform to "go home"?

There are serious problems with the health care reform bills, and instead of rebutting the "downright lies" you throw around an insult. While I do not agree with all that Peter has to say, I suggest you get down from your platform and do some investigating for yourself. Sites other than the government's (and some reliable sources) have made claims against these "reform" bills, and there has been no retort from our government other than to continue to call their constituents names and call them stupid.

Aug 12, 2009, 10:22am Permalink

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