National - by Surekha Ratnatunga on Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:45 - 6 Comments - 756 views
Vexing conservatives, pacifying liberals and clearly telling moderates to strap on a pair, the proposed Senate health care bill revealed last night is a favorably nuanced version of the House bill passed earlier this month to “save lives, save money and protect medicare,” in the words of majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV).
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the plan will cover 94% of Americans and cost $849 billion, which will reportedly reduce the number of uninsured by 31 million and the budget deficit by $127 billion in the first 10 years. The bill also allows States to pass legislation to opt out of the public option.
The proposed Senate bill also relaxes the stringent limitations imposed on abortion coverage by the Stupak Amendment. Federal funding for abortions remains forbidden, but women on the public option could conceivably receive insurance for abortions as long as the Secretary of Health and Human Services verifies that Federal money doesn’t contribute to the particular payment plan for it.
Also included in the bill is an amusing 5% tax on cosmetic surgery–immediately coined “botax”–will probably get Harry Reid in trouble in his home state of Nevada. The tax does not apply to “any cosmetic surgery to correct a congenital deformity or any disfigurement resulting from accident, injury or disease,” so the provision could end up as the government just taxing itself.
A tax on “Cadillac Health Plans” also helps pay for health reform. NPR describes the measure as, “If the insurance you get on the job has premiums of $8,500 or more for individual coverage or $23,000 for the family, then Reid wants to slap a 40 percent excise tax on the plans.” I’m still confused as to what that really means, but this could be enlightening.
The 60 Senator-strong Democratic caucus requires 60 Senate votes to allow the bill to reach the floor for debate. No brainer, right? Not really when you have Judas Joe Lieberman among your ranks threatening to filibuster reform. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), who is far from convinced about health care reform himself, was spot-on when he said, “If you don’t like the bill, then why would you block your own opportunity to amend it?”
6 Comments
AntonioSosa
@Antonio – Please note that using capital letters doesn’t substitute for a compelling argument and putting phrases in quotation marks does not automatically discredit them.
June Wilkins
How selfish does one have to be to want to deny health care to everyone in this country? I am so sick and tired of listening to the republicans moan and groan and vote “NO” on everything that our president suggests. Our country needs more than ever to be united and standing behind and praying for our president who is doing everything he can to fix what was done prior to his coming on the scene. Health care is something that only the very rich will soon be able to afford if the prices continue to skyrocket as they have been. It time for a reality check; some of the people who need this care the most are the ones voting against it. How misinformed do you have to be to want to vote against something that should help especially the poor in our country? Do people not realize how much money is being spent daily by the pharmaceuticals and the insurance companies to make sure they “buy” as many of our congress members as they possibly can so that the health care reform will be defeated?
Bob Jones
I agree with Surekha and June. Antonio, please look up information about the bill for yourself and stop getting your catch phrases and opinions from FOX News. This bill is necessary and will have a very positive affect on this country. Your accusations are baseless and they make you sound foolish. If you remember, the Republicans didn’t all support Medicare 40 years ago either and now they are the very ones crowing about how this bill will affect it.
Anthony Adams.
June,
Conservatives do not want to deny healthcare to anyone. The poor already have Medicaid, the elderly already have Medicare, and the kids already have SCHIP. Who is dying in this country for lack of healthcare? This bill will only ensure a few million more people who are currently uninsured – most of whom are young healthy adults who actually choose not to be insured. Now we are going to tax them if they choose to remain uninsured – which is unconstitutional.
Further, the bill will bankrupt this country. I absolutely agree that we need healthcare reform, but not the reform that this bill provides. The only way we could possibly pay for it is if we are taxed at a rate of 75-85%, like the Europeans, who receive rationed socialized healthcare (see for example how the UK’s NHS takes its orders from the NICE – they won’t pay for cancer drugs that can extend your life).
Lastly, I work in the Pharma industry, and believe it or not, the industry actually stands to gain from the passage of a bill that insures everyone (it will mean more customers for us), which is why, as an insustry, we have pledged $80B over the next 10 years (about 10% of the cost of the bill) in the form of price cuts. But if you want to make the pharma industry suffer, then don’t wonder why our president will come up short on his promise to have us come up with a cure for cancer in our lifetimes. No revenue equals no new discoveries equals no new cures.
@Anthony: I bet when you asked “who is dying from lack health care?” you didn’t think there was an actual answer to that, did you?
Turns out, though, there have been studies. And the answer is, a lot.
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The Senate bill seems to be “superior” to the house bill in that includes more lies, more manipulation and more measures to harm Americans.
Obama and his accomplices are going to “save us money” and “reduce the federal deficit” by forcing us to swallow the Obamacare SCAM just like they are “creating jobs” by destroying businesses and jobs and increasing unemployment.
As part of the Obamacare SCAM, the Senate bill is meant to manipulate us into believing it will help us. All thinking Americans realize, however, that Obamacare has NOTHING to do with helping us or improving anything. It is a criminal scam, a power grab that will destroy our health care, our economy, our freedoms and our country.