Lists are being circulated of line-by-line analysis of the provisions of the health care bill. Some of the items on the circulating lists are true, some distorted, some false.
Below is a scrubbed list of true statements about the bill.
We should not allow exaggerations to get in the way of widespread understanding of what this bill is. If this law is passed it will irreversibly change the health care system. The page references below may change as the bill goes through changes.
Two additional points:
One is that this is not an area where compromise is a good idea. The worst of the ideas (like the "public option"), cannot be compromised. The bill needs a careful discussion held about the reforms of the health care system that are actually needed. The health care system needs reforms. It does not need to be "reformed" in one fell swoop, taken over by the government, and the American people should not be told that there is a super-rush and there is no time to read it thoughtfully and fully. Health care reform needs to be smart and necessary and thoughtful, not blunt, and forced through.
Second is that it is no excuse for Democrats to say that we should not worry about the details because bills get rewritten before passage.
â?¢ Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure
â?¢ Page 30: A federal government health care advisory committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)
â?¢ Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer, they say in order to allow automated reconciliation with the related health care payment and remittance.
â?¢ Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (read: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)
â?¢ Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange.
â?¢ Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No "judicial review" is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed.
â?¢ Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages for participating plans .
â?¢ Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll
â?¢ Page 167: Any individual who doesn’t have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.
â?¢ Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them).
â?¢ Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records.
â?¢ Page 203: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax." Yes, it really says that.
â?¢ Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the poor most affected.
â?¢ Page 253: Government sets value of doctors' time, their professional judgment, etc.
â?¢ Page 272: a review of cancer hospital payments will be undertaken and costs adjusted accordingly .
â?¢ Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions.
â?¢ Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government.
â?¢ Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand without government approval.
â?¢ Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e., rationing.
â?¢ Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc.
â?¢ Page 425: care provider must consult with government body regarding advanced care . More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?
â?¢ Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory.
â?¢ Page 425: Government provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death.
â?¢ Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient's health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT.
â?¢ Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services:
â?¢ Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations: more payoffs for ACORN?
