As a conservative Republican I can tell you that it is laughable that the leaders of the Democratic Party and their televangelist foot soldiers continue to believe that the "angry mobs" are strictly people that are being directed by the Republican party to show up and disrupt the townhall meetings being conducted throughout the country.
I believe that there are a lot of people like myself that are genuinely concerned about the size and scope of the HealthCare Bill that was drafted and would like some straightforward answers on what is in the bill. The sad part is that based on the brief glimpse into some of the answers being provided by our elected leaders I don't think that most of them I read nor completely understand the bill and their goal is to simply spew the talking points of the anticipated benefits of the bill regardless of the questions being asked of them.
Listed below is a portion of an e-mail that came to me suggesting I look at the bill myself. Obviously this is from a Republican/Conservative perspective so they are pointing out potential problems from that perspective. I invite any and all bloggers to read and compare the concerns to the actual bill and see if what is being questioned is actually true.
Subject: Text from the healthcare disaster........A MUST READ!
Everyone should read some of the details in the healthcare bill Pelosi and Obama
are trying to push through without most congresspersons even having a chance to
study it.
The Link will take you to an option to view the full text (very large) of the
bill if you want it all.
The attachment (Virus-free checked) is what's in this message so you can save
it, print it, send it to your congressperson or forward it.
Please, just read these proposals. It is your life and the lives of our children
that we are talking about here.
Link<http://<a href="http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-3200">
• Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure!
• Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed!
• Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you
get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)
• Page 42: The "Health Choices Commissioner" will decide health benefits for
you. You will have no choice. None.
• Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free
healthcare services.
• Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Healthcard.
• Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all
individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer.
• Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer
health plans (read: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)
• Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to
participate in a Healthcare Exchange.
• Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare
Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans)
• Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services;
translation: illegal aliens
• Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals
for Government-run Health Care plan.
• Page 102: Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled: you have
no choice in the matter
• 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.
• Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages.
• Page 145: An employer MUST auto-enroll employees into the government-run
public plan. No alternatives.
• Page 126: Employers MUST pay healthcare bills for part-time employees AND
their families.
• Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the
public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll
• Page 150: Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not
offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll
• Page 167: Any individual who doesnt' have acceptable healthcare (according to
the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.
• Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans
will pay for them).
• Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will
have access to ALL American financial and personal records.
• Page 203: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax."
Yes, it really says that.
• Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the
poor most affected."
• Page 241: Doctors: no matter what speciality you have, you'll all be paid the
same (thanks, AMA!)
• Page 253: Government sets value of doctors' time, their professional judgment,
etc.
• Page 265: Government mandates and controls productivity for private healthcare
industries.
• Page 268: Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven
wheelchairs.
• Page 272: Cancer patients: welcome to the wonderful world of rationing!
• Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems
preventable re-admissions.
• Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that
results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government.
• Page 317: Doctors: you are now prohibited for owning and investing in
healthcare companies!
• Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand without
government approval.
• Page 321: Hospital expansion hinges on "community" input: in other words, yet
another payoff for ACORN.
• Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e.,
rationing.
• Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans,
HMOs, etc.
• Page 354: Government will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals.
• Page 379: More bureaucracy: Telehealth Advisory Committee (healthcare by
phone).
• Page 425: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens,
assisted suicide, euthanasia?
• Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable
powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of
time.
• Page 425: Goverment provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding
you in death.
• Page 427: Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment;
government dictates how your life ends.
• 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.
• Page 430: Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at
end-of-life.
• Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services: more payoffs for ACORN.
• Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations: more payoffs for ACORN.
• Page 489: Government will cover marriage and family therapy. Government
intervenes in your marriage.
• Page 494: Government will cover mental health services: defining, creating and
rationing those services
If these questions or concerns cannot be effectively answered by the folks in Congress why would I want them to consider voting on the bill?