printThis might seem obvious to my readers, still, some of the biggest fallacies peddled by Obama in the course of this health care “debate” require repetition. Michael D. Tanner of the Cato Institute does the dues:
“If you like your current health-care plan, you can keep it.” Even White House spokesmen have said that Obama’s oft-repeated pledge that you can keep your current insurance isn’t meant to be taken literally. The reality is that millions of Americans — perhaps most Americans — will be forced to change insurance plans.
First, the president supports an individual mandate — a requirement that every American buy health insurance. And not just any insurance but insurance that includes all the benefits government thinks you should have. That insurance could be more expensive or include benefits that people don’t want or are morally opposed to, such as abortion services.
[W]hen it comes to claims about the wondrous new world of government-run health care, a bit of skepticism might be in order.
And that doesn’t just affect those without insurance today. The bills now before Congress say that while you won’t be immediately forced to switch from your current insurance to a government-specified plan, you’ll have to switch to satisfy the government’s requirements if you lose your current insurance or want to change plans.
Plus, the president supports the creation of a government insurance program that would compete with private insurance. But because this ultimately would be subsidized by American taxpayers, the government plan could keep its premiums artificially low or offer extra benefit [A point made in Obama’s Politburo Of Proctologists.]
In the end, millions of Americans would be forced out of the insurance they have today and into the government plan. Businesses, in particular, would have every incentive to dump their workers into the public plan. The actuarial firm the Lewin Group estimates that as many as 118.5 million people, roughly two-thirds of those with insurance today, would be shifted from private to public coverage.
“You will pay less.” The Congressional Budget Office has made it clear that the reform plans now being debated will increase overall health-care costs, yet President Obama on Friday repeatedly said that his reform would reduce costs and save Americans money.
But no matter how many times he says it, the truth is you will pay more — much more — both in higher taxes and in higher premiums.
The final health-care bill is expected to cost more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years. That means much higher taxes, and not just for the wealthy.
If one totals up all the new taxes in the House Democratic health-reform bill — the income surtax, the penalties on businesses and individuals that fail to buy into the government health plan, as well as other fees and taxes — the cost to US taxpayers will top $800 billion. New York City will face marginal tax rates as high as 57 percent.
At a time of rising unemployment and economic stagnation, that is like throwing an anchor to a drowning man.
In addition, the new insurance regulations expected to be part of the final bill are likely to drive up insurance premiums. And, if the new government-run plan under-reimburses doctors and hospitals — as Medicare and Medicaid do — providers would be forced to recoup that lost income by shifting their costs to private insurance, driving up premiums. A study by the Council for Affordable Health Insurance estimates that the president’s proposals could increase premiums by 75 to 95 percent.
“Quality will improve.” Anyone who thinks a government takeover of the health-care system will improve quality of care has only to look at the health-care programs the government already runs: The Veterans Administration is overwhelmed with problems, Medicaid is notorious for providing poor quality at a high cost — and Medicare has huge gaps in coverage.
Worse, however, on Friday, Obama endorsed the creation of a government board with the power to dictate how your doctor practices medicine and all but endorsed the rationing prevalent in nationalized health-care systems around the world.
In short, when it comes to claims about the wondrous new world of government-run health care, a bit of skepticism might be in order.”
[SNIP]
Change that last bit to a lot of skepticism.
The ObamaCare Plan is the spike in the coffin for America’s value system, not just the demise of health care. If the President and his Run-Everything ‘bots in the administration are able to write another multi-thousand page bill that no one reads before voting, we’re dead.
I have no doubt there will be provisions in it that will set the stage for non-Healthcare expansion of government into the rest of our lives. We’ll have nothing, literally, that is private anymore.
[In this respect, Obama is completing the work of his predecessor, as I’ve documented for close to a decade.]
A few observations on Obama’s health care press conference of last night:
Obama: “So I’ve got a middle-aged couple that will write me, and they say: Our daughter just found she’s got leukemia, and if I don’t do something soon, we just either are going to go bankrupt or we’re not going to be able to provide our daughter with the care that she needs. And in a country like ours, that’s not right. So that’s part of my rush.”
As I understand it, health care legislation is scheduled to be implemented in 2013. Oops!
Obama: “It will keep government out of health care decisions, giving you the option to keep your insurance if you’re happy with it.”
The President assumes the American health insurance system is broken. Yet, Americans will likely support Obama’s reforms ONLY if they are allowed to keep their current health insurance. Oops!
Obama: “It’s about every small business that has been forced to lay off employees or cut back on their coverage, because it became too expensive. It’s about the fact that the biggest driving force behind our federal deficit is the skyrocketing cost of Medicare and Medicaid.”
He concedes American businesses have to lay off employees and cut back on their coverage because of government intervention in the health care marketplace. His solution? More government intervention. Oops!
Obama: “So let me be clear. If we do not control these costs, we will not be able to control our deficit. If we do not reform health care, your premiums and out-of-pocket costs will continue to skyrocket.”
Isn’t it obvious that health care costs “skyrocket” because these costs are not paid directly by patients but indirectly by third parties? Obama’s solution? A system which excludes medical savings accounts and mandates a system of third party payers. Oops!
Obama: “Now, if you don’t have health insurance, or you’re a small business looking to cover your employees, you’ll be able to choose a quality affordable health plan through a health insurance exchange, in a marketplace that promotes choice and competition.”
Obama’s solution is a “marketplace that promotes choice and competition,” yet he proposes a phony, government-controlled “exchange” rather than the undisputed poster-child of choice and competition: the unregulated free market. Oops!
Oh to be blessed by a President with an IQ higher than God’s.
I have a feeling that President O cannot distinguish between a balance sheet and an income statement. Yet this has not stopped him from completely re-making the economy from top to bottom.
Be afraid.
Be very afraid.
Medical Savings Accounts are also a bad idea although perhaps LESS bad. The Government has no legal or moral authority to tell people how to spend or save their money.
I think back to a Republican primary race in Massachusetts where the League of Women Voters had a questionnaire of the candidates – and one of the questions was – “What SORT of National Health Care Policy do you favor” and his reply was “The government should not be in the health care business”. He got my vote.