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Penalty Play

July 1, 2012 By Joan of Snark

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Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.

A penalty that’s really a tax.   So decreed the Supreme Court about Obaminablecare this past Thursday.  But President Walking Eagle still decrees the tax is just a penalty.

Could have fooled me.

If it’s not a tax, O Self-Proclaimed Smartest President Ever, then why is the IRS ramping up its ranks by some 16,000 agents and preparing to go through your personal life far beyond just your income?  Why does it now matter to them how many people live in your house?  If someone living in your house for whom you have no legal responsibility (for example, a roommate), refuses to get a health insurance policy, why does this have the potential to impact YOUR taxes?  While they might not be willing to say so now, you can bet dollars to a cop’s donuts that the day will come when the IRS will seize YOUR assets in order to pay for someone else’s choice to not pay for what some government bureaucrat mandates as “adequate” health insurance coverage.  Not to mention the ugliness of the whole snitch aspect of enforcement.

It’s incomprehensible to regular folks just how Justice Roberts managed to squeak out justification of the mandate as a tax when the progressive liberal Democrats insisted from Day One it was merely a “penalty” and continued to argue it as such during the hearing.  Even if they had argued it as a tax, it falls into neither category by which Congress can levy a tax.  Mark Levin put it this way:

“What kind of taxes are permitted under our federal constitution? Well, there’s a tax that is called a direct tax or capitation tax…it is a tax on the individual. The Constitution requires direct or capitation taxes (a head tax if you will) to be apportioned among the states…

Then under the Constitution you can have an excise tax. But excise taxes require some sort of action or activity on the part of the individual. So surely this tax can’t be (an excise tax).

What about an income tax under the Sixteenth Amendment?

Even John Roberts doesn’t attempt to justify the (Obamacare) penalty as an income tax.”

Some are arguing that this can’t go forward because tax legislation must originate in the House.  But they are forgetting that the Senate essentially gutted a House bill to use as the container in which to create their version of Obaminablecare.  So although one might well and should argue this as both an immoral and unethical tack (often) done deliberately to deceive, this wicked legislation did “originate” in the House.

But passed under reconciliation, it may also be repealed (cue liberal progressive squeals of “unfairness”).

This is yet another horrible example that our government is simply and utterly out of control.  When 60% of Americans do not want Obaminablecare, yet the government is forcing it upon us through outright lies and backroom deals, we are living under the same situation that created the War of Independence:  taxation without representation.  We have one election left before we become simply Amerikka the USSA.  If we use it wisely, we can begin to drain that swamp in D.C. and, like other unconstitutional Supreme Court decisions (Dred Scott, anyone?) we can not only repeal Obaminablecare in its draconian socialist entirety, we can seat justices who rule based on the Constitution, not what they think others might think of them. 

 

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Filed Under: Hypocritical Politicians Tagged With: involuntary servitude, middle-class tax hike, obama hypocrisy, Obama tax, Obamacare, Supreme Court

Why They Didn’t Want It Read

June 24, 2012 By Joan of Snark

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Democracy “is an obstacle to the suppression of freedom which the direction of economic activity requires.”
(Friedrich Hayek)

 

As Americans await the Supreme Court’s decision on the legality of Obamacare, dissection of the monstrous behemoth and analysis of its dangers continues.  The most chilling and therefore most compelling comes from the Cato Institute, which takes a close look at the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).

This board is the reason the Democrats wanted the legislation passed before anyone read and digested its contents.  The IPAB is deliberately designed to shatter the Constitutional separation of powers, its checks and balances; effectively turning the United States of America into the USSA of Amerikka.

  • The IPAB will consist of 15 voting members, each earning upward of $165,000 per year, appointed by the president without any bipartisan requirements and confirmed by the Senate (subject to “recess appointments”).
  • IPAB proposals automatically become law.
  • There is no requirement for ANY input from anyone.
  • They have the power to regulate beyond just Medicare.  Including the laying of taxes as it alone sees fit.
  • Proposals may only be blocked by the House, Senate and president all agreeing upon a substitute.  There is no allowance for congressional action or oversight, no ability for a presidential veto, no requirement for any sort of administrative or judicial review.
  • Citizens may not challenge any proposal in court.
  • The only opportunity to get rid of the IPAB is one, single 7-month window in 2017 and then by a 3/5 majority in both chambers.  Miss that and nothing it ever does may ever be altered by Congress.
  • Even if Congress does manage to get rid of the IPAB during its designed, tiny window of opportunity, it still won’t go away for six more months.

 Some excerpts:

When the unelected government officials on this board submit a legislative proposal to Congress, it automatically becomes law: PPACA requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to implement it.  Blocking an IPAB “proposal” requires at a minimum that the House and the Senate and the president agree on a substitute.  The Board’s edicts therefore can become law without congressional action, congressional approval, meaningful congressional oversight, or being subject to a presidential veto. Citizens will have no power to challenge IPAB’s edicts in court. 

Worse, PPACA forbids Congress from repealing IPAB outside of a seven-month window in the year 2017, and even then requires a threefifths majority in both chambers. A heretofore unreported feature of PPACA dictates that if Congress misses that repeal window, PPACA prohibits Congress from ever altering an IPAB “proposal.”  By restricting lawmaking powers of future Congresses, PPACA thus attempts to amend the Constitution by statute.

 The IPAB “…is anticonstitutional.  Congress’s legislative powers do not include the power to alter the constitutional procedure required for the passage of laws.  Nor does it include the power to entrench legislation by preventing it from being altered by future Congresses.”

In some cases, PPACA vests IPAB’s powers in just one individual. If there are 14 vacancies on the board, the Act allows the
sole appointed member to constitute a quorum, conduct official business, and issue “proposals.”  The greater danger, then, is not that a president might pack the board with multiple party loyalists, but that he might appoint only one. Or none:  if the president fails to appoint any board members (or the Senate fails to confirm the president’s appointments, or a majority of the board cannot agree a proposal) the Act authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to exercise the board’s powers unilaterally.  These powers include the ability to appropriate funds to her own department to administer her own directives.

The Board could propose, for instance, to require states to implement federal laws or to enact new state laws in order to receive federal funding. The Board need only demonstrate that its proposals and recommendations relate to Medicare in some undefined way.

There is [NO enforcement mechanism behind PPACA’s prohibition on taxes]. The Act exempts the Secretary’s implementation of IPAB proposals from administrative and judicial review, so no one could sue to block it. The president could not shelve it, because IPAB submits its proposals directly to Congress. If the Secretary submits a proposal in IPAB’s stead, PPACA requires the president to submit the proposal directly to Congress. The Act allows Congress and the president to block that tax increase by offering a substitute or by mustering a three-fifths majority in the Senate but that merely shows that IPAB’s tax increases and spending cuts are on an equal footing.  If Congress and the president fail to reject IPAB’s tax increase or to enact on a substitute, the Act requires the Secretary to implement it, with the help of funds that IPAB may itself appropriate.

The Act states that Congress may only repeal IPAB if it follows these precise steps:
1. Wait until the year 2017.
2. Introduce a specifically worded “Joint Resolution” in the House and Senate between January 1 and February 1.
3. Pass that resolution with a three-fifths vote of all members of each chamber by August 15.

The president must then sign that joint resolution.

Whereas Congress can repeal any other federal statute at any time with just a majority vote in each chamber and the president’s
signature, under PPACA Congress has only about 15 business days in the year 2017 to propose this joint resolution of repeal.  Otherwise, the Act forever precludes repeal.  Congress must then pass that resolution with a three-fifths supermajority by August 15, 2017, or the Act forever precludes repeal.  Even if a repeal resolution should clear these hurdles, IPAB would retain its power to legislate through January 15, 2018.  If Congress fails to follow these precise steps, then PPACA states the American people’s elected representatives may never repeal IPAB, ever.

 I don’t know anyone who would put their health care choices and decisions into the hands of only one person, let alone only one bureaucrat.  Yet that is what the Democrats cooked up with the IPAB and forced through their majority-controlled Congress.  And if it can happen, rest assured it will happen.  This group of people who believe it is perfectly all right to kill a newborn baby by calling it some variation of an “abortion” yet will defend the right to live of a convicted serial killer have serious mental health problems.  We simply cannot stand by and continue to let the insane run the asylum.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) must be repealed in its entirety.

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Filed Under: Truth In Reporting, Uncategorized Tagged With: death panels, health care, HHS, IPAB, Obamacare, PPACA

What Is The Value Of A Unit Over 70?

November 25, 2011 By Joan of Snark

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Today is the day Americans give thanks; thanks for the bounty of blessings made possible by freedom.  While out driving this evening I was listening to the Mark Levin show and sit here now giving thanks that in just less than one year we still have one more chance to get rid of the blight of progressive liberalism that threatens to destroy this beloved country.

One of Mark’s callers tonight was a brain surgeon.  A brain surgeon who recently attended a seminar in Washington, D.C.; a gathering of highly-trained medical colleagues who were apparently given a preview of coming Obamacare attractions by the Department of Health & Human Services.

What this doctor calmly laid out was chilling.  Should you or a loved one find yourself experiencing a stroke or other such serious, life-threatening neurological event and are rushed to the emergency room, unless you are less than 70 years old you can forget about receiving anything more than “comfort care” unless the “ethics panel” from whom your neurosurgeon must request permission to do anything else decides that your value as a “unit” is worth the expense.

Even if it’s 2 a.m.

Yes, Virginia; Sarah Palin was right.  “Death panels” are actively being developed even as you read these words; though from the sound of it we, the people, conveniently aren’t supposed to hear about it until after the election.

You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to know this is wrong.

Dead wrong.

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Filed Under: * Featured Posts *, Truth In Reporting Tagged With: death panels, HHS, Mark Levin, Obamacare

ObamaCare = Auto Insurance?

December 15, 2010 By Joan of Snark

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Filed Under: Truth In Reporting Tagged With: Geico, health insurance reform, Obamacare

For Thee But Not For Me

December 8, 2010 By Joan of Snark

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From the HHS website, here’s the latest list of exemptions from Obamacare’s annual limits requirements.  More paybacks to unions, of course, and the kind of information that won’t make the evening news.

Approved Applications for Waiver of the Annual Limits Requirements of the PHS Act Section 2711 as of December 3, 2010

*All Applicants Listed have had 1 or more plans/policies approved

  Applicant Application
Received
Plan
Effective
Date
Number
of
Enrollees
Application
Completed by
Applicant
Waiver
Approved
1 Advantage Benefits Company, LLC 11/12/2010 12/1/2010 57 11/12/2010 11/23/2010
2 Altisource Portfolio Solutions 10/21/2010 1/1/2011 200 11/15/2010 11/23/2010
3 American Heritage Life Insurance Company 10/15/2010 12/1/10-9/1/11 69,945 11/18/2010 11/23/2010
4 Americare Properties, Inc. 11/12/2010 1/1/2011 547 11/8/2010 11/23/2010
5 AMN Healthcare 10/12/2010 1/1/2011 3,440 11/8/2010 11/23/2010
6 APWU Health Plan Conversion Plan 10/20/2010 1/1/2011 518 11/15/2010 11/23/2010
7 ATCO Rubber Products, Inc 10/21/2010 1/1/2011 185 11/12/2010 11/23/2010
8 Baylor County Hospital District 10/20/2010 10/20/2010 208 11/12/1010 11/23/2010
9 Bricklayers Local 1 of MD, VA and DC 11/6/2010 1/1/2011 1,985 11/17/2010 11/23/2010
10 Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Ogdensburg 10/28/2010 1/1/2011 30 11/17/2010 11/23/2010
11 First Acceptance Corporation 11/9/2010 7/1/2011 864 11/18/2010 11/23/2010
12 Fruhauf Uniform Direct Labor 10/18/2010 1/1/2011 159 11/12/2010 11/23/2010
13 Grower’s Transport LLC 10/26/2010 12/1/2010 25 11/15/2010 11/23/2010
14 Hoosier Stamping and Manufacturing Corp. 10/20/2010 1/1/2011 14 10/20/2010 11/23/2010
15 Ingomar Packing Company, LLC 11/10/2010 1/1/2011 150 11/19/2010 11/23/2010
16 International Brotherhood of Trade Unions Health and Welfare Fund – Local 713 10/28/2010 1/1/2011 861 11/15/2010 11/23/2010
17 Local 1102 Amalgamated Welfare Fund 10/29/2010 1/1/2011 1,384 10/29/2010 11/23/2010
18 Local 1102 Health & Benefit Fund 10/29/2010 1/1/2011 4,642 10/29/2010 11/23/2010
19 Local 1102 Welfare Fund– Lerner Employees 10/29/2010 1/1/2011 245 10/29/2010 11/23/2010
20 Local 338 Affiliated Benefit Funds 11/10/2010 1/1/2011 18,209 11/19/2010 11/23/2010
21 Mission Linen Supply 11/5/2010 1/1/2011 541 11/17/2010 11/23/2010
22 NFI Industries 10/26/2010 1/1/2011 945 11/18/2010 11/23/2010
23 Operating Engineers Local 835 Health and Welfare Fund 10/20/2010 1/1/2011 576 11/16/2010 11/23/2010
24 Opportunity Resources, Inc. Health and Welfare Plan 11/2/2010 12/1/2010 27 11/2/2010 11/23/2010
25 Orscheln Industries 10/19/2010 1/1/2011 547 11/8/2010 11/23/2010
26 Pearson Candy Company 10/27/2010 1/1/2011 204 11/12/2010 11/23/2010
27 Retail, Wholesale & Dept. Store Union Local 1034 Welfare Fund 10/20/2010 1/1/2011 483 11/16/2010 11/23/2010
28 Sensient Technologies Corp. 10/28/2010 1/1/2011 94 11/17/2010 11/23/2010
29 Service Employees International Union Local 1 Cleveland Welfare Fund 10/20/2010 1/1/2011 520 11/15/2010 11/23/2010
30 SFN Group 11/9/2010 5/1/2011 1,420 11/9/2010 11/23/2010
31 Southern CA Pipe Trades
Trust Fund
10/12/2010 1/1/2011 12,700 11/2/2010 11/23/2010
32 Sun Healthcare Group, Inc. 10/21/2010 1/1/2011 2,200 11/15/2010 11/23/2010
33 Teamsters Local 522 Welfare Fund Roofers Division 11/12/2010 1/1/2011 270 11/12/2010 11/23/2010
34 Telesis Management
Corporation
10/28/2010 1/1/2011 148 11/16/2010 11/23/2010
35 Texas Carpenters and Millwrights Health and Welfare Fund 10/28/2010 1/1/2011 4729 10/28/2010 11/23/2010
36 The Mentor Network 10/21/2010 1/1/2011 6,843 11/16/2010 11/23/2010
37 The Wada
Farms, Inc.
11/10/2010 1/1/2011 130 11/19/2010 11/23/2010
38 The Wilks Group, Inc. dba Ashley Furniture Homestore 11/12/2010 12/1/2010 8 11/8/2010 11/23/2010
39 Trans-System, Inc. 10/19/2010 12/1/2010 232 11/8/2010 11/23/2010
40 United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1445 New Hampshire 10/27/2010 1/1/2011 148 11/9/2010 11/23/2010
41 Varsity Contractors, Inc. 11/8/2010 1/1/2011 198 11/8/2010 11/23/2010
42 Waffle House 10/20/2010 6/1/2011 3,947 11/12/2010 11/23/2010
43 Western
Express, Inc.
11/5/2010 1/1/2011 1,287 11/5/2010 11/23/2010
44 Amalgamated National Health Fund 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 24,739 11/9/2010 11/15/2010
45 Cocopah Nurseries, Inc. 10/26/2010 1/1/2011 75 11/15/2010 11/15/2010
46 FirstCarolinaCare Insurance Company on behalf of Longworth Industries 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 36 10/8/2010 11/15/2010
47 Fresh Express 10/18/2010 1/1/2011 2,033 11/7/2010 11/15/2010
48 Greencroft Communities 9/28/2010 1/1/2011 150 11/9/2010 11/15/2010
49 Independent Group Home Living Program, Inc. 10/26/2010 1/1/2011 39 11/9/2010 11/15/2010
50 Meijer Health Benefits Plan/Primary Care Option 10/25/2010 1/1/2011 7,436 10/25/2010 11/15/2010
51 Moore’s Retread & Tire of the Ark-La-Tex, Inc. 10/20/2010 11/1/2010 66 11/5/2010 11/15/2010
52 Payroll Solutions 9/27/2010 1/1/2011 382 11/9/2010 11/15/2010
53 Plumbers and Pipefitters Local No. 630 Welfare Fund 10/18/2010 1/1/2011 1,166 11/8/2010 11/15/2010
54 Seco Packing 10/21/2010 1/1/2011 104 10/21/2010 11/15/2010
55 Transcorr 10/15/2010 1/1/2011 578 11/8/2010 11/15/2010
56 United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1000 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 3,855 11/12/2010 11/15/2010
57 Western Growers Assurance Trust 9/30/2010 7/1/2011 18,858 11/8/2010 11/15/2010
58 1199SEIU Greater New York Benefit Fund 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 4,544 10/8/2010 11/5/2010
59 A. Duda & Sons, Inc. 10/14/2010 1/1/2011 62 11/4/2010 11/5/2010
60 Adecco Group, Inc. 10/12/2010 1/1/2011 5,760 11/2/2010 11/5/2010
61 Biomedic Corporation 10/12/2010 12/1/2010 202 11/2/2010 11/5/2010
62 Buffets, Inc. 10/14/2010 1/1/2011 2,483 11/4/2010 11/5/2010
63 Carington Health System 10/18/2010 1/1/2011 3,327 11/4/2010 11/5/2010
64 Cleveland Bakers Teamsters 9/27/2010 1/1/2011 1,000 10/29/2010 11/5/2010
65 Club Chef LLC 9/30/2010 1/1/2011 282 10/26/2010 11/5/2010
66 Columbia Sussex Mgmt, LLC 10/7/2010 1/1/2011 629 11/1/2010 11/5/2010
67 CRST International Inc. 10/19/2010 1/1/2011 1,600 11/4/2010 11/5/2010
68 Darr Equipment, Co. 10/5/2010 1/1/2011 105 10/26/2010 11/5/2010
69 DC Cement Masons Welfare Fund 10/22/2010 11/1/2010 225 11/3/2010 11/5/2010
70 Deaconess Long Term Care 10/14/2010 1/1/2011 194 11/3/2010 11/5/2010
71 Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 37 11/2/2010 11/5/2010
72 ECOM Atlantic, Inc. 10/1/2010 1/1/2011 81 10/1/2010 11/5/2010
73 FW Walton, Inc. 10/15/2010 12/1/2010 38 11/2/2010 11/5/2010
74 G4S Secure Solutions 10/11/2010 11/1/2010 7602 11/3/2010 11/5/2010
75 GC Services, L.P. & First Community Bancshares, Inc. 10/15/2010 1/1/2011 1936 10/15/2010 11/5/2010
76 Guardsmark, LLC 10/4/2010 2/1/2011 8,086 10/29/2010 11/5/2010
77 Indiana Teamsters Health Benefits Fund 9/29/2010 1/1/2010 500 11/1/2010 11/5/2010
78 Knox County Association for Retarded Citizens 10/6/2010 1/1/2011 96 10/25/2010 11/5/2010
79 Laundry and Dry Cleaning Workers Local No. 52 10/6/2010 No contractual Policies in effect for medical benefits 1,547 10/21/2010 11/5/2010
80 Mars Super Markets, Inc. 10/8/2010 7/1/2011 174 10/29/2010 11/5/2010
81 MPS Group, Inc. 10/12/2010 1/1/2011 2,253 11/2/2010 11/5/2010
82 Nexion Health 10/21/2010 11/1/2011 1449 11/3/2010 11/5/2010
83 Noodles & Company 10/1/2010 1/1/2011 159 10/29/2010 11/5/2010
84 Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy 10/15/2010 1/1/2011 50 11/4/2010 11/5/2010
85 Quality Integrated Services, Inc. 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 354 11/3/2010 11/5/2010
86 RE Rabalais Constructors, LTD 10/13/2010 12/1/2010 70 11/1/2010 11/5/2010
87 RREMC LLC 10/12/2010 1/1/2011 62 11/4/2010 11/5/2010
88 Security Forces Inc. 10/12/2010 1/1/2010 225 11/1/2010 11/5/2010
89 Shirkey Nursing 9/30/2010 1/1/2011 205 10/26/2010 11/5/2010
90 Social Service Employees Union Local 371 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 34,000 10/29/2010 11/5/2010
91 Spindle, Cooling, & Warehouse 10/5/2010 11/1/2010 89 10/27/2010 11/5/2010
92 Strauss Discount Auto 10/14/2010 1/1/2011 401 11/4/2010 11/5/2010
93 Sunburst Hospitality 9/30/2010 1/1/2010 197 11/5/2010 11/5/2010
94 Susser Holding Corp 10/6/2010 1/1/2011 4,245 10/6/2010 11/5/2010
95 Telescope Casual Furniture 9/27/2010 10/1/2010 32 11/1/2010 11/5/2010
96 Teletech Holdings, Inc. 10/15/2010 1/1/2011 1,083 11/4/2010 11/5/2010
97 The Brinkman Corporation 9/29/2010 1/1/2011 163 9/29/2010 11/5/2010
98 The LDF Companies 10/7/2010 1/1/2011 210 10/30/210 11/5/2010
99 United Food and Commercial Workers Union (Mount Laurel, NJ) 10/21/2010 11/1/2010 4100 10/25/2010 11/5/2010
100 United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1459 10/14/2010 1/1/2011 1,400 10/14/2010 11/5/2010
101 Universal Orlando 10/15/2010 4/1/2011 668 11/3/2010 11/5/2010
102 Valley Services, Inc. 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 927 10/29/2010 11/5/2010
103 United Food and Commercial Workers and Participating Employers Interstate Health and Welfare Fund 10/15/2010 5/1/2011 9,780 10/28/2010 11/4/2010
104 Protocol Marketing Group 10/4/2010 1/1/2011 454 10/25/2010 11/1/2010
105 Sasnak 9/29/2010 1/1/2011 813 9/29/2010 11/1/2010
106 Star Tek 10/1/2010 1/1/2011 1,423 10/26/2010 11/1/2010
107 Adventist Care Centers 10/1/2010 1/1/2011 725 10/26/2010 10/29/2010
108 B.E.S.T of NY 10/7/2010 1/1/2011 1,200 10/27/2010 10/29/2010
109 Boskovich Farms, Inc 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 165 10/28/2010 10/29/2010
110 Café Enterprises, Inc. 10/7/2010 2/1/2011 306 10/7/2010 10/29/2010
111 Capital District Physicians 9/22/2010 Varies 23,314 10/20/2010 10/29/2010
112 FleetPride, Inc. 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 263 10/8/2010 10/29/2010
113 Gallegos Corp 9/29/2010 1/1/2011 86 10/28/2010 10/29/2010
114 Hensley Industries, Inc. 10/5/2010 1/1/2011 357 10/28/2010 10/29/2010
115 Jeffords Steel and Engineering 10/4/2010 1/1/2011 112 10/28/2010 10/29/2010
116 Laborers’ International Union of North America Local Union No. 616 Health and Welfare Plan 10/19/2010 11/1/2010 188 10/19/2010 10/29/2010
117 O.K. Industries 10/4/2010 1/1/2011 1,238 10/28/2010 10/29/2010
118 Service Employees Benefit Fund 10/12/2010 11/1/2010 1,297 10/29/2010 10/29/2010
119 Sun Pacific Farming Coop 10/6/2010 12/1/2010 1,109 10/6/2010 10/29/2010
120 SunWorld International, LLC 10/5/2010 1/1/2011 686 10/25/2010 10/29/2010
121 UFCW Allied Trade Health & Welfare Trust 10/5/2010 1-Dec 68 10/25/2010 10/29/2010
122 United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1995 10/12/2010 11/1/2010 2,779 10/27/2010 10/29/2010
123 HCR Manor Care 10/5/2010 1/1/2011 2,666 10/26/2010 10/28/2010
124 IBEW No.915 9/28/2010 1/1/2011 930 10/15/2010 10/28/2010
125 Integra BMS for Culp, Inc. 10/4/2010 1/1/2011 34 10/25/2010 10/28/2010
126 New England Health Care 9/27/2010 1/1/2011 7,454 10/26/2010 10/28/2010
127 Wiliamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company 10/5/2010 1/1/2011 100 10/5/2010 10/28/2010
128 Aegis Insurance 10/6/2010 11/1/2010 67 10/25/2010 10/26/2010
129 Alliance One Tobacco 9/30/2010 1/1/2011 138 10/21/2010 10/26/2010
130 Asbestos Workers Local 53 Welfare Fund 9/29/2010 1/1/2011 2 10/21/2010 10/26/2010
131 Assurant Health (2nd Application) 9/29/2010 1/1/2011 19,024 10/21/2010 10/26/2010
132 Captain Elliot’s Party Boats 10/12/2010 11/1/2010 10 10/25/2010 10/26/2010
133 Carlson Restaurants 9/22/2010 1/1/2011 3,381 10/21/2010 10/26/2010
134 CH Guenther & Son 9/24/2010 1/1/2011 300 10/21/2010 10/26/2010
135 CKM Industries dba Miller Environmental 10/5/2010 11/1/2010 34 10/25/2010 10/26/2010
136 CWVEBA 10/14/2010 10/1/2010 4,500 10/18/2010 10/26/2010
137 Darden Restaurants 9/30/2010 1/1/2011 34,000 10/21/2010 10/26/2010
138 Duarte Nursery 9/23/2010 1/1/2011 283 10/19/2010 10/26/2010
139 Employees Security Fund 9/29/2010 1/1/2011 22 9/29/2010 10/26/2010
140 Florida Trowel Trades 9/27/2010 1/1/2011 297 10/21/2010 10/26/2010
141 Ingles Markets 9/30/2010 1/1/2011 917 10/25/2010 10/26/2010
142 Meijer 10/1/2010 1/1/2011 4,873 10/1/2010 10/26/2010
143 O’Reilly Auto Parts 9/23/2010 1/1/2011 9,722 9/23/2010 10/26/2010
144 Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 123 Welfare Fund 9/30/2010 1/1/2011 534 10/21/2010 10/26/2010
145 Sun Belt 9/28/2010 10/1/2010 114 10/20/2010 10/26/2010
146 UFCW Local 227 10/12/2010 11/1/2010 1,125 10/12/2010 10/26/2010
147 Uncle Julio’s 9/30/2010 11/1/2010 115 10/25/2010 10/26/2010
148 United Group 9/24/2010 1/1/2011 177 10/19/2010 10/26/2010
149 US Imaging 10/11/2010 11/1/2010 148 10/25/2010 10/26/2010
150 Vino Farms 10/8/2010 11/1/2010 152 10/21/2010 10/26/2010
151 Advanta 9/20/2010 9/1/2011 52 9/20/2010 10/21/2010
152 Agricare 9/23/2010 11/1/2010 437 9/23/2010 10/21/2010
153 Alaska Seafood 9/23/2010 1/1/2010 262 10/15/2010 10/21/2010
154 American Fidelity 9/22/2010 10/23/2010 9,358 10/14/2010 10/21/2010
155 Convergys 9/20/2010 1/1/2011 1,400 9/20/2010 10/21/2010
156 Darensberries 9/28/2010 10/1/2010 1,450 9/28/2010 10/21/2010
157 Gowan Company 9/23/2010 1/1/2011 225 9/27/2010 10/21/2010
158 Greystar 9/23/2010 1/1/2011 1,747 10/13/2010 10/21/2010
159 Macayo Restaurants 9/22/2010 12/1/2010 46 10/18/2010 10/21/2010
160 Periodical Services 9/27/2010 1/1/2011 464 9/27/2010 10/21/2010
161 UniFirst 9/23/2010 9/1/2011 2,659 10/14/2010 10/21/2010
162 Universal Forest Products 9/23/2011 5/1/2010 1,738 10/19/2010 10/21/2010
163 UFCW Maximus Local 455 10/4/2010 1/1/2011 59 10/18/2010 10/18/2010
164 AHS 9/22/2010 1/1/2011 400 10/12/2010 10/14/2010
165 GuideStone Financial Resources 9/21/2010 1/1/2011 354 9/21/2010 10/14/2010
166 Local 25 SEIU 9/29/2010 10/1/2010 31,000 10/7/2010 10/14/2010
167 MAUSER Corp. 9/21/2010 1/1/2011 47 9/24/2010 10/14/2010
168 Preferred Care, Inc. 9/15/2010 1/1/2011 918 9/15/2010 10/14/2010
169 Ruby Tuesday 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 3,219 10/8/2010 10/14/2010
170 The Dixie Group, Inc. 8/27/2010 6/19/2010 269 10/12/2010 10/14/2010
171 UFCW Local 1262 9/20/2010 10/1/2010 5,390 9/20/2010 10/14/2010
172 Whelan Security Company 9/23/2010 1/1/2011 287 10/12/2010 10/14/2010
173 AMF Bowling Worldwide 9/14/2010 1/1/2011 295 10/7/2010 10/12/2010
174 Assisted Living Concepts 9/17/2010 1/1/2011 1,174 9/17/2010 10/12/2010
175 Case & Associates 9/17/2010 1/1/2011 87 9/17/2010 10/12/2010
176 GPM Investments 9/17/2010 1/1/2011 275 9/17/2010 10/12/2010
177 Grace Living Centers 9/14/2010 10/1/2010 534 9/14/2010 10/12/2010
178 Mountaire 9/17/2010 1/1/2011 2,074 9/17/2010 10/12/2010
179 Swift Spinning 9/16/2010 1/1/2011 240 9/16/2010 10/12/2010
180 Belmont Village 9/10/2010 1/1/2011 785 10/4/2010 10/8/2010
181 Caliber Services 9/13/2010 1/1/2011 606 9/13/2010 10/8/2010
182 Cracker Barrel 9/9/2010 1/1/2011 16,823 9/17/2010 10/8/2010
183 DISH Network 9/13/2010 3/1/2011 3,597 9/23/2010 10/8/2010
184 Groendyke Transport,  Inc 9/2/2010 1/1/2011 1,322 9/2/2010 10/8/2010
185 Pocono Medical Center 9/24/2010 1/1/2011 3,298 9/24/2010 10/8/2010
186 Regis Corporation 9/10/2010 3/1/2011 3,617 10/1/2010 10/8/2010
187 The Pictsweet Co. 9/13/2010 1/1/2010 694 9/13/2010 10/8/2010
188 Diversified Interiors 9/28/2010 10/1/2010 300 9/28/2010 10/1/2010
189 Local 802 Musicians Health Fund 9/29/2010 10/1/2010 1,801 9/29/2010 10/1/2010
190 Medical Card System 9/20/2010 10/1/2010 6,635 9/23/2010 10/1/2010
191 The Buccaneer 9/22/2010 10/1/2010 125 9/28/2010 10/1/2010
192 CIGNA 9/17/2010 9/26/2010 265,000 9/30/2010 9/30/2010
193 Greater Metropolitan Hotel 9/16/2010 10/1/2010 1,200 9/24/2010 9/30/2010
194 Local 17 Hospitality Benefit Fund 9/16/2010 10/1/2010 881 9/24/2010 9/30/2010
195 GS-ILA 9/15/2010 10/1/2010 298 9/15/2010 9/28/2010
196 Allied 9/13/2010 10/1/2010 127 9/13/2010 9/27/2010
197 Harden Healthcare 9/9/2010 1/1/2011 874 9/29/2010 9/27/2010
198 Health and Welfare Benefit System 9/16/2010 10/1/2010 41 9/16/2010 9/27/2010
199 Health Connector 9/20/2010 10/1/2010 3,544 9/24/2010 9/27/2010
200 I.U.P.A.T 9/16/2010 10/1/2010 875 9/23/2010 9/27/2010
201 Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc. 9/22/2010 10/1/2010 326 9/22/2010 9/27/2010
202 Transport Workers 9/20/2010 10/1/2010 107 9/23/2010 9/27/2010
203 UFT Welfare Fund 9/16/2010 10/1/2010 351,000 9/27/2010 9/27/2010
204 Aegis 9/16/2010 10/1/2010 162 9/21/2010 9/24/2010
205 Aetna 9/16/2010 10/1/2010 209,423 9/16/2010 9/24/2010
206 Allflex 9/20/2010 10/1/2010 34 9/22/2010 9/24/2010
207 Baptist Retirement 9/10/2010 10/1/2010 127 9/17/2010 9/24/2010
208 BCS Insurance 9/13/2010 9/24/2010 115,000 9/22/2010 9/24/2010
209 Cryogenic 9/20/2010 10/1/2010 19 9/20/2010 9/24/2010
210 Fowler Packing Co. 9/8/2010 10/1/2010 39 9/17/2010 9/24/2010
211 Guy C. Lee Mfg. 9/15/2010 10/1/2010 312 9/15/2010 9/24/2010
212 HealthPort 9/17/2010 10/1/2010 608 9/17/2010 9/24/2010
213 Jack in the Box 9/17/2010 10/1/2010 1,130 9/21/2010 9/24/2010
214 Maritime Association 9/17/2010 10/1/2010 500 9/21/2010 9/24/2010
215 Maverick County 9/21/2010 10/1/2010 1 9/23/2010 9/24/2010
216 Metro Paving Fund 9/20/2010 10/1/2010 550 9/20/2010 9/24/2010
217 PMPS-ILA 9/19/2010 10/1/2010 15 9/23/2010 9/24/2010
218 PS-ILA 9/19/2010 10/1/2010 8 9/23/2010 9/24/2010
219 QK/DRD (Denny’s) 9/16/2010 10/1/2010 65 9/22/2010 9/24/2010
220 Reliance Standard 9/14/2010 10/1/2010 varies 9/14/2010 9/24/2010
221 Tri-Pak 9/20/2010 10/1/2010 26 9/20/2010 9/24/2010
222 UABT 9/17/2010 10/1/2010 17,347 9/17/2010 9/24/2010
  Total Enrollees     1,507,418    

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Filed Under: Truth In Reporting Tagged With: health care reform, Hypocritical Politicians, Obamacare, unions vs. private sector

Don’t Know, Don’t Care

April 3, 2010 By Joan of Snark

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“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;
that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion;
and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”
(the Congressional oath of office; enacted in 1884)

 

This nauseating dose of unrepresenting representative is brought to you courtesy of Phil Hare, House Democrat from the 17th district of Illinois.

 

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Filed Under: Truth In Reporting Tagged With: Hypocritical Politicians, obama hypocrisy, Obamacare, Phil Hare, unrepresenting representative

The Third Rail Of Obamacare

February 23, 2010 By Joan of Snark

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We all knew the first big, fat, unread “stimulus” bill shoved through by the Democrats last year would be useless and some had noticed it contained frightening encroachments upon American liberties.  And even though all the money from the first “stimulus” hasn’t even been spent, the Democrats are ramming another one through Congress under the wolfskin guise of “jobs”.  But this one is not only going to be more more wasted money, it is, in fact, the death blow to the foundation of freedom upon which this country was founded.

OBAMACARE’S LETHAL THIRD RAIL SHOCK TO COME –

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Filed Under: Eroding Freedoms Tagged With: Dr. Elizabeth Lee Vliet, health care reform, obama hypocrisy, Obamacare, socialized medicine

HR 3962: Frankenstein’s Monster

November 1, 2009 By Joan of Snark

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While this column has been quiet due to other priorities (like working so that the mortgage is paid, and volunteering so that others may improve their lot in life), it doesn’t mean we haven’t been watching the wankers in Washington as they continue their dangerous attempts to complete the progressive’s long-planned enslavement of the citizens of these United States.  Indeed, our silence is due, in part, to head-shaking amazement that writing fresh material for this column becomes harder and harder because every day has become Groundhog Day.  President “I Won” continues to use our hard-earned tax monies to hump his campaign stump; appearing on television almost every day in order to jolly Americans into thinking he’s just a normal guy via some talk show or to actively campaign for Democrat candidates in upcoming elections around the country.  Speaker of the Nuthouse, Nancy Pelosi, hasn’t stopped her deer-in-the-headlights, utterly non-sensical evasion of legitimate questions; like, for example, exactly where in the Constitution does it give Congress the power to, among other oversteps, mandate health care be purchased by every American? 

And true to their lying form, “the most transparent administration in history”, this legend-in-their-own-minds gang of thugs and thieves, scuttled off like the rats they are and locked themselves into an obviously airless room in order to poke and prod and breathe some semblance of life back into deadly, massive HR 3200, their first blatant, sweeping attempt at the usurpation of the private-sector, free market-driven business of American health care.  What came out of that headlong rush into madness is HR 3962.  A veritable Frankenstein’s monster at 1,990 pages and about 400,000 words, this latest incarnation of mandated submission to government welfare is designed to take over and, as is the case with anything run by the government, annihilate a full ONE-FIFTH of the nation’s economy.

It is a monster only progressives and idiots could love.  Like its predecessor, HR 3962 sets up a financial shell game by front-loading revenue and postponing serious spending to later years (years when those who would otherwise be called on the carpet for such reckless misuse of hard-earned taxpayer monies will be far away, enjoying their taxpayer-funded retirements).  It contains 13 tax hikes that will hit everyone one way or another:

Employer Mandate Excise Tax (Page 275): If an employer does not pay 72.5 percent of a single employee’s health premium (65 percent of a family employee), the employer must pay an excise tax equal to 8 percent of average wages. Small employers (measured by payroll size) have smaller payroll tax rates of 0 percent (<$500,000), 2 percent ($500,000-$585,000), 4 percent ($585,000-$670,000), and 6 percent ($670,000-$750,000).

Individual Mandate Surtax (Page 296): If an individual fails to obtain qualifying coverage, he must pay an income surtax equal to the lesser of 2.5 percent of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) or the average premium. MAGI adds back in the foreign earned income exclusion and municipal bond interest.

Medicine Cabinet Tax (Page 324): Non-prescription medications would no longer be able to be purchased from health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs), or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). Insulin excepted.

Cap on FSAs (Page 325): FSAs would face an annual cap of $2500 (currently uncapped).

Increased Additional Tax on Non-Qualified HSA Distributions (Page 326): Non-qualified distributions from HSAs would face an additional tax of 20 percent (current law is 10 percent). This disadvantages HSAs relative to other tax-free accounts (e.g. IRAs, 401(k)s, 529 plans, etc.)

Denial of Tax Deduction for Employer Health Plans Coordinating with Medicare Part D (Page 327): This would further erode private sector participation in delivery of Medicare services.

Surtax on Individuals and Small Businesses (Page 336): Imposes an income surtax of 5.4 percent on MAGI over $500,000 ($1 million married filing jointly). MAGI adds back in the itemized deduction for margin loan interest. This would raise the top marginal tax rate in 2011 from 39.6 percent under current law to 45 percent—a new effective top rate.

Excise Tax on Medical Devices (Page 339): Imposes a new excise tax on medical device manufacturers equal to 2.5 percent of the wholesale price. It excludes retail sales and unspecified medical devices sold to the general public.

Corporate 1099-MISC Information Reporting (Page 344): Requires that 1099-MISC forms be issued to corporations as well as persons for trade or business payments. Current law limits to just persons for small business compliance complexity reasons. Also expands reporting to exchanges of property.

Delay in Worldwide Allocation of Interest (Page 345): Delays for nine years the worldwide allocation of interest, a corporate tax relief provision from the American Jobs Creation Act

Limitation on Tax Treaty Benefits for Certain Payments (Page 346): Increases taxes on U.S. employers with overseas operations looking to avoid double taxation of earnings.

Codification of the “Economic Substance Doctrine” (Page 349): Empowers the IRS to disallow a perfectly legal tax deduction or other tax relief merely because the IRS deems that the motive of the taxpayer was not primarily business-related.

Application of “More Likely Than Not” Rule (Page 357): Publicly-traded partnerships and corporations with annual gross receipts in excess of $100 million have raised standards on penalties. If there is a tax underpayment by these taxpayers, they must be able to prove that the estimated tax paid would have more likely than not been sufficient to cover final tax liability.

Note for the record that those individuals paying the “individual mandate” tax don’t get anything for their money.  It is a penalty, cleverly set up to be enforced (as a criminal liability) by the IRS.  Those folks still have to buy health insurance, and the government’s option contains higher premiums that low- and moderate-income individuals and families would have to pay for health coverage to avoid the tax.

Like its predecessor, HR 3962 includes yet another uncontrolled and unaccountable czar who will determine the requirements for health insurance policies.  For ALL health insurance policies; which means, as before, if your employer’s plan doesn’t meet the czar’s requirements, it will be determined to be illegal and you will be forced to make another “choice”.  Read:  take the government’s plan.

Of course, mandating requirements that are unsustainable, such as no exclusions for pre-existing conditions and specific items and services than must be covered as well as the minimum frequency or duration of a required covered service and the maximum allowable patient cost sharing, sets the stage for failure of the free market.  The government will simply regulate the free market for health insurance out of existence.  Leaving you with no choice but what the government wants to give you. 

And with that lack of choice must, by definition, come rationing.  The same rationing that exists in the free market and with welfare programs like Medicare and Medicaid today, though the former driven (and therefore avoidable) by consumer choice and the latter driven by its inherent purpose of pulling the unsuspecting under the control of the government for the gains of a few who consider themselves above those they see as the stupid, great unwashed masses (citizens of these United States whom they are, by oath, supposed to represent). 

There’s nothing new in this warmed-over, dung-filled bowl of swamp water soup.  Those who work hard and play by the rules are going to continue to pay for those who buy into the progressive mindset that they are entitled to something for nothing for the price of their freedom.

HR 3200 was wrong.  Its latest incarnation as HR 3962 does nothing to fix any problems and, indeed, only serves to make them worse.

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Filed Under: * Featured Posts *, Truth In Reporting Tagged With: fiscal irresponsibility, health care reform, HR 3692, HR3200, Obama health care, obama hypocrisy, Obamacare, socialized medicine

Quote Of The Day

August 7, 2009 By Joan of Snark

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Courtesy of James Taranto, writing at the Wall Street Journal:

“So, let’s review the arguments:

• Republicans are bad, they lost the last election, and they have partisan motives for wanting to stop ObamaCare.

• People who are angry about this are crackpots who display swastikas and other invidious symbols.  Also, their anger is insincere, and they are shills of the RNC.  They wear nice clothes, and this is not to their credit.

• Some of the arguments against ObamaCare are false, according to Obama.

• If ObamaCare is defeated, Obama would be hurt.

“Is there any argument for ObamaCare? In all the material we reviewed for this item, only this, from the Obama email:

“In other words, the “crisis” is so urgent that any thoughtful deliberation would entail intolerable delay. This is the same old argument that has already failed.

“If this is the best the president can do, he deserves to lose resoundingly.  If that hurts him, there’s always aspirin.”

  

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Filed Under: Truth In Reporting Tagged With: health care reform, James Taranto, Obamacare, socialized medicine

HR 3200: A Deadly Swamp Of Socialized Medicine

July 25, 2009 By Joan of Snark

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The actual text of health care reform legislation is starting to percolate up from the depths of the committees, and it contains a plethora of hard stops on the freedoms that Americans are guaranteed and have come to expect.  President Obama remains inordinately fond of continuing to campaign about all the “choice” he wants us to see in his vision of health care reform, but what’s in this House version of the bill contains anything but.

Since our unrepresenting representatives can’t be bothered to do so, let’s put on our waders and tiptoe through the alligator-infested swamp and take a gander at it, shall we?

The Biggest and Baddest provision turns President Obama into a bald-faced liar.  The party line is that if you currently have health insurance, sure, you can keep it.  They call this “grandfathering” in your plan.  But Section 102: PROTECTING THE CHOICE TO KEEP CURRENT COVERAGE doesn’t protect anything except the government-run “gateways” and “exchanges” because the day you decide to give up your current plan, it’s all over but the shouting because unless you enroll in an employer-provided plan (that must provide no less than exactly the same benefits as the government’s plan), it’s straight into the machine for you.

These are the key excerpts:

(1) LIMITATION ON NEW ENROLLMENT-

(A) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day of Y1.

(Notice that this is the sum total of verbiage in “this paragraph”.  There are NO exceptions.  Health insurers may no longer enroll new plan participants.)

(c) Limitation on Individual Health Insurance Coverage-

(1) IN GENERAL- Individual health insurance coverage that is not grandfathered health insurance coverage under subsection (a) may only be offered on or after the first day of Y1 as an Exchange-participating health benefits plan.

This means that if a health insurance company wants to stay in business, it must get in bed with the government.

(2) SEPARATE, EXCEPTED COVERAGE PERMITTED- Excepted benefits (as defined in section 2791(c) of the Public Health Service Act) are not included within the definition of health insurance coverage. Nothing in paragraph (1) shall prevent the offering, other than through the Health Insurance Exchange, of excepted benefits so long as it is offered and priced separately from health insurance coverage.

How very kind of them.  Separate insurance policies will be “permitted” by the government.  If you didn’t ask “What are excepted benefits?” then you deserve the government we’ve got today and don’t come crying to us when Pater Obama tells you that your life isn’t worth the cost of saving it.  But because I’m feeling generous today, I’ll ask the question for you.  What are these “excepted benefits”?  Well, basically anything except what we all think of as common medical treatments, such as:

  • Coverage only for accident, or disability income insurance, or any combination thereof.
  • Coverage issued as a supplement to liability insurance.
  • Liability insurance, including general liability insurance and automobile liability insurance.
  • Workers’ compensation or similar insurance.
  • Automobile medical payment insurance.
  • Credit-only insurance.
  • Coverage for on-site medical clinics
  • Other similar insurance coverage, specified in regulations, under which benefits for medical care are secondary or incidental to other insurance benefits.

Not exactly the “choice” the President, Pelosi, Reid, and those other generous progressives (gag) are leading you to believe, is it?

So just what happens to your “health care” once the government gets their guaranteed hold of it?  Pull out your airsickness bag and read on.

What is covered:

From section 122 (Essential benefits)

(b) Minimum Services To Be Covered-

(1) Hospitalization.
(2) Outpatient hospital and outpatient clinic services, including emergency department services.
(3) Professional services of physicians and other health professionals.
(4) Such services, equipment, and supplies incident to the services of a physician’s or a health professional’s delivery of care in institutional settings, physician offices, patients’ homes or place of residence, or other settings, as appropriate.
(5) Prescription drugs.
(6) Rehabilitative and habilitative services.
(7) Mental health and substance use disorder services.
(8) Preventive services, including those services recommended with a grade of A or B by the Task Force on Clinical Preventive Services and those vaccines recommended for use by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(9) Maternity care.
(10) Well baby and well child care and oral health, vision, and hearing services, equipment, and supplies at least for children under 21 years of age.

(1) NO COST-SHARING FOR PREVENTIVE SERVICES- There shall be no cost-sharing under the essential benefits package for preventive items and services (as specified under the benefit standards), including well baby and well child care.

This is the 2008 list of those “preventative services” from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force:

Grade A:

  • Cervical cancer screening for women
  • Colorectal cancer screening for men and women over 50
  • Discuss aspirin chemoprevention with adults who are at increased risk for coronary heart disease
  • Screening for high blood pressure in adults aged 18 and older
  • Screening for chlamydial infection for all sexually active non-pregnant young women aged 24 and younger and for older nonpregnant women who are at increased risk
  • Prophylactic ocular topical medication for all newborns against gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum
  • Screening for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in pregnant women at their first prenatal visit
  • Screening for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) all adolescents and adults at increased risk for HIV infection
  • Screening all pregnant women for HIV
  • Screening persons at increased risk for syphilis infection
  • Screening all pregnant women for syphilis infection
  • Screening all adults for tobacco use and provide tobacco cessation interventions for those who use tobacco
  • Screening all pregnant women for tobacco use and provide augmented pregnancy-tailored counseling to those who smoke
  • Rh (D) blood typing and antibody testing for all pregnant women during their first visit for pregnancy-related care
  • Screening for sickle cell disease in newborns

Grade B:

  • One-time screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) by ultrasonography in men aged 65 to 75 who have ever smoked
  • Genetic counseling and evaluation for women whose family history is associated with an increased risk for deleterious mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes (breast & ovarian cancer)
  • Chemoprevention for women at high risk for breast cancer and at low risk for adverse effects of chemoprevention
  • Screening mammography, with or without clinical breast examination (CBE), every 1-2 years for women aged 40 and older
  • Screening for chlamydial infection for all pregnant women aged 24 and younger and for older pregnant women who are at increased risk
  • Screening all sexually active women, including those who are pregnant, for gonorrhea infection if they are at increased risk for infection (that is, if they are young or have other individual or population risk factors)
  • Screening and behavioral counseling interventions to reduce alcohol misuse (go to Clinical Considerations) by adults, including pregnant women, in primary care settings
  • Screening adults for depression in clinical practices that have systems in place to assure accurate diagnosis, effective treatment, and followup
  • Intensive behavioral dietary counseling for adult patients with hyperlipidemia and other known risk factors for cardiovascular and diet-related chronic disease.  Intensive counseling can be delivered by primary care clinicians or by referral to other specialists, such as nutritionists or dietitians
  • Routine screening for iron deficiency anemia in asymptomatic pregnant women
  • Routine iron supplementation for asymptomatic children aged 6 to 12 months who are at increased risk for iron deficiency anemia
  • Screening all adult patients for obesity and offer intensive counseling and behavioral interventions to promote sustained weight loss for obese adults
  • Screening women aged 65 and older routinely for osteoporosis. The USPSTF recommends that routine screening begin at age 60 for women at increased risk for osteoporotic fractures
  • Structured breastfeeding education and behavioral counseling programs to promote breastfeeding
  • Primary care clinicians prescribe oral fluoride supplementation at currently recommended doses to preschool children older than 6 months of age whose primary water source is deficient in fluoride
  • Screening to detect amblyopia, strabismus, and defects in visual acuity in children younger than age 5 years

(2) ANNUAL LIMITATION-

Y1 is $5,000 for an individual and $10,000 for a family. Such levels shall be increased (rounded to the nearest $100) for each subsequent year by the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (United States city average) applicable to such year.

Pay particular attention to this.  It’s your annual out-of-pocket expenses for for anything not included in the Grade A or Grade B list of “preventative items and services”.  So although a preventative test may be covered, you’ll still be liable for co-pay expenses to walk in the door to get it.  And just like with most plans today, you’ll still be liable to share the costs of fixing anything found wrong with you by those tests.

Of course we have to have a “Health Benefits Advisory Committee to recommend covered benefits and essential, enhanced, and premium plans.”  This will be chaired by the Surgeon General and will have “9 members who are not Federal employees or officers and who are appointed by the President”, “9 members who are not Federal employees or officers and who are appointed by the Comptroller General”, and an “even number of members (not to exceed 8 ) who are Federal employees and officers, as the President may appoint.”  A committe with up to 27 members, 18 of whom are picked by the President.  The bill says these people will “reflect providers, consumer representatives, employers, labor, health insurance issuers, experts in health care financing and delivery, experts in racial and ethnic disparities, experts in care for those with disabilities, representatives of relevant governmental agencies, and at least one practicing physician or other health professional and an expert on children’s health”.  But with no checks and balances on the selection of this group, you can bet they will reflect the President’s personal opinions and/or especially those to whom he owes campaign favors.

And, of course we have to have a Health Choices Administration and a Health Choices Commissioner.  At least the commissioner will be appointed by the President “by and with the advice and consent of the Senate”.  This will be an independent agency that will audit and enforce compliance for all “qualified health benefit plans”, whether or not the plan participates in the government’s “exchange”.  They will be able to levy financial penalties and shut down plans that fail to make their grade.  The Commissioner will appoint a “Qualified Health Benefits Plan Ombudsman” to help people stuck in the maze of government’s plan find their way out, but must do so “in a linguistically appropriate manner” (read:  “press 1 for English”).

Section 1173a of the bill discusses “Standardizing Electronic Administrative Transactions”.  Everything from enrollment to payment for services will be automated.  A good thing?  The bill allows up to 5 years to implement it so in the meantime we may look forward to not only the lumbering pace of bureaucracy, but utter chaos and confusion.

Section 164 outlines a “Reinsurance Program For Retirees”.  The government intends to pick up some of the tab for “participating employment-based plans” in order to lower the costs to the plan’s participants.  It includes the word “temporary”, but in the interim it is your tax dollars that will go to cushion employers who perhaps bit off more than they could chew with regards to retiree health benefits.  (Why do unions immediately come to mind?)

The “Health Insurance Exchange” is such a behemoth that it gets its own title within the bill.  It’s essentially the “Obama Does Costco”, one-stop shopping center where you can go to choose from the various government-seal-of-approval plans, including the government’s “public health insurance option”.  Meaning you can choose between vanilla and vanilla via “culturally and linguistically appropriate communication”.

Section 205, “OUTREACH AND ENROLLMENT OF EXCHANGE-ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS AND EMPLOYERS IN EXCHANGE-PARTICIPATING HEALTH BENEFITS PLAN”, is interesting.  It defines “outreach” as informing and educating “individuals and employers about the Health Insurance Exchange and Exchange-participating health benefits plan options. Such outreach shall include outreach specific to vulnerable populations, such as children, individuals with disabilities, individuals with mental illness, and individuals with other cognitive impairments.”  Nice.  But down in (d)(1) we reach “COVERAGE FOR CERTAIN NEWBORNS” and weasel words that are sure to have the hearts of La Raza going pitter-patter with excitement.  And I don’t mean just the closing, “In carrying out this section, the Commissioner shall establish effective methods for communicating in plain language and a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner.”

(A) IN GENERAL- In the case of a child born in the United States who at the time of birth is not otherwise covered under acceptable coverage, for the period of time beginning on the date of birth and ending on the date the child otherwise is covered under acceptable coverage (or, if earlier, the end of the month in which the 60-day period, beginning on the date of birth, ends), the child shall be deemed–

(i) to be a non-traditional Medicaid eligible individual (as defined in subsection (e)(5)) for purposes of this division and Medicaid; and
(ii) to have elected to enroll in Medicaid through the application of paragraph (3).

Since the bill makes is mandatory for every American to have health insurance, I’ll let you figure out how a child will be born here without being covered.

To pay for the “Health Insurance Exchange”, we’ll have a “Health Insurance Trust Fund”.  And where will we get the money for it?  Easy!

Section 207 (c)(1) DEDICATED PAYMENTS- There is hereby appropriated to the Trust Fund amounts equivalent to the following:

(A) TAXES ON INDIVIDUALS NOT OBTAINING ACCEPTABLE COVERAGE– The amounts received in the Treasury under section 59B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to requirement of health insurance coverage for individuals).

Yes, Harry & Louise, if you choose to not buy health insurance or want to pay for a plan that is structured differently than the government wants a health insurance plan to be structured, the IRS is going to make you pay for it anyway.

(B) EMPLOYMENT TAXES ON EMPLOYERS NOT PROVIDING ACCEPTABLE COVERAGE– The amounts received in the Treasury under section 3111(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to employers electing to not provide health benefits).

(C) EXCISE TAX ON FAILURES TO MEET CERTAIN HEALTH COVERAGE REQUIREMENTS– The amounts received in the Treasury under section 4980H(b) (relating to excise tax with respect to failure to meet health coverage participation requirements).

(2) APPROPRIATIONS TO COVER GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTIONS– There are hereby appropriated, out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to the Trust Fund, an amount equivalent to the amount of payments made from the Trust Fund under subsection (b) plus such amounts as are necessary reduced by the amounts deposited under paragraph (1).

Numerous other “trust funds” are also embedded in the bill  for enormous and far-flung entire government-run programs  to fund the education of doctors and nurses and all kinds of research, which is essentially a huge step smack into the middle of the private sector.

Sections 241-245 are essentially premium subsidies for those who fall “below 400 percent of the Federal poverty level for a family of the size involved” and individuals; this also includes subsidizing “unaffordable employer coverage”, which is defined as “full-time employees for which the cost of the employee premium for coverage under a group health plan would exceed 11 percent of current family income”.

In the “Employer Responsibility” part of the bill, a nice double-dip can be found in section 311:  “if an employee declines [their employer’s plan]but otherwise obtains coverage in an Exchange-participating health benefits plan (other than by reason of being covered by family coverage as a spouse or dependent of the primary insured), the employer shall make a timely contribution to the Health Insurance Exchange with respect to each such employee”.  What this is saying is that employers will be penalized 8% of the employee’s average salary if their employees don’t want what they offer.  The employer isn’t paying the employee’s premiums, either.  This money goes right into the Health Insurance Exchange Trust Fund.

Small businesses get hit with this double-dip penalty, too, though “only” up to 6% on a sliding scale up to an annual payroll of $400,000.

Employers will be held liable for “civil penalties” if they do not provide health insurance; to the tune of $100/day up to $500,000.  Interestingly, the money collected “shall be deposited as miscellaneous receipts in the Treasury of the United States” instead of funding the government’s snake-oiled medicine machine.  The IRS will also be involved, collecting employment taxes on employers who “fail” to participate – 10% of what should have been paid up to $500,000.

Section 2793 addresses what’s required if an employer wants to use the government’s plan.  “Such election shall be treated as the establishment and maintenance of a group health plan” and because, say, Joe’s Plumbing & Heating is now Joe’s Plumbing & Heating Health Insurance Plan, the now-infamous “Secretary shall regularly audit…and conduct investigations and other activities…so as to discover noncompliance with the health coverage participation requirements….”  Anything wrong will be sent to the “Secretary of the Treasury and the Health Choices Commissioner. The Secretary shall take such timely enforcement action as appropriate to achieve compliance.”  The same civil and IRS-driven penalties noted above will also apply if Joe’s Plumbing & Heating Health Insurance Plan fails to “satisfy the health coverage participation requirements with respect to any employee.”

Of course, complying is going to be as easy as filing with the IRS, because the “Secretary” is given the authority to make up “such regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the provisions of this section”.  Section 6050X spells out how information will be provided to about everyone that Joe’s Plumbing & Heating Health Insurance Plan covers; provided both to the IRS and Joe’s employees, of course.

Because the federal government intends to not just reform health care for Americans, but to control it from birth to (early) death, section 324 has to spell out that cooperation between “the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Health Choices Commissioner” will insure that everyone is singing from the same songbook when it comes to “enforcing” adherence to this sweeping new law of the land.

Title IV of the bill amends the already impossible tonnage of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.  Here is where individuals without coverage will be forced to pay a 2.5% tax, except for non-resident aliens and anyone living outside the United States, or folks who have a “religious exemption” on file.  If Joe’s Plumbing & Heating decides not to provide any kind of health insurance for its employees, Joe will pay a tax equal to 8% of his employee’s salaries, though if his business is very small and his payroll is less than $400,000, he’ll pay on a sliding scale up to 6%.

And just in case you were wondering, go ahead and substitute “state” for “Joe’s Plumbing & Heating”.  In a behind-the-scenes look at the crafting of this bill, the House Energy & Commerce Republicans reported that:

An amendment offered by Rep. Nathan Deal, R-GA., would prohibit the Federal government from taxing or withholding benefits from States whose health plans don’t comply with the new arbitrary essential benefits mandates that the HHS Secretary is authorized to make under this legislation. These could include mandated coverage of abortion or Botox injections, and if States don’t comply they would face an 8% tax on their employee payroll or drastic cuts in Federal grants.

The issue was outlined starkly in questions posed by the ranking Republican, Joe Barton of Texas, to the committee’s chief Democratic staff counsel:

Barton: “Is it true that if we don’t strike this and the bill stays as is, the federal government could withhold grants from states if they didn’t comply with some of the mandated requirements for health coverage of their state employees?

Democratic counsel: “Yes.”

Barton: “Is it true under the provisions of the bill if not struck or amended that if the federal government required abortions to be covered, a state would have to do that or lose grants?

Democratic counsel: “If the secretary, acting on advice of the benefits advisory commission, had made abortion a minimum benefit for any acceptable insurance package, yes, sir. They could withhold that.”

“We can’t tell states what to do directly,” Waxman said later, explaining why withholding funding would be necessary. “We have to use whatever leverage we have over them.”

Deal pointed out that the requirement seemed at odds with the Democrats’ long-stated intention to enact health care reform in order to cover people without insurance. “If the thrust of this bill is to cover the uninsured, state employees are not uninsured,” Deal pointed out. “Local municipal employees are not uninsured.”

However, Health Subcommittee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., stuck with the story that states might require federal intervention, “All we’re doing here is saying the state has to act like other employers.”

Nice, eh?  Anything the “Secretary’s” black little hole-where-the-heart-should-be desires will be funded by your hard-earned tax dollars.  Including abortions.

In Section 45R, “Health Coverage Expenses”, the smallest “qualified” businesses will get a 50% tax credit on the cost of providing health insurance, and there’s a sliding scale that decreases the credit based on the number of employees and their pay.  Starting in 2012.

Gee whiz.  Such generosity, eh?

In “Subtitle C—Disclosures to Carry Out Health Insurance Exchange Subsidies“, it states that the “Secretary” can “disclose to officers and employees of the Health Choices Administration or such State-based health insurance exchange, as the case may be, return information of any taxpayer whose income is relevant in determining any affordability credit”.  Just what information about you will be made available?

  • Taxpayer identity information
  • Filing status
  • Modified adjusted gross income
  • Number of dependents
  • Such other information as is prescribed by the Secretary by regulation as might indicate whether the taxpayer is eligible for such affordability credits (and the amount thereof), and
  • The taxable year with respect to which the preceding information relates or,if applicable, the fact that such information is not available.

The government will spend $750 million to tell you just how you should raise your children.  Section 1904: GRANTS TO STATES FOR QUALITY HOME VISITATION PROGRAMS FOR FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN AND FAMILIES EXPECTING CHILDREN, subpart 3: Support for Quality Home Visitation Programs, Section 440: HOME VISITATION PROGRAMS FOR FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN AND FAMILIES EXPECTING CHILDREN intends to provide parents with a “one size fits all” —

  • knowledge of age-appropriate child development in cognitive, language, social, emotional, and motor domains (including knowledge of second language acquisition, in the case of English language learners);
  • knowledge of realistic expectations of age-appropriate child behaviors;
  • knowledge of health and wellness issues for children and parents;
  • modeling, consulting, and coaching on parenting practices;
  • skills to interact with their child to enhance age-appropriate development;
  • skills to recognize and seek help for issues related to health, developmental delays, and social, emotional, and behavioral skills; and
  • activities designed to help parents become full partners in the education of their children

If you’re a woman pregnant with your first child or have a child under the age of 2 and use the government’s plan the government is going to monitor you.  And don’t be surprised to find someone knocking at your door to check on you, in part to increase “birth intervals between pregnancies”.  (Can’t have poor people reproducing too quickly, can we?)

Other invasions of privacy are found in Section 2521, NATIONAL MEDICAL DEVICE REGISTRY, where private sector health-related electronic data (such as pharmaceutical purchase data and health insurance claims data) will be gathered to “facilitate analyses of postmarket safety and patient outcomes for devices.”  It is intended to be viewable by the general public but, of course, “in a manner and form that protects patient privacy and proprietary information and is comprehensive, useful, and not misleading to patients, physicians, and scientists.”

The government intends to spend $88 billion for a “PUBLIC HEALTH INVESTMENT FUND” (Section 2002) to pay for

  • Community health centers
  • The National Health Service Corps Program
  • The National Health Service Corps Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs
  • Primary care loan funds (including funds appropriated for schools of medicine or osteopathic medicine under the authority of section 735(f) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 292y(f))
  • Primary care education programs
  • Nursing workforce development
  • The National Center for Health Statistics
  • The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

So how do we pay for all this?  Subtitle D—Other Revenue 8 Provisions cuts out the heart of the American dream so that the federal government can River Dance on it until it resembles British comfort food.

  • SURCHARGE ON HIGH INCOME INDIVIDUALS
    1 percent of so much of the modified adjusted gross income of the taxpayer as exceeds $350,000 but does not exceed $500,000
  • 1.5 percent of so much of the modified adjusted gross income of the taxpayer as exceeds $500,000 but does not exceed $1,000,000
  • 5.4 percent of so much of the modified adjusted gross income of the taxpayer as exceeds $1,000,000

In 2013, the amounts go up from 1% to 2%, and from 1.5% to 3% unless the “excess Federal health reform savings is more than $150,000,000,000 but not more than $175,000,000,000”.  If the “excess Federal health reform savings” is more than $175,000,000,000, then this tax won’t apply.

From what we’ve seen so far, I’m not going to hold my breath on those “savings” happening.  (And we’re only up to page 199.)  Not when section 4 of this Subtitle states, “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax….”

DIVISION B—MEDICARE AND MEDICAID IMPROVEMENTS has a 7-page table of contents.  Suffice it to say that is bodes ill for those who use the systems.  Skimming through it find that home infusion therapy will be reassessed, as will the effectiveness of “bone mass measurements”.  Hospitals with high readmission rates will see their Medicare payments reduced, and hospitals will be “monitored” to insure they aren’t turning people away.  The bill will control a hospital’s growth (number of beds, procedure or operating rooms, etc.)  but research will be conducted and a “demonstration program” deployed to find out “the extent to which Medicare service providers utilize, offer, or make available language services” so that “on-site interpreters, including interpreters who work as independent contractors and interpreters who work for agencies that provide on-site interpretation…could directly bill Medicare”.

And how about seeing if  “contracting directly with agencies that provide off-site interpretation including telephonic and video interpretation” so they, too, could directly bill Medicare?  Including “languages not frequently encountered in the United States”.  The participants providing language services in the “demonstration program” can use up to 10% of the “grant money” for their “administrative expenses”.

Maybe it’s just me, but it’s a little disconcerting to read that these “demonstration program” grantees “must ensure that their network providers receive at least 50 percent of the grant funds to pay for the provision of competent language services to Medicare beneficiaries who are limited English proficient, including physicians and pharmacies.”  Does anyone else wonder how a United States-licensed doctor or pharmacist functions without being proficient in English?  The bill itself defines “limited English proficient” as “an individual who speaks a primary language other than English and who cannot speak, read, write or understand the English language at a level that permits the individual to effectively communicate with clinical or nonclinical staff at an entity providing health care or health care related services.”

There are lots more outlays included as well (explaining in part why what doctors do is called “practice”?).

I’d say here’s the kicker in the Medicare portion of the bill, but that sounds almost cruel.  Section 1233 ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION actually spells out a 5-year doctor-patient talk that must include:

  • An explanation by the practitioner of advance care planning, including key questions and considerations, important steps, and suggested people to talk to.
  • An explanation by the practitioner of advance directives, including living wills and durable powers of attorney, and their uses.
  • An explanation by the practitioner of the role and responsibilities of a health care proxy.
  • The provision by the practitioner of a list of national and State-specific resources to assist consumers and their families with advance care planning, including the national toll-free hotline, the advance care planning clearinghouses, and State legal service organizations (including those funded through the Older Americans Act of 1965).
  • An explanation by the practitioner of the continuum of end-of-life services and supports available, including palliative care and hospice, and benefits for such services and supports that are available under this title.

Subject to clause (ii), an explanation of orders regarding life sustaining treatment or similar orders, which shall include—

  • the reasons why the development of such an order is beneficial to the individual and the individual’s family and the reasons why such an order should be updated periodically as the health of the individual changes
  • the information needed for an individual or legal surrogate to make informed decisions regarding the completion of such an order; and
  • the identification of resources that an individual may use to determine the requirements of the State in which such individual resides so that the treatment wishes of that individual will be carried out if the individual is unable to communicate those wishes, including requirements regarding the designation of a surrogate decisionmaker (also known as a health care proxy)

An advance care planning consultation with respect to an individual may be conducted more frequently…if there is a significant change in the health condition of the individual, including diagnosis of a chronic, progressive, life-limiting disease, a life-threatening or terminal diagnosis or life-threatening injury, or upon admission to a skilled nursing facility, a long-term care facility (as defined by the Secretary), or a hospice program.

…the Secretary shall include quality measures on end of life care and advanced care planning that have been adopted or endorsed by a consensus-based organization, if appropriate.  Such measures shall measure both the creation of and adherence to orders for life-sustaining treatment.

And to top it off, they’ll update the “MEDICARE & YOU HANDBOOK” so it contains information about:

  • Living wills
  • Durable power of attorney
  • Orders of life-sustaining treatment
  • Health care proxies
  • A description of Federal and State resources available to assist individuals and their families with advance care planning and advance directives, including—
    • Available State legal service
    • Organizations to assist individuals with advance care planning
    • Wbsite links or addresses for state-specific advance directive forms
    • Any additional information, as determined by the Secretary

I don’t know about you, but as insane as this whole bill reads, this is among the worst of it.  The government has no business mandating that my doctor to stick his or her nose into my personal life nor mandating how someone manages their personal affairs or how they want their life to end.

Now let’s run through some more of the laundry list of federal expenditures:

SEC. 1301. ACCOUNTABLE CARE ORGANIZATION PILOT PROGRAM

SEC. 1302. MEDICAL HOME PILOT PROGRAM

SEC. 1304. INCREASED REIMBURSEMENT RATE FOR CERTIFIED NURSE-MIDWIVES

SEC. 1305. COVERAGE AND WAIVER OF COST-SHARING FOR PREVENTIVE SERVICES

SEC. 1306. WAIVER OF DEDUCTIBLE FOR COLORECTAL CANCER SCREENING TESTS REGARDLESS OF CODING, SUBSEQUENT DIAGNOSIS, OR ANCILLARY TISSUE REMOVAL

SEC. 1308. COVERAGE OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST SERVICES AND MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR SERVICES (80% covered)

Under TITLE IV:

SEC. 1181. (a) CENTER FOR COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH ESTABLISHED
COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH TRUST FUND; FINANCING FOR THE TRUST FUND.—For provision establishing a Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund and financing such Trust Fund, see section 1802.

Subtitle B—Nursing Home Transparency
PART 1—IMPROVING TRANSPARENCY OF INFORMATION ON SKILLED NURSING FACILITIES AND NURSING FACILITIES
SEC. 1411. REQUIRED DISCLOSURE OF OWNERSHIP AND ADDITIONAL DISCLOSABLE PARTIES INFORMATION.

In a nutshell, if you own, operate, serve on the board of, provide services to, or simply work in any kind of managerial position for a nursing home, the government wants your name made available to the general public.  (The better for ACORN to march outside your home, my dear.)

The government is also going to supervise nursing home operations with an even bigger magnifying glass than it does today, down to the level of requiring reporting of even the staff’s qualifications, the hours they work, and their tenure, and there are civil fines waiting for those who fail to comply.  The feds even mandate how states can impose fines.  All of which results in yet another “pilot program”:  SEC. 1422. NATIONAL INDEPENDENT MONITOR PILOT PROGRAM

Let’s not forget government training:  SECTION 1431. DEMENTIA AND ABUSE PREVENTION TRAINING.  But then we have to figure out just what should be required:  SEC. 1432. STUDY AND REPORT ON TRAINING REQUIRED FOR CERTIFIED NURSE AIDES AND SUPERVISORY STAFF.

And, of course, “The Secretary shall establish and periodically update, not less frequently than triennially, national priorities for performance improvement.”  To the tune of $2 million each year.

We’ll spend $5 million a year for SECTION 1192. DEVELOPMENT OF NEW QUALITY MEASURES, which is intended to be done with a broad cross-section of “stakeholders” and includes the word “transparency” and states that public input will be allowed, too.  Kinda like recovery.gov and allowing 5 days for public viewing of bills, I suppose?

Subtitle D—Physician Payments Sunshine Provision makes into law similar ethical constraints under which the private sector normally operates and puts it all out for public viewing.  (SECTION 1451. REPORTS ON FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MANUFACTURERS AND DISTRIBUTORS OF COVERED DRUGS, DEVICES, BIOLOGICALS, OR MEDICAL SUPPLIES UNDER MEDICARE, MEDICAID, OR CHIP AND PHYSICIANS AND OTHER HEALTH CARE ENTITIES AND BETWEEN PHYSICIANS AND OTHER HEALTH CARE ENTITIES.)

TITLE V—MEDICARE GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION, SEC. 1501. DISTRIBUTION OF UNUSED RESIDENCY POSITIONS is where the government will allocate how many residents a hospital may have.

The Secretary shall give preference to:

  • Hospitals with 3-year primary care residency training programs, such as family practice and general internal medicine
  • Hospitals insofar as they have in effect formal arrangements (as determined by the Secretary) that place greater emphasis upon training in Federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, and other nonprovider settings
  • Hospitals that receive additional payments under subsection (d)(5)(F) and emphasize training in an outpatient department
  • Hospitals that place greater emphasis upon training in a health professional shortage area (designated under section 332 of the Public Health Service Act) or a health professional needs area (designated under section 2211 of such Act)

And, of course, we’ll pay for these “preferred” hospitals to have residents on staff, too.

“The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall conduct a demonstration project under which an approved teaching health center…would be eligible for payment …for its own direct costs of graduate medical education activities for primary care residents, as well as for the direct costs of graduate medical education activities of its contracting hospital for such residents, in a manner similar to the manner in which such payments would be made to a hospital if the hospital were to operate such a program.”

Oxymoron alert! “TITLE VI—PROGRAM INTEGRITY Subtitle A—Increased Funding to Fight Waste, Fraud, and Abuse”.  (There are also increased penalities, and even unannounced “surprise” on-site visits.)

Section 1636 reduces the maximum amount of time allowed to file Medicare claims from 36 down to 12 months.  “Narrowing the window for claims processing will not overburden providers and will reduce fraud and abuse.”  If you believe that, I have a bridge for sale….

Section 1639 says you can forget ordering that motorized scooter from the companies that advertise them on tv.  Your doctor must provide proof of a face-to-face visit with you first or else Medicare won’t pay for it.

Now if I’m reading it correctly, state’s rights to control how they administer Medicaid are eliminated.  SECTION 1702, REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIAL RULES FOR CERTAIN MEDICAID ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS removes the state’s ability to determine eligibility for Medicaid, and must accept anyone the government decides is to be covered.  And buried in SECTION 1703. CHIP AND MEDICAID MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT, “a State is not eligible for payment…for a calendar quarter …if eligibility standards, methodologies, or procedures under its plan…that are more restrictive than the eligibility standards, methodologies, or procedures, respectively, under such plan…as in effect on June 16, 2009.”  And, “a State is not eligible for payment…for a calendar quarter…if the State applies any asset or resource test in determining (or redetermining) eligibility of any individual.”

Section 1704 outlines the elimination of Medicaid DSH.

Section 1712 allows coverage for tobacco cessation outpatient drugs.

Section 1741 PAYMENTS TO PHARMACISTS includes drug pricing that is determined, in part, by providing “opportunity for public comment”.  Not that some drugs do seem to be priced solely as a get-rich scheme, but I fail to understand how forcing a business to charge a certain price for something will do anything except stifle innovation in the private sector.  Which is, actually, a prime directive of the Obama administration.  But I digress.

Section 1744 describes how we’ll all pay for doctors to go to school; states will be reimbursed by the government for “graduate medical education”.

Section 1801 is where the bill describes how your federal tax return will be used to determine whether or not you’re eligible for a low-income prescription drug subsidy.

Section 4375 is where you’ll find the tax they are calling a “fee equal to the fair share per capita amount” that will be levied on all private sector health insurance plans (even auto insurance plans will be taxed if they contain any kind of medical coverage).  It takes great pains, however, to exempt government plans, of course.

If it isn’t clear to you already, the final sections of the bill are chock-full of spending on what is nothing short of a government takeover of the  field of human medicine in the United States, including a handover of states’ sovereignty:

DIVISION C—PUBLIC HEALTH AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
TITLE I—COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS
Sec. 2101. Increased funding
TITLE II—WORKFORCE
Subtitle A—Primary Care Workforce
PART 1—NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE CORPS
Sec. 2201. National Health Service Corps
Sec. 2202. Authorizations of appropriations
PART 2—PROMOTION OF PRIMARY CARE AND DENTISTRY
Sec. 2211. Frontline health providers
SUBPART XI—HEALTH PROFESSIONAL NEEDS AREAS
Sec. 340H. In general
Sec. 340I. Loan repayments
Sec. 340J. Report
Sec. 340K. Allocation
Sec. 2212. Primary care student loan funds
Sec. 2213. Training in family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, geriatrics, and physician assistantship.   Preference given to individuals who are from underrepresented minority groups or disadvantaged backgrounds.
Sec. 2214. Training of medical residents in community-based settings.  Preference give to individuals who are from underrepresented minority groups or disadvantaged backgrounds; or individuals who practice in settings having the principal focus of serving underserved areas or populations experiencing health disparities.
Sec. 2215. Training for general, pediatric, and public health dentists and dental hygienists.  Preference given to individuals who are from underrepresented minority groups or disadvantaged backgrounds; practice settings having the principal focus of serving in underserved areas or populations experiencing health disparities; teaching programs that address the dental needs of vulnerable populations.
Sec. 2216. Authorization of appropriations
Subtitle B—Nursing Workforce
ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING GRANTS…to train advanced education nurses who will practice in health professional shortage areas (and) to increase diversity among advanced education nurses.
Sec. 2221. Amendments to Public Health Service Act
Subtitle C—Public Health Workforce
Sec. 2231. Public Health Workforce Corps
SUBPART XII—PUBLIC HEALTH WORKFORCE
Sec. 340L. Public Health Workforce Corps
Ensures an adequate supply of public health professionals throughout the Nation. The Corps shall consist of such officers of the Regular and Reserve Corps of the Service as the Secretary may designate; and such civilian employees of the United States as the Secretary may appoint.
Sec. 340M. Public Health Workforce Scholarship Program
Sec. 340N. Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program
Sec. 2232. Enhancing the public health workforce
Sec. 2233. Public health training centers
Sec. 2234. Preventive medicine and public health training grant program
Sec. 2235. Authorization of appropriations
Subtitle D—Adapting Workforce to Evolving Health System Needs
PART 1—HEALTH PROFESSIONS TRAINING FOR DIVERSITY
Sec. 2241. Scholarships for disadvantaged students, loan repayments and fellowships regarding faculty positions, and educational assistance in the health professions regarding individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Sec. 2242. Nursing workforce diversity grants.
Sec. 2243. Coordination of diversity and cultural competency programs.
PART 2—INTERDISCIPLINARY TRAINING PROGRAMS
Sec. 2251. Cultural and linguistic competency training for health care professionals, including nurse professionals, consisting of awarding grants and contracts to test, develop, evaluate and implement models of cultural and linguistic competency training (including continuing education) for health professionals.  Preference given (in part) to “entities” placing health professionals in regions experiencing significant changes in the cultural and linguistic demographics of populations, including communities along the United States-Mexico border.
Sec. 2252. Innovations in interdisciplinary care training.
Awards and grants to test, develop, evaluate, then implement health professional training programs (including continuing education) designed to promote the delivery of health services through interdisciplinary and team-based models, which may include patient-centered medical home models, medication therapy management models, and models integrating physical, mental, or oral health services; and coordination of the delivery of health care within and across settings, including health care institutions, community-based settings, and the patient’s home.

PART 3—ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH WORKFORCE EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT
This is a permanent advisory committee, 15 members appointed by the Secretary, to be known as the Advisory Committee on Health Workforce Evaluation and Assessment, providing recommendations on the supply, diversity, and geographic distribution of the health workforce; the retention of the health workforce to ensure quality and adequacy of such workforce; and policies to carry out the recommendations.  These are to include health professionals within the health workforce; health care patients and consumers; employers; labor unions; and third-party health payors.
Sec. 2261. Health workforce evaluation and assessment.
PART 4—HEALTH WORKFORCE ASSESSMENT
Sec. 2271. Health workforce assessment.
Collect data about the supply (including retention) of and demand for health professionals; the diversity of health professionals (including with respect to race, ethnic background, and gender); the geographic distribution of health professionals; and data on individuals participating in the programs authorized by subtitles A, B, 14 and C and part 1 of subtitle D of title II of division 15 C of the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 16 2009
PART 5—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS
Sec. 2281. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE III—PREVENTION AND WELLNESS
Sec. 2301. Prevention and wellness.
TITLE XXXI—PREVENTION AND WELLNESS
Subtitle A—Prevention and Wellness Trust
Sec. 3111. Prevention and Wellness Trust
Subtitle B—National Prevention and Wellness Strategy
Sec. 3121. National Prevention and Wellness Strategy
This is for our own good.  To improve our health “through evidence-based clinical and community prevention and wellness activities (in this section referred to as ‘prevention and wellness activities’), including core public health infrastructure improvement activities; identification of specific national goals and objectives in prevention and wellness activities that take into account appropriate public health measures and standards, including departmental measures and standards (including Healthy People and National Public Health Performance Standards).
Establishment of national priorities for prevention and wellness, taking into account unmet prevention and wellness needs.
Establishment of national priorities for research on prevention and wellness, taking into account unanswered research questions on prevention and wellness.
Identification of health disparities in prevention and wellness.
A plan for addressing and implementing them.
Subtitle C—Prevention Task Forces
Sec. 3131. Task Force on Clinical Preventive Services
This is a group of 30 members, all appointed by the Secretary to identify clinical preventive services for review;  review the scientific evidence related to the benefits, effectiveness, appropriateness, and costs of them for the purpose of developing, updating,publishing, and disseminating evidence-based recommendations on the use of such services; then as appropriate, take into account health disparities in developing, updating, publishing, and disseminating evidence-based recommendations on the use of such services;  identify gaps in clinical preventive services research and evaluation and recommend priority areas for such research and evaluation.
Sec. 3132. Task Force on Community Preventive Services.
Subtitle D—Prevention and Wellness Research
Sec. 3141. Prevention and wellness research activity coordination
Sec. 3142. Community prevention and wellness research grants
Subtitle E—Delivery of Community Prevention and Wellness Services
Sec. 3151. Community prevention and wellness services grants
Subtitle F—Core Public Health Infrastructure
Sec. 3161. Core public health infrastructure for State, local, and tribal health departments.
Sec. 3162. Core public health infrastructure and activities for CDC
Subtitle G—General Provisions
Sec. 3171. Definitions.
TITLE IV—QUALITY AND SURVEILLANCE
Sec. 2401. Implementation of best practices in the delivery of health care
Sec. 2402. Assistant Secretary for Health Information
Sec. 2403. Authorization of appropriations
TITLE V—OTHER PROVISIONS
Subtitle A—Drug Discount for Rural and Other Hospitals
Sec. 2501. Expanded participation in 340B program
Sec. 2502. Extension of discounts to inpatient drugs
Sec. 2503. Effective date
Subtitle B—School-Based Health Clinics
Sec. 2511. School-based health clinics
Subtitle C—National Medical Device Registry
Sec. 2521. National medical device registry
Subtitle D—Grants for Comprehensive Programs To Provide Education to Nurses and Create a Pipeline to Nursing
Enormous and far-flung; includes employer-match for tuition and paid leave time from a job to go to school
Sec. 2531. Establishment of grant program
Subtitle E—States Failing To Adhere to Certain Employment Obligations
Sec. 2541. Limitation on Federal funds
Federal funds are available “only if the State agrees to be subject in its capacity as an employer to each obligation under division A of this Act and the amendments made by such division applicable to persons in their capacity as an employer; and assures that all political subdivisions in the State will do the same.”

Welcome to the end of 1,017 pages.  Is your head spinning?  Does your head hurt?  Mine sure did.  But through the pain, one thing is crystal clear:   this is NOT what America needs to help make sure that those who need medical care can receive it in a way that is affordable.

Only the gods know how this version will end up, if it ever makes it out of all the committees.  But the cost estimates for this bill show a 10-year “net increase in the deficit of an estimated $65 billion.”  The Congressional Budget Office also caveats that “…the figures do not include certain costs that the government would incur to administer the proposed changes and the impact of the bill’s provisions on other federal programs, and they do not reflect any modifications or amendments made after the bill was introduced.”

The Republican Ways & Means Committee staff put together a spiffy graph that demonstrates this, and projects the numbers beyond the 10 years forecasted by the CBO:

deficitgraph_gop_healthcare

And so the Congressional Budget Office is shaking its head at it all.

“We do not see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount,” Douglas Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, told the Senate Budget Committee. “On the contrary, the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health-care costs,” he added.

Of course, Pelosi and Reid were quick to poo-poo them, trotting out the empty old, sad (and unmeasurable) sack of “better health care decreases health care costs”.

In his appearance, Mr. Elmendorf suggested lawmakers could take steps to control costs. Among other things, he said Congress could reduce the tax subsidy that critics say encourages employers to offer large health-insurance policies. That idea was being considered by members of the Senate Finance Committee, but dropped after Senate Democratic leaders — including Mr. Reid — voiced concern. The proposal has been sharply opposed by labor unions, among other groups, that have big tax-advantaged plans.

On Thursday, Mr. Reid expressed disdain when asked by reporters about Mr. Elmendorf’s suggestion. “What he should do is maybe run for Congress,” the Nevada Democrat said.

That’s an excellent idea, Harry.  How about we start by replacing YOU?  And replacing every other wanker in Washington who thinks that this is a road down which America should be driven.

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Filed Under: * Featured Posts *, Eroding Freedoms Tagged With: America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, health care reform, HR 3200, Obamacare, socialized medicine

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