The Truth:
There are many questions being raised about
President Obama's
new proposed health care bill and we will try to answer them.
The bill was introduced to Congress as the "America's
Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009" or H.R. 3200 on July 14,
2009. The Bill was sponsored by Representative John D.
Dingell of the15th district of Michigan. According to the Thomas
Library of Congress the bill was "referred to the Committee on Energy
and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means,
Education and Labor, Oversight and Government Reform, and the Budget,
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of
the committee concerned."
As of July 28,
2009, The Thomas Library reports, "Latest Major Action: 7/21/2009 House
committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee Consideration and
Mark-up Session Held." The status of this bill
and text can be found at the Thomas Library by searching the bill number
H.R. 3200. Click for Thomas
Library.
Some of the emails
circulated about the proposed legislation may, at times, be quoting
previous versions of the bill.
Mandatory end of life counseling every
five years to instruct patients how to determine ways to end suffering-
Truth!
&
Fiction! To be excluded by the Senate!
On August 13, 2009 the Associated Press
reported that, "Key senators
are excluding a provision on end-of-life care from health overhaul
legislation after language in a House bill caused a furor."
Click for article
Betsy McCaughey, a former New York Lt.
Governor and conservative health activist, was interviewed on July 16,
2009 on the of former Senator and Presidential candidate Fred Thompson.
In the interview she stated that page 425 of the health care bill said
that everyone on Social Security & Medicare would have to undergo
mandatory counseling every five years to determine ways to end their
suffering. The counseling would be more frequent in the case of a
terminal illness.
McCaughhey’s comments dovetailed with several statements from critics of
the health care legislation who claimed that the same portion of the
bill could be used to promote euthanasia. House minority Leader
John Boehner and Republican Policy Committee Chairman Thaddeus McCotter
said that such concerns were valid. They are quoted by
LifeNews.com as saying, that the measure “could create a slippery slope
for a more permissive environment for euthanasia, mercy-killing, and
physican-assisted suicide because it does not clearly exclude counseling
about the supposed benefits of killing oneself.”
The Vice President of AARP, John Rother, disagrees. He said the bill
does not, in his view, create a problem of euthanasia. He said that
under the bill, Medicare would be required to cover the consultations
for the first time but does not mandate that people get end-of-life
consultation. He said that any consultation would be with the patient,
the doctor or nurse practitioner---not a government bureaucrat.
Pages 424 to 434 in the
proposed healthcare bill discusses Advance Care Planning and the
mandatory consultation is to discuss end of life services such as
hospice care and living wills.
Click for Fred Thompson interview.
Another eRumor originated by the American
Family Association warns of
Rationing and Euthanasia -
Disputed! and Fiction!
Don Wildmon of the American Family Association (eRumor example #3) warned
that Health Care Bill this could be the next next step towards
euthanasia. Assisted suicide and euthanasia are not
mentioned in the text of the bill and differ greatly from hospice care.
Both private medical insurance policies and the proposed Universal
Health Care plan have set limitations of coverage and deductibles could
be be defined as the "rationing" of benefits.
Another
eRumor includes a long list of concerns from the organization Family
Security Matters.
(eRumor Example #2)
Pg 22 of the HC Bill mandates
the Government will audit books of all employers that self insure.
-
A Matter of Interpretation!
The text of the bill
reads, "The Commissioner, in coordination with the Secretary of Health
and Human Services and the Secretary of Labor Secretary of Labor, shall
conduct a study of the large group insured and self-insured employer
health care markets. There is no mention of audits.
Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill — a Government
committee (good luck with that!) will decide what treatments/benefits a
person may receive. - Fiction!
The text of the bill
reads" IN GENERAL.—There is established a private-public advisory
committee which shall be a panel of medical and other experts to be
known as the Health Benefits Advisory Committee to recommend covered
benefits and essential, enhanced, and premium plans." There is no
mention of treatment procedures or policies.
Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill — YOUR HEALTHCARE
WILL BE RATIONED! (they call it allocated) -Disputed!
Rationing could be defined as the
controlled distribution of resources and goods or services.
This section of the
bill deal with
cost sharing and co-payments and annual limitations, The text of
the bill says, "The cost-sharing incurred under the essential benefits package
with respect to an individual (or family) for a year does not exceed the
applicable level specified in subparagraph." It is then
defined as $5,000 per individual and $10,000 per family each year.
The setting of co-payments and coverage limitations is a standard
procedure for all medical health plans.
Pg 42 of HC Bill — The Health Choices Commissioner
will choose your HC Benefits for you. -
Truth!
According to the text
of the bill, the commissioner's duties include the establishment and
enforcement of "qualified health benefits plan standards". The
list of his duties also includes the "establishment and operation of a
Health Insurance Exchange" and accountability.
PG 50 Section 152 in HC bill — HC will be provided
to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise. -
Disputed!
There is no provision
to check for citizenship prior to receiving health services even though
there are the provisions:.
Section 152 is a
discrimination clause that basically said that all health services
"covered by this Act shall be provided without regard to personal
characteristics extraneous to the provision of high quality health care
or related services." Citizenship is not mentioned.
Section 246 on page 143 under the
heading of "NO FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS" said,
"Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability
credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the
United States."
Pg 58 HC Bill — Government will have real-time
access to individual's finances and a National ID Health Card will be
issued!- Truth!
and Fiction!
Under the heading of
"STANDARDS FOR FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSACTIONS", this section
is for a "real-time (or near realtime) determination of an individual’s
financial responsibility at the point of service and, to the extent
possible, prior to service, including whether the individual is eligible
for a specific service with a specific physician at a specific facility,
which may include utilization of a machine-readable health plan
beneficiary identification card" Co-payments which need to
be collected are part of the plan and it also appears that the new
health plan is designed to work with insurance supplement programs.
There is no mention in the bill that personal finance records would be
collected.
Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Government will have
direct access to your bank accts for election funds transfer. -A Matter of Interpretation!
This falls under the heading of
"STANDARDS FOR FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSACTIONS" the bill
says,"enable electronic funds transfers, in order to allow automated
reconciliation with the related health care payment and remittance
advice." The text of the bill is not clear if the electronic
funds transfers means between the patient and the health care provider.
PG 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their
families in Unions & community organizations (read: ACORN).-Fiction!
Section 164 deals with
"REINSURANCE PROGRAM FOR RETIREES" and says, "Not later than 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and
Human Services shall establish a temporary reinsurance program (in this
section referred to as the ‘‘reinsurance program’’) to provide
reimbursement to assist participating employment-based plans with the
cost of providing health benefits to retirees and to eligible spouses,
surviving spouses and dependents of such retirees."
Unions and community organizations (such as ACORN) do not appear to be
singled out in the text of the bill. Also, non union private
business that offer retirement plans and benefits for employees exist in
the country.
Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Government will create an HC Exchange to bring private
HC plans under Government control.
Still under
investigation
PG 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill — Government mandates linguistic appropriate
services. Example — Translators for illegal aliens. -
Truth!
& Fiction!
The text of the bill read, "CULTURALLY
AND LINGUISTICALLY APPROPRIATE SERVICES AND COMMUNICATIONS.—The entity
shall provide for culturally and linguistically appropriate
communication and health services." Translations Services
will be provided for those who do not speak English. Section 246 on page 143 under the
heading of "NO FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS" said,
"Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability
credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the
United States." This means no benefits provided to illegal
aliens.
Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Government will use groups, i.e. ACORN &
Americorps, to sign up individuals for Government HC plan. Still under
investigation
PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill — Specifics of Benefit Levels for Plans. AARP
members — your Health care WILL be rationed.
Still under
investigation
PG 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill — Medicaid Eligible Individuals will be
automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice.
Still under
investigation
pg 124 lines 24-25 HC No company can sue Government on price fixing. No
"judicial review" against Government Monopoly.
Still under
investigation
pg 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill — Doctors/ AMA — The Government will tell YOU
what you can earn. Still under
investigation
Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into public
option plan. NO CHOICE, if he does not have employee insurance -plus he
is taxed up to 8%. Still under
investigation
Pg 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay for HC for part time employees AND
their families. Still under
investigation
Pg 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual
taxes. (Americans will pay.)
Truth!
& Fiction!
Under the heading of PART
VIII—HEALTH CARE RELATED TAXES SUBPART A. TAX ON INDIVIDUALS
WITHOUT ACCEPTABLE HEALTH CARE COVERAGE. and ‘‘Subpart A—Tax on
Individuals Without Acceptable Health Care Coverage." There
will be a tax imposed of 2.5% of adjusted income on individuals
who do not medical health coverage that is deemed acceptable by the
plan.
A non resident alien can be
defined as a foreigner living and working in the United States on a
nonimmigrant visa.
If their income is effectively
connected with a trade or business in the United States, non
resident aliens are subject to same taxation as any US citizen,
according to the US Internal Revenue Service. According text
of the bill non resident aliens are not subject to the 2.5% of adjusted
income tax. The text of the bill does not
indicate that non resident aliens are eligible for benefits.
Pg 195 HC Bill -officers & employees of HC Admin (the GOVERNMENT) will
have access to ALL Americans' finances and personal records.
Still under
investigation
PG 203 Line 14-15 HC — "The tax imposed under this section shall not be
treated as a tax" , Yes, it actually says that!!
Still under
investigation
Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill Government will reduce physician services for
Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected.
Still under
investigation
Pg 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill — Doctors — doesn't matter what specialty — will
all be paid the same. Still under
investigation
PG 253 Line 10-18 Government sets value of Doctor's time, professional
judgment, etc. Literally, value of humans.
Still under
investigation
PG 265 Sec 1131 Government mandates & controls productivity for private
HC industries. Still under
investigation
Pg 317 L 13-20 OMG!! PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Government
tells Doctors what/how much they can own.
Still under
investigation
Pg 317-318 lines 21-25,1-3 PROHIBITION on expansion — Government will
mandate hospitals cannot expand.
Still under
investigation
Pg 354 Sec 1177 — Government will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs
people! Still under
investigation
PG 425 Lines 4-12 Government mandates Advance Care Planning
Consultations. Think Senior Citizens end of life prodding.
Still under
investigation
PG 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Government provides approved list of
end of life resources, guiding you in how to die.
Still under
investigation
PG 427 Lines 15-24 Government mandates program for orders for end of
life. The Government has a say in how your life ends.
Still under
investigation
PG 429 Lines 10-12 "advanced care consultation" may include an ORDER for
end of life plans. AN ORDER from the Government to end a life!
Still under
investigation
Page 472 Lines 14-17 PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION. 1 monthly
payment to a community-based organization. (Like ACORN?)
Still under
investigation
Click of Family
Security Matters article.
The ‘‘America’s Affordable Health
Choices Act of 2009’’ bill is 1019 pages long and can be viewed with
Adobe Reader at:
Click for text of
bill.
updated 08/13/09
