Apr

6

Planning, Parties, Payments, & Planning

Category: Our Nation, Politics | Comments Off | 533 words | Print

Just a few quick thoughts tonight, as I am still working on a couple projects.

Thought #1

Have you marked your calendar yet?

The Douglas County TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party announced Friday that it’s brewing up another mass rally for June 4 to protest big taxes and big government.

“We’re hard at work organizing the next big event,” Maureen Miller, group spokesperson, said Friday in a news release. “We plan more great local speakers, an awesome keynote celebrity and lots of fun surprises in the works.”

The group has not determined the location of the June 4 TEA Party but listed the time on its Web site as 6-9 p.m.

Organizers have also announced they will hold what they call an “Instant TEA” on April 15, federal tax filing deadline day, at the intersection of Chapel Hill and Timber Ridge roads from 5:30-7 p.m.

Read more at the Douglas County Tea Party website, developed and maintained by yours truly.

Thought #2

It seems Scary Harry Reid doesn’t really know how to throw a party. It seems only 100 supporters showed up for his campaign kickoff.

Wow. 100?!? With his poll numbers in the tank the way they are, I am surprised that many showed up.

Thought #3

The bills have to be paid somehow. This is just one (real) possibility, so keep your eyes on Washington and be ready for that fight too.

Even before the bill became law, many economists — and this writer — argued that only one tax could raise the giant revenues needed to escape a ruinous rise in debt: a European-style Value-Added Tax, or VAT. “The healthcare bill makes the logical case for the VAT stronger, because it’s not clear that Congress will make the difficult spending reductions the bill mandates,” says William Gale, an economist with the Brookings Institution. “The Fiscal Commission will give significant support for a VAT,” says Brian Riedl of the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Thought #4

I want to do a much more in-depth article one day about dryer sheets, but for now I am going to post some links which address the toxic danger of those nice little static cling eliminators.

The following chemicals are found in most dryer sheets:

  • ALPHA-TERPINEOL- Causes CNS (Central Nervous System) disorders and is highly irritating to mucus membranes.
  • BENZYL ACETATE- Carcinogenic (linked to pancreatic cancer).
  • BENZYL ALCOHOL- Causes CNS disorders. It is irritating to the upper respiratory tract” causing “headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, drop in blood pressure, CNS depression, and death in severe cases due to respiratory failure.
  • CAMPHOR- Causes CNS disorders.
  • CHLOROFORM- Toxic. It is an anesthetic and carcinogenic.
  • ETHYL ACETATE- Narcotic. This product is on the EPA’s Hazardous Waste list. Irritating to the eyes and respiratory tract.
  • LINALOOL- Narcotic. Causes DNS disorder, respiratory disturbances.
  • PENTANE-”Danger-Harmful if inhaled; extremely flammable.

Dryer sheets are added when you dry your clothes. The chemicals listed above are spread on your clothes before you pull them out of the dryer, fold them, and put them away. Nothing else touches them (or rinses the chemicals out) until after you have worn them.

As I said, I need to do more research on this, but for now, you might want to find an alternative to using something laced with any known harmful chemicals.

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Mar

26

Lies, Lies, And More Lies

Category: Our Nation, Politics | Comments Off | 388 words | Print

Obama says if we want to repeal ObamaCare, we should go for it. He better be careful. He may just get what he asked for.

During the 2008 campaign, Barack Obama made a pledge not to increase taxes on any households earning less than $250,000.

“I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increases,” the Illinois senator told a crowd in Dover, N.H. on Sept. 12, 2008. “Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.”

He lied.

During his address to the joint session of Congress in February of 2009, he repeated his pledge.

“If your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. I repeat: not a single dime,” the president said.

He lied again. How many times has he lied? Let’s count the ways (just with the health care bill).

All legal U.S. residents will be required to purchase health care beginning in 2014. The plan will require a single person to pay 2.5% of their income or $695 if they don’t purchase health care. If you make more than $30,000 you pay the 2.5%, if you make less, you pay $695. Either way, it’s an additional “health care” tax you were not paying before.

Businesses will be required to provide health care to all employees (even part-time) even if their revenues are below $250,000 per year. If the business does not provide the insurance, they will pay a tax of $750 per employee.

My wife runs her own business. I run my own business, together we will be paying much more than we were before this crap from ObamaCare hit the proverbial fan.

The old rules for HSA (health savings accounts) and FSA (flexible spending accounts) will no longer apply. Americans could use pre-tax dollars from those accounts for over the counter medicines. They will not be allowed any longer, which adds additional taxes to their income.

I could go on all day with each of the new taxes. It turns out there are more than a dozen of them, but then again, if you read the bill you already knew that.

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Nov

20

4.9 Trillion Reasons To Contact Your Senator

Category: Opinions, Our Nation | Comments Off | 1,175 words | Print

In the same fashion as the House version of health care reform, the Senate version eliminates lifetime and annual limits on the benefits for any participant or beneficiary, dependent coverage is extended until children turn 26 (although they are very much NOT children by this point), and it prohibits the discrimination of coverage based on salary.

I don’t really get that last one, because employers will be terminating their own health care plans because the government fines and fees for not providing coverage will be much lower than the cost of the plans themselves.

The Senate version provides for immediate access to insurance for those individuals with a pre-existing condition, sets up the “health benefit exchange”, and like the House version, creates so many layers of bureaucracy in health care that you’ll be lucky to make it through the red tape to see an actual doctor.

While reading the Senate’s “amendment in the nature of a substitute” to HR 3590, I realized that even though they worked on it behind closed doors and kept the whole process hush-hush, we’ve seen much of this bill before. Most of the provisions of the Senate version of the bill have been seen twice before, even three times, in the previous versions of the House bills as well as the first Senate bill that was “tossed out there” for all of us to see.

And just like the House version(s), this bill stinks, and it stinks bad. The Senate debated the bill all day today and they are scheduled to debate again all day tomorrow. You can watch the proceedings on CSPAN2, but make sure you contact your senators before you do anything else and tell them to vote against cloture on this bill. A vote for cloture (remember, they need 60 votes to proceed) is a vote for the bill (since they only need 51 votes to pass the bill).

Rather than go section by section (which would take me a couple days to post again) I thought I would cover some of the more pertinent and dangerous portions of the bill. If you read my posts on HR3200 or HR3962 then you are pretty much up to speed with this Senate bill, with a few exceptions.

The Senate bill weighs in at 2,074 pages (the largest one yet) and 20.8 pounds. The average staple weighs roughly 32 milligrams, average paper clip weighs 1 gram, and the average stethoscope weighs about 5 ounces. The Senate bill weighs more than 294,835 staples, 9,434 paper clips or 66 stethoscopes. That’s one heavy bill.

When Medicaid was created years ago, the original estimates put the cost of the bill at $238 million, yet the cost of Medicaid hit $1 billion and have been rising ever since, so let’s get real about the cost of this (or any) health care bill presented thus far by the Democrats.

James Capretta, the Ethics and Public Policy Center fellow for NRO, estimates the true cost of the bill (with the “doc fix” included) to be $4.9 trillion over 20 years with Democrats raising $2.2 in tax hikes and recovering more money by making cuts to Medicare coverage.

At a cost of $2.5 trillion, which is turning out to be a very conservative number itself, the Senate bill will cost us $1.2 billion per page, or $6.8 million per word.

The Senate bill includes provisions which will impose an additional taxes and fees which borderline on ridiculous. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said it best when he said,

If you have insurance, you get taxed. If you don’t have insurance, you get taxed. If you need a life-saving medical device, you get taxed. If you need prescription medicines, you get taxed

There is a new marriage penalty which will hit many couples right in the pocketbook, and will increase the federal deficit, which President Obama promised he would not support doing. Of course, when was the last time you heard an honest word come out of his mouth, seriously?

The non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation released it’s own report which estimates how much revenue taxes in the bill are likely to generate. According to the JCT,

  • Tax on high-end health insurance plans: $149.1 billion
  • Capping flexible spending accounts at $2,500: $14.6 billion
  • Fees for drug makers: $22.2 billion
  • Fees for medical device makers: $19.3 billion
  • Fees for health insurance companies: $60.4 billion
  • Higher floor for deducting medical expenses: $15.2 billion
  • Higher payroll tax for top earners: $53.8 billion
  • Tax on cosmetic surgery: $5.8 billion

The report goes on to list all of the different taxes and fees, which total much more than this initial list which comes to $340.4 billion in new taxes paid by you and me. Notice that last one which reflects the new 5% excise tax on elective cosmetic surgery. Nancy Pelosi is not going to like that provision at all. How much you want to bet that entire paragraph gets stripped in conference if this bill passes the Senate?

One fee not mentioned, until now, is the monthly abortion fee that everyone under the government-run plan will be paying for. According to Section 1303 of the Senate bill, the Secretary of Health and Human Services will have the authority to determine when abortion will be allowed under the government run health plan, and all premiums paid under the government run plan will be paid into the U.S. Treasury account which will be used to pay for abortion services.

HR 3590, “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” will also allow the government to enter your home under “home visitation programs”. Section 2951 will allow the government to send officials into your home to check the “wellness” of your children, to make sure you are parenting your children properly and otherwise taking care of them at some standard which will be set by the government.

Those officials will be checking on low income families, women under the age of 21 who become pregnant, families with a history of substance abuse, families that have members who use tobacco products, families with children who have low student achievement, families with children who have learning disabilities or developmental delays, and families with individuals who are serving or have served in our armed forces.

Just think of the ramifications of section 2951 which is a clear example of invasion of privacy, and that section alone is enough reason not to support the passage of this bill.

There is no doubt that our health care system needs an adjustment, or even reform if you want to call it that, but this bill, as well as all of the other Democrat bills presented thus far is not what we need, or want. We cannot allow this bill to be forced upon us by Barack Obama, with help Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.

Remember to take some time out of your day tomorrow to contact your senators and tell them to vote no on cloture. One vote could literally save our country from the downward spiral known as government run health care.

Nov

18

Two Thousand Seventy Four Pages

Category: Opinions, Our Nation | Comments Off | 392 words | Print

Scary Harry Reid released the brand new Senate health care reform bill. I’ve added it to the source document list to the left, and I will begin reading it sometime tomorrow. According to early reports, the bill will cost $849 billion over 10 years, and will reduce the deficit by $127 billion over that same 10 years.

$127 billion dollars sounds like an awful lot, except it’s not. Not really. The federal deficit for October 2009 alone, was $176 billion. Think about it. The Senate version of health care reform will reduce the deficit by $1.058 billion per month for 10 years. If we have more months like October 2009, the deficit will still rise by more than $174 billion every month.

The next time you hear someone brag about this bill “reducing the deficit” just slap them in the face with the facts and watch the blood drain from their face.

The Senate health care bill is being introduced as an amendment, in the form of a substitution, for House Resolution 3590. HR 3590 had absolutely nothing to do with health care before this substitution.

Early reports indicate that this substitute HR3590 contains a 40% excise tax on health care plans which are in excess of $8,500, an additional 0.5% Medicare tax on wages in excess of $106,800, and additional fees for manufacturers of certain drugs and medical devices. The bill also raises taxes by $370 billion over 10 years, and it doesn’t stop there. The Senate health care reform bill allows for taxpayer-funded abortions through the public health insurance plan and the health insurance “exchange”.

In short, the Senate bill will raise premiums, raise taxes, and cut benefits. You can read the Congressional Budget Office score of the bill (PDF), for more information on the costs of this version of health care reform but remember one thing. The bill they scored for this report (HR 3590) will not be the same bill (therefore their score of the bill will no longer be valid) once it passes. It is sure to “evolve” before any final vote comes to the Senate floor.

Like I said at the beginning of this post, I will begin my review of the substitute to HR3590 tomorrow evening. Until then, get reading. Don’t make me do it alone.

Nov

2

HR3962 : Division D

Category: Economics, HR 3962, Our Nation | Comments Off | 1,058 words | Print

So far, the contents of HR3962 have been absolutely insane. From the transition to the single payer system and federally funded abortions to the tight regulation of neighborhood obesity, restaurant menus, and vending machines, it’s been quite a ride.

This final section, Division D, pertains to Indian Health Care Improvement, but just wait until you see some of the items Nancy Pelosi and the gang feel will improve Indian health.

Section 3101 of HR3962 amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. In addition to numerous other sections, it also amends section 301, by stating,

Congress finds the following:

(1) The provision of sanitation facilities is primarily a health consideration and function.

(2) Indian people suffer an inordinately high incidence of disease, injury, and illness directly at attributable to the absence or inadequacy of sanitation facilities.

The bill states “sanitation facilities” several times in this section, and Congress reaffirms the primary responsibility and authority of the Service to provide the necessary sanitation facilities and services, yet they never really state which sanitation systems will be further regulated, and there is no mention about the authority of the local tribes that will be affected by this legislation. What if they have existing standards, infrastructure and systems? Shouldn’t they have some say about how these facilities will be serviced and monitored? Is clean drinking water part of the plan for these “sanitation facilities”?

In the previous post we saw the return of involuntary servitude and discrimination so it only makes sense that “Indian Health Care Improvement” would involve the taking of Indian land… again… right?

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and all other agencies and departments of the United States are authorized to transfer, at no cost, land and improvements to the Service for the provision of health care services. The Secretary is authorized to accept such land and improvements for such purposes.

Something tells me this isn’t going to go over well either. Health care services or not, they may take offense to the fact that the Secretary of Health and Human Services now has the right to take any land he/she wants as long as she justifies it in the name of improved health care.

This section continues to erode tribal sovereignty by assigning control of any and all grants and/or contracts between Tries and any health care, education, disease prevention, wild life preservation, land preservation, land purchases, and anything else covered by the Snyder Act.

Under authority of the Act of November 2, 1921 (25 U.S.C. 13) (commonly known as the ‘Snyder Act’), the Secretary, acting through the Service, shall enter into contracts with, or make grants to, urban Indian organizations to assist such organizations in the establishment and administration, within Urban Centers, of programs which meet the requirements set forth in this title. Subject to section 506, the Secretary, acting through the Service, shall include such conditions as the Secretary considers necessary to effect the purpose of this title in any contract into which the Secretary enters with, or in any grant the Secretary makes to, any urban Indian organization pursuant to this title.

For more information on this blatant encroachment of tribal sovereignty, make sure you read all of the pages from 1805 through 1877.

The bill authorizes the Secretary to decide what constitutes mental illness for the Indian community.

The purposes of this section are as follows:

(1) To authorize and direct the Secretary, acting through the Service, to develop a comprehensive behavioral health prevention and treatment program which emphasizes collaboration among alcohol and substance abuse, social services, and mental health programs.

(2) To provide information, direction, and guidance relating to mental illness and dysfunction and self-destructive behavior, including child abuse and family violence, to those Federal, tribal, State, and local agencies responsible for programs in Indian communities in areas of health care, education, social services, child and family welfare, alcohol and substance abuse, law enforcement, and judicial services.

and also provides for the conversion of existing hospital beds (for medical treatment) to be used in psychiatric wards as needed.

Mental Health Care Need Assessment- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2009, the Secretary, acting through the Service, shall make an assessment of the need for inpatient mental health care among Indians and the availability and cost of inpatient mental health facilities which can meet such need. In making such assessment, the Secretary shall consider the possible conversion of existing, underused Service hospital beds into psychiatric units to meet such need.

Why would American Indians need more psychiatric beds anyway? Does the government know something we don’t or are they preparing for something bigger? When it comes to HR3962, it doesn’t get much bigger than this.

The bill makes reference to treatment programs specifically for women,

The Secretary, consistent with section 701, may make grants to Indian Tribes, Tribal Organizations, and urban Indian organizations to develop and implement a comprehensive behavioral health program of prevention, intervention, treatment, and relapse prevention services that specifically addresses the cultural, historical, social, and child care needs of Indian women, regardless of age.

funding for a Fetal Alcohol Disorder Task Force,

The Secretary shall establish a task force to be known as the Fetal Alcohol Disorder Task Force to advise the Secretary in carrying out subsection (b).

and the establishment of a Native American Health and Wellness Foundation.

As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this title, the Secretary shall establish, under the laws of the District of Columbia and in accordance with this title, the Native American Health and Wellness Foundation.

And with that, I wrap up my quick summary of House Resolution 3962, Affordable Health Care for America Act.

Make sure you read the pertinent parts of this bill. It was a much tougher read than the previous bill, which I think was intentional on the part of Nancy Pelosi and the gang. Almost every provision of HR3962 makes an amendment to some other legislation or act which is already in place, so learning the true intention of many sections was quite painstaking.

I shudder to think what the final Senate version of the bill will look like, if we’re ever allowed to see it, and once the two are merged, it’s going to be completely ridiculous, I am sure.

That’s it for tonight, I’m going to sleep now.

Nov

2

HR3962 : Division C

Category: Economics, HR 3962, Our Nation | Comments Off | 1,556 words | Print

Once again, I apologize for the brevity of each summary post, but I am hoping I’ll have a little time during the debate on the House floor to discuss some of these provisions in more detail. Here we go with Division C.

Section 2201 establishes the National Health Service Corps, just like HR 3200 did, which will require any member of the Corps to perform “half-time” clinical practice as a contractual obligation under the new scholarship program and/or loan repayment program. There’s nothing like involuntary servitude to make a country stronger.

Not only does HR3962 hail the return of involuntary servitude, but it also opens the door to health care discrimination on a wide-reaching scale in Section 2301.

The term ‘health disparities’ includes health and health care disparities and means population-specific differences in the presence of disease, health outcomes, or access to health care. For purposes of the preceding sentence, a population may be delineated by race, ethnicity, primary language, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, socioeconomic status, or rural, urban, or other geographic setting, and any other population or subpopulation determined by the Secretary to experience significant gaps in disease, health outcomes, or access to health care.

In other words, the Secretary of Health and Human Services will be permitted to use race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, age, and any other criteria he/she wants while determining your access to health care. Every other government entity is prohibited from discrimination, yet HR3962 doesn’t just open that door, it props it open with a 1,990 page bill.

Section 2502 states,

A hospital described in subparagraph (L), (M), (N), (R), (S), or (T) of paragraph (4) shall not obtain covered outpatient drugs through a group purchasing organization or other group purchasing arrangement.

If hospitals are not permitted to participate outpatient drugs in group purchasing organizations, does this mean they have to do so independently, and if so, why? What is the purpose or motive for disallowing such participation?

Section 2502 also sets the requirements for improvement in the 340B program integrity. The 340B program is the drug pricing program which resulted from enactment of Public Law 102-585, the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992, which is codified as Section 340B of the Public Health Service Act. Section 340B limits the cost of covered outpatient drugs to certain federal grantees, federally-qualified health center look-alikes and qualified disproportionate share hospitals. Significant savings on pharmaceuticals may be seen by those entities that participate in this program.

This section of the bill authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services

to verify the accuracy of ceiling prices calculated by manufacturers under subsection (a)(1) and charged to covered entities

Nothing in this section will prohibit the Secretary from abusing their power to make this decision, and nothing in this section provides for any type of oversight to ensure that the Secretary is acting in the best interest of the American taxpayer.

School based health clinics will be established using grants defined in Section 2511.

Funds awarded under a grant under this section–

(1) may be used for–

(A) providing training related to the provision of comprehensive primary health services and additional health services;

(B) the management and operation of SBHC programs, including through subcontracts; and

(C) the payment of salaries for health professionals and other appropriate SBHC personnel; and

(2) may not be used to provide abortions.

While section 2511 clearly prohibits “in school abortions”, it does not prevent or prohibit the distribution of materials regarding abortion or access to information on accessing facilities which provide abortions.

Why exactly do we need school based health clinics anyway? Shouldn’t schools teach children, and medical facilities treat them?

Section 2513 requires “FEDERALLY QUALIFIED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CENTERS” to offer a wide range of services.

Make available to individuals served by the center, directly, through contract, or through linkages with other programs, each of the following:

(i) Adult and youth peer support and counselor services.

(ii) Family support services for families of children with serious mental disorders.

(iii) Other community or regional services, supports, and providers, including schools, child welfare agencies, juvenile and criminal justice agencies and facilities, housing agencies and programs, employers, and other social services.

(iv) Onsite or offsite access to primary care services.

(v) Enabling services, including outreach, transportation, and translation.

(vi) Health and wellness services, including services for tobacco cessation.

In other words, these newly named “federally qualified behavioral health centers” will be required to offer counseling services, family support for families of children with serious mental disorders, access to schools and a wide range of other public services, as well as access to primary care services and health and wellness services including services for tobacco cessation.

Which health and wellness services would be offered that wouldn’t be covered by a primary care service provider? Is this an implication of some other health service that normally isn’t performed inside hospitals and other medical facilities? And since when is smoking a mental health issue?

Section 2534 allows community organizations to provide services to low-income and uninsured patients and nothing in the section prevents a community-based collaborative care network from providing care to individuals.

Section 2525 establishes the “Community Based Overweight and Obesity Prevention Program which will be administered by eligible entities which will be awarded grants to run the program.

(a) Program- The Secretary shall establish a community-based overweight and obesity prevention program consisting of awarding grants and contracts under subsection (b).

(b) Grants- The Secretary shall award grants to, or enter into contracts with, eligible entities–

(1) to plan evidence-based programs for the prevention of overweight and obesity among children and their families through improved nutrition and increased physical activity; or

(2) to implement such programs.

These grants will be awarded to “representatives of public and private entities that have a history of working within and serving the community. Think ACORN.

As if this bill wasn’t painful enough, Section 2562 actually deals with pain research. Apparently HR3962 establishes an Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee. Just thinking of the bureaucracy of this new committee is painful. You may want to read this section to learn how the committee will be comprised, because this committee will be making decisions that could affect your treatment if you have chronic pain.

Just what you need when you’re in pain. A committee deciding if you have had enough medication, whether or not your pain threshold has changed, and whether or not your treatment protocol needs to be changed. You know, for your well-being, since you’re in pain and all.

Believe me, the fun does not stop there. Under Section 2572, the Secretary of Health and Human Services will be regulating every menu in America.

The Secretary shall establish by regulation standards for determining and disclosing the nutrient content for standard menu items that come in different flavors, varieties, or combinations, but which are listed as a single menu item, such as soft drinks, ice cream, pizza, doughnuts, or children’s combination meals, through means determined by the Secretary, including ranges, averages, or other methods.

In addition to menus, vending machines will also be tightly regulated.

In the case of an article of food sold from a vending machine that–

(I) does not permit a prospective purchaser to examine the Nutrition Facts Panel before purchasing the article or does not otherwise provide visible nutrition information at the point of purchase; and

(II) is operated by a person who is engaged in the business of owning or operating 20 or more vending machines,

the vending machine operator shall provide a sign in close proximity to each article of food or the selection button that includes a clear and conspicuous statement disclosing the number of calories contained in the article.

But that’s not all. In addition to deciding which information should be required to appear on menus and next to vending machines, the Secretary of Health and Human Services will also be responsible for the standardization of recipes, methods of preparation, serving size, menu items, space on menus, menu boards, and even human error. Read it if you don’t believe me.

In promulgating regulations, the Secretary shall–

(aa) consider standardization of recipes and methods of preparation, reasonable variation in serving size and formulation of menu items, space on menus and menu boards, inadvertent human error, training of food service workers, variations in ingredients, and other factors, as the Secretary determines; and

(bb) specify the format and manner of the nutrient content disclosure requirements under this subclause.

That Secretary of Health and Human Services must be a talented person. In addition to administering the entire Health and Human Services department of the government, they will also need to know everything there is about health care, pharmaceutical drugs, food, recipes, menus, vending machines, and who knows what else by the time we get done here.

Getting back to health care, yeah I know, it’s such a stretch now isn’t it? Section 2581 amends the Public Health Service Act by requiring the automatic enrollment of employees into a health care plan by the employer, and the inability to disenroll except once per year during an annual enrollment period. If I remember correctly, this same provision appeared in HR 3200.

It’s getting late and my mind is turning to mush, but I’m almost done with this review of HR3962. All that remains is Division D, which will be following this post within the next couple hours. We’ll pick up with Division D, “Indian Health Care Improvement” on page 1635 then.

Nov

2

HR3962 : Division B

Category: Economics, HR 3962, Our Nation | Comments Off | 2,128 words | Print

So far we have learned that HR 3962 brings the single payer health care system to America along with health care rationing, special end-of-life care, and federally funded abortions. Along with all of those headaches it also brings a dictionary full of new taxes, and all of that was written into Division A. Let’s start a quick review of Division B.

Section 1111 starts off by regulating non-therapy ancillary services. It appears that payment for these services will be based on the patients age, physical and mental status, ability to perform activities of daily living, and other information.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall analyze payments for non-therapy ancillary services under a future skilled nursing facility classification system to ensure the accuracy of payment for non-therapy ancillary services. Such analysis shall consider use of appropriate predictors which may include age, physical and mental status, ability to perform activities of daily living, prior nursing home stay, diagnoses, broad RUG category, and a proxy for length of stay.

Why should non-medical staff have the authority to decide what type of non-therapy ancillary service you may require? Shouldn’t your doctor, or at least a health care professional be the one choosing your medical treatment?

Payments for stays in skilled nursing facilities will be based on the aggregate costs during that stay and not on the number of days in that stay.

Outlier adjustments or additional payments described in subparagraph (A) shall be based on aggregate costs during a stay in a skilled nursing facility and not on the number of days in such stay.

but

The Secretary shall reduce estimated payments that would otherwise be made under the prospective payment system under this subsection with respect to a fiscal year by 2 percent. The total amount of the additional payments or payment adjustments for outliers made under this paragraph with respect to a fiscal year may not exceed 2 percent of the total payments projected or estimated to be made based on the prospective payment system under this subsection for the fiscal year.

So rather than base the payment on the number of days a patient stays in the facility, the payments will now be based on aggregate costs minus 2 percent. In other words, facilities will not even be paid for their actual costs for providing treatment.

Section 1112 establishes the standard by which Medicare DSH payments will be reduced to hospitals and service providers based on the “significant” decrease in the numbers of those who are uninsured. A significant decrease will be measured only if there is an 8% decrease in the number of those uninsured. I thought the purpose of this bill was to insure all of the uninsured people in America. Isn’t setting a target goal of only 8% rather lame?

There is a lot more to this bill than I am covering, but like I said when I started, I am trying to cover some of the more important sections of the bill before the debate on the bill begins. You can be sure of one thing. If you followed my review of HR 3200, which was much more in-depth, almost every provision of that bill also exists in this bill.

Section 1156 prohibits the expansion of hospitals without the approval of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The expansion of facility capacity is completely prohibited.

PROHIBITION ON EXPANSION OF FACILITY CAPACITY- Except as provided in paragraph (2), the number of operating rooms, procedure rooms, or beds of the hospital at any time on or after the date of the enactment of this subsection are no greater than the number of operating rooms, procedure rooms, or beds, respectively, as of such date.

But the Secretary can determine the process in which those facilities can apply for an exception and be allowed to expand.

The Secretary shall establish and implement a process under which a hospital may apply for an exception from the requirement under paragraph (1)(C).

While these exceptions may be approved and facilities will be allowed to expand, they won’t be allowed to expand to a size which is double the size they were when the bill takes affect.

PERMITTED INCREASE-

(i) IN GENERAL- Subject to clause (ii) and subparagraph (D), a hospital granted an exception under the process described in subparagraph (A) may increase the number of operating rooms, procedure rooms, or beds of the hospital above the baseline number of operating rooms, procedure rooms, or beds, respectively, of the hospital (or, if the hospital has been granted a previous exception under this paragraph, above the number of operating rooms, procedure rooms, or beds, respectively, of the hospital after the application of the most recent increase under such an exception).

(ii) 100 PERCENT INCREASE LIMITATION- The Secretary shall not permit an increase in the number of operating rooms, procedure rooms, or beds of a hospital under clause (i) to the extent such increase would result in the number of operating rooms, procedure rooms, or beds of the hospital exceeding 200 percent of the baseline number of operating rooms, procedure rooms, or beds of the hospital.

(iii) BASELINE NUMBER OF OPERATING ROOMS, PROCEDURE ROOMS, OR BEDS- In this paragraph, the term ‘baseline number of operating rooms, procedure rooms, or beds’ means the number of operating rooms, procedure rooms, or beds of a hospital as of the date of enactment of this subsection.

Expansions will be limited only to those hospitals and facilities which have experienced population increases, increased patient admissions in their respective counties, and a higher bed occupancy rate within their state.

In other words, Section 1156 will hasten the end of quality medical care in rural America. If the population isn’t there, it won’t be cost effective to expand (or even build) medical facilities.

Section 1161 gives the Secretary authority to cut payments and even make the determination if Medicare Advantage Plans are qualified health plans.

AUTHORITY TO DISQUALIFY DEFICIENT PLANS- The Secretary may determine that a Medicare Advantage plan is not a qualifying plan if the Secretary has identified deficiencies in the plan’s compliance with rules for Medicare Advantage plans under this part.

The entire section is much longer, but in essence, $150 billion could be cut from Medicare Advantage Plans, which would reduce or eliminate the coverage for millions of senior citizens.

If it wasn’t enough to put their health coverage plans in jeopardy, Section 1236 authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation established under section 1115A of the Social Security Act, to establish a decision making program under the Medicare program using patient decision aids to meet the objective of improving the understanding of medical treatment options in a “shared decision making” process using those patient decision aids.

This section will also waive requirements of the Social Security Act Titles XI and XVIII, seniors will be required to meet attend counseling on Medicare services, and compensation will be granted to providers who generate less cost for care.

Read that last paragraph again people. Compensation if you generate less cost for care. Exactly how do you generate less cost for care with a “patient decision aid”? What decision could a senior citizen possibly make that would reduce the cost for their care? You get the point.

Section 1401 creates the “Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research”. The what? Comparative effectiveness?

The Center shall–

(A) conduct, support, and synthesize research relevant to the comparative effectiveness of the full spectrum of health care items, services and systems, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, medical and surgical procedures, and other medical interventions;

(B) conduct and support systematic reviews of clinical research, including original research conducted subsequent to the date of the enactment of this section;

(C) continuously develop rigorous scientific methodologies for conducting comparative effectiveness studies, and use such methodologies appropriately;

(D) submit to the Comparative Effectiveness Research Commission, the Secretary, and Congress appropriate relevant reports described in subsection (d)(2);

(E) not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this section, enter into an arrangement under which the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences shall conduct an evaluation and report on standards of evidence for highly credible research;

(F) encourage, as appropriate, the development and use of clinical registries and the development of clinical effectiveness research data networks from electronic health records, post marketing drug and medical device surveillance efforts, and other forms of electronic health data; and

(G) appoint clinical perspective advisory panels for research priorities under this section, which shall consult with patients and other stakeholders and advise the Center on research questions, methods, and evidence gaps in terms of clinical outcomes for the specific research inquiry to be examined with respect to such priority to ensure that the information produced from such research is clinically relevant to decisions made by clinicians and patients at the point of care.

How long until the “Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research” begins to deny access to necessary, life saving treatments because the comparative costs of providing them no longer shows effectiveness in reviews by the center staff?

Again, there is a lot more in this bill. I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface yet. It’s not that I feel I am missing information, I just don’t feel the need to regurgitate all of the text from HR 3200 that still exists in this bill.

Section 1416 with authorize the all powerful Secretary of Health and Human Services to maintain specific information on all direct care staffing at each and every medical facility in the country.

SUBMISSION OF STAFFING INFORMATION BASED ON PAYROLL DATA IN A UNIFORM FORMAT

On and after the first day of the first calendar quarter beginning after the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this subparagraph, and after consulting with State long-term care ombudsman programs, consumer advocacy groups, provider stakeholder groups, employees and their representatives, and other parties the Secretary deems appropriate, the Secretary shall require a skilled nursing facility to electronically submit to the Secretary direct care staffing information (including information with respect to agency and contract staff) based on payroll and other verifiable and auditable data in a uniform format (according to specifications established by the Secretary in consultation with such programs, groups, and parties). Such specifications shall require that the information submitted under the preceding sentence–

(i) specify the category of work a certified employee performs (such as whether the employee is a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, licensed vocational nurse, certified nursing assistant, therapist, or other medical personnel);

(ii) include resident census data and information on resident case mix;

(iii) include a regular reporting schedule; and

(iv) include information on employee turnover and tenure and on the hours of care provided by each category of certified employees referenced in clause (i) per resident per day.

Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed as preventing the Secretary from requiring submission of such information with respect to specific categories, such as nursing staff, before other categories of certified employees. Information under this subparagraph with respect to agency and contract staff shall be kept separate from information on employee staffing.’.

What purpose would the government have for keeping track of every member of the direct care staff, unless they’re just preparing for the new single payer system where every member of the medical community works for the federal government anyway?

Section 1802 establishes the funding for the aforementioned “Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research”, which will be funded by taxes on certain insurance policies. Yes. In addition to the bakers dozen of new taxes already mentioned, Nancy Pelosi intends to tax some specific health care plans in order to fund their comparative effectiveness research.

Back on July 9th, 2009, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi pledged that the House would not leave for the August recess without passing a health care overhaul bill, and she promised that any bill from the House would not tax health benefits.

Pelosi said that any bill the House passes will not tax employee health care benefits and will include a robust public insurance option.

“We will not be taxing benefits in any bill that passes the House,” she said.

She lied. Section 1802 of HR3962, the bill she herself helped craft and announced last Thursday, clearly states otherwise. So much for the promises of the Speaker of the House. The same can be said for President Obama. He promised not to raise taxes on any family making less than $250,000. Section 1802 breaks that promise as well. I wonder if HR3962 contains a provision for comparative mental health treatment for dilusional politicians who lack effectiveness?

That’s it for Division B. Tonight, I will tackle the remainder of HR 3962, “Affordable Health Care for America Act”. For those of you keeping track, we’ll pick up on page 1209.

Nov

2

HR3962 : Division A : Part Two

Category: Economics, HR 3962, Our Nation | Comments Off | 1,247 words | Print

Before I begin tonight, I need to backtrack a bit and remind you that HR3962 establishes the new Health Choices Administration, the Health Choices Commissioner, and the Health Insurance Exchange just like HR 3200 contained. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, as well as this new Commissioner will dictate every aspect of the new government controlled “exchange plans”.

The Health Choices Commissioner will have the authority to audit every qualified health benefits plan to see if the plan meets all government criteria and whether or not that plan has violated any government regulation. As written in this bill (like HR 3200) there is no limit to this authority and leaves the door wide open for abuse by the HCC.

I still have 12 pages of notes on my desk to get through, and somehow I skipped that interesting tidbit in my review last night. In this post I will pick up right where we left off, with additional taxes and “credits” in Section 521 on page 318.

In previous sections we learned that a small business owner could potentially pay almost $28,500 in taxes (as penalties) when he/she makes just $100,000 per year. Section 521 gives that small business owner an “employer health coverage tax credit”.

The default amount for that credit is 50% of what that small business owner pays in health care costs based on the employee, if they have 10 employees or less.

In the case of an employer whose average annual employee compensation for the taxable year exceeds $20,000, the percentage specified in paragraph (1) shall be reduced by a number of percentage points which bears the same ratio to 50 as such excess bears to $20,000.

On page 319 we learn that there will be no credit for the employer if the employee makes $80,000 or more. I don’t know about you, but I foresee a big reduction in salaries as a way for employers to receive a larger credit from the government. Oh, and HR3962 makes sure that credit is not permanent. It only applies for two taxable years. Generous huh?

Section 531 changes the way you’ll be able to use your Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts, or Health Reimbursement Arrangements. Thanks to this section you will no longer be allowed to use those accounts to purchase non-prescription medications which will in turn raise the amount of taxes you pay on your income because you’ll no longer be able to use non-taxed money to make those purchases.

Flexible Spending Accounts help American’s budget their medical and health needs throughout the year, and thus far have been uncapped. Section 532 changes this by capping FSA’s at $2,500 per year. Section 533 increases the penalty for nonqualified distributions (like purchasing non-prescription medication) from 10 percent to 20 percent. Yes, you read that correctly. HR3962 will cut the number of qualified items and services you can purchase with your FSA while doubling the penalty for those non-qualified purchases.

Section 534 eliminates the current tax deduction for employer based health plans which coordinate with Medicare Part D, which will make private health insurance participation in Medicare non existent (while that private health insurance exists anyway).

Section 551 imposes a surtax on anyone who finds success and earns a high income because of that success. According to this section, those individuals who make more than $500,000 (modified adjusted gross income) will pay an additional surtax (yes, this is another reference to another newly defined tax) of 5.4%.

(a) General Rule- In the case of a taxpayer other than a corporation, there is hereby imposed (in addition to any other tax imposed by this subtitle) a tax equal to 5.4 percent of so much of the modified adjusted gross income of the taxpayer as exceeds $1,000,000.

(b) Taxpayers Not Making a Joint Return- In the case of any taxpayer other than a taxpayer making a joint return under section 6013 or a surviving spouse (as defined in section 2(a)), subsection (a) shall be applied by substituting ‘$500,000′ for ‘$1,000,000′.

This new surtax will raise the top tax rate of 39.6% to 45%. Yes. If you make $500,000 per year you will pay 45% income tax. It seems that the lawmakers who wrote this bill are a bit jealous of those who find success and this is their way of sending a message that they would prefer them not to be successful.

Think about it. If you make $500,000, you’ll be paying an additional $27,000 simply for being successful. In total, if you sit at the highest tax rate and you make $500,000, you’ll end up paying $225,000 in taxes and end up with a net total of $275,000. Your counterpart, however, who makes $499,000 will pay $197,604 and end up with a net total of $301,396. In other words, if you make $1,000 more than your counterpart, your counterpart will take home $26,396 more than you will.

Those Democrats sure have a great way of congratulating you for your success, don’t they? Hang in there. At this point you still have some income left and we still have at least five new taxes to discuss here.

Section 552 implements a new excise tax of 2.5% on the manufacture of medical devices, Section 553 requires the reporting the “exchanges of property” in addition to income on 1099-MISC forms as well as requiring corporations to report payments to other corporations, not just individuals, Section 554 delays corporate tax relief from the American Jobs Creation Act for nine years, and Section 561 places limitations on tax treaty benefits for certain deductible payments, which will allow for double taxation on some earnings.

I’ll take a moment to pause right here and reflect on the fact that a delay in tax relief is basically the same as imposing a new tax. I’ll wait another moment too, so those who got lost because we moved so quickly through that last paragraph can have a chance to catch up with the rest of us.

Section 562 gives the Internal Revenue Service a new unbridled power under the title “Economic Substance Doctrine”, where the IRS will be permitted to disallow legitimate tax deductions

ECONOMIC SUBSTANCE DOCTRINE- The term ‘economic substance doctrine’ means the common law doctrine under which tax benefits under subtitle A with respect to a transaction are not allowable if the transaction does not have economic substance or lacks a business purpose.

If the IRS believes the motive for the deduction was not primarily business related, the IRS, in it’s own determination will decide whether or not the deduction is allowed. This section does not define the appeal process, if there is any, regarding the new ‘economic substance doctrine’.

Too bad our own government isn’t required to follow some sort of economic substance doctrine.

According to Section 563, partnerships and corporations that make more than $100,000,000 (100 million dollars) are “more likely than not’ to make underpayments on their taxes and HR 3962 aims to hold them “more likely than not” accountable.

In the case of any specified person, paragraph (1) shall apply to the portion of an underpayment which is attributable to any item only if such person has a reasonable belief that the tax treatment of such item by such person is more likely than not the proper tax treatment of such item.

With that, we have finished Division A. I’ll have another post this afternoon beginning with Division B on page 366.

Nov

1

HR3962 : Division A : Part One

Category: Economics, HR 3962, Our Nation | Comments Off | 2,013 words | Print

As you know by now, Nancy Pelosi announced the release of HR 3962 : Affordable Health Care for America Act on Thursday of last week.

I took a quick glance at it that afternoon, and mentioned that I would be looking at the bill over the weekend. You will be happy to know that I have spent the better part of my weekend reading through the bill and making notes.

The summary of this bill won’t be quite as detailed as the one I did for HR 3200, but I will cover as much as I can before tomorrow night. I’ve heard rumors that the House will begin debate on the bill this week, and I want to get through as much of the bill as I can so you know what to talk about when you call your Representatives about HR 3962.

While the word rationing does not appear in the text of the bill, Title I, Section 101, authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to monitor the costs of covering the “high-risk pool” of citizens, and to adjust benefits, premiums and such to offset the expenses of treating them. It even goes so far as to establish waiting lists for those in this “pool”.

If the Secretary estimates for any fiscal year that the aggregate amounts available for payment of expenses of the high-risk pool will be less than the amount of the expenses, the Secretary shall make such adjustments as are necessary to eliminate such deficit, including reducing benefits, increasing premiums, or establishing waiting lists.

Twenty-five pages into the bill and they’ve already established the authorization for rationing your health care. Remember my review of HR 3200 and my examples, including those who are elderly with cancer, those who have AIDS/HIV, or those who have lifelong diseases like Parkinsons? It’s only a matter of time before their coverage dries up completely now.

At this point, I thought it might be a good idea to take some Tylenol, while I still have access to it. Based on these first pages, this is going to be an interesting read.

Title II, Section 202 will phase out private health insurance coverage by 2013. This section states,

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.

Can you say hello single payer health care? Seriously. At first I thought this bill was a “Punk’d” prank played by Nancy Pelosi on the House Republicans, but as I read more, I realized this really is our nightmare and if we don’t do something about it, it will come true.

Things get very controversial, and sad, Subtitle C, Section 222 authorizes the use of federal funding for abortions. Yes, the bill actually mentions the word abortion, and they make it blatantly clear that this public health care bill (in it’s current form) will remove all roadblocks of federally funded abortions.

(3) COVERAGE UNDER PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE OPTION- The public health insurance option shall provide coverage for services described in paragraph (4)(B). Nothing in this Act shall be construed as preventing the public health insurance option from providing for or prohibiting coverage of services described in paragraph (4)(A).

(4) ABORTION SERVICES-

(A) ABORTIONS FOR WHICH PUBLIC FUNDING IS PROHIBITED- The services described in this subparagraph are abortions for which the expenditure of Federal funds appropriated for the Department of Health and Human Services is not permitted, based on the law as in effect as of the date that is 6 months before the beginning of the plan year involved.

(B) ABORTIONS FOR WHICH PUBLIC FUNDING IS ALLOWED- The services described in this subparagraph are abortions for which the expenditure of Federal funds appropriated for the Department of Health and Human Services is permitted, based on the law as in effect as of the date that is 6 months before the beginning of the plan year involved.

Subtitle C, Section 223, establishes the Health Benefits Advisory Committee, much like HR 3200. The HBAC will be authorized to recommend covered benefits and essential, enhanced, and premium plans.

So basically, the Surgeon General, nine Presidential appointees, nine people appointed by the Comptroller General and up to eight Federal employees will be deciding which benefits will be offered, which benefits are essential, and which benefits will be offered with which plans.

Say hello to the RATION BOARD.

We were told early on in the public discussion about HR 3200 that the bill did not include anything to do with end-of-life care, death panels, or any mention of assisted suicide. Then someone decided they would remove that section. You know, the section they say was never there (even though we have copies of it in HR 3200). Well, guess what? It’s back.

While they make several references stating that the section does not promote suicide, assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing. They also go to great lengths to state that the section shall not presume the withdrawal of treatment. Yet, Subtitle D, Section 240 states,

Nothing in this section shall be construed -

(1) to require an individual to complete an advanced directive or a physician’s order for life sustaining treatment or other end-of-life planning document;

(2) to require an individual to consent to restrictions on the amount, duration, or scope of medical benefits otherwise covered under a qualified health benefits plan

In other words, even though nothing in that section will promote suicide, assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing, we as individuals will not be required to complete an advanced directive, our physicians won’t be required to fulfill an order for life sustaining treatment or end-of-life planning, and we’ll have no say when they begin restricting the amount of medicine and treatment we receive in our “end of life” stage.

Subtitle F, Section 258 brings up the topic of abortion again. At the top of page 147 we learn,

IN GENERAL- Nothing in this Act shall be construed to have any effect on Federal laws regarding –

(A) conscience protection;

(B) willingness or refusal to provide abortion; and

(C) discrimination on the basis of the willingness or refusal to provide, pay for, cover, or refer for abortion or to provide or participate in training to provide abortion.

Read that highlighted part again. Doesn’t this potentially open the door for federally funding organizations such as Planned Parenthood and others which promote (and offer) abortion services?

This section makes sure that nothing in the act shall be construed to have any effect on current laws, and does not explicitly ban funding, it in effect authorizes the federal funding of abortion under the soon to be debated public option.

Subtitle B, Section 321 establishes the “Public Health Insurance Option”. Nanny State Nancy Pelosi spent the better part of last week trying to re-brand the public option into the “consumer option” but the only way to genuinely describe this plan is to call it the “government option”.

For years beginning with Y1, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this subtitle referred to as the ‘Secretary’) shall provide for the offering of an Exchange-participating health benefits plan (in this division referred to as the ‘public health insurance option’) that ensures choice, competition, and stability of affordable, high quality coverage throughout the United States in accordance with this subtitle. In designing the option, the Secretary’s primary responsibility is to create a low-cost plan without compromising quality or access to care.

Remember now, the Secretary of Health and Human Services primary responsibility will be to create a low-cost plan without compromising quality or access to care, but we learned on page 25 that the same Secretary will also be authorized to cut services (compromise quality) and create waiting lists (cut off access to care), anytime he/she feels it is appropriate. Do you feel like we are running in circles here?

Section 330 permits members of Congress to enroll in the new public option. Like any sane member of Congress is going to turn away from their existing plan to take this option. If they are going to support this thing, they should be required, not permitted, to be covered by the same plan we are.

In Subtitle C, Section 345 we welcome back the income verification section which is quite similar to what we saw in HR 3200, and again, there is no mention of how an individuals information will be verified, only their income. 250 pages into the bill and we still haven’t addressed the coverage for millions of illegal immigrants.

Program Integrity; Income Verification Procedures-

(1) PROGRAM INTEGRITY- The Commissioner shall take such steps as may be appropriate to ensure the accuracy of determinations and redeterminations under this subtitle.

(2) INCOME VERIFICATION-

(A) IN GENERAL- Upon an initial application of an individual for an affordability credit under this subtitle (or in applying section 342(b)) or upon an application for a change in the affordability credit based upon a significant change in modified adjusted gross income described in subsection (c)

(1)–

(i) the Commissioner shall request from the Secretary of the Treasury the disclosure to the Commissioner of such information as may be permitted to verify the information contained in such application; and

(ii) the Commissioner shall use the information so disclosed to verify such information.

(B) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURES- The Commissioner shall establish procedures for the verification of income for purposes of this subtitle if no income tax return is available for the most recent completed tax year.

As I mentioned after my first glance at the bill, Title IV, Subtitle B, Section 413 imposes a mandatory tax on employers who do not meet the “minimum employer contribution”, by charging them up to 8% of the employee’s average wages paid by the employer.

Title V, Subtitle A, Section 501 makes amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, by implementing the 2.5% tax (yes, they reference this penalty as a tax) on those who do not possess “acceptable health care coverage” and Section 511 adds an additional $100 per day fee (per employee) for employers who fail to satisfy the health coverage participation requirements.

Let’s say you make $100,000 per year. If you do not have insurance through your employer, your employer will be paying as much as $8,000 per year as a penalty for not offering you insurance. If this continues for 100 days, they will pay an additional $10,000. Then, on top of that you will be paying an additional $2,500 per year for not possessing acceptable health care coverage. Remember, these are just the penalties, not the actual cost of health care coverage for you. One individual. Hold on though, it doesn’t stop there.

Section 512 goes on to add yet another “tax” on firms who elect not to offer, or cannot afford to offer, coverage. This Employer Excise Tax (yes, again they define this penalty as another tax) will amount to another 8% of the employee’s average wages.

So, if you, the person I just mentioned above, work for a small firm, or you own your own small firm, you will be paying an additional $8,000 “excise tax”. At this point, as a self-employed individual, you will have paid $28,500 out of pocket in additional taxes thanks to HR 3962.

So in review, under HR 3962, if you make $100,000 per year in wages, you could be paying an additional $28,500 in taxes before you even begin to calculate your income taxes, self-employment taxes, or any other taxes and fees that will be thrown at you.

According to what we’ve covered so far, that $28,500 will buy you the right to have your health care rationed, the transformation to a single payer health care system, special end-of-life care, and even more taxes which I’ll discuss in my next post. Your contribution will also help cover the health care costs of millions of illegal immigrants and women who choose to obtain abortions.

For those of you keeping track and reading along (cough) this brings us to page 316.

More to follow…

Oct

30

Steroids, Shame, & Secrets

Category: Opinions, Our Nation | Comments Off | 445 words | Print

I’ll be posting more about HR3962 soon, it’s taking a while to get through it all and digest so much information.

Thought #1

The other day I told you about the President’s plan to erode capitalism in the United States. It seems even some Democrats think the idea is outrageous.

Lawmakers from both parties are attacking a White House proposal that would grant the federal government sweeping powers to wind down financial firms – an authority one Democrat derided as “TARP on steroids.”

…

“Let’s not adopt ‘TARP on steroids,’” Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) said in a release before the hearing started.

TARP on sterioids? TARP was a bust anyway. Imagine the roid rage.

Thought #2

President Obama should be ashamed of himself for making a trip to Dover Delaware Air Force Base for a public relations stunt.

Eighteen of our bravest citizens, who paid the ultimate sacrifice, were flown back to the United States this past week, following the same procedure as all of those who have preceeded them. So what was different this time? The President of the United States asked 18 families if he could use their family members as a prop for his photo shoot. 17 of those 18 families refused.

Barack Obama was nearly denied the photo-op he traveled to Dover Air Force Base for early this morning as all but one of the military and civilian families of the fallen refused permission for the media to report on the return of their loved ones.

The sole family to allow media coverage was the family of Sgt. Dale R. Griffin.

According to media reports, Griffin’s casket was the last to be brought off the C-17 cargo plane that carried the bodies of 15 soldiers and 3 DEA agents killed this week in Afghanistan.

It’s one thing to show solemn respect to those who have died, it’s quite another to pack up the White House Press Corps along with their cameras and take them on a field trip over to Delaware at midnight. It’s shameful actually.

Thought #3

Some things never change.

The Justice Department invoked the state secrets privilege Friday to try to stop a lawsuit over Bush-era wiretapping — the first time the Obama administration has done so under its new policy on such cases.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced the decision in a California lawsuit challenging the warrantless wiretapping program begun after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Under the state secrets privilege, the government can have a lawsuit dismissed if hearing the case would jeopardize national security.

Isn’t it amazing? No matter what a candidate says when they are running for office, they really don’t know the reality of the situation until they sit in that chair.

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