Anonymous Posting from 4Chan, some grammatical errors corrected…(Thanks for the initial link Mardelle):
“This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the US Department of Energy. I then took a shower in the clean water provided by the municipal water utility. After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautic and Space Administration. I watched this while eating my breakfast of US Department of Agriculture inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the Food and Drug Administration.Before I get into the topic, let me first say that I don’t think I’ve ever seen something polarize the country quite like HCR. I’ve been on this planet some 33 years, enough to appreciate the Cold War, war in the Middle East, and countless debates about abortion, gay rights, and immigration. While people on both sides of those discourses can be volatile and passionate about their position, rarely did one forget that we’re all Americans at the end of the day. HCR has brought to light the best and, unfortunately, worst in people. That being said, believe what you will. I’d like to think my take on things is as worthy as the next, but I acknowledge that at the end of the day, you’re probably still going to feel the way you do, and that’s what makes you who you are. Perfectly fine. No judgment here.
At the appropriate time as regulated by the US Congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the US Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration approved automobile and set out to work on the roads built by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank. On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the US Postal Service and drop the kids off at the public school.
After work, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to a house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and fire marshal’s inspection, and which has not been plundered of all its valuables thanks to the local police department.
I then log onto the internet, which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration and post on freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how Socialism in medicine is bad because the government can’t do anything right.”
Let’s review the bill in summary, in case you haven’t had a chance to review it, with my take on each point following (aggregated from CBSnews.com).
Cost:
$940 billion over ten years.
This number is big, even by liberal standards. I would like to remind you, however, that the wars in the Middle East will soon hit 1 trillion dollars. If the GOP, and Americans to boot, can accept the Bush administration’s catastrophe of a war and its seemingly infinite price tag, I can damn well let Obama spend less on a more tangible chance at change and social evolution. Also, it’s been only 7 years, almost to the day, since Bush declared war on Iraq. So which is the lesser evil, 1 trillion over seven years at the cost of thousands of young American’s lives, or 1 trillion over ten years to save thousands of American lives? I lean toward the latter for now.
Deficit:
Would reduce the deficit by $143 billion over the first ten years. That is an updated CBO (Congressional Budget Office) estimate. Their first preliminary estimate said it would reduce the deficit by $130 billion over ten years. Would reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion dollars in the second ten years.
Basically, the idea here is that once our federally mandated health care is in place for a decade or so, we should start reaping the benefits of preventative health care. So an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, to the 10th degree.
What many of us don’t seem to realize is that we’re paying for some form universal health care one way or another. It’s one of those unavoidable truths, in that you can’t make something out of nothing. When you’re sick and have to go to the hospital, they must provide care to anyone in dire need, if said hospital receives federal funds. The shortfall is usually covered by the hospital, but made up through increased procedure fees and thus higher premiums for those who are insured. Higher premiums make being insured more difficult to those with lower incomes, whom go uninsured and repeat the cycle ad nauseum.
If health care is mandated and subsidized for those with lower incomes, everyone should see a reduction in actual costs of care, and preventative care will reduce lifetime healthcare costs countrywide, reversing the cycle in a mutually beneficial fashion. Insurers won’t need to charge excessive premiums, as preventative care will reduce the enormous payouts necessary to treat diseases not detected early, maintaining their profit margins. Again, theoretically win/win.
Coverage:
Would expand coverage to 32 million Americans who are currently uninsured.
Ding, ding! We have a winner. Look around you, and you’ll find someone close to you who works hard, is employed, does not burden society, but does not earn enough to close the gap between living wage and ability to purchase sufficient health insurance.
I’ve been inundated the past few days watching pundits and friends pound their chests over what they believe is clear socialism. Since when did “shit” stop being the “S” word? I don’t take a socialism, or give a socialism, or tell you to eat socialism and die, do I?
Of course, the loudest voices are usually the most uninformed. Let’s get one thing straight, you have to be making a pretty copious amount of money for your taxes to be substantially affected. I understand that you may need to adjust your quality of life somewhat in order to increase the quality of life for your fellow man ten fold, but suck it up. You don’t have to like it, but you’ve got plenty of time to adjust, and in the meantime you don’t have to worry about being homeless or going bankrupt from an illness you can’t afford. And it’s strange that so many Christian conservatives are up in arms about distribution of wealth (guised under the “baby killer” agenda). Christianity at its core is far more socialist than capitalist. Buy yourself some human decency you greedy bastard! Your smug sense of entitlement is only eclipsed by your desire to maintain the status quo… consequently perpetuating your smug sense of entitlement. Wrap your head around that Rockefeller.
Health Insurance Exchanges:
The uninsured and self-employed would be able to purchase insurance through state-based exchanges with subsidies available to individuals and families with income between the 133 percent and 400 percent of poverty level.
Separate exchanges would be created for small businesses to purchase coverage -- effective 2014.
Funding available to states to establish exchanges within one year of enactment and until January 1, 2015.
Basically, Health Insurance Exchanges are meant to pool those who would normally have to seek individual coverage (which is nightmarish if you’ve ever looked into the costs associated with this). So instead of a risk pool of 1, you would then have a large risk pool which would then reduce premiums for all. An as yet undetermined agency would ensure that companies offering plans to said risk pool still meet the minimum mandated coverage guidelines. There is some real risk in that multiple insurer options may create risk-pools that are not large enough to reduce premiums sufficiently, and many of the ins and outs of exchanges have yet to be determined. I’ll be keeping my eye on this portion of the bill, which could have a dramatic effect on the overall success of the plan.
Subsidies:
Individuals and families who make between 100 percent - 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) and want to purchase their own health insurance on an exchange are eligible for subsidies. They cannot be eligible for Medicare, Medicaid and cannot be covered by an employer. Eligible buyers receive premium credits and there is a cap for how much they have to contribute to their premiums on a sliding scale.
Federal Poverty Level for family of four is $22,050
Once again, if you come from a low SES (socio-economic status), and must seek individual coverage, and cannot be insured through existing programs available to you, you can then qualify for a subsidy to offset the costs associated with purchasing insurance. Your monthly premium will be based on a percentage of your annual income, and there will be proportional tax credits available to assist with the premiums incurred by lower income individuals and families.
Paying for the Plan:
Medicare Payroll tax on investment income -- Starting in 2012, the Medicare Payroll Tax will be expanded to include unearned income. That will be a 3.8 percent tax on investment income for families making more than $250,000 per year ($200,000 for individuals).
So a tax on unearned income is essentially a capital gains tax. If you’re making a shit-ton of money from a source that isn’t your job, it’s going to get taxed if your income is over a quarter of a million dollars for families, and $200,000 dollars for individuals. Likewise, higher income families and individuals would see a higher Medicare tax on wages. Again, you can’t make something from nothing, and increased health care coverage for those of lower SES (Socio-economic Status) doesn’t happen for free. There is no way to sugar coat this for you. But if you’re making so much goddamn money, how is this a problem for you? Do you want fuckin’ Bizarro Robin Hood to swoop in and rob from the poor to give to the rich? Wake the fuck up and take your medicine which, by the way, you can readily afford. You live in a country whose fundamental wealth came through the exploitation of the working man/slave, and your ethnicity has either propelled or inhibited your SES creating huge disproportion between rich and poor along those lines. Now, we’re slowly working toward equity. Equity is not equality. Equity means we have to take from one end of the spectrum to balance the scales on the other. It’s common fucking sense and if you can’t get that through your gold plated skull you can eat shit an die (because if you were poor, and ate shit, you would die, because you don’t have health care, because some rich douche doesn’t want you to, the end).
Excise Tax -- Beginning in 2018, insurance companies will pay a 40 percent excise tax on so-called "Cadillac" high-end insurance plans worth over $27,500 for families ($10,200 for individuals). Dental and vision plans are exempt and will not be counted in the total cost of a family's plan.
Another tax aimed a reducing the deficit, and the primary tax leading to the deficit reduction for the 1st 10 years, is the Excise tax. This tax hits home a bit more, as it will most likely affect those middle class citizens making between 100,000 and 200,000 dollars a year, whom enjoy premium health care plans. While a good portion of the excise tax is aimed directly at insurance companies, a large chunk will unfortunately come from said work force. It will more than likely appear in the form of increased Medicare, income, and Social Security taxes. I think this tax could be more narrowly focused in an increased amount for a smaller percentage of Americans, perhaps those closer to the $500,000 – $1,000,000 per year mark. $100,000 is not what it used to be, especially for those living in major metropolitan areas, and on the east/west coasts. That being said, there exists an abundance of lower cost-of-living areas in this great country, and you have the means at those income levels to move anywhere you like, and the time and foresight to adjust your current situation accordingly if you believe that this tax increase will make or break you. The hope here is, though, that companies will avoid these expensive “Cadillac” plans, decreasing costs, which will in turn increase workers income, offsetting the people’s share of the excise tax. Time will tell. And speaking of time, this portion was delayed until 2018 to appease the main opponent to the increased tax… the labor unions whom enjoy most of the benefit of “Cadillac” insurance plans.
Tanning Tax -- 10 percent excise tax on indoor tanning services.
This is a no-brainer. You tan, you get cancer, you cost the rest of us a shitload of money. So if you tan, you pay a higher tax for it, to offset the projected cost of your inevitable treatment, onset by your need to bronze. Tanning in UV beds is counterintuitive to human survival. And who does this hurt, I say no one. The small tanning business owner? Fuck em’. To quote a favorite of mine, “Cancer merchant! Cancer merchant!.” You’re selling an elective service that kills, same as alcohol and tobacco, so you’re going to pay same as alcohol and tobacco. And yes, FYI, I would support a junk food tax, and my fat ass would gladly pay it. I loves me some Munchos®. FYI, this was originally going to be a tax on all elective surgeries (translation: purely cosmetic surgery), but was axed. Not sure why, but I’d say it’s because there’s far less likelihood that your nose job is going to lead to chronic illness.
Medicare:
Closes the Medicare prescription drug "donut hole" by 2020. Seniors who hit the donut hole by 2010 will receive a $250 rebate.
Beginning in 2011, seniors in the gap will receive a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs. The bill also includes $500 billion in Medicare cuts over the next decade.
When covered by Medicare, there’s large gap between those prescription drugs that are covered 75% by Medicare, and those covered 95% by Medicare, to the tune of roughly $3400. In that $3400 span no costs are covered by Medicare. This part of the bill will provide some instant relief, and will eventually eliminate this gap. The cuts to Medicare will help offset the cost of increasing the prescription drug benefit, and are more squarely aimed at the over-billing triggered most often by lucrative medical “specialists,” including excessive CTI and imaging costs.
Medicaid:
Expands Medicaid to include 133 percent of federal poverty level which is $29,327 for a family of four.
Requires states to expand Medicaid to include childless adults starting in 2014.
Federal Government pays 100 percent of costs for covering newly eligible individuals through 2016.
So, finally, you can qualify for Medicaid based on income alone. Let’s first keep in mind that if you’re making minimum wage at a full time job, you’re only pulling about 15 grand a year, before taxes. FPL is currently just under about 11 thousand dollars, so tag on a third and you almost there. We can all agree that minimum wage is hardly a living wage, especially if you are providing for a family, so this is a welcome change. And now that you can qualify without children, we can avoid the deliberate procreation currently being practiced by many in need. Trust me, it happens all the time. More kids = more income + still qualify for benefits. The 100 percent cost coverage will help in the transition period from no-coverage to coverage with co-pay/premium, hopefully preventing the deliberate relapse into lower SES so commonly associated with welfare.
Illegal immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid.
This was added to appease the border-conscious, although anyone who does their homework will tell you that illegal immigrants contribute more to our economy than they ever take. But still, you can’t ignore the illegality of being in the US without citizenship. This will be addressed later this year as immigration-reform moves closer to the forefront. Illegal immigrants need a clear, affordable path to citizenship, and we are sacrificing billions of tax dollars by condemning their presence here. It’s good old fashioned racism at its finest. Illegal immigrants are profiled as a detriment to society, when the reality is that most are extremely driven, hard working individuals, many with close ties to friends/relatives who are US citizens. Are we so far removed from 100 years ago, when our towns and roads connected us seamlessly with our ancestors from the South? Our failing war on drugs coupled with our ridiculous fear of terrorism has made our southern border a prime political battleground, and everyone is losing because of it. We’re all fucking human beings, they’re here, they’re working, and they’ve never taken my job, or yours. Make em’ legal, collect taxes, pass Go, collect $200. Allow a grace period before Medicaid benefits become available, so they can put some money into the pot before drawing from it.
Insurance Reforms:
Six months after enactment, insurance companies could no longer denying children coverage based on a preexisting condition.
Starting in 2014, insurance companies cannot deny coverage to anyone with preexisting conditions.
Insurance companies must allow children to stay on their parent's insurance plans until age 26th.
All very common sense and agreed on by both parties in droves, but 4 years is a long time to wait for preexisting condition coverage. It will take time, however, for insurance companies to adjust their premium and co-pay schemes against the potential risk-pool created by adding the newly insured.
Abortion:
The bill segregates private insurance premium funds from taxpayer funds. Individuals would have to pay for abortion coverage by making two separate payments, private funds would have to be kept in a separate account from federal and taxpayer funds.
No health care plan would be required to offer abortion coverage. States could pass legislation choosing to opt out of offering abortion coverage through the exchange.
**Separately, anti-abortion Democrats worked out language with the White House on an executive order that would state that no federal funds can be used to pay for abortions except in the case of rape, incest or health of the mother.
Again, not perfect for everybody, but a necessary concession to a country diametrically opposed on abortion. Abortion is rarely entered into lightly, but if a no-federal-funds condition is necessary to maintain the availability of the option, I’ll take that any day. It’s a free country, do what you will. There are consequences for everything and everyone, I’ll deal with mine, you deal with yours, mind your own fucking business. People live and die everyday in ridiculous, stupid, and unnecessary ways, so really, nobody gives a shit who terminates a pregnancy where or why, and don’t presuppose to, just move on. We’ll all answer to the deity of our choice, or we won’t, nobody knows. Anyway, this is a much larger issue than I’m in the mood to tackle, so I won’t wax poetic here.
Individual Mandate:
In 2014, everyone must purchase health insurance or face a $695 annual fine. There are some exceptions for low-income people.
Once more, free country, your choice, your consequence. If you want to avoid health insurance, you’re going to pay said fee so Taxpayer X doesn’t have to fund your negligence when your addiction to Munchos® leads to adult onset diabetes.
Employer Mandate:
Technically, there is no employer mandate. Employers with more than 50 employees must provide health insurance or pay a fine of $2000 per worker each year if any worker receives federal subsidies to purchase health insurance. Fines applied to entire number of employees minus some allowances.
Nuff said, if you employ people, you can pay the fee, or you can provide the coverage.
Immigration:
Illegal immigrants will not be allowed to buy health insurance in the exchanges -- even if they pay completely with their own money.
See immigration above.
And that’s about it, friends. What more can I say. I get it, you work hard, you earn money, and you don’t want it taken from you without good cause. If the government cannot provide you a substantial reason, you’re going to disagree with coughing up the money you’ve earned. But the picture is so much greater than you or I. Yes, there are lazy abusers milking the system. But somewhere closer than you think, someone is working as hard as they can for a better life for themselves and/or their children, if only on the most basic of levels. And if I can contribute a little more to ensure he/she remains healthy and lives to see that reality, I cannot wait for the government to take what I earn. Because, like all of us, I’m too much of a greedy asshole to give it up on my own.
Good night and good luck.
Jimmy.
“I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday, and I love today”
– William Allen White
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