Reading Guide to the Pelosi Health Care Reform Bill Yesterday at 3:35pm
Please read and forward the link to this note
Page 94-Section 202(c) prohibits the sale of private individual health insurance policies, beginning in 2013, forcing individuals to purchase coverage through the federal government
Page 110-Section 222(e)
requires the use of federal dollars to fund abortions through the government-run health plan-and, if the Hyde Amendment were ever not renewed, would require the plan to fund elective abortionsPage 111-Section 223 establishes a new board of federal bureaucrats (the "Health Benefits Advisory Committee") to dictate the health plans that all individuals must purchase -and would likely require all Americans to subsidize and purchase plans that cover any abortion
Page 211-Section 321 establishes a new government-run health plan that, according to non-partisan actuaries at the Lewin Group, would cause as many as 114 million Americans to
lose their existing coverage Page 225-Section 330 permits-but does not require-Members of Congress to enroll in government-run health care
Page 255-Section 345 includes language requiring verification of income for individuals wishing to receive federal health care subsidies under the bill-while the bill includes a requirement for applicants to verify their citizenship, it does not include a similar requirement to verify applicants' identity, thus encouraging identity fraud for undocumented immigrants and others wishing to receive taxpayer-subsidized health benefits
Page 297-Section 501
imposes a 2.5 percent tax on all individuals who do not purchase "bureaucrat-approved" health insurance- the tax would apply on individuals with incomes under $250,000, thus breaking a central promise of then-Senator Obama's presidential campaign Page 313-Section 512 imposes an 8 percent "tax on jobs" for firms that cannot afford to purchase "bureaucrat-approved" health coverage ; according to an analysis by Harvard Professor Kate Baicker, such a tax would place millions "at substantial risk of unemployment"-with minority workers losing their jobs at twice the rate of their white counterparts
Page 336-Section 551 imposes additional job-killing taxes, in the form of a half-trillion dollar "surcharge," more than half of which will hit small businesses ; according to a model developed by President Obama's senior economic advisor, such taxes could
cost up to 5.5 million jobsPage 520-Section 1161
cuts more than $150 billion from Medicare Advantage plans, potentially jeopardizing millions of seniors' existing coveragePage 733-Section 1401 establishes a new Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research; the bill includes no provisions preventing the government-run health plan from using such research to deny access to life-saving treatments on cost grounds, similar to Britain's National Health Service, which
denies patient treatments costing more than $35,000Page 1174-Section 1802(b) includes provisions entitled "TAXES ON CERTAIN INSURANCE POLICIES" to fund comparative effectiveness research, breaking Speaker Pelosi's promise that "We will not be taxing [health] benefits in any bill that passes the House," and the President's promise not to raise taxes on families with incomes under $250,000
Wait wait, it gets worse. Read on..
A list of egregious, questionable, or potentially absurd proposals in the Pelosi Health Care legislation with page numbers and provisions in the 1,990-page health care bill:
Page 122—Section 233(a)(3) requires the Commissioner—the new insurance “czar”—to “issue guidance on best practices of plain language writing”—this from the same people who wrote a 1,990 page health care bill
Page 183—Section 305(a) gives the Commissioner the power to enlist
“appropriate entities” like Planned Parenthood and ACORN to engage in “outreach to specific vulnerable populations” about the bill’s new programsPage 216—Section 322(b)(3) prohibits “any federal funds for purposes of insolvency” from being directed toward the government-run health plan—an anti-bailout provision that may seem implausible given Democrats’ role in advancing legislation to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Page 872—Section 1433
requires the director of food services at nursing facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid to hold “military, academic, or other qualifications” as determined by federal bureaucrats ( scary, what do they plan on putting in the food?)Page 1067—Section 1729 requires States to cover incarcerated juveniles previously enrolled in Medicaid after their release “unless and until there is a determination that the individual is no longer eligible”
Page 1183—Section 1904 provides $750 million in federal funding for a new entitlement program to offer “knowledge of realistic expectations of age-appropriate child behaviors” and “skills [for parents] to interact with their child”
WHAT!Page 1255—Sections 2231-2235 make veterinary students eligible for up to $283 million in federal scholarship and student loan forgiveness funding
Page 1432—Section 2531 provides incentive payments to States that enact new medical liability laws—but only if such laws do “not limit attorneys’ fees or impose caps on damages”
Page 1515—Section 2572(b) imposes labeling requirements on all vending machines nationwide, in addition to new mandates by the federal government on all restaurants with more than 20 locations
Page 1925—Section 3101 creates a new program within the Indian Health Service to provide federal funding for “perpetrators of child sexual abuse who are Indian or members of an Indian household”
Read this and Weep.
