Government Takeover of Health Care

Report: Dems Have Votes on Healthcare Bill

November 7, 2009

UPI - Democrats in the U.S. House said Saturday they had the votes needed to pass a $1 trillion healthcare bill, a Washington publication reported.

Politico cited unnamed Democratic sources as saying their internal head counts show they have more than the 218 votes needed for passage.

"For generations, the American people have called for affordable healthcare," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said on the floor. "Today, we will pass the Affordable Health Care for America Act."

Since all Republicans are expected to vote against the bill, passage depends on keeping enough wavering Democrats in the fold.

President Barack Obama, in a last-minute lobbying bid, came to the U.S. Capitol about three hours after the debate began.

Democrats agreed late Friday to allow members of the party who oppose abortion to offer an amendment that would effectively block federal funds from being used for the procedure. The amendment would ban the "public option" plan from covering abortions and bar anyone getting a subsidy for insurance from buying a private plan that pays for them.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which supports the rest of the bill, lobbied fiercely on the abortion issue. Republicans and a handful of Democrats say the bill is too expensive.

"Today is the showdown on a government takeover over healthcare," said Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La.

The Democrats have 258 seats in the House and need at least 218 votes to pass the bill.

Kiss Your Freedoms Goodbye If Health Care Passes

November 6, 2009

Andrew Napolitano, Fox News Forum - Tomorrow, the House of Representatives will vote on a 2,000-page bill to give the federal government the power to micromanage the health care of every single American.

The bill will no doubt pass. It will raise your taxes, steal your freedom, invade your privacy, and ration your health care.

Even the Republicans have introduced their version of Obamacare Lite. It, too, if passed, will compel employers to provide coverage, bribe the states to change their court rules, and tell insurance companies whom to insure.

We do not have two political parties in this country, America. We have one party, called the Big Government Party. The Republican wing likes deficits, war, and assaults on civil liberties. The Democratic wing likes wealth transfer, taxes, and assaults on commercial liberties. Both parties like power; and neither is interested in your freedoms.

Think about it. Government is the negation of freedom. Freedom is your power and ability to follow your own free will and your own conscience. The government wants you to follow the will of some faceless bureaucrat.

When I recently asked Congressman James Clyburn, the third ranking Democrat in the House, to tell me "Where in the Constitution the federal government is authorized to regulate everyone’s healthcare?" he replied that most of what Congress does is not authorized by the Constitution, but they do it anyway.

There you have it. Congress recognizes no limits on its power. It doesn’t care about the Constitution, it doesn’t care about your inalienable rights, it doesn’t care about the liberties protected by the Bill of Rights, it doesn’t even read the laws it writes...

Pelosi: Buy a $15,000 Policy or Go to Jail

November 7, 2009

House Committee On Ways & Means Republicans - Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail.

The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.

In response to the JCT letter, Camp said:

“This is the ultimate example of the Democrats’ command-and-control style of governing – buy what we tell you or go to jail. It is outrageous and it should be stopped immediately.”

Key excerpts from the JCT letter appear below:

“H.R. 3962 provides that an individual (or a husband and wife in the case of a joint return) who does not, at any time during the taxable year, maintain acceptable health insurance coverage for himself or herself and each of his or her qualifying children is subject to an additional tax.” [page 1]

“If the government determines that the taxpayer’s unpaid tax liability results from willful behavior, the following penalties could apply…” [page 2]

“Criminal penalties

Prosecution is authorized under the Code for a variety of offenses. Depending on the level of the noncompliance, the following penalties could apply to an individual:

• Section 7203 – misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.

• Section 7201 – felony willful evasion is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.” [page 3]

When confronted with this same issue during its consideration of a similar individual mandate tax, the Senate Finance Committee worked on a bipartisan basis to include language in its bill that shielded Americans from civil and criminal penalties. The Pelosi bill, however, contains no similar language protecting American citizens from civil and criminal tax penalties that could include a $250,000 fine and five years in jail.

“The Senate Finance Committee had the good sense to eliminate the extreme penalty of incarceration. Speaker Pelosi’s decision to leave in the jail time provision is a threat to every family who cannot afford the $15,000 premium her plan creates. Fortunately, Republicans have an alternative that will lower health insurance costs without raising taxes or cutting Medicare,” said Camp.

According to the Congressional Budget Office the lowest cost family non-group plan under the Speaker’s bill would cost $15,000 in 2016.

Jon Voight: Democrats’ ‘Oppressive’ Health Care Bill Will ‘Decimate’ the U.S. Economy

November 6, 2009

CNSNews.com - Thousands of Americans opposed to the Democrats’ health care plan marched on Capitol Hill Thursday urging lawmakers to “kill the bill.” Among the speakers at the rally was Hollywood actor Jon Voight who told CNSNews.com he does not believe the Constitution authorizes Congress to require individuals to purchase health insurance. He also said there are “a lot of things that are unconstitutional” going on in Congress.

CNSNews.com asked Voight, “Does the Constitution authorize Congress to be able to require individuals to have health insurance?”

“I don’t believe so,” he said. “They can’t mandate it.”

“There’s a lot of things that are unconstitutional going on and we know that,” Voight told CNSNews.com. “So, that’s what this is all about. That’s why these people are all upset and that’s why they’re all out there. “

“And you should go interview some of these people because you’ll see the real America,” said Voight. “You’ll see the America of our forefathers. You’ll see very brave people. You’ll see great people and eloquent people. They’re as good as anybody who’s behind that microphone.”

Voight referenced his visit to the former Communist Soviet Union to support his argument.

“I was in Russia toward the end of Perestroika, and if you went to a hotel room and you had a problem with a light bulb and you go find somebody to try to do something about it, you would meet a dead stare or somebody who wouldn’t look you in the eye because the initiative is totally taken away from everybody,” he said.

“They simply want to get through the day,” said Voight. “It’s a very, very oppressive, unhappy society. We don’t want that. Right now, with all the stuff that’s been done over this past year, we’re slowly grabbing creative initiative away from people. Do we want to do that? Please let’s not do this guys and this bill is disastrous.”

Voight also the health care bill would “decimate” the U.S. economy.

“It will decimate our economy and we’ll have Hillary Clinton getting on her knees in China to pick up the debt every year,” Voight, the father of Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, told CNSNews.com.

“Who are we? We should be the leader of the free world,” he said. “We’re losing every day our credentials across the world. We gotta’ stop. We gotta’ stop this bill”...

McCain Says Health Care Bill Would Face Constitutional Challenge

November 6, 2009

CNSNews.com - Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) predicted on Thursday that there will be a constitutional challenge to the provision in the health care bill under consideration in Congress that would require all Americans to buy health insurance. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the federal government has never before mandated that Americans purchase any good or service.

When asked by CNSNews.com on Thursday where in the Constitution is Congress given the authority to mandate that people buy health insurance, McCain said:

“That is an excellent question and I’m sure that if they pass health care legislation, I think there would be a challenge”...

Pelosi Breaks Pledge to Put Final Health Care Bill Online for 72 Hours Before Vote

November 6, 2009

The Weekly Standard - Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office tells The Weekly Standard that the speaker will not allow the final language of the health care to be posted online for 72 hours before bringing the bill to a vote on the House floor, despite her September 24 statement that she was “absolutely” committed to doing so.

House members are still negotiating important issues in the bill–whether it will provide taxpayer-funding for abortions, for example. Pelosi is pushing for a Saturday House vote, and a number of big changes will be introduced, likely less than 24 hours before the vote takes place (if in fact it does). The Rules Committee hasn’t yet released its resolution, or rule, that must be passed before the bill can move from committee to the floor. The rule will set the terms of debate and determine what amendments are in order.

It seems likely that the rule will allow very few, if any, up-or-down votes on amendments on the House floor. Rather, the rule will include a series of amendments that will all be adopted at once if the rule passes...

Health Reform Gets Boost Before Close Vote

November 5, 2009

Reuters - ...Obama will visit the Capitol on Friday to make a personal plea for support. He said endorsements from the American Medical Association representing doctors, and AARP, the lobbying group for older Americans, were a powerful argument.

"I urge Congress to listen to the AARP, listen to the AMA, and pass this reform for hundreds of millions of Americans," Obama said in a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room. "We are closer to passing this reform than ever before."

Failure in the Democratic-controlled House would be a huge political blow to Obama, and Democratic leaders scrambled to win over some party moderates who have lingering concerns about the bill's cost and its provisions on abortion.

"I think it's going to be close," House Democratic leader Steny Hoyer said but added he was confident the bill would get the votes of 218 of the 258 Democrats.

Asked if she had the votes, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: "We will."

Republicans are united in opposition to the sweeping overhaul, which is designed to rein in costs, expand coverage to millions of uninsured and bar insurance practices such as denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

They have objected to the bill's price tag of just more than $1 trillion and what they say is its excessive government interference in the private healthcare and insurance markets.

'A LONG WAY FROM 218'

"I can't figure out how many votes they've got," Representative Eric Cantor, the No. 2 House Republican, told reporters. But he said Pelosi "is a long way from the 218 necessary."

About 1,000 protesters opposed to the healthcare reform effort gathered on the lawn outside the Capitol, waving yellow "Don't Tread on Me" flags and signs, including one reading "Stop the Obama-nation of America."

If the healthcare bill passes the House, action would move to the Senate, which is preparing its own version. Obama wants to sign a bill by year's end, but Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid has indicated that deadline might slip.

AARP said the House bill would help seniors pay for their prescription drug coverage and strengthen Medicare, the government-run health program for the elderly.

"We can say with confidence that it meets our priorities for protecting Medicare, providing more affordable health insurance for 50 to 64-year-olds, and reforming the healthcare system," Nancy LeaMond, executive vice president, said...

FACTBOX: Provisions of the U.S. House Healthcare Legislation

Tea Parties Descend on Capitol Hill to Protest Healthcare Bill

November 5, 2009

Politico - The Tea Party holds no seat in Congress, but at least 10,000 of the party’s members descended on Capitol Hill Thursday to rally against a Democratic-written health care overhaul.

A plan first hatched and heralded on FOX by iconic conservative Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) grew over the weekend as she e-mailed with a handful of colleagues. By the time activists started arriving at the foot of the Capitol around 8:30 a.m., it was clear no Republican leader could stay away.

Minority Leader John Boehner, Republican Whip Eric Cantor and Conference Chairman Mike Pence all spoke.

Inside, Democrats were working to finalize a trillion-dollar health care bill that they say will deliver insurance to tens of millions of Americans who currently lack it, improve the quality of care and rein in costs both for individuals and the government.

Outside, on the grassy lawn just steps from where Barack Obama took the oath of office, an endless lineup of rank-and-file lawmakers and conservative All Stars – Bachmann, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, actor Jon Voigt and Mark Levin, author of “Liberty and Tyranny” – demanded that the health care bill be torn asunder.

“Madam Speaker, throw out this bill,” bellowed Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.).

“Oh come on, tell them how you really feel,” Bachmann yelled to the crowd from a temporary podium at the foot of the Capitol.

“Kill the bill! Kill the bill! Kill the bill!” the crowd replied.

“That’s exactly what you’re going to tell them,” said Bachmann, who was the clear favorite of the assembled masses.

“She has more cojones than a lot of guys,” said Barbara McGrath, who traveled from Troy, Ohio, to participate.

When she took the microphone, Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) pointed to the three House office buildings across Independence Avenue from the rally.

“I invite you, when the rally's over, to travel in those halls, look at the walls, find your (member) and walk in," she said. "Let them know how you feel about this bill."

Within an hour, activists were lined up down Independence Avenue to go through the magnetometers in the lobby of the Rayburn Office Building so they could confront members and staff. Bachman told them to each take a page – or a piece of a page – from one of two copies of the bill at the podium and ask a member to explain the text to them.

Bachmann’s office and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s district office were surrounded by the Tea Partiers shortly after the rally ended, and the floor outside Pelosi’s office was covered in pages of the bill...

House Democrats Clear the Way for Health Care Vote

November 4, 2009

AP - House Democrats cleared the way Wednesday for a pivotal floor vote on health care overhaul as early as the weekend, after tweaking their 1,900-page bill to crack down harder on insurance companies.

"Americans are ready for comprehensive health insurance reform and the House will soon act," Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement that accompanied dozens of last-minute changes to the bill, released Tuesday night.

Publication of the changes started a 72-hour legislative clock, meaning that a floor vote could take place as early as Saturday.

But with no Republican backing for the measure, Democrats will need overwhelming support from their own. A festering intra-party disagreement over how to prevent federal funds from being used to pay for abortion remained unresolved Wednesday morning.

And in the Senate, progress on health care legislation was still on hold.

The 10-year, $1.2 trillion House bill is estimated to expand coverage to about 96 percent of eligible Americans. Beginning in 2013, it would provide government subsidies to extend coverage to tens of millions who now lack it, and ban insurance company practices such as denying coverage to people with pre-existing medical problems.

For the three years before the federal aid starts flowing, the bill would set up a temporary "high-risk pool" through which people who have been denied coverage because of poor health could obtain a government-subsidized policy.

The bill would set up health insurance "exchanges" through which self-employed people and small businesses could buy coverage, either from a private insurer or a new government plan that would compete. All the plans sold through the exchange would have to follow basic consumer protection rules, making it easier to shop and compare among them. The majority of Americans covered under big employer plans would not see dramatic changes.

The House bill would be paid for by boosting taxes on upper income earners and cutting Medicare payments to health insurance companies, hospitals and other medical providers. Democrats also moved Tuesday to close a biofuel tax credit loophole, raising about $23 billion to help pay for the legislation.

The major last-minute changes to the House bill hardened the battle lines in the confrontation between Democrats and the health insurance industry. Insurers have sought above all to block creation of a government insurance plan, which happens to be the top legislative goal for liberals.

Other changes to the bill, such as enhanced status for the government's office of minority health, were intended as sweeteners for supportive lawmakers.

In a move aimed directly at health insurance companies, the revised House bill would launch a federal-state crackdown on what it terms "unjustified premium increases." The companies would have to publicly disclose the justification for premium increases before they go into effect. The federal Health and Human Services department would monitor patterns of premium increases, and could bar insurers from the exchanges if the price hikes are found to be out of line. The bill would also provide $1 billion in grants to state insurance commissioners, allowing them to ramp up their own monitoring and enforcement.

Democrats also strengthened a provision that would strip the industry of its decades-old exemption from federal antitrust laws.

Supporters said the tougher approach is needed to keep insurance companies from artificially boosting premiums in advance of the major reforms taking effect in 2013.

While the White House cheered the momentum in the House, the Senate's top Democrat signaled Tuesday that Congress may fail to meet President Barack Obama's self-imposed year-end deadline for passing health care legislation. That would leave the fate of Obama's top domestic priority to the uncertainties of the 2010 election season.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., spoke as Democratic officials said it could be December before Senate debate begins in earnest. The drive to pass legislation has been plagued for months by divisions within the party's rank and file.

Any delay past Obama's oft-repeated year-end timetable would put the issue off until the 2010 election year and inevitably raise doubts about Democrats' ability to deliver on behalf of the Obama administration.

The Current Senate Debate on Health Care Reform

October 5, 2009

Glenn Flowers - While listening to C-Span’s coverage of the Senate debates on healthcare reform, I learned quite a bit about what they are proposing for America. The most disturbing factor is that every person in America will be required to purchase healthcare insurance. It won’t be up to you as to whether or not you want or can afford health care insurance, it will be the law.

By the way, you can take all the president’s promises and throw them out the window because they aren’t true, none of them. Abortion will be covered under the Planned Parenthood clause. Illegal immigrants will be covered because the bill doesn’t allow any hospital to turn away anyone requiring treatment.

During the debate, one republican senator spoke out saying that, as far as he could tell, the average cost of insurance today was approximately $2200 for an individual and $14,000 for a family. He then stated that, if his math was correct, with the mandatory policy that everyone must buy insurance (if this reform bill passes), the average cost will be $9000 for an individual and $33,000 for a family.

Most policies now in effect cover 80% of the total cost, and the patient covers 20%. The new, more expensive policy that the proposed reform bill mandates covers only 65%, and the patient pays the 35% balance.

When a senator spoke out in objection to the higher cost and lower coverage, reminding the committee that the purpose of reform was to provide lower cost and cover 100% of the population, the only response from the committee was that they could lower the cost by lowering the percentage of coverage to 50%.

I watched these debates for three days and never once was there any suggestion that the reform initiative be abandoned, no suggestion to reform the malpractice industry, no suggestion for allowing insurance sales across state lines, nothing constructive, only destruction. Not once was a suggestion or complaint by a republican even taken seriously. The committee did make quite a deal about not having any legislative language to work with, as the bill has not been written. What they are working with is a 250-page list or outline of the general aspects of a bill that will only be written if passed by the House and the Senate. This is the same as giving Congress a blank check.

Folks, America is in a deep mess if either this or any health care reform bill or the Cap and Tax bill passes. If both become law, you will not recognize America any longer.

Your pay will be dictated by Washington, your children’s future will not be theirs to pursue. Washington will put controls on your heater and air conditioner, allowing them to set how warm or cool your house will be. Washington will design all automobiles, aircraft, trains, and everything else that uses energy. The food you eat, what you drink, what you drive, when and where you vacation, where you live, where you work, whether you belong to a union, whether you own a computer, what is available online, what your children learn, what they wear, how many children you have... everything will be mandated by the government because of these two bills and their requirements.

If ever there was a time demanding action by citizens, it is now. We need to triple whatever effort we have put forth in the past. It is a hard thing for democrats in Congress to vote down two of the President’s signature pieces of legislation, we must make it even harder to vote for them. Once in place, these laws would have a profound effect on the nation that would be near impossible to reverse.

We can’t afford to wait until 2010, that is why the Obama administration is in such a hurry to ram this bill through.