I Read the Health Care Bill

Midst the shouting and the accusations over the proposed change in health care, one thing has been conspicuously absent: what does the House bill do? The bulk of the problem lies in the undisputed fact that the Democrats have attempted to rush a bill the Congress that no one has read. Not only haven’t they read the bill, those out selling the thing are clueless as to what is in it. That includes Barack Obama who hocking ideology rather than hard details.

Of course, there are those who contend that Obama and his cronies know exactly what is in the bill, and they also know if the public knew what they know, it would be dead in the water. Better to keep the folks back home focused on the evil insurance companies.

So, I decided to read the bill to see for myself who is telling the truth. It is long, but it is not insurmountable. Minimally, you can read through the Section titles and first paragraphs and clearly understand what this thing does. You can also reference directly, through a little homework online, the various sections of the bill that are under fire.

I can tell you that this bill is as Draconian a piece of legislation as I ever seen. It does exactly what the critics say it does. It is voluminous. The process is detailed to the point of incoherence. I think it is patently unconstitutional, and the many of the key provisions would be overthrown if challenged in court. Obama said today that this is not the Canadian plan. Well, it is minimally a cousin. The Canadian Supreme Court came close to throwing out the entire Canadian system in 2005, saying the right to health care does not mean the right to stand in line. Here is what I found out relating to the most offensive parts of the bill.

1) I have written for the past two weeks that if you have private insurance, you can keep it. BUT, if it changes in any way, or you are fired, or your company cancels insurance for all employees, private insurance companies will not be able to sell you a plan directly. You will have to go to the government insurance clearinghouse, and buy plans that have been crafted by the government and approved by the government…it is one size fits all. It may be through a private company, but it would be like Ford, GM, and Toyota all selling the identical car. THIS IS THE AMERICAN EQUIVILENT TO WHAT THE CANADIAN SUPREME COURT THROUGH OUT, RULING THAT GOVERNMENT CANNOT LIMIT PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS FROM ACCESSING INSURANCE OFFERED BY PRIVATE COMPANIES.

2) The government has to be granted access to your bank accounts.

3) The government will establish an extensive and intrusive end of life “counseling” plan that even I can't even figure out. You and your family will spend the last days dealing with a government bureaucracy.

4) Comparative effectiveness, that theory which will limit your access to the best drugs available, is specifically written into the bill. It has a whole section dedicated to it. It will “effectively” remove any incentive to drug companies to develop new drugs. If they can’t sell them, what’s the point?

This is a scary bill. You should be afraid. You should be outraged. EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE THE TIME TO READ THROUGH THE BILL.