The Three Faces of Government “Health Care”

ObamaCare, HR3200; BaucusCare; and HR676 Single-Payer

compiled by The IO

Before the Congressional break in August, 2009, Obama attempted to compel Congress to believe that John Dingall’s (D-MI) HR3200 and its Senate counterpart was a must-pass bill. Public outcry instigated by those who actually read the bill prevented a House vote. During August, town hall meetings everywhere demonstrated the public’s opposition to government-controlled healthcare. Observing how badly the government has managed the economy, social security, regulation of harmful food, drugs, children’s toys, agriculture and Wall Street, people, from across a broad political spectrum, let their dissatisfaction be known.

Instead of paying attention, house and senate democrats, led by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), doggedly continued negotiating with Big Pharma and the insurance companies to push government controlled health care, as if calling it by a different name with a different financial backer would change it.

Washington is now attempting to sell its mandatory health care bills by claiming that they will "reduce the deficit," in the same manner that they told us bailing out the banking industry last September would prevent a depression and that spending more money via a "stimulus bill" would get our country out of debt.

Following is a comparison of the primary "health care bills" currently being debated.

Overview:

HR 3200, the American Affordable Health Choices Act should be called the Un-American, Unaffordable, Lack-of Health Choices Act. The Baucus Health Care Bill (no bill number; cannot be found on Thomas or GovTrack) - also known as Public [Government- operated] Insurance Co-op

HR676, the United States National Health Care Act or the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act – also known as [Government- operated] Single Payer Plan

Estimated Cost:

HR3200: $1.6 trillion;
BaucusCare: $856 billion
HR676: No cost in the bill; Kucinich claims the bill will be paid by the absence of $400 billion being spent by the American public on insurance costs; from existing sources of government revenues for health care (Medicare and Medicaid); by an additional payroll tax of 4.5% for employers and 3.3% for employees by establishing a 5% - 10% health tax on the top 5% of wage earners and a "progressive" excise tax on the self-employed; and by instituting .33% tax on stock and bond transactions.

Dean Baker of the Center for Economic Research and Policy concluded that HR 676 would reduce "health spending" from $1,918 trillion in 2005 to $1.862 trillion, a savings of $56 billion while covering all of the uninsured. This is a 3% average reduction in overall healthcare spending – 95% of the population would benefit, while those who currently do not pay any healthcare costs because they don’t use the system would be forced to pay increased taxes to cover those who are currently abusing the system.

Freedom of Choice:

HR3200 No. Sec. 123 and 141: Health Benefits Advisory Committee would recommend benefits and essential, enhanced, and premium plans, overseen by the Health Choices Commissioner.

BaucusCare: No. Recommends $500 billion in Medicare cuts to provide insurance funding for younger citizens; public option would be eliminated.

HR676: No. This program would cover all [government-determined] medically necessary services, including primary care, inpatient care, outpatient care, emergency care, prescription drugs, durable medical equipment, long term care, mental health services, dentistry, eye care, chiropractic, and substance abuse treatment. Patients have their choice of physicians, providers, hospitals, and clinics, but there’s no choice between public or private option, because there is no private option; and no choice concerning alternative care, because it is not covered by this plan.

Mandatory Participation – at what cost:

HR3200: Yes. Penalty of $750 - $1000 per person per year for not participating.

BaucusCare: Yes. Penalty of up to $950 per person for individuals and $400 per employee for businesses with 50 or more employees that choose not to participate.

HR676: Yes. Single-payer health insurance would be mandatory for everyone living in the U.S. There is no opt-out provision for individuals and families that do not want to use the public-reimbursement system. Similar to property tax that supports public schools, everyone will be required to pay health-insurance tax to support Medicare-for-all.

Privacy:

HR3200: No. Requires a National ID Health care card and mandatory registration on HIT (the government database of Health Information Technology). In order to enforce the tax penalty provisions, the government would collect detailed health insurance information on all Americans, adding significant administrative costs to employers and insurers. The federal government would have direct access to all people's bank accounts for electronic funds transfer in order to allow automated reconciliation with health care remittance.

BaucusCare: No. Also contains the above tax penalty provisions, with similar results.

HR676: No. Individuals and families would be required to fill out a United States National Health Insurance application at their health-care facility. Anyone who sought health care but had not registered would have to do so upon seeking treatment. The HHS (Health and Human Services) Secretary would create a standardized, confidential electronic patient record system to simplify the billing process. Patients would have the option of keeping any portion of their medical records separate from their electronic medical record.

Physicians and Hospitals

HR3200: According to Matthew Staver from Liberty University School of Law, this bill penalizes "preventable" readmissions, requires timely "data submission," reduces physician services for Medicaid and pays all doctors the same, regardless of specialty. The language of this section of the bill is nearly undecipherable.

BaucusCare: The Baucus bill also requires compliance with government guidelines on the delivery of medical services. Hospitals and physicians who don't comply would get lower Medicare payments.

HR676: Would "negotiate a fee schedule that is fair and optimal" with representatives of physicians and other clinicians, after consultation with a "National Board of Universal Quality and Access." Initially, the current prevailing fees would be the basis for the fee negotiation. Salaried positions in institutions receiving global budgets would be reimbursed through a salary included as part of such a budget.

Pharmaceuticals:

HR3200: No change in the governmentpharmaceutical company relationship. If anything, it would get worse, as the government would be establishing schoolbased clinics, mental health screening, home visitation programs – all of which in today’s world results in government mandated vaccines being pushed on all children along with pharmaceutical drugs including amphetamines and "anti-depressants." HR3200 also mandates "end of life" counseling every 5 years to the elderly, giving doctors incentives to euthanize.

BaucusCare: The Baucus bill would impose a new sales tax on drugs and medical devices and a new federal excise tax on insurance plans that exceed $8,000 for an individual and $21,000 for a family.

HR676: The prices to be paid each year under this Act for covered pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, and medically necessary equipment would be negotiated annually by the Prescription Drug Formulary. HR676 would promote the use of generic medications but allow the use of brand-name medications. There is no incentive under any of these plans to provide nutrition education or therapy, to re-organize the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to eliminate corporate conflicts of interest and pay-offs that result in FDA approval of toxic chemicals and artificial additives to food, or to utilize alternative, homeopathic medicine.

Illegal Immigrants covered:

HR3200: No. However, Sec. 246 states there is no federal payment for undocumented aliens, Sec. 2251 establishes a cultural and linguistic competency training program for health care professionals, in consultation with the HHS Department of Minority Health, and requires an annual report submitted to Congress on the program. According to government insurance data collection (3/08), immigrants account for approximately 30% of the population currently without health insurance; this section accommodates these residents.

BaucusCare: No. The bill would require individuals and families eligible for subsidies to prove their citizenship by providing their names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth. Those who cannot prove their citizenship would not be allowed to purchase insurance through the exchanges, with or without subsidies.

HR676: Yes. Provides for comprehensive health insurance coverage for all United States residents.

Public financing of abortion:

HR3200: Yes. The Capps Amendment to HR 3200 defeated pro-life amendments prohibiting abortion funding. Section 4B of the Capps Amendment reads: "Abortions for Which Public Funding Is Allowed…. abortions for which the expenditure of Federal funds appropriated for the Department of Health and Human Services is permitted," which would include any person under a particular income level who qualifies for family planning services (Sec. 1920c).

BaucusCare: Yes. Those eligible for federal subsidies to purchase insurance through exchanges would be able to choose from at least one plan that covers abortions beyond those in the case of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.

HR676: Probably. The bill reads, "The health care benefits under this Act cover all medically necessary services, including at least the following: Primary care and prevention…. Participating clinicians must be licensed in their State of practice and meet the quality standards for their area of care." This bill gives no specifics on this subject.

Government control of health care:

HR3200: Government would control every aspect of healthcare, including medical education. The plan would be operated by another agency of the Executive Branch of the Government, the Health Choices Administration.

BaucusCare: The Baucus bill invites federal control of insurance "co-ops" by providing $6 billion in federal funding for startup loans, with the HHS Secretary regulating and promoting them. The Baucus Plan would create an "Innovation Center" which would instruct doctors as to how they should work together in the treatment of their patients. Because eligibility for Medicaid would be raised to individuals earning up to 133% of the federal poverty line, millions of Americans would end up on Medicaid. The current Medicaid program is unsustainable and poorly serves the needy, as it is. Taxpayers would pick up the new costs of Medicaid, and states would have little flexibility for reform.

HR676: The "Single Payer Plan" is Medicare, which is government-run healthcare. G. Edward Griffin made the point in his audio, World Without Cancer part 2; The Politics of Cancer Therapy, when he stated that American citizens must work to "break the cartels’ grip over our government, and then reduce the size and reach of that government so it cannot be used by anyone else as a mechanism for dictatorship." None of these versions of health care do that.

The Heritage Foundation suggested that instead of a one-size-fits-all federal solution, Congress should let the states take the lead on reform, and recommended reforming the tax treatment of health insurance to give all taxpayers tax relief for purchasing private insurance instead of expanding government care.

Resources: HR676; HR3200; Heritage.org (9/18/09 "The Max Tax: Baucus Health Bill is More of the Same"); The Institute for Health Freedom (July 2008); PrayinJesusname.org; Time Magazine (9/16/09 "The Baucus Health Bill: A Primer on What’s in it," by Kate Pickert) American Free Press "Hidden Healthcare Cost of Illegal Immigration" Cut-out; Free our healthcare NOW; Physicians for a National Health Program.