bonnie Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 http://www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nypost.com%2Fseven%2F07172009%2Fpostopinion%2Fopedcolumnis ts%2Fos_broken_promises_179667.htm By BETSY MCCAUGHEY July 17, 2009 -- PRESIDENT Obama promises that "if you like your health plan, you can keep it," even after he reforms our health-care system. That's untrue. The bills now before Congress would force you to switch to a managed-care plan with limits on your access to specialists and tests. Two main bills are being rushed through Congress with the goal of combining them into a finished product by August. Under either, a new government bureaucracy will select health plans that it considers in your best interest, and you will have to enroll in one of these "qualified plans." If you now get your plan through work, your employer has a five-year "grace period" to switch you into a qualified plan. If you buy your own insurance, you'll have less time. And as soon as anything changes in your contract -- such as a change in copays or deductibles, which many insurers change every year -- you'll have to move into a qualified plan instead (House bill, p. 16-17). When you file your taxes, if you can't prove to the IRS that you are in a qualified plan, you'll be fined thousands of dollars -- as much as the average cost of a health plan for your family size -- and then automatically enrolled in a randomly selected plan (House bill, p. 167-168). It's one thing to require that people getting government assistance tolerate managed care, but the legislation limits you to a managed-care plan even if you and your employer are footing the bill (Senate bill, p. 57-58). The goal is to reduce everyone's consumption of health care and to ensure that people have the same health-care experience, regardless of ability to pay. Nowhere does the legislation say how much health plans will cost, but a family of four is eligible for some government assistance until their household income reaches $88,000 (House bill, p. 137). If you earn more than that, you'll have to pay the cost no matter how high it goes. The price tag for this legislation is a whopping $1.04 trillion to $1.6 trillion (Congressional Budget Office estimates). Half of the tab comes from tax increases on individuals earning $280,000 or more, and these new taxes will double in 2012 unless savings exceed predicted costs (House bill, p. 199). The rest of the cost is paid for by cutting seniors' health benefits under Medicare. There's plenty of waste in Medicare, but the Congressional Budget Office estimates only 1 percent of the savings under the legislation will be from curbing waste, fraud and abuse. That means the rest will likely come from reducing what patients get. One troubling provision of the House bill compels seniors to submit to a counseling session every five years (and more often if they become sick or go into a nursing home) about alternatives for end-of-life care (House bill, p. 425-430). The sessions cover highly sensitive matters such as whether to receive antibiotics and "the use of artificially administered nutrition and hydration." This mandate invites abuse, and seniors could easily be pushed to refuse care. Do we really want government involved in such deeply personal issues? Shockingly, only a portion of the money accumulated from slashing senior benefits and raising taxes goes to pay for covering the uninsured. The Senate bill allocates huge sums to "community transformation grants," home visits for expectant families, services for migrant workers -- and the creation of dozens of new government councils, programs and advisory boards slipped into the last 500 pages. The most recent ABC News/Washington Post poll (June 21) finds that 83 percent of Americans are very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the quality of their health care, and 81 percent are similarly satisfied with their health insurance. They have good reason to be. If you're diagnosed with cancer, you have a better chance of surviving it in the United States than anywhere else, according to the Concord Five Continent Study. And the World Health Organization ranked the United States No. 1 out of 191 countries for being responsive to patients' needs, including providing timely treatments and a choice of doctors. Congress should pursue less radical ways to cover the uninsured. We have too much to lose with this legislation. Betsy McCaughey is founder of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths and a former lieutenant governor of New York. betsy@hospitalinfection.org Quote Everything you do is based on the choices you make. It's not your parents, your past relationships, your job, the economy, the weather, an argument, or your age that is to blame. You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make, period ... ... Wish more people would realize this. Quotes by Susan Gottesman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonnie Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 HEY BONNIE WOW that is a very interesting report with some very important information dgrimm60 What is most important is the lack of information people have. Some are in a head long rush to support anything,no matter how foolish and costly to say nothing of our personal freedoms,if Obama says. Obama himself does not know what is in this bill that he is demanding the country back. How foolish are people getting to genuflect at the name of Obama Quote Everything you do is based on the choices you make. It's not your parents, your past relationships, your job, the economy, the weather, an argument, or your age that is to blame. You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make, period ... ... Wish more people would realize this. Quotes by Susan Gottesman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonnie Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 HEY BONNIE YES it makes you see how people will be willing to pass a sunday law just as easy dgrimm60 Never could quite grasp that. I have always believed it would happen but couldn't see how. From Obama on down no one knows what is in this bill and yet that is not important. If they can get the government to take care of them,no matter how poorly done while getting the obscenely rich they will be happy. Thankfully there are many waking up and reading this monstrosity Quote Everything you do is based on the choices you make. It's not your parents, your past relationships, your job, the economy, the weather, an argument, or your age that is to blame. You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make, period ... ... Wish more people would realize this. Quotes by Susan Gottesman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Thankyou for this post Bonnie. Very interesting. Obama is the most underhanded president I've ever seen. And by underhanded I mean that he does not want Americans to know what are in his bills. He wants to push them into law before those who are voting can even read the bill. Quote May we be one so that the world may be won. Christian from the cradle to the grave I believe in Hematology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Oplinger Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Originally Posted By: dgrimm60 HEY BONNIE YES it makes you see how people will be willing to pass a sunday law just as easy dgrimm60 Never could quite grasp that. I have always believed it would happen but couldn't see how. From Obama on down no one knows what is in this bill and yet that is not important. If they can get the government to take care of them,no matter how poorly done while getting the obscenely rich they will be happy. Thankfully there are many waking up and reading this monstrosity With Congress not even reading bills it votes on, what's a little matter of tucking into the buried depths of one of these bills a Sunday to encourage rest - for health care cost reasons??? Quote "As iron sharpens iron, so also does one man sharpen another" - Proverbs 27:17 "The offense of the cross is that the cross is a confession of human frailty and sin and of inability to do any good thing. To take the cross of Christ means to depend solely on Him for everything, and this is the abasement of all human pride. Men love to fancy themselves independent. But let the cross be preached, let it be made known that in man dwells no good thing and that all must be received as a gift, and straightway someone is offended." Ellet J. Waggoner, The Glad Tidings "Courage is being scared to death - and saddling up anyway" - John Wayne "The person who pays an ounce of principle for a pound of popularity gets badly cheated" - Ronald Reagan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonnie Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 Thankyou for this post Bonnie. Very interesting. Obama is the most underhanded president I've ever seen. And by underhanded I mean that he does not want Americans to know what are in his bills. He wants to push them into law before those who are voting can even read the bill. It is completely foolish,ignorant and irresponsible to want to rush in to something like this without having a clue what they are getting. Most don't have a clue about cap and trade either,but let's bow before Obama's throne. So much for his promise of transparency. He hasn't read it either. How can anyone be foolish enough to back some idiocy like this. Quote Everything you do is based on the choices you make. It's not your parents, your past relationships, your job, the economy, the weather, an argument, or your age that is to blame. You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make, period ... ... Wish more people would realize this. Quotes by Susan Gottesman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Oplinger Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Originally Posted By: Redwood Thankyou for this post Bonnie. Very interesting. Obama is the most underhanded president I've ever seen. And by underhanded I mean that he does not want Americans to know what are in his bills. He wants to push them into law before those who are voting can even read the bill. It is completely foolish,ignorant and irresponsible to want to rush in to something like this without having a clue what they are getting. Most don't have a clue about cap and trade either,but let's bow before Obama's throne. So much for his promise of transparency. He hasn't read it either. How can anyone be foolish enough to back some idiocy like this. The trouble is, he's working with two Parties pursuing the same agenda. Obama could not do this without Pelosi and Reid in the two chambers of Legislature doing the dirty work of making the policies in to law - using every parliamentary trick to limit debate and rush the bills through. Republicans are too worried about how nice and "moderate" they appear in the cameras than they are about making sure these are truly policies in the best interests of the people - but in the end, they support the same goal. Rolling on...or is it ranting on? Seems I'm venting a lot on the issue tonight. Quote "As iron sharpens iron, so also does one man sharpen another" - Proverbs 27:17 "The offense of the cross is that the cross is a confession of human frailty and sin and of inability to do any good thing. To take the cross of Christ means to depend solely on Him for everything, and this is the abasement of all human pride. Men love to fancy themselves independent. But let the cross be preached, let it be made known that in man dwells no good thing and that all must be received as a gift, and straightway someone is offended." Ellet J. Waggoner, The Glad Tidings "Courage is being scared to death - and saddling up anyway" - John Wayne "The person who pays an ounce of principle for a pound of popularity gets badly cheated" - Ronald Reagan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonnie Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 Quote: With Congress not even reading bills it votes on, what's a little matter of tucking into the buried depths of one of these bills a Sunday to encourage rest - for health care cost reasons??? From what I have seen and read I am not sure that is a common belief among SDA's any longer. It seems to be a conspiracy type thought. That was a little mind boggling to hear Obama say that publically Quote Everything you do is based on the choices you make. It's not your parents, your past relationships, your job, the economy, the weather, an argument, or your age that is to blame. You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make, period ... ... Wish more people would realize this. Quotes by Susan Gottesman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Quote: So much for his promise of transparency. He hasn't read it either. How can anyone be foolish enough to back some idiocy like this This is Obama's mode of operation. He knows that if people know what he is promoting in the bills ... that his ideas will be rejected. His ONLY hope is secrecy and urgency. Transparency has to be thrown out the window. Never before have we seen more secrecy than with the Obama administration. Quote May we be one so that the world may be won. Christian from the cradle to the grave I believe in Hematology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonnie Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 Quote: So much for his promise of transparency. He hasn't read it either. How can anyone be foolish enough to back some idiocy like this This is Obama's mode of operation. He knows that if people know what he is promoting in the bills ... that his ideas will be rejected. His ONLY hope is secrecy and urgency. Transparency has to be thrown out the window. Never before have we seen more secrecy than with the Obama administration. I want to know what I am signing on for. Just like I make sure what my insurance will cover and what it will cost me. A insurance agent that would tell me he didn't know what was in what he was trying to sell me would be invited to leave. I don't invest this much in any politican,let alone Obama or anyone that has lied from the beginning. To bad the ones that want to push something and not know what they are pushing can't be selected for this very special insurance and leave me and mine alone to take care of ourselves Quote Everything you do is based on the choices you make. It's not your parents, your past relationships, your job, the economy, the weather, an argument, or your age that is to blame. You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make, period ... ... Wish more people would realize this. Quotes by Susan Gottesman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolaa Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 This is Obama's mode of operation. He knows that if people know what he is promoting in the bills ... that his ideas will be rejected. His ONLY hope is secrecy and urgency. Transparency has to be thrown out the window. Never before have we seen more secrecy than with the Obama administration. Repeat after me....D-i-c-k---C-h-e-n-e-y... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonnie Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 Originally Posted By: Redwood This is Obama's mode of operation. He knows that if people know what he is promoting in the bills ... that his ideas will be rejected. His ONLY hope is secrecy and urgency. Transparency has to be thrown out the window. Never before have we seen more secrecy than with the Obama administration. Repeat after me....D-i-c-k---C-h-e-n-e-y... Two things Be specific as to Cheney And can you repeat after me. I should know what is in the bill even if the president doesn't before I endorse and push for it. Whatever has taken place before has no bearing on Obama trying to ram this thru without being read and understood. The president should know what he wants passed into law,even if it is Obama Quote Everything you do is based on the choices you make. It's not your parents, your past relationships, your job, the economy, the weather, an argument, or your age that is to blame. You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make, period ... ... Wish more people would realize this. Quotes by Susan Gottesman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolaa Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Whatever has taken place before has no bearing on Obama trying to ram this thru Never said it did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonnie Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 Originally Posted By: bonnie Whatever has taken place before has no bearing on Obama trying to ram this thru Never said it did. The why are you using this as a diversion. Something you do quite frequently Quote Everything you do is based on the choices you make. It's not your parents, your past relationships, your job, the economy, the weather, an argument, or your age that is to blame. You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make, period ... ... Wish more people would realize this. Quotes by Susan Gottesman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolaa Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I was responding to Redwood's comment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Today Obama stated that he is not familiar with what is in the health care bill. One thing is that there are fines if you don't accept it. However .... if you are an illegal .... then you are exempt from the fines. Illegals are getting more and more rights and benefits than citizens. I am considering becoming an illegal if it is possible. Perhaps we can apply to the Obama government to become an illegal. Actually .... I am wondering if this is the Obama plan to reduce immigration. Why would anyone want to legally come to this country the way Obama is running it into the ground. Quote May we be one so that the world may be won. Christian from the cradle to the grave I believe in Hematology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolaa Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Careful, Redwood. Some people might consider that comment to be a diversion of the topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonnie Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 Careful, Redwood. Some people might consider that comment to be a diversion of the topic. Redwood is right on point. Health care bill and obama's ignorance about it. In addition the total foolishness and waste involved. Much of what is in there has nothing to do with medical care Quote Everything you do is based on the choices you make. It's not your parents, your past relationships, your job, the economy, the weather, an argument, or your age that is to blame. You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make, period ... ... Wish more people would realize this. Quotes by Susan Gottesman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Originally Posted By: carolaa Careful, Redwood. Some people might consider that comment to be a diversion of the topic. Redwood is right on point. Health care bill and obama's ignorance about it. In addition the total foolishness and waste involved. Much of what is in there has nothing to do with medical care TU Quote May we be one so that the world may be won. Christian from the cradle to the grave I believe in Hematology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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