Comments on: Republicans: Requirement To Have Health Insurance Is ‘A New Tax’ On Families And Businesses

By: phillip_montgomery

phillip_montgomery — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:27:52 +0000

Why are we even messing with Healthcare. It can be improved upon, but why such a dramatic change.

Google where the $46 million uninsured number comes from.

18 million can afford health insurance but do not buy it.

14 million eligible for government programs already but do not take advantage of them. (Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP)

10 million uninsured immigrants

That leaves 4 million people unaccounted for.

By: mike oliphant

mike oliphant — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:49:43 +0000

With the latest announcement of hospitals agreeing to contribute $155 billion, where are the costs going to be shifted for the $155 billion? Doesn’t anyone get it? It is going to be shifted somewhere. In Utah, studies conducted by http://www.BenefitsManager.net revealed that cost shifting already exists in ER. Why do you think aspirins cost $10? Someone is going to pay whether it be a reduction in quality service or higher charges for those with insurance policies. Someone gets dropped off at the ER doorstops full of bullet holes with no insurance….next person that comes in with a insurance cared has costs shifted to them. I see it daily when advising hospitals through billing issues with http://www.UtahInsuranceExchange.info which is our state’s steps towards health care reform. Sure, the government is proposing subsidy…so how much will that affect the tax payer? Again, why are we not talking about TORT REFORM to push liability insurance premiums down that absorb as much as 15% in expenses with medical providers?? Take 15% off total medical expenditures in US and you will see savings in the trillions.

By: theagitator

theagitator — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 04:12:16 +0000

The private health insurance companies are a major cost component of health care and in the end they do nothing to improve patient care.

They are there to reward their executives with generous compensation (and shareholders) by denying coverage and raising fees and doing it when their policy holders are least able to fight them.

I vote for a Medicare like system that has the same rules for members of Congress as everyone else. That way when there are problems Congress will experience them and correct them.

By: stateofthedivision

stateofthedivision — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:24:35 +0000

Of course, the penalty for employers not providing coverage is a new tax. The problem is taxes are considered evil, thus they’re renamed penalties, user fees, etc.

It’s federal revenue, used to deliver services. Call them citizen payments, except they’ll be paid on behalf of non-citizens, as they are left out of the plan.

We have horrific leadership in Washington, D.C.