We’ll be paying higher taxes for the pricey Health Care Reform if it passes, but the Health Care plan won’t kick in until 2013? Whaaaat?

I know, you think it’s crazy talk, but unfortunately that’s how Sen. Max Baucus wrote the Health Care Reform bill.

Isn’t this idea a lot like paying out the nose for a ballooning credit card bill, but not even being able to enjoy the goodies you bought with your credit card? Good grief, what is in the water up on that Congressional Hill in Washington, D.C.?

The claim that Health Care Reform will be deficit neutral or actually save the US money? The Cato Institute’s Michael F. Cannon debunks those claims and points out that Baucus’ Bill will cost our country more than $2 Trillion.

How? A lot of fudged numbers by the government, and  ’white lies’, that’s how.

Not to mention that the way the bill is written, the aim really seems to be getting everyone on to the public ‘option.’ You think there’s going to actually be an ‘option’ long-term? Hmmm. I don’t think so. Do you?

You think this is going to go over well with Americans? I don’t know what you think. But I think this plan of paying higher taxes for four years before getting the goods you’re paying for is completely idiotic.

The only silver lining I see is that this laughable idea will almost certainly get many, many Americans very mad. And that 2010 election next year? There will be some very surprised Congressmen. You know, those Congressmen who are in denial about their angry constituents. You know, the ones who keep getting record amounts of emails, letters and phone calls from the people they represent, communications telling them to stop the marathon spending of tax dollars? Yes, I’m talking about the Congressmen who think the ‘angry mob’ will just go away! Remember those Democrats who have been running up our national debt with wasteful bills, and the few Republicans who have joined in the spending orgy?

Can we boot them out? Yes we can!

Just think, once the Congressmen are booted, they’ll feel the pain of their carefully crafted Health Care Reform. Unless they’re smart enough to listen to their constituents. It’ll be interesting to see what happens, won’t it?

Video Source: YouTube

The formerly sleeping giant that is comprised of ‘regular’ Americans has awakened, and the Obama administration is displeased.

They’re not pleased that the American people won’t just let the steamroller of Obama change roll over them. So, as Obama’s mission to enact Marxist and Socialist policies advances, the tactic to negatively label those against Obama policies is ongoing.

Pres. Barack Obama

When Obama speaks on Health Care Reform tonight, he is not speaking to regular Americans. He knows he has angered regular Joes. He knows he won’t convince very many, if any people to his position. But that doesn’t seem to faze the president, who is focused on passing Health Care Reform regardless of the cost. As Obama’s poll numbers continue a major slide downward, the president will address our nation tonight in an effort to convince enough Democrats in the U.S. House and Senate to vote for Health Care Reform, even if their constituents have expressed their opposition to it. Voting against constituents’ wishes puts many Congressional Representatives between a rock and a hard place; next year is a re-election year for many.

The Health Care Reform bills in Congress served to galvanize thousands of Americans to show up at Town Hall meetings, particularly last month, when Congressional members were on break. Despite the denials and statements from the White House about what the Health Care Reform would do, whether it will pay for abortions (it will) and whether it will have a so-called public option (it will), those Americans who voiced their displeasure with the Progressive mission are being re-branded.

So now, normal Americans who take time away from their busy lives to go to a town hall or a protest against Health Care Reform or Cap and Tax are being characterized and re-branded as ‘Angry Mobs’ by the Democratic National Committee.

The attempt to characterize such Americans as a negligible percentage of the population continues to be made. Such labeling of middle America only serves to anger more everyday Americans who are an unseen part of a new movement, made up of Independents, Democrats and Republicans. Consequently, the Tea Party movement and the anger against the majority and freely spending Representatives in Congress gains steam and traction.

And so it is easily understood that the longer this cycle of labeling of Americans who are standing up to make their voices heard goes on, the more vocal that chorus of voices will be, and strident too.

From farmers to white collar workers, repairmen to small business owners, Americans see the political elite in Washington ignoring them. They see the lack of representation. They see the massive spending continuing in D.C. despite a huge deficit and an overwhelming cry to stop the madness. Americans see and feel the disconnect with their representatives. They hear the evening news and read the internet news reports. They are outraged by reports from the AP that Sen. Max Baucus’ plan is to mandate health coverage, and punish those who don’t participate by fining them up to $3,800. Have Democrats forgotten that we’re in a recession? Fines for not participating in the Health coverage is a legit idea? Give us a break. Have the Tea Party protests and those showing up at Town Halls around our great country communicated nothing to representatives in Congress? This is a real grassroots movement that the mainstream media is dutifully not covering, or covering mockingly.

The irony is the Great One, the long-awaited savior for Progressive Democrats, Barack Obama, is himself a community organizer. But the President and Organizer that is Obama does not realize that the more the DNC wages a verbal war on ‘Angry Mobs’ also known as Everyday Working Americans, the bigger the problem.

For when you see 10,000 people at a Tea Party protest voicing their displeasure with the Obama administration and those in Congress who support his policies, what you don’t see are the millions of American citizens who couldn’t be there to voice their dismay with Tea Partiers. This group of Americans have jobs, family responsibilities, and are not paid to show up at these protests. But they vote!

Those in Congress who are still supporting Obama and his policies should beware the numbers of people who are not seen at protests or heard from continuously at their offices. Because the number of Americans greatly dissatisfied, the group the DNC is labeling ‘Angry Mobs’? That’s a majority of Americans. That will become clear in the elections of 2010.

Carry on, fellow Mobsters.

Photo Source: Wikimedia

With the Democrats feeling the heat of America’s anger on Health Care Reform and fiscal self-indulgence with taxpayer’s money, Pres. Barack Obama is now touting morality as the reason for reform.

Problem is, logic is not Obama’s friend. Is abortion moral? Most Americans don’t think so; at least, most Americans do not think federal funds should be used to pay for abortions. But Obama has plainly said in the past that abortion will be part of Health Care Reform. And in April 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was asked to define reproductive care. She said, “And reproductive health includes access to abortion.”

Further, taking up the morality issue for health care reform seems to indicate that Obama and the Dems can’t defend their assertion that health care reform will be deficit neutral. Not when the Congressional Budget Office recently contradicted that assertion.

Certainly polls show that Americans do not believe that the Health Care Reform bills will save money. With his approval rating dropping fast, Obama feels the pressure to get HCR passed, something he promised to do in his campaign. Many supporters warmed to Sen. Obama’s assertion that he was in favor of a single-payer system, public health plan. But many Americans are starting to see that the so-called reform in health care will be to their detriment, and are demanding their Congressmen vote no on the Health Care Reform bill.

In the past week, I’ve heard tired talking points from liberal acquaintances, advocating health care reform. I’ve been called unChristian simply because I am against the Health Care Reform bills in Congress.

Nothing could be further from the truth. I am a Christian, and I do care about people. That’s why I’m vocally opposed to this Health Care Reform. I don’t want to see people denied health care due to inadequate funding from the government. I don’t want to hear about a woman calling the hospital begging for an ambulance, and being told to walk the ‘short’ distance there to birth her fourth child. I don’t want to hear about that same woman deciding to walk as far as she could on the sidewalk leading to the hospital in hopes that a passerby could help bring her baby into the world. That scenario actually happened this week in the UK.

Friends, do you want to hear your parent’s doctor tell you her hands are tied, that the government will not pay for the treatment needed to extend life 5-10 years because it will cost too much? Do you want to hear a doctor offer pain pills to your parents, who could live a fuller life if they received surgery?

You and fellow Americans know the U.S. government is spending too much. You know that it is not logical to expect the same high standard of medical care from the same number of doctors and nurses, expected to treat and care for a huge increase in patients under either health care co-ops or a government-run public health care plan. This expected Utopia the Dems tout falls apart when Americans question how it will work well, especially when the government promises it will cut fees to the medical providers—in the name of saving money.

Instead of Utopia, Americans rightly imagine long lines and wait time to see their doctors and rationed health care. No one denies that improvements need to be made to our current health care system. But this Health Care Reform in Congress will make the problems worse, and beggar our country. Some Democrats falsely state that there are no Republican alternatives to Health Care Reform. This kind of statement is easily refuted; look to Rep. Paul Ryan’s alternative health reform. But no. There is no true debate, and no true transparency among most Democrats in Congress.

Instead of being transparent, most of the Democrats pushing Health Care Reform are sidestepping questions on what the bill will cover and do.

Let’s look at abortion in health care. The majority of Americans do not want abortion to be subsidized by the federal government. But that is just what the Kennedy bill (as yet unnumbered) being considered in the U.S. Senate, will do. It “would result in federally mandated coverage of abortion by nearly all health plans, federally mandated recruitment of abortionists by local health networks, and nullification of many state abortion laws. It would also result in federal funding of abortion on a massive scale,” said NRLC Legislative Director Doug Johnson.

Those that claim abortion will not be part of the HCR bill are either naive or deliberately misguiding Americans.

The longer the Health Care bill lingers in Congress, the more time Americans have to read it. And this is a bill, 1000+ pages, that is not like lasagna. It doesn’t get better the longer it sits in its juices. No, this bill’s foulness is stinking it up across our great land. Americans against HCR are making their voices heard. But the fear is the Democratic majority will do whatever it takes to pass HCR, even if it is against the rules. After all, who will stop any potential Congressional rule-breakers?

At the infomercial, I mean forum, on Health Care Reform hosted at the White House on June 24, Jane Sturm asked a pointed question on how the Health Care Reform will affect the elderly. Sturm mentioned her mother, who received a pacemaker at age 100 and is still living at 105 years old. Obama’s response left me wondering if doctors will only be able to prescribe pain pills for those deemed too costly to treat.

ABC’s Charles Gibson, who co-anchored the ‘forum’ with Diane Sawyer, is shown sitting beside Obama in this video.

Obama: The first thing for all of us to understand is we actually have some choices to make about how we want to deal with our own end of life care. … I think we have to have rules that say that we are going to provide good quality care for all people.

Gibson: But the money may not have been there for her pacemaker or for your grandmother’s hip replacement…

Obama: Right, well and that’s absolutely true. And end of life care is one of the most difficult sets of decisions that we’re going to have to make. I don’t want bureaucracies making those decisions but understand that those decisions are already being made in one way or another.

At this, Charles Gibson shifts uncomfortably in his chair.

Obama: …What we can do is make sure some of the waste that exists in the system that’s not making anyone’s mom better –that is loading up on additional tests or additional drugs– that the evidence shows is not necessarily going to improve care –that at least we can let doctors know and your mom know that, you know what, maybe this isn’t going to help. That maybe you’re better off not having the surgery but taking the painkiller. ….

Ouch. Are you wondering what will happen to you or your family if Obama’s Health Care Plan is passed? I am. I have parents and grandparents I’m worried about. I have disabled friends I’m concerned about. This Health Care plan would give power to government officials over what treatment is allowable, and what is too costly and not covered.

I’m thinking of all the people who could be deemed unworthy of life-saving treatment due to the high cost, and to the high number of people who may just be issued a painkiller prescription. Are you starting to wonder how the Obama administration thinks of those who are not perfectly healthy? I am. I’m wondering how they’ll rate everyone’s value, and who in the Obama administration will be issuing the valuation guidelines. Will it be Ezekiel Emanuel, who is the health-policy advisor at the Office of Management and Budget? The Dr. Emanuel who advocates the ‘complete lives‘ approach?

For those not familiar with ‘complete lives’ thinking, Dr. Emanuel co-wrote an article in The Lancet in January 2009. In it, the article states that those between ages 15-40 will get the most ‘substantial chance,’ and that those younger and older than that will, well, have less of a chance. How did the article in The Lancet put it? “…the youngest and oldest people get chances that are attenuated.”

After all, think of the investment the government has made in that younger group, and how much more they have to give to society! Read about ‘complete lives’, and be prepared to be appalled and scared.

Putting a value on life, valuing those who cost less to treat and who have the opportunity to give more to society because they are younger reminds me of what happened in Germany with the Nazi regime. Think about it. How far will the valuing of life go, and who in the government will be making those rationing decisions? Is the point to cull the imperfect from our nation? Or is it a more practical stance, that our government has limited resources to ably and humanely treat all Americans?

VideoSource: YouTube

Sadly, the joke is on us. HR3200, the Health Care Reform Bill currently still in the Energy and Commerce Committee, is being held up by the “Blue Dog” Democrats concerned about the cost and scope of the bill. And with good reason.

The government can claim to “save” money by providing health care for all Americans, even illegals, by obtaining cost savings (also known as rationed care).

“With managed care and now with socialized medicine coming, believe me, quality will go down, costs will go up, there will be shortages, there will be lines, and no one’s going to be happy,” Congressman Dr. Ron Paul (R-TX) said on CNN a few weeks ago.

According to Robert A. Book of the Heritage Foundation:

A public health care plan would not improve the current health care situation and would likely make matters worse. Far from saving enough to cover the uninsured, it would increase the cost of covering even the presently insured at the current standard of care. A public plan could reduce overall spending only at the cost of substantial harm to patients.

Reducing health care costs by offering a public plan will only accomplish more of what the government has done with Medicare and Medicaid: reduce payments to doctors and hospitals, and ration care. Rationed care is what the U.K. and Canada and other countries have, and it has sent some of their wealthier citizens to our country to get quality health care.

In a previous post, I stated that we are in danger of losing our freedom in this health care legislation. Shawn Tully details what the Health Care Reform will do in his article, “5 Freedoms You’d Lose in Health Care Reform.”

Do not feel safe because you have private health insurance. You will not be able to keep your health insurance, due to language to that end in HR3200. This is a fact that our own Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, either is unaware of or is ignoring.

FoxNews reports: “CBO estimates that only 11 million to 12 million people would sign up for the public plan — making it a much smaller player in the market. The government coverage would be available alongside private plans through a new kind of insurance purchasing pool called an exchange.”

Well, the number of people who would voluntarily sign up for the public health plan may be correct; 11-12 million. What the CBO is forgetting is the number of people who will be thrown into the public health plan because it will become too difficult and expensive for businesses to continue funding private health insurance for their employees under Health Care Reform.

And what the Obama administration has been trying to keep quiet is that the Health Care Reform bill, if passed, would use taxpayer money to expand abortion services. Would you be happy to pay for someone else’s abortion? Douglas Johnson, National Right to Life Committee Legislative Director points out the reality of the Health Care Reform Bill in a letter to Members of Congress:

“In its current form, this bill would predictably result in the greatest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade, driven by mandates and subsidies emanating from multiple provisions of this bill.

The bill contains provisions that would result in federal mandates requiring inclusion of elective abortion in virtually all health insurance plans, both private plans (which would be required to conform to federal standards in order to participate in the government-operated Exchange), and the new “public plan.” Other provisions would result in health networks being required to establish new abortion providers in order to provide local access to elective abortions. State laws placing procedural requirements or other limitations on abortion ( e.g., waiting periods, or parental notification laws) would be subject to nullification by federal regulation or lawsuit.”

It’s not that hard to believe that abortion ‘rights’ and services will be greatly expanded under Health Care Reform when you consider that in order to rein in health care costs, euthanasia seems to be an option the government is considering. It’s a slippery slope America is going down, with the current legality of abortion. Since an unborn baby can be aborted, why should an older person’s life, especially one with expensive health problems, be considered any more valuable by the government?

Fred Thompson recently had Betsy McCaughey, a conservative and former NY lieutenant governor, on his radio show. McCaughey, who has read the entire 1,000+ page Health Care Reform bill, expressed outrage that the government would mandate quality of life consultations for senior citizens. Carrie Budoff Brown of Politico writes:

On Thompson’s radio show, as well as in a New York Post op-ed and other interviews during the past week, McCaughey has said the provision requires senior citizens to submit to end-of-life consultations. Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity touted the New York Post article on their shows. “Congress would make it mandatory, absolutely require, that every five years, people in Medicare have a required counseling session that will tell them how to end their life sooner,” McCaughey said to Thompson.

The bill expressly says if you get sick somewhere in that five-year period, you have to go through that session again — all to do what is in society’s best interest or your family’s best interest and cut your life short. These are such sacred issues of life and death. Government should have nothing to do with it.”

In the 1,000+ page Health Care Reform bill, ironically named H.R.3200 America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, a variety of ways to cut costs are detailed. Do not be fooled by those saying you will be able to keep your private health insurance coverage. This Health Care Reform plan will make it so difficult to keep private health care insurance that the majority of people will be covered by the public health care plan. Of course, that is by design. How can the government hope to have ‘affordable’ health insurance if only a small percentage of Americans have it? Here’s the kicker. Our U.S. Senators and Representatives who ‘toil’ away for us passing laws in Washington, D.C. will not be covered by the public health care plan. Oh no. They’ll be covered by a top notch private health insurance plan.

If this is such a great plan, why wouldn’t our esteemed leaders in Washington, D.C. enroll in it pronto?

Video Source: YouTube

Americans are starting to hear some of what is in the 1000+page Health Care Reform bill, and they’re getting scared. Understandably so.

“The Health Care Bill…is going to destroy the small business sector….and is the single greatest threat to freedom and liberty,” said Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal at last week’s ALEC convention in Atlanta, Ga.

Moore noted that Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel has proposed an 8% increase in taxes on small businesses which do not provide health care insurance. A recent Wall Street Journal article underlined the difficulties small businesses will face as taxes sharply increase in a difficult recessionary environment. Payroll taxes and capital gains taxes will also be increased under Rangel’s proposal. The top tier of taxpayers will see a 58% combined federal and state tax rate, Moore noted.

“Another implication of the Rangel plan is that America’s successful small businesses would pay higher tax rates than the Fortune 500, and for that matter than most companies around the world.”

The bottom line is that Rangel’s proposal has a very ugly outlook for small businesses.

How will health care affect the regular, working American?

Heritage Foundation: “Yearly premiums for the typical American with private coverage could go up by as much as $460 per privately-insured person, as a result of increased cost-shifting stemming from a public plan modeled on Medicare.”

Would you and your older family members be happy being ‘covered’ by the public, government-run health care plan? What, you say? I have private health insurance. Yes, but if the Health Care Reform bill is passed, it is very likely you will not keep your private health insurance for long.

My friends, this is not all the Health Care Reform bill will do. The 1000+ page bill also dictates to young children, and that is an issue I will cover in a later post.

I urge you to stand up for freedom and for all Americans. As radio talk show host Herman Cain pointed out recently at the ALEC convention, “People aren’t just concerned anymore, they’re fearful.”

People are fearful of all the things that are being passed in Washington, D.C. No one has read the bills, but they’re passed anyway. Mr. Obama even said recently that he hasn’t read the Health Care Reform bill, but is out campaigning and lobbying hard to get it passed. Let me say that again. Mr. Obama has not even read the Health Care Reform bill, and he has said he is not ‘familiar’ with the bill. Yet he is very sure that it’s a great idea and he wants it passed ASAP. Does that make sense to you?

Remember the mess that resulted from people not reading their sub-prime mortgage contracts? The chickens from that debacle have already come home to roost. God help our nation if Health Care Reform passes. Health Care Reform will take away the liberties and freedom that Americans have always considered the bedrock of our culture. Only now, that bedrock is about to be cut into and disfigured by the machines of socialism.

If that isn’t what you want, it’s time to make your voice heard. My friends, we must not be discouraged from action. Listen to Mr. Cain’s words of wisdom: “We are the people in charge of this country. Our vote counts, and our voice counts.” Make sure, my friends, that your voice is heard in Washington, D.C. After seeing only a small part of what is in the Health Care Reform bill, don’t you think that we are in a legislative fight for our freedom?

Now is the time to act. Some Blue Dog Democrats are undecided about Health Care Reform and Cap and Trade. A call to (FL) Sen. Bill Nelson’s office today revealed he has not made his mind up on these two issues. Sen. Bill Nelson is waiting to see how Health Care Reform is going be funded, and is waiting to see the final bill details on Cap and Trade, according to his office. Seems like he’s waiting to hear how his constituents want him to vote.

Make your voice heard–get on the phone, and send out letters to your Congressmen via fax. We need to contact a lot of leaders in Washington, not just those who represent our district. We need to contact leaders who represent different parts of America, because the health and integrity of America is at stake.

I’ve written many posts about the perils and huge costs (over $1 trillion now) of Health Care Reform. Other have too, including George Will, who wrote a great post, ‘Americans Will Likely Regret Health Care Fix.’ My friends and fellow Americans, the time to act is not next week or next month. It’s now.

Take a few minutes to make some calls and send some faxes. Here is a list of Blue Dog Democrats, thanks to my friend and fellow blogger Lea Sylvester. These Blue Dog Democrats need to hear how much we Americans don’t want this Health Care Reform, and why. Be nice, and be persuasive.

Home District and Washington, D.C. telephone & fax numbers

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN)   

• Minneapolis District Phone: 612-727-5220
• D.C. 202-224-3244 PH 202-228-2186 Fax

Sen. Mary Landrieu (LA)

• Baton Rouge District Phone: 225-389-0395  

• D.C. 202-224-5824 PH 202-224-9734 Fax

Ben Nelson (NE)

• Lincoln District Phone: 402-441-4600  

• D.C. 202-224-6551 PH 202-228-0012 Fax

Sen. Evan Bayh (IN)

• Indianapolis District Phone: 317-554-0750

• 202-224-5623 PH 202-228-1377 Fax

Sen. Claire McCaskill) (MO)      

• Kansas City District Phone: 816-421-1639

• 202-224-6154 PH 202-228-6326 Fax
  

Sen. Mark Begrich (AK)

• Anchorage District Phone: 907-271-5915     

• D.C. 202-224-3004 PH 202-228-3205 Fax

Sen. Mark Warner (VA)

• Midlothian District Phone: 804-739-0247

• D.C. 202-224-2023 PH 202-224-6295 Fax

Sen. Bill Nelson (FL)      

• Orlando District Phone:   407-872-7161     

• 202-224-5274 PH 202-228-2183 Fax

Sen. Mark Pryor (AR)          

• Little Rock District Phone: 501-324-6336   

• 202-224-2353 PH 202-228-0908 Fax

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (NH)      

• Manchester District Office: 603-647-7500

• D.C. 202-224-2841 PH

Sen. Robert P Casey, Jr (PA)           

• Harrisburg District Office: 717-231-7540

• D.C. 202-224-6324 PH 202-228-0604 Fax

Sen. Blanche L. Lincoln (AR)

• Little Rock District Office: 501-375-2993

• 202-224-4843 PH 202-228-1371 Fax

Sen. Joseph I Lieberman (Conn)       

• Hartford District Office: 860-549-8463

• 202-224-4041 PH 202-224-9750 Fax

Sen. Jon Tester (MT)      

• Helena District Office: 406-449-5401     

• 202-224-2644 PH 202-224-8594 Fax

After my recent eye exam, I commented to my optometrist that Health Care Reform seems like a big Medicare plan. My optometrist agreed, said she thinks Health Care Reform is a bad idea, and relayed stories of friends who live in the U.K. but come here to the U.S. for some medical treatment, because they feel medical care in the U.K. is not good enough.

We’ve all heard of the Canadians who come to the U.S. to obtain medical care, because the wait for treatment can be so long in Canada. And when it’s your health at stake, does one want to wait for months?

Now, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs has unequivocally stated that the Health Care Reform bill will mean “quality and affordable health care for all Americans.”

What’s more, Gibbs states that the Health Care Reform will not add to the deficit. Now, that’s a statement we can take to the bank, right?

No wonder some Democrats were so dismissive of the Congressional Budget Office, which came out with a ‘preliminary’ analysis of the Health Care bill on June 15, and mailed a letter with that analysis to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Here are excerpts of that letter:

“The attached table summarizes our preliminary assessment of the proposal’s budgetary effects and its likely impact on insurance coverage. According to that assessment, enacting the proposal would result in a net increase in federal budget deficits of about $1.0 trillion over the 2010–2019 period.”

Hey Gibbs! Didn’t you say that the Health Care Reform bill will not add to the deficit? Here we have the CBO stating that our deficit will increase by $1 trillion from 2010-2019. Hmmm. In order to not increase the deficit with a $1 trillion health care bill, that must mean we will be paying a lot more in taxes.

“Once the proposal was fully implemented, about 39 million individuals would obtain coverage through the new insurance exchanges. At the same time, the number of people who had coverage through an employer would decline by about 15 million (or roughly 10 percent), and coverage from other sources would fall by about 8 million, so the net decrease in the number of people uninsured would be about 16 million.”

Wait a New York second! So we’re going to pay oodles of money to fund Health Care Reform, the cost of which is unknown, increase our deficit by at least $1 trillion by 2019, pay lots more in taxes, and all that will still leave millions of Americans uninsured? Read the CBO report yourself here.

Anyone else thinking of this Health Care Reform as a boat with too many holes to sail? Or will Congress plug the boat enough for it to sail, only to sink with our money in it, later?

Do you find Pres. Barack Obama’s speech on health care reform this week incongruous with his assurance that health care reform will not cost the taxpayer?

“The only change you’ll see are falling costs as reform take hold.” Obama claims that Americans can keep the insurance plan they have and the doctors they have, if they like them, with health care reform.

Let’s think for a minute. Why is health care so expensive? Could part of the problem be that Medicare and Medicaid pay so little to doctors and hospitals that more of the cost is shifted to private health insurance providers? Could it be that the government-run Medicare and Medicaid have a prevalent fraud problem? Granted, costs are also high to pay for the uninsured visiting the ER for routine care. But let’s play a ‘what if’ game.

If the government were to provide universal health care, doctors and hospitals would be paid less, and it stands to reason there would be a drop in the quality of care as well as health care rationing. Why? Because to keep costs contained, the government will be forced to pay less for everything medical.   And doesn’t it follow that health care will be rationed to keep health care costs down? The Canadian health care system has plenty of examples of health care rationing, and extremely long waits for health procedures.

The cost of how to pay for universal health care is an elephant in the room, errr, White House. The Heritage Foundation calls the lower cost of a public health care plan ‘a shell game.’

Recent statements from Mr. Obama quote him urging Congress to consider taxing the ‘wealthy’ to pay for health care reform. How does Mr. Obama define the ‘wealthy’? Could it be $160,000 for families and $80,000 for single Americans? You see, Obama’s definition of wealthy can change to include more Americans. You may be wealthy and not even know it! And let’s not forget the VAT or the proposal to tax sugary drinks and alcohol to ‘help’ Americans be healthier (and help pay for the high cost of health care reform).

Can our President be honest? Obama claims that under his health care reform plan, Americans can choose between the public plan and a private plan. But the numbers just don’t work for me. And Obama’s supporters in Congress don’t seem to be spouting that same line. Remember Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, co-sponsor of HR-676, who said the end goal is a single-payer system and the end of the private insurance industry. Whoa. Has our Congress even considered an alternative to Obamacare?

Look at Obama’s speech in 2003, where he states he is a ‘proponent’ of the single-payer universal health care coverage. “Everybody in, nobody out,” Obama said.

Obama waxes eloquent in his speech this week, “What we can’t accept is reform that just invests more money in the status quo.” He adds, “We must attack the root causes of skyrocketing health care costs.”

Well, it sounds wonderful. But notice that Mr. Obama gives no details of how he is going to accomplish his goal. Nebulous must be Mr. Obama’s second middle name.

“We’ll eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in our health care system,” Obama stated.

Really? Just like there is little fraud in the government-run Medicaid and Medicare system? How reassuring. You’re not skeptical, are you?

Video Sources: YouTube

In a campaign speech in Roanoke, Va. on Oct. 17 2008, Obama said, “McCain wants to pay for his plan by taxing health care benefits for the first time in history!”

Fast forward to today, where the Wall Street Journal’s Janet Adamy details some of the options Senate leaders are mulling over to pay for Health Care Reform. One of the options: taxing health care benefits that are better than those of federal employees. And you guessed it, the “rich” are being singled out as another option to tax only individual taxpayers who earn more than $200,000 annually, or $400,000 for couples. Another option is to combine option one and two so that if one has an excellent health benefits package and is “rich” as defined above, one would be ineligible for the tax-deductible exemption.

To be sure, Health Care Reform done by Democrats will be hugely expensive, to the tune of $1.2 trillion over 10 years. But really, no one knows how much it will cost; it could cost more than the estimate.

You think that’s why another proposal would limit the amount employees could contribute to flexible spending accounts, or flat out eliminate them? Senate leaders are confronted with the high cost of Health Care Reform and are thinking about a proposed increase in sin taxes like alcoholic drinks, and possibly implementing a tax on sugary drinks.

Do you like the big burly government reaching its hands into your wallet?

And do you find it ironic that the Senate seems to be seriously considering implementing what was McCain’s idea of taxing health care benefits?

Video Source: YouTube