If the political consultants in my party have any sense - and I admit that's debatable - they'll latch on to the calls to repeal. It's one thing to demonize a bill before it is passed but after people realize the boogey men were not real?
- Adult children may remain as dependents on their parents’ policy until their 27th birthday
- Children under age 19 may not be excluded for pre-existing conditions
- No more lifetime or annual caps on coverage
- Free preventative care for all
- Adults with pre-existing conditions may buy into a national high-risk pool until the exchanges come online.
- Small businesses will be entitled to a tax credit for 2009 and 2010, which could be as much as 50% of what they pay for employees’ health insurance.
- The “donut hole” closes for Medicare patients, making prescription medications more affordable for seniors.
There are a few more you can see here. The ads write themselves: Congressman X wants Seniors to pay more for prescription drugs, tell a 12 year old she can't be insured because she has a pre-existing condition, deny you preventative care, and he even thinks someone with an accident like Christopher Reeve shouldn't get continuous care.
I know where polls are today on health care reform and Democrats are going to lose seats. Lose the House? Very unlikely. Lose the senate? Not a chance. Those losses will be mitigated once Democrats are able to go on the offensive. The good news for Republicans is that my party has proven time and again we cannot be complete wussies.
The HCB will never be repealed. First of all, Republicans would need 60 pro-repeal votes in the Senate to defeat a Democratic filibuster. And remember, Obama would just veto the bill. Also, there's no way to repeal benefits. Even if people don't seem to like the new plan, there's no way a politician successfully runs on some combination of: let's go back to when insurance companies could exclude you for pre-existing conditions and let's go back to when your kid gets kicked off your healthcare plan the moment he or she gets out of college. It's the same reason no other benefit or entitlement will ever disappear. The only hope is that the courts overturn it.
ReplyDeleteTo expand on your seven item recap:
1. The bill is projected to cost $940 billion over the next 10 years.
2. The bill will generate $409.2 billion in additional taxes by 2019, according to an analysis by the non-partisan congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.
3. Most of this revenue will come from higher Medicare taxes on about 1 million individuals earning more than $200,000 and 4 million couples who make more than $250,000.
4. The legislation will also for the first time apply Medicare taxes to investment income received by these households beginning in 2013. The 3.8% tax rate would apply to unearned income such as capital gains, dividends, interest, rents, and royalties.
5. Obama’s budget proposes to allow the existing 15% tax rate on dividends and capital gains to rise to 20% for 2011. Layering in the 3.8% Medicare tax means the new top tax rate on dividends and capital gains will be 23.8%, while the top federal tax rate on interest and rental income would increase to 44%.
6. The bill will also impose $69 billion more in penalties for individuals and businesses who don’t meet government mandates to buy health insurance. Individuals who don’t purchase insurance would be subject to a fine equivalent to the greater of 2.5% of their income or $695 by 2016.
7. Employers with 50 or more workers who don’t offer health insurance would pay $2,000 per worker if they don’t offer health insurance.
Thank you. You have confirmed my need to change comment posting guidelines.
ReplyDeleteOkay, so between Mr. Alito's list above and your list on the blog Steve, do I have a clear picture of what HCB will do? I must admit, they lost me at "Let's pass health care reform".
ReplyDeleteAnd based on your list, Steve, I'm pleased with the passage...on the surface. There will be a backlash that will show that "reform" hasn't really occurred. No pre-existing conditions? Your rates are going up 60% to cover everyone who has one. Insure offspring until 27? Your rates are going up to pay for breeders.
CNN did a good story the other day about the model of good health care that is the Mayo Clinic. It was further proof that the industry needs to reform too.